Gordon B. Hinckley

Quotes By LDS Prophet & Apostle Gordon B. Hinckley

Gordon B. Hinckley was an Apostle and President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served as the 15th President of the Church from 1995 until his death in 2008. He was known for his emphasis on missionary work, the building of temples, and the strengthening of the Church’s youth programs.

“It is so important that you young men and you young women get all of the education that you can. The Lord has said very plainly that His people are to gain knowledge of countries and kingdoms and of things of the world through the process of education, even by study and by faith. Education is the key which will unlock the door of opportunity for you. It is worth sacrificing for. It is worth working at, and if you educate your mind and your hands, you will be able to make a great contribution to the society of which you are a part, and you will be able to reflect honorably on the Church of which you are a member. My dear young brothers and sisters, take advantage of every educational opportunity that you can possibly afford, and you fathers and mothers, encourage your sons and daughters to gain an education, which will bless their lives.”

Gordon B. Hinckley

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Now, do not get me wrong. I am not here to say that if you pay an honest tithing you will realize your dream of a fine house, a Rolls Royce, and a condominium in Hawaii. The Lord will open the windows of heaven according to our need, and not according to our greed. If we are paying tithing to get rich, we are doing it for the wrong reason. The basic purpose for tithing is to provide the Church with the means needed to carry on His work. The blessing to the giver is an ancillary return, and that blessing may not be always in the form of financial or material benefit.

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  Tithing:An Opportunity to Prove Our Faithfulness

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“My children and I were at her bedside as she slipped peacefully into eternity. As I held her hand and saw mortal life drain from her fingers, I confess I was overcome. Before I married her, she had been the girl of my dreams, to use the words of a song then popular. She was my dear companion for more than two-thirds of a century, my equal before the Lord, really my superior. And now in my old age, she has again become the girl of my dreams.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  The Women in Our Lives

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“Effective teaching is the very essence of leadership in the church. Eternal life will come only as men and women are taught with such effectiveness that they change and discipline their lives. They cannot be coerced into righteousness or into heaven. They must be led, and that means teaching.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  "How to Be a Teacher When Your Role as a Leader Requires You to Teach"

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“There are few things more pathetic than those who have lost their curiosity and sense of adventure, and who no longer care to learn.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  Way to Be!: 9 Rules For Living the Good Life

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“People inquire about our position on those who consider themselves so-called gays and lesbians. My response is that we love them as sons and daughters of God. They may have certain inclinations which are powerful and which may be difficult to control. Most people have inclinations of one kind or another at various times. If they do not act upon these inclinations, then they can go forward as do all other members of the Church. If they violate the law of chastity and the moral standards of the Church, then they are subject to the discipline of the Church, just as others are”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  “What Are People Asking about Us?” Oct. 1998 general conference

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“Pray for the strength to walk the high road, which at times may be lonely but which will lead to peace and happiness and joy supernal.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  "Stay on the High Road", May 2004 Ensign Pg 112

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“Many of our people are living on the very edge of their incomes. In fact, some are living on borrowings… I urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt to the extent possible. Pay off debt as quickly as you can, and free yourselves from bondage.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  “To the Boys and to the Men,” Liahona, Jan. 1999, 65–66; Ensign, Nov. 1998, 53–54.

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The Sabbath of the Lord is becoming the play day of the people. It is a day of golf and football on television, of buying and selling in our stores and markets. Are we moving to mainstream America as some observers believe? In this I fear we are. What a telling thing it is to see the parking lots of the markets filled on Sunday in communities that are predominately LDS. Our strength for the future, our resolution to grow the Church across the world, will be weakened if we violate the will of the Lord in this important matter. He has so very clearly spoken anciently and again in modern revelation. We cannot disregard with impunity that which He has said.

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  Look to the Future

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How do we prepare for the Second Coming? Well, you just do not worry about it. You just live the kind of life that if the Second Coming were to be tomorrow you would be ready. Nobody knows when it is going to happen. No one knows when the Savior is coming, not even the angels in heaven. Our responsibility is to prepare ourselves, to live worthy of the association of the Savior, to deport ourselves in such a way that we would not be embarrassed if He were to come among us. That is a challenge in this day and age.

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  Weber State University, Institute Devotional, April 15, 1997

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“As parents, we should remember that our lives may be the book from the family library which the children most treasure. Are our examples worthy of emulation? Do we live in such a way that a son or a daughter may say, ‘I want to follow my dad,’ or ‘I want to be like my mother’? Unlike the book on the library shelf, the covers of which shield its contents, our lives cannot be closed. Parents, we truly are an open book in the library of learning of our homes.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  Ensign, Nov. 2000, 65.

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“You are good. But it is not enough just to be good. You must be good for something. You must contribute good to the world. The world must be a better place for your presence. And the good that is in you must spread to others. In this world so filled with problems, so constantly threatened by dark and evil challenges, you can and must rise above mediocrity, above indifference.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes

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I think it has been taught by some . . . that if a wife does not love her husband in this state she cannot love him in the next. This is not so. Those who attain to the blessing of the first resurrection will be pure and holy, and perfect in body. Every man and woman that reaches to this unspeakable attainment will be as beautiful as the angels that surround the throne of God. If you can, by faithfulness in this life, obtain the right to come up in the morning of the resurrection, you need entertain no fears that the wife will be dissatisfied with her husband, or the husband with the wife; for those of the first resurrection will be free from sin and from the consequences and power of sin.

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  (1862). Future state of existence. In Journal of Discourses, 10, 24.

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“I marvel at the miracle of the human mind and body. Have you ever contemplated the wonders of yourself, the eyes with which you see, the ears with which you hear, the voice with which you speak? No camera ever built can compare with the human eye. No method of communication ever devised can compare with the voice and the ear. No pump ever built will run as long or as efficiently as the human heart. No computer or other creation of science can equal the human brain. What a remarkable thing you are. You can think by day and dream by night. You can speak and hear and smell.”

Gordon B. Hinckley

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“We hope that through the payment of liberal fast offerings there will be more than enough to provide for the needs of the less fortunate. If every member of this church observed the fast and contributed generously, the poor and the needy – not only of the Church, but many others as well, would be blessed and provided for. Every giver would be blessed in body and spirit, and the hungry would be fed, the naked clothed according to need.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  “Rise to a Larger Vision of the Work,” Ensign, May 1990, p. 95

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Our bodies are the work of our Creator. When we abuse them, we abuse him.

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  “What Shall I Do Then with Jesus Which Is Called Christ?”

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“Be grateful, be smart, be clean, be true, be humble, be prayerful.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  Way To Be!: 9 Rules For Living The Good Life

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There has been laid upon the Church a tremendous responsibility. Tithing is the source of income for the Church to carry forward its mandated activities. The need is always greater than the availability. God help us to be faithful in observing this great principle which comes from him with his marvelous promise.

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  Tithing:An Opportunity to Prove Our Faithfulness

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“This church does not belong to its President. Its head is the Lord Jesus Christ, whose name each of us has taken upon ourselves. We are all in this great endeavor together. We are here to assist our Father in His work and His glory. . . . Your obligation is as serious in your sphere of responsibility as is my obligation in my sphere. No calling in this church is small or of little consequence.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  This is the Work of the Master

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In that first bright Easter morn, Peter and John ran with alarm to the empty tomb, into which had been placed the lifeless body of the Savior Jesus Christ just days before. Similar concern must have filled the mind of Mary Magdalene as she gazed into the sepulcher now void of the body of the Master. Confusion and dismay were not to last, however, as the Resurrected Lord made manifest to those so dear to Him in life the reality of eternal life and the miracle of the Resurrection. (See John 20.)

We now rejoice with all of faithful Christendom at the marvelous message of the Resurrection. By virtue of His loving gift of life, each of us will rise from the grave, body and spirit joined together inseparably throughout eternity.

We proclaim that the “bands of death” (Mosiah 15:8) have, in very deed, been broken for the children of men. Each of us may lay aside all wonder, all fear of the darkness of death and rejoice, “having a perfect brightness of hope.” (3 Nephi 31:20)

We offer our solemn testimony that He lives; that the blessings of the Resurrection will be realized for each of us. We join with you in an expression of humble gratitude for His willing sacrifice and pray the blessings of heaven will attend us all, as we commemorate at this Easter time the hope and eternal promise of the Resurrection.

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  The First Presidency Easter Message [Gordon B. Hinckley, Thomas S. Monson, James E. Faust], March 1997

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“None of us will become perfect in a day or a month or a year. We will not accomplish it in a lifetime, but we can begin now, starting with our more obvious weaknesses and gradually converting them into strengths.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  Standing for Something

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“As you read of the life and teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ, you will draw closer to Him who is the author of our salvation”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  “Rise to the Stature of the Divine within You,” Ensign, Nov. 1989, 97

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“Good books are as good friends, willing to give to us if we are willing to make a little effort.”

Gordon B. Hinckley

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“I ask anew the question offered by Pilate two thousand years ago, ‘What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?’ Indeed, we need continually to ask ourselves, What shall we do with Jesus who is called Christ? What shall we do with his teachings, and how can we make them an inseparable part of our lives? In light of these questions, at this season we ask another: What does Christmas really mean?”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  “What Shall I Do Then with Jesus Which Is Called Christ?”

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“It is not an easy thing to become a member of this Church. In most cases it involves setting aside old habits, leaving old friends and associations, and stepping into a new society which is different and somewhat demanding. With the ever-increasing number of converts, we must make an increasingly substantial effort to assist them as they find their way. Every one of them needs three things: a friend, a responsibility, and nurturing with ‘the good word of God’ . It is our duty and opportunity to provide these things.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  “Converts and Young Men”

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“Faith is like the muscle of my arm. If I use it, if I nurture it, it grows strong; it will do many things. But if I put it in a sling and do nothing with it, it will grow weak and useless, and so will it be with you. If you accept every opportunity, if you accept every calling, the Lord will make it possible for you to perform it. The Church will not ask you to do anything which you cannot do with the help of the Lord.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  Words of the Living Prophet

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“The Lord has made us attractive one to another for a great purpose. But this very attraction becomes as a powder keg unless it is kept under control. It is beautiful when handled in the right way. It is deadly if it gets out of hand…It is better, my friends, to date a variety of companions until you are ready to marry. Have a wonderful time, but stay away from familiarity. Keep your hands to yourself. It may not be easy, but it is possible.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  “A Prophet’s Counsel and Prayer for Youth,” New Era, Jan. 2001, 13.

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What a marvelous and wonderful thing it is, this powerful conviction that says the Church is true. It is God’s holy work. He overrules in the things of His kingdom and in the lives of His sons and daughters. This is the reason for the growth of the Church. The strength of this cause and kingdom is not found in its temporal assets, impressive as they may be. It is found in the hearts of its people. That is why it is successful. That is why it is strong and growing. That is why it is able to accomplish the wonderful things that it does. It all comes of the gift of faith, bestowed by the Almighty upon His children who doubt not and fear not, but go forward.

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  Conference, April 2001

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God is weaving his tapestry according to his own grand design. All flesh is in his hands. It is not our prerogative to counsel him. It is our responsibility and our opportunity to be at peace in our minds and in our hearts, and to know that he is God, that this is his work, and that he will not permit it to fail.

We have no need to fear. We have no need to worry. We have no need to speculate. Our imperative need is to be found doing our duty individually in the callings which have come to us.

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  “He Slumbers Not, nor Sleeps,” Ensign, May 1983

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“There is no more compelling motivation to worthwhile endeavor than the knowledge that we are children of God, that God expects us to do something with our lives, and that He will give us help when help is sought.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes

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Unfortunately a few of you may be married to men who are abusive. Some of them put on a fine face before the world during the day and come home in the evening, set aside their self-discipline, and on the slightest provocation fly into outbursts of anger.

No man who engages in such evil and unbecoming behavior is worthy of the priesthood of God. No man who so conducts himself is worthy of the privileges of the house of the Lord. I regret that there are some men undeserving of the love of their wives and children. There are children who fear their fathers, and wives who fear their husbands. If there be any such men within the hearing of my voice, as a servant of the Lord I rebuke you and call you to repentance. Discipline yourselves. Master your temper. Most of the things that make you angry are of very small consequence. And what a terrible price you are paying for your anger. Ask the Lord to forgive you. Ask your wife to forgive you. Apologize to your children.

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  Women of the Church

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“The whole gamut of human endeavor is now open to women. There is not anything that you cannot do if you will set your mind to it. I am grateful that women today are afforded the same opportunity to study for science, for the professions, and for every other facet of human knowledge. You are as entitled as are men to the Spirit of Christ, which enlightens every man and woman who comes into the world. . . You can include in the dream of the woman you would like to be a picture of one qualified to serve society and make a significant contribution to the world of which she will be a part.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  “How Can I Become the Woman of Whom I Dream?”

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“Cultivate an attitude of happiness. Cultivate a spirit of optimism. Walk with faith, rejoicing in the beauties of nature, in the goodness of those you love, in the testimony which you carry in your heart concerning things divine.”

Gordon B. Hinckley

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“The habit of saying thank you is the mark of a cultivated mind.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  Way to Be!: 9 Rules For Living the Good Life

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“Our behavior in public must be above reproach. Our behavior in private is even more important. It must clear the standard set by the Lord. We cannot indulge in sin, let alone try to cover our sins. We cannot gratify our pride. We cannot partake of the vanity of unrighteous ambition. We cannot exercise control, or dominion, or compulsion upon our wives or children, or any others in any degree of unrighteousness.

“If we do any of these things, the powers of heaven are withdrawn. The Spirit of the Lord is grieved. The very virtue of our priesthood is nullified. Its authority is lost. . . .How tragic and utterly disgusting a phenomenon is wife abuse. Any man in this Church who abuses his wife, who demeans her, who insults her, who exercises unrighteous dominion over her is unworthy to hold the priesthood. Though he may have been ordained, the heavens will withdraw, the Spirit of the Lord will be grieved, and it will be amen to the authority of the priesthood of that man.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  “Personal Worthiness to Exercise the Priesthood,” General Conference, April 2002

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“Integrity is at the heart of commerce in the world in which we live. Honesty and integrity comprise the very underpinnings of society…..Indeed, the strength and safety of any organization-including the family-lie in the integrity of its members. Without personal integrity, there can be no confidence. Without confidence, there can be no prospect of permanent success.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  Standing for Something: Ten Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes

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“It is possible to be honest every day. It is possible to live so that others can trust us-can trust our words, our motives, and our actions. Our examples are vital to those who sit at our feet as well as those who watch from a distance. Our own constant self-improvement will become as a polar star to those within our individual spheres of influence. They will remember longer what they saw in us than what they heard from us. Our attitude, our point of view, can make a tremendous difference.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  Standing for Something: Ten Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes

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“Sloppy language and sloppy ways go together. Those who are truly educated have learned more than the sciences, the humanities, law, engineering, and the arts. They carry with them a certain polish that marks them as loving the better qualities of life, a culture that adds luster to the mundane world of which they are apart, a patina that puts a quiet glow on what otherwise might be base metal.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  Stand a Little Taller

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“When I say do your best, I mean do your very best. You are capable of so much more.”

Gordon B. Hinckley

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“Reformation of the world begins with reformation of self. We cannot hope to influence others in the direction of moral virtue unless we live lives of virtue. The example of our virtuous living will carry a greater influence than will all the preaching, postulating, and theorizing in which we might indulge. We cannot expect to lift others unless we are standing on higher ground.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes

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This cause will roll on in majesty and power to fill the earth. Doors now closed to the preaching of the gospel will be opened. The Almighty, if necessary, may have to shake the nations to humble them and cause them to listen to the servants of the living God. Whatever is needed will come to pass.

Gordon B. Hinckley

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“We can observe that Word of Wisdom. We receive numerous letters inquiring whether this item or that item is proscribed by the Word of Wisdom. If we will avoid those things which are definitely and specifically defined, and beyond this observe the spirit of that great revelation, it will not involve a burden. It will, rather, bring a blessing. Do not forget: it is the Lord who has made the promise.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  Ensign, November 1985, p. 85

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Get on your knees and pray, then get on your feet and work.

Gordon B. Hinckley

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The Lord expects us to keep the Sabbath Day holy. I can’t understand why anyone thinks that he or she has to shop on Sunday. We have refrigerators. . . . You don’t need to buy meat on Sunday. You don’t need to buy milk on Sunday. None of these things. You don’t need to buy furniture on Sunday. You don’t need to buy automobiles on Sunday. You don’t need to do any of these things on the Sabbath Day. The Lord, from the time of Sinai has declared unequivocally that we should keep the Sabbath Day holy. It is just that simple, but He has said again…that we will be blessed if we do so.

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  Sandy Utah Central Regional conference, January 25, 1998. President Gordon B. Hinckley, Church News, March 14, 1998, p. 14

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“One of my favorite newspaper columnists is Jenkin Lloyd Jones. In a recent article published in the News, he commented: ‘There seems to be a superstition among many thousands of our young who hold hands and smooch in the drive-ins that marriage is a cottage surrounded by perpetual hollyhocks, to which a perpetually young and handsome husband comes home to a perpetually young and ravishing wife. When the hollyhocks wither and boredom and bills appear, the divorce courts are jammed. Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he’s been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just ordinary people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. …Life is like an old-time rail journey — delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.’”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  God Shall Give unto You Knowledge by His Holy Spirit

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“Your chances for a happy and lasting marriage will be far greater if you will date those who are active and faithful in the Church.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  “Four B’s for Boys,” Ensign, Nov. 1981, 41.

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“no member of the Church has received the ultimate which this Church had to give until he or she has received his or her temple blessings in the house of the Lord.

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  Some Thoughts on Temples, Retention of Converts, and Missionary Service

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“The happiness of the Latter-day Saints, the peace of the Latter-day Saints, the progress of the Latter-day Saints, the prosperity of the Latter-day Saints, and the eternal salvation and exaltation of this people lie in walking in obedience to the counsels of the priesthood of God.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  “If Ye Be Willing and Obedient”

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“If we are worried about the future, then we must look today at the upbringing of children.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes

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“The things of God are understood by the Spirit of God. That Spirit is real. To those who have experienced its workings, the knowledge so gained is as real as that received through the operation of the five senses. I testify of this. . . . I urge you to continue throughout your lives to cultivate a heart in tune with the Spirit. If you do so, your lives will be enriched. You will feel a kinship with God our Eternal Father. You will taste the sweetness of joy that can be had in no other way.”

Gordon B. Hinckley  |  CES Fireside, September 9, 2001

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