Developing Character

David O. McKay, “Developing Character,” Ensign, Oct 2001, 22
The following are some classic statements on the development of Christlike character by our ninth President of the Church.

True Greatness
“The highest of all ideals are the teachings and particularly the life of Jesus of Nazareth, and that man is most truly great who is most Christlike. What [...]

The Root of Christian Doctrine

The Root of Christian Doctrine by Thomas B. Griffith
From a Brigham Young University devotional address given on March 14, 2006.
President Gordon B. Hinckley has taught that we must do better at getting the gospel down into our own hearts and the hearts of those we love and serve. I believe that one way to [...]

What Matters Most

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints – What Matters Most
“I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. And what is most important almost always involves the people around us. [...]

Finding Joy in the Journey

Finding Joy in the Journey – President Thomas S. Monson
My dear brothers and sisters, I am humbled as I stand before you this morning. I ask for your faith and prayers in my behalf as I speak about those things which have been on my mind and which I have felt impressed to share with [...]

The Candle of the Lord

Boyd K. Packer, “The Candle of the Lord,” Ensign, Jan 1983, 51
From a talk given at a seminar for new mission presidents, 25 June 1982.

I have chosen, after much thought, to speak as though your missionaries, your elders and sisters, were here in your place, and to present thoughts more [...]

Our Refined Heavenly Home

Our Refined Heavenly Home
From a devotional address given at Brigham Young University on September 19, 2006. For the full text in English, visit http://speeches.byu.edu.
If we could part the veil and observe our heavenly home, we would be impressed with the cultivated minds and hearts of those who so happily live there. I imagine that our [...]

Becoming Self-Reliant—Spiritually and Physically

Becoming Self-Reliant—Spiritually and Physically
By Elder M. Russell Ballard Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

From an address given on March 11, 2004, at Brigham Young University during the opening of the Marriott School’s Center for Economic Self-Reliance.
My travels have taken me almost everywhere in the world—most of the continent of Africa, the islands of the [...]

Born Again

Born Again

Elder D. Todd Christofferson
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Spiritual rebirth originates with faith in Jesus Christ, by whose grace we are changed.
Fifteen years ago I stood for the first time at the pulpit in the Tabernacle as a newly sustained Seventy. I was 48 years old. I had thick, dark brown hair. I [...]

None Were with Him

None Were with Him

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are.
Thank you, Sister Thompson, and thanks to the remarkable women of this Church. Brothers and sisters, my [...]

Joseph Smith: Campaign for President of the United States

“Joseph Smith: Campaign for President of the United States,”
Arnold K. Garr,
Ensign, Feb 2009, 48–52
On January 29, 1844, the Prophet Joseph Smith formally decided to run for the office of president of the United States. What did he hope to accomplish? It began in 1839. The Prophet Joseph Smith, finally free after more than four [...]