Top 501 Quotes & Sayings by Ezra Taft Benson - Page 2

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.

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

Husbands, recognize your wife's intelligence and her ability to counsel with you as a real partner regarding family plans, family activities, and family budgeting. Don't be stingy with your time or with your means. Give her the opportunity to grow intellectually, emotionally, and socially as well as spiritually.

Virtue is akin to holiness, an attribute of godliness.

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.

From the Book of Mormon, we learn how disciples of Christ live in times of war.

Fathers, yours is an eternal calling from which you are never released.

In the beginning, God placed a woman in a companion role with the priesthood.

The Saints never suffer as the sinners do.

No man is truly educated unless he knows where he came from, why he is here, and where he can expect to go in the next life.

Satan would have you believe that happiness comes only as you surrender to his enticements, but one only needs to look at the shattered lives of those who violate God's laws to know why Satan is called the Father of Lies.

Sacrifice is truly the crowning test of the gospel. Men are tried and tested in this mortal probation to see if they will put first in their lives the kingdom of God.

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

You cannot help people permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves.

Scouting teaches a boy to take care of himself and stand on his own two feet.

Pride is ugly. It says, 'If you succeed, I am a failure.'

The United States of America has been great because it has been free.

In this age of the electronic media and the mass distribution of the printed word, God will hold us accountable if we do not now move the Book of Mormon in a monumental way.

The proud make every man their adversary by pitting their intellects, opinions, works, wealth, talents, or any other worldly measuring device against others.

Our enmity toward God takes on many labels, such as rebellion, hard-heartedness, stiff-neckedness, unrepentant, puffed up, easily offended, and sign seekers. The proud wish God would agree with them. They aren't interested in changing their opinions to agree with God's.

Becoming Christlike is a lifetime pursuit and very often involves growth and change that is slow, almost imperceptible.

The Lord clearly defined the roles of providing for and rearing a righteous posterity. In the beginning, Adam, not Eve, was instructed to earn the bread by the sweat of his brow.

It is a truism that children need more of Mother than of money.

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

Fatherhood is not a matter of station or wealth. It is a matter of desire, diligence and determination to see one's family exalted in the celestial kingdom. If that prize is lost, nothing else really matters.

Blessed are they who seek to learn wisdom.

Too often the pressure for popularity, on children and teens, places an economic burden on the income of the father, so mother feels she must go to work to satisfy her children's needs. That decision can be most shortsighted.

Bad experience is a school that only fools keep going to.

Truth is truth, whether labeled 'science' or 'religion.'

Some prideful people are not so concerned as to whether their wages meet their needs as they are that their wages are more than someone else's. Their reward is being a cut above the rest. This is the enmity of pride.

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.

In general, the more food we eat in its natural state - without additives - and the less it is refined, the healthier it will be for us. Food can affect the mind, and deficiencies of certain elements in the body can promote mental depression.

We must be careful, as we seek to become more and more godlike, that we do not become discouraged and lose hope.

Wickedness never did, never does, never will bring us happiness.

Family preparedness has been a long-established welfare principle.

Pride is essentially competitive in nature. We pit our will against God's.

Sin pulls a man down into despondency and despair.

Opposition provides choices, and choices bring consequences - good or bad.

The Book of Mormon is the 'keystone' of our religion, and the Doctrine and Covenants is the 'capstone,' with continuing latter day revelation. The Lord has placed His stamp of approval on both the keystone and the capstone.

The literal resurrection of every soul who has lived and died on earth is a certainty, and surely one should make careful preparation for this event. A glorious resurrection should be the goal of every man and woman, for resurrection will be a reality.

When I think of how we show faith, I cannot help but think of the example of my own father. I recall vividly how the spirit of missionary work came into my life. I was about thirteen years of age when my father received a call to go on a mission.

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.

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.

We must not lose hope. Hope is an anchor to the souls of men. Satan would have us cast away that anchor.

If we love God, do His will, and fear His judgment more than men's, we will have self-esteem.

There are blessings in being close to the soil, in raising your own food even if it is only a garden in your yard and a fruit tree or two. Those families will be fortunate who, in the last days, have an adequate supply of food because of their foresight and ability to produce their own.

Try as you may, you cannot put the Lord in your debt. For every time you try to do His will, He simply pours out more blessings upon you.

Yes, one can repent of moral transgression. The miracle of forgiveness is real, and true repentance is accepted of the Lord.

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

When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives.

Pride is a sin that can readily be seen in others but is rarely admitted in ourselves.

Mothers play an important role as the heart of the home, but this in no way lessens the equally important role fathers should play, as head of the home, in nurturing, training, and loving their children.

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

When you choose to follow Christ, you choose to be changed.

The one man other than my father who made the most lasting impression was an uncle, Serge B. Benson. He taught me in three different classes - but above all, he taught me lessons in moral, physical, and intellectual courage that I have tried to apply in later life.

I testify to you that God's pay is the best pay that this world or any other world knows anything about.

Was it not through pride that the devil became the devil? Christ wanted to serve. The devil wanted to rule.

One of the joys of working with boys is that you get your pay as you go along. You can observe the results of your leadership daily... Such satisfaction cannot be purchased at any price; it must be earned.

The false prophets of Communism predict a utopian society.

Time is numbered only to man.