Quotes By Elder Neal A. Maxwell
Elder Neal A. Maxwell served as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles from 1981–2004. Among others, Elder Maxwell’s most prominent books are All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience, Not My Will, but Thine and the Neal A. Maxwell Quote Book. Maxwell was known for his great mind and ability to articulate his thoughts elegantly.
“Brothers and sisters, the scriptures are like a developmental display window through which we can see gradual growth – along with this vital lesson: it is direction first, then velocity! Enoch’s unique people were improved “in process of time.” (Moses 7:21) Jesus “received not of the fulness at first, but received grace for grace” (D&C 93:12) and even He grew and “increased in wisdom and stature” (Luke 2:52).”
| “Not Withstanding My Weakness,” Ensign, November 1976
“God is in the details of our lives. He knows us perfectly, just as Jesus knew the woman of Samaria whom He quizzed as to her belief in the Messiah. She said, “I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things” (John 4:25). And Jesus said, “I that speak unto thee am he” (John 4:26). She went back to her village all excited and said she’d found the Messiah, and then, significantly, she said to the villagers, “He told me all that ever I did” (John 4:39).
“God knows us perfectly. He loves us perfectly. His only begotten son, Jesus, has invited us to “come, follow me.” In a real and majestic sense, each of us has been called to serve in His holy discipleship. May we all renew our desires and efforts to do so.”
| “Becoming a Disciple,” Ensign, June 1996
“Genuine discipleship also means that we are always on stage. Yes, there are private moments, but moving along the straight and narrow path is scarcely a solitary or an unobserved thing. Therefore, genuine meekness is required for enduring discipleship pursued or staged.”
One cannot have adequate faith in a Christ whom he does not adequately know, “who is a stranger . . . far from the thoughts and intents of his heart.” (Mosiah 5:13) Instead, by laying aside “every weight” of the world and the sins which so “easily beset us,” by looking unto Jesus and by feasting upon His words, we will be able to move forward with intellectual and spiritual vigor. Otherwise, as Paul said, we can become wearied and faint in our minds. (See Heb. 12:1–3; see also 2 Ne. 31:20.) When we understand what was revealed to Adam – “[my] plan of salvation unto all men” (Moses 6:62) – then these doctrines are keenly relevant for tomorrow’s trial, Tuesday’s temptation, or next month’s surge of self-pity. After all, chastening, the trial of our faith, and patience are part of the plan. (See Mosiah 23:21.) . . .
If sought by faith (see Rom. 9:30–32), these doctrines of the radiant restoration enclose us in divine purpose during our sojourn in this “far country.” Like the prodigal son who “came to himself,” we thus receive needed perspective and direction as we also begin to “arise and go to [our] Father.” (See Luke 15:11–32.) . .
We will not be strangers in the City of God. We were there before, when the morning stars sang together and the sons of God shouted for joy at the prospects of this stern but necessary mortal existence. (See Job 38:4–7.) . . .The trek will be proving and trying. Faith, patience, and obedience are essential (see Mosiah 23:21; Abr. 3:25), but he who completes the journey successfully will be immeasurably added upon. (See Abr. 3:26.) And he who does not will have subtracted from the sum of his possibilities. . . .
Doers, said Jesus, will know that these doctrines are of God. (See John 7:17.) Therefore, do not be surprised when nondoers scoff. Do not be surprised, either, if these doctrines unsettle some. Such was the case when the ancient Apostles filled Jerusalem with their doctrines. (See Acts 5:28.) And when Jesus focused His hearers on doctrines, “they were astonished at his doctrine.” (Matt. 22:33) The only cure for the doctrinal illiteracy of those who murmur will be to learn doctrine. (See Isa. 29:24)
| “Called and Prepared from the Foundation of the World,” General Conference, April 1986
“We live and teach amid a wide variety of individual personalities, experiences, cultures, languages, interests, and needs. Only the Spirit can compensate fully for such differences.”
| That Ye May Believe (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1992), 39.
“Jesus also exemplifies meekness and humility. Though ever supernal in His achievements, Christ always, always gave the glory to the Father whether in the first, second, or now in the third estate. He was and is Lord of the universe, who under the direction of the Father created “worlds without number” (Moses 1:33). Yet, He was willingly known as Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter’s son. The Lord of the Universe. He always knew who He was! He meekly partook of history’s most bitter cup without becoming bitter…Can we, in turn, partake of our tiny, bitter cups without becoming bitter? What a wonderful way for us to witness, especially to those we love the most! Can we overcome our drives for status and preeminence or our mundane desires merely to be one up on other people?”
| BYU Women’s Conference 2002, May 3, 2002
“Our faith in God must be strong, therefore, not only in behalf of ourselves and our own trials, but also upon seeing those human conditions involving human wickedness which are truly wrenching but which are permitted by God because of God-given but morally misused agency.”
“God is pervasively and lovingly in the details of things, yet does not constrict our moral agency in any way. Rather, in his perfect love and awareness, he pays perfect and strict attention to details. And his influence is felt in many ways that are quite remarkable even in what seem to be the smallest of life’s episodes. Why should we be surprised? Has he not told us that a hair shall not fall from the head unnoticed or a sparrow fall from the air? His divine attention is clearly far beyond our comprehension. But it is nevertheless a reality of which he has reassured us.”
“Alas, in our age, some arrogantly believe that if they cannot comprehend something, then God cannot comprehend it either.”
“God’s progression is in building world’s and bringing to pass the immortality and eternal life of man…Not his intelligence or knowledge, or virtue, or wisdom, or love, for these things are, as the scriptures teach, in a state of perfection.”