American Religious Leader Quotes

Joseph Smith, Jr.

Sitting Bull

Mary Baker Eddy

Elijah Muhammad

Thomas S. Monson

Joseph F. Smith

Gordon B. Hinckley

As in poetry, so in prayer, the whole subject matter should be furnished by the heart, and the understanding should be allowed only to shape and arrange the effusions of the heart in the manner best adapted to answer the end designed. From the fullness of a heart overflowing with holy affections, as from a copious fountain, we should pour forth a torrent of pious, humble, and ardently affectionate feelings; while our understandings only shape the channel and teach the gushing streams of devotion where to flow, and when to stop.

It does not matter what your circumstances are; the instant you begin to thank God, even though your situation has not changed, you begin to change. The key that unlocks the gates of heaven is a thankful heart. Entrance into the courts of God comes as you simply begin to praise the Lord.

Francis Frangipane

Given the immense wealth made from the African, both from his person and his labor, one would have thought that when liberation came there would have been a special financial consideration accorded them, at the least, humane treatment. Neither occurred: Africans were never paid reparations nor treated humanely even to the present.

Herbert Daughtry

Your life of indifference to the risen Christ and of halfhearted attention now and then to a few of his commandments will appear on that day as supremely blameworthy and infinitely foolish, and you will... weep that you did not change. 8

You, our youth of today, are among the most illustrious spirits to be born into mortality in any age of the world. Yours is a noble heritage and a wonderful opportunity.

For many wealthy people, giving a tenth is a way of robbing God. Their tithe becomes a tip.

Haddon Robinson

That which has been termed race, is not a race.... It is a curse, and a cursed, vulgar name that was given to low-rate you, in short, to DISGRACE you.

The optimist, as you probably know, is a person who, when he wears out his shoes, just figures he's back on his feet.

Hartman Rector Jr.

Astrology is like any other branch of knowledge. It can be used for good or for ill, properly or improperly, by skilled and unskilled practitioners alike.

Elizabeth Clare Prophet

In human relationships, as mutual love deepens, there comes a time when two friends convey their exchanges without words. They can sit in silence sharing an experience or simply enjoying each other's presence without saying anything.

Our religion seems foolish to you, but so does yours to me. The Baptists and Methodists and Presbyterians and the Catholics all have a different God. Why cannot we have one of our own?

There is nothing in my teachings to the Church or in those of my associates, during the time specified, which can be reasonably construed to inculate or encourage polygamy... And I now publicly declare that my advice to the Latter-day Saints is to refrain from contracting any marriage forbidden by the law of the land.

Wilford Woodruff

The trouble with facts is that there are so many of them.

Samuel McChord Crothers

By our very endowment as children of an Eternal Father we have had implanted within our souls the urgency to be free. It is natural for us to want to be accountable for our own fates because there is a whispering within us confirming that this accountability is absolutely essential to the attainment of our eternal destiny.

When a man works by faith, he works by mental exertion instead of by physical force.

Joseph Smith, Jr.

I am deeply interested in this work. I am anxious to encourage the people to press on in securing their genealogies and after doing so in laboring in our temples.

Freedom is not a self-preserving gift. It has to be earned, and it has to be protected.

Peace doesn't come from finding a lake with no storms. It comes from having Jesus in the boat.

Man's earthly existence is but a test as to whether he will concentrate his efforts, his mind, his soul upon things which contribute to the comfort and gratification of his physical instincts and passions, or whether he will make as his life's end and purpose the acquisition of spiritual qualities

Every bishop can testify to the promptings that attend calls to serve in the Church. Frequently the call seems to be for the benefit not so much of those to be taught or led as for the person who is to teach or lead.

Thomas S. Monson

Our being edified at conference depends on us. It becomes necessary that we prepare our hearts to receive and profit by the suggestions that may be made by the speakers during the progress of the conference, which may be prompted by the Spirit of the Lord. I have thought, and still think, that our being edified does not so much depend upon the speaker as upon ourselves.

Surely the Lord loves, more than anything else, an unwavering determination to obey his counsel.

Howard W. Hunter

Successful trial lawyers are like heat-seeking missiles carrying payloads of information prejudicial to their opponent's case, constantly looking for the chance to unload their cargo, right up until the final moments of trial.

Government has no more to do with the religions opinions of men, than it has with the principles of mathematics. Let every man speak freely without fear, maintain the principles that he believes, worship according to his own faith, either one God, three Gods, no God, or twenty Gods; and let government protect him in so doing, i. e., see that he meets with no personal abuse, or loss of property, from his religious opinions.

The Sabbath day has become a day of pleasure, a day of boisterous conduct, a day in which the worship of God has departed, and the worship of pleasure has taken its place. I am sorry to say that many of the Latter-day Saints are guilty of this. We should repent.

Joseph Fielding Smith