Quotes from Dallin H. Oaks

We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best because they develop faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and strengthen our families.

If you wish to marry well, inquire well.

Plan specifically so you can implement flexibly.

There is not a right and a wrong answer to every question.

Our priorities are most visible in how we use our time. Someone has said, "Three things never come back—the spent arrow, the spoken word, and the lost opportunity." We cannot recycle or save the time allotted to us each day. With time, we have only one opportunity for choice, and then it is gone forever.

Healing blessings come in many ways, each suited to our individual needs, as known to Him who loves us best. Sometimes a 'healing' cures our illness or lifts our burden. But sometimes we are 'healed' by being given strength or understanding or patience to bear the burdens placed upon us.

We should recognize the reality that just because something is good is not sufficient reason for doing it. The number of good things we can do far exceeds the time available to accomplish them.

When a choice will make a real difference in our lives—obvious or not—and when we are living in tune with the Spirit and seeking his guidance, we can be sure we will receive the guidance we need to attain our goal.

I am unpersuaded that relative poverty and hard work are greater adversities than relative affluence and free time.

We should seek after spiritual gifts. They can lead us to God. They can shield us from the power of the adversary. They can compensate for our inadequacies and repair our imperfections.

Our lives of service and sacrifice are the most appropriate expressions of our commitment to serve the Master and our fellowmen.

Consider how we use our time. Not everything is worth the portion of our life we give to obtain it. SOme things are better, and others are best.

In order to ask with real intent or to act with full purpose of heart, we must always make an accompanying commitment.

We may have to struggle to achieve our goals, but our struggles may yield as much growth as our learning. The strengths we develop in overcoming challenges will be with us in the eternities to come.

When you put your trust in your dad, he will feel the responsibility of that trust and try harder than ever to understand and to help. As your father, he is entitled to inspiration on your behalf. His advice to you will be the heartfelt expressions of someone who knows and loves you. Your dad wants more than anything for you to be happy and successful, so why would you not want to trust someone like that? Boys, trust your dad.

Don't be dumb. (don't get a tattoo)

Feeling the Lord magnify me professionally as I sought to serve him solidified my commitment to serve the Lord first. In doing so I learned that I could do more professionally in part of my time with His help than in all of my time without it.

When you're involved in the work of the Lord, the power behind you is always greater than the obstacles before you.

The leveling effect of the women's movement has contributed to discourage dating. As women's options have increased and some women have become more aggressive, some men have become reluctant to take traditional male initiatives, such as asking for dates, lest they be thought to qualify for the dreaded label "male chauvinist.

We must not only do what is right. We must act for the right reasons. The modern term is good motive. The scriptures often signify this appropriate mental attitude with the words full purpose of heart or real intent. The scriptures make clear that God understands our motives and will judge our actions accordingly.

judgments in choosing our friends, in choosing how we will spend our time and our money, and, of course, in choosing an eternal companion. Some of these intermediate judgments are surely among those the Savior referenced when he taught that "the weightier matters of the law" include judgment (Matthew 23:23).

Neither of them had any particular longing for material wealth except as it would aid them in this life's work of parental responsibility. In their eyes it was far more important that each of their children grow up to be noted for honesty and integrity than that any one of them should make a mark in the world. Both worked unceasingly all the days of their lives and taught their children to love work." 4

Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions. The desires we act on determine our changing, our achieving, and our becoming.

The good news is that when we do the Lord's work in the Lord's way, we are assured of His blessings to help us.