Quotes from Ezra Taft Benson

Thank God for the joys of family life. I have often said there can be no genuine happiness separate and apart from a good home. The sweetest influences and associations of life are there

'What would Jesus do?' or 'What would He have me do?' are the paramount personal questions of this life.

With pride, there are many curses. With humility, there come many blessings.

Enmity means 'hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.' It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us.

I am a witness to nations and people deprived of their freedom. I was there. I watched that great Iron Curtain drop around nations which formerly had prized their freedom - good people. I was aghast as these were written off by the stroke of a pen.

Many men and women in the world demonstrate great willpower and self-discipline in overcoming bad habits and the weaknesses of the flesh.

I have seen what the days of tribulation can do to people. I have seen hunger stalk the streets of Europe. I have witnessed the appalling, emaciated shadows of human figures. I have seen women and children scavenge army garbage dumps for scraps of food. Those scenes and nameless faces cannot be erased from my memory.

I have a vision of artists putting into film, drama, literature, music, and paintings great themes and great characters from the Book of Mormon.

It is mother's influence during the crucial formative years that forms a child's basic character. Home is the place where a child learns faith, feels love, and thereby learns from mother's loving example to choose righteousness.

Christ removed self as the force in His perfect life. It was, 'Not my will, but thine be done.'

If a man does not control his temper, it is a sad admission that he is not in control of his thoughts.

The more we express our gratitude to God for our blessings, the more he will bring to our mind other blessings. The more we are aware of to be grateful for, the happier we become.

The great task of life is to learn the will of the Lord and then do it.

If we have any criticism of our leaders, we invite Satan into our lives and beliefs.

Satan knows that youth is the springtime of life when all things are new and young people are most vulnerable.

What does it mean to love someone with all your heart? It means to love with all your emotional feelings and with all your devotion. Surely when you love your wife with all your heart, you cannot demean her, criticize her, find fault with her, or abuse her by words, sullen behavior, or actions.

Our parents deserve our honor and respect for giving us life itself. Beyond this they almost always made countless sacrifices as they cared for and nurtured us through our infancy and childhood, provided us with the necessities of life, and nursed us through physical illnesses and the emotional stresses of growing up.

A father's calling is eternal and its importance transcends time. It is a calling for both time and eternity.

There will always be those little minds who, out of vanity or intellectual display, will attempt to destroy faith in the very foundations of life.

I cannot recall a time that I did not believe in Jesus Christ.

If you really want to receive joy and happiness, then serve others with all your heart. Lift their burden, and your own burden will be lighter.

Faithful attendance at Church meetings brings blessings you can receive in no other way.

What a gift it would be to receive at Christmastime a greater knowledge of the Lord. What a gift it would be to share that knowledge with others.

I challenge those who are in business and other professions to see that there are copies of the Book of Mormon in their reception rooms.