quotes by Gordon B. Hinckley

"Life is to be enjoyed, not endured"
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"Try a little harder to be a little better."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"Good books are as friends, willing to give to us if we are willing to make a little effort."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he has been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just like people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, and most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is just like an old time rail journey ... delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"If Life Gets Too Hard To Stand, Kneel."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"You have not failed until you quit trying."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"True love is not so much a matter of romance as it is a matter of anxious concern for the well-being of one's companion."
— Gordon B. Hinckley (Stand a Little Taller: Counsel and Inspiration for Each Day of the Year)

"Stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"In all of living, have much fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"Generally speaking, the most miserable people I know are those who are obsessed with themselves; the happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others...By and large, I have come to see that if we complain about life, it is because we are thinking only of ourselves."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"Cultivate an attitude of happiness. Cultivate a spirit of optimism. Walk with faith, rejoicing in the beauties of nature, in the goodness of those you love, in the testimony which you carry in your heart concerning things divine."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"Mediocricy will never do. You are capable of something better."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"Be grateful, be smart, be clean, be true, be humble, be prayerful."
— Gordon B. Hinckley (Way to Be! : 9 Rules For Living the Good Life)

"Let us never forget to pray. God lives. He is near. He is real. He is not only aware of us but cares for us. He is our Father. He is accessible to all who will seek Him."
— Gordon B. Hinckley (Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes)

"The best antidote I know for worry is work. The best cure for weariness is the challenge of helping someone who is even more tired. One of the great ironies of life is this: He or she who serves almost always benefits more than he or she who is served."
— Gordon B. Hinckley (Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes)

"The time has come for us to stand a little taller, to lift our eyes and stretch our minds to a greater comprehension and understanding of the grand millennial mission of this, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"Aim high, but do not aim so high that you totally miss the target. What really matters is that he will love you, that he will respect you, that he will honor you, that he will be absolutely true to you, that he will give you the freedom of expression and let you fly in the development of your own talents. He is not going to be perfect, but if he is kind and thoughtful, if he knows how to work and earn a living, if he is honest and full of faith, the chances are you will not go wrong, that you will be immensely happy."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"Work at our responsibility as parents as if everything in life counted on it."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"You can't plow a field simply by turning it over in your mind."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"If we could follow the slogan that says,"Turn off the TV and open a good book" we would do something of substance for a future generation."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face, but with great purpose in heart."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"Get on your knees and pray, then get on your feet and work."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"You can be smart and happy or stupid and miserable. . . it's your choice"
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"God has brought us together as families to bring to pass His eternal purposes. We are part of this plan in this marriage relationship. let us love and respect and honor one another. We can do it, and we will be the better for it."
— Gordon B. Hinckley (Stand a Little Taller: Counsel and Inspiration for Each Day of the Year)

"It is both relaxing and invigorating to occasionally set aside the worries of life, seek the company of a friendly book...from the reading of 'good books' there comes a richness of life that can be obtained in no other way."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"It isn't as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don't worry. I say that to myself every morning. It all works out in the end. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us. If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"I am the last leaf on the tree, and the wind is blowing."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"Through all of living have much joy and laughter, life is to be enjoyed, not just endured."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"When I say do your best, I mean your very best. You are capable of so much more."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"Be believing, be happy, don't get discouraged. Things will work out."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"My plea...is a plea to save the children. Too many of them walk with pain and fear, in loneliness and despair. Children need sunlight...They need kindness and refreshment and affection. Every home, regardless of the cost of the house, can provide an environment of love which will be an environment of salvation."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"Stop looking for the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"The willingness to forgive is a sign of spiritual and emotional maturity. It is one of the great virtues to which we all should aspire. Imagine a world filled with individuals willing both to apologize and to accept an apology. Is there any problem that could not be solved among people who possessed the humility and largeness of spirit and soul to do either -- or both -- when needed?"
— Gordon B. Hinckley (Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes)

"Forget yourself and get to work."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"How sweet is the assurance, how comforting is the peace that come from the knowledge that if we marry right and live right, our relationship will continue, notwithstanding the certainty of death and the passage of time. Men may write love songs and sing them. They may yearn and hope and dream. But all of this will be only a romantic longing unless there is an exercise of authority that transcends the powers of time and death."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"It is not so much the major events as the small day-to-day decisions that map the course of our living. . . Our lives are, in reality, the sum total of our seemingly unimportant decisions and of our capacity to live by those decisions."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"There are four pillars to a happy marriage: respect one another as individuals; (give) soft answers; (practice)financial honesty; (conduct) family prayer."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"I feel to invite women everywhere to rise to the great potential within you. I do not ask that you reach beyond your capacity. I hope you will not nag yourselves with thoughts of failure. I hope you will not try to set goals far beyond your capacity to achieve. I hope you will simply do what you can do in the best way you know. If you do so, you will witness miracles come to pass."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"Love is the very essence of life. It is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Yet it is not found only at the end of the rainbow. Love is at the beginning also, and from it springs the beauty that arched across the sky on a stormy day. Love is the security for which children weep, the yearning of youth, the adhesive that binds marriage, and the lubricant that prevents devastating friction in the home; it is the peace of old age, the sunlight of hope shining through death. How rich are those who enjoy it in their associations with family, friends, and neighbors! Love, like faith, is a gift of God. It is also the most enduring and most powerful virtue."
— Gordon B. Hinckley (Standing Something Cd: Ten Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts And Homes)

"Imagine how our own families, let alone the world, would change if we vowed to keep faith with one another, strengthen one another, look for and accentuate the virtues in one another, and speak graciously concerning one another. Imagine the cumulative effect if we treated each other with respect and acceptance, if we willingly provided support. Such interactions practiced on a small scale would surely have a rippling effect throughout our homes and communities and, eventually, society at large."
— Gordon B. Hinckley (Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes)

"The remedy for most marital stress is not in divorce. It is in repentance and forgiveness, in sincere expressions of charity and service. It is not in separation. It is in simple integrity that leads a man and a woman to square up their shoulders and meet their obligations. It is found in the Golden Rule, a time-honored principle that should first and foremost find expression in marriage."
— Gordon B. Hinckley (Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes)

"Do your best, and be a little better than you are."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"Marriage in its truest sense, is a partnership of equals, with neither exercising dominion over the other, but, rather, with each encouraging and assisting the other in whatever responsibilities and aspirations he or she might have."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"There is something almost sacred about a great library because it represents the preservation of the wisdom, the learning, and the pondering of men and women of all the ages, accumulated under one roof."
— Gordon B. Hinckley (Standing Something Cd: Ten Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts And Homes)

"If we are worried about the future, then we must look today at the upbringing of children."
— Gordon B. Hinckley (Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes)

"Gratitude is a sign of maturity...Where there is appreciation: there is also courtesy and concern for the rights and property of others."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"The greatness of the world in which we live is the accumulated goodness of many small and seemingly inconsequential acts."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"Our burden in going forward is tremendous. But our opportunity is glorious."
— Gordon B. Hinckley

"There is something wonderful about a book. We can pick it up. We can heft it. We can read it. We can set it down. We can think of what we have read. It does something for us. We can share great minds, great actions, and great undertakings in the pages of a book."
— Gordon B. Hinckley (Standing Something Cd: Ten Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts And Homes)