David O. McKay was the ninth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, serving from April 9, 1951 – January 18, 1970. He oversaw a period of global growth and modernization in the Church in the Post-WWII era and became known for his family-focused teachings and charismatic demeanor. Similar to our Dallin H. Oaks Quotes collection, this post contains David O. McKay quotes about topics such as family, priesthood, the Word of Wisdom, and more. Please leave a comment if there’s a quote you’d like considered for inclusion.
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— Read more about David O. McKay in Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay
Table of Contents
- Church Callings
- Family
- Gospel
- Jesus
- Missionary Work
- Moral Agency
- Mortal Life
- Prayer
- Priesthood
- Sabbath
- Service
- Testimony
- Word of Wisdom
- Further Reading
David O. McKay Quotes About Church Callings
What e’er thou art, act well thy part
‘What e’re thou art, act well they part.’ Are you a deacon, do the duties of a deacon well. Are you a teacher, do your work well. A priest watching over the Church, visiting with them… Brethren there is nothing in the world so powerful in guiding youth as to have them act well their part in the priesthood.
In Conference Report, October 1954, 84.
David O. McKay Quotes About Family
No other success
No other success can compensate for failure in the home.
Quoted from J. E. McCulloch, Home: The Savior of Civilization (1924), 42; in Conference Report, April 1935, 116.
Continued Courtship
I should like to urge continued courtship, and apply this to grown people. Too many couples have come to the altar of marriage looking upon the marriage ceremony as the end of courtship instead of the beginning of an eternal courtship.
Let us not forget that during the burdens of home life—and they come—that tender words of appreciation, courteous acts are even more appreciated than during those sweet days and months of courtship. … Love feeds upon kindness and courtesy.
In Conference Report, April 1956, 8.
Eternal Families
There is nothing temporary in the home of the Latter-day Saints. There is no element of transitoriness in the family relationship. To the Latter-day Saint the home is truly the basic unit of society; and parenthood is next to Godhood.
The secret of good citizenship lies in the home. The secret of instilling faith in God, faith in his Son, the Redeemer of the world, faith in organization of the Church, lies in the home.
There it is centered.
Stepping Stones to an Abundant Life, comp. Llewelyn R. McKay (1971), 358.
Home as a Place of Refuge
A child has the right to feel that in his home he has a place of refuge, a place of protection from the dangers and evils of the outside world. Family unity and integrity are necessary to supply this need.
In Conference Report, April 1945, 144.
Plural Marriage Not Necessary for Exaltation
President McKay stated that his understanding of the revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith, contained in the 132nd Section of the Doctrine and Covenants is as follows:
That the revelations was regarding the eternity of the marriage covenant; it was not on polygamy. And the Lord revealed to the Prophet that a man who conforms to that revelations, that is, who enters into the eternity of the marriage covenant, receives every blessing pertaining to the salvation and exaltation of man. No blessing is withheld.
The part of the revelation pertaining to the marriage covenant pertains only to one man and one wife; and then, after the Prophet received it, he asked the Lord what about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who had more wives than one. And then follows the answer of the Lord that, if a man marry another wife and she is given to him as this wife is given to him, and he does not sin, but he does not get a higher glory.
There are one or two verses which will lead one to think that this refers to the plurality of marriage.
Plural marriage is a practice is not a principle. We have not abrogated the principle of the marriage covenant and we never will, and the practice of plural marriage is contrary to the law of the Church and the law of the land.
First Presidency’s Meeting Minutes, Feb 29, 1956. David Oman McKay Papers collection, Box 36, Folder 5; Special Collections, University of Utah Marriott Library.
David O. McKay Quotes About the Gospel
The Purpose of the Gospel
Ours is the responsibility, greater than ever before, to … exert every effort, and all means within our reach to make evil-thinking men good, good men better, and all people happier.
In Conference Report, April 1954, 25-26.
The True Guide
The gospel, the glad tidings of great joy, is the true guide to mankind; and that man or woman is happiest and most content who lives nearest to its teachings. …
What the sun in the heavenly blue is to the earth struggling to get free from winter’s grip, so the gospel of Jesus Christ is to the sorrowing souls yearning for something higher and better than mankind has yet found on earth.
In Conference Report, April 1968, 9.
David O. McKay Quotes About Jesus Christ
The Savior’s Life and Teachings
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes that in his life and teachings Jesus Christ reveals a standard of personal livings and of social relations that, if fully embodied in individual lives and in human institutions, would not only ameliorate the present ills of society, but would also bring happiness and peace to mankind.
“What Doth It Profit?” Improvement Era, Vol. 73, No. 1 (January 1970): 2.
The Head of the Church
No one can preside over this Church without first being in tune with the head of the Church, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
He is our head. This is his Church. Without his divine guidance and constant inspiration, we cannot succeed. With his guidance, with his inspiration, we cannot fail.
In Conference Report, April 1951, 157, 159.
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A Vision
On Tuesday, May 10, 1921, we sailed all day on the smoothest sea of our entire trip. …
I then fell asleep, and beheld in vision something infinitely sublime. In the distance I beheld a beautiful white city. Though it was far away, yet I seemed to realize that trees with luscious fruit, shrubbery with gorgeously tinted leaves, and flowers in perfect bloom abounded everywhere.
The clear sky above seemed to reflect these beautiful shades of color. I then saw a great concourse of people approaching the city. Each one wore a white flowing robe with a white headdress.
Instantly my attention seemed centered upon their leader, and though I could see only the profile of his features and his body, I recognized him at once as my Savior! The tint and radiance of his countenance were glorious to behold. There was a peace about him which seemed sublime—it was divine!
The city, I understood, was his. It was the City Eternal, and the people following him were to abide there in peace and eternal happiness.
But who were they?
As if the Savior read my thoughts, he answered by pointing to a semicircle that then appeared above them, and on which were written in gold the words:
These Are They Who Have Overcome the World—
Who Have Truly Been Born Again!
When I awoke, it was breaking day over Apia harbor.
Clair Middlemiss, Cherished Experiences from the Writings of President David O. McKay (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1976), 59-60.
David O. McKay Quotes About Missionary Work
Every Member Is a Missionary
Every member is a missionary. He or she has the responsibility of bringing someone… in touch with the messengers of the gospel. If every member will carry that responsibility … no power on earth can stop this church from growing.
“Talk by President David O. McKay Given to the North British Mission 1 March 1961,” Family and Church History Department Archives, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2–3.
The Distinguishing Feature
If at this moment each one of you were asked to state in one sentence the most distinguishing feature of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, what would be your answer?
My answer would be this: Divine authority by direct revelation.
In Conference Report, April 1937, 121.
David O. McKay Quotes about Moral Agency
Moral Agency is a Gift
Next to the bestowal of life itself, the right to direct that life is God’s greatest gift to man.
In Conference Report, April 1950, 32.
The Source of the Soul’s Progress
Free agency is the impelling source of the soul’s progress. It is the purpose of the Lord that man become like him. In order for man to achieve this it was necessary for the Creator first to make him free.
In Conference Report, April 1950, 32.
Freedom of Will
Freedom of the will and the responsibility associated with it are fundamental aspects of Jesus’ teachings. Throughout his ministry he emphasized the worth of the individual, and exemplified what is now expressed in modern revelation as the work and glory of God — “To bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” Only through the divine gift of soul freedom is such progress possible.
Force, on the other hand, emanates from Lucifer himself. Even in man’s pre-existent state, Satan sought power to compel the human family to do his will by suggesting that the free agency of man be inoperative.
If his plan had been accepted, human beings would have become mere puppets in the hands of a dictator, and the purpose of man’s coming to earth would have been frustrated. Satan’s proposed system of government, therefore, was rejected, and the principle of free agency established in its place.
In Conference Report, April 1950, 34-35.
David O. McKay Quotes About Mortal Life
The Test
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 nature, or whether he will make as his life’s pursuit the acquisition of spiritual qualities.
In Conference Report, October 1963, 89.
The Chief Concern in Life
Man’s chief concern in life should not be the acquiring of gold, or of fame, or of material possessions. It should not be the development of physical prowess, nor of intellectual strength, but his aim, the highest in life, should be the development of a Christ-like character.
In Conference Report, October 1926, 111.
Thought is the Seed of Action
The kind of life you live, your disposition, your very nature, will be determined by your thoughts, of which your acts are but the outward expression. Thought is the seed of action.
Pathways to Happiness, comp. Llewelyn R. McKay (1957), 257.
An Urge to Rise Above
Man is a spiritual being, a soul, and at some period of his life everyone is possessed with an irresistible desire to know his relationship to the infinite. He realizes that he is not just a physical object that is to be tossed for a short time from bank to bank, only to be submerged finally in the everflowing stream of life.
There is something within him which urges him to rise above himself, to control his environment, to master the body and all things physical and live in a higher and more beautiful world.
In Conference Report, October 1928, 37.
David O. McKay Quotes About Prayer
Feel His Nearness
When you kneel down to pray at night, do you feel his nearness, his personality hearing you, do you feel a power that operates perhaps as the radio or a greater power so that you feel that you are communing with him?
In Conference Report, October 1954, 84.
All Good Things Require Effort
All good things require effort. That which is worth having will cost part of your physical being, your intellectual power, and your soul power….
On the other hand, sin thrusts itself upon you. It walks beside you, it tempts you, it entices, it allures. You do not have to put forth effort. …
Evil seeks you, and it requires effort and fortitude to combat it. But truth and wisdom are gained only by seeking, by prayer, and by effort.
In Conference Report, October 1965, 144–45.
David O. McKay Quotes About Priesthood
Priesthood Power
We can conceive of the power of the priesthood as being potentially existent as an impounded reservoir of water. Such power becomes dynamic and productive of good only when the liberated force becomes active in valleys, fields, gardens, and happy homes.
So the priesthood, as related to humanity, is a principle of power only as it becomes active in the lives of men, turning their hearts and desires toward God and prompting service to their fellowmen.
In Conference Report, October 1965, 103–4.
David O. McKay Quotes About the Sabbath Day
Sunday is a Holy Day
Let us not make Sunday a holiday. It is a holy day, and on that day we should go to the house of worship and seek our God. If we seek him on the Sabbath day, get into his presence on that day, we shall find it less difficult to be in his presence the following days of the week.
In Conference Report, April 1929, 102.
David O. McKay Quotes About Service
Service Creates Happiness
Happiness is the end, really, of our existence. That happiness comes most effectively through service to our fellow men.
In Conference Report, October 1953, 132.
David O. McKay Quotes About Testimony
Assurance That This is the Work of God
You, no doubt, have met people who … wonder how it is that this Church manifests such vitality and growth. The secret is this, that every true Latter-day Saint possesses individually the assurance that this is the work of God….
Every individual stands independent in his sphere in that testimony, just as [the] thousands of incandescent lamps which [make] Salt Lake City … so brilliant at night, each one of which stands and shines in its own sphere, yet the light in it is produced by the same power, the same energy, from which all the other lights receive their energy.
In Conference Report, October 1912, 120–21.
David O. McKay Quotes About the Word of Wisdom
Self-Mastery
The Church urges men to have self-mastery to control their appetites, their tempers, and their speech. A man is not at his best when he is a slave to some habit. A man is not at his best who lives merely to gratify his passions.
That is one reason why the Lord has given the Church the revelation of the Word of Wisdom so that, even from boyhood and girlhood, young men and young woman may learn to control themselves.
In Conference Report, October 1969, 7–8.
Caffeine
There is a substance in tea and coffee which when taken into the human system … causes the body to become warmer, and more exhilarated. After a time, however, this temporary enlivenment passes off, and the body is really in a greater need of rest and recuperation than it was before the beverage was taken.
Stimulants are to the body what the lash is to the lagging horse—it causes a spurt forward but gives no permanent strength or natural nourishment.
The Latter-day Saints’ Millennial Star, Vol 85 (November 1, 1923), 714.
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Further Reading
Learn more about the life and teachings of President McKay in these exclusive From the Desk articles:
- How Did David O. McKay Transform the Church Into a Global Faith?
- What Did Lowell Bennion Think of David O. McKay?
- Who Was President McKay’s Influential Secretary?
- Did David O. McKay Oppose Bruce R. McConkie’s Mormon Doctrine?
- What Did President McKay Teach About the Law of the Gospel?
President David Oman McKay Resources
See how the teachings of the prophet are covered by other top scholars and publishers:
- Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
- David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism (University of Utah Press)
- President McKay Devotionals (BYU Speeches)
- Dialogue Winter 1969, Special Issue on David O. McKay (Dialogue)
- About the McKay Quote… (Times & Seasons)
