Proverbs

• With God's help, every good thing is possible.

• Heavenly Father is real and wants you to be happy.

• God’s love usually comes from one of his lovely children.

• Feel God’s love by helping someone.

• If we really want to help God, we should work to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of his beloved children.

• Jesus is your Savior and the one who helps Heavenly Father help you.

• The Savior suffers with us when we suffer and will comfort us if we are faithful to him.

• The birth, resurrection, and atonement of the Savior are the most important things that ever happened.

• The atonement becomes real to us as we access the grace of God to help us do what we can.

• Righteous intentions, attempted in the name of Christ, avail much.

• The God of this earth is Jesus Christ, not Satan.

• Spirit is real.

• The gift of the Holy Ghost helps you know the truth and identify evil.

• The Holy Ghost also helps us know the truth and do what is right.

• The Holy Ghost will help us figure out the many ways we can help one another.

• Accept the gift of the Holy Ghost and be a righteous companion with whom he will feel comfortable.

• We pray to align ourselves with God, not to instruct him of our needs.

• The plan of salvation is for all people everywhere, always.

• You only receive the blessings that you are willing and worthy to receive.

• Your family members are the most important people in your life; other people are also important.

• If you want to get to the Celestial Kingdom you must work to develop a celestial personality and attitude.

• Power in the priesthood comes from righteousness and spiritual strength.

• The Gospel is true; people are fallible.

• We must be the force for good that is in opposition to the evil that is so rampant in this world.

• You should always give the Church and its leaders the benefit of the doubt when issues arise.

• You are responsible to protect yourself and your family from bad influences.

• You are responsible for your own happiness; release everyone else with a vote of thanks.

• Rejoice that the heavens are open and that we have a prophet.

• The safest thing to do is to follow the Prophet; he will never tell you to do something that is wrong.

• We would not need a prophet if all we needed to hear is what we already thought.

• When you do not know what to do you can pray to Heavenly Father, listen for an answer, and try to do what you think Jesus would do.

• You do not have to be perfect in this life; only Jesus was perfect.

• The Lord wants you to be as happy as he is.

• Don’t be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

• Life is short, eternity is forever.

• When you are helping another, you are helping the Lord.

• How and why you do things are as important as what you do.

• You need to stand up and speak up for what is right.

• There are an unlimited number of ways that you can do good and work righteousness.

• Love your enemies until they are no longer your enemies.

• The Lord will answer the righteous prayers of the saints who pray for what they ought to pray for.

• Act righteously, react mercifully.

• People sometimes do things you will not like or that are wrong; you can love the people but not like the things they do.

• Never let another person’s actions undermine your testimony.

• You should not have your own "take" on the gospel; you should wholeheartedly embrace all that the current prophet teaches.

 

• Happiness and salvation are found in the Church.

• It is a privilege to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; treat everything about it with respect.

• In this life, the Church is not on trial, you are.

• The truth of the gospel does not depend on what happens to you or your family, and you should not link them.

• There is strength in uniting with the Saints.

• Service to others is a privilege, not a chore.

• The Lord delights to bless those of his children who will use the bounty of his earth to bless others of his children who may be less fortunate.

• There is nothing embarrassing, degrading, or inappropriate about the Church, its leaders, or its teachings.

• The best way to improve your own situation is to forget about yourself and do all you can to serve others.

• Don't wait for your neighbor to be robbed before being a Good Samaritan.

• Help your neighbor look for what is lost, then rejoice with them when it is found.

• Most people are neither wicked nor disobedient; they just do not know any better.

• Righteous living is its own reward, but we all must die sometime, of something.

• Death is not a tragedy for those who are righteous; it is usually sad.

• We are expected to search out ways to help others.

• The united, fervent prayers of many righteous people avail much.

• If you make yourself available, Heavenly Father will use you to answer someone’s prayer.

• How you look reflects who you are trying to be.

• The Lord’s plan is the best possible plan, even if you do not understand all of it.

• The Lord has the big picture because all things past, present, and future are continually known to him.

• Your personal plan should include all parts of the Father's plan for you; resolve any differences in favor of the Father's plan.

• Try to appreciate and understand the Father's plan instead of suggesting changes.

• You need to work to become comfortable with the Church and its doctrines and people.

• You might as well get comfortable with yourself because you have a long eternity to be who you are.

• Let the brethren set the agenda for the Church.

• The Church has stood the test of time; the questions detractors raise do not prove anything about the Church.

• In the Church, do what you are asked, regardless of what you have done before.

• Everyone has weaknesses; people with weaknesses can do the work of the Lord.

• The scriptures are not simply good stories, they tell you how to live.

• Church members sometimes do things that are unkind or not right, but you can still believe in the truth of the Gospel and love the Church members.

• Nothing that is worth having can be gained by leaving the church.

• Church members sometimes make mistakes and do dumb things; the Gospel is still true.

• You need to be active in the Church for your whole life; if you ever slip, come back, and the sooner the better.

• Never be afraid to come to Church; you are always welcome.

• Be like your children when they are being like the Savior; lovingly correct them when they are not.

• Sometimes you must wait for things to get good; you can do something else good while you are waiting.

• Try to learn the tough lessons of life on your own without having to learn the hard way. 

• Stand up against that which is wrong.

• Follow a good example to become a good example.

• If you agree to teach a lesson, do not teach something else, such as what you think the lesson should have been.

 

• Bad things often happen to good Mormons.

• Difficult things happen to all people even though Heavenly Father loves all people; this is part of the plan, not a defect in the plan.

• You will be happy if you keep the commandments even when it is hard or if bad things happen.

• Jesus, the sinless one, suffered the most.

• Heavenly Father does not stop bad things from happening; he helps us be strong when bad things happen.

• However hard things get, it is always possible to do the right thing.

• There is no downside risk to keeping the commandments.

• If you are relying on a technicality, you have probably missed the point.

• View the big picture but work in your neighborhood.

• If time is getting short, focus on what is most important; in fact, always focus on what is most important.

• People's names are important to them; treat them with respect.

• Good advice can come from anywhere; keep an open mind.

• Keeping the commandments is sometimes hard, but it is worth it.

• Do not give up; do not give in.

• Just as the beauties of life testify there is a God, so the evil things of life testify there is a devil who, pursuant to the Plan of Happiness, is allowed to provide opposition to all good things.

•We cannot change our identity, but we can improve the type of person we are.

 

• Obedience is fully rewarded in the hereafter; unrepented sins will be punished in the hereafter.

• As to guile, we should follow our children's example; as to obedience and integrity, we should set the example for them to follow.

• Keeping the commandments is not a negotiation, but a process of learning God's will and then striving to do it.

• If you want to avoid being punished for your sins, repent, and do not do them again.

• If you think keeping the commandments is hard, think how hard eternal punishment for sin will be.

• Keeping God's commandments leads to a happy life; you have nothing to lose.

• The rewards of heaven must be earned by effort; do not expect a reward if you have been indifferent to the commandments.

• As with baptism, we need to immerse ourselves in gospel living to get the benefit.

• God's judgment will mete out mercy, salvation, peace, and happiness to the righteous.

• The sooner you repent, the better because you never know how soon will be too late.

• Obedience leads to happiness; disobedience leads to unhappiness.

• Stay away from places where there is sin; avoid even the appearance of sin.

• Never experiment with sin; one try can ruin your life.

• If you keep trying to do your best, that is good enough.

• If you make a mistake, correct it and then try not to make it again

• Jesus will forgive you if you repent, no matter what you have done.

• The reward for righteousness is all that the Father has, which is everything.

• It is the devil who wants you to be miserable like he is.

• You have not failed if you have not given up.

• It is important for both adults and children to make moral decisions in advance.

• Run, don’t walk, away from temptation and evil.

• Do not judge other people but do judge for yourself between good and evil.

• There is nothing inflexible or intolerant about keeping the commandments of God, or with teaching and exemplifying them in our lives.

• You are most tempted by the things you need to be most careful to resist.

• Entertainment value is not a substitute for moral value.

• Anything that you would not feel good about doing if the Lord himself were present is something that you should consider as a subject for repentance.

• If you go down the wrong path you will reach the wrong destination.

• The things that we most need to learn to resist and avoid are precisely the things by which we are most tempted.

• The devil concentrates his efforts in trying to undermine the things that are most important to our salvation.

• Let Heavenly Father do any needed punishing; your job is to forgive.

• Don’t break yourself on the commandments.

• Knock off your own rough edges.

• Pay attention to your prayers to discover your priorities, your desires, and the real you.

• Anticipate the lessons you need to be taught, then learn them on your own.

• The punishment for sin probably will not be to just hang around with people who enjoy the same sins you do.

• If you do not want to keep the commandments, do not expect the blessings that come from obedience.

• In righteousness be a giant; in humility be a child.

 

• Inspiration is usually a quiet, peaceful thing.

• Knowing the Gospel is true is more important than any secular thing you can learn.

• Hold off on the mysteries until you have completely mastered faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost, as well as faith, hope, charity, and love.

• "Virtuous, lovely, and of good report" is still the right standard for judging contemporary culture.

• You do not have to know everything to have a testimony.

• Skepticism is not a reasonable substitute for faith.

• There is no safety in doubt; there is no peace in rebellion.

• You should not allow what you do not know to interfere with what you do know and believe.

• Never make an important decision based on something you do not understand.

• Never make an important decision when you are upset.

• Just because you do not have a quick answer to a skeptical question does not mean the question contains any truth.

• Partial truths are not truths.

• Heavenly Father wants you to believe everything that is true.

• You can know that the gospel is true without knowing about everything else.

• Some things will only become clear after this life; you need to have faith in the meantime.

• The Holy Ghost helps you know what is true, but you need to work hard to learn as much as you can on your own.

• You can have faith and know things that have not been proven by the standards of the world.

• You can choose to believe things even though other people do not believe those things.

• You can know Gospel truths; until you do, choose to believe.

• You should respect that other people may disagree with you, and they should respect that you may not agree with them.

• You should respect and be nice to everyone since we are all Heavenly Father’s children.

• Loving sinners is different from tolerating sin; you absolutely cannot afford to have an open mind about sin.

• Give yourself a good talking to whenever you need it.

• Petty disobediences reveal lack of real commitment.

• Don't seek to revise the Father’s plan; instead, seek to understand and help implement that plan.

• The formalities of religion help both to provide a structure for the meek and to teach humility to the strong.

 

• Agency has to do with your choices, not your circumstances.

• Agency implies acting on behalf of another; proper exercise of our agency requires that we choose to faithfully serve the Lord by helping his children. 

• Take a stand against sin and temptation and anyone who promotes such things. 

• You can choose to always be active in the church; you do not need to decide again every day.

• We should err on the side of generosity to others and of discipline of ourselves.

• There does not have to be a first time for everything, such as something you should not do even once. 

• Every choice to obey the commandments leads to greater freedom to choose.

• Obey Jehovah's commandments but follow Jesus' example.

• We all chose to come live the kind of life that this has turned out to be.

• The decision to keep the commandments is an act of free agency.

• Good and evil are opposites, not variations of the same thing.

• As we learn to distinguish good from evil, we need to decide to choose the good and reject the evil.

• Do what is right; do not do what is wrong.

• Make good church history now.

• Church history - a good place to get faith-promoting stories, but not a good place to hang your testimony.

• The Lord wants you to succeed but will not force you to succeed.

• The road to heaven is paved with good choices and service to others.

• If you want a particular blessing, find out the law on which it is predicated.

• However hard things get, it is always possible for you to do the right thing.

• Being active in the Church does not diminish free agency.

• Cultural Mormonism is a bit of an acquired taste. 

• Being active in the Church is totally worth it.

• Nothing that is forbidden will lead to happiness.

• Evil exists and is real, and you should not pretend otherwise.

• Bad things are often tempting; that is what a temptation is.

• Bad things are often entertaining and attractive, but they are still bad and must be avoided.

• People who do bad things are often popular and friendly, but you must resist and reject their example.

• There is nothing impolite about getting away from something that is not right.

• You can be polite about your obedience, but you need to be very firm.

• If you keep the commandments, you will be free from the results of sin; if you break the commandments, you will be burdened by the results of sin.

• Endure to the end so you can retain a remission of your sins. 

• The Lord's church will triumph in the end; you need to be a survivor, not a casualty, of that struggle. 

• There is no freedom or happiness in disobedience.

• Be careful what you say; everything you say adds to or detracts from your spiritual progress.

• Be careful what you do; you are responsible for everything you do.

• Heavenly Father gives you the blessings you need, not always the blessings you want.

• You need to set a good example and ignore other people’s bad examples.

• Pay attention to your first impressions.

• If something does not feel right, stop.

• Always put off until tomorrow what you should not do today.

• You achieve perfection in the world to come by making incremental improvements over a long time, starting in this life.

• You do not have to be perfect in this life to gain eternal life, but you do have to be clean through repentance to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

• Avoid seeing or doing anything you would not want your child to see or do.

• Develop yourself while you can.

• Leave the mysteries of godliness to God. 

• In the life to come you will still be yourself and not someone else.

• Any progress you make will count in the hereafter; every good thing you learn in this life will rise with you and be to your advantage in the resurrection.

• The more celestial attributes you can learn in this life, the easier it will be for you to find, enter, and feel comfortable in the celestial kingdom once you depart this life.

• The forces of good are greater than the forces of evil; we need to choose which force we support.

 

• The most important time to give service may be after your offer to help is declined.

• Do unto others as you would have them do unto you; perhaps do even better. 

• Accept thanks gracefully.

• When thanked, humbly take credit for the good things you do.

• How good we are is more important than how many we are.

• Rejoice in the good fortune of others.

• Follow good examples.

• Support worthy causes.

• When you see something nice, say so.

• Live to serve.

• "Never" and "always" are good standards for our own conduct but poor standards for judging others.

• One way we can be more like Jesus is to act righteously on behalf of others. 

• The world secretly admires the righteous.

• Time expands to accommodate the good works needing to be done.

• A gentle touch may help most of all.

• Never hit anyone.

• Do more than you say and say less than you think.

• In the eternities, no good deed goes unrewarded. 

• Never pass up a chance to keep quiet about something that does not really matter.

• Allow other people to provide you with service you need; accept help when you need help.

• If you make a mistake, correct it.

• Look for the best; overlook the worst.

• Do not ever joke about sacred things.

• Do not ever make fun of anyone.

• Be nice to yourself.

• Be nice to everyone, especially your family members.

• The poor may always be with us, but we must take the opportunity to help them while we can. 

• The Savior ministered to the less fortunate, and so should we.

• The Savior taught the learned and unrighteous, and so should we.

• You cannot afford to be a bad example to anyone; everyone is important.

• The Savior blessed his friends, and so should we.

• Respect other religions and the good things they teach. 

• We must not support irreligion with either our money or our social influence or our indifference.

• If you need something to be grateful for, be grateful you did not live any time before now.

• Get ready to welcome the Savior; quit nit-picking the brethren and leave Church history alone.

• Get organized; it will be a good skill to have in the hereafter.

 

• Science is important and has its place, but it has nothing to say about the truths of the Gospel.

• True religion does not conflict with any truth, be it science, politics, economics, ethics, or religion.

• Religion is more important than politics; salvation is more important than situations.

• Life seems to speed up because each successive day is a smaller part of your total life.

• Whatever its age, the earth is one of God's glorious creations.

• In history and science, just because something is possible does not mean it happened.

• Important things do not have to be the same to be equal.

• Science requires as much faith as religion, but it is usually carefully disguised.

• Modern science asks that we believe what even scientists cannot understand; religion asks that we believe what no scientist can prove.

• Show respect for all God's creatures and creations. 

• If you want to be listened to, make sure you know what you are talking about.

• You can control what you consider, and you can choose what you believe.

• Gravity - an important physical law but a poor attitude for life.

 

• Most people on earth know nothing of the Church or the Savior and are neither wicked nor rebellious; merciful provision is made in the plan of happiness to save and redeem these people, either in this life or in the life to come.

• Don't be surprised if kids act their age; that is their job.

• Sometimes it is very hard not to be discouraged; pray for help and then do the best you can until you feel better.

• There is a fine line between living a robust life and being a darn fool.

• Give everyone the benefit of the doubt since we have no idea what burdens each person carries and what good they do.

• We must be the leaven of righteousness that leavens the whole lump of the world to keep the earth from receiving the punishments most of it deserves for the rampant evils all about.

• Rest in heaven may consist of working hard but not getting tired.

• Offer prayer when you are worried or depressed.

• Life is a necessary detour on the road to heaven.

• You cannot hide from God or yourself.

• The power of acting on behalf of others extends all the way from the Savior's redemption to the Primary nursery.

• Any authority that can be delegated should be delegated, accompanied by appropriate accountability.

• Properly delegated authority is just as good as the original authority.

• Responsibilities come and go, but testimony should continue to increase.

• Times change but the Gospel is forever. 

• Confine your pet theories to your pets.

• Hearken back to first principles; simplify your faith.

• Compromise your opinions not your principles.

• Choosing to follow a good example is an act of free agency.

• Instead of fretting over the details of church history, find a neighbor to help.

• You can understand what the atonement does for you, and requires of you, without needing to understand how it was done by the Savior.

• Don't expect heavenly support if you take a position contrary to the leaders of the Lord's church.

• There are no mysteries about what you should do; you should keep the commandments.

• Moral agency is not free but was won at great cost following an epic battle.

• Yielding to temptation is weak and easy; keeping the commandments takes strength and is hard.

• Now that you know better, any sins you commit add to the Savior's burden in the atonement.

• The continued goodness and vitality of the modern LDS Church evidence that it is still approved of the Lord.

• When it comes to sin, do not have experiences to learn from.

• Try to avoid having strong opinions about things that do not really matter.

• Don't judge the Church based on what you would do if you were in charge; be thankful the Lord is in charge and rest assured that He does have all the facts.

• When the Church publishes the principles of the gospel, there is no need to look anywhere else; anything new will come from the prophet.

• The Holy Ghost will help us divide the light from the darkness in our lives.

• The doctrines, principles, covenants, and ordinances of the Church are not the place to show your individualism.

• There is great power and safety in sticking with what the church makes available. 

• Great power will arise in the Church as we strive to achieve a unity of faith based on a common understanding of the doctrines of the Gospel, as set forth by the prophet.

• A child cannot be expected to rationally choose a religion unless he or she has been taught and has experienced religion.

• The Savior should be both our example and our hero. 

• Study what Jesus did so you can know what he would do if he were you. 

• Many righteous people have successfully followed the Savior's example and you can learn from them. 

• For an adult, maintaining child-like faith requires a big-person effort and the help of the Holy Ghost. 

• A righteous person and his money are soon tithed. 

• Repentance does not necessarily remove the temporal consequences of sin. 

• Look for the good in others instead of in your own conduct.

• It is hard to view eternity from the vantage point of modernity.

• We need to be careful not to treat our church contributions as if they were medieval indulgences; when we sin, we still need to repent, no matter how much we have contributed.

• We need to become as comfortable with the idea of eternal progression as we are with mortal progression.

• The positions taken by the Church are not automatically binding on Church members, but they should be very persuasive; let us not forget who is behind those positions.

• God’s grace helps us do all we can.

• Grace, administered by the Holy Ghost, helps us feel the love of God.

• What we can do, with the help of God, is to love him, to love and serve his children, and to love ourselves.

• We feel the grace of God as tender mercies.

• God’s angels include his children providing tender mercies to each other.

• God appreciates when you help his children.

• Until we believe God loves us, it is hard to love ourselves.