Gordon B. Hinckley was a beloved Church leader whose quotes are still relevant today. President Hinckley gave many general conference addresses and other devotionals and is known to this day for his focus on civility, family, and temple building. Similar to our collection of Dallin H. Oaks Quotes, this page features President Hinckley’s teachings on a variety of topics, including family, interfaith work, temples, and more. Please leave a comment if there’s a quote you’d like considered for inclusion.
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Table of Contents
- Book of Mormon
- Church Leadership
- Death
- Diversity
- Education
- Faith
- Family
- God
- Holy Ghost
- Interfaith
- Jesus Christ
- Joseph Smith
- Kindness
- Marriage
- Men
- Missionary Work
- Optimism
- Pioneers
- Prayer
- Service
- Self-reliance
- Temples
- Testimony
- Women
- Further Reading
“I Promise You:” Gordon B. Hinckley Quotes About the Book of Mormon
Brothers and sisters, without reservation I promise you that if you will prayerfully read the Book of Mormon, regardless of how many times you previously have read it, there will come into your hearts an added measure of the Spirit of the Lord.
There will come a strengthened resolution to walk in obedience to his commandments, and there will come a stronger testimony of the living reality of the Son of God.
“The Power of the Book of Mormon,” Ensign, June 1988, 6.
“Loneliness in Leadership:” Gordon B. Hinckley Quotes About Being a Servant of All
Inspiration of God
I have worked with the Presidents of the Church from President Heber J. Grant onward. … I have known the counselors of all of these men, and I have known the Council of the Twelve during the years of the administrations of these Presidents.
All of these men have been human. They have had human traits and perhaps some human weaknesses. But over and above all of that, there has been in the life of every one of them an overpowering manifestation of the inspiration of God.
Those who have been Presidents have been prophets in a very real way. I have intimately witnessed the spirit of revelation upon them.
“Strengthening Each Other,” Ensign, February 1985, 5.
Gerontocracy
Some express concern that the President of the Church is likely always to be a rather elderly man, to which my response is, “What a blessing!” …
To my mind there is something tremendously reassuring in knowing that … we shall have a President who has been disciplined and schooled, tried and tested, whose fidelity to the work and whose integrity in the cause have been tempered in the forge of service, whose faith has matured, and whose nearness to God has been cultivated over a period of many years.
“He Slumbers Not, nor Sleeps,” Ensign, May 1983, 6–7.
Consensus in the Quorum
No decision emanates from the deliberations of the First Presidency and the Twelve without total unanimity among all concerned. At the outset in considering matters, there may be differences of opinion. These are to be expected. These men come from different backgrounds. They are men who think for themselves. But before a final decision is reached, there comes a unanimity of mind and voice. …
Out of this very process of men speaking their minds has come a sifting and winnowing of ideas and concepts. But I have never observed serious discord or personal enmity among my Brethren. I have, rather, observed a beautiful and remarkable thing—the coming together, under the directing influence of the Holy Spirit and under the power of revelation, of divergent views until there is total harmony and full agreement.
“God Is at the Helm,” Ensign, May 1994, 58–59.
“Graduation” to a Better Life: Gordon B. Hinckley Quotes About Death
What Is This Thing That Men Call Death?
What is this thing that men call death,
This quiet passing in the night?
‘Tis not the end, but genesis
Of better worlds and greater light.O God, touch Thou my aching heart,
And calm my troubled, haunting fears.
Let hope and faith, transcendent, pure,
Give strength and peace beyond my tears.There is no death, but only change
“What Is This Thing That Men Call Death?” Ensign, February 2010, 39.
With recompense for victory won;
The gift of Him who loved all men,
The Son of God, the Holy One.
Three Phases of Eternal Life
When we die we shall go on living. Our eternal life is comprised of three phases: one, our premortal existence; two, our mortal existence; and three, our postmortal existence.
In death we die to this world and step through the veil into the sphere we are worthy to enter. This, again, is a unique, singular, and precious doctrine of this Church which has come through revelation.
“The Great Things Which God Has Revealed,” Ensign, May 2005, 83.
Gordon B. Hinckley Quotes About Diversity
Remove Hatred
May the Lord bless us to work unitedly to remove from our hearts and drive from our society all elements of hatred, bigotry, racism, and other divisive words and actions. The snide remark, the racial slur, hateful epithets, malicious gossip, and mean and vicious rumor-mongering should have no place among us.
National Conference of Christians and Jews Interfaith Services, November 20, 1994.
Tolerance and Appreciation
We must never forget that we live in a world of great diversity. The people of the earth are all our Father’s children and are of many and varied religious persuasions. We must cultivate tolerance and appreciation and respect one another.
“The Work Moves Forward,” Ensign, May 1999, 5.
Racism in the Church Is Wrong
I have wondered why there is so much hatred in the world. … Racial strife still lifts its ugly head. … I am told that racial slurs and denigrating remarks are sometimes heard among us. I remind you that no man who makes disparaging remarks concerning those of another race can consider himself a true disciple of Christ. Nor can he consider himself to be in harmony with the teachings of the Church of Christ. …
Let us all recognize that each of us is a son or daughter of our Father in Heaven, who loves all of His children.
Brethren, there is no basis for racial hatred among the priesthood of this Church. If any within the sound of my voice is inclined to indulge in this, then let him go before the Lord and ask for forgiveness and be no more involved in such.
“The Need for Greater Kindness,” in Conference Report, April 2006.
Gordon B. Hinckley Quotes About Education: “You Must Get All You Can”
Growth and Development
We of this Church have been given a marvelous promise by the Lord. Said He: “That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day” (D&C 50:24).
What a remarkable statement that is. It is one of my favorite verses of scripture. It speaks of growth, of development, of the march that leads toward godhood.
“A Conversation with Single Adults,” Ensign, March 1997, 62.
World of Opportunity
You face great challenges that lie ahead. You are moving into a world of fierce competition. You must get all of the education you can.
The Lord has instructed us concerning the importance of education. It will qualify you for greater opportunities. It will equip you to do something worthwhile in the great world of opportunity that lies ahead. If you can go to college and that is your wish, then do it. If you have no desire to attend college, then go to a vocational or business school to sharpen your skills and increase your capacity.
“Converts and Young Men,” Ensign, May 1997, 49–50.
Get Understanding
Each day we are made increasingly aware of the fact that life is more than science and mathematics, more than history and literature. There is need for another education, without which the substance of secular learning may lead only to destruction.
I refer to the education of the heart, of the conscience, of the character, of the spirit—these indefinable aspects of our personalities which determine so certainly what we are and what we do in our relationships one with another.
“With All Thy Getting Get Understanding,” Ensign, August 1988, 2.
Learning Process is Endless
None of us … knows enough. The learning process is an endless process. We must read, we must observe, we must assimilate, and we must ponder that to which we expose our minds. … I believe in improvement. I believe in growth. …
Keep on growing, my brothers and sisters, whether you are thirty or whether you are seventy. Your industry in so doing will cause the years to pass faster than you might wish, but they will be filled with a sweet and wonderful zest that will add flavor to your life and power to your teaching.
“Four Imperatives for Religious Educators,” Church Educational System Address, September 15, 1978.
President Hinckley Quotes About Faith: “Let Our Faith Replace Our Fears”
Faith is like the muscle of my arm. If I use it, if I nurture it, it grows strong; it will do many things. But if I put it in a sling and do nothing with it, it will grow weak and useless, and so will it be with you.
If you accept every opportunity, if you accept every calling, the Lord will make it possible for you to perform it. The Church will not ask you to do anything which you cannot do with the help of the Lord.
“Inspirational Thoughts,” Ensign, June 1999, 2.
President Hinckley Quotes About Family: “Nothing Is More Precious”
Precious
It is imperative that you not neglect your families. Nothing you have is more precious.
Satellite Broadcast, Worldwide Leadership Training Meeting, June 21, 2003. Cited in Discourses of President Gordon B. Hinckley, Volume 2: 2000–2004 (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2005), 387.
Family Home Evening
I am grateful that we as a Church have as a basic part of our program the practice of a weekly family home evening.
It is a significant thing that in these busy days thousands of families across the world are making an earnest effort to consecrate one evening a week to sing together, to instruct one another in the ways of the Lord, to kneel together in prayer, there to thank the Lord for his mercies and to invoke his blessings upon our lives, our homes, our labors, our land.
I think we little estimate the vast good that will come of this program.
In Conference Report, October 1965, 51.
Discipline
Of course, there is need for discipline with families. But discipline with severity, discipline with cruelty inevitably leads not to correction but rather to resentment and bitterness. It cures nothing and only aggravates the problem. It is self-defeating.
“Behold Your Little Ones,” Ensign, June 2001, 4.
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Gordon B. Hinckley Quotes About God
Eternal Progression
There was a little couplet coined, “As man is, God once was. As God is, man may become.” Now that’s more of a couplet than anything else. That gets into some pretty deep theology that we don’t know very much about. …
As God is, man may become. We believe in eternal progression. Very strongly. We believe that the glory of God is intelligence and whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the Resurrection. Knowledge, learning, is an eternal thing.
Don Lattin, “Musings of the Main Mormon,” San Francisco Chronicle, Apr. 13, 1997.
“There Is No Greater Blessing:” President Hinckley Quotes About the Holy Ghost
No Greater Blessing
There is no greater blessing that can come into our lives than the gift of the Holy Ghost—the companionship of the Holy Spirit to guide us, protect us, and bless us, to go, as it were, as a pillar before us and a flame to lead us in paths of righteousness and truth.
Boston Massachusetts Regional Conference, priesthood leadership training session, April 22, 1995.
Know the Spirit
How do we know the things of the Spirit? How do we know that it is from God?
By the fruits of it.
If it leads to growth and development, if it leads to faith and testimony, if it leads to a better way of doing things, if it leads to godliness, then it is of God. If it tears us down, if it brings us into darkness, if it confuses us and worries us, if it leads to faithlessness, then it is of the devil.
“Inspirational Thoughts,” Ensign, July 1998, 5.
Ministering Influence
How great a blessing it is to have the ministering influence of a member of the Godhead, having received that gift under the hands of those who acted with divine authority.
“Priesthood Restoration,” Ensign, October 1988, 72.
Gordon B. Hinckley Quotes About Interfaith Work: “We Are Greatly Misunderstood”
No Place for Acrimony
We must not become disagreeable as we talk of doctrinal differences. There is no place for acrimony. But we can never surrender or compromise that knowledge which has come to us through revelation and the direct bestowal of keys and authority under the hands of those who held them anciently. Let us never forget that this is a restoration of that which was instituted by the Savior of the world. …
We can respect other religions, and must do so. We must recognize the great good they accomplish. We must teach our children to be tolerant and friendly toward those not of our faith.
“We Bear Witness of Him,” Ensign, May 1998, 4.
Work With Those of Other Religions
We can and do work with those of other religions in various undertakings in the everlasting fight against social evils which threaten the treasured values which are so important to all of us.
These people are not of our faith, but they are our friends, neighbors, and co-workers in a variety of causes. We are pleased to lend our strength to their efforts.
But in all of this there is no doctrinal compromise. There need not be and must not be on our part. But there is a degree of fellowship as we labor together.
“We Bear Witness of Him,” Ensign, May 1998, 4–5.
Show Love and Respect
Let us as Latter-day Saints reach out to others not of our faith. Let us never act in a spirit of arrogance or with a holier-than-thou attitude. Rather, may we show love and respect and helpfulness toward them.
We are greatly misunderstood, and I fear that much of it is of our own making.
We can be more tolerant, more neighborly, more friendly, more of an example than we have been in the past. Let us teach our children to treat others with friendship, respect, love, and admiration. That will yield a far better result than will an attitude of egotism.
“A Time of New Beginnings,” Ensign, May 2000, 87.
Gordon B. Hinckley Quotes About Jesus Christ
Luster of the Life of Christ
If we are to hold up this Church as an ensign to the nations and a light to the world, we must take on more of the luster of the life of Christ individually and in our own personal circumstances.
“An Ensign to the Nations, a Light to the World,” Ensign, November 2003, 84.
My Redeemer Lives
I know that my Redeemer lives,
Triumphant Savior, Son of God,
Victorious over pain and death,
My King, my Leader, and my Lord.He lives, my one sure rock of faith,
The one bright hope of men on earth,
The beacon to a better way,
The light beyond the veil of death.Oh, give me thy sweet Spirit still,
“My Redeemer Lives,” Hymns, no. 135.
The peace that comes alone from thee,
The faith to walk the lonely road
That leads to thine eternity.
Christmas and Easter
There would be no Christmas if there had not been Easter. The babe Jesus of Bethlehem would be but another baby without the redeeming Christ of Gethsemane and Calvary, and the triumphant fact of the Resurrection.
“The Wondrous and True Story of Christmas,” Ensign, December 2000, 4–5.
“The First Vision of the Boy Prophet:” Gordon B. Hinckley Quotes About Joseph Smith
Every claim that we make concerning divine authority, every truth that we offer concerning the validity of this work, all finds its root in the First Vision of the boy prophet.
Without it we would not have anything much to say. This was the great curtain-raiser on the dispensation of the fulness of times, when God promised that He would restore all the power, the gifts, the blessings, of all previous dispensations.
New York Rochester Missionary Meeting, July 12, 1996.
Gordon B. Hinckley Quotes About Kindness and Love: “Try Handing Out Compliments”
Compliments
There is a sad tendency in our world today for persons to cut one another down. Did you ever realize that it does not take very much in the way of brainpower to make remarks that may wound another? Try the opposite of that. Try handing out compliments.
“Strengthening Each Other,” Ensign, Feb. 1985, 3.
Quite Voice
It was said of old that “a soft answer turneth away wrath.” (Prov. 15:1.) We seldom get into trouble when we speak softly. It is only when we raise our voices that the sparks fly and tiny molehills become great mountains of contention. …
The voice of heaven is a still small voice [see 1 Kings 19:11–12]; likewise, the voice of domestic peace is a quiet voice.
“Except the Lord Build the House …” Ensign, June 1971, 72.
Principle of Love
This principle of love is the basic essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“And the Greatest of These Is Love,” Ensign, March 1984, 5.
Consistent Goodness
I have discovered that life is not a series of great heroic acts. Life at its best is a matter of consistent goodness and decency, doing without fanfare that which needed to be done when it needed to be done.
I have observed that it is not the geniuses that make the difference in this world. I have observed that the work of the world is done largely by men and women of ordinary talent who have worked in an extraordinary manner.
One Bright Shining Hope: Messages for Women from Gordon B. Hinckley (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2006), 24.
“The Woman Does Not Walk Ahead of the Man:” Quotes About Marriage
Side By Side
In the marriage companionship there is neither inferiority nor superiority. The woman does not walk ahead of the man; neither does the man walk ahead of the woman. They walk side by side as a son and daughter of God on an eternal journey.
“Personal Worthiness to Exercise the Priesthood,” Ensign, May 2002, 54.
Partnership of Equals
Marriage, in its truest sense, is a partnership of equals, with neither exercising dominion over the other, but, rather, with each encouraging and assisting the other in whatever responsibilities and aspirations he or she might have.
“I Believe,” Ensign, August 1992, 6.
The Bar of God
I am confident that when we stand before the bar of God, there will be little mention of how much wealth we accumulated in life or of any honors which we may have achieved. But there will be searching questions concerning our domestic relations.
And I am convinced that only those who have walked through life with love and respect and appreciation for their companions and children will receive from our eternal judge the words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: … enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matt. 25:21).
“Personal Worthiness to Exercise the Priesthood,” Ensign, May 2002, 53–54.
Single Adult Latter-day Saints
Somehow we have put a badge on a very important group in the Church. It reads “Singles.” I wish we would not do that. You are individuals, men and women, sons and daughters of God, not a mass of “look-alikes” or “do-alikes.”
Because you do not happen to be married does not make you essentially different from others. All of us are very much alike in appearance and emotional responses, in our capacity to think, to reason, to be miserable, to be happy, to love and be loved.
You are just as important as any others in the scheme of our Father in Heaven, and under His mercy no blessing to which you otherwise might be entitled will forever be withheld from you.
“To Single Adults,” Ensign, June 1989, 72.
Not Married
To you who have not married, … God has given you talents of one kind or another. He has given you the capacity to serve the needs of others and bless their lives with your kindness and concern. Reach out to someone in need. …
Add knowledge to knowledge. Refine your mind and skills in a chosen field of discipline. There are tremendous opportunities for you if you are prepared to take advantage of them. …
Do not feel that because you are single, God has forsaken you. The world needs you. The Church needs you. So very many people and causes need your strength and wisdom and talents.
“Live Up to Your Inheritance,” Ensign, November 1983, 82–83.
Polygamy
I wish to state categorically that this Church has nothing whatever to do with those practicing polygamy. They are not members of this Church. …
If any of our members are found to be practicing plural marriage, they are excommunicated, the most serious penalty the Church can impose. Not only are those so involved in direct violation of the civil law, they are in violation of the law of this Church. …
More than a century ago God clearly revealed unto His prophet Wilford Woodruff that the practice of plural marriage should be discontinued, which means that it is now against the law of God. Even in countries where civil or religious law allows polygamy, the Church teaches that marriage must be monogamous and does not accept into its membership those practicing plural marriage.
“What Are People Asking about Us?”, in Conference Report, October 1998.
“Let Us Be Good Husbands and Fathers:” Gordon B. Hinckley Quotes About Men
Any man who is a tyrant is unworthy of the priesthood
Let us be good husbands and fathers. Any man who is a tyrant in his own home is unworthy of the priesthood. He cannot be a fit instrument in the hands of the Lord when he does not show respect and kindness and love toward the companion of his choice.
Likewise, any man who is a bad example for his children, who cannot control his temper, or who is involved in dishonest or immoral practices will find the power of his priesthood nullified.
“Reaching Down to Lift Another,” Ensign, November 2001, 52.
Abuse in the Church
The wife you choose will be your equal. … She is not your servant, your chattel, nor anything of the kind. How tragic and utterly disgusting a phenomenon is wife abuse. Any man in this Church who abuses his wife, who demeans her, who insults her, who exercises unrighteous dominion over her is unworthy to hold the priesthood. Though he may have been ordained, the heavens will withdraw, the Spirit of the Lord will be grieved, and it will be amen to the authority of the priesthood of that man. Any man who engages in this practice is unworthy to hold a temple recommend. …
… If there be any … who are guilty of such behavior, I call upon you to repent. Get on your knees and ask the Lord to forgive you. Pray to Him for the power to control your tongue and your heavy hand. Ask for the forgiveness of your wife and your children.
“Personal Worthiness to Exercise the Priesthood,” Ensign, May 2002, 53–54.
Gordon B. Hinckley Quotes About Missionary Work and Retention: “Every One of Them Needs 3 Things”
Bring the Good With You
To anybody who is not of this Church, I say we recognize all of the virtues and the good that you have. Bring it with you and see if we might add to it.
“This Thing Was Not Done in a Corner,” Ensign, November 1996, 51.
Member Missionary Work
So many of us look upon missionary work as simply tracting. Everyone who is familiar with this work knows there is a better way. That way is through the members of the Church.
Whenever there is a member who introduces an investigator, there is an immediate support system. The member bears testimony of the truth of the work. He is anxious for the happiness of his investigator friend. He becomes excited as that friend makes progress in learning the gospel.
“Find the Lambs, Feed the Sheep,” Ensign, May 1999, 105.
Retention After Baptism
There is absolutely no point in doing missionary work unless we hold on to the fruits of that effort. The two must be inseparable. These converts are precious. …
Every convert is a great and serious responsibility. It is an absolute imperative that we look after those who have become a part of us.
“Find the Lambs, Feed the Sheep,” Ensign, May 1999, 108.
What are the 3 needs of every convert?
With the ever-increasing number of converts, we must make an increasingly substantial effort to assist them as they find their way. Every one of them needs three things: a friend, a responsibility, and nurturing with “the good word of God” (Moro. 6:4). It is our duty and opportunity to provide these things.
“Converts and Young Men,” Ensign, May 1997, 47.
Gordon B. Hinckley Quotes on Optimism: “It All Works Out”
Accentuate the Positive
I come … with a plea that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I’m suggesting that we accentuate the positive. I’m asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still our voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment virtue and effort.
“The Lord Is at the Helm” (Brigham Young University devotional, March 6, 1994), 3–4.
Cultivate an Attitude of Happiness
Cultivate an attitude of happiness. Cultivate a spirit of optimism. Walk with faith, rejoicing in the beauties of nature, in the goodness of those you love, in the testimony which you carry in your heart concerning things divine.
“If Thou Art Faithful,” Ensign, November 1984, 92.
Life Is to Be Enjoyed
In all of living have much of fun and laughter. Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured.
“Stand True and Faithful,” Ensign, May 1996, 94.
Gordon B. Hinckley Quotes About Mormon Pioneers: “They Laid the Foundation”
Whether you have pioneer ancestry or came into the Church only yesterday, you are a part of this whole grand picture of which those men and women dreamed.
Theirs was a tremendous undertaking. Ours is a great continuing responsibility. They laid the foundation. Ours is the duty to build on it.
They marked the path and led the way. Ours is the obligation to enlarge and broaden and strengthen that path until it encompasses the whole earth. …
Faith was the guiding principle in those difficult days. Faith is the guiding principle we must follow today.
“These Noble Pioneers” (Brigham Young University devotional, Feb. 2, 1997), 4.
Gordon B. Hinckley Quotes About Prayer: “We Can Actually Speak with Our Father in Heaven”
Family Prayer
I submit that a return to the old pattern of prayer, family prayer in the homes of the people, is one of the basic medications that would check the dread disease that is eroding the character of our society. We could not expect a miracle in a day, but in a generation we would have a miracle.
“The Blessings of Family Prayer,” Ensign, February 1991, 2.
You Need the Help of the Lord
Never assume that you can make it alone. You need the help of the Lord. Never hesitate to get on your knees in some private place and speak with Him. What a marvelous and wonderful thing is prayer. Think of it. We can actually speak with our Father in Heaven. He will hear and respond, but we need to listen to that response. Nothing is too serious and nothing too unimportant to share with Him.
“Stay on the High Road,” Ensign May 2004, 114.
Listen
Pray to the Lord with the expectation of answers. … The trouble with most of our prayers is that we give them as if we were picking up the telephone and ordering groceries—we place our order and hang up.
We need to meditate, contemplate, think of what we are praying about and for and then speak to the Lord as one man speaketh to another. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord” (Isa. 1:18).
Smithfield/Logan Utah Regional Conference, April 21, 1996.
Pray to Heavenly Father
It was Eliza R. Snow who wrote the words: “’Truth is reason; truth eternal / Tells me I’ve a mother there.’” (Hymns, 1985, no. 292.)
It has been said that the Prophet Joseph Smith made no correction to what Sister Snow had written. Therefore, we have a Mother in Heaven … Logic and reason would certainly suggest that if we have a Father in Heaven, we have a Mother in Heaven. That doctrine rests well with me.
However, in light of the instruction we have received from the Lord Himself, I regard it as inappropriate for anyone in the Church to pray to our Mother in Heaven.
“Daughters of God,” Ensign, November 1991.
President Hinckley Quotes About Service: “Forget Yourself and Get Lost in This Great Cause”
Effective Medicine
The most effective medicine for the sickness of self-pity is to lose ourselves in the service of others.
“Whosoever Will Save His Life,” Ensign, August 1982, 5.
Get Lost in the Cause
Do you want to be happy? Forget yourself and get lost in this great cause. Lend your efforts to helping people. Cultivate a spirit of forgiveness in your heart against any who might have offended you.
Look to the Lord and live and work to lift and serve His sons and daughters. You will come to know a happiness that you have never known before if you will do that.
Liverpool England Fireside, August 31, 1995.
Gordon B. Hinckley Quotes About Self-Reliance: “A Principle of Life”
Plan Ahead
We teach self-reliance as a principle of life, that we ought to provide for ourselves and take care of our own needs. And so we encourage our people to have something, to plan ahead, keep … food on hand, to establish a savings account, if possible, against a rainy day.
Catastrophes come to people sometimes when least expected—unemployment, sickness, things of that kind.
“This Thing Was Not Done in a Corner,” Ensign, November 1996, 50.
Save Money for A Rainy Day
We have been counseled again and again concerning self-reliance, concerning debt, concerning thrift. So many of our people are heavily in debt for things that are not entirely necessary. …
I urge you as members of this Church to get free of debt where possible and to have a little laid aside against a rainy day.
“The Times in Which We Live,” Ensign, November 2001, 73.
Work Spells the Difference
A little play and a little loafing are good. But it is work that spells the difference in the life of a man or woman. It is work that provides the food we eat, the clothing we wear, the homes in which we live.
We cannot deny the need for work with skilled hands and educated minds if we are to grow and prosper individually and collectively.
“I Believe,” New Era, September 1996, 6.
“A Place of Light:” Gordon B. Hinckley Quotes About Temples
Receiving Temple Blessings
I believe that no member of the Church has received the ultimate which this Church has to give until he or she has received his or her temple blessings in the house of the Lord.
“Some Thoughts on Temples, Retention of Converts, and Missionary Service,” Ensign, November 1997, 49.
Uplifting and Ennobling
Everything that occurs in [the] temple is of an uplifting and ennobling kind. It speaks of life here and life beyond the grave. It speaks of the importance of the individual as a child of God. It speaks of the importance of the family as a creation of the Almighty. It speaks of the eternity of the marriage relationship. It speaks of going on to greater glory. It is a place of light, a place of peace, a place of love where we deal with the things of eternity.
Taipei Taiwan Fireside, May 23, 1996.
Leave the Noise and Tumult
I am satisfied that every man or woman who goes to the temple in a spirit of sincerity and faith leaves the house of the Lord a better man or woman.
There is need for constant improvement in all of our lives. There is need occasionally to leave the noise and the tumult of the world and step within the walls of a sacred house of God, there to feel His Spirit in an environment of holiness and peace.
“Of Missions, Temples, and Stewardship,” Ensign, November 1995, 52.
Gordon B. Hinckley Quotes About Testimony
[A testimony] is something that cannot be refuted. Opponents may quote scripture and argue doctrine endlessly. They can be clever and persuasive. But when one says, “I know,” there can be no further argument. There may not be acceptance, but who can refute or deny the quiet voice of the inner soul speaking with personal conviction?
“Testimony,” Ensign, May 1998, 70.
Gordon B. Hinckley Quotes About Women
Same Element of Divinity
You do have a divine purpose, indeed you do. There is that same element of divinity in you and your sisters as there is in your brothers.
All of us are here as part of a divine plan made by a loving Father who is concerned with our immortality and eternal life. The mortal sphere in which we live is preparatory to that which will follow when we return to dwell with God our Father, provided we live worthy of that privilege.
“Daughters of God.” Ensign, November 1991.
Rise to Your Potential
I feel to invite women everywhere to rise to the great potential within you. I do not ask that you reach beyond your capacity. I hope you will not nag yourselves with thoughts of failure. I hope you will not try to set goals far beyond your capacity to achieve.
I hope you will simply do what you can do in the best way you know. If you do so, you will witness miracles come to pass.
Motherhood: A Heritage of Faith (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1995), 9.
Qualified to Serve Society
The whole gamut of human endeavor is now open to women. There is not anything that you cannot do if you will set your mind to it. You can include in your dream of the woman you would like to be a picture of one qualified to serve society and make a significant contribution to the world of which she will be a part.
“How Can I Become the Woman of Whom I Dream?” Ensign, May 2001, 95.
Barefoot and Pregnant
I am offended by the sophistry that the only lot of the Latter-day Saint woman is to be barefoot and pregnant. It’s a clever phrase, but it is false.
Of course we believe in children. The Lord has told us to multiply and replenish the earth that we might have joy in our posterity, and there is no greater joy than the joy that comes of happy children in good families. But he did not designate the number, nor has the church. That is a sacred matter left to the couple and the Lord.
1983 BYU Devotional.
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Further Reading
Learn more about the life and teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley—as well as the current prophet—in these exclusive From the Desk articles:
- Words of a Prophet: Dallin H. Oaks Quotes From Every General Conference
- Who Recruited Gordon B. Hinckley to Work for the Church?
- Was President Hinckley Cautious About the Mark Hoffman Forgeries?
- What Did Gordon B. Hinckley Say About the Salamander Letter?
- How Many Patriarchal Blessings Did President Hinckley Personally Receive??
Resources
Read President Hinckley’s original talks published by the Church and Brigham Young University:
- Teachings of the Presidents of the Church: Gordon B. Hinckley (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
- 15th President: 1995–2008 (Church History)
- Gordon B. Hinckley Devotionals (BYU Speeches)
- President Hinckley’s BYU-Hawaii Talks (BYU Hawaii)
- Foundational Addresses (BYU Idaho)
