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.
“Because our lives are foreseen by God, he is never surprised by developments within our lives. The sudden loss of health, wealth, self-esteem, status, or a loved one – developments that may stun us – are foreseen by God, though not necessarily caused by him.”
“People truly matter more than stars do. Despite their longevity, we have never seen an immortal star, but, thanks to Jesus, we are immortal.”
“Someone has recently coined what is called the Gadarene Swine Law, which is, simply put, that just because a group is in formation does not mean that it is going in the right direction.”
“Therefore, what we insistently desire over time, is what we will eventually become and what we will receive in eternity.”
| “According to the Desire of [Our] Hearts,” Conference October 1996
“God does not send thunder if a still, small voice is enough.”
| Ensign, November 1976, p. 14
“Creative expression can also represent the celebration of our gratitude to God for our gifts and talents.”
| “Creativity,” New Era, Aug. 1982, 4
“God does not begin by asking us about our ability, but only about our availability, and if we then prove our dependability, he will increase our capability!”
| Ensign, July 1975, p. 7
“There is also a dimension of patience which links it to a special reverence for life. Patience is a willingness, in a sense, to watch the unfolding purposes of God with a sense of wonder and awe, rather than pacing up and down within the cell of our circumstance. Put another way, too much anxious opening of the oven door and the cake falls instead of rising. So it is with us. If we are always selfishly taking our temperature to see if we are happy, we will not be…When we are impatient, we are neither reverential nor reflective because we are too self-centered. Whereas faith and patience are companions, so are selfishness and impatience. It is so easy to be confrontive without being informative; so easy to be indignant without being intelligent; so easy to be impulsive without being insightful. It is so easy to command others when we are not in control of ourselves.”
| Patience, BYUDA 11/79
“Even the gifts of God are of little final use, if one has not developed the quality of charity. I hope we understand the implications of those words. Without charity we can’t go to the upper rooms of the celestial kingdom. It is just as essential as baptism. So what we are to do and what we are to be are incredibly important.”
| address at New Mission Presidents Seminar, Church News, July 2, 1994, p. 5
“One scientist, who probably doesn’t believe in divine design, nevertheless noted that ‘As we look out into the universe and identify the many accidents of physics and astronomy that have worked together to our benefit, it almost seems as if the universe must in some sense have known we were coming.”