“The saint, we are told, once lived a life of sin -nothing spectacular, of course, just the usual things.”

“To live factionless Is not just to live in poverty and discomfort; it is to live divorced from society, separated from the most important thing in life: community. My mother once told me that we can’t survive alone,but even if we could, we wouldn’t want to. Without a faction, we have no purpose and no reason to live.”

“Every one of us lives this life just once, if we are honest, to live once is enough.”

“To be a saint is the exception; to be a just person is the rule. Err, stumble, commit sin, but be one of the just.”

“An interesting life," Yingling told me, "is one filled with controversial successes punctuated by occasional and spectacular failures.”

“A diamond doesn't start out polished and shining. It once was nothing special, but with enough pressure and time, becomes spectacular. I'm that diamond.”