Charity is....

“Charity is having patience with someone who has let us down,” said President Thomas S. Monson. “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.”

The Touch of the Master's Hand

Anxiously Engaged

President Thomas S. Monson

First Counselor in the First Presidency

Those who have felt the touch of the Master’s hand somehow cannot explain the change which comes into their lives. There is a desire to live better, to serve faithfully, to walk humbly, and to be more like the Savior. Having received their spiritual eyesight and glimpsed the promises of eternity, they echo the words of the blind man to whom Jesus restored sight: “One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.”

What Will You Give For Christmas?

"What will you and I give for Christmas this year? Let us in our lives give to our Lord and Savior the gift of gratitude by living His teachings and following in His footsteps. It was said of Him that He 'went about doing good.' As we do likewise, the Christmas spirit will be ours."

Thomas S. Monson

Lack of Husband

"Many members of Relief Society do not have husbands Death, divorce, or lack of opportunity to marry have, in many instances, made it necessary for a woman to stand alone. Additionally, there are those who have just come from the young women program. In reality, no one need stand along, for a loving Heavenly Father will be by her side to give direction to her life and provide peace and assurance in those quiet moments where loneliness is found and where compassion is needed."

Thomas S. Monson

Speaking to You

"The holy scriptures [are] an unfailing guide in our lives. Become acquainted with the lessons the scriptures teach. Learn the background and setting of the Master's parables and the prophets' admonitions. Study them as though each were speaking to you, for such is the truth."

Thomas S. Monson

Attitude of Gratitude

"We can lift ourselves, and other as well, when we refuse to remain in the realm of negative thought and cultivate within our hearts an attitude of gratitude. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues."

Thomas S. Monson

Have A Relationship With Your Father in Heaven

 Not a day has gone by that I have not communicated with my Father in Heaven through prayer. It is a relationship I cherish—one I would literally be lost without. If you do not now have such a relationship with your Father in Heaven, I urge you to work toward that goal. As you do so, you will be entitled to His inspiration and guidance in your life—necessities for each of us if we are to survive spiritually during our sojourn here on earth. Such inspiration and guidance are gifts He freely gives if we but seek them.

Thomas S. Monson, "Stand in Holy Places," Ensign, Nov 2011, 84. 

Learning the Painful Lessons

“Difficulties come into our lives, problems we do not anticipate and which we would never choose. None of us is immune. The purpose of mortality is to learn and to grow to be more like our Father, and it is often during the difficult times that we learn the most, as painful as the lessons may be.”

President Thomas S. Monson, “God Be with You TillWe Meet Again,” Ensign, Nov. 2012, 111.

Sing the Hymns

"If you love the Lord, if you love his doctrine, you'll love the hymns. And when you love them, you sing them."

Thomas S. Monson, "New Hymnbook," 105

Happier Lives

President Monson taught: “When we keep the commandments, our lives will be happier, more fulfilling, and less complicated. Our challenges and problems will be easier to bear, and we will receive [God’s] promised blessings.”8 He also said, “The knowledge which we seek, the answers for which we yearn, and the strength which we desire today to meet the challenges of a complex and changing world can be ours when we willingly obey the Lord’s commandments.”

1. Thomas S. Monson, “Keep the Commandments,” Ensign, Nov. 2015, 83.
2. Thomas S. Monson, “Obedience Brings Blessings,” Ensign,May 2013, 92.

Look Heavenward

Look Heavenward

“Looking heavenward should be our lifelong endeavor. Some foolish persons turn their backs on the wisdom of God and follow the allurement of fickle fashion, the attraction of false popularity, and the thrill of the moment. Their course of conduct resembles the disastrous experience of Esau, who exchanged his birthright for a mess of pottage.

“And what are the results of such action? I testify to you today that turning away from God brings broken covenants, shattered dreams, and crushed hopes. Such a quagmire of quicksand I plead with you to avoid. You are of a noble birthright. Eternal life in the kingdom of our Father is your goal.

“Such a goal is not achieved in one glorious attempt, but rather is the result of a lifetime of righteousness, an accumulation of wise choices, even a constancy of purpose and lofty ideals.

“Amidst the confusion of our age, the conflicts of conscience, and the turmoil of daily living, an abiding faith becomes an anchor to our lives.”

President Thomas S. Monson, “Guideposts for Life’s Journey” (Brigham Young University devotional address, Nov. 13, 2007), 3, speeches.byu.edu.

Choose Your Love; Love Your Choice

"Choose a companion carefully and prayerfully; and when you are married, be fiercely loyal one to another. Priceless advice comes from a small framed plaque I once saw in the home of an uncle and aunt. It read, 'Choose your love; love your choice.' "

Thomas S. Monson, April 2011 general conference

Small Acts of Service

 “Often small acts of service are all that is required to lift and bless another: a question concerning a person’s family, quick words of encouragement, a sincere compliment, a small note of thanks, a brief telephone call,” taught President Thomas S. Monson. “If we are observant and aware, and if we act on the promptings which come to us, we can accomplish much good. … Countless are the acts of service provided by the vast army of Relief Society visiting teachers.”

Thomas S. Monson, “Three Goals to Guide You,” Liahona andEnsign, Nov. 2007, 120–21.

A Worthy Goal

Have the determination to make the effort, the single-mindedness to work toward a worthy goal, and the courage not only to face the challenges that inevitably come but also to make a second effort, should such be required. “Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’”

Mary Anne Radmacher, Courage Doesn’t Always Roar (2009).Note: In the January 2012 First Presidency Message, “Living the Abundant Life,” we initially failed to attribute the quotation to Mary Anne Radmacher. We apologize for any harm the oversight may have caused.

Reach Out To Rescue

“Reach out to rescue the aged, the widowed, the sick, the handicapped, the less active,” he has said, and then he has led the charge. “Extend to them the hand that helps and the heart that knows compassion.”

Thomas S. Monson, Salt Lake City South Stake Conference Broadcast, Oct. 18, 2009, unpublished.

Have I Done Any Good?

“Let us ask ourselves the questions,” he has said, “‘Have I done any good in the world today? Have I helped anyone in need?’ What a formula for happiness! What a prescription for contentment, for inner peace. … There are hearts to gladden. There are kind words to say. There are gifts to be given. There are deeds to be done. There are souls to be saved.”

Thomas S. Monson, “Now Is the Time,” Liahona, Jan. 2002, 69;Ensign, Nov. 2001, 60.

No Coincidences

President Monson often says, “There are no coincidences” as he makes the point that his experiences in life have taught him to always look for the Lord’s hand.

Thomas S. Monson, in To the Rescue, 60.

Of President Monson

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Have I Done Any Good in the World Today?

By Heidi S. Swinton

He is an unusual man who has reverence for everyone he meets and who is interested in their lives, worries, and challenges. He relates to a visiting dignitary from a foreign country with the same attention he does the man who polishes his desk at night. Clearly, one of the measures of his greatness is that he can relate to anyone and finds he can learn something from each person he meets.

Put simply, President Monson does what most people only thinkabout doing.

Magnifying Our Callings

Magnifying Our Callings

“What does it mean to magnify a calling? It means to build it up in dignity and importance, to make it honorable and commendable in the eyes of all men, to enlarge and strengthen it, to let the light of heaven shine through it to the view of other men. And how does one magnify a calling? Simply by performing the service that pertains to it. An elder magnifies the ordained calling of an elder by learning what his duties as an elder are and then by doing them. As with an elder, so with a deacon, a teacher, a priest, a bishop, and each who holds office in the priesthood.”

President Thomas S. Monson, “The Call of Duty,” Ensign, May 1986, 38–39.

Lose Life to service

The Savior taught, “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.”1President Thomas S. Monson said of this scripture: “I believe the Savior is telling us that unless we lose ourselves in service to others, there is little purpose to our own lives. Those who live only for themselves eventually shrivel up and figuratively lose their lives, while those who lose themselves in service to others grow and flourish—and in effect save their lives."

Thomas S. Monson, “What Have I Done for Someone Today?” Ensignor Liahona, Nov. 2009, 85.