Gordon B. Hinckley Quotes

The decisions we make, individually and personally, become the fabric of our lives. That fabric will be beautiful or ugly according to the threads of which it is woven. I wish to say particularly to the young men who are here that you cannot indulge in any unbecoming behavior without injury to the beauty of the fabric of your lives. Immoral acts of any kind will introduce an ugly thread. Dishonesty of any kind will create a blemish. Foul and profane language will rob the pattern of its beauty.

Conversations I have had with school principals and students lead me to the same conclusion-that...there is an evil and growing habit of profanity and the use of foul and filthy language.

It is selfishness which is the cause of most of our misery.

To our brothers and sisters in harm’s way, we say that we pray for you. We pray that the Lord will watch over you and preserve you from injury and that you may return home and pick up your lives again. We know that you are not in that land of blowing sand and brutal heat because you enjoy the games of war. The strength of your commitment is measured by your willingness to give your very lives for that in which you believe.

Mediocrity will never do. You are capable of something better.

Of course we're Christian. The very name of the church declares that.

Most of the things that make you angry are of very small consequence. And what a terrible price you are paying for your anger.

I am saying that out of a spirit of appreciation and gratitude, and a sense of duty, you ought to make whatever adjustment is necessary to give a little of your time-as little as two years-consecrating your strength, your means, your talents to the work of sharing with others the gospel, which is the source of so much of the good that you have. I promise that if you will do so, you will come to know that what appears today to be a sacrifice will prove instead to be the greatest investment that you will ever make.

The Church expects that each of us carry a share of the burden of leadership. There is no paid clergy. The work is done because of a love of the cause. And as people serve, they grow in capacity. The time and effort is not a sacrifice because there is returned more than is given.

The greatest job that any mother will ever do will be in nurturing, teaching, lifting, encouraging and rearing her children in righteousness and truth. None other can adequately take her place.

Please don't nag yourself with thoughts of failure. Do not set goals far beyond your capacity to achieve. Simply do what you can do, in the best way you know, and the Lord will accept of your effort.

Work will cure your grief. Serve others.

Truly, my dear young friends, you are a chosen generation. I hope you will never forget it. I hope you will never take it for granted. I hope there will grow in your hearts an overpowering sense of gratitude to God, who has made it possible for you to come upon the earth in this marvelous season of the world's history.

You can't plow a field simply by turning it over in your mind.

Every man who truly loves a woman, and every woman who truly loves a man, hopes and dreams that their companionship will last forever. But marriage is a covenant sealed by authority. If that authority is of the state alone, it will endure only while the state has jurisdiction, and that jurisdiction ends with death. But add to the authority of the state the power of the endowment given by Him who overcame death, and that companionship will endure beyond life if the parties to the marriage live worthy of the promise.

The greatness of the world in which we live is the accumulated goodness of many small and seemingly inconsequential acts.

Be strong-be strong in the discipline of self. How many otherwise good men squander their strength and dissipate their will and literally destroy their lives because they have not the power of self-discipline.

All of us have far too much to do to waste our time and energies in criticism, faultfinding, or the abuse of others.

We are sometimes told that we are not a biblical church. We are a biblical church. This wonderful testament of the Old World, this great and good Holy Bible is one of our standard works. We teach from it. We bear testimony of it. We read from it. It strengthens our testimony. And we add to that this great second witness, the Book of Mormon, the testament of the New World, for as the Bible says, "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall [all things] be established" (2 Cor. 13:1).

None of you need worry because you read something that was incompletely reported. You need not worry that I do not understand some matters of doctrine... I think I understand them thoroughly.

We love them [people who have same-sex attractions] as sons and daughters of God. They may have certain inclinations which are powerful and which may be difficult to control. If they do not act upon these inclinations, then they can go forward as do all other members of the Church.

Let your first interest be in your home. The baby you hold in your arms will grow quickly as the sunrise and the sunset of the rushing days.

I spent one night in the hospital in my life. I was past 75 when that occurred.

I am satisfied that every man or woman who goes to the temple in a spirit of sincerity and faith leaves the house of the Lord a better man or woman.

The family is a creation of God. The way to strengthen the nation is to strengthen the homes of the people.

God gave us our agency. He taught us a way. He showed us what to do. But he gave us our agency and left us free to act as we choose to do.

There is rampant among us a spirit of criticism. Men and women who carry heavy responsibility do not need criticism, they need encouragement.

Jesus said, 'Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.' There are no exceptions. Baptism is a necessary ordinance.

There is nothing the Lord has asked of us that in faith we cannot accomplish.

We need to have a little humor in our lives. .If the time ever comes when we can't smile at ourselves, it will be a sad time.

How thankful we ought to be ... how thankful we are, for a prophet to counsel us in words of divine wisdom as we walk our paths in these complex and difficult times. The solid assurance we carry in our hearts, the conviction that God will make his will known to his children through his recognized servant is the real basis of our faith and activity. We either have a prophet or we have nothing: and having a prophet, we have everything

In matters of honesty, there are no shortcuts; no little white lies, or big black lies, only the simple, honest truth spoken in total candor... Being true is different than being honest.

Never assume that you can make it alone. You need the help of the Lord. Never hesitate to get on your knees in some private place and speak with Him.

If you will make your first concern the comfort, the well-being, and the happiness of your companion, sublimating any personal concern to that loftier goal, you will be happy, and your marriage will go on through eternity

We live in a world of shifting values. The family is falling apart. Parents failing in what they ought to do.

To save a girl is to save generations!

Every righteous man or woman is entitled to revelation concerning his own affairs.

Our lives are the only meaningful expression of what we believe and in Whom we believe. And the only real wealth, for any of us, lies in our faith.

Knowledge, learning, is an eternal thing.

You will find peace and happiness if you will live the gospel.

I believe in the principle that I can make a difference in this world. It may be ever so small, but it will count for the greater good.

Every good citizen adds to the strength of a nation. With that assumption I do not hesitate to say that the nation of Chile is better for our presence, and the same thing is happening in every other nation where we are operating.

We live in a world where knowledge is developing at an ever-accelerating rate. Drink deeply from this ever-springing well of wisdom and human experience.

Good books are as friends, willing to give to us if we are willing to make a little effort.

The cause of most of man's unhappiness is sacrificing what he wants most for what he wants now.

Forget yourself and go to work.

Simple honesty is so remarkable a quality. It is of the very essence of Integrity.

I don't hesitate to say if every family in the world practiced [family home evening], you'd see a very great difference in the solidarity of the families of the world.