quotes by 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

"Choose your love. Love your choice."
— 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

"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

"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, "Formula for Success," Ensign, Mar. 1996, 2"
— 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

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

"Work will work when wishy washy wishing won't."
— Thomas S. Monson

"Never let a problem to be solved, become more important than a person to be loved."
— Thomas S. Monson

"Youth need less critics and more models."
— 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

"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

"Don't forget: one of the saddest things in life is wasted talent."
— 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

"Learn from the past, prepare for the future, live in the present."
— 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

"When faith replaces doubt, when selfless service eliminates selfish striving, the power of God brings to pass His purposes."
— 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

"Find joy in the journey.

"
— 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

"The principles of living greatly include the capacity to face trouble with courage, disappointment with cheerfulness, and trial with humility. "
— 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

"“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

"The most constant thing is change."
— 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

"Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal"
— Thomas S. Monson

"Everyone can be discontented if he ignores his blessings and looks only at his burdens."
— 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

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

"Work will win when wishy washy wishing won't."
— 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

"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

"Your mind is a cupboard and you stock the shelves."
— Thomas S. Monson

"We need learn what we need to learn, know what we need to know, and do what we need to do."
— 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

"We do not find truth groveling through error."
— Thomas S. Monson

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

""Many more people could ride out the storm-tossed waves in their economic lives if they had their year's supply of food…and were debt-free. Today we find that many have followed this counsel in reverse: they have at least a year's supply of debt and are food-free."
"
— Thomas S. Monson

"It is in the home that we form our attitudes, our deeply held beliefs. It is in the home that hope is fostered or destroyed. Our homes are to be more than sanctuaries; they should also be places where God’s Spirit can dwell, where the storm stops at the door, where love reigns and peace dwells"
— Thomas S. Monson

"Faith precedes the miracle. It has ever been so and shall ever be. It was not raining when Noah was commanded to build an ark. There was no visible ram in the thicket when Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac. Two heavenly personages were not yet seen when Joseph knelt and prayed. First came the test of faith–and then the miracle. Remember that faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other. Cast out doubt. Cultivate faith."
— Thomas S. Monson

"Glance backward, look heavenward, reach outward, press onward"
— 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

"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

"To live greatly, we must develop the capacity to face trouble with courage, disappointment with cheerfulness, and triumph with humility."
— Thomas S. Monson (Pathways to Perfection: Discourses of Thomas S. Monson)

"In the private sanctuary of one's own conscience lies that spirit, that determination to cast off the old person and to measure up to the statue of true potential."
— Thomas S. Monson

""Let us respect others no one lives alone in a city, a nation, or a world.""
— Thomas S. Monson

"The Lord shapes the back to bear the burden placed upon it."
— Thomas S. Monson