Boyd K. Packer Quotes

Everyone is tested. One might think it is unfair to be singled out and subjected to a particular temptation, but this is the purpose of mortal life—to be tested. And the answer is the same for everyone: we must, and we can, resist temptations of any kind.

Dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.

You always hold the key of repentance to unlock the prison door. If they throw the word diversity at you, grab hold of it and say, "I am already diverse, and I intend to stay diverse." If the word is tolerance, grab that one, too, saying, "I expect you to be tolerant of my lifestyle-obedience, integrity, abstinence, repentance." If the word is choice, tell them you choose good, old-fashioned morality.

You must know that baptism for someone who is dead is quite as essential as baptism for some one who is living.

There are few things more powerful than the faithful prayers of a righteous mother.

When music is presented which, however appropriate for other occasions, does not fit the Sabbath, much is lost. . . . The Spirit does not ratify speech nor confirm music which lacks spiritual substance.

Moral standards cannot be changed by battle and cannot be changed by ballot.

Christ's mercy is the mighty healer; even to the wounded innocent.

Your responsibility as a father and a husband transcends any other interest in life.

The Lord will bless us as we attend to the sacred ordinance work of the temples. Blessings there will not be limited to our temple service. We will be blessed in all of our affairs.

His judgments are just; His mercy without limit; His power to compensate beyond any earthly comparison.

Some people think a miracle is only a miracle if it happens instantaneously, but miracles can grow slowly and patience and faith can compel things to happen that otherwise never would have come to pass.

Ordinances and covenants become our credentials for admission into His presence. To worthily receive them is the quest of a lifetime; to keep them thereafter is the challenge of mortality.

I hope to be judged as good a man as my father. Before I hear those words "well done" from my Heavenly Father, I hope to first hear them from my mortal father.

Happiness is inseparably connected with decent, clean behavior.

Largely because of television, instead of looking over into that spacious building, we are, in effect, living inside of it. That is your fate in this generation. You are living in that great and spacious building.

The ultimate purpose of every teaching, every activity in the Church is that parents and their children are happy at home, sealed in an eternal marriage, and linked to their generations.

You are a child of God. He is father of your spirit. Spiritually you are of noble birth, the offspring of the King of Heaven. Fix that truth in your mind and hold to it. However many generations in your mortal ancestry, no matter what race or people you represent, the pedigree of your spirit can be written on a single line. You are a child of God!

We are not obedient because we are blind, we are obedient because we can see.

Those who choose, conduct, present, and accompany the music may influence the spirit of reverence ... more than a speaker does.

What a wonderful time to be young. You will see events in your lifetime that will test your courage and extend your faith. If you will face the sunlight of truth, the shadows of discouragement and sin and error will fall behind you. You must never give up!

The idea that life began with mortal birth is preposterous. There is no way to explain life if you believe that.

At the temple the dust of distraction seems to settle out, the fog and the haze seem to lift, and we can 'see' things that we were not able to see before and find a way through our troubles that we had not previously known.

Repentance is the key with which we can unlock the prison from inside. We hold that key within our hands, and agency is ours to use it.

When temptation comes, you can invent a delete key in your mind- perhaps the words from a favorite hymn. Your mind is in charge; your body is the instrument of your mind. When some unworthy thought pushes into your mind, replace it with your delete key. Worthy music is powerful and can help you control your thoughts.

The atonement of Christ is not just for those who sin. The mercy of Christ encompasses all pain.

Most of what we acquire materially is found to not be worth what we must pay spiritually.

Husbands and wives should understand that their first calling-from which they will never be released-is to one another and THEN to their children.

Take hold of your life and order yourself to be valiant.

A testimony of the hope of redemption is something which cannot be measured or counted. Jesus Christ is the source of that hope.

There is little to be gained by seeking after the mysteries, for there is hardly time in a lifetime to master the plain and precious things.

We are able to feel and learn very quickly through music, through art, through poetry some spiritual things that we would otherwise learn very slowly.

Just as chalk can be removed from a chalkboard, with sincere repentance, the effects of our transgression can be erased through the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Perhaps the greatest discovery of my life, without question the greatest commitment, came when finally I had the confidence in God that I would loan or yield my agency to him-without compulsion or pressure, without any duress, as a single individual alone, by myself, no counterfeiting, nothing expected other than the privilege. In a sense, speaking figuratively, to take one's agency, that precious gift which the scriptures make plain is essential to life itself, and say, "I will do as you direct," is afterward to learn that in so doing you possess it all the more.

There is also an age-old excuse: “The devil made me do it.” Not so! He can deceive you and mislead you, but he does not have the power to force you or anyone else to transgress or to keep you in transgression.

If our view is limited to mortal life, some things become unbearable because they seem so unfair and so permanent.

Without a knowledge of the gospel plan, transgression seems natural, innocent, even justified.

The gift of the Holy Ghost operates equally with men, women, and even little children. It is within this wondrous gift and power that the spiritual remedy to any problem can be found.

Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.

Teaching some things that are true, prematurely or at the wrong time, can invite sorrow and heartbreak instead of the joy intended to accompany learning.... The scriptures teach emphatically that we must give milk before meat. The Lord made it very clear that some things are to be taught selectively and some things are to be given only to those who are worthy.

Family time is sacred time and should be protected and respected.

Reverence invites Revelation

The study of doctrine and the teaching of doctrine will change behavior more than the study of behavior will change behavior.

There is a falsehood that some are born with an attraction to their own kind, with nothing they can do about it. They are just 'that way' and can only yield to those desires. That is a malicious and destructive lie. While it is a convincing idea to some, it is of the devil. No one is locked into that kind of life. From our premoral life we were directed into a physical body. There is no mismatching of bodies and spirits. Boys are to become men-masculine, manly men-ultimately to become husbands and fathers. No one is predestined to a perverted use of these powers.

Inherent in the ordination to be bishop is both the right and the obligation to be directed by inspiration.

Do you realize how marvelous it is that you can call upon the Atonement? The Lord effected the Atonement for our sakes. And there isn’t anything that you can’t repent from and that you can’t be rescued from if you will repent and be determined to make the decision.

Faith is the power, obedience the sacrifice, love the means, Christ the reason.

A testimony is a testimony, and it should be respected, whether it is small or large.