70+ LDS Quotes By Spencer W. Kimball

I am confident that when we come back with our body again, there will be no aches or pains. There will be no wrinkles or deformities. I am sure that if we can imagine ourselves at our very best, physically, mentally, spiritually, that is the way we will come back – perhaps not as a child or youth, perhaps in sweet and glorious maturity, but not in age or infirmity or distress or pain or aches.

The meaning of death has not changed. It releases a spirit for growth and development and places a body in the repair shop of Mother Earth, there to be recast, remolded into a perfect body, an immortal glorious temple, clean, whole, perfected, and ready for its occupant for eternity.

Spencer W. Kimball | Teaching of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 45

Topics: Body (Physical), Resurrection

“Enter this door as if the floors were paved with Gold; And every wall of jewels all of wealth untold; As if a choir in robes of fire were singing here; No shout nor rush, but hush, for God is here.”

Spencer W. Kimball | The Things Of Eternity

Topics: Temples

“Fathers and mothers, your foremost responsibility is your family. By working together you can have the kind of home the Lord expects you to have. By showing love and consideration for one another and for your children, you can build a reservoir of spiritual strength that will never run dry.”

Spencer W. Kimball

Topics: Family, Fathers & Fatherhood, Mothers & Motherhood, Parenting

“I am impressed that our various Church programs are like keys on the keyboard of a piano. Some of the keys are used much more often than others, but all of them are needed from time to time to produce harmony and balance in our lives. So often, therefore, what we are doing in our various talks and meetings is to remind ourselves of the need for balance, the need for fresh emphasis here or there, and the need to do the things that matter most without leaving the other things undone.”

Spencer W. Kimball | Conference Report, Apr. 1976, 70; or Ensign, May 1976, 46

Topics: Church Organization, Mormon Culture, Priorities

“But is prayer only one-way communication? No! . . . At the end of our prayers, we need to do some intense listening – even for several minutes. We have prayed for counsel and help. Now we must “be still and know that [He is] God” (Ps. 46:10).”

Spencer W. Kimball | Ensign, October 1981, p. 5

Topics: Personal Revelation, Prayer

“Let us remember, too, that greatness is not always a matter of the scale of one’s life, but of the quality of one’s life. True greatness is not always tied to the scope of our tasks, but to the quality of how we carry out our tasks whatever they are. In that attitude, let us give our time, ourselves, and our talents to the things that really matter now, things which will still matter a thousand years from now.”

Spencer W. Kimball | “First Presidency Message: A Gift of Gratitude,” Liahona, December 1977, p. 1

Topics: Goals, Potential, Purpose

“The evil one knows where to attack. He is going to attack the home. He is going to destroy the family. That’s what he wants to do. … Let us make up our minds he will not do it in our families.”

Spencer W. Kimball

Topics: Family, Satan

“Family life is the best method for achieving happiness in this world, and it is a clear pattern given to us from the Lord about what is to be in the next world.”

Spencer W. Kimball

Topics: Family, Happiness

“Sow a thought, reap an act; Sow an act, reap a habit; Sow a habit, reap a character; Sow a character, reap an eternal destiny.”

Spencer W. Kimball | The Miracle of Forgiveness

Topics: Habits

“The statement, “As a man thinketh, so is he,” could equally well be rendered “As a man thinketh, so does he.” If one thinks it long enough he is likely to do it.”

Spencer W. Kimball | The Miracle of Forgiveness

Topics: Habits, Thoughts

“Destroy the seed and the plant will never grow. Man alone, of all creatures of earth, can change his thought pattern and become the architect of his destiny.”

Spencer W. Kimball | The Miracle of Forgiveness

Topics: Addiction, Self-mastery

“Jesus said several times, ‘Come, follow me.’ His was a program of “do what I do,” rather than “do what I say.” His innate brilliance would have permitted him to put on a dazzling display, but that would have left his followers far behind. He walked and worked with those he was to serve. His was not a long-distance leadership. He was not afraid of close friendships; he was not afraid that proximity to him would disappoint his followers. The leaven of true leadership cannot lift others unless we are with and serve those to be led.”

Spencer W. Kimball

Topics: Example, Friendship, Leadership

“Being human, we would expel from our lives sorrow, distress, physical pain, and mental anguish and assure ourselves of continual ease and comfort. But if we closed the doors upon such, we might be evicting our greatest friends and benefactors. Suffering can make saints of people as they learn patience, long-suffering, and self-mastery. The sufferings of our Savior were part of his education.”

Spencer W. Kimball | The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball (1982), 168

Topics: Education, Mortality, Self-mastery, Trials

“We have repeatedly affirmed the position of the Church in unalterably opposing all abortions, except in two rare instances: When conception is the result of forcible rape and when competent medical counsel indicates that a mother’s health would otherwise be seriously jeopardized.”

Spencer W. Kimball | “A Report and a Challenge,” Ensign, Nov. 1976, 6; see also “The Time to Labor Is Now,” Ensign, Nov. 1975, 6.

Topics: Abortion, Abuse, Mothers & Motherhood

“[The keys] will be given to those who have passed off this stage of action and have received their bodies again. . . . They will be ordained, by those who hold the keys of the resurrection, to go forth and resurrect the Saints, just as we receive the ordinance of baptism then receive the keys of authority to baptize others for the remission of their sins. This is one of the ordinances we can not receive here [on the earth], and there are many more.” (JD, 15:137)

Spencer W. Kimball | “Our Great Potential,” Ensign, May 1977

Topics: Baptism, Baptisms for the Dead, Priesthood, Resurrection

“If you were to select just two or three individuals in your life who have been most influential, what specifically did they do that was most helpful to you at a critical or important time in your life? On reflecting for a few moments, you are apt to conclude that such a person really cared for you, that he or she taught you something you needed to know. Reflect now upon your own performance.”

Spencer W. Kimball

Topics: Example, Leadership

“Stake president, bishops, and branch presidents, please take particular interest in improving the quality of teaching in the Church. I fear that all too often many of our members come to church, sit through a class or a meeting, and then return home having been largely uninspired. It is especially unfortunate when this happens at a time of stress, temptation, or crisis [in their life]. We all need to be touched and nurtured by the Spirit, and effective teaching is one of the most important ways this can happen. We often do vigorous work to get members to come to Church but then do not adequately watch over what they receive when they do come.”

Spencer W. Kimball | "Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball"

Topics: Sabbath Day, Teaching

“The Lord can judge men by their thoughts as well as by what they say and do, for He knows even the intents of their hearts; but this is not true of humans. We hear what people say, we see what they do, but being unable to discern what they think or intend, we often judge wrongfully if we try to fathom the meaning of motives behind their actions and place on them our own interpretation.”

Spencer W. Kimball | The Miracle of Forgiveness

Topics: Forgiveness

“The great volume of revelation … come[s] to today’s prophets in the less spectacular way—that of deep impressions, but without spectacle or glamour or dramatic events accompanying. Expecting the spectacular, one may not be fully alerted to the constant flow of revealed communication.”

Spencer W. Kimball | “To His Servants the Prophets,” Instructor, Aug. 1960, 257.

Topics: Apostle, Prophets, Revelation

“Unless the way we live draws us closer to our Heavenly Father and to our fellow men, there will be an enormous emptiness in our lives. God does notice us and watches over us, but it is usually through another person that He meets our needs. Therefore it is vital that we serve each other.”

Spencer W. Kimball

Topics: Being Called & Callings, Service

“We do have miracles today—beyond imagination! …What kinds of miracles do we have? All kinds—revelations, visions, tongues, healings, special guidance and direction, evil spirits cast out. Where are they recorded? In the records of the Church, in journals, in news and magazine articles and in the minds and memories of many people.”

Spencer W. Kimball | “The Significance of Miracles in the Church Today,” Instructor, Dec. 1959, 396.

Topics: Journaling, Miracles, Spiritual Gifts

Let us not be like the Church member who partakes of the sacrament in the morning, then defiles the Sabbath that afternoon by cleaning the house or by watching television or by choosing an afternoon of sleep over an afternoon of service.

Spencer W. Kimball | “The Example of Abraham,” Ensign, June 1975

Topics: Sabbath Day, Sacrament

“A great person is reverent. He will be deferential in a house of worship even though he be the only soul therein. No congregation was assembled when the Lord commanded Moses: “Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground!” [See Exodus 3:5.] Presiding officers should plan so carefully that no whispering would be heard or seen on the stand. Parents should train and discipline their children and sit with them (except where class groups are supervised). Ushers should be trained to quietly care for seating with a minimum of disturbance. Attenders should arrive early, do their friendly greeting in subdued tones, slow their step, find seats toward the front, and sit in quiet contemplative mood. All should participate as fully as possible—singing with the singers, praying with him who prays, partaking of the sacrament with a grateful heart and a reconsecration to covenants previously made. An opportunity is given to follow sympathetically lessons that are taught, the sermons that are preached and the testimonies that are borne, judging not by eloquence but by sincerity. Here is a chance to drink deeply from fountain heads, for the humblest teacher or speaker will contribute thought which can be developed. As we quietly enter the door of the chapel we may leave behind us outside all criticisms, worries, and cares—all occupational, political, social, and recreational plans—and calmly give ourselves to contemplation and to worship. We may bathe in the spiritual atmosphere. We may devote ourselves to learning, repenting, forgiving, testifying, appreciating, and loving.”

Spencer W. Kimball | “Chapter 15: We Should Be a Reverent People,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball (2006), 154–64

Topics: Reverence, Sabbath Day, Sacrament

“We are a throw-away people. … Now we ask you to clean up your homes and your farms. ‘Man is the keeper of the land, and not its possessor.’ … We look forward to the day when, in all our communities, urban and rural, there would be a universal, continued movement to clean and repair … and to make our properties a thing of beauty to behold. … Therefore, we urge each of you to dress and keep in a beautiful state the property that is in your hands.”

Spencer W. Kimball | “God Will Not Be Mocked,” Ensign, Nov. 1974

Topics: Nature

“God is good. He is eager to forgive. He wants us to perfect ourselves and maintain control of ourselves. He does not want Satan and others to control our lives. We must learn that keeping our Heavenly Father’s commandments represents the only path to total control of ourselves, the only way to find joy, truth, and fulfillment in this life and in eternity.”

Spencer W. Kimball

Topics: Forgiveness, Nature of God, Repentance

“Our vision is completely obscured when we have no mirror to hold up to our own faults and look only for the foibles of others. When we follow the instructions of the Lord, we are kept so busy perfecting ourselves that we come to realize that the faults of others are small in comparison.”

Spencer W. Kimball | The Miracle of Forgiveness

Topics: Forgiveness, Perfection

“Fatherhood is leadership, the most important kind of leadership. It has always been so: it always will be so. Father, with the assistance and counsel and encouragement of your eternal companion, you preside in the home. It is not a matter of whether you are most worthy or best qualified, but it is a matter of law and appointment. You preside at the meal table, at family prayer. You preside at family home evening; and as guided by the Spirit of the Lord, you see that your children are taught correct principles. It is your place to give direction relating to all of family life. You give father’s blessings. You take an active part in establishing family rules and discipline. As a leader in your home you plan and sacrifice to achieve the blessing of a unified and happy family. To do all of this requires that you live a family-centered life.”

Spencer W. Kimball | “The Example of Abraham,” Ensign, June 1975, p. 3

Topics: Family, Fathers & Fatherhood, Leadership

“Strange as it may seem, some Latter-day Saints, faithful in all other respects, justify themselves in missing their church meetings on occasion for recreational purposes, feeling that the best fishing will be missed if one is not on the stream on opening day or that the vacation will not be long enough if one does not set off on Sunday or that one will miss a movie he wanted to see if he does not go on the Sabbath. And in their breach of the Sabbath they often take their families with them.”

Spencer W. Kimball | (Ensign, January 1978) — Church News, July 6, 2002, p. 16

Topics: Sabbath Day

“How long has it been since you took your children, whatever their size, in your arms and told them that you love them and are glad that they can be yours forever?”

Spencer W. Kimball

Topics: Family, Parenting

We mention another matter of importance. We note that in our Christian world in many places we still have business establishments open for business on the sacred Sabbath. We are sure the cure of this lies in ourselves, the buying public. Certainly the stores and business houses would not remain open if we, the people, failed to purchase from them. Will you all please reconsider this matter. Take it to your home evenings and discuss it with your children. It would be wonderful if every family determined that henceforth no Sabbath purchase would be made.

Spencer W. Kimball | Conference Report, October 1975

Topics: Sabbath Day

The commandments and standards of morality set by the Lord himself are under attack on every hand. There are false teachers everywhere using speech and pornographic literature, magazines, radio, TV, street talk—spreading heresies which break down moral standards.

Spencer W. Kimball | 1980–O:4, Spencer W. Kimball, Families Can Be Eternal

Topics: Morality

“We read in the papers and hear on TV constantly that the world ‘is in an awful mess.’ Not true! The world is still most beautiful. It is man who is off center. The sun still illumines the day and gives light and life to all things; the moon still brightens the night; oceans still feed the world and provide transportation; rivers still drain the land, and provide irrigation water to nourish crops. Even the ravages of time have not sloughed off the majesty of the mountains. Flowers still bloom and birds still sing, and children still laugh and play.”

Spencer W. Kimball | The Miracle of Forgiveness

Topics: Nature

“The height of a man’s success is gauged by his self-mastery; the depth of his failure by his self-abandonment. There is no other limitation in either direction. And this law is the expression of eternal justice. He who cannot establish a dominion over himself will have no dominion over others, he who masters himself shall be king.”

Spencer W. Kimball | Improvement Era, June 1966, p. 525.

Topics: Profanity, Self-mastery

“The union of the sexes, husband and wife (and only husband and wife), was for the principal purpose of bringing children into the world. Sexual experiences were never intended by the Lord to be a mere plaything or merely to satisfy passions and lusts. We know of no directive from the Lord that proper sexual experience between husbands and wives need be limited totally to the procreation of children, but we find much evidence from Adam until now that no provision was ever made by the Lord for indiscriminate sex”

Spencer W. Kimball | "The Lord’s Plan for Men and Women,” Ensign, Oct. 1975, 4

Topics: Natural Man, Secularism (Worldliness), Sex

[The Lord] asks us to rest from daily work. This means we should perform no labor that would keep us from giving our full attention to spiritual matters. The Lord told the Israelites, “thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, they manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor the cattle” (Exodus 20:10). Our prophets have told us that we should not shop, hunt, fish, attend sports events, or participate in similar activities on that day.

President Spencer W. Kimball cautioned, however, that if we merely lounge about doing nothing on the Sabbath, we are not keeping the day holy. The Sabbath calls for constructive thoughts and acts.

Spencer W. Kimball | (See Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball [2006], p. 170) — Gospel Principles, p. 141

Topics: Sabbath Day, Work

“If the Lord was meek and lowly and humble, then to become humble one must do what He did in boldly denouncing evil, bravely advancing righteous works, courageously meeting every problem, becoming the master of himself and the situations about him and being near oblivious to personal credit. . . .Humble and meek properly suggest virtues, not weaknesses. They suggest a consistent mildness of temper and an absence of wrath and passion. Humility suggests no affectation, no bombastic actions. It is not turbid nor grandiloquent. It is not servile submissiveness. It is not cowed nor frightened. No shadow or the shaking of a leaf terrorizes it…How does one get humble? To me, one must constantly be reminded of his dependence. On whom dependent? On the Lord. How remind one’s self? By real, constant, worshipful, grateful prayer.”

Spencer W. Kimball | “Humility,” BYU Speeches of the Year

Topics: Humility, Strength

“The repenting sinner must suffer for his sins, but this suffering has a different purpose than punishment or payment. Its purpose is to change.”

Spencer W. Kimball

Topics: Change, Forgiveness, Repentance, Sin

“Let us get our instruments tightly strung and our melodies sweetly sung. Let us not die with our music still in us. Let us rather use this precious mortal probation to move confidently and gloriously upward toward the eternal life which God our Father gives to those who keep His commandments.”

Spencer W. Kimball | The Miracle of Forgiveness (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1969), 17.

Topics: Commandments, Music

“Upon practicing the law of the fast, one finds a personal well-spring of power to overcome self-indulgence and selfishness.”

Spencer W. Kimball | In Conference Report, Apr. 1978, 121.

Topics: Fasting, Self-mastery

“Our goal is to achieve eternal life. That is the greatest goal in the world. We are not opposed to goals. We do not want stake and full-time mission presidents to establish quotas for the missionaries. Rather, we expect them to inspire missionaries to set their own goals, and make them high enough to challenge their very best efforts, and work to achieve them. … We look to you to teach these principles and follow up.”

Spencer W. Kimball | President Kimball’s Vision of Missionary Work

Topics: Eternal Life, Goals, Missionary Work & Preparation

“When you look on the dictionary for the most important word, do you know what it is? It could be ‘remember.’ Because all of you have made covenants – to know what to do and you know how to do it – our greatest need is to remember. That is why everyone goes to sacrament meeting every Sabbath day.”

Spencer W. Kimball

Topics: Covenants, Remembrance, Sabbath Day, Sacrament

“God does notice us, and he watches over us. But it is usually through another person that he meets our needs. Therefore, it is vital that we serve each other in the kingdom.”

Spencer W. Kimball | “Small Acts of Service,” Ensign, December 1974, 5.

Topics: Home Teaching, Prayer, Service

“If we like luxuries or necessities more than we like obedience, we will miss the blessings which he would like to give us.”

Spencer W. Kimball

Topics: Money, Obedience, Tithing

“Sometimes ideas flood our mind as we listen after our prayers. Sometimes feelings press upon us. A spirit of calmness assures us that all will be well. But always, if we have been honest and earnest [in our prayers] we will experience a good feeling – a feeling of warmth for our Father in Heaven and a sense of his love for us.”

Spencer W. Kimball | Ensign, October,1981, p. 5

Topics: Love, Prayer

“Any excuse, no matter how valid, always weakens character.”

Spencer W. Kimball

Topics: Character, Leadership

“Soul mates’ are fiction and an illusion; and while every young man and young woman will seek with all diligence and prayerfulness to find a mate with whom life can be most compatible and beautiful, yet it is certain that almost any good man and any good woman can have happiness and a successful marriage if both are willing to pay the price.”

Spencer W. Kimball | Oneness in Marriage

Topics: Dating & Courtship, Marriage

“Of all treasures of knowledge, the most vital is the knowledge of God.”

Spencer W. Kimball

Topics: Education, Knowledge

The Sabbath is a holy day in which to do worthy and holy things. Abstinence from work and recreation is important but insufficient. The Sabbath calls for constructive thoughts and acts, and if one merely lounges about doing nothing not he Sabbath, he is breaking it. To observe it, one will be on his knees in prayer, preparing lessons, studying the gospel, meditating, visiting the ill and distressed, sleeping, reading wholesome material, and attending all the meetings of that day to which he is expected. To fail to do these proper things is a transgression on the omission side.

Spencer W. Kimball | Ensign, January 1978, p. 4

Topics: Sabbath Day

“Rationalizing is the bringing of ideals down to the level of one’s conduct. Repentance is the bringing of one’s conduct up to the level of his ideals.”

Spencer W. Kimball | The Miracle of Forgiveness

Topics: Repentance, Sin

“Real, lasting happiness is possible, and marriage can be more an exultant ecstasy than the human mind can conceive. This is within the reach of every couple, every person. . . . It is certain that almost any good man and any good woman can have happiness and a successful marriage if both are willing to pay the price.”

Spencer W. Kimball | (1976, September 7). Marriage and divorce. BYU Devotional

Topics: Dating & Courtship, Divorce, Happiness, Marriage