Decisions

LDS Quotes on Decisions

“Exercising agency in a setting that sometimes includes opposition and hardship is what makes life more than a simple multiple-choice test. God is interested in what we are becoming as a result of our choices. He is not satisfied if our exercise of moral agency is simply a robotic effort at keeping some rules. Our Savior wants us to become something, not just do some things. He is endeavoring to make us independently strong – more able to act for ourselves than perhaps those of any prior generation. We must be righteous, even when He withdraws His Spirit, or, as President Brigham Young said, even ‘in the dark.’”

Elder D. Todd Christofferson  |  “Moral Agency,” Ensign, June 2009, p. 53

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“All that is not eternal [is] too short, [and] all that is not infinite [is] too small.”

Anonymous  |  Inscription on the east transept wall of Stanford University Memorial Church

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“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.”

Leonardo da Vinci

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Richard G. Scott Portrait

“In time, one who makes decisions based upon circumstance is virtually assured to commit serious transgressions. There is no iron rod of truth to keep that person in the right way. He will continually be faced with many subtle temptations to make deviations from the commandments. Those choices are justified by arguing that they are not that bad, that they are more socially acceptable and provide a broader base of friends. A clever individual without foundation principles can at times acquire, temporarily, impressive accomplishments. Yet that attainment is like a sand castle. When the test of character comes, it crumbles, often taking others with it.

“The second pattern, making decisions based upon eternal truth, is the pattern of the Lord. It will always lead you to make decisions guided by His plan of happiness. Such decisions are centered in doing what is right, not in first deciding the result desired. Choosing to do what the Lord has defined as right will, in the long run, always lead to the best outcomes. However, that pattern may require you to set aside something you very much desire now for a greater future good.”

Richard G. Scott  |  "The Power of Righteousness"

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Richard G. Scott Portrait

“What do you do when you do not feel an answer? I have come to thank the Lord with all my heart when that occurs, for it is an evidence of his trust. I positively know that as we apply our decision as though it were confirmed powerfully from on high, one of two things will certainly occur at the appropriate time: either the stupor of thought, or the peace – the confirmation.”

Richard G. Scott  |  Truth, BYU Devotional Address 6/78.

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“The more often [one] feels without acting, the less [one] will be able ever to act, and, in the long run, the less [he or she] will be able to feel.”

CS Lewis  |  The Screwtape Letters (New York: Macmillan, 1966), 61.

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“We are not born into this world with fixed habits. Neither do we inherit a noble character. Instead, as children of God, we are given the privilege and opportunity of choosing which way of life we will follow-which habits we will form. Confucius said that the nature of men is always the same. It is their habits that separate them. Good habits are not acquired simply by making good resolves, though the thought must precede the action. Good habits are developed in the workshop of our daily lives. It is not in the great moments of test and trial that character is built. That is only when it is displayed. The habits that direct our lives and form our character are fashioned in the often uneventful, commonplace routine of life. They are acquired by practice.”

Delbert L. Stapley  |  Good Habits Develop Good Character, Ensign, Nov. 1974, 20

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“The kind of life you live, your disposition, your very nature, will be determined by your thoughts, of which your acts are but the outward expression. Thought is the seed of action.”

David O. McKay  |  Teachings of Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, 23: Developing a Christlike Character

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Neal A. Maxwell Headshot

“Though of themselves life’s defining moments may seem minor, our wise responses can gradually increase our traction on the demanding path of discipleship. For instance, we can decide daily, or in an instant, in seemingly little things, whether we respond with a smile instead of a scowl, or whether we give warm praise instead of exhibiting icy indifference. Each response matters in its small moment. After all, moments are the molecules that make up eternity, affecting not only ourselves but others, because our conduct even in seemingly small things can be contagious.”

Elder Neal A. Maxwell  |  The Promise of Discipleship, pg. 71

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“We are the creative force of our life, and through our own decisions rather than our conditions, if we carefully learn to do certain things, we can accomplish those goals.”

Stephen R. Covey  |  Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

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