Ezra Taft Benson

I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein.

The greatest events of history are those which affect the greatest number for the longest periods.

I reverence the Constitution of the United States as a sacred document. To me its words are akin to the revelations of God, for God has placed his stamp of approval on the Constitution of this land.

Your most important friendships should be with your own brothers and sisters and with your father and mother. Love your family. Be loyal to them. Have a genuine concern for your brothers and sisters.

I firmly believe in prayer. It is possible to reach out and tap the unseen power which gives strength and anchor in time of need.

The world is increasing in wickedness.

The Book of Mormon exposes the enemies of Christ. It confounds false doctrines and lays down contention.

I have a vision of artists putting into film, drama, literature, music, and paintings great themes and great characters from the Book of Mormon.

Efficient spending and saving will give the family more security, more opportunities, more education, and a higher standard of living.

Fathers, yours is an eternal calling from which you are never released.

The Lord is pleased with every effort, even the tiny, daily ones in which we strive to be more like Him.

There is a difference between a convert who is built on the rock of Christ through the Book of Mormon and stays hold of that iron rod, and one who is not.

Students at universities are sometimes so filled with the doctrines of the world they begin to question the doctrines of the gospel.

Disobedience is essentially a prideful power struggle against someone in authority over us. It can be a parent, a priesthood leader, a teacher, or ultimately God. A proud person hates the fact that someone is above him. He thinks this lowers his position.

From the Book of Mormon, we learn how disciples of Christ live in times of war.

The Lord clearly defined the roles of providing for and rearing a righteous posterity. In the beginning, Adam, not Eve, was instructed to earn the bread by the sweat of his brow.

It is a truism that children need more of Mother than of money.

With the Spirit and magnifying your call, you can do miracles for the Lord in the mission field. Without the Spirit, you will never succeed, regardless of your talent and ability.

Selfishness is one of the more common faces of pride. 'How everything affects me' is the center of all that matters - self-conceit, self-pity, worldly self-fulfillment, self-gratification, and self-seeking.

One of Satan's most frequently used deceptions is the notion that the commandments of God are meant to restrict freedom and limit happiness.

There are blessings in being close to the soil, in raising your own food even if it is only a garden in your yard and a fruit tree or two. Those families will be fortunate who, in the last days, have an adequate supply of food because of their foresight and ability to produce their own.

A positive self-image has little relationship to our material circumstances.

Becoming Christlike is a lifetime pursuit and very often involves growth and change that is slow, almost imperceptible.

Our parents deserve our honor and respect for giving us life itself. Beyond this they almost always made countless sacrifices as they cared for and nurtured us through our infancy and childhood, provided us with the necessities of life, and nursed us through physical illnesses and the emotional stresses of growing up.

You cannot do wrong and feel right. It is impossible!

Bad experience is a school that only fools keep going to.

The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums.

The Book of Mormon is the 'keystone' of our religion, and the Doctrine and Covenants is the 'capstone,' with continuing latter day revelation. The Lord has placed His stamp of approval on both the keystone and the capstone.

The great task of life is to learn the will of the Lord and then do it.

Pride is a sin that can readily be seen in others but is rarely admitted in ourselves.

I rode horseback three miles each way to get to high school, and in bad weather it was a problem sometimes to make my eight o'clock class on time. Like others, I often missed school to help on the farm, especially in the fall, until after harvest, and in the spring, during planting season.

You cannot help people permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves.

The one man other than my father who made the most lasting impression was an uncle, Serge B. Benson. He taught me in three different classes - but above all, he taught me lessons in moral, physical, and intellectual courage that I have tried to apply in later life.

When I think of how we show faith, I cannot help but think of the example of my own father. I recall vividly how the spirit of missionary work came into my life. I was about thirteen years of age when my father received a call to go on a mission.

Many novels and modern publications are corrupters of morals or distorters of truth.

Fatherhood is not a matter of station or wealth. It is a matter of desire, diligence and determination to see one's family exalted in the celestial kingdom. If that prize is lost, nothing else really matters.

Some of the greatest battles will be fought within the silent chambers of your own soul.

The fellowship of true friends who can hear you out, share your joys, help carry your burdens, and correctly counsel you is priceless.

Mothers play an important role as the heart of the home, but this in no way lessens the equally important role fathers should play, as head of the home, in nurturing, training, and loving their children.

The proud do not change to improve, but defend their position by rationalizing. Repentance means change, and it takes a humble person to change.

Every man eventually is backed up to the wall of faith, and there he must make his stand.

The Declaration of Independence was to set forth the moral justification of a rebellion against a long-recognized political tradition - the divine right of kings.

The sacred title of 'father' is shared with the Almighty.

Family preparedness has been a long-established welfare principle.

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation upon which sincere and meaningful repentance must be built. If we truly seek to put away sin, we must first look to Him who is the Author of our salvation.

If you really want to receive joy and happiness, then serve others with all your heart. Lift their burden, and your own burden will be lighter.

Godly sorrow is a gift of the Spirit. It is a deep realization that our actions have offended our Father and our God. It is the sharp and keen awareness that our behavior caused the Savior, He who knew no sin, even the greatest of all, to endure agony and suffering.

We are eternal beings. We lived as intelligent spirits before this mortal life. We are now living part of eternity. Our mortal birth was not the beginning; death, which faces all of us, is not the end.

When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power.

Be right, and then be easy to live with, if possible, but in that order.