Thomas S. Monson > Quotes

“Choose your love. Love your choice.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“The past is behind, learn from it. The future is ahead, prepare for it. The present is here, live it.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Remember who you are and what God expects you to become.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Stick to a task 'til it sticks to you. . .for beginners are many, but finishers few.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Don't save something for a special occasion. Every day of your life is a special occasion.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“May I share with you a formula that in my judgment will help you and help me to journey well through mortality... First, fill your mind with truth; second, fill your life with service; and third, fill your heart with love.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Never let a problem to be solved, become more important than a person to be loved.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Reading is one of the true pleasures of life. In our age of mass culture, when so much that we encounter is abridged,adapted, adulterated, shredded, and boiled down, it is mind-easing and mind-inspiring to sit down privately with a congenial book...”
― Thomas S. Monson

“One day each of us will run out of tomorrows. Let us not put off what is important.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Our opportunities to give of ourselves are indeed limitless, but they are also perishable. There are hearts to gladden. There are kind words to say. There are gifts to be given. There are deeds to be done. There are souls to be saved.

As we remember that “when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God,” (Mosiah 2:17) we will not find ourselves in the unenviable position of Jacob Marley’s ghost, who spoke to Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’s immortal "Christmas Carol." Marley spoke sadly of opportunities lost. Said he: 'Not to know that any Christian spirit working kindly in its little sphere, whatever it may be, will find its mortal life too short for its vast means of usefulness. Not to know that no space of regret can make amends for one life’s opportunity misused! Yet such was I! Oh! such was I!'

Marley added: 'Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode? Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me!'

Fortunately, as we know, Ebenezer Scrooge changed his life for the better. I love his line, 'I am not the man I was.'

Why is Dickens’ "Christmas Carol" so popular? Why is it ever new? I personally feel it is inspired of God. It brings out the best within human nature. It gives hope. It motivates change. We can turn from the paths which would lead us down and, with a song in our hearts, follow a star and walk toward the light. We can quicken our step, bolster our courage, and bask in the sunlight of truth. We can hear more clearly the laughter of little children. We can dry the tear of the weeping. We can comfort the dying by sharing the promise of eternal life. If we lift one weary hand which hangs down, if we bring peace to one struggling soul, if we give as did the Master, we can—by showing the way—become a guiding star for some lost mariner.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“He who gives money gives some, he who gives time gives more, and he who gives of himself gives all.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“When faith replaces doubt, when selfless service eliminates selfish striving, the power of God brings to pass His purposes.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Work will work when wishy washy wishing won't.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Don't forget: one of the saddest things in life is wasted talent.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Youth need less critics and more models.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“There will be occasions in each of our lives when we will be called upon to explain or to defend our beliefs. When the time for performance arrives, the time for preparation is past.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Find joy in the journey.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Learn from the past, prepare for the future, live in the present.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“To you who are parents, I say, show love to your children. You know you love them, but make certain they know it as well. They are so precious. Let them know. Call upon our Heavenly Father for help as you care for their needs each day and as you deal with the challenges which inevitably come with parenthood. You need more than your own wisdom in rearing them.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“There is no tomorrow to remember if we don’t do something today, and to live most fully today, we must do that which is of greatest importance. Let us not procrastinate those things which matter most.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“The good you have done, the kind words you have spoken, the love you have shown to others, can never be fully measured.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Everyone can be discontented if he ignores his blessings and looks only at his burdens.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Our task is to become our best selves. One of God's greatest gifts to us is the joy of trying again, for no failure ever need be final.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Like the vital rudder of a ship, we have been provided a way to determine the direction we travel. The lighthouse of the Lord beckons to all as we sail the seas of life. Our home port is the celestial kingdom of God. Our purpose is to steer an undeviating course in that direction. A man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder—never likely to reach home port. To us comes the signal: Chart your course, set your sail, position your rudder, and proceed.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future…If you are still in the process of raising children be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled, will disappear all too soon, and that you will, to your surprise, miss them, profoundly.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“I think one of the sweetest lessons taught by the Prophet, and yet one of the saddest, occurred close to the time of his death. He was required to leave his plan and vision of the Rocky Mountains and give himself up to face a court of supposed justice.

These are his words: 'I am going like a lamb to the slaughter; but I am calm as a summer's morning; I have a conscience void of offense towards God, and towards all men' (D&C 135:4). That statement of the Prophet teaches us obedience to law and the importance of having a clear conscience toward God and toward our fellowmen. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught these principles--by example.

There was to be one great final lesson before his mortal life ended. He was incarcerated in Carthage Jail with his brother Hyrum, with John Taylor, and with Willard Richards. The angry mob stormed the jail; they came up the stairway, blasphemous in their cursing, heavily armed, and began to fire at will. Hyrum was hit and died. John Taylor took several balls of fire within his bosom. The Prophet Joseph, with his pistol in hand, was attempting to defend his life and that of his brethren, and yet he could tell from the pounding on the door that this mob would storm that door and would kill John Taylor and Willard Richards in an attempt to kill him.

And so his last great act here upon the earth was to leave the door and lead Willard Richards to safety, throw the gun on the floor, and go to the window, that they might see him, that the attention of this ruthless mob might be focused upon him rather than the others. Joseph Smith gave his life. Willard Richards was spared, and John Taylor recovered from his wounds.

'Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends' (John 15:13). The Prophet Joseph Smith taught us love--by example.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Glance backward, look heavenward, reach outward, press onward”
― Thomas S. Monson

“The principles of living greatly include the capacity to face trouble with courage, disappointment with cheerfulness, and trial with humility. ”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Along your pathway of life you will observe that you are not the only traveler. There are others who need your help. There are feet to steady, hands to grasp, minds to encourage, hearts to inspire, and souls to save.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Men take care not to make women weep, for God counts their tears.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“When we treat people merely as they are, they will remain as they are. When we treat them as if they were what they should be, they will become what they should be. ”
― Thomas S. Monson, Pathways To Perfection: Discourses Of Thomas S. Monson

“My dear sisters, do not pray for tasks equal to your abilities, but pray for abilities equal to your tasks. Then the performance of your tasks will be no miracle, but you will be the miracle.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Ideals are like the stars - you can't touch them with your hands, but by following them you reach your destination. ”
― Thomas S. Monson

“The most constant thing is change.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Whatever our calling, regardless of our fears or anxieties, let us pray and then go and do.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Your mind is a cupboard and you stock the shelves.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Our most significant opportunities will be found in times of greatest difficulty. ”
― Thomas S. Monson, Pathways To Perfection: Discourses Of Thomas S. Monson

“Some are young people who don't know who they are, what they can be or even want to be. They are afraid, but they don't know of what. They are angry, but they don't know at whom. They are rejected and they don't know why. All they want is to be somebody. ”
― Thomas S. Monson, Pathways To Perfection: Discourses Of Thomas S. Monson

“Any excuse, no matter how valid, only weakens the character.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Watch your step.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“You have a heritage honor it. You have posses a testimony share it. You will face temptations withstand it. You know the truth live it.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“The shadow by my finger cast
Divides the future from the past:
Before it, sleeps the unborn hour,
In darkness, and beyond thy power.
Behind its unreturning line,
The vanished hour, no longer thine:
One hour alone is in thy hands,-
The NOW on which the shadow stands.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Remember that ofttimes the wisdom of God appears as foolishness to men, but the greatest single lesson we can learn in mortality is that when God speaks and a man obeys, that man will always be right.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“May each of us remember this truth; 'one cannot forget mother and remember God. One cannot remember mother and forget God.' Why? Because these two sacred persons, God and mother, partners in creation, in love, in sacrifice, in service, are as one.”
― Thomas S. Monson, Pathways To Perfection: Discourses Of Thomas S. Monson

“Sometimes we let our thoughts of tomorrow take up too much of today. Daydreaming of the past and longing for the future may provide comfort but will not take the place of living in the present. This is the day of our opportunity, and we must grasp it”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Work will win when wishy washy wishing won't.”
― Thomas S. Monson

“We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us.
”
― Thomas S. Monson

“Thinking is the hardest work anyone can do, which is probably the reason why we have so few thinkers. ”
― Thomas S. Monson, Pathways To Perfection: Discourses Of Thomas S. Monson