In my patriarchal blessing it tells me to study how the Lord taught his children in the past and to also study the words of the Prophets. On LDS.org there is a church history link containing information about all of the prophets and there is a section of quotes under each one. I read through them and copied the ones that stood out to me.
“The
spirit must be freed from tethers so strong and feelings never put to rest, so
that the lift of life may give buoyancy to the soul. In many families, there
are hurt feelings and a reluctance to forgive. It doesn’t really matter what
the issue was. It cannot and should not be left to injure. Blame keeps wounds
open. Only forgiveness heals. George Herbert, an early 17th-century poet, wrote
these lines: ‘He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he
himself must pass if he would ever reach heaven, for everyone has need of
forgiveness.’” - Thomas S. Monson
“As
parents, we should remember that our lives may be the book from the family
library which the children most treasure. Are our examples worthy of emulation?
Do we live in such a way that a son or a daughter may say, ‘I want to follow my
dad,’ or ‘I want to be like my mother’? Unlike the book on the library shelf,
the covers of which shield its contents, our lives cannot be closed. Parents,
we truly are an open book in the library of learning of our homes.” - Thomas S. Monson
“It
is in the home that we form our attitudes, our deeply held beliefs. It is in
the home that hope is fostered or destroyed. Our homes are to be more than
sanctuaries; they should also be places where God’s Spirit can dwell, where the
storm stops at the door, where love reigns and peace dwells.” - Thomas S. Monson
“Under
the plan of heaven, the husband and the wife walk side by side as companions,
neither one ahead of the other, but a daughter of God and a son of God walking
side by side. Let your families be families of love and peace and happiness.
Gather your children around you and have your family home evenings, teach your
children the ways of the Lord, read to them from the scriptures, and let them
come to know the great truths of the eternal gospel as set forth in these words
of the Almighty.” - Gordon B. Hinckley
“Let
us be a temple-attending people. Attend the temple as frequently as personal
circumstances allow. Keep a picture of a temple in your home that your children
may see it. Teach them about the purposes of the House of the Lord. Have them
plan from their earliest years to go there and to remain worthy of that
blessing.” - Howard W. Hunter
“You
should express regularly to your wife and children your reverence and respect
for her. Indeed, one of the greatest things a father can do for his children is
to love their mother.” - Howard W. Hunter
“The great task of life is to learn
the will of the Lord and then do it.” - Ezra Taft Benson
“Pride is a sin that can readily be seen
in others but is rarely admitted in ourselves.” - Ezra Taft Benson
“Working toward perfection is not a
one time decision but a process to be pursued throughout one's lifetime.”
- Spencer W. Kimball
“There is no doubt that the life one
leads, and the thoughts one thinks are registered plainly in his face.” - Spencer W. Kimball
“The Lord's way builds individual self
esteem and develops and heals the dignity of the individual, whereas the
world's way depresses the individual's view of himself and causes deep resentment.”
- Spencer W. Kimball
“God grant that each of us here today
may so live that all among us, and with us, may see, not us, but that which is
divine and comes from God. With that vision of what those who have lost their
way may become, my prayer is that they may receive strength and resolution to
climb higher and higher and upward and onward to that great goal of eternal
life and also that I may do my part in seeking to show by example, as well as
by precept, that which will be the best of which I am capable of doing.” - Harold B. Lee
“To some it may seem old-fashioned to
speak of virtue and chastity, honesty, morality, faith, character, but these
are the qualities which have built great men and women and point the way by
which one may find happiness in the living of today and eternal joy in the
world to come. These are the qualities which are the anchors to our lives, in
spite of the trials, the tragedies, the pestilences, and the cruelties of war
which bring in their wake appalling destruction, hunger, and bloodshed.” - Harold B. Lee
“If it were not for the assurance that
I have that the Lord is near to us, guiding, directing, the burden would be
almost beyond my strength, but because I know that He is there, and that He can
be appealed to, and if we have ears to hear attuned to Him, we will never be
left alone.” - Harold B. Lee
“The trouble with us today, there are
too many of us who put question marks instead of periods after what the Lord
says. I want you to think about that. We shouldn't be concerned about why He
said something, or whether or not it can be made so. Just trust the Lord. We
don't try to find the answers or explanations. We shouldn't try to spend time
explaining what the Lord didn't see fit to explain. We spend useless time.”
- Harold B. Lee
“We must endure to the end; . . . We
must so live as to acquire the attributes of godliness and become the kind of
people who can enjoy the glory and wonders of the celestial kingdom.” - Joseph Fielding Smith
“There is one thing which we should
have exceedingly clear in our minds. Neither the President of the Church, nor
the First Presidency, nor the united voice of the First Presidency and the
Twelve will ever lead the Saints astray or send forth counsel to the world that
is contrary to the mind and will of the Lord.” - Joseph Fielding Smith
“There is one thing which we should
have exceedingly clear in our minds. Neither the President of the Church, nor
the First Presidency, nor the united voice of the First Presidency and the
Twelve will ever lead the Saints astray or send forth counsel to the world that
is contrary to the mind and will of the Lord.”- Joseph Fielding Smith
“No other success can compensate for
failure in the home.” - David O. Mckay
“Motherhood is the greatest potential
influence either for good or ill in human life. The mother's image is the first
that stamps itself on the unwritten page of the young child's mind. It is her
caress that first awakens a sense of security; her kiss, the first realization
of affection; her sympathy and tenderness, the first assurance that there is
love in the world.” - David O. Mckay
“Children are more influenced by
sermons you act than by sermons you preach.” - David O. Mckay
“It is glorious when you can lie down
at night with a clear conscience that you have done your best not to offend
anyone and have injured no one. You have tried to cleanse your heart of all
unrighteousness, and if you put forth precious effort you can sense as you pray
to God to keep you that night that He accepts your effort. You have a sense
that you are God's child, a person whose soul God wants to save. You have the
strength to resist evil. You also have the realization that you have made the
world better for having been in it. These and countless other virtues and
conditions are all wrapped up in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” - David O. Mckay
"None of us are secure except we keep
the commandments of our Heavenly Father. The pathway of righteousness is the
highway of happiness. There is no other way to happiness." - George Albert Smith
“If there is any one thing that will
bring peace and contentment into the human heart, and into the family, it is to
live within our means. And if there is any one thing that is grinding and
discouraging and disheartening, it is to have debts and obligations that one
cannot meet.” - Heber J Grant
“One of the main purposes of our
existence is that we might conform to the image and likeness of Him who
sojourned in the flesh without blemish—immaculate, pure and spotless! Christ
came not only to atone for the sins of the world, but to set an example before
all men and to establish the standard of God's perfection, of God's law, and of
obedience to the Father.” - Joseph F. Smith
"Marriage is the preserver of the human
race. Without it, the purposes of God would be frustrated; virtue would be
destroyed to give place to vice and corruption, and the earth would be void and
empty." - Joseph F. Smith
“When you find yourselves a little
gloomy, look around you and find somebody that is in a worse plight than
yourself; go to him and find out what the trouble is, then try to remove it
with the wisdom which the Lord bestows upon you; and the first thing you know,
your gloom is gone, you feel light, the Spirit of the Lord is upon you, and
everything seems illuminated.” - Lorenzo Snow
"You may have the administration of
angels, you may see many miracles; . . . but I claim that the gift of the Holy
Ghost is the greatest gift that can be bestowed upon man." - Wilford Woodruff
“I would rather trust in the living
God than in any other power on earth.” - John Taylor
“The earth, as a part of the creation
of God, has fulfilled and will fulfil the measure of its creation. It has been
baptized by water, it will be baptized by fire; it will be purified and become
celestial, and be a fit place for celestial bodies to inhabit. ”- John Taylor
“The difference between God and the
Devil, is that God creates and organizes, while the whole study of the Devil is
to destroy." - Brigham Young
“[God] never will institute an
ordinance or give a commandment to His people that is not calculated in its
nature to promote that happiness which He has designed, and which will not end
in the greatest amount of good and glory to those who become the recipients of
His law and ordinances." - Joseph Smith
“We came to this earth that we might
have a body and present it pure before God in the celestial kingdom. The great
principle of happiness consists in having a body. The devil has no body, and
herein is his punishment. He is pleased when he can obtain the tabernacle of
man. . . . All beings who have bodies have power over those who have not.”
- Joseph Smith
