Elder Neal A. Maxwell

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.

“If we will keep our covenants, our covenants will keep us spiritually safe.”

Elder Neal A. Maxwell | Ensign, May 1987, p. 71

Topics: Being Spiritual & Spirituality, Maturity, Ordinances

“I believe it was George Macdonald who reminded us that the only door out of the dungeon of self is the love of one’s neighbor. How proud we ought to be, in a quiet way, that we are members of the church of the most selfless being who ever lived. How proud we ought to be to belong to a church that makes specific demands of us and gives us specific things to do and marks the strait and narrow way, lest we fall off one side of the precipice or the other. I am so grateful that God loves us enough to teach us specifically. Had secularists written the Ten Commandments, they might have said, “Thou shalt not be a bad person.” Note what the Ten Commandments say: “Thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not covet, thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, thou shalt not commit adultery,” and so on. The gospel of Jesus Christ is specific because God cares specifically for each of us and, caring for us, will mark the way carefully lest we fall out of happiness.

“A vague creed is fitted only for a vague God. We have a Father who loves us specifically and gives us things to do and, because he loves us, will cause us, at times, to have our souls stretched and to be fitted for a better world by coping with life in this world.

“May God bless us with that kind of commitment, with the capacity to be serious disciples and to accept both the agendum that he has prepared for each of us because he loves us and the curriculum, prepared for each of us, which he has customized to teach us the things we most need to know, because he loves us.”

Elder Neal A. Maxwell | “But For a Small Moment,” BYU Fireside, September 1, 1974

Topics: Discipleship

“True faith is not to be brought about by overwhelming and intimidating intervention from God”

Elder Neal A. Maxwell | “Not My Will, But Thine.” Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1988.

Topics: Faith, Miracles, Work

“The less love, the less service.”

Elder Neal A. Maxwell | All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience

Topics: Charity, Love, Service

“Jacob, in 2 Nephi 9:41, in speaking of the straight and narrow, reminds us that ‘the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel’ and that Jesus ‘employeth no servant there.’ The emphasis rightly is on the fact that Jesus ‘cannot be deceived.’ There is another dimension of reassurance, too: not only will the ultimate judgment not be delegated in order to serve the purposes of divine justice, but also divine mercy can best be applied by him who knows these things what only he can know.”

Elder Neal A. Maxwell | For the Power Is in Them (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1970), 37.

Topics: Final Judgement, Justice, Mercy

“Real hope is much more than wishful musing. Hope is realistic anticipation taking the form of determination – a determination not merely to survive but to “endure . . . well” to the end. In the geometry of restored theology, hope has a greater circumference than faith. If faith increases, the perimeter of hope stretches correspondingly. Hope keeps us “anxiously engaged” in good causes even when these appear to be losing causes. Those with true hope often see their personal circumstances shaken, like kaleidoscopes, again and again. Yet with the “eye of faith,” they still see divine pattern and purpose. Whatever our particular furrow, we are to “plow in hope,” without looking back or letting yesterday hold tomorrow hostage.”

Elder Neal A. Maxwell | Ensign, November 1994

Topics: Faith, Hope, Work

“Whether young or old, we need to be good friends, but also to pick our friends carefully. By choosing the Lord first, choosing one’s friends becomes easier and much safer. Consider the contrasting friendships in the city of Enoch compared to peers in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah! The citizens of the city of Enoch chose Jesus and a way of life, then became everlasting friends. So much depends on whom and what we seek first.”

Elder Neal A. Maxwell

Topics: Friendship, Secularism (Worldliness), Wisdom