Gordon B. Hinckley Quotes & Sayings

Some of you, unfortunately, will never marry in this life. That turns out to be the case sometimes. If that happens, do not spend your life grieving over it. The world still needs your talents. It needs your contribution. — Gordon B. Hinckley

I am so profoundly grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ, for a testimony of the Atonement of the Savior. I believe in it with all my heart, and I live for it, and I bear witness of it this day. Of all of the events of human history, none other approaches the Atonement of the Savior in its meaning and in its results. God be thanked for the gift of His precious Son, to whom we all owe thanks for His sacrifice in our behalf. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Under the plan of heaven, the husband and the wife walk side by side as companions, neither one ahead of the other, but a daughter of God and a son of God walking side by side. Let your families be families of love and peace and happiness. Gather your children around you and have your family home evenings, teach your children the ways of the Lord, read to them from the scriptures, and let them come to know the great truths of the eternal gospel as set forth in these words of the Almighty. — Gordon B. Hinckley

The family is a creation of God. The way to strengthen the nation is to strengthen the homes of the people. — Gordon B. Hinckley

I do not know what the future holds. I do not wish to sound negative, but I wish to remind you of the warnings of scripture and the teachings of the prophets which we have had constantly before us. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Every good citizen adds to the strength of a nation. — 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

What a story it is. It is filled with suffering and hunger and cold and death. It is replete with accounts of freezing rivers that had to be waded through; of howling blizzards; of the long, slow climb up Rocky Ridge. with the passing of this anniversary year, it may become largely forgotten. But hopefully it will be told again and again to remind future generations of the suffering and the faith of those who came before. Their faith is our inheritance. Their faith is a reminder to us of the price they paid for the comforts we enjoy. — Gordon B. Hinckley

We live in a society that feeds on criticism. It is so easy to find fault, and to resist doing so requires much discipline. — Gordon B. Hinckley

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

Keep your families close together, and love and honor your children. — Gordon B. Hinckley

You can be excellent in every way. You can be first class. There is no need for you to be a scrub. Respect yourself. Do not feel sorry for yourself. Do not dwell on unkind things others may say about you. Polish and refine whatever talents the Lord has given you. Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face, but with great and strong purpose in your heart. Love life and look for its opportunities. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Absence of gratitude is the mark of the narrow, uneducated mind. It bespeaks a lack of knowledge and the ignorance of self-sufficiency. It expresses itself in ugly egotism and frequently in wanton mischief. We have seen our beaches, our parks, our forests littered with ugly refuse by those who evidently have no appreciation for their beauty. I have driven through thousands of acres of blackened land scourged by a fire evidently set by a careless smoker whose only concern had been the selfish pleasure gained from a cigarette. — Gordon B. Hinckley

There is no end to the good we can do, to the influence we can have with others. Let us not dwell on the critical or the negative. Let us pray for strength; let us pray for capacity and desire to assist others. Let us radiate the light of the gospel at all times and all places, that the Spirit of the Redeemer may radiate from us. — Gordon B. Hinckley

I hope that if you are employed full-time, you are doing it to ensure that basic needs are met and not simply to indulge a taste for an elaborate home, fancy cars, and other luxuries. — Gordon B. Hinckley

The gospel is a thing of joy. It provides us with a reason for gladness. Of course there is sorrow. Of course there are hours of concern and anxiety. We all worry. But the Lord has told us to lift our hearts and rejoice. — Gordon B. Hinckley

There are few things more pathetic than those who have lost their curiosity and sense of adventure, and who no longer care to learn. — Gordon B. Hinckley

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

Don't be gloomy. Even if you are not happy, put a smile on your face. [Life is about] joy, ... something to be happy and excited about. — Gordon B. Hinckley

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

You are good. But it is not enough just to be good. You must be good for something. You must contribute good to the world. The world must be a better place for your presence. And the good that is in you must be spread to others ... — Gordon B. Hinckley

Do the best you can. But I want to emphasize that it be the very best. We are too prone to be satisfied with mediocre performance. We are capable of doing so much better. — Gordon B. Hinckley

The most important step you have made or will make in your life is marriage. Its consequences are many, so important and so everlasting.. No other decision will have such tremendous consequences for the future. — Gordon B. Hinckley

What I fear from these reports is that the prevalent use of foul language has become an acceptable pattern in the schools, probably due in large part to the influence of TV and the general permissiveness in our society. — Gordon B. Hinckley

The course of our lives is not determined by great, awesome decisions. Our direction is set by the little day-to-day choices which chart the track on which we run. — Gordon B. Hinckley

When I was a missionary in London fifty years ago, my companion and I would shake hands in the morning and say to one another, 'Life is good'. Life in the service of the Lord is good. It is beautiful. It is rewarding. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to spend a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. — Gordon B. Hinckley

I have yet to find a faithful tithe payer who cannot testify that in a very literal and wonderful way the windows of Heaven have been opened and blessings have been poured out upon him or her. — Gordon B. Hinckley

My plea is that as we continue our search for truth, particularly we of the Church, that we look for strength and goodness rather than weakness and failings in those who did so great a work in their time. We recognize that our forefathers were human. They doubtless made mistakes. Some of them acknowledged making mistakes. But the mistakes were minor when compared with the marvelous work which they accomplished. — Gordon B. Hinckley

There are widows who long for friendly voices and that spirit of anxious concern which speaks of love. — 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

Faith in something greater than ourselves enables us to do what we have said we'll do, to press forward when we are tired or hurt or afraid, to keep going when the challenge seems overwhelming and the course is entirely uncertain. — Gordon B. Hinckley

When the 'Book of Mormon' was first published, some of those who believed in it taught it to others and testified of it. — Gordon B. Hinckley

The Savior of all mankind left the ninety and nine to find the one lost. That one who was lost need not have become lost. — Gordon B. Hinckley

We live in a world that is filled with filth and sleaze, a world that reeks of evil. You cannot afford that filthy poison to touch you. Stay away from it. Avoid it. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Simple honesty is so remarkable a quality. It is of the very essence of Integrity. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Of all the creations of the Almighty, there is none more beautiful, none more inspiring than a lovely daughter of God who walks in virtue with an understanding of why she should do so, who honors and respects her body as a thing sacred and divine, who cultivates her mind and constantly enlarges the horizon of her understanding, who nurtures her spirit with everlasting truth. God will hold us accountable if we neglect His daughters. He has given us a great and compelling trust. May we be faithful to that trust. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Unfortunately, some women want to remake their husbands after their own design. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Let us take a little time to meditate, to think of what we can do to improve our lives and to become better examples of what a Latter-day Saint should be. — Gordon B. Hinckley

I do not concern myself much with reading long commentary volumes designed to enlarge at length upon that which is found in the scriptures. Rather, I prefer to dwell with the source, tasting of the unadulterated waters of the fountain of truth - the word of God as he gave it and as it has been recorded in the books we accept as scripture. — 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

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

Life is precious. Life is sacred. And it ought so to be observed. — Gordon B. Hinckley

What I am suggesting is that each of us turn from the negativism that permeates our society and look for the remarkable good among those with whom we associate, that we speak of one another's virtues more than we speak of one another's faults, that optimism replace pessimism, that our faith exceed our fears. When I was a young man and was prone to speak critically, my father would say: Cynics do not contribute, skeptics do not create, doubters do not achieve. — Gordon B. Hinckley

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

That which comes easily departs easily. That which comes of struggle remains. — 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

Let there be music in the home. If you have teenagers who have their own recordings, you will be prone to describe the sound as something other than music. Let them occasionally hear something better. Expose them to it. It will speak for itself. More of appreciation will come than you may think. It may not be spoken, but it will be felt, and its influence will become increasingly manifest as the years pass. — Gordon B. Hinckley

I am grateful for emphasis on reading the scriptures. I hope that for you this will become something far more enjoyable than a duty; that, rather, it will become a love affair with the word of God. I promise you that as you read, your minds will be enlightened and your spirits will be lifted. At first it may seem tedious, but that will change into a wondrous experience with thoughts and words of things divine. Gordon B. Hinckley — Gordon B. Hinckley

We can begin ever so modestly. We can begin with a one week's food supply and gradually build it to a month, and then to three months. I am speaking now of food to cover basic needs ... I fear that so many feel that a long-term food supply is so far beyond their reach that they make no effort at all ... Begin in a small way, ... and gradually build toward a reasonable objective. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Choose a companion of your own faith. You are much more likely to be happy. Choose a companion you can always honor, you can always respect, one who will complement you in your own life, one to whom you can give your entire heart, your entire love, your entire allegiance, your entire loyalty. — Gordon B. Hinckley

My plea is that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight ... I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still our voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment and endorse virtue and effort. — Gordon B. Hinckley

It is important to know when you feel down that many others do also and that their circumstances are generally much worse than yours. And it's important to know that when one of us is down it becomes the obligation of his friends to give him a lift. I hope that each of us will cultivate a sensitivity toward the feelings of others and when encouragement is needed make an effort to extend it. Be a friend and you will have a friend. God be thanked for wonderful friends. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Most of the things that make you angry are of very small consequence. And what a terrible price you are paying for your anger. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Woman is God's supreme creation. Only after the earth had been formed, after the day had been separated from the night, after the waters had been divided from the land, after vegetation and animal life had been created, and after man had been placed on the earth, was woman created; and only then was the work pronounced complete and good. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Do not trade your birthright as a mother for some bauble of passing value. Let your first interest be in your home. The baby you hold in your arms will grow quickly as the sunrise and the sunset of the rushing days. — Gordon B. Hinckley

We are particularly proud of our youth. I think we have never had a stronger generation of young men and women than we have today. For the most part they are true to the faith of their forebears. Surrounded by forces that would pull them down and tremendous pressures to pull them away from time-tested virtues, they are going forward with constructive lives, nurturing themselves both intellectually and spiritually. We have no fears or doubts concerning the future of this work. — Gordon B. Hinckley

The small day-to-day decisions will determine the course of your lives. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Sister Hinckley and I are learning that the so-called golden years are laced with lead. — Gordon B. Hinckley

I am satisfied that a happy marriage is not so much a matter of romance as it is an anxious concern for the comfort and well-being of one's companion.
-Gordon B. Hinckley — Gordon B. Hinckley

God bless you, my beloved sisters, who stand as the queens in your home, that you may be happy with that happiness which comes of the knowledge that you are loved and honored and treasured. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Brigham Young had a prophetic vision. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Sacrifice is the very essence of religion; ... Without sacrifice there is no true worship of God. — Gordon B. Hinckley

My children are now all grown. Some are in their 60s. But when they call and I answer the phone, they say, 'How are you?' And before I can answer, they ask, 'Is Mother there?' — Gordon B. Hinckley

Knowledge, learning, is an eternal thing. — Gordon B. Hinckley

I hope we will never again see such a depression. But I am troubled by the huge consumer installment debt which hangs over the people of the nation, including our own people. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Don't waste your time searching and wishing. Grow and be ready ... and you'll see God will give you a love story far better than you could ever dreamed of. — 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

People seem to be looking for discipline in a topsy-turvy world. — Gordon B. Hinckley

I hope that each one of us will be a better husband or wife, kinder to one another, more thoughtful, more restrained in criticism, and more generous with compliments. — Gordon B. Hinckley

I hope you are reading to your children, out loud. That's much better than watching television, much better. They won't get very much out of television except some bad thoughts. — Gordon B. Hinckley

There are others whose lives are blessed when a missionary serves, such as the members of his family who support him, pray for him, and try to live worthy of him. — Gordon B. Hinckley

If you have a temper, now is the time to learn to control it. The more you do so while you are young, the more easily it will happen. — Gordon B. Hinckley

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

You must ask for God's help. After each failure, ask forgiveness, pick yourself up, and try again. — Gordon B. Hinckley

When all is said and done, the greatest satisfaction you'll have in this life as you grow old will be seeing your children grow in righteousness and faith and goodness as citizens of the society of which they are a part. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Our hope concerning the future is great, and our faith is strong. We know we've scarcely scratched the surface of that which will come to pass in the years that lie ahead. — Gordon B. Hinckley

I wish to be up and doing. I wish to face each day with resolution and purpose. I wish to use every waking hour to give encouragement, to bless those whose burdens are heavy, to build faith and strength of testimony. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Let every mother realize that she has no greater blessing than the children who have come to her as a gift from the Almighty; that she has no greater mission than to rear them in light and truth, in understanding and love. — Gordon B. Hinckley

I thank the Lord for the great principle of repentance and forgiveness. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Any investigator worthy of baptism becomes a convert worthy of saving. — Gordon B. Hinckley

We are people of peace. We are followers of the Christ who was and is the Prince of Peace. But there are times when we must stand up for right and decency, for freedom and civilization, just as Moroni rallied his people in his day to the defense of their wives, their children, and the cause of liberty. — Gordon B. Hinckley

The world is our responsibility. We cannot evade it. — Gordon B. Hinckley

The religion of which you are a part is 7 days a week. It isn't just Sunday, it isn't the block plan, it isn't just 3 hours in church, it isn't just the time you spend in Seminary - it's all the time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Dishonesty of any kind will create a blemish. — Gordon B. Hinckley

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

A truly educated man never ceases to learn. He never ceases to grow. I hope you women, as you take upon yourselves the burden of rearing families, will never set aside the desire to acquire knowledge. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Somehow forgiveness, with love and tolerance, accomplishes miracles that can happen in no other way. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Please don't nag yourself with thoughts of failure. Do not set goals far beyond your capacity to achieve. Simply do what you can do, in the best way you know, and the Lord will accept of your effort — Gordon B. Hinckley

The decisions we make, individually and personally, become the fabric of our lives. That fabric will be beautiful or ugly according to the threads of which it is woven. I wish to say particularly to the young men who are here that you cannot indulge in any unbecoming behavior without injury to the beauty of the fabric of your lives. Immoral acts of any kind will introduce an ugly thread. Dishonesty of any kind will create a blemish. Foul and profane language will rob the pattern of its beauty. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Our lives are the only meaningful expression of what we believe and in Whom we believe. And the only real wealth, for any of us, lies in our faith. — Gordon B. Hinckley

If there were more temple work done in the Church, there would be less of selfishness, less of contention, less of demeaning others. — Gordon B. Hinckley

We wear on our faces the results of what we believe and how we behave, and such behavior is most evident in the eyes and on the faces of those who have lived many years. — Gordon B. Hinckley

My wife once said that one of her great ambitions was to walk down the streets of Hong Kong with her children. So we all went to Asia on one occasion. Then she said she'd like to walk down the streets of Jerusalem with her children. So we arranged our family finances and all went to Jerusalem. — Gordon B. Hinckley

Be modest in your wants ... There is nothing that will cause greater tensions in marriage than grinding debt, which will make of you a slave to your creditors. — Gordon B. Hinckley

The way of the gospel is a simple way. Some of the requirements may appear to you as elementary and unnecessary. Do not spurn them. Humble yourselves and walk in obedience. I promise that the results that follow will be marvelous to behold and satisfying to experience. — Gordon B. Hinckley

He who lives only unto himself withers and dies, while he who forgets himself in the service of others grows and blossoms. — Gordon B. Hinckley

We are all prone to be a little selfish, a little lazy. — Gordon B. Hinckley

You are very precious, each of you, regardless of your circumstances. You occupy a high and sacred place in the eternal plan of God, our Father in Heaven. You are His daughters, precious to Him, loved by Him, and very important to Him. His grand design cannot succeed without you. — Gordon B. Hinckley

It is possible to be honest every day. It is possible to live so that others can trust us-can trust our words, our motives, and our actions. Our examples are vital to those who sit at our feet as well as those who watch from a distance. Our own constant self-improvement will become as a polar star to those within our individual spheres of influence. They will remember longer what they saw in us than what they heard from us. Our attitude, our point of view, can make a tremendous difference. — Gordon B. Hinckley