Love...

Photo: Lydia Stewart

“Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.”

-Thomas S. Monson

“They do not love,

that do not show their love.”

-William Shakespeare

Itimacy...

 Photo: Mike Lewis

Many youth have been led to believe that sexual intimacy is “not that bad” as long as it does not involve the act that could cause pregnancy. That is false. Sexual intimacy in any of its forms, outside the covenant of marriage, is serious sin. Serious sin is addictive. It forges binding habits that are difficult to sever. If you have broken such laws, seek help from your bishop or stake president since such transgression requires a confession both to the Lord and to such a judge as a necessary step toward forgiveness. These sins can be avoided by not permitting anyone to touch the private, sacred parts of your body and by refusing to do that with anyone else.

-Elder Richard G. Scott

The Fruit of a Rightious Life...

Photo: Lydia Stewart

Peace is the precious fruit of a righteous life. It is possible because of the Atonement of the Savior. It is earned through full repentance, for that leads to refreshing forgiveness. Repentance opens the doors of enlightenment and aids inspiration.
Elder Richard G. Scott

True Repentance...

Photo: Lydia Stewart

 “True repentance is not only sorrow for sins, and humble penitence and contrition before God, but it involves the necessity of turning away from them, a discontinuance of all evil practices … a thorough reformation of life, a vital change from evil to good … to make restitution, so far as … possible, for all the wrongs we have done. … This is true repentance, and the exercise of the will and all the powers of [the] body and mind is demanded, to complete this glorious work of repentance.”
-President Joseph F. Smith

"I testify that Jesus Christ paid the price and will satisfy the demands of justice for all who are obedient to His teachings. Thus, full forgiveness is granted, and the distressing effects of sin need no longer persist in one’s life. Indeed, they cannot persist if one truly understands the meaning of Christ’s Atonement.

...

I invite you with all the love of my heart to repent and come back. Decide to do it now. That journey is not as difficult as it seems. You can cast out guilt, overcome depression, receive the blessing of peace of mind, and find enduring joy. Pray for help and guidance, and you will be led to find it."

-Elder Richard G. Scott

The Pursuit of Holiness and Happiness...

Photo: Lydia Stewart

"The more we devote ourselves to the pursuit of holiness and happiness, the less likely we will be on a path to regrets. The more we rely on the Savior’s grace, the more we will feel that we are on the track our Father in Heaven has intended for us."

—Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Historical Fiction...

Photo: Lydia Stewart

Truth may be stranger than fiction, but fiction makes truth a friend, not a stranger.
-Avi

It's the little things...

Photo: Lydia Stewart

Trifles make the sum of life.
-Charles Dickens

A Parent's Promise...

 

Enlisted to Serve God at Baptism...

Photo: Douglas Stewart

The Prophet Joseph pointed out that before your baptism, you could be on neutral ground between good and evil. But “when you joined this Church you enlisted to serve God. When you did that you left the neutral ground, and you never can [go] back.” His counsel was that we must never forsake the Master.
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At baptism we promise to take upon us “the name of [Jesus] Christ, having [the] determination to serve him to the end.” Such a covenant requires courageous effort, commitment, and integrity if we are to continue to sing the song of redeeming love and stay truly converted.

-Elder Quintin L. Cook

Scriptures, A Healing Balm...

Photo: Lydia Stewart

Immersion in the scriptures is essential for spiritual nourishment. The word of God inspires commitment and acts as a healing balm for hurt feelings, anger, or disillusionment.  When our commitment is diminished for any reason, part of the solution is repentance. Commitment and repentance are closely intertwined.

-Elder Quintin L. Cook

A Good Marriage...

Photo: Abraham Romney

There is no more lovely, friendly, and charming relationship, communion, or company than a good marriage.
-Martin Luther

The Nobility of Gender Difference...

Photo: Lydia Stewart

If you try to teach young people that there are no essential differences between men and women, that brings chaos into the whole social fabric.  You take away the nobility, and the beauty, and the dignity of gender differences, and then try to get men and women to be good men and women... it won't happen.

-John Eldredge, Absent

Believe Deeply and Actively in the Family...

Photo: Lydia Stewart

“Many of the social restraints which in the past have helped to reinforce and to shore up the family are dissolving and disappearing. The time will come when only those who believe deeply and actively in the family will be able to preserve their families in the midst of the gathering evil around us” 

-President Spencer W. Kimball (in Conference Report, Oct. 1980, 3; or Ensign, Nov. 1980, 4).

A Bit of Heaven...

Photo: Lydia Stewart

“If we really try, our home can be a bit of heaven here on earth. The thoughts we think, the deeds we do, the lives we live influence not only the success of our earthly journey; they mark the way to our eternal goals”

-Thomas S. Monson

Be an Active Priesthood Holder...

Photo: Lydia Stewart

“It is not enough to receive the priesthood and then sit back passively and wait until someone prods us into activity. When we receive the priesthood, we have the obligation of becoming actively and anxiously engaged in promoting the cause of righteousness in the earth, because the Lord says:
“‘… He that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned’ [D&C 58:29]” (So Shall Ye Reap [1960], 21).
-President Ezra Taft Benson

“One breaks the priesthood covenant by transgressing commandments—but also by leaving undone his duties. Accordingly, to break this covenant one needs only to do nothing” (The Miracle ofForgiveness [1969], 96).
-President Spencer W. Kimball

The Way We Eat...

Photo: Lydia Stewart

"The way we eat represents our most profound engagement with the natural world."
-Michael Pollan

Faith is a Choice...

Faith is a choice, not a gift.

Be Patient...

Photo By Douglas Stewart  (Huntington Beach, California)

Be patient with yourself.  Perfection comes not in this life, but the next.  Don’t demand things that are unreasonable, but demand of yourself improvement.

-Elder Russell M. Nielsen

Calm an Adgitated Soul...

Scriptures can calm an agitated soul, giving peace, hope, and a restoration of confidence in one’s ability to overcome the challenges of life.

-Richard G. Scott

The Pain We Face…

The Savior is not a silent observer. He Himself knows personally and infinitely the pain we face.

-Kent F. Richards, Of the Seventy

No Pain We Suffer…

“No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude, and humility. … It is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire.”

-Orson F. Whitney

Your Own Education…

Everyone is responsible for his own education. You can’t teach anyone who doesn’t want to learn, and you can’t stop anyone who does.

-Polly Horvath, “Northward to the Moon”

Virtuous and Lovely Examples

We must model that which is virtuous and lovely by our personal media choices. We must take care that the media we invite into our homes does not dull the sensitivity to the Spirit, harm relationships with our family and friends, or reveal personal priorities that are inconsistent with gospel principles. By example we can help our children understand that spending long periods of time using the Internet, social media, and cell phones; playing video games; or watching television keeps us from productive activities and valuable interactions with others.

-Mary N. Cook, 1^st Counselor in the General Young Women’s Presidency

I Am Rich…

"I am not heartsick because I am rich and they are poor."
"We're not rich, Papa. We're..."
"Yes we are boy. We have one another to tend to, and this land to tend. And one day we'll own it outright. We have Solomon here to wind up a capstan and help us haul our burdens. (...) We have Daisy's hot milk. We got rain to wash up with, to get the grime off us. We can look at sundown and see it all, so that it wets the eye and hastens the heart. We hear all the music that's in the wind, so much music that it itches my feet to start tapping. Just like a fiddle."

-Robert Newton Peck, “A Day No Pigs Would Die”

You can always turn back…

Photo: Ben Romney, Europe

“If you are headed down the wrong road, no matter how far you’ve gone, you can always turn back.”

Laura Resau, “The Indigo Notebook”