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Famous Neal A. Maxwell Quotes

“Thus it is that our faith and trust in our Heavenly Father, so far as this mortal experience is concerned, consists not simply of faith and gladness that He exists, but is also a faith and trust that, if we are humble, He will tutor us, aiding our acquisition of needed attributes and experiences while we are in mortality. We trust not only the Designer but also His design of life itself, including our portion thereof!”

IfsFatherDesignNeededConcernedIncludingHumbleMortalsDesignerHeavenlyMortalityAttributesPortionsAcquisitionHeavenly FatherGladnessTutor
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“Occasionally some individuals let the seeming ordinariness of life dampen their spirits. Though actually coping and growning, others lack the quiet, inner-soul satisfaction that can steady them, and are experiencing instead, a lingering sense that there is something more important they should be doing . . .as if what is quietly achieved in righteous individual living or in parenthood are not sufficiently spectacular.”

IfsShouldImportantSoulSpiritIndividualQuietSatisfactionParenthoodSteadyRighteousSpectacularCopingSeemingLingeringOrdinariness
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“Patience is tied very closely to faith in our Heavenly Father. Actually, when we are unduly impatient, we are suggesting that we know what is best—better than does God. Or, at least, we are asserting that our timetable is better than His. We can grow in faith only if we are willing to wait patiently for God's purposes and patterns to unfold in our lives, on His timetable.”

IfsKnowsDoeGodPurposeFaithFatherGrowsWaitingOur LivesWillingPatiencePatternsHeavenlyTrust In GodTiedImpatientImpatienceHeavenly FatherConfidence In GodSuggestingLdsMormonismGod Works In Mysterious WaysTimetablesOnly God KnowsWilling To Wait
Author:Neal A. Maxwell
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“It is extremely important for you to believe in yourselves not only for what you are now but for what you have the power to become. Trust in the Lord as He leads you along. He has things for you to do that you won't know about now but that will unfold later. If you stay close to Him, You will have some great adventures. You will live in a time where instead of sometimes being fulfilled, many of them will actually be fulfilled. The Lord will unfold your future bit by bit.”

IfsKnowsBelieveImportantSometimesBitsLordAdventureFulfilledYour FutureGreat AdventureTrust In The Lord
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“These really are our days, and we can prevail and overcome, even in the midst of trends that are very disturbing. If we are faithful the day will come when those deserving pioneers and ancestors, whom we rightly praise for having overcome the adversities in the wilderness trek, will praise today’s faithful for having made their way successfully through a desert of despair and for having passed through a cultural wilderness, while still keeping the faith.”

IfsWayMadeStillsTodayDespairOvercomingPraiseAdversityDesertFaithfulMidstWildernessTrendsAncestorDisturbingPioneersDeservingKeep The FaithLds
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“During our mortal schooling in submissiveness, we will see the visible crosses that some carry, but other crosses will go unseen. A few individuals may appear to have no trials at all, which, if it were so, would be a trial in itself. Indeed, if, as do trees, our souls had rings to measure the years of greatest personal growth, the wide rings would likely reflect the years of greatest moisture-but from tears, not rainfall.”

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“If one is devoid of hope and thanksgiving, he cannot for long remain sinless, for he will, in despair, have slackened his resolve. Feelings of futility foster vulnerability. Self-pity is such a busy stagehand, rearranging the scenery to help sin make its entrance. No wonder the prophets say that without faith in the Lord, there is no hope.”

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“Man can learn self-discipline without becoming ascetic; he can be wise without waiting to be old; he can be influential without waiting for status. Man can sharpen his ability to distinguish between matters of principle and matters of preference, but only if we have a wise interplay between time and truth, between minutes and morality.”

IfsMenSelfMatterTimeWaitingAbilityPrinciplesLearningWiseMinutesBecomingDisciplineMoralityTruth IsSelf DisciplinePreferenceInfluentialBeing Wise
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“Our God is a God of love. He waits with open arms, and the unfolding of His merciful plan of salvation is not only therefore the mark of divine power but also the mark of God's relentless, redeeming love. It is a point well worth pondering because, among other reasons, it will help us to understand better why God, through the prophets, denounces sin and corruption in such scalding terms. He loves all of us, His spirit sons and daughters, but hates our vices. His denunciation of those vices may, if we are not careful, seem to obscure the enormous and perfect love He has for us.”

IfsLoveWellsMayReasonHelpingSeemsSpiritHateWaitingTermSinPerfectPlansDivineSonArmsDaughterMarkSalvationVicesCarefulCorruptionEnormousProphetObscureRelentlessMercifulPonderingUnfoldingDivine PowerPerfect LoveRedeemingSon And DaughterOpen ArmsRedeeming LovePlan Of Salvation
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“Listen to these wounds of pain put in the form of questions to me by a young woman who had had two abortions: "I wonder about the spirits of those I had aborted, if they were there, if they were hurt? I was under three months each time, but a mother feels life before she feels movement." "I wonder if they are lost and alone?" "I wonder if they will ever have a body?" "I wonder if I will ever have a chance again to bring those spirits back as mine?" Alas, brothers and sisters, "wickedness never was happiness" (Alma 41:10).”

IfsLifeFeelsTwoBodyPainFormYoungSpiritMotherThreeLostHurtChanceWonderMovementMinesBrotherMonthsWoundsAbortionYoung WomenBrothers And SistersAlasWickednessThree Months
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“It is understandable how some people could give way to this kind of pervasive pessimism, but we speak of a gospel which brings good tidings of great joy and this must be reflected in our lives, if we are to be believable especially as we suggest to others that there is, in fact, not only a better way, but also the way. Scriptures that speak of man as a being who "might have joy" have more impact when falling from the lips or pens of men and women whose lives give fresh evidence of the validity of that scripture.”

PeopleIfsMenWayGivingKindFactsMightJoyFallSpeakOur LivesEvidenceMen And WomenImpactLipsScripturePensPessimismBetter WaysValidityBelievableGreat JoyTidings
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“Men's and nations' finest hour consist of those moments when extraordinary challenge is met by extraordinary response. Hence in those darkest hours, we must light our individual candles rather than vying with others to call attention to the enveloping darkness. Our indignation about injustice should lead to illumination, for if it does not, we are only adding to the despair-and the moment of gravest danger is when there is so little light that darkness seems normal!”

IfsMenShouldLittlesDoeMomentsLightSeemsIndividualNationsHoursChallengesAttentionDarknessDangerMetsDespairNormalResponseExtraordinaryInjusticeIndividualityCandleFinestIlluminationIndignationDarkest HourFinest Hour
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“A good friend, who knows whereof he speaks, has observed of trials, ‘If it’s fair, it is not a true trial!’ That is, without the added presence of some inexplicableness and some irony and injustice, the experience may not stretch us or lift us sufficiently. The crucifixion of Christ was clearly the greatest injustice in human history, but the Savior bore up under it with majesty and indescribable valor.”

IfsKnowsHumansMaySpeakChristFairsAdversityInjusticeTrialsLiftsIronySaviorBoresGood FriendHuman HistoryMajestyValorCrucifixionIndescribableCrucifixion Of Christ
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“While most of our suffering is self- inflicted, some is caused by or permitted by God. This sobering reality calls for deep submissiveness, especially when God does not remove the cup from us. In such circumstances, when reminded about the premortal shouting for joy as this life's plan was unfolded (Job 38:7), we can perhaps be pardoned if, in some moments, we wonder what all the shouting was about.”

IfsDoeSelfMomentsRealityJobsJoySufferingWonderPlansCircumstancesCupsThis LifeRemoveShoutingSelf Inflicted
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“How can you and I really expect to glide naively through life, as if to say, 'Lord, give me experience, but not grief, not sorrow, not pain, not opposition, not betrayal, and certainly not to be forsaken. Keep from me, Lord, all those experiences which made Thee what Thou art! Then, let me come and dwell with Thee and fully share Thy joy!'”

IfsLifeGivingArtMadePainJoyGriefLordShareSorrowExperienceLet MeGive MeAdversityBetrayalTheeOppositionLife Is HardForsakenMormonismGlidingPain And SorrowLife Is Not Easy
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“We tend to think of consecration only as yielding up, when divinely directed, our material possessions. But ultimate consecration is the yielding up of oneself to God. Heart, soul, and mind were the encompassing words of Christ in describing the first commandment, which is constantly, not periodically, operative (see Matt. 22:37). If kept, then our performances will, in turn, be fully consecrated for the lasting welfare of our souls (see 2 Ne. 32:9).”

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