Spencer W. Kimball

Heaven is a place,” President Kimball taught, “but also a condition; it is home and family. It is understanding and kindness. It is interdependence and selfless activity. It is quiet, sane living; personal sacrifice, genuine hospitality, wholesome concern for others. It is living the commandments of God without ostentation or hypocrisy. It is selflessness. It is all about us. We need only to be able to recognize it as we find it and enjoy it. Yes, my dear brother, I’ve had many glimpses of heaven.”

Spencer W. Kimball, Ensign, Dec. 1971, 36–39.

Margaret D. Nadauld

Women of God can never be like women of the world. The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue. We have enough popularity; we need more purity.

Margaret D. Nadauld, “The Joy of Womanhood,” Ensign, Nov 2000,  14

Dallin H. Oaks

One who focuses on faults, though they be true, tears down a brother or a sister. The virtues of patience, brotherly kindness, mutual respect, loyalty, and good manners all rest to some degree on the principle that even though something is true, we are not necessarily justified in communicating it to any and all persons at any and all times.

Dallin H. Oaks, “Criticism,” Ensign, Feb 1987,  68

Gordon B. Hinckley

I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment virtue and effort. I am not asking that all criticism be silenced. Growth comes of correction. Strength comes of repentance. Wise is the man who can acknowledge mistakes pointed out by others and change his course.  What I am suggesting is that each of us turn from the negativism that so permeates our society and look for the remarkable good among those with whom we associate, that we speak of one another’s virtues more than we speak of one another’s faults.

Gordon B. Hinckley, “The Continuing Pursuit of Truth,” Ensign, Apr 1986, 2

L. Lionel Kendrick

Christlike communications are expressed in tones of love rather than loudness. They are intended to be helpful rather than hurtful. They tend to bind us together rather than to drive us apart. They tend to build rather than to belittle.  Christlike communications are expressions of affection and not anger, truth and not fabrication, compassion and not contention, respect and not ridicule, counsel and not criticism, correction and not condemnation. They are spoken with clarity and not with confusion. They may be tender or they may be tough, but they must always be tempered.   The real challenge that we face in our communications with others is to condition our hearts to have Christlike feelings for all of Heavenly Father's children. When we develop this concern for the condition of others, we then will communicate with them as the Savior would. We will then warm the hearts of those who may be suffering in silence. As we meet people with special needs along life's way, we can then make their journey brighter by the things that we say.   Christlike communications will help us to develop righteous relationships and ultimately to return to our heavenly home safely. May we treasure the divine gift of communication, and may we use it wisely to build and to assist others on this marvelous journey through mortality. 

L. Lionel Kendrick "Christlike Communications," Ensign, Nov. 1988, 24

Joseph B. Wirthlin

Kindness is the essence of a celestial life. Kindness is how a Christlike person treats others.


Joseph B. Wirthlin, “The Virtue of Kindness,” Ensign, May 2005, 26

Jeffrey R. Holland

...negative speaking so often flows from negative thinking, including negative thinking about ourselves. We see our own faults, we speak—or at least think—critically of ourselves, and before long that is how we see everyone and everything. No sunshine, no roses, no promise of hope or happiness. Before long we and everybody around us are miserable… We should honor the Savior’s declaration to “be of good cheer.” (Indeed, it seems to me we may be more guilty of breaking that commandment than almost any other!) Speak hopefully. Speak encouragingly, including about yourself

Jeffrey R. Holland, “The Tongue of Angels,” Ensign, May 2007, 16–18

James E. Faust

If we really want to feel better about ourselves, we should do deeds of kindness.  Kindness shapes our character and makes us more like our Father in Heaven

James E. Faust, “Who Do You Think You Are?,” Ensign, Mar 2001, 2

Joseph B. Wirthlin

One way you can measure your value in the kingdom of God is to ask, “How well am I doing in helping others reach their potential? Do I support others in the Church, or do I criticize them?”  If you are criticizing others, you are weakening the Church. If you are building others, you are building the kingdom of God. As Heavenly Father is kind, we also should be kind to others. 

Joseph B. Wirthlin, “The Virtue of Kindness,” Ensign, May 2005, 26

Joseph B. Wirthlin

The Church is not a place where perfect people gather to say perfect things, or have perfect thoughts, or have perfect feelings. The Church is a place where imperfect people gather to provide encouragement, support, and service to each other as we press on in our journey to return to our Heavenly Father.

Joseph B. Wirthlin, “The Virtue of Kindness,” Ensign, May 2005, 26

Joseph B. Wirthlin

The things you say, the tone of your voice, the anger or calm of your words—these things are noticed by your children and by others. They see and learn both the kind and the unkind things we say or do. Nothing exposes our true selves more than how we treat one another in the home.

When we are filled with kindness, we are not judgmental. The Savior taught, “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.” 4 He also taught that “with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” 5
“But,” you ask, “what if people are rude?”
Love them.
“If they are obnoxious?”
Love them.
“But what if they offend? Surely I must do something then?”
Love them.
“Wayward?”
The answer is the same. Be kind. Love them.
Why? In the scriptures Jude taught, “And of some have compassion, making a difference.” 6
Who can tell what far-reaching impact we can have if we are only kind?

 Joseph B. Wirthlin, “The Virtue of Kindness,” Ensign, May 2005, 26

Wendy L. Watson

When we recognize and lay hold on the good things in our family, we actually increase the good; because in order to offer sincere commendations, honest compliments, and specific praise, we really have to study a subject.  When we care enough to look closely, to get up close and notice, we will see our family members in a new light and be able to commend them on their goodness, their competence, their courage, their tenacity, perhaps even their patience with us.  That means we need to be with them in a very different way, and that different way of being together will invite more light - and our ability to lay hold upon even more good things will increase.

Wendy L. Watson, "'Searching Diligently in the Light of Christ'," Every Good Thing, 1997 BYU Women's Conference, 49

Robert F. Orton

Most of us profess to love God.  The challenge, I have observed, is loving our neighbor.  The term neighbor includes family, people with whom we work, those whom we see in geographical proximity to our home and at church, and even the enemy, though we do not condone what the latter does.  If we do not love all of these, our brothers and sisters, can we truly say that we love God?  The Apostle John declared "that he who loveth God love his brother also," and added, "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar" (1 Jn. 4:21, 20). Love of God and neighbor must therefore be inseparably connected.

Robert F. Orton, "'The First and Great Commandment'," Ensign, Nov 2001, 81