Quotes from Ezra Taft Benson

God lives. I know that He lives. I know that Jesus is the Christ and the Redeemer of the world.

False thinking and false ideologies, dressed in the most pleasing forms, quietly - almost without our knowing it - seek to reduce our moral defenses and to captivate our minds. They entice with bright promises of security, cradle-to-grave guarantees of many kinds.

Great battles can make great heroes and heroines.

The undermining of the home and family is on the increase with the devil anxiously working to displace the father as the head of the home and create rebellion among the children.

The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums.

Satan works through human agents.

The Lord is pleased with every effort, even the tiny, daily ones in which we strive to be more like Him.

The sacred title of 'father' is shared with the Almighty.

The great commandment of life is to love the Lord.

I feel certain that if, in our homes, parents will read from the Book of Mormon prayerfully and regularly, both by themselves and with their children, the spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein.

Callings in the church, as important as they are, by their very nature are only for a period of time, and then an appropriate release takes place.

God will have a humble people. Either we can choose to be humble, or we can be compelled to be humble.

To the proud, the applause of the world rings in their ears; to the humble, the applause of heaven warms their hearts.

Selfishness is one of the more common faces of pride. 'How everything affects me' is the center of all that matters - self-conceit, self-pity, worldly self-fulfillment, self-gratification, and self-seeking.

I firmly believe in prayer. It is possible to reach out and tap the unseen power which gives strength and anchor in time of need.

An unvirtuous citizenry tend to elect representatives who will pander to their covetous lustings.

You cannot do wrong and feel right. It is impossible!

America is a place of many great events. Here is where Adam dwelt, where the Garden of Eden was located. America was the place of former civilizations, including Adam's, the Jaredites', and Nephites'.

The proud depend upon the world to tell them whether they have value or not. Their self-esteem is determined by where they are judged to be on the ladders of worldly success. They feel worthwhile as individuals if the numbers beneath them in achievement, talent, beauty, or intellect are large enough.

Every accountable child of God needs to set goals, short- and long-range goals. A man who is pressing forward to accomplish worthy goals can soon put despondency under his feet, and once a goal is accomplished, others can be set up.

Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart, or core, is still missing. The central feature of pride is enmity - enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen.

Be cheerful in all that you do. Live joyfully. Live happily. Live enthusiastically, knowing that God does not dwell in gloom and melancholy, but in light and love.

America, North and South, is a choice land, a land reserved for God's own purposes.

To lose yourself in righteous service to others can lift your sights and get your mind off personal problems, or at least put them in proper focus.