Talmage Quotes & Sayings

A lawyer is sometimes required to search titles, and the client who thinks he has good right to an estate, puts the papers in his hands, and the attorney goes into the public records and finds everything right for three or four years back; but after a time he comes to a break in the title. So he finds that the man who supposed he owned it owns not an acre of the ground which belongs to someone else. I trace the title of this world from century to century until I find the whole right vested in God. Now to whom did he give it? To his own children. All are yours. — Thomas De Witt Talmage

The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant.' - Psalms 25:14. — James E. Talmage

I move for a creed for all our denominations made out of Scripture quotations, pure and simple. That would be impregnable against infidelity and Appolyonic assault. That would be beyond human criticism. Let us make it simpler and plainer for people to get into the Kingdom of God. — Thomas De Witt Talmage

The Bible is a warm letter of affection from a parent to a child; and yet there are many who see chiefly the severer passages. As there may be fifty or sixty nights of gentle dews in one summer, that will not cause as much remark as one hailstorm of half an hour, so there are those who are more struck by those passages of the Bible that announce the indignation of God than by those that announce His affection. — Thomas De Witt Talmage

A really honest man will neither take nor covet his neighbor's good, indeed it may be said that he cannot steal; yet he is capable of stealing should be so elect. His honesty is an armor against temptation; but the coat of mail, the helmet, the breastplate, and the greaves, are but an outward covering; the man within may be vulnerable if he can be reached. - ch. 10 of Jesus the Christ — James Talmage

Mother--that was the bank where we deposited all our hurts and worries. — T. DeWitt Talmage

Since the beginning of time there have been people who see themselves as being above the law. To them the laws don't apply. These people often hold positions
in government and in the corporate world. Does a similar mentality exist within the casino world?
You betcha! — John-Talmage Mathis

I like the Bible folded between lids of cloth, or calfskin, or morocco, but I like it better when, in the shape of a man, it goes out into the world-a Bible illustrated. — Thomas De Witt Talmage

The God I worship is the personification of love, but not that maudlin love that oftimes blinds our eyes to facts and leads us to inconsistent actions — James E. Talmage

Christ proclaimed: "I am the good shepherd." He then further showed, and with eloquent exactness, the difference between a shepherd and a hireling herder. The one has personal interest in and love for his flock, and knows each sheep by name, the other knows them only as a flock, the value of which is gaged by number; to the hireling they are only as so many or so much. While the shepherd is ready to fight in defense of his own, and if necessary even imperil his life for his sheep, the hireling flees when the wolf approaches, leaving the way open for the ravening beast to scatter, rend, and kill. — James E. Talmage

Social dissipation, as witnessed in the ball-room, is the abettor of pride, the instigator of jealousy, it is the sacrificial altar of health, it is the defiler of the soul, it is the avenue of lust and it is the curse of every town in America. — Thomas De Witt Talmage

Belief is in a sense passive, an agreement or acceptance only; faith is active and positive, embracing such reliance and confidence as will lead to works. Faith in Christ comprises belief in Him, combined with trust in Him. One cannot have faith without belief; yet he may believe and still lack faith. Faith is vivified, vitalized, living belief. — James E. Talmage

The truth is, living in any society is difficult. Those who become desperate with a fractured sense of security are much more prone to being taken advantaged of. — John-Talmage Mathis

Here they [the Jaredites] became a flourishing nation; but, giving way in time to internal dissensions, they divided into factions, which warred with one another until the people were totally destroyed (p. 15). — James E. Talmage

Can there be nothing but what we are able to understand and explain as to means, mode, and accomplishment? This would be a poverty-stricken world if it knew nothing but what man can explain and expound. Shall it be that because we cannot do a thing, we shall say it cannot be done, even by a higher power? — James E. Talmage

One who really prays that this kingdom will come ... [will make the effort to] keep himself in harmony with the order of the kingdom, to subject the flesh to the spirit, selfishness to altruism, and to learn to love the things that God loves. To make the will of God supreme on earth as it is in heaven is to be allied with God in the affairs of life. — James E. Talmage

The ordeals of others ...
prepare us, and
later become the compass ...
in our time of ordeal. — John-Talmage Mathis

Mortal birth is a boon to which only those spirits who kept their first estate are eligible. — James E. Talmage

Bring the little ones to Christ. Lord Jesus, we bring them today, the children of our Sunday-schools, of our churches, of the streets. Here they are; they wait Thy benediction. The prayer of Jacob for his sons shall be my prayer while I live, and when I die: The angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads. — Thomas De Witt Talmage

No one who believes that Jesus died for man can doubt the validity and efficacy of vicarious ministration. — James E. Talmage

Years ago when I served as a missionary, we had a visit from Dr. James E. Talmage of the Council of the Twelve
a great student, a great teacher, great theologian, and a great prophet.. Here we sat at his feet every idle minute that we could find and plied him with questions and listened to his counsel.
On one occasion he said to us, I want to tell you missionaries something. The day of sacrifice is not past! The time will come, yet, when many Saints and even Apostles will yet lose their lives in defense of the truth! — Harold B. Lee

If your path had been smooth, you would have depended upon your own surefootedness; but God roughened the path, so you have to take hold of His hand. If the weather had been mild, you would have loitered along the watercourses, but at the first howl of the storm you quickened your pace heavenward and wrapped around you the warm robe of Saviour's righteousness. — Thomas De Witt Talmage

The rum fiend would like to go and hang up a skeleton in your beautiful house so that, when you opened the front door to go in, you would see it in the hall; and, when you sat at your table you would see it hanging from the wall; and, when you opened your bedroom you would find it stretched upon your pillow; and, waking at night, you would feel its cold hand passing over your face and pinching at your heart. There is no home so beautiful but it may be devastated by the awful curse. — Thomas De Witt Talmage

Take not into your ear that scum of hell that people call tittle-tattle. Whosoever willingly listens to a slander is equally guilty with the one who tells it, and an old writer says they ought both to be hanged; the one by the tongue and the other by the ear. Do not smile upon such a spaniel, lest like a pleased dog, he puts his dirty paw upon you. — Thomas De Witt Talmage

The mob that hounded Christ from Jerusalem to "the place of a skull" has never been dispersed, but is augmenting yet, as many of the learned men of the world and great men of the world come out from their studies and their laboratories and their palaces, and cry, "Away with this man! Away with him!" The most bitter hostility which many of the learned men of this day exercise in any direction they exercise against Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. — Thomas De Witt Talmage

You can graduate a man's progress in religion by the amount of prayer, not by the number of hours perhaps, but by the earnest supplication that he puts up to God. There is no exception to the rule. Show me a man who prays and his strength and his power cannot by exaggerated. Just give to a man this power of prayer and you give him almost omnipotence. — Thomas De Witt Talmage

Logic has its use and metaphysics has its use, but neither of them is of much help in the making of a creed. — Thomas De Witt Talmage

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints affirms her possession of divine authority for the use of the sacred name, Jesus Christ, as the essential part of her distinctive designation. In view of this exalted claim, it is pertinent to inquire as to what special or particular message the Church has to give to the world concerning the Redeemer and Savior of the race, and as to what she has to say in justification of her solemn affirmation, or in vindication of her exclusive name and title. As we proceed with our study, we shall find that among the specific teachings of the Church respecting ... — James E. Talmage

Don't allow another human to decide your priorities. Their decisions are made without the slightest concern for how you're inconvenienced. — John-Talmage Mathis

You are a free man, and let no organization come between you and your best interests. Do not let any man, or any body of men, tell you where you shall work, or where you shall not work, when you shall work, or when, you shall not work. If a man wants to belong to a labor organization, let him belong. If he does not want to belong to a labor organization, let him have perfect liberty to stay out. You own yourself. Let no man put a manacle on your hand, or foot, or head, or heart. — Thomas De Witt Talmage

When the noise is gone, and
the air is still ...
prepare for survival. — John-Talmage Mathis

Gossip is an unavoidable evil at school, work, or wherever, but when the HR department gossips, it elevates into malice. — John-Talmage Mathis

My first bit of advice is to not personalize a job loss. The cause for the dismissal was a business calculation. This is difficult for many to grasp; it's difficult to accept that events just occur. Come to see this as an experience. Obviously not the most pleasant experience, but it is one that you'll overcome. — John-Talmage Mathis

All decisions we've come to accept as right or wrong are ingrained in us from the society in which we abide. Rights and wrongs are not universally known or transferable. — John-Talmage Mathis

The distance between capital and labor is not a great gulf over which is swung a Niagara suspension bridge; it is only a step, and the laborers here will cross over and become capitalists and the capitalists will cross over and become laborers. Would to God they would shake hands while they are crossing, these from one side, and those from the other side. — Thomas De Witt Talmage

I wish that I could marshall all the young to an appreciation of the fact that you have an earnest work in life and your amusements and recreations are only to help you along in that work. — Thomas De Witt Talmage

At the beginning God said: "Let there be light," and light was, and light is, and light shall be. So Christianity is rolling on, and it is going to warm all nations, and all nations are to bask in its light. Men may shut the window-blinds so they cannot see it, or they may smoke the pipe of speculation until they are shadowed under their own vaporing; but the Lord God is a sun! — Thomas De Witt Talmage

You cannot show real respect to your parents by perpetuating their errors ... Do you consider that the inventor of a steel plow cast a slur upon his father who scratched the ground with a wooden one? I do not consider that an invention by the son is a slander upon the father; I regard each invention simply as an improvement; and every father should be exceedingly proud of an ingenious son. If Mr. Talmage has a son, it will be impossible for him to honor his father except by differing with him. — Robert Green Ingersoll

Move aside Ebola, smallpox, and AIDS; make room for narcolepsy. I would become shunned and avoided. Perhaps the
people at the casino thought that this fatigue disease was contagious.
Just because I yawn and you yawn shortly
after doesn't mean that you have suddenly been infected with narcolepsy. It would be silly if they had in fact thought this. — John-Talmage Mathis

If the bones of all those who have fallen as a prey to intemperance could be piled up it would make a vast pyramid. Who will gird himself for the journey and try with me to scale this mountain of the dead
going up miles high on human carcasses to find still other peaks far above, mountain above mountain, white with the bones of drunkards. — Thomas De Witt Talmage

The Lord's hand in in our lives; if we will but feel for it, in the darkness, we can grasp it and be lifted thereby. — James E. Talmage

In the lottery of life there are more prizes drawn than blanks, and to one misfortune there are fifty advantages. Despondency is the most unprofitable feeling a man can indulge in. — Thomas De Witt Talmage

No man will be kept in hell loner than is necessary to bring him to a fitness for something better. When he reaches that stage the prison doors will open and there will be rejoicing among the hosts who welcome him into a better state. — James E. Talmage

Physical exercise is indispensable to the development of body, and quite as certainly is spiritual activity requisite to the healthful and normal development of the soul. — James E. Talmage

You've looked in the mirror long enough.
See everything as if it were narrated by another. — John-Talmage Mathis

The pain and shame felt are unknown to those with planned vacations. They know not of the tsunami that rescinded the homes, goals, and hopes of its victims - swallowed by the sea of greed. — John-Talmage Mathis

Tools that make life simpler ... tend to make life more hectic, and more prone to disruptions. — John-Talmage Mathis

In whatever decisions you make in life, you have to run them through a series of logic tests to make sure that there aren't better alternatives.
Don't ever accept anything blindly - good or bad. — John-Talmage Mathis

We have been told ... that this life is a necessary part in the course of progression designed by our Father. We have been taught ... to look upon these bodies of ours as gifts from God ... It has been declared in the solemn word of revelation, that the spirit and the body constitute the soul of man; and, therefore, we should look upon this body as something that shall endure in the resurrected state, beyond the grave, something to be kept pure and holy. — James E. Talmage

Creativity and passion dwindle when hungry. Premiums for talent are easier to demand when desperation isn't part of the equation. If I'm established, I can demand $350 an hour. If I'm desperate, I may accept $5. — John-Talmage Mathis

I've never felt that the American Dream was owed to me. I never felt that I was entitled to this Dream. This is why I laid the cobblestone before me for this Dream to be achieved. — John-Talmage Mathis

And to fight this beast of wrong is what I intend to do. To do otherwise is to sidestp this rabid injustice. — John-Talmage Mathis

Dedication is a great trait. It's also the trait most abused by superiors. In short, you are an asset that can be easily replaced. Your proficiency is profitable to the company and makes life easier for supervisors. But the constant imbalance may result in a divorce or decline in health. Is that what you agreed to when you were hired? — John-Talmage Mathis

A mother is a bank where I deposit all my worries and hurts — Thomas De Witt Talmage

This person sees not her own hand depositing the next dollar in a slot machine, but the hand of fate, or God. It's her true conviction that there are forces at work for her to win a large jackpot - or at least to win back the money lost.
After all, the only-for-show pictures of fruit had almost aligned with one another the last couple spins. — John-Talmage Mathis

Mere pleasure is at best but fleeting; happiness is abiding, for in the recollection thereof is renewed. — James E. Talmage

Fear is different;
it remains;
it causes prejudice. — John-Talmage Mathis

Listen to people; nothing is accomplished if you dismiss other viewpoints. And of most importance: be confident. Have confidence in yourself. Have confidence in your resume - in your skills and in your qualifications. Be willing to learn. — John-Talmage Mathis

Gratitude is twin sister to humility; Pride is foe to both. — James E. Talmage

Let your strength from the past
provide proof of your abilities to ...
conquer the difficulties of the present. — John-Talmage Mathis

The man who cannot listen to an argument which opposes his views either has a weak position or is a weak defender of it. No opinion that cannot stand discussion or criticism is worth holding. And it has been wisely said that the man who knows only half of any question is worse off than the man who knows nothing of it. He is not only one sided, but his partisanship soon turns him into an intolerant and a fanatic. In general it is true that nothing which cannot stand up under discussion and criticism is worth defending. — James E. Talmage

Is it really necessary to reward the CEO with several million dollars? Why isn't it logical or common sense to pay the minimum-wage employee another quarter, give a quarterly fifty-dollar bonus, or even provide a two-hundred-dollar gas gift card? — John-Talmage Mathis

Self-preservation - this is your new focus.
The only obligation of today is to preserve the breath of tomorrow. Then, once footing is regained, you can begin to fulfill debt obligations.
Debt is hindsight. — John-Talmage Mathis

Every player eventually loses all their money. — John-Talmage Mathis

Life is about finding . . .
what works best for you. — John-Talmage Mathis

So I resort back to such ideology: we all have a calling. We all have an ultimate purpose. On that is laid before us by destiny or one that is positioned in the crosshairs of our long-term goals. — John-Talmage Mathis

Trust can be one of life's greatest rewards, but it can also be the cause for the most destruction in one's life. — John-Talmage Mathis

I care not what your education is, elaborate or nothing, what your mental calibre is, great or small, that man who concentrates all his energies of body, mind and soul in one direction is a tremendous man. — Thomas De Witt Talmage

No pang that is suffered by man or woman upon the earth will be without its compensating effect ... if it be met with patience. — James E. Talmage

This is what you have . . . that many don't: TIME — John-Talmage Mathis

The grace of God is abundant. It is for all lands, for all ages, for all conditions. It seems to undergird everything. Pardon for the worst sin, comfort for the sharpest suffering, brightest light for the thickest darkness. — Thomas De Witt Talmage

One good, hearty laugh is a bombshell exploding in the right place, while spleen and discontent are a gun that kicks over the man who shoots it off. — Thomas De Witt Talmage

Man cannot measure the bounds nor fathom the depths of divine forgiveness ... — James E. Talmage

Until a job is outsourced or streamlined through an innovation, an employee is trained to operate robotically. This is what a brand is. — John-Talmage Mathis

It felt wrong for me to push Lady Luck to the side and for me to choose who ought to be 'lucky'. It didn't seem right. It wasn't fair. — John-Talmage Mathis

We hear much nowadays as to the speculative ideas of men concerning the condition beyond the grave; but the admission that there is an individual existence beyond the grave, is a declaration that there must have been an individual, intelligent creation before we came here in the flesh. Life beyond the grave postulates a pre-existent state. — James E. Talmage

You've had many ordeals in the past. During these ordeals, life seemed unbearable. You may have collapsed from the exhaustion of hopelessness and curled into a fetal position. Regardless of how difficult this new ordeal may be, as with the others, this too will be overcome. It will make you stronger. — John-Talmage Mathis

We talk of independence. No man is independent. We are all interdependent; and we shall only rise as we carry others with us, and as we are assisted by others. — James E. Talmage

We may not know what lies ahead of us in the future years, nor even in the days or hours immediately beyond. But for a few yards, or possibly only a few feet, the track is clear, our duty is plain, our course is illumined. For that short distance, for the next step, lighted by the inspiration of God, go on! — James E. Talmage

No opinion that cannot stand discussion or criticism is worth holding. — James E. Talmage

There is no magical formula to beat the casino. None. Save your money. Save yourself from the cons of an author and the cons of the casino. — John-Talmage Mathis

Prayer is the Lord's great sterilizer against the germs of spiritual disease. — James E. Talmage

Electricity, shelter, and a safe place to sleep ...
trump the need to preserve your credit score, or
purchase a new gizmo. — John-Talmage Mathis

Preparation:
allows you to prevent ...
the intensity of the ordeal. — John-Talmage Mathis

I live by the belief that if you work hard and do the best you can, at the end of the day sleep comes easily for the dollar that was earned honestly. It was a lesson instilled by my parents. It was a lesson that I have always followed and found to be quite accurate. — John-Talmage Mathis

Probation. Jesus Christ was and is Jehovah, the God of Adam and of Noah, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Israel, the God at whose instance the prophets of the ages have spoken, the God of all nations, and He who shall yet reign on earth as King of kings and Lord of lords. — James E. Talmage

Within the Gospel of Jesus Christ there is room and place for every truth thus far learned by man or yet to be made known. — James E. Talmage

Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. — Thomas De Witt Talmage

Belief, in one of its accepted senses, may consist in a merely intellectual assent, while faith implies such confidence and conviction as will impel to action. — James E. Talmage

Was I a fool to believe in fate or in some destined illusionary path? I don't know. But we all need something to believe in. — John-Talmage Mathis

Don't forget:
Ruts aren't that much different ...
from graves. — John-Talmage Mathis

The pen is the lever that moves the world. — Thomas De Witt Talmage

By the 1990s, longevity will be so improved that 150 years will be no unusual age to reach. — Thomas De Witt Talmage

Life isn't fair. It doesn't make sense. This unfairness is felt by everyone, from the Las Vegas tunnel dweller all the way to the executive in the high-rise. To some, these "unfair" experiences become a chastening ball and chain attached for the remainder of life. — John-Talmage Mathis

The world's greatest champion of woman and womanhood is Jesus the Christ. — James E. Talmage

Don't allow past experiences to be forgotten.
Hold them close. — John-Talmage Mathis

Our Lord's descent from the holy heights of the Mount of Transfiguration was more than a physical return from greater to lesser altitudes; it was a passing from sunshine into shadow, from the effulgent glory of heaven to the mists of worldly passions and human unbelief; it was the beginning of His rapid descent into the valley of humiliation. — James E. Talmage

No jot, iota, or tittle of the temple rites is otherwise than uplifting and sanctifying. In every detail the endowment ceremony contributes to covenants of morality of life, consecration of person to high ideals, devotion to truth, patriotism to nation, and allegiance to God. — James E. Talmage

My casino experience is to someone else their experience with their employer, of how the company has elected to behave solely for greed, profits, and spite. But we shouldn't give up hope in such situations. We have an obligation to separate the justices from the injustices. We should hold these corporate neighbors accountable for the wrongs that they commit.
Someone has to. — John-Talmage Mathis