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Perhaps the greatest discovery of my life, without question the greatest commitment, came when finally I had the confidence in God that I would loan or yield my agency to him-without compulsion or pressure, without any duress, as a single individual alone, by myself, no counterfeiting, nothing expected other than the privilege. In a sense, speaking figuratively, to take one's agency, that precious gift which the scriptures make plain is essential to life itself, and say, "I will do as you direct," is afterward to learn that in so doing you possess it all the more.
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Punctuality is an essential trait of the teacher. It is a foundation, not an embellishment.
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If you stumble, rise up, go on.
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There are many things about living the gospel of Jesus Christ that cannot be measured by that which is counted or charted in records of attendance.
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Joseph's vision of the Father and the Son opened this dispensation. Then came the Restoration of the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ with the same organization that existed in the primitive Church, built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets.
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God bless you young women and young men who struggle through the worrisome teenage years. Some of you may not yet have found yourselves, but you are not lost, for Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, our Savior and Redeemer.
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The flak is always the heaviest closest to the target.
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An organist who has the sensitivity to quietly play prelude music from the hymnbook tempers our feelings and causes us to go over in our minds the lyrics which teach the peaceable things of the kingdom. If we will listen, they are teaching the gospel, for the hymns of the Restoration are, in fact, a course in doctrine!
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I hope to be judged as good a man as my father. Before I hear those words "well done" from my Heavenly Father, I hope to first hear them from my mortal father.
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Do you realize how marvelous it is that you can call upon the Atonement? The Lord effected the Atonement for our sakes. And there isn’t anything that you can’t repent from and that you can’t be rescued from if you will repent and be determined to make the decision.
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Faith is a real power, not just an expression of belief.
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It has to be an awfully good meeting to beat having no meeting at all.
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It is in the ordinances of the temple that we are placed under covenant to Him….If we will enter into our covenants without reservation or apology, the Lord will protect us. We will receive inspiration sufficient for the challenges of life.
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True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior. Preoccupation with unworthy behavior can lead to unworthy behavior. That is why we stress so forcefully the study of the doctrines of the gospel.
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You are a child of God. He is father of your spirit. Spiritually you are of noble birth, the offspring of the King of Heaven. Fix that truth in your mind and hold to it. However many generations in your mortal ancestry, no matter what race or people you represent, the pedigree of your spirit can be written on a single line. You are a child of God!
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Latter-day Saints are not obedient because they are compelled to be obedient. They are obedient because they know certain spiritual truths and have decided, as an expression of their own individual agency, to obey the commandments of God. . . . We are not obedient because we are blind, we are obedient because we can see
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In many places it is literally not safe physically for youngsters to go to school. And in many schools, and its becoming almost generally true, it is spiritually unsafe to attend public schools. Look back over the history of education to the turn of the century and the beginning of the educational philosophies, pragmatism and humanism were the early ones, and they branched out into a number of other philosophies which have led us now into a circumstance where our schools are producing the problems that we face.
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The priesthood holds consummate power. It can protect you from the plague of pornography-and it is a plague-if you are succumbing to its influence. If one is obedient, the priesthood can show how to break a habit and even erase an addiction. Holders of the priesthood have that authority and should employ it to combat evil influences.
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Your secret yearnings and tearful pleadings will touch the heart of both the Father and the Son.
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I do not think it pleases the Lord when we worry because we think we never do enough or that what we do is never good enough.
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Some things that are true are not very useful.
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The idea that life began with mortal birth is preposterous. There is no way to explain life if you believe that.
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To suffer some anxiety, some depression, some disappointment, even some failure is normal.
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The spiritually starving hesitate to partake of the Spirit like a child's reaction to new and strange food. They must be offered a tiny bite on a spoon.