Quotessence
Home / Authors / David O. McKay
David O. McKay

David O. McKay Quotes

Author

Filter quotes by topic

AllMenSoulHomeWorldConstitutionChildrenMayCharacterIndividualShould

Famous David O. McKay Quotes

“Youth need guidance, direction, and proper restraint...Parents, too, have a responsibility in this training not to provoke children to wrath. They should be considerate not to irritate by vexatious commands or place unreasonable blame. Whenever possible they should give encouragement rather than remonstrance or reproof.”

NeedsGivingShouldChildrenParentResponsibilityYouthTrainingEncouragementBlameCommandGuidanceProvokingRestraintWrathUnreasonableConsiderateBe ConsiderateReproof
Author:David O. McKay
Create image

“The aim of education is to develop resources in the child that will contribute to his well-being as long as life endures; to develop power of self-mastery that he may never be a slave to indulgence or other weaknesses, to develop [strong] manhood, beautiful womanhood that in every child and every youth may be found at least the promise of a friend, a companion, one who later may be fit for husband or wife, an exemplary father or a loving intelligent mother, one who can face life with courage, meet disaster with fortitude, and face death without fear.”

WellsMayChildrenLongSelfBeautifulFacesMotherFoundFatherStrongWifeYouthFitPromiseHusbandWeaknessResourcesIntelligentAimSlaveEndureDisasterWell BeingCompanionMasteryWomanhoodManhoodFortitudeIndulgenceSelf MasteryBe A SlaveExemplaryAim Of Education
Author:David O. McKay
Create image

“Man is a spiritual being, a soul, and at some period of his life everyone is possessed with an irresistible desire to know his relationship to the Infinite. . . . There is something within him which urges him to rise above himself, to control his environment, to master the body and all things physical and live in a higher and more beautiful world.”

KnowsMenWorldSoulBodyBeautifulSpiritualDesireEnvironmentMastersHigherPeriodsAll ThingsInfiniteUrgesPossessedRise AboveIrresistibleSpiritual BeingsBeautiful World
Author:David O. McKay
Create image

“And what is true education? It is awakening a love for truth; giving a just sense of duty; opening the eyes of the soul to the great purpose and end of life. It is not so much giving words, as thoughts; or mere maxims, as living principles. It is not teaching to be honest, because 'honesty is the best policy'; but because it is right. It is teaching the individual to love the good, for the sake of the good; to be virtuous in action because one is so in heart; to love and serve God supremely, not from fear, but from delight in his perfect character.”

GivingHeartSoulEndsCharacterEyeActionPurposeIndividualPerfectPrinciplesTeachingHonestHonestyPolicyDutyMereSakeDelightAwakeningOpeningBeing HonestVirtuousServing GodMaximsEnd Of LifeHonesty Is The Best PolicyTrue Education
Author:David O. McKay
Create image

“Motherhood is the greatest potential influence either for good or ill in human life. The mother's image is the first that stamps itself on the unwritten page of the young child's mind. It is her caress that first awakens a sense of security; her kiss, the first realization of affection; her sympathy and tenderness, the first assurance that there is love in the world.”

WorldMindFirstsHumansChildrenYoungMotherInfluenceSecurityKissingPagesIllAffectionMotherhoodRealizationHuman LifeTendernessStampsAssuranceYoung ChildrenCaressUnwritten
Author:David O. McKay
Create image

“Happiness consists not of having, but of being; not of possessing, but of enjoying. It is a warm glow of the heart at peace with itself. A martyr at the stake may have happiness that a king on his throne might envy. Man is the creator of his own happiness. It is the aroma of life, lived in harmony with high ideals. For what a man has he may be dependent upon others; what he is rests with him alone.”

MenHeartMayCharacterMightEnjoyKingsIdealsHarmonyCreatorWarmEnvyDependentStakesThronesMartyrPossessingAroma
Author:David O. McKay
Create image

“The home is the first and most effective place to learn the lessons of life: truth, honor, virtue, self control, the value of education, honest work, and the purpose and privilege of life. Nothing can take the place of home in rearing and teaching children, and no other success can compensate for failure in the home.”

FirstsChildrenSelfHomePurposeValuesVirtueTeachingHonestHonorLessonsPrivilegeLife LessonTruth Of LifeSelf ControlHomeschoolingTeaching ChildrenValue Of EducationHonest Work
Author:David O. McKay
Create image

“The noblest calling in the world is motherhood. True motherhood is the most beautiful of all arts, the greatest of all professions. She who can paint a masterpiece, or who can write a book that will influence millions, deserve the plaudits and admiration of mankind; but she who rears successfully a family of healthy, beautiful sons and daughters whose immortal souls will exert influence throughout the ages long after paintings shall have faded, and books and statues shall have decayed or been destroyed, deserves the highest honor that man can give, and the choicest blessings of God.”

MenWorldGivingWritingLongArtBookSoulAgeBeautifulMillionsInfluenceMankindPaintingSonHonorCallingHealthyBlessingHighestDaughterDeservePaintMotherhoodProfessionDestroyedImmortalAdmirationMasterpieceStatuesFadedSon And DaughterImmortal Soul
Author:David O. McKay
Create image

“All good things require effort. That which is worth having will cost part of your physical being, your intellectual power, and your soul power—‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.’ (Matt. 7:7.) But you have to seek, you have to knock. On the other hand, sin thrusts itself upon you. It walks beside you, it tempts you, it entices, it allures. You do not have to put forth effort. … Evil seeks you, and it requires effort and fortitude to combat it. But truth and wisdom are gained only by seeking, by prayer, and by effort.”

SoulHandsEvilAsksGivenPrayerSinWalksEffortCostIntellectualGood ThingsSeekingYour SoulCombatFortitudeThrustAllureBeside YouSoul Power
Author:David O. McKay
Create image

“The true purpose of life is the perfection of humanity through individual effort, under the guidance of God's inspiration. Real life is response to the best within us. To be alive only to appetite, pleasure, pride, money-making, and not to goodness and kindness, purity and love, poetry, music, flowers, stars, God and eternal hopes, is to deprive one's self of the real joy of living.”

RealSelfInspirationLife IsJoyPurposeReligionHumanityIndividualStarsReligiousPleasureEffortKindnessAliveFlowerPrideGoodnessEternalPerfectionAnd LoveResponseReal LifeMaking MoneyGuidancePurityPurpose Of LifeAppetiteLove PoetryGoodness And KindnessJoy Of LivingTrue PurposeReal JoyIndividual EffortPurity And Love
Author:David O. McKay
Create image

“Well,’ you may ask, ‘how may I know when I am in love?’ . . . George Q. Morris [who later became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, gave this reply]: ‘My mother once said that if you meet a girl in whose presence you feel a desire to achieve, who inspires you to do your best, and to make the most of yourself, such a young woman is worthy of your love and is awakening love in your heart.”

IfsKnowsFeelsWellsHeartMaySaidYoungMotherDesireGirlAsksAchieveInspireMembersWorthyAwakeningTwelveYoung WomenApostlesMorrisDesire To Achieve
Author:David O. McKay
Create image

“But there is a beauty every girl has—a gift from God, as pure as the sunlight, and as sacred as life. It is a beauty that all men love, a virtue that wins all men's souls. That beauty is chastity. Chastity without skin beauty may enkindle the soul; skin beauty without chastity can kindle only the eye. Chastity enshrined in the mold of true womanhood will hold true love eternally.”

MenMaySoulEyeGirlWinningVirtuePureSkinsSacredSunlightWomanhoodMoldGift From GodChastityKindlesEvery GirlTrue Womanhood
Author:David O. McKay
Create image

“The development of our spiritual nature should concern us most. Spirituality is the highest acquisition of the soul, the divine in man; 'the supreme, crowning gift that makes him king of all created things.' It is the consciousness of victory over self and of communion with the infinite. It is spirituality alone which really gives one the best in life.”

MenGivingShouldSoulSelfSpiritualSpiritualityConsciousnessDivineDevelopmentKingsVictoryHighestConcernInfiniteSupremeCommunionAcquisitionSpiritual Nature
Author:David O. McKay
Create image

“Motherhood is the one thing in all the world which most truly exemplifies the God-given virtues of creating and sacrificing. Though it carries the woman close to the brink of death, motherhood also leads her into the very realm of the fountains of life and makes her co-partner with the Creator in bestowing upon eternal spirits mortal life.”

WorldSpiritGivenVirtueOne ThingSacrificeMomEternalCreatingCreatorMotherhoodPartnersMortalsRealmsCarrieFountainBeing A Mom
Author:David O. McKay
Create image