Quotes By LDS Prophet & Apostle Spencer W. Kimball
“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.”
“If we like luxuries or necessities more than we like obedience, we will miss the blessings which he would like to give us.”
“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.”
| “Chapter 15: We Should Be a Reverent People,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball (2006), 154–64
“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
“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.”
| “God Will Not Be Mocked,” Ensign, Nov. 1974
“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.”
| (1976, September 7). Marriage and divorce. BYU Devotional
“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”
| "The Lord’s Plan for Men and Women,” Ensign, Oct. 1975, 4
“There are many people who seem to rely solely on the Lord’s mercy rather than on accomplishing their own repentance. … The Lord may temper justice with mercy, but he will never supplant it. Mercy can never replace justice. God is merciful, but he is also just.”
| The Miracle of Forgiveness, Bookcraft, 1969, p. 358.