Mormon Musings

Once in a while you will stumble upon the truth but most of us manage to pick ourselves up and hurry along as if nothing had happened. Winston Churchill

There is no liberty that men enjoy or pretend to enjoy in the world that is not founded in the will and in the law of God, and that does not have truth for its underlying principle and foundation.  It is error that makes bondsmen.  It is untruth that degrades mankind.  It is error and lack of knowledge of God's laws and God's will that leaves men in the world on a par with the brute creation. Joseph F. Smith

  24  That  which  is  of  God  is  a light ;  and  he  that  b receiveth   c light ,  and  d continueth  in  God,  receiveth  more  e light ;  and  that  light  groweth  brighter  and  brighter  until  the  perfect  day.   25  And  again,  verily  I  say  unto  you,  and  I  say  it  that  you  may  know  the  a truth ,  that  you  may  chase  darkness  from  among  you; Doctrine and Covenants 50:24-25

Our religion is simply the truth. It is all said in this one expression--it embraces all truth, wherever found, in all the works of God and man that are visible and invisible to mortal eye. Brigham Young, J.D. 10:251

Lofty standards of behavior will always be based upon a love for the right. Wickedness in any form will never lead to happiness. We must be aware of those who would have us believe there is no heaven, there is no hell, and that the only road to happiness is marked with compromise and convenience. Satan is real and he is effective. Drug abuse is one of his tools. He would throw men down, and by his cunning he would have all mankind strangers to God. Let us not be deceived. God lives, and through him and with him we can accomplish all things. We must not permit ourselves to become entangled in the sin of drugs or the sin of compromising our standards, but rather we must learn to avoid all the ways of Satan. Our Heavenly Father is so concerned that we do right that he will bless each of us with a sign, if we will ask his counsel. Do we realize that the Lord has promised us a physical manifestation if we but ask him to direct us in the right? In the ninth section of the  Doctrine and C

http://jdquotes.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/preparing-to-teach-the-principles-of-eternal-truth-orson-pratt/

http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=11347&x=51&y=4

The best way to obtain truth and wisdom is not to ask it from books, but to go to God in prayer, and obtain divine teaching. Joseph Smith, History of the Church, 4:425

So far as the philosophy and wisdom of the world are concerned, they mean nothing unless they conform to the revealed word of God.  Any doctrine, whether it comes in the name of religion, science, philosophy, or whatever it may be, if it is in conflict with the revealed word of the Lord, will fail.  It may appear plausible.  It may be put before you in language that appeals and which you may not be able to answer.  It may appear to be established by evidence that you cannot controvert, but all you need to do is to abide your time.  Time will level all things.  You will find that every doctrine, every principle, no matter how universally believed, if not in accord with the divine word of the Lord to his servants, will perish.  Nor is it necessary for us to stretch the word of the Lord, in a vain attempt to make it conform to these theories and teachings.  The word of the Lord shall not pass away unfulfilled, but these false doctrines and theories will all fail.  Truth, and only truth, w

Obedience to commandments is the way we build a foundation of truth. Here is the way that works, in words that are so simple a child could understand. The truth of most worth is to know God our Heavenly Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and Their plan for us to have eternal life with them in families. When God communicates that priceless truth to us, He does it by the Spirit of Truth. We have to ask for it in prayer. Then He sends us a small part of that truth by the Spirit. It comes to our hearts and minds. It feels good, like the light from the sun shining through the clouds on a dark day. He sends truth line upon line, like the lines on the page of a book. Each time a line of truth comes to us, we get to choose what we will do about the light and truth God has sent to us. If we try hard to do what that truth requires of us, God will send more light and more truth. It will go on, line after line, as long as we choose to obey the truth. That is why the Savior said that the man who obeyed

If we are to be on the side of truth, we must have the Spirit of the Lord. To the obtaining of that spirit, prayer is an indispensable prerequisite. Praying will keep one's vision clear on this question of loyalty as on all other questions. By praying I do not mean, however, just saying prayers. Prayers may be said in a perfunctory manner. Access to the Spirit of God, which is a directing power, cannot be so obtained. The divine injunction to pray is not to be satisfied in a casual manner nor by an effort to obtain divine approval of a predetermined course. A firm resolve to comply with the will of God must accompany the petition foreknowledge as to what His will is. When one brings himself to the position that he will pursue the truth wherever it may lead, even though it may require a reversal of his former position, he can, without hypocrisy, go before the Lord in prayer. Then, when he prays with all the energy of his soul, he is entitled to and he will receive guidance. The mind

http://jdquotes.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/the-light-of-eternity-cannot-be-mistaken/

Truth…is my delight: and if I know and understand myself, I have no delight in anything else. Truth came from God as a precious magnet. It is a part of himself, and he who possesses it possesses a property that may be attracted, with its possessor, to the great source and fountain of truth—even to God himself. Orson Hyde, Journal of Discourses 5:138

http://jdquotes.wordpress.com/2011/06/08/truth-intelligence-and-certainty/

The truth is not for all men, but only for those who seek it. Ayn Rand

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we invite people of all backgrounds—many of which are very different from our own—to come unto Christ. We should not hesitate to invite those of other religions. Many of these good people have been seeking for the truth, even by study and also by faith, for a long time. We need to reach out to them in a courageous way with a sweet boldness, with love, and with a pure desire to share the truth from which they have been kept “because they know not where to find it” (D&C 123:12). President Gordon B. Hinckley said: We do not stand out in opposition to other churches. We respect all men for all the good that they do, and we say to those of all churches, we honor the good that you do and we invite you to come and see what further good we can do for you.  [ TGBH, 667] The Prophet Joseph Smith explained: We don’t ask any people to throw away any good they have got; we only ask them to come and get more.  [ HC  5:259] Pres

I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy, playing on a seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me. -Sir Isaac Newton

If we would only testify of the truth as we see it, it would turn out at once that there are hundreds, thousands, and even millions of men just as we are, who see the truth as we do, are afraid as we are of seeming to be singular by confessing it, and are only waiting, again as we are, for someone to proclaim it. -Leo Tolstoy

“When you climb a ladder, you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the Gospel—you must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all of the principles of exaltation.  But it will be a great while after you have passed through the veil before you will have learned them.  It is not all to be comprehended in this world ; it will be a great work to learn our salvation and exaltation even beyond the grave.” Joseph Smith , History of the Church, 6:306-7; from a discourse given by Joseph Smith on April 7, 1844, in Nauvoo Illinois “We consider that God has created man with a mind capable of instruction, and a faculty which may be enlarged in proportion to the heed and diligence given to the light communicated from heaven to the intellect; and that the nearer a man approaches perfection, the clearer are his views, and the greater his enjoyments, till he has overcome the evils of his life and lost every desir

"Sometimes, during solitude, I hear truth spoken spoken with clarity and freshness; uncolored and untranslated it speaks from within myself in a language original but inarticulate, heard only with the soul, and I realize I brought it with me, was never taught it nor can I efficiently teach it to another." Hugh B. Brown   There are certain ideas of God, and futurity, and the nature and fitness of things implanted in the human bosom, even while in the world; for there are many things which lead to reflection. John Taylor, Journal of Discourses, 5:244