when it needs to be cherished

   

  

"Thoughts mold your features. Thoughts lift your soul heavenward or drag you toward hell. … As nothing reveals character like the company we like and keep, so nothing foretells futurity like the thoughts over which we brood. … To have the approval of your conscience when you are alone with your thoughts is like being in the company of true and loving friends. To merit your own self-respect gives strength to character. Conscience is the link that binds your soul to the spirit of God."

President David O. McKay

  

"The Lord gives us a spirit of hope and a feeling of comfort

and confidence that we can overcome the obstacles we face.

He has shown the way to gain strength during our struggles.

With His assistance, we have the ability to succeed.

Listen to His words of counsel and comfort:

"Fear not, little children, for you are mine, and

I have overcome the world and none of them that my Father hath given me shall be lost."

L. Lionel Kendrick

     

"God knows the feelings in every human heart.

He can soften sorrow and lead when there seems to be no light.

Prayer can give guidance and confidence. It reminds us that no one need be alone in this world.

If all else fails, remember,

God and one other person can be a family."

Marvin J. Ashton

       

      

"The problems of our day loom ominously before us.

Surrounded by the sophistication of modern

 living, we look heavenward for that unfailing sense of direction,

that we might chart and follow a wise and proper course.

He whom we call our Heavenly Father

will not leave our sincere petition unanswered."

Thomas S. Monson

"There is room for improvement in every life. Regardless of our occupations, regardless of our circumstances, we can improve ourselves and while so doing have  an effect on the lives of those about us."

Gordon B. Hinckley

"At ... moments of crisis and challenge, some choose to abandon faith just at the time when it most needs to be embraced. Prayer is ignored at the very hour when it needs to be intensified. Virtue is carelessly tossed aside when it needs to be cherished. God is forsaken in the all-too-human yet mistaken fear that He has forsaken us."

David S. Baxter

   

"Never underestimate the power of true love, for it knows no barriers."

John H. Groberg

   

The trek is constant

There is no resting place along the path called faithfulness.

The trek is constant, and no lingering is allowed.

Thomas S. Monson

 

 

"I believe we have all been created for greater things than we can comprehend". "But such accomplishments are not achieved by fierce competitiveness, calculated one-upmanship, or cold indifference to others. True greatness will always be predicated upon love, respect, compassion, dignity, prayer, hard work, God."

Jeffrey R. Holland

 

When life's challenges seem overwhelming,

hope can be found in looking beyond obstacles and moving forward with faith, in looking back at past experiences that may have prepared us for future challenges, and in looking for times when the Savior walks with us.

S. Michael Wilcox

  

On those days when we may wonder if Heavenly Father has forgotten us, we have the assurance that each of His servants will receive "the light of the countenance of their lord, every man in his hour, and in his time, and in his season: And although it may not be our hour now, He will come because He is aware of us, He knows our needs, and He will bless us.

S. Michael Wilcox

  

In a world full of challenges,  it is easy to lose hope for ourselves and those we love. During times of discouragement, we must remember that the purpose of the Atonement of Jesus Christ is not just to cleanse and console, but also to transform — and that takes time. Christ is not waiting at the finish line once we have done —all we can do." He is with us every step of the way, and His Atonement will be available as long as the perfecting process takes — continually.

Brad Wilcox

  

"From time to time the question has been posed,

'If Jesus appeared to you today, what questions would you ask of Him?'

My answer has always been, 'I would not utter a word. I would listen to Him.'"

Thomas S. Monson

   

look with the heart

The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry describes the confusion of a little boy who, on discovering a field of roses, perceives that the flower he has, which he has tended with such love, is not unique but very ordinary. Then he comes to the realization that the thing that makes his rose unique is not its outward appearance but the time and the love he has consecrated to taking care of it. He exclaims:

"Men . . . raise five thousand roses in the same garden—and they do not find in it what they are looking for. . . .

"And yet what they are looking for could be found in one single rose, or in a little water. . . .

"But the eyes are blind. One must look with the heart"

The positive thinker sees the invisible,

Feels the intangible

And achieves the impossible.

A pessimist sees difficulty  in every opportunity,

An optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.

There is little difference in people, but that little difference

Makes a big difference.

The little difference is attitude.

The big difference is whether it is positive

Or negative.

Problems cannot be solved by the same

Level of thinking that created them.

Albert Einstein

Those who wish to sing always find a song.

When you get into a tight place and everything

Goes against you,

Till it seems as though you could not

Hold on a minute longer,

Never give up then,

For that is just the place and

Time that the tide will turn.

If we could see the miracle of a single flower

Clearly, our whole life would change.

Fear less, hope more

Talk less, say more

Love more and all good

Things will be yours

Let each man learn to know himself

The other day, as I overheard one neighbor

criticizing another,

I was reminded of these lines:

President N. Eldon Tanner

April 8, 1972

"Wouldn't this old world be better

If the folks we meet would say:

'I know something good about you,'

And then treat us that way?"

Then I thought of the words of one of our hymns:

"Let each man learn to know himself;

To gain that knowledge let him labor,

Improve those failings in himself

Which he condemns so in his neighbor.

How lenient our own faults we view,

And conscience's voice adeptly smother;

Yet, oh, how harshly we review

The selfsame failings in another! …

So first improve yourself today

And then improve your friends tomorrow."

—Hymns, no. 91

seemingly small things can lead to

No one event may appear to be very impressive or memorable.

But just as …strokes of paint complement each other and

produce an impressive masterpiece, so our consistency in doing

seemingly small things can lead to significant spiritual results.

David A. Bednar

'we were found equal to our tasks'

When in situations of stress we wonder if there is any more

In us to give, we can be comforted to know that God,

Who knows our capacity perfectly, placed us here to succeed.

No one was foreordained to fail or to be wicked.

When we have been weighed and found wanting,

Let us remember that we were measured before

And we were found equal to our tasks, and , therefore

Let us continue, he will not press upon us more than

We can bear.

Neal A. Maxwell

Painting of Joseph Smith at the feet of the Savoir 

Painting by Liz Swindle