Inspirational Quotes: Obedience

"Spirituality yields two fruits. The first is inspiration to know what to do. The second is power, or the capacity to do it. These two capacities come together. That’s why Nephi could say, “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded.” ² He knew the spiritual laws upon which inspiration and power are based. Yes, God answers prayer and gives us spiritual direction when we live obediently and exercise the required faith in Him." Richard G. Scott, To Acquire Spiritual Guidance, October 2009 General Conference.

"I experienced the joy of coming closer to the Savior and of His coming closer to me most often through simple acts of obedience to the commandments." (2013 April General Conference, “Come unto Me”, Sat. Morning Session - By  Henry B. Eyring)


"There is no need for you or for me, in this enlightened age when the fulness of the gospel has been restored, to sail uncharted seas or to travel unmarked roads in search of truth. A loving Heavenly Father has plotted our course and provided an unfailing guide—even obedience. A knowledge of truth and the answers to our greatest questions come to us as we are obedient to the commandments of God." Thomas S. Monson, Obedience Brings Blessings, April 2013 General Conference.

"Obedience is a hallmark of prophets; it has provided strength and knowledge to them throughout the ages. It is essential for us to realize that we, as well, are entitled to this source of strength and knowledge. It is readily available to each of us today as we obey God’s commandments." Thomas S. Monson, Obedience Brings Blessings, April 2013 General Conference.

"Men and women receive their agency as a gift from God, but their liberty and, in turn, their eternal happiness come from obedience to His laws." L. Tom Perry, Obedience to Law is Liberty, April 2013 General Conference.

"A useful way to think about the commandments is they are loving counsel from a wise, all-knowing Heavenly Father. His goal is our eternal happiness, and His commandments are the road map He has given us to return to Him, which is the only way we will be eternally happy. How significant are the home and the family to our eternal happiness? On page 141 of my little brown book, it states, “Indeed our heaven is little more than a projection of our homes into eternity...”

"God reveals to His prophets that there are moral absolutes. Sin will always be sin. Disobedience to the Lord’s commandments will always deprive us of His blessings. The world changes constantly and dramatically, but God, His commandments, and promised blessings do not change. They are immutable and unchanging. Men and women receive their agency as a gift from God, but their liberty and, in turn, their eternal happiness come from obedience to His laws. As Alma counseled his errant son Corianton, “Wickedness never was happiness” (Alma 41:10). L. Tom Perry, Obedience to Law is Liberty, April 2013 General Conference.

"In times of distress, let your covenants be paramount and let your obedience be exact." D. Todd Christofferson, The Power of Covenants, April 2009 General Conference.

"Our willingness to take upon us the name of Christ and keep His commandments requires a degree of faith, but as we honor our covenants, that faith expands. In the first place, the promised fruits of obedience become evident, which confirms our faith." D. Todd Christofferson, The Power of Covenants, April 2009 General Conference.

"Feasting on the word of God, heartfelt prayer, and obedience to the Lord’s commandments must be applied evenly and continually for your testimony to grow and prosper." Henry B. Eyring, A Living Testimony, 2011 General Young-Women's Boradcast.

"This missionary understood that “there is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated—And when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated.” ¹⁹ The Lord wants to bless this family and anxiously awaits their obedience so He can." Robert D. Hales, Tithing A Test with Eternal Blessing, October 2002 General Conference.

"Elder Bruce R. McConkie, a man of great faith, said, “Faith is a gift of God bestowed as a reward for personal righteousness. … The greater the measure of obedience to God’s laws the greater will be the endowment of the [gift of faith].” (Mormon Doctrine, 2d ed., Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966, p. 264; italics in original.)

In other words, obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel is essential to obtain faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Doctrine and Covenants stresses this very important point of obedience in a very simple way. The Lord says: “Keep my commandments continually. … And except thou do this, where I am you cannot come.” (D&C 25:15.)" Robert D. Hales, The Aaronic Priesthood: Return with Honor, April 1990 General Conference. 

"Let me suggest to you four settings in which to practice quick and steady obedience. One is the command to feast upon the word of God. A second is to pray always. A third is the commandment to be a full-tithe payer. And the fourth is to escape from sin and its terrible effects. Each takes faith to start and then to persevere. And all can strengthen your capacity to know and obey the Lord’s commands." Henry B. Eyring, Spiritual Preparedness: Starts Early and Be Steady, October 2005 General Conference.

"We build the faith to pass the tests of obedience over time and through our daily choices. We can decide now to do quickly whatever God asks of us. And we can decide to be steady in the small tests of obedience which build the faith to carry us through the great tests, which will surely come." Henry B. Eyring, Spiritual Preparedness: Starts Early and Be Steady, October 2005 General Conference. 

"Love is the measure of our faith, the inspiration for our obedience, and the true altitude of our discipleship." Dietter F Uchtdorf, The Love of God, October 2009 General Conference. 

"Faithfulness, obedience, and humility invite tender mercies into our lives, and it is often the Lord’s timing that enables us to recognize and treasure these important blessings." David A Bednar, The Tender Mercies of the Lord, April 2005 General Conference. 

"God does not have a list of favorites to which we must hope our names will someday be added. He does not limit “the chosen” to a restricted few. Rather, it is our hearts and our aspirations and our obedience which definitively determine whether we are counted as one of God’s chosen."  David A Bednar, The Tender Mercies of the Lord, April 2005 General Conference. 

"When Christ came to the earth, he fulfilled the promised role as he became the ultimate sacrificial lamb. His atonement brought about a greater destiny and a nobler concept for us. We are still commanded to sacrifice, but not by shedding blood of animals. Our highest sense of sacrifice is achieved as we make ourselves more sacred or holy.

This we do by our obedience to the commandments of God. Thus, the laws of obedience and sacrifice are indelibly intertwined. Consider the commandments to obey the Word of Wisdom, to keep the Sabbath day holy, to pay an honest tithe. As we comply with these and other commandments, something wonderful happens to us. We become disciplined! We become disciples! We become more sacred and holy—like our Lord!" Russell M. Nelson, Lessons From Eve, October 1987 General Conference. 

"Many years ago when our daughters were very young, Sister Nelson and I took them fishing. We were having a wonderful time. Everyone was catching fish. Then shades of Saturday night’s darkness brought a curfew to our fun. So great was my enthusiasm for our success, I allowed myself to rationalize aloud with the girls. (Rationalization is one of the real obstacles to obedience.) Knowing that the next day was Sunday, I jokingly said, “If we get up tomorrow two hours earlier than normal, we could catch some more fish and then quit promptly at our usual wake-up hour.”

Silence followed. My companion and our daughters all glared at me. Icy stillness was broken when our seven-year-old said, “Daddy, would you eat those fish you caught on Sunday?”

Then she added, “Would you ask Heavenly Father to bless fish you caught on the Sabbath?”

Needless to say, we did no fishing the next morning.

Their commitment to the Sabbath became my commitment, too.

So it is, dear daughters. As you obey each of God’s commandments, your holiness will fortify the foundation of your fathers’ faith. When the two of you are together spiritually, one plus one is clearly greater than two." Russell M. Nelson, Lessons From Eve, October 1987 General Conference. 

"All of us love the beautiful account from the Holy Bible of Abraham and Isaac. How exceedingly difficult it must have been for Abraham, in obedience to God’s command, to take his beloved Isaac into the land of Moriah, there to present him as a burnt offering. Can you imagine the heaviness of his heart as he gathered the wood for the fire and journeyed to the appointed place? Surely pain must have racked his body and tortured his mind as he “bound Isaac … and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And … stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.” How glorious was the pronouncement, and with what wondered welcome did it come: “Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.” ⁶

Abraham qualifies as a model of unquestioning obedience." Thomas S. Monson, Model to Follow, October 2002 General Conference. 

Inspirational Quotes: Pornography

"Let us all improve our personal behavior and redouble our efforts to protect our loved ones and our environment from the onslaught of pornography." Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Pornography, April 2005 General Conference. 

“Pornographic or erotic stories and pictures are worse than filthy or polluted food. The body has defenses to rid itself of unwholesome food. With a few fatal exceptions, bad food will only make you sick but do no permanent harm. In contrast, a person who feasts upon filthy stories or pornographic or erotic pictures and literature records them in this marvelous retrieval system we call a brain. The brain won’t vomit back filth. Once recorded, it will always remain subject to recall, flashing its perverted images across your mind and drawing you away from the wholesome things in life.”  Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Pornography, April 2005 General Conference. 

Those who seek out and use pornography forfeit the power of their priesthood. The Lord declares: “When we undertake to cover our sins, … behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man” (D&C 121:37). Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Pornography, April 2005 General Conference. 

"The best counsel for us to give young people is that they can arrive back to Heavenly Father only as they are guided and corrected by the Spirit of God. So if we are wise, we will encourage, praise, and exemplify everything which invites the companionship of the Holy Ghost." Henry B. Eyring, "Help Them on Their Way Home," April 2010 General Conference. 

"When we face such temptations in our time, we must declare, as young Nephi did in his, “[I will] give place no more for the enemy of my soul.” ¹² We can reject the evil one. If we want it dearly and deeply enough, that enemy can and will be rebuked by the redeeming power of the Lord Jesus Christ." Jeffery R. Holland, Place No More for the Enemy of My Soul, April 2010 General Conference. 

"Like the fly fisherman who knows that trout are driven by hunger, Lucifer knows our “hunger,” or weaknesses, and tempts us with counterfeit lures which, if taken, can cause us to be yanked from the stream of life into his unmerciful influence. And unlike a fly fisherman who catches and releases the fish unharmed back into the water, Lucifer will not voluntarily let go. His goal is to make his victims as miserable as he is." M. Russel Ballard, O That Cunning Plan of Plan of the Evil One, October 2010 General Conference.

"Pornography hijacks the brain by fueling dopamine production, which provides excitement, but no endorphins are emitted to help the brain feel satisfied, he explained. This cycle leads users to fall deeper and deeper into their addiction as they seek a satisfaction that will never come. "
Patrick Trueman, former chief of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Criminal Division, Education Is Key to Protecting Families from Pornography, June, 2010 Edition Ensign Magazine.

With the Saints gathered for general conference, the First Presidency issued a statement on pornography. Recognizing that “pornographic filth” continues to flood the United States and other nations of the world, the First Presidency message said:

“There is abundant evidence of the damaging effect of obscenity on the solidarity of the family, on the moral fiber of the individual.

“We, with many leaders outside the church, are deeply concerned about this growing obscenity in print, on record and tape, on television, and in motion pictures.

“We therefore urge Latter-day Saint parents to teach their children to avoid smut in any of its insidious forms. ‘Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly.’ (D&C 121:45.)

“The Lord has also said: ‘Set in order your houses; keep slothfulness and uncleanness far from you.’ (D&C 90:18.)

“We also encourage Latter-day Saints as citizens to exert every effort to fight the inroads of pornography in their communities. History is replete with examples of nations which have fallen in a large measure through licentiousness.”  First Presidency Statement Against Pornography, December 1972

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a single, undeviating standard of sexual morality: intimate relations are proper only between a man and a woman in the marriage relationship prescribed in God’s plan. Such relations are not merely a curiosity to be explored, an appetite to be satisfied, or a type of recreation or entertainment to be pursued selfishly. They are not a conquest to be achieved or simply an act to be performed. Rather, they are in mortality one of the ultimate expressions of our divine nature and potential and a way of strengthening emotional and spiritual bonds between husband and wife. We are agents blessed with moral agency and are defined by our divine heritage as children of God—and not by sexual behaviors, contemporary attitudes, or secular philosophies." Elder David A. Bednar, We Believe in Being Chaste, April 2013 General Conference. 

"Violating the law of chastity is a grievous sin and a misuse of our physical tabernacles." Elder David A. Bednar, We Believe in Being Chaste, April 2013 General Conference. 

"Remember, my dear one, not an age in life passes without temptation, trial, or torment experienced through your physical body. But as you prayerfully develop self-mastery, desires of the flesh may be subdued. And when that has been achieved, you may have the strength to submit to your Heavenly Father, as did Jesus, who said, “Not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42.) Elder Russell M Nelson, Self-Mastery, October 1985 General Conference.

"As servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is our sacred responsibility to teach His standard of morality, which is the same for all of His children. When our thoughts or our actions are impure, we violate His standard. The Lord has said, “I … cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.” ⁸ Some attempt to rationalize away their conduct." Quentin L. Cook, Stewardship- a Sacred Trust, October 2009 General Conference.

"Please, never say: “Who does it hurt? Why not a little freedom? I can transgress now and repent later.” Please don’t be so foolish and so cruel. You cannot with impunity “crucify Christ afresh.” ⁸ “Flee fornication,” ⁹ Paul cries, and flee “anything like unto it,” ¹⁰ the Doctrine and Covenants adds. Why? Well, for one reason because of the incalculable suffering in both body and spirit endured by the Savior of the world so that we could flee. ¹¹ We owe Him something for that. Indeed, we owe Him everything for that. “Ye are not your own,” Paul says. “Ye [have been] bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” ¹² In sexual transgression the soul is at stake—the body and the spirit." Jeffery R Holland, Personal Purity, October 1998 General Conference.