Monson Quotes & Sayings

Physically walking where Jesus walked is less important than walking as He walked. — Thomas S. Monson

In sickness, with its attendant pain, patience is required. If the only perfect man who ever lived-even Jesus of Nazareth-was called upon to endure great suffering, how can we, who are less than perfect, expect to be free of such challenges? — Thomas S. Monson

I know that God loves us. He allows us to exercise our moral agency even when we misuse it. He permits us to make our own decisions. Christ cannot help us if we do not trust Him; He cannot teach us if we do not serve Him. He will not force us to do what's right, but He will show us the way only when we decide to serve Him. Certainly, for us to serve in His kingdom, Christ requires that we experience a change of thought and attitude. — Thomas S. Monson

We learn from the hard taskmaster of experience. We discern between good and evil. We differentiate as to the bitter and the sweet. We discover that decisions determine destiny. — Thomas S. Monson

Things which provide deep and lasting happiness and gratitude are the things which money cannot buy: our families, the gospel, good friends, our health, our abilities, the love we receive from those around us. — Thomas S. Monson

No one can make us angry. It is our choice. — Thomas S. Monson

By learning of Him, by believing in Him, by following Him, there is the capacity to become like Him. — Thomas S. Monson

We must not let our passions destroy our dreams. — Thomas S. Monson

None within the sound of my voice should be in any doubt concerning what is moral and what is not, nor should any be in doubt about what is expected of us ... We have been and continue to be taught God's laws. Despite what you may see or hear elsewhere, these laws are unchanging. — Thomas S. Monson

Few see beyond the outward appearance
And recognize the true worth of a human soul.
When they do, miracles occur. — Thomas S. Monson

You see your children growing. You look at your grandchildren, and you say to yourself, 'What if I weren't here? Have I done all I can to prepare them for their role in life?' You realize that you never quite do everything, but you want to do better than what you have done. — 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

Because of Jesus Christ the world has changed, the divine Atonement has been made, the price of sin has been paid, and the fearful spectacle of death yields to the light of truth and the assurance of resurrection. Though the years roll by, His birth, His ministry, His legacy continue to guide the destiny of all who follow Him as He so invitingly urged. — Thomas S. Monson

Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down. It is resisting the impulse to become offended easily. It is accepting weaknesses and shortcomings. It is accepting people as they truly are. It is looking beyond physical appearances to attributes that will not dim through time. It is resisting the impulse to categorize others. — 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

Prayer can solve more problems, alleviate more suffering, prevent more transgression, and bring about greater peace and contentment in the human soul than can be obtained in any other way. — Thomas S. Monson

Not surprisingly, as the pioneer theme is presented, each goes back in memory to his or her own family line. There are usually examples to identify and which fit the definition of a pioneer: "one who goes before, showing others the way to follow." Some, if not all, made great sacrifices to leave behind comfort and ease and respond to that clarion call of their newly found faith. — Thomas S. Monson

Spiritual strength frequently comes through selfless service. — Thomas S. Monson

Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting. It is happiness because we see joy in people. It is forgetting self and finding time for others. It is discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values. — Thomas S. Monson

Dare to be a Mormon.
Dare to stand alone.
Dare to have a purpose firm;
Dare to make it known. — Thomas S. Monson

All of us remember the home of our childhood. Interestingly, our thoughts do not dwell on whether the house was large or small, the neighborhood fashionable or downtrodden. Rather, we delight in the experiences we shared as a family. The home is the laboratory of our lives, and what we learn there largely determines what we do when we leave there. — Thomas S. Monson

We can lift ourselves, and others as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. — Thomas S. Monson

Many years ago, it was my opportunity to serve as president of the Canadian Mission. There we had a branch with very limited priesthood. We always had a missionary presiding over the branch. I received a strong impression that we needed to have a member of the branch preside there. — 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

At times some may think that no one cares
but someone always cares! Your Heavenly Father will not leave you to struggle alone, but stands ever ready to help. — Thomas S. Monson

Never, never, never postpone following a prompting. — Thomas S. Monson

A happy home is but and earlier Heaven. — Thomas S. Monson

It is imperative that we recognize that whatever has happened to us has happened to others. They have coped and so must we. We are not alone. Heavenly Father's help is near. — Thomas S. Monson

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

It is necessary to prepare and to plan so that we don't fritter away our lives. Without a goal, there can be no real success. One of the best definitions of success I have ever heard goes something like this: success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal. Someone has said the trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never cross the goal line. — Thomas S. Monson

This is our one and only chance at mortal life-here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by. As you plan for that illusive, nonexistent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find you in the journey now. — Thomas S. Monson

The sweetest feeling in mortality is to realize that God, our Heavenly Father, knows each one of us and generously permits us to see and to share His divine power to save. — Thomas S. Monson

Our thinking will automatically improve when we remember the words of Paul: 'know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and the spirit of God dwelleth in you? — Thomas S. Monson

No member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who has canned peas, topped beets, hauled hay, shoveled coal, or helped in any way to serve others ever forgets or regrets the experience of helping provide for those in need. — Thomas S. Monson

Ours is the responsibility to show our gratitude by the actions of our lives. — 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

May we ever be courageous and prepared to stand for what we believe, and if we must stand alone in the process, may we do so courageously, strengthened by the knowledge that in reality we are never alone when we stand with our Father in Heaven. — Thomas S. Monson

Have we been guilty of declaring, 'I've been thinking about making some course corrections in my life. I plan to take the first step - tomorrow'? With such thinking, tomorrow is forever. Such tomorrows rarely come unless we do something about them today. — Thomas S. Monson

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

The problems of our day loom ominously before us. Surrounded by the sophistication of modern living, we look heavenward for that unfailing sense of direction, that we might chart and follow a wise and proper course. He whom we call our Heavenly Father will not leave our sincere petition unanswered. — Thomas S. Monson

Because He came to earth, we have a perfect example to follow. As we strive to become more like Him, we will have joy and happiness in our lives and peace each day of the year. It is His example which, if followed, stirs within us more kindness and love, more respect and concern for others. — Thomas S. Monson

The road to anywhere is the road to nowhere, and the road to nowhere leads to dreams sacrificed, opportunities squandered, and a life unfulfilled. In our journey we will encounter forks and turnings in the road. — Thomas S. Monson

Men and women of integrity, character, and purpose have ever recognized a power higher than themselves and have sought through prayer to be guided by that power. Such has it ever been. So shall it ever be. — Thomas S. Monson

If you want to give a light to others, you have to glow yourself. — Thomas S. Monson

Each of us, in the journey through mortality, will travel his own Jericho Road. What will be your experience? What will be mine? Will I fail to notice him who has fallen among thieves and requires my help? Will you? Will I be one who sees the injured and hears his plea, yet crosses to the other side? Will you? Or will I be one who sees, who hears, who pauses, and who helps? Will you? — Thomas S. Monson

One cannot remember mother and forget God. — Thomas S. Monson

The priesthood is not really so much a gift as it is a commission to serve, a privilege to lift, and an opportunity to bless the lives of others. — Thomas S. Monson

Serving throughout the world is a great missionary force going about doing good. Missionaries teach truth. They dispel darkness. They spread joy. They bring precious souls to Christ. — Thomas S. Monson

The ability to communicate is not something we are born with. We have to learn it and earn 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

The world can be a challenging and difficult place in which to live. We are often surrounded by that which would drag us down. As you and I go to the holy houses of God, as we remember the covenants we make within, we will be more able to bear every trial and to overcome each temptation. In this sacred sanctuary we will find peace; we will be renewed and fortified. — Thomas S. Monson

Though we may not necessarily forfeit our lives in service to our God, we can certainly demonstrate our love for Him by how well we serve Him. — Thomas S. Monson

I hope I work effectively, but I never feel I have exhausted what I should be doing ... I believe we have a responsibility to be a good influence on others. — Thomas S. Monson

Our problem is that we often expect instantaneous solutions to such challenges, forgetting that frequently the heavenly virtue of patience is required. — Thomas S. Monson

The world around you is not equipped to provide the help you need to make it through this often treacherous journey. — Thomas S. Monson

Do we have a guide to help us choose the right and avoid dangerous detours? I have tried to pattern my life after the Master. Whenever I have a difficult decision to make, I have looked at that picture and asked myself, "What would He do?" Then I try to do it. We can never go wrong when we choose to follow the Savior. — Thomas S. Monson

Have the determination to make the effort, the single-mindness to work toward a worthy goal, and the courage not only to face the challenges that inevitably come but also to make a 2nd effort, should such be required, — Thomas S. Monson

Choose your friends with caution; plan your future with purpose, and frame your life with faith. — Thomas S. Monson

We cannot truly love God if we do not love our fellow travelers on this mortal journey. — Thomas S. Monson

Each of us can be a leader. We need to remember that the mantle of leadership is not the cloak of comfort, but the robe of responsibility. Perhaps our service is to youth. If so, I caution: 'Youth needs fewer critics and more models.' One hundred years from now it will not matter what kind of a car we drove, what kind of a house we lived in, how much we had in the bank account, nor what our clothes looked like. But the world may be a little better because we were important in the life of a boy or a girl. — Thomas S. Monson

As we move toward the future, we must not neglect the lessons of the past. Our Heavenly Father gave His Son. The Son of God gave His life. We are asked by Them to give our lives, as it were, in Their divine service. Will you? Will I? Will we? There are lessons to be taught, there are kind deeds to be done, there are souls to be saved. — Thomas S. Monson

There are lives to brighten. There are hearts to touch. There are souls to save. — Thomas S. Monson

The drive was brief and the conversation limited, but oh, what a legacy of love! Father never read to me from the Bible about the good Samaritan. Rather, he took me with him and Uncle Elias in that old 1928 Oldsmobile and provided a living lesson I have always remembered. — Thomas S. Monson

May you constantly nourish your testimonies of the gospel that they will be a protection to you against the buffetings of the adversary. — Thomas S. Monson

The spirit of Christmas is the spirit of love and of generosity and of goodness. It illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world's busy life and become more interested in people than in things. — Thomas S. Monson

How grateful we should be that a wise Creator fashioned an earth and placed us here, with a veil of forgetfulness of our previous existence so that we might experience a time of testing, an opportunity to prove ourselves in order to qualify for all that God has prepared for us to receive. — Thomas S. Monson

No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellow man. Service to others is akin to duty, the fulfillment of which brings true joy. We do not live alone - in our city, our nation, or our world. There is no dividing line between our prosperity and our neighbor's wretchedness. 'Love they neighbor' is more than a divine truth. It is a pattern for perfection. — Thomas S. Monson

I hope that you will learn to take responsibility for your decisions. Don't take counsel of your fears. — Thomas S. Monson

Happiness comes when we stop complaining about the troubles we have and offer thanks for all the troubles we don't have. — Thomas S. Monson

All of us are prone to excuse our own mediocre performance. We blame our misfortunes, our disfigurements, our so-called handicaps. Victims of our own rationalization, we say silently to ourselves, 'I'm just too weak,' or 'I'm not cut out for better things.' Others soar beyond our meager accomplishments. Envy and discouragement take their toll. — Thomas S. Monson

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

I'm a great believer that the Lord provides us specific experiences to prepare us to deal with some of the challenges that we're going to encounter in our own period of service. — Thomas S. Monson

Gaze Upward, Look Inward, Reach Outward, Press Forward. — Thomas S. Monson

When we deal in generalities, we shall never succeed. When we deal in specifics, we shall rarely have a failure. When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported, the rate of performance accelerates. — Thomas S. Monson

Let us relish life as we live it and ... find joy in the journey. — Thomas S. Monson

The opportunity to declare a truth may come when we least expect it. Let us be prepared. — Thomas S. Monson

Remember who you are and what God expects you to become. — Thomas S. Monson

May we ever watch over one another, assisting in times of need. Let us not be critical and judgmental, but let us be tolerant, ever emulating the Savior's example of loving-kindness. In that vein, may we willingly serve one another. May we pray for the inspiration to know of the needs of those around us, and then may we go forward and provide assistance. — Thomas S. Monson

It is almost inevitable that our faith will be challenged. We may at times find ourselves surrounded by others and yet standing in the minority or even standing alone concerning what is acceptable and what is not. Do we have the moral courage to stand firm for our beliefs, even if by so doing we must stand alone? — Thomas S. Monson

I am drawn mostly, insistently to the human voice. How powerful and necessary the solo voice, the experience of being someone, something else for a little while. This is and will remain literature's killer app, the thing most impervious to threat by everything that's not the word. — Ander Monson

The holy scriptures contain no proclamation more relevant, no responsibility more binding, no instruction more direct than the injunction given by the resurrected Lord as He appeared in Galilee to the eleven disciples. — Thomas S. Monson

Let there be sleep after death...Let me not be lonely for her. Let my desire be as ashes, my heart as a stone lost in a dark river. — Christine Monson

Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with family and friends. — Thomas S. Monson

Clearly, one primary purpose of our existence upon the earth is to obtain a body of flesh and bones. We have also been given the gift of agency. In a thousand ways we are privileged to choose for ourselves. Here we learn from the hard taskmaster of experience. We discern between good and evil. We differentiate as to the bitter and the sweet. We discover that there are consequences attached to our actions. — Thomas S. Monson

If you are persistent, you will succeed — Thomas S. Monson

How grateful we are that the heavens are indeed open, that the gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored, and that the Church is founded on the rock of revelation. We are a blessed people, with apostles and prophets upon the earth today. — Thomas S. Monson

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

As we remember prayer and take time to turn to the scriptures, our lives will be infinitely more blessed and our burdens will be made lighter. — 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

There are those who struggle every day with challenges. Let us extend to them our concern, as well as a helping hand. As we care for each other, we will be blessed. — Thomas S. Monson

A grateful heart ... comes through expressing gratitude to our Heavenly Father for His blessings and to those around us for all that they bring into our lives. — Thomas S. Monson

How much better the world would be if we all gave gifts of understanding, and compassion, of service, and friendship, of kindness and gentleness. — Thomas S. Monson

I testify that this work in which we're engaged is the Lord's work. I've felt His sustaining influence. — Thomas S. Monson

... Faith forged in the furnace of trials and tears is marked by trust and testimony.
Only God can count the sacrifice; only God can measure the sorrow; only God can know the hearts of those who serve Him. — 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

Each of our temples is an expression of our testimony that life beyond the grave is as real and as certain as is our life here on earth. — Thomas S. Monson

Anxiously you ask, 'Is there a way to safety? Can someone guide me? Is there an escape from threatened destruction?' The answer is a resounding yes! I counsel you: Look to the lighthouse of the Lord. There is no fog so dense, no night so dark, no gale so strong, no mariner so lost but what its beacon light can rescue. It beckons through the storms of life. It calls, 'This way to safety; this way to home. — Thomas S. Monson

Don't limit yourself and don't let others convince you that you are limited in what you can do. Believe in yourself and then live so as to reach your possibilities. You can achieve what you believe you can. Trust and believe and have faith. — Thomas S. Monson

Excuses are like backsides. Everybody's got one, and they all stink. — Becky Monson

As you and I walk the pathway Jesus walked, let us listen for the sound of sandaled feet. Let us reach out for the Carpenter's hand. Then we shall come to know Him. — Thomas S. Monson