Quotes By LDS Prophet & Apostle Spencer W. Kimball
“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.”
| The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball (1982), 168
“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.”
| “A Report and a Challenge,” Ensign, Nov. 1976, 6; see also “The Time to Labor Is Now,” Ensign, Nov. 1975, 6.
“[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)
| “Our Great Potential,” Ensign, May 1977
“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).”
| Ensign, October 1981, p. 5
“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.”
“The repenting sinner must suffer for his sins, but this suffering has a different purpose than punishment or payment. Its purpose is to change.”
“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.”
“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.”
| (Ensign, January 1978) — Church News, July 6, 2002, p. 16
“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?”
“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.”
| The Miracle of Forgiveness