Boyd K. Packer

“All are born with the Light of Christ, a guiding influence which permits each person to recognize right from wrong. What we do with that light and how we respond to those promptings to live righteously is part of the test of mortality.”

“Tolerance is a virtue, but like all virtues, when exaggerated, it transforms itself into a vice. We need to be careful of the ‘tolerance trap’ so that we are not swallowed up in it. The permissiveness afforded by the weakening of the laws of the land to tolerate legalized acts of immorality does not reduce the serious spiritual consequence that is the result of the violation of God’s law of chastity.”

“Thoughts, like water, will stay on course if we make a place for them to go. As you learn to control your thoughts, you can gain courage, conquer fear and have a happy life.”

“The story is told that someone stopped Elder J. Golden Kimball on the street on one occasion. There had been a little difficulty in Elder Kimball's family that had become publicly known, and whoever it was who stopped him, no doubt with a mind to injure, said, ' Brother Kimball, I understand you're having some problems with one of your children.' His answer was, ' Yes, and the Lord is having some problems with some of his, too.”

“I promise that the brilliant morning of forgiveness can come. Then “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding” comes into your life once again, something like a sunrise, and you and He “will remember your sin no more.” How will you know? You will know! This is what I have come to teach you who are in trouble. He will step in and solve the problem you cannot solve, but you have to pay the price. It does not come without doing that. He is a very kind ruler in the sense that He will always pay the price necessary, but He wants you to do what you should, even if it is painful.”

“Everyone is tested. One might think it is unfair to be singled out and subjected to a particular temptation, but this is the purpose of mortal life—to be tested. And the answer is the same for everyone: we must, and we can, resist temptations of any kind.”

“One of the adversary’s sharpest tools is to convince us that we are no longer worthy to pray. No matter who you are or what you may have done, you can always pray.”

“Fear is the opposite of faith”

“Probably the greatest challenge and the most difficult thing you will face in mortal life is to learn to control your thoughts. In the Bible it says, as a man "thinketh in his heart, so is he." Those who can control their thoughts have conquered themselves.”

“You have your agency, and inspiration does not—perhaps cannot—flow unless you ask for it, or someone asks for you. No message in scripture is repeated more often than the invitation, even the command, to pray—to ask.”

“Our children were allowed to help when they were little, urged to help when they grew a little older, and sometimes ordered to help when they were teenagers.”

“Unwinding a habit that you have allowed to entangle you can be difficult. But the power is in you. Do not despair. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that ‘all beings who have bodies have power over those who have not.’ You can resist temptation!”

“The first gift that Adam and Eve received was agency: ‘Thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee’ (Moses 3:17). You have that same agency. Use it wisely to deny acting on any impure impulse or unholy temptation that may come into your mind. Just do not go there, and if you are already there, come back out of it. ‘Deny yourselves of all ungodliness’ (Moroni 10:32).”

“Some are filled with a compelling urge, a temptation that recycles in the mind, perhaps to become a habit, then an addiction. We are prone to some transgression and sin and also a rationalization that we have no guilt because we were born that way. We become trapped, and hence comes the pain and torment that only the Savior can heal. You have the power to stop and to be redeemed.”

“You parents and you families whose lives must be reordered because of a handicapped one, whoseresources and time must be devoted to them, are special heros. You are manifesting the works of Godwith every thought, with every gesture of tenderness and care you extend to the handicapped loved one.Never mind the tears nor the hours of regret and discouragement; never mind the times when you feelyou cannot stand another day of what is required. You are living the principles of the Gospel of JesusChrist in exceptional purity. And you perfect yourself in the process”, 6 April 1991”

“Our purpose is to produce students who have that rare and precious combination of a superb secular education, complemented by faith in the Lord, a knowledge of the doctrines He has revealed, and a testimony that they are true.”

“Perhaps the single greatest thing I learned from reading the Book of Mormon is that the voice of the Spirit comes as a feeling rather than a sound. You will learn, as I have learned, to “listen” for that voice that is felt rather than heard.”

“Happily ever after never happens in the second act.”

“Happiness is inseparably connected with decent, clean behavior. ”

“The gift of the Holy Ghost operates equally with men, women, and even little children. It is within this wondrous gift and power that the spiritual remedy to any problem can be found." 'And now, he imparteth his word by angels unto men, yea, not only men but women also. Now this is not all; little children do have wor...ds given unto them many times, which confound the wise and the learned' (Alma 32:23).”

“The Restoration began with the prayer of a 14-year-old boy and a vision of the Father and the Son. The dispensation of the fulness of times was ushered in."The Restoration of the gospel brought knowledge of the premortal existence. From the scriptures, we know of the Council in Heaven and the decision to send the sons and daughters of God into mortality to receive a body and to be tested (see D&C 138:56; see also Romans 8:16). We are children of God. We have a spirit body housed, for now, in an earthly tabernacle of flesh. The scriptures say, 'Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?' (1 Corinthians 3:16).”

“Young men speak about the future because they have no past, and old men speak of the past because they have no future.”

“Reverence invites Revelation”

“The flow of revelation depends on your faith.As you test gospel principles by believingwithout knowing, the Spirit will begin to teachyou. Gradually your faith will be replaced with knowledge.”

“Happiness will depend on what each of us does with what each has, what we learn from what we do, and what we do thereafter.”

“The study of doctrine and the teaching of doctrine will change behavior more than the study of behavior will change behavior.”

“There is little to be gained by seeking after the mysteries, for there is hardly time in a lifetime to master the plain and precious things.”

“Learn to pray. Pray often. Pray in your mind, in your heart. Pray on your knees. Prayer is your personal key to heaven. The lock is on your side of the veil. And I have learned to conclude all my prayers with ‘Thy will be done’ (Matthew 6:10; see also Luke 11:2; 3 Nephi 13:10).”

“A testimony is a testimony, and it should be respected, whether it is small or large.”

“The Spirit is a voice that one feels more than hears.”

“In many places it is literally not safe physically for youngsters to go to school. And in many schools, and its becoming almost generally true, it is spiritually unsafe to attend public schools. Look back over the history of education to the turn of the century and the beginning of the educational philosophies, pragmatism and humanism were the early ones, and they branched out into a number of other philosophies which have led us now into a circumstance where our schools are producing the problems that we face.”

“No one of us can survive in the world of today, much less what it will become, without personal inspiration. ”

“Our lives are made up of thousands of everyday choices. Over the years these little choices will be bundled together and show clearly what we value.”

“Things we cannot solve, we must survive.”

“Those who choose, conduct, present, and accompany the music may influence the spirit of reverence ... more than a speaker does.”

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.”

“Don't live so that your children go unled because of habits that leave you uninspired.”

“Keep the fire of your testimony of the restored gospel and your witness of our Redeemer burning so brightly that our children can warm their hands by the fire of your faith.”

“He who conquers others is strong; he who conquers himself is mighty" - Lao-tsuOne who can control his thoughts has conquered himself.”

“We live in a day when the adversary stresses on every hand the philosophy of instant gratification. We seem to demand instant everything, including instant solutions to our problems. . .It was meant to be that life would be a challenge. To suffer some anxiety, some depression, some disappointment, even some failure is normal.”

“Our whole social order could self-destruct over the obsession with freedom disconnected from responsibility; where choice is imagined to be somehow independent of consequences.”

“The choice of life is not between fame and fortune, nor wealth and poverty, but between good and evil.”