Elder Dallin H. Oaks

“There are cultures or traditions in some parts of the world that allow men to oppress women, but those abuses must not be carried into the families of the Church of Jesus Christ. Remember how Jesus taught: ‘Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, … but I say unto you …’ (Matt. 5:27–28). For example, the Savior contradicted the prevailing culture in His considerate treatment of women. Our guide must be the gospel culture He taught.”

Elder Dallin H. Oaks  |  “Priesthood Authority in the Family and the Church”

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We must never persecute those who do not share our beliefs and commitments. Regretfully, some persons facing these issues continue to feel marginalized and rejected by some members and leaders in our families, wards, and stakes. We must all strive to be kinder and more civil.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks  |  Two Great Commandments

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We must try to keep both of the great commandments. To do so, we walk a fine line between law and love—keeping the commandments and walking the covenant path, while loving our neighbors along the way. This walk requires us to seek divine inspiration on what to support and what to oppose and how to love and listen respectfully and teach in the process. Our walk demands that we not compromise on commandments but show forth a full measure of understanding and love.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks  |  Two Great Commandments

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The Savior taught the Nephites that they must always pray to the Father in his name, adding: “And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you” (3 Ne. 18:20).

Here the Savior reminds us that faith, no matter how strong it is, cannot produce a result contrary to the will of him whose power it is. The exercise of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is always subject to the order of heaven, to the goodness and will and wisdom and timing of the Lord. That is why we cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord’s will and in the Lord’s timing. When we have that kind of faith and trust in the Lord, we have true security in our lives. President Spencer W. Kimball said, “Security is not born of inexhaustible wealth but of unquenchable faith” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, 1982, pp. 72–73).

Elder Dallin H. Oaks  |  “Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,” Ensign, May 1994, p. 98

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“The majority of the revelations which are given to the children of God come when they are acting, not when they are relaxing in their habitations waiting for the Lord to tell them the first step they should make.”

Elder Dallin H. Oaks

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“Pornography impairs one’s ability to enjoy a normal emotional, romantic, and spiritual relationship with a person of the opposite sex. It erodes the moral barriers that stand against inappropriate, abnormal, or illegal behavior. As conscience is desensitized, patrons of pornography are led to act out what they have witnessed, regardless of its effects on their life and the lives of others.”

Elder Dallin H. Oaks  |  Pornography. Ensign, May 2005

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“We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families.”

Elder Dallin H. Oaks  |  “Good, Better, Best,” Liahona and Ensign, Nov. 2007, 107.

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“Some of our most important choices concern family activities. May breadwinners worry that their occupations leave too little time for their families. Here is no easy formula for that contest of priorities. However, I have never known of a man who looked back on his working life and said, “I just didn’t spend enough time with my job.”

Elder Dallin H. Oaks  |  "Good, Better, Best"

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“We are often left to work out problems, without the dictation or specific direction of the Spirit. That is part of the experience we must have in mortality. Fortunately, we are never out of our Savior’s sight, and if our judgment leads us to actions beyond the limits of what is permissible and if we are listening to the still small voice, the Lord will restrain us by the promptings of His Spirit.”

Elder Dallin H. Oaks  |  Teaching by the Spirit (address delivered at new mission presidents’ seminar, 22 June 1994), 8.

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“Some religious people have sought to justify practices of racism by references to the Bible, as I will discuss later. Nevertheless, the proper understanding of scriptures—ancient and ­modern—and recent prophetic statements help us to see that racism, as defined, is not consistent with the revealed word of God. We know that God created all mortals and we are all children of God. Moreover, God created us with the differences that identify races. Therefore, any personal attitudes or official practices of racism involve one group whom God created exercising authority or advantage over another group God created, both groups having God-given qualities they cannot change.

“So understood, neither group should think or behave as if God created them as first-class children and others as second-class children. Yet that is how racism affects thinking and practices toward others. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ must remember that all such attitudes and official practices were outlawed for us by the Lord’s 1833 revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith that “it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another.”

Elder Dallin H. Oaks  |  "Racism and Other Challenges"

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