Steven F. Gilliland

President Harold B. Lee’s statement that our priorities should be (1) personal, spiritual, and physical health; (2) family responsibilities; (3) Church responsibilities; (4) career and community responsibilities. (Bishop’s Training Course and Self-Help Guide, pp. I-25, 26.) If I am to serve my family and others in a meaningful way, I need to be spiritually and physically fit.

At the other extreme are people so concerned about being unselfish that they exhaust themselves trying to please everyone. They continually put their needs and wants on the shelf in the interest of family, church callings, neighbors, and friends. It eventually takes a severe depression or other manifestation of stress before they see that it’s okay to request, even require, that others be sensitive to their needs some of the time. There comes a time when even the strongest must draw strength from others. Some of us find it much easier to extend rather than accept service. Yet, if we always put ourselves last, we rob others of the challenge and joy of giving.

Steve F. Gilliland, "Me and Thee: Finding Balance in Marriage", Ensign, Aug. 1987, 22

Joseph B. Wirthlin

I think of how dark that Friday was when Christ was lifted up on the cross.  On that terrible Friday the earth shook and grew dark. Frightful storms lashed at the earth.  Those evil men who sought His life rejoiced. Now that Jesus was no more, surely those who followed Him would disperse. On that day they stood triumphant.

On that day the veil of the temple was rent in twain.  

Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Jesus, were both overcome with grief and despair. The superb man they had loved and honored hung lifeless upon the cross.  On that Friday the Apostles were devastated. Jesus, their Savior—the man who had walked on water and raised the dead—was Himself at the mercy of wicked men. They watched helplessly as He was overcome by His enemies.  On that Friday the Savior of mankind was humiliated and bruised, abused and reviled.  It was a Friday filled with devastating, consuming sorrow that gnawed at the souls of those who loved and honored the Son of God.

I think that of all the days since the beginning of this world’s history, that Friday was the darkest.

But the doom of that day did not endure.  The despair did not linger because on Sunday, the resurrected Lord burst the bonds of death. He ascended from the grave and appeared gloriously triumphant as the Savior of all mankind.  And in an instant the eyes that had been filled with ever-flowing tears dried. The lips that had whispered prayers of distress and grief now filled the air with wondrous praise, for Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God, stood before them as the firstfruits of the Resurrection, the proof that death is merely the beginning of a new and wondrous existence.  Each of us will have our own Fridays—those days when the universe itself seems shattered and the shards of our world lie littered about us in pieces. We all will experience those broken times when it seems we can never be put together again. We will all have our Fridays.

But I testify to you in the name of the One who conquered death—Sunday will come. In the darkness of our sorrow, Sunday will come.  No matter our desperation, no matter our grief, Sunday will come. In this life or the next, Sunday will come.

Because of our beloved Redeemer, we can lift up our voices, even in the midst of our darkest Fridays, and proclaim, “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” ⁹

President Hinckley ... promised that in the quiet of the night a still, unheard voice whispers peace to our soul: “All is well.”

Joseph B. Wirthlin, October 2006 General Conference

James E. Faust

The depth of the love of parents for their children cannot be measured. It is like no other relationship. It exceeds concern for life itself. The love of a parent for a child is continuous and transcends heartbreak and disappointment. All parents hope and pray that their children will make wise decisions. Children who are obedient and responsible bring to their parents unending pride and satisfaction.

James E. Faust
April 2003

Gordon B. Hinckley

Woman is God's supreme creation... of all the creations of the Almighty, there is none more beautiful, none more inspiring than a lovely daughter of God who walks in virtue with an understanding of why she should do so, who honors and respects her body as a thing sacred and divine, who cultivates her mind and constantly enlarges the horizon of her understanding, who nurtures her spirit with everlasting truth.

Gordon B. Hinckley

W. C. Brann

The place to take the true measure of a man is not in the darkest place or in the amen corner, nor the cornfield, but by his own fireside.  There he lays aside his mask and you may learn whether he is an imp or an angel, cur or king, hero or humbug.  I care not what the world says of him: whether it crowns him boss or pelts him with bad eggs. I care not a copper what his reputation or religion may be: if his babies dread his homecoming and his better half swallows her tongue every time she has to ask for a five-dollar bill, he is a fraud of the first water, even though he prays night and morning until he is black in the face... But if his children rush to meet him and love's sunshine illuminates the face of his wife every time she hears his footfall, you can take it for granted that he is pure, for his home is a heaven. ... I can forgive much in that fellow mortal who would rather make men swear than women weep; who would rather have the hate of the whole world than the contempt of his wife; who would rather call anger to the eyes of a king than fear to the face of a child.

W.C. Brann

Author Unknown

If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think that you dare not, you don't;
If you'd like to win, but you think you can't,
It's almost certain you won't.

If you think you'll lose, you've lost.
For out in the world, you'll find
Success begins with a fellow's will.
It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are;
You've got to think high to rise;
You've got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go
To the stronger or faster man;
But sooner or later the man who wins
Is the man who thinks he can.

-unknown

Edward L. Kimball

You may want to marry a man or woman just like the father or mother, the exemplary priesthood leader or outstanding woman you idealize.  But remember that even spiritual giants begin in embryo.  If you are not careful, the ideal - what you hope your spouse will be - can blind you to the numerous good qualities in potential partners.  Many eligible Latter-Day Saint singles who now might not measure up to your checklist will someday be fine fathers and mothers and respected Church and community leaders.  Sister Camilla Kimball wrote: "When people ask what it feels like to be married to a prophet, I tell them, "I didn't marry a prophet. I married a young returned missionary."

Edward L. Kimball, ed., The Writings of Camilla Eyring Kimball, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1988, p. 114)