Dallin H. Oaks Quotes - 200 quotes

Dallin H. Oaks is a prominent religious leader, jurist, and academic. He is currently the first counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), a position he has held since January 14, 2018. Oaks was born on August 12, 1932, in Provo, Utah. Oaks e... show more

 Without a Bill of Rights, America could not have served as the host nation for the Restoration of the gospel, which began just three decades later.
- Dallin H. Oaks
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 We don't believe in infallibility of our leaders. What we believe in is the organization the church has set in place. With multiple prophets, seers, and revelators, and with a council system.
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 There are other threats that undermine the inspired principles of the United States Constitution. The stature of the Constitution is diminished by efforts to substitute current societal trends as the reason for its founding, instead of liberty and self-government.
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 The United States Constitution is unique because God revealed that He “established” it “for the rights and protection of all flesh” (D&C 101:77,80). That is why this constitution is of special concern for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the world. Whether or how its principles should be applied in other nations of the world is for them to decide.
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 Our belief in divine inspiration gives Latter-day Saints a unique responsibility to uphold and defend the United States Constitution and principles of constitutionalism wherever we live. We should trust in the Lord and be positive about this nation’s future.
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 The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will, of course, exercise its right to endorse or oppose specific legislative proposals that we believe will impact the free exercise of religion or the essential interests of Church organizations.
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 We should learn and advocate the inspired principles of the Constitution.
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 We should study things out in our minds, using the reasoning powers our Creator has placed within us. Then we should pray for guidance and act upon it if we receive it. If we do not receive guidance, we should act upon our best judgment.

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 Persons who persist in seeking revelatory guidance on subjects on which the Lord has not chosen to direct us may concoct an answer out of their own fantasy or bias, or they may even receive an answer through the medium of false revelation.

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 We are commanded to love our neighbors, not to manipulate them, even for righteous purposes.

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 We cannot be so concerned about our goals that we overlook the necessity of using righteous methods to attain them.

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 We are commanded to give to the poor. Could the fulfillment of that fundamental Christian obligation be carried to excess? I believe it can. I have seen cases in which persons fulfilled that duty to such an extent that they impoverished their own families by expending resources of property or time that were needed for family members.

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 Carried to an undisciplined excess, love and tolerance can produce indifference to truth and justice, and opposition to unity.

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 Moderation in all things is not a virtue, because it would seem to justify moderation in commitment. That is not moderation, but indifference.

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 The quality we must cultivate is humility. Humility is the great protector. Humility is the antidote against pride. Humility is the catalyst for all learning, especially spiritual things.

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 In so many relationships and circumstances in life, we must live with differences. Where vital, our side of these differences should not be denied or abandoned, but as followers of Christ we should live peacefully with others who do not share our values or accept the teachings upon which they are based.

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 As citizens and as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we must do better to help root out racism.

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 Jesus did not pray that his followers would be 'diverse.' He prayed that they would be 'one.' Modern revelation does not say 'be diverse; and if ye are not diverse ye are not mine.' It says 'be one; and if ye are not one, ye are not mine.' We teach our members to concentrate their efforts to strengthen our unity, not to glorify our diversity.

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 When I say ‘push back against the world,’ I mean push back against that part of the world’s values and practices that draw us away from the Lord’s teachings and our covenant obligations.

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 Simple and frequent dates allow both men and women to “shop around” in a way that allows extensive evaluation of the prospects. The old-fashioned date was a wonderful way to get acquainted with a member of the opposite sex. It encouraged conversation. It allowed you to see how you treat others and how you are treated in a one-on-one situation. It gave opportunities to learn how to initiate and sustain a mature relationship. None of that happens in hanging out.

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 The United States Constitution is unique because God revealed that He “established” it “for the rights and protection of all flesh”. That is why this constitution is of special concern for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout the world. Whether or how its principles should be applied in other nations of the world is for them to decide.

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 This Constitution is of special importance to our members in the United States, but it is also a common heritage of constitutions around the world.

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 Religious values and political realities are so interlinked in the origin and perpetuation of this nation that we cannot lose the influence of Christianity in the public square without seriously jeopardizing our freedoms...

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 If anyone thinks that godly or parental love for an individual grants the loved one license to disobey the law, he or she does not understand either love or law.

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 “In the sequential relationship between reason and revelation, it is important that reason have what we can call ‘the first word’ and that revelation have ‘the last word.’ In this sequence, reason can ‘study it out’ and formulate a proposed solution. In addition, as we seek confirmation or other guidance from revelation, reason can serve as a threshold check to screen out revelation that is counterfeit and to provide a tentative authentication of revelation that is genuine. This is necessary because, just as there is reasoning that is faulty, so also there is revelation that is spurious.”

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 We must not confuse means and ends. The vehicle is not the destination.

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 My last illustration of the bad effects of confusing means and ends, methods and goals, concerns the word diversity. Not many labels have been productive of more confused thinking in our time than this one.

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 Jesus did not pray that His followers would be “diverse.” He prayed that they would be “one” (John 17:21–22). Modern revelation does not say, “Be diverse; and if ye are not diverse, ye are not mine.” It says, “Be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine” (D&C 38:27).

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 Since diversity is a condition, a method, or a short-term objective—not an ultimate goal—whenever diversity is urged it is appropriate to ask, “What kind of diversity?” or “Diversity in what circumstance or condition?” or “Diversity in furtherance of what goal?”

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 Diversity for its own sake is meaningless and can clearly be shown to lead to unacceptable results.

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 For example, if diversity is the underlying goal for a neighborhood, does this mean we should seek to assure that the neighborhood includes thieves and pedophiles, slaughterhouses and water hazards?

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 We teach that what unites us is far more important than what differentiates us. Consequently, our members are asked to concentrate their efforts to strengthen our unity—not to glorify our diversity.

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 Consistent with the Savior’s command to “be one,” we seek unity.

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 Anyone who preaches unity risks misunderstanding. The same is true of anyone who questions the goal of diversity. Such a one risks being thought intolerant. But tolerance is not jeopardized by promoting unity or by challenging diversity.

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 In short, we preach unity among the community of Saints and tolerance toward the personal differences that are inevitable in the beliefs and conduct of a diverse population. Tolerance obviously requires a noncontentious manner of relating toward one another’s differences. But tolerance does not require abandoning one’s standards or one’s opinions on political or public policy choices. Tolerance is a way of reacting to diversity, not a command to insulate it from examination.

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 Strong calls for diversity in the public sector sometimes have the effect of pressuring those holding majority opinions to abandon fundamental values to accommodate the diverse positions of those in the minority. ... The result of this abandonment is not a diversity of values but an official anarchy of values.

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 Family stories count. Children should know that they belong to something bigger than themselves.

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 There are hundreds of examples of this, where achieving the goal of diversity results in the anarchy of values we call moral relativism.

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 On contested issues, we should seek to moderate and unify.

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 We are not accustomed to speaking of women having the authority of the priesthood in their Church callings, but what other authority can it be? When a woman—young or old—is set apart … she is given priesthood authority to perform a priesthood function … Whoever functions in an office or calling received from one who holds priesthood keys exercises priesthood authority in performing her or his assigned duties.

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 Most of us have more things expected of us than we can possibly do. As breadwinners, as parents, as Church workers and members, we face many choices on what we will do with our time and other resources. We should begin by recognizing the reality that just because something is good is not a sufficient reason for doing it. The number of good things we can do far exceeds the time available to accomplish them. Some things are better than good, and these are the things that should command priority attention in our lives.

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 At the other extreme, a minority of participants and supporters of these protests and the illegal acts that followed them seem to have forgotten that the protests protected by the Constitution are peaceful protests. Protesters have no right to destroy, deface, or steal property or to undermine the government’s legitimate police powers. The Constitution and laws contain no invitation to revolution or anarchy.

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 Keys on conferred on individuals, not organizations.

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 We who know God’s plan and who have covenanted to participate have a clear responsibility to teach these truths and do all that we can to further them for others and in our own circumstances in mortality.

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 We have witnessed a rapid and increasing public acceptance of cohabitation without marriage and of same-sex marriage. The corresponding media advocacy, education, and even occupational requirements pose difficult challenges for Latter-day Saints. We must try to balance the competing demands of following the gospel law in our personal lives and teachings, even as we seek to show love for all. In doing so we sometimes face, but need not fear, what Isaiah called “the reproach of men.”

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 Forty years ago, President Ezra Taft Benson taught that “every generation has its tests and its chance to stand and prove itself.” I believe our attitude toward and use of the family proclamation is one of those tests for this generation.

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 Two Yale University scholars recently reminded us: “For all its flaws, the United States is uniquely equipped to unite a diverse and divided society. … “… Its citizens don’t have to choose between a national identity and multiculturalism. Americans can have both. But the key is constitutional patriotism. We have to remain united by and through the Constitution, regardless of our ideological disagreements.”

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 Technology — specifically social media — allows viewers to compare their overall lives to the highs of their peers.

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 anger is “Satan’s tool,” for “to be angry is to yield to the influence of Satan. No one can make us angry. It is our choice.”5 Anger is the way to division and enmity. We move toward loving our adversaries when we avoid anger and hostility toward those with whom we disagree. It also helps if we are even willing to learn from them.

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 “For all its flaws, the United States is uniquely equipped to unite a diverse and divided society. … “… Its citizens don’t have to choose between a national identity and multiculturalism. Americans can have both. But the key is constitutional patriotism. We have to remain united by and through the Constitution, regardless of our ideological disagreements.”13

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 All governments formed and administered by imperfect men will be oppressive and limit our freedoms in some measure, since they will inevitably mirror the imperfections of those who rule and those who are ruled. For this reason, we promote the cause of freedom and good government when we fulfill our religious duty to work for good laws, seek diligently for honest and wise rulers, and preach repentance to all citizens.

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 This personal line of communication with our Heavenly Father through His Holy Spirit is the source of our testimony of truth, of our knowledge, and of our personal guidance from a loving Heavenly Father.

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 I have been puzzled that some scriptures command us not to judge and others instruct us that we should judge and even tell us how to do it. I am convinced that these seemingly contradictory directions are consistent when we view them with the perspective of eternity. The key is to understand that there are two kinds of judging: final judgments, which we are forbidden to make; and intermediate judgments, which we are directed to make, but upon righteous principles.

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 The principle that priesthood authority can be exercised only under the direction of the one who holds the keys for that function is fundamental in the Church, but this does not apply in the family. For example, a father presides and exercises the priesthood in his family by the authority of the priesthood he holds. He has no need to have the direction or approval of one holding priesthood keys in order to perform his various family functions. These include counseling the members of his family, holding family meetings, giving priesthood blessings to his wife and children, or giving healing blessings to family members or others.3 Church authorities teach family members but do not direct the exercise of priesthood authority in the family. The same principle applies when a father is absent and a mother is the family leader. She presides in her home and is instrumental in bringing the power and blessings of the priesthood into her family through her endowment and sealing in the temple. While she is not authorized to give the priesthood blessings that can be given only by a person holding a certain office in the priesthood, she can perform all of the other functions of family leadership. In doing so, she exercises the power of the priesthood for the benefit of the children over whom she presides in her position of leadership in the family.4 If fathers would magnify their priesthood in their own family, it would further the mission of the Church as much as anything else they might do. Fathers who hold the Melchizedek Priesthood should exercise their authority 'by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned' (Doctrine and Covenants 121:41). That high standard for the exercise of all priesthood authority is most important in the family. Holders of the priesthood should also keep the commandments so they will have the power of the priesthood to give blessings to their family members. They should cultivate loving family relationships so that family members will want to ask them for blessings. And parents should encourage more priesthood blessings in the family.5

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 The most familiar example of the function of keys is in the performance of priesthood ordinances. An ordinance is a solemn act signifying the making of covenants and the promising of blessings. In the Church all ordinances are performed under the authorization of the priesthood leader who holds the keys for that ordinance. An ordinance is most commonly officiated by persons who have been ordained to an office in the priesthood acting under the direction of one who holds priesthood keys. For example, the holders of the various offices of the Aaronic Priesthood officiate in the ordinance of the sacrament under the keys and direction of the bishop, who holds the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood. The same principle applies to the priesthood ordinances in which women officiate in the temple. Though women do not hold an office in the priesthood, they perform sacred temple ordinances under the authorization of the president of the temple, who holds the keys for the ordinances of the temple. Another example of priesthood authority under the direction of one who holds the keys are the teachings of men and women called to teach the gospel, whether in classes in their home wards or in the mission field. Other examples are those who hold leadership positions in the ward and exercise priesthood authority in their leadership by reason of their callings and under the setting apart and direction of the priesthood leader who holds the keys in the ward or the stake. This is how the authority and power of the priesthood is exercised and enjoyed in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.2

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 In all of these examples—familiar to each of us—the Holy Ghost acts in his office as a teacher and revelator, communicating information and truths for the edification and guidance of the recipient.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 One of the major causes of cultural deterioration is the loss of belief in absolutes. Removed from their foundation of an absolute right and wrong, ethics and legalities have been unable to hold back the tide of immoral conduct that now threatens to engulf us.

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 “Removed from their foundation of an absolute right and wrong, ethics and legalities have been unable to hold back the tide of immoral conduct that now threatens to engulf us.”

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 Evil that used to be localized and covered like a boil is now legalized and paraded like a banner. The most fundamental roots and bulwarks of civilization are questioned or attacked.

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 What are those “holy places”? Surely they include the temple and its covenants faithfully kept. Surely they include a home where children are treasured and parents are respected. Surely the holy places include our posts of duty assigned by priesthood authority, including missions and callings faithfully fulfilled in branches, wards, and stakes.

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 The priesthood is a divine power and authority held in trust to be used for God’s work for the benefit of all of His children.

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 We are often left to work out problems, without the dictation or specific direction of the Spirit. That is part of the experience we must have in mortality. Fortunately, we are never out of our Savior’s sight, and if our judgment leads us to actions beyond the limits of what is permissible and if we are listening to the still small voice, the Lord will restrain us by the promptings of His Spirit.

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 The distinction between feelings or inclinations on the one hand, and behavior on the other hand, is very clear. It’s no sin to have inclinations that if yielded to would produce behavior that would be a transgression. The sin is in yielding to temptation. Temptation is not unique. Even the Savior was tempted.

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 The line of sin is between the feelings and the behavior.

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 We need to lay hold on the feelings and try to control them to keep us from getting into a circumstance that leads to sinful behavior.

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 “Marriage should not be viewed as a therapeutic step to solve problems such as homosexual inclinations or practices.” To me that means that we are not going to stand still to put at risk daughters of God who would enter into such marriages under false pretenses or under a cloud unknown to them. Persons who have this kind of challenge that they cannot control could not enter marriage in good faith.

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 President Hinckley said that marriage is not a therapeutic step to solve problems.

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 We of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reach out with understanding and respect for individuals who are attracted to those of the same gender. We realize there may be great loneliness in their lives, but there must also be recognition of what is right before the Lord.

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 I refer to a shift from defending the Lord’s way to defending the errant child’s lifestyle, both with him and with others.

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 There are certain indicia of marriage — certain legal and social consequences and certain legitimacy — which if given to some relationship other than marriage between a man and a woman tend to degrade if not destroy the institution that’s been honored over so many thousands of years.

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 Law has at least two roles: one is to define and regulate the limits of acceptable behavior. The other is to teach principles for individuals to make individual choices. The law declares unacceptable some things that are simply not enforceable, and there’s no prosecutor who tries to enforce them. We refer to that as the teaching function of the law.

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 It’s not the Church that has made the issue of marriage a matter of federal law. Those who are vigorously advocating for something called same-gender marriage have essentially put that potato on the fork. They’re the ones who have created a situation whereby the law of the land, one way or the other, is going to address this issue of marriage. This is not a situation where the Church has elected to take the matter into the legal arena or into the political arena. It’s already there.

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 The 19th century Mormons, including some of my ancestors, were not eager to practice plural marriage. They followed the example of Brigham Young, who expressed his profound negative feelings when he first had this principle revealed to him. The Mormons of the 19th century who practiced plural marriage, male and female, did so because they felt it was a duty put upon them by God. When that duty was lifted, they were directed to conform to the law of the land, which forbade polygamy and which had been held constitutional. When they were told to refrain from plural marriage, there were probably some who were unhappy, but I think the majority were greatly relieved and glad to get back into the mainstream of western civilization, which had been marriage between a man and a woman.

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 “We don't believe in infallibility of our leaders. What we believe in is the organization the church has set in place. With multiple prophets, seers, and revelators, and with a council system.”

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Two Yale University scholars recently reminded us: “For all its flaws, the United States is uniquely equipped to unite a diverse and divided society. … Its citizens don’t have to choose between a national identity and multiculturalism. Americans can have both. But the key is constitutional patriotism. We have to remain united by and through the Constitution, regardless of our ideological disagreements.”

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 ...the doctrine of the Lord’s Church teaches us another eternal interest to guide us: the teachings of our Savior, who inspired the Constitution of the United States and the basic laws of many of our countries.

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 If a matter appears of little or no consequence, we should proceed on the basis of our own judgment. If the choice is important for reasons unknown to us, the Lord will intervene and give us guidance.

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 Even in decisions we think very important, we sometimes receive no answer to our prayers. This does not mean that our prayers have not been heard. It means only that we have prayed about a decision that, for one reason or another, we should make without guidance by revelation. Perhaps we have asked for guidance in choosing between alternatives that are equally acceptable or equally unacceptable. Similarly, the Spirit of the Lord is not likely to give us revelations on matters that are trivial. If a matter appears of little or no consequence, we should proceed on the basis of our own judgment. If the choice is important for reasons unknown to us, the Lord will intervene and give us guidance.

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 Prophetic teachings often run counter to the popular ideas and prejudices of the world.

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 Of course this counsel to love, to avoid contention, and to be examples of civility is not meant to discourage us from participating in discussions, debates, and even taking adversarial positions against what we believe to be wrong or inadvisable.

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 Closely related to the feeling of comfort is the...purpose or function of revelation, to uplift. At some time in our lives, each of us needs to be lifted up from a depression, from a sense of foreboding or inadequacy, or just a plateau of spiritual mediocrity. Because it raises our spirits and helps us resist evil and seek good, I believe that the feeling of uplift that is communicated by reading the scriptures or by enjoying wholesome music, art or literature is a distinct purpose of revelation.

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 the doctrine of the Lord’s Church teaches us another eternal interest to guide us: the teachings of our Savior, who inspired the Constitution of the United States and the basic laws of many of our countries.

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 What has Jesus Christ done for each of us? He has done everything that is essential for our journey through mortality toward the destiny outlined in the plan of our Heavenly Father.

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 Redress of grievances by mobs is redress by illegal means. That is anarchy, a condition that has no effective governance and no formal police, which undermines rather than protects individual rights.

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 “Scripture reading may … lead to current revelation on whatever [subject] the Lord wishes to communicate to the reader at that time. We do not overstate the point when we say that the scriptures can be a Urim and Thummim to assist each of us to receive personal revelation. “Because we believe that scripture reading can help us receive revelation, we are encouraged to read the scriptures again and again. By this means, we obtain access to what our Heavenly Father would have us know and do in our personal lives today. That is one reason Latter-day Saints believe in daily scripture study”

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 “We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law” (Articles of Faith 1:12). This does not mean that we agree with all that is done with the force of law. It means that we obey the current law and use peaceful means to change it. It also means that we peacefully accept the results of elections. We will not participate in the violence threatened by those disappointed with the outcome.10 In a democratic society we always have the opportunity and the duty to persist peacefully until the next election.

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 And the right to the continuous companionship of this Spirit needs to be affirmed each Sabbath as we worthily partake of the sacrament and renew our baptismal covenants of obedience and service.

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 Children need the emotional and personal strength that come from being raised by two parents who are united in their marriage and their goals. As one who was raised by a widowed mother, I know firsthand that this cannot always be achieved, but it is the ideal to be sought whenever possible.

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 Thus, we must refrain from making final judgments on people, because we lack the knowledge and the wisdom to do so. We would even apply the wrong standards.

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 In His sermon to multitudes recorded in the Bible and in the Book of Mormon, the Savior taught that mortal bodies can be full of light or full of darkness. We, of course, want to be filled with light, and our Savior taught us how we can make this happen. We should listen to messages about the truths of eternity. He used the example of our eye, through which we take light into our bodies. If our “eye be single”—in other words, if we are concentrating on receiving eternal light and understanding—He explained, “thy whole body shall be full of light” (Matthew 6:22; 3 Nephi 13:22). But if our “eye be evil”—that is, if we look for evil and take that into our bodies—He warned, “thy whole body shall be full of darkness” (verse 23). In other words, the light or darkness in our bodies depends on how we see—or receive—the eternal truths we are taught. We should follow the Savior’s invitation to seek and ask to understand the truths of eternity. He promises that our Father in Heaven is willing to teach everyone the truths they seek (see 3 Nephi 14:8). If we desire this and have our eye single to receive them, the Savior promises that the truths of eternity “shall be opened” unto us (see 3 Nephi 14:7–8).

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 “Measured against all … possible objections, the testimony of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon stands forth in great strength. … As is well known, because of disagreements or jealousies involving other leaders of the Church, each one of these three witnesses was excommunicated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by about eight years after the publication of their testimony. … Yet to the end of their lives … not one of these witnesses deviated from his published testimony or said anything that cast any shadow on its truthfulness. “Furthermore, their testimony stands uncontradicted by any other witnesses. Reject it one may, but how does one explain three men of good character uniting and persisting in this published testimony to the end of their lives in the face of great ridicule and other personal disadvantage? Like the Book of Mormon itself, there is no better explanation than is given in the testimony itself, the solemn statement of good and honest men who told what they saw”

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 “Our Heavenly Father gave us powers of reason, and we are expected to use them to the fullest. But he also gave us the Comforter, who he said would lead us into truth and by whose power we may know the truth of all things. … For Latter-day Saints, evaluation also has a spiritual dimension. This is because of our belief in Moroni’s declaration that “by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:5). That promise assures spiritually sensitive readers a power of discernment that will help them evaluate the meaning of what they learn.“

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 “I have been puzzled that some scriptures command us not to judge and others instruct us that we should judge and even tell us how to do it…The key is to understand that there are two kinds of judging: final judgments, which we are forbidden to make; and intermediate judgments, which we are directed to make, but upon righteous principles.” …“The effect of one mortal’s attempting to pass final judgment on another mortal is analogous to the effect on an athlete and observers if we could proclaim the outcome of an athletic contest with certainty while it was still under way. A similar reason forbids our presuming to make final judgments on the outcome of any person’s lifelong mortal contest.” …“We must, of course, make judgments every day in the exercise of our moral agency, but we must be careful that our judgments of people are intermediate and not final. Thus, our Savior’s teachings contain many commandments we cannot keep without making intermediate judgments of people…

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 “…even an oppressive government that limits freedom is preferable to a state of lawlessness and anarchy in which the only ruling principle is force and every individual citizen has a thousand oppressors.”

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 Many also deny individual responsibility and practice dependence on others, seeking, like the foolish virgins, to live on borrowed substance and borrowed light.

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 But the Resurrection gives us more than this assurance of immortality. It changes the way we view mortal life. The Resurrection gives us the perspective and the strength to endure the mortal challenges faced by each of us and those we love. It gives us a new way to view the physical, mental, or emotional deficiencies we have at birth or acquire during mortal life. It gives us the strength to endure sorrows, failures, and frustrations. Because each of us has an assured resurrection, we know that these mortal deficiencies and oppositions are only temporary. The Resurrection also gives us a powerful incentive to keep the commandments of God during our mortal lives. When we rise from the dead and proceed to our prophesied Final Judgment, we want to have qualified for the choicest blessings promised to resurrected beings.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 These principles and precedents, and others too numerous to cite in this limited space, are persuasive evidence that even an oppressive government that limits freedom is preferable to a state of lawlessness and anarchy in which the only ruling principle is force and every individual citizen has a thousand oppressors. Abraham Lincoln was espousing this preference when he said, "There is no grievance that is a fit object of redress by mob law." (Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, p. 635, 14th ed.) There are exceptions. The command of loyalty to laws and rulers does not compel a citizen to participate in or submit to a government edict that runs counter to the common consensus of humanity, such as genocide or other cold-blooded murder. Nor should it require a person to violate the fundamental tenets of religious faith.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 We may have to struggle to achieve our goals, but our struggles may yield as much growth as our learning. The strengths we develop in overcoming challenges will be with us in the eternities to come. We should not envy those whose financial or intellectual resources make it easy. The stuff of growth was never made of ease, and persons who have it easy will need to experience their growth with other sacrifices or forego the advancement that is the purpose of life. Dallin H Oaks Learning and Latter-day Saints Ensign, April 2009

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 While the Spirit of Christ is the means by which spiritual gifts are transmitted to men and women, such gifts come by the power of the Holy Ghost, as I will explain later.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 In contrast, Satan is anxious to confuse our thinking or to lead us astray on important matters like the operations of the priesthood of God. The Savior warned of such “false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (3 Nephi 14:15). He gave us this test to help us choose the truth from among different teachings that might confuse us: “Ye shall know them by their fruits,” He taught (3 Nephi 14:16). “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither [can] a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit” (verse 18). Therefore, we should look to the results—“the fruits”—of principles that are taught and the persons who teach them. That is the best answer to many of the objections we hear against the Church and its doctrines and policies and leadership. Follow the test the Savior taught. Look to the fruits—the results.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 ...readers should beware of writings that imply balance but do not deliver it.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 So, we are to follow the laws of men (render unto Caesar) to live peacefully under civil authority, and we follow the laws of God toward our eternal destination.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 ...how do we learn to love our adversaries and our enemies? The Savior’s teaching not to “contend with anger” is a good first step.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 This does not mean that we agree with all that is done with the force of law. It means that we obey the current law and use peaceful means to change it. It also means that we peacefully accept the results of elections. We will not participate in the violence threatened by those disappointed with the outcome. In a democratic society we always have the opportunity and the duty to persist peacefully until the next election.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 At one extreme, some seem to have forgotten that the First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the “right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” That is the authorized way to raise public awareness and to focus on injustices in the content or administration of the laws. And there have been injustices.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Many also made covenants with the Father concerning what they would do in mortality. In ways that have not been revealed, our actions in the spirit world have influenced our circumstances in mortality.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Sometimes our needed growth is achieved better by suffering and adversity than by comfort and tranquility.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 In ways that have not been revealed, our actions in the spirit world have influenced our circumstances in mortality.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 He noted his generation’s “undying devotion to reason” but observed that “the thoughtless desecration of multiple monuments and the broader defamation of the Founding Fathers . . . hardly demonstrates a . . . respect for reasoned discourse.”10 The rising generation’s increasing departure from organized religion is well known. “Thus,” your fellow student continued, “we have rejected the two pillars of Western Civilization, faith and reason.”11 He concluded, persuasively, that your “rash but confident screams for ‘justice’ ought to be understood as cries for help more than anything else.”

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Cries for help should be heard, and, in this setting, there are three obvious helps: inspiration, education, and clear thinking. That combination is surely to be preferred over symbolic actions that accomplish nothing but a bow to the cause of political correctness.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 The shocking police-produced death of George Floyd in Minnesota last May was surely the trigger for these nationwide protests whose momentum was carried forward under the message of “Black Lives Matter.” Of course Black lives matter! That is an eternal truth all reasonable people should support. Unfortunately, that persuasive banner was sometimes used or understood to stand for other things that do not command universal support. Examples include abolishing the police or seriously reducing their effectiveness or changing our constitutional government. All these are appropriate subjects for advocacy, but not under what we hope to be the universally accepted message: Black lives matter.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Using current definitions, some might call such divine actions and prophet-taught principles racist, but God, who is the loving Father of all nations, tribes, and ethnicities,32 cannot be branded as racist for His dealings with His children. Often the reasons for His plan are not known or understandable to mortals. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,” He said through the prophet Isaiah. “Neither are your ways my ways.”

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 On a personal basis, each of us struggles individually with some of the many adversities of mortality, such as poverty, racism, ill health, job losses or disappointments, wayward children, bad marriages or no marriages, and the effects of sin—our own or others’. Yet, in the midst of all of this, we have that heavenly counsel to be of good cheer and to find joy in the principles and promises of the gospel and the fruits of our labors.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 At one extreme, some seem to have forgotten that the First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the “right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” That is the authorized way to raise public awareness and to focus on injustices in the content or administration of the laws. And there have been injustices.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 When we are trying to understand and relate to people of a different culture, we should try getting to know them.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 This does not mean that we agree with all that is done with the force of law. It means that we obey the current law and use peaceful means to change it.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Loyalty to established law instead of temporary “allies” is the best way to love our adversaries and our enemies as we seek unity in diversity.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 However, we do not see inspiration in every Supreme Court decision interpreting the Constitution.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 We also insist, and we ask our local leaders to insist, that political choices and affiliations not be the subject of teachings or advocacy in any of our Church meetings.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Some have rejected some element of God’s plan as unreasonable according to cultural norms they could understand or accept.34 Others who have accepted God’s plan have mistakenly relied on cultural norms to provide reasons God has not revealed.35 Thus both nonbelievers and believers can reject or attempt to amend divine plans by relying on cultural norms instead of the directions of God. The safest course is not to reject or supplement the divine plan by human reasoning. Those who cannot accept the prophetic decisions and practices of the past should consider Winston Churchill’s wise counsel quoted earlier: “If we open a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find that we have lost the future.”

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 When one person purports to receive revelation for another person outside his or her own area of responsibility - such as a Church member who claims to have revelation to guide the entire Church or a person who claims to have a revelation to guide another person over whom he or she has no presiding authority according to the order of the Church—you can be sure that such revelations are not from the Lord.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Converted Latter-day Saints believe that the family proclamation, issued nearly a quarter century ago and now translated into scores of languages, is the Lord’s reemphasis of the gospel truths we need to sustain us through current challenges to the family. Two examples are same-sex marriage and cohabitation without marriage. Just 20 years after the family proclamation, the United States Supreme Court authorized same-sex marriage, overturning thousands of years of marriage being limited to a man and a woman. The shocking percentage of United States children born to a mother not married to the father came more gradually: 5 percent in 1960, 32 percent in 1995, and now 40 percent.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 The gospel plan each family should follow to prepare for eternal life and exaltation is outlined in the Church’s 1995 proclamation, “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.” Its declarations are, of course, visibly different from some current laws, practices, and advocacy of the world in which we live. In our day, the differences most evident are cohabitation without marriage, same-sex marriage, and the raising of children in such relationships. Those who do not believe in or aspire to exaltation and are most persuaded by the ways of the world consider this family proclamation as just a statement of policy that should be changed. In contrast, Latter-day Saints affirm that the family proclamation defines the kind of family relationships where the most important part of our eternal development can occur.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 At the other extreme, a minority of participants and supporters of these protests and the illegal acts that followed them seem to have forgotten that the protests protected by the Constitution are peaceful protests. Protesters have no right to destroy, deface, or steal property or to undermine the government’s legitimate police powers. The Constitution and laws contain no invitation to revolution or anarchy. All of us—police, protesters, supporters, and spectators—should understand the limits of our rights and the importance of our duties to stay within the boundaries of existing law. Abraham Lincoln was right when he said, “There is no grievance that is a fit object of redress by mob law.”12 Redress of grievances by mobs is redress by illegal means. That is anarchy, a condition that has no effective governance and no formal police, which undermines rather than protects individual rights.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 facilitate. In the balance between truth and tolerance, tolerance can be dominant where the behavior does not involve us personally. But if the cohabitation does involve us personally, we should be governed by our duty to truth. For example, it is one thing to ignore serious sins when they are private; it is quite another thing to be asked to sponsor or implicitly endorse them, such as by housing them in our own homes.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Finally, the spirit of our balance of truth and tolerance is applied in these words of President Hinckley: “Let us reach out to those in our community who are not of our faith. Let us be good neighbors, kind and generous and gracious. Let us be involved in good community causes. There may be situations where, with serious moral issues involved, we cannot bend on matters of principle. But in such instances we can politely disagree without being disagreeable. We can acknowledge the sincerity of those whose positions we cannot accept. We can speak of principles rather than personalities.”10 Watchman on the Tower

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 We live in a time of anger and hatred in political relationships and policies. We felt it this summer when some went beyond peaceful protests and engaged in destructive behavior. We feel it in some current campaigns for public offices. Unfortunately, some of this has even spilled over into political statements and unkind references in our Church meetings.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Whether experts or amateurs, most of us have a tendency to be quite dogmatic about so-called scientific facts. Since news writers are not immune from this tendency, news stories based on scientific assumptions should be read or viewed with some skepticism.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Another reason why news stories are unsuited to communicate historical understanding is that their format is such that they invariably report such facts out of context. An individual historical fact has meaning only in relation to other facts. Outside that context, a single fact is almost certain to convey an erroneous impression.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 We recognize that our forebears were human. They doubtless made mistakes...But the mistakes were minor, when compared with the marvelous work which they accomplished. To highlight the mistakes and gloss over the greater good is to draw a caricature. Caricatures are amusing, but they are often ugly and dishonest. A man may have a blemish on his cheek and still have a face of beauty and strength, but if the blemish is emphasized unduly in relation to his other features, the portrait is lacking in integrity...

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Satan is the great deceiver, the father of lies. This is not because Satan tells only lies. His most effective lies are half-truths or lies accompanied by the truth. A lie is most effective when it can travel incognito in good company or when it can be so intermarried with the truth that we cannot determine its lineage.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 The fact that something is true is not always a justification for communicating it.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Readers and viewers also need to be sensitive to the bias of the writer or the publisher. That bias may be religious or irreligious, believing, skeptical, or hostile.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Push back against worldly values and practices that are contrary to gospel teachings and covenants.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 But the ministering of angels can also be unseen. Angelic messages can be delivered by a voice or merely by thoughts or feelings communicated to the mind. President John Taylor described “the action of the angels, or messengers of God, upon our minds, so that the heart can conceive … revelations from the eternal world.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 We are not grounded in the wisdom of the world or the philosophies of men.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 In that critical period, many of Churchill’s associates and newly converted supporters advocated his taking punitive measures against those who had contributed to the unprepared, precarious position in which the British found themselves. In that setting, Churchill spoke these words in the House of Commons in June 1940: There are many who would hold an inquest in the House of Commons on the conduct of the Governments—and of Parliaments . . . —during the years which led up to this catastrophe. They seek to indict those who were responsible for the guidance of our affairs. This also would be a foolish and pernicious process. . . . Of this I am quite sure, that if we open a quarrel between the past and the present, we shall find that we have lost the future.8 I find great wisdom in that counsel. Let us not “open a quarrel between the past and the present” lest we jeopardize our attempts to improve our future.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 The Savior also commanded individuals to be judges, both of circumstances and of other people.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Dating is pairing off to experience the kind of one-on-one association and temporary commitment that can lead to marriage in some rare and treasured cases.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 “the works, and the designs, and the purposes of God cannot be frustrated, neither can they come to naught”

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 “Be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great”

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 “be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours”

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 “Fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail”

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 In countless circumstances, strangers’ suspicion or even hostility give way to friendship or even love when personal contacts produce understanding and mutual respect.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 “Let no man break the laws of the land, for he that keepeth the laws of God hath no need to break the laws of the land. “Wherefore, be subject to the powers that be” (Doctrine and Covenants 58:21–22).

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 “We have no eternal allies and we have no perpetual enemies. Our interests are eternal and perpetual, and these interests it is our duty to follow.”

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 In a democratic society we always have the opportunity and the duty to persist peacefully until the next election.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 “There is no grievance that is a fit object of redress by mob law.”12 Redress of grievances by mobs is redress by illegal means. That is anarchy, a condition that has no effective governance and no formal police, which undermines rather than protects individual rights.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 “The world in which we live would benefit greatly if men and women everywhere would exercise the pure love of Christ, which is kind, meek, and lowly. It is without envy or pride. … It seeks nothing in return. … It has no place for bigotry, hatred, or violence. … It encourages diverse people to live together in Christian love regardless of religious belief, race, nationality, financial standing, education, or culture.”

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 And our article of faith, written by the Prophet Joseph Smith after the early Saints had suffered severe persecution from Missouri officials, declares, "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law" (Articles of Faith 1:12). This does not mean that we agree with all that is done with the force of law. It means that we obey the current law and use peaceful means to change it. It also means that we peacefully accept the results of elections. We will not participate in the violence threatened by those disappointed with the outcome. In a democratic society we always have the opportunity and the duty to persist peacefully until the next election.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 we are to follow the laws of men (render unto Caesar) to live peacefully under civil authority, and we follow the laws of God toward our eternal destination.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 While one portion of the human race [is] judging and condemning the other without mercy, the great parent of the universe looks upon the whole of the human family with a fatherly care and paternal regard; he views them as his offspring, and without any of those contracted feelings that influence the children of men.2

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 I wondered, Are the advocates and actors in these efforts aware of what they are attempting to erase? For reasons that every serious student of American history understands, even the Constitution of the United States is stained with concessions to slavery that were made in order to get the whole document ratified. Those textual stains were, of course, removed by the amendments following the Civil War, which cost hundreds of thousands of lives throughout the North and the South. I cannot condone our now erasing all mention and honor of prominent leaders such as George Washington and others who established our nation and gave us our constitution because they lived at a time with legal approvals and traditions that condoned slavery.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 The Savior’s teaching to love our enemies is based on the reality that all mortals are beloved children of God.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 By the same token, some things that are true are not edifying or appropriate to communicate.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Our belief that the United States Constitution was divinely inspired does not mean that divine revelation dictated every word and phrase...

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 The inclusion of negatives that are irrelevant or trivial is evidence of bias, not balance.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 We are often left to work out problems without the dictation or specific direction of the Spirit. That is part of the experience we must have in mortality. Fortunately, we are never out of our Savior's sight and if our judgement leads us to actions beyond the limits of what is permissible and if we are listening to the still small voice, the Lord will restrain us by the promptings of His Spirit.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 In terms of the intellectual, readers and viewers clearly need to be more sophisticated in evaluating what is communicated to them. For example, we often hear it said that when two witnesses give two different accounts of the same event, “one has to be lying.” Not so. It is rare for two witnesses to observe the same event from exactly the same point of observation at exactly the same time. This fact accounts for some differences in testimony.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 For Latter-day Saints, evaluation also has a spiritual dimension. This is because of our belief in Moroni’s declaration that “by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:5). That promise assures spiritually sensitive readers a power of discernment that will help them evaluate the meaning of what they learn.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Our Heavenly Father gave us powers of reason, and we are expected to use them to the fullest. But he also gave us the Comforter, who he said would lead us into truth and by whose power we may know the truth of all things.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 On contested issues, we should seek to moderate and unify.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Sometimes we are delayed in the receipt of revelation, and sometimes we are left to our own judgment. We cannot force spiritual things. It must be so. Our life’s purpose to obtain experience and to develop faith would be frustrated if our Heavenly Father directed us in every act, even in every important act. We must make decisions and experience the consequences in order to develop self-reliance and faith.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 The arithmetic of this parable is chilling. The ten virgins obviously represent members of Christ’s Church, for all were invited to the wedding feast and all knew what was required to be admitted when the bridegroom came. But only half were ready when he came.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 The kind of marriage required for exaltation—eternal in duration and godlike in quality—does not contemplate divorce. In the temples of the Lord, couples are married for all eternity. But some marriages do not progress toward that ideal. Because of the “hardness of [our] hearts,” the Lord does not currently enforce the consequences of the celestial standard. He permits divorced persons to marry again without the stain of immorality specified in the higher law. Unless a divorced member has committed serious transgressions, he or she can become eligible for a temple recommend under the same worthiness standards that apply to other members.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 You young men and young women, put your cell phones away! Put the technology away and learn to talk to each other face-to-face, eye-to-eye. My goodness, that’s the way this happens. You’ve got yourselves in cocoons.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Young women, resist too much hanging out, and encourage dates that are simple, inexpensive, and frequent. Don’t make it easy for young men to hang out in a setting where you women provide the food. Don’t subsidize freeloaders. An occasional group activity is OK, but when you see men who make hanging out their primary interaction with the opposite sex, I think you should lock the pantry and bolt the front door.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Some seem to value God’s love because of their hope that His love is so great and so unconditional that it will mercifully excuse them from obeying His laws. In contrast, those who understand God’s plan for His children know that God’s laws are invariable, which is another great evidence of His love for His children. Mercy cannot rob justice, and those who obtain mercy are ‘they who have kept the covenant and observed the commandment.’ If anyone thinks that godly or parental love for an individual grants the loved one license to disobey the law, he or she does not understand either love or law. In other words, the kingdom of glory to which the Final Judgment assigns us is not determined by love but by the law that God has invoked in His plan to qualify us for eternal life, ‘the greatest of all the gifts of God.’

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 This is our current state. We share our history and enjoy the advantages of our constitutional government and the prosperity of this nation. The predecessors of many Americans of different backgrounds made great sacrifices to establish this nation. Whatever those sacrifices—of freedom, property, or even life—let us now honor them for what they have done for us and forgo quarrelling over the past. Ours is the duty to unite and improve the future we will share.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 We should study things out in our minds, using the reasoning powers our Creator has placed within us. Then we should pray for guidance and act upon it if we receive it. If we do not receive guidance, we should act upon our best judgment.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Tribulation and challenges are the common experiences of mortality. Opposition is an essential part of the divine plan for helping us grow,2 and in the midst of that process, we have God’s assurance that, in the long view of eternity, opposition will not be allowed to overcome us. With His help and our faithfulness and endurance, we will prevail. Like the mortal life of which they are a part, all tribulations are temporary.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 In addition, the promise that the Resurrection can include an opportunity to be with our family members—husband, wife, children, parents, and posterity—is a powerful encouragement to fulfill our family responsibilities in mortality. It also helps us live together in love in this life, and it comforts us in the death of our loved ones. We know that these mortal separations are only temporary, and we anticipate future joyful reunions and associations. The Resurrection provides us hope and the strength to be patient as we wait. It also prepares us with the courage and dignity to face our own death—even a death that might be called premature.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 We live in a time of anger and hatred in political relationships and policies. We felt it this summer when some went beyond peaceful protests and engaged in destructive behavior. We feel it in some current campaigns for public offices. Unfortunately, some of this has even spilled over into political statements and unkind references in our Church meetings.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 So, we are to follow the laws of men (render unto Caesar) to live peacefully under civil authority, and we follow the laws of God toward our eternal destination. But how do we do this—especially how do we learn to love our adversaries and our enemies? The Savior’s teaching not to “contend with anger” is a good first step.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Balance for the sake of complete understanding is justifiable; balance for the sake of matching positives with negatives is not.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Therefore, any personal attitudes or official practices of racism involve one group whom God created exercising authority or advantage over another group God created, both groups having God-given qualities they cannot change. So understood, neither group should think or behave as if God created them as first-class children and others as second-class children. Yet that is how racism affects thinking and practices toward others. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ must remember that all such attitudes and official practices were outlawed for us by the Lord’s 1833 revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith that “it is not right that any man should be in bondage one to another.”

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Persons who persist in seeking revelatory guidance on subjects on which the Lord has not chosen to direct us may concoct an answer out of their own fantasy or bias, or they may even receive an answer through the medium of false revelation.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Many of the most important deprivations of mortality will be set right in the Millennium, which is the time for fulfilling all that is incomplete in the great plan of happiness for all of our Father’s worthy children. We know that will be true of temple ordinances. I believe it will also be true of family relationships and experiences.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 It may be just as dangerous to exceed orthodoxy as it is to fall short of it.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 The safety and happiness we are promised lie in keeping the commandments, not in discounting or multiplying them.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Closely related to this example is the person who has a strong desire to be led by the Spirit of the Lord but who unwisely extends that desire to the point of wanting to be led in all things. A desire to be led by the Lord is a strength, but it needs to be accompanied by an understanding that our Heavenly Father leaves many decisions for our personal choices.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Personal decision making is one of the sources of the growth we are meant to experience in mortality. Persons who try to shift all decision making to the Lord and plead for revelation in every choice will soon find circumstances in which they pray for guidance and don’t receive it. For example, this is likely to occur in those numerous circumstances in which the choices are trivial or either choice is acceptable.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Seekers who have paid the price in perspiration have been magnified by inspiration.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 “Just as some people have different feelings than others, some people seem to be unusually susceptible to particular actions, reactions or addictions…but whatever our susceptibilities, we have the will and the power to control our thoughts and our actions.”

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 We have to forego some good things in order to choose others that are better or best...

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 This nation’s history of racism is not a happy one, and we must do better.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 We all have different needs to be strengthened through the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom we remember in this ordinance.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 We must, of course, make judgments every day in the exercise of our moral agency, but we must be careful that our judgments of people are intermediate and not final.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 There are two kinds of judging: final judgments, which we are forbidden to make, and intermediate judgments, which we are directed to make, but upon righteous principles.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 This nation’s history of racism is not a happy one, and we must do better.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Bias can also be exercised in decisions on what news stories to publish and what to omit. This kind of bias is difficult to detect, but it can be discerned over a period of time.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Some seem to value God's love because of their hope that His love is so great and so unconditional that it will mercifully excuse them from obeying his laws. In contrast, those who understand God's plan for His children know that God's laws are invariable...

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 The direct, personal channel of communication to our Heavenly Father through the Holy Ghost is based on worthiness and is so essential that we are commanded to renew our covenants by partaking of the sacrament each Sabbath day.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Revelation from God serves all five of these purposes: testimony, prophecy, comfort, uplift, and information.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 All other authorities or offices in the priesthood are appendages to the Melchizedek Priesthood (see Doctrine and Covenants 107:5), for it “holds the right of presidency, and has power and authority over all the offices in the church in all ages of the world” (Doctrine and Covenants 107:8).

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 As citizens and as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we must do better to help root out racism.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 We need to make both temporal and spiritual preparations for the events prophesied at the time of the Second Coming. And the preparation most likely to be neglected is the one less visible and more difficult--the spiritual. A 72-hour kit of temporal supplies may prove valuable for earthly challenges, but, as the foolish virgins learned to their sorrow, a 24-hour kit of spiritual preparation is of greater and more enduring value.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Don’t face the world alone. ‘Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding’ [Proverbs 3:5]. … It was intended that life be a challenge, not so that you would fail, but that you might succeed through overcoming.”

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 Spiritual food is necessary for spiritual survival.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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 What if you disagree with the directions of your leaders? This is the Lord’s work. In the long run, He will direct and correct His servants, one way or another. . . . In the meantime, pray for the needed correction, and in your prayers be sure to acknowledge that you and not they may be the one that needs correction. This is called humility and meekness.

- Dallin H. Oaks

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