Our Passover

“Do we see [our weekly sacramental service] as our Passover, remembrance of our safety and deliverance and redemption?

“With so very much at stake, this ordinance commemorating our escape from the angel of darkness should be taken more seriously than it sometimes is.”

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “This Do in Remembrance of Me,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 68. 

Treasure Motherhood

 “A woman who treasures motherhood on earth will treasure motherhood in the world to come, and ‘where [her] treasure is, there will [her] heart be also’ (Matthew 6:21). By developing a mother heart, each girl and woman prepares for her divine, eternal mission of motherhood.. . . .”

Julie B. Beck, former Relief Society General President, “A Mother Heart,” Ensign, May 2004, 76, 77. 

Motherhood

 “At times Church members may be reluctant to talk about motherhood, fearing that a childless woman may be offended or that mothers will be filled with guilt over their inadequacies and shortcomings. That should not be the case. Motherhood is an important, noble, divine calling. Sisters need to receive support, love, validation, and reinforcement as they strive to magnify their calling as mothers.”

Rosemary Thackeray, “Celebrate Nurturing,” Ensign, April 2014, 63. 

Be Careful in your Professional Lives

“Be very careful in your professional lives. Do not put false gods before the Lord. Be wise. Do not let yourselves be carried away by the current of the world. Seek the Lord’s inspiration and guidance to make wise decisions. Let the material things you earn be a blessing and not a curse in your lives and those of your families.”

Elder Claudio D. Zivic, “The Blessings of Perseverance,” Ensign, April 2014, 61.

Christ as our Center

“The history of the Church . . . is replete with the experiences of those who have struggled and yet who have remained steadfast and of good cheer. The reason? They have made the gospel of Jesus Christ the center of their lives. This is what will pull us through whatever comes our way. We will still experience difficult challenges, but we will be able to face them, to meet them head-on, and to emerge victorious.”

President Thomas S. Monson, “I Will Not Fail Thee, nor Forsake Thee,” Ensign, Nov. 2013, 86. 

"My Wife Needed Me'

 “Several years ago, just before general conference, President Thomas S. Monson taught a wonderful lesson. This time it was to assembled General Authorities who had traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah, many coming from places around the world where they were serving in Area Presidencies. We had come together to be instructed by the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles.

“As the time for the meeting approached, everyone seemed to be in attendance except President Monson. Several minutes before the meeting was to begin, we stopped visiting with each other and sat reverently listening to the prelude music, expecting the prophet to arrive any moment.

“We patiently waited as 9:00 a.m. came and then passed. Someone walked out the side door—obviously to see if some assistance might be needed. Upon returning, he said, “President Monson will join you shortly.”

“About 15 minutes later, President Monson entered the room. Out of respect, we stood as he entered. We were happy to see him and pleased that he looked well. There was no obvious reason as to why he would have been late. President Monson went straight to the pulpit and said, “Brethren, I’m sorry to be late, but my wife needed me this morning.”

“I was deeply impressed and humbled, and I couldn’t stop thinking about his words.

“This was a very important meeting. The entire senior leadership of the Church was assembled, but President Monson set the example for us all. His wife needed him, and he took the time necessary to care for her. It was a great sermon. I don’t remember anything else said that day, but I remember that sermon: “My wife needed me.””

“The sweetest experience I know in life is to feel a prompting and act upon it and later find out that it was the fulfillment of someone’s prayer or someone’s need. And I always want the Lord to know that if He needs an errand run, Tom Monson will run that errand for Him.”

On the Lord’s Errand (DVD 2008). 

We Can't Afford It

 “When faced with the choice to buy, consume, or engage in worldly things and activities, we all need to learn to say to one another, ‘We can’t afford it, even though we want it!’ or ‘We can afford it, but we don’t need it—and we really don’t even want it.’"

Robert D. Hales, “Becoming Provident Providers Temporally and Spiritually,” Ensign, May 2009, 9. 

Good and Bad

Look hard enough, and you can discover both good and bad in almost anyone and anything.

Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Looking for the Good," Ensign, Mar 2011, 4. 

Buying Things We Don't Really Need

 “Doesn't it make sense that the more we spend on ourselves, the more satisfied we’ll be?

“In actuality, the answer is no. Studies have consistently shown that when we purchase something we want but don’t really need, we generally experience a short-term feeling of satisfaction (a “chocolate high”), followed by a relatively swift return to our earlier satisfaction level. In other words, just about everything we buy that we do not really need is rapidly taken for granted. Living on such a consumer treadmill, with its short-term highs, runs counter to our well-being and can divert us from experiencing sustained happiness.”

Craig P. Wilson, “Lasting Happiness,” Ensign, April 2014, 18. 

Testing our Anchors

 “Life has a way of testing our anchors and tempting us to drift. Nevertheless, if our anchors are correctly placed in the rock of our Redeemer, they will hold—no matter the force of the wind, the strength of the tide, or the height of the waves.”

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “A Firmly Set Anchor,” Ensign, April 2014, 5.

Anchors

 “The purpose of an anchor is to keep a ship safe and secure at a desired location or to help control the ship during bad weather. However, to accomplish these vital purposes, just having an anchor is not enough. The anchor must be solid, dependable, and used properly at the right time and place.

“Individuals and families need anchors as well.

“Adversity can come as a great storm to blow us off course and threaten to cast us against the rocks. But sometimes we are also in danger when everything appears to be safe—the winds soft and the waters smooth. In fact, we can be in the greatest danger when we are drifting and movement is so slight that we scarcely notice it.”

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “A Firmly Set Anchor,” Ensign, April 2014, 4. 

Welcome All

“Reach out to anyone who appears at the doors of your Church buildings. Welcome them with gratitude and without prejudice. If people you do not know walk into one of your meetings, greet them warmly and invite them to sit with you. Please make the first move to help them feel welcome and loved, rather than waiting for them to come to you.

“After your initial welcome, consider ways you can continue to minister to them.”

Bishop Gerald Causse, First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, “Ye Are No More Strangers,” Ensign, Nov. 2013, 51. 

No Earthly Explanation

“Sometimes we will face things for which there is no earthly explanation. In those moments we need to erect a sign that reads, ‘Quiet: God at Work.’ Meanwhile hold on, child of God. Keep believing. Don’t quit. Don’t give up. Let God do His work in you. The greatest tragedy is to miss what God wants to teach us through our troubles.”

Ray Pritchard, Why Did This Happen to Me? (2003), 57; emphasis in original.

The Purpose of Trials

“Our Heavenly Father, who gives us so much to delight in, also knows that we learn and grow and become stronger as we face and survive the trials through which we must pass. . . . Such difficulties allow us to change for the better, to rebuild our lives in the way our Heavenly Father teaches us, and to become something different from what we were—better than we were, more understanding than we were, more empathetic than we were, with stronger testimonies than we had before.”

President Thomas S. Monson, “I Will Not Fail Thee, nor Forsake Thee,” Ensign, Nov. 2013, 87.