“To live in this body and not know myself is like living in the presence of God and not knowing that he exist.”
“May whatever God you believe in have mercy on your soul”
“We all pretend for a while or for a lifetime. But pretending is not living...I believe that God meant for life to take our breath away, sometimes because of the sheer joy of it all and sometimes because of the severe pain. To choose living over pretending means that we will know both.”
“Every man and woman who has received the truth should live in such a manner before the Lord as to have the light of the Holy Spirit constantly beaming upon their minds. They should be in close communion through that Holy Spirit, with their God, so that if they had to stand alone in the midst of a gainsaying world they should be living witness to the truth of the Gospel and the power of God manifested in these days...having the consciousness that God was directing them in all their ways.”
“The only way to maintain our position in the Kingdom of God is to so conduct ourselves that we may have a living testimony of the truth continually dwelling in our bosoms, to live so that the Spirit of the Lord may be a constant and abiding guest with us, whether in the privacy of our chamber, in the domestic circle or in the midst of the crowded thoroughfares, the busy scenes and anxious cares of life. He who will pursue this course will never lack for knowledge; he will never be in doubt or in darkness, nor will his mind ever be clouded by the gloomy pall of unbelief; on the contrary his hopes will be bright; his faith will be strong; his joy will be full; he will be able to each succeeding day to comprehend the unfolding purposes of Jehovah and to rejoice in the glorious liberty and happiness which all the faithful children of God enjoy...”
“If the world were really right, humans would live life backward and do the first part last. They'd be all knowing in the beginning and innocent in the end...”
“LETTER FROM JOSEPH TO EMMANEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK13 OCTOBER 1832"I feel as if I wanted to say something to you to comfort you in your peculiar trial and present affliction. I hope God will give you strength that you may not faint. I pray God to soften the hearts of those around you to be kind to you and take the burden off your shoulders as much as possible and not afflict you. I feel for you, for I know your state and that others do not, but you must comfort yourself knowing that God is your friend in Heaven and that you have one true and living friend on earth, your husband.”