- “… I believe the Lord meant just what He said, that we should be perfect, as our Father in heaven is perfect. That will not come all at once, but line upon line and precept upon precept, example upon example, and even then not as long as we live in this mortal life, for we will have to go even beyond the grave before we reach that perfection and shall be like God.” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith, (2013), 228–39
- “Born in the lowest ranks of poverty, without book-learning and with the homeliest of all human names, he had made himself at the age of thirty-nine a power upon earth.” Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling. (Bushman, Richard Lyman) Kindle Location 330-331.
- “Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes, and the grass grows by itself. ZEN PROVERB” Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty. Page 231
- “As long as any part of the world remains obscure, the curiosity of a man must draw him there, as the lodestone attracts the mariner’s needle, until he comprehends its secret.” Richard E. Byrd, Jr., Born: October 25. 1888- Death: March 11, 1957
- “We are here on earth to be tested, to see if we will choose to follow Jesus Christ, to repent regularly, to learn, and to progress.” Russell M. Nelson, October 2020 General Conference
- “My grandmother once gave me a tip: In difficult times, you move forward in small steps. Do what you have to do, but little by little. Don’t think about the future, or what may happen tomorrow. Wash the dishes, remove the dust, write a letter, make a soup. You see? You are advancing step by step. Take a step and stop. Rest a little. Praise yourself. Take another step. Then another. You won’t notice, but your steps will grow more and more. And the time will come when you can think about the future without crying.” Elena Mikhalkova
- May 21, 1995- Tuesday – Quito Ecuador…“I realized that I really wasn’t advancing as much as I thought spiritually. I’d tell my parents of experiences and they’d say “That’s great. That’s why you’re there.” It’s true. I’m thinking that I’m too great. I’m living in a secluded mission, and when I get back to the States the people will just have “Returned Missionary” put on my forehead and just think “He learned a lot and had a lot of experiences”. Like something normal. Here I am thinking I’m progressing so much (which I am) and that after the mission the people are going to give me respect like the members here, but it won’t happen. I’ll just be a regular RM.” – Clinton Brown Missionary Journal
- May 21, 1995- Tuesday – Quito Ecuador…“Today has been an interesting day. I’ve been tired all day, plus a little down. Elder Hanks & I woke up today & I asked him how his phone call was last night (We didn’t have a chance to talk). He told me that his Dad had told him that he had not lived up to his potential as a missionary. (I don’t know if he said it in these words, but that was the conclusion that Elder Hanks made). It hurt me to think of the torment that Elder Hanks has to be going through. After giving it all, and thinking you’d given your all, to hear your own dad say that you didn’t fulfill faithfully – I’d be devastated. Well it made me think of how unimportant we are as missionaries. We live here in South America where the church is very young. The members look at us as heroes, know it all, and men inspired of God. They have us on a pedestal. After talking with my parents & listening to Elder Hanks, I felt so useless. We’re just two boys serving our time like the rest of them have. Before I was 100% confident & felt a ton of myself, but today I was very humbled.” – Clinton Brown Missionary Journal