David A. Bednar Quotes

If today you are a little bit better than you were yesterday, then that's enough. And, if tomorrow you are a little bit better than you were today, then that's enough.

A grateful person is rich in contentment.

An ungrateful person suffers in the poverty of endless discontentment.

I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are real and that they do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence. Often, the Lord's timing of His tender mercies helps us to both discern and acknowledge them.

Ordinary people who faithfully, diligently, and consistently do simple things that are right before God will bring forth extraordinary results.

Knowing that the gospel is true is the essence of a testimony.

Consistently being true to the gospel is the essence of conversion.

Prayer becomes more meaningful as we counsel with the Lord in all of our doings, as we express heartfelt gratitude, and as we pray for others.

Character is revealed in the power to discern the suffering of other people when we ourselves are suffering; in the ability to detect the hunger of others when we are hungry; and in the power to reach out and extend compassion for the spiritual agony of others when we are in the midst of our own spiritual distress.

One of the greatest indicators of our own spiritual maturity is revealed in how we respond to the weaknesses, the inexperience, and the potentially offensive actions of others.

Obedience to the law of chastity will increase our happiness in mortality and make possible our progress in eternity.

To be offended is a choice we make; it is not a condition inflicted or imposed upon us by someone or something else.

We should remember that bearing a heartfelt testimony is only a beginning.

We need to bear testimony, we need to mean it, and most importantly we need consistently to live it. We need to both declare and live our testimonies.

The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live.

Our sincere desire should be to have both clean hands and a pure heart - both a remission of sins from day to day and to walk guiltless before God.

Ordinary men are given the authority of the priesthood.

Worthiness and willingness - not experience, expertise, or education - are the qualifications for priesthood ordination.

The tender mercies of the Lord are available to all of us and.

..the Redeemer of Israel is eager to bestow such gifts upon us.

To those of you who pay your tithing, I commend you.

To those of you who presently are not obeying the law of tithing, I invite you to consider your ways and repent. I testify that by your obedience to this law of the Lord, the windows of heaven will be opened to you. Please do not procrastinate the day of your repentance.

The standard is clear. If something we think, see, hear, or do distances us from the Holy Ghost, then we should stop thinking, seeing, hearing, or doing that thing... Because we estrange the Spirit of the Lord when we engage in activities we know we should shun, then such things definitely are not for us.

Receiving the authority of the priesthood by the laying on of hands is an important beginning, but it is not enough. Ordination confers authority, but righteousness is required to act with power as we strive to lift souls, to teach and testify, to bless and counsel, and to advance the work of salvation.

If all opposition were curtailed, if all maladies were removed, then the primary purposes of the Father's plan would be frustrated.

Faithful parents can invite the power of heaven to influence their children.

Nevertheless, those children remain agents unto themselves, and the choice to repent or not ultimately is theirs.

Parents should be vigilant and spiritually attentive to spontaneously occurring opportunities to bear testimony to their children. Such occasions need not be programmed, scheduled, or scripted. In fact, the less regimented such testimony sharing is, the greater the likelihood for edification and lasting impact.

The enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do and be good and to serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity.

Strong faith in the Savior is submissively accepting of His will and timing in our lives, even if the outcome is not what we hoped for or wanted.

Understanding who we are, where we came from, and why we are upon the earth places upon each of us a great responsibility both to learn how to learn and to learn to love learning.

The temple is a point of intersection between heaven and earth.

In this sacred place, holy work will be performed through selfless service and love. The temple reminds [us] of all that is good and beautiful in the world.

I believe the best test of our integrity and honesty is when we personally enforce in our own lives that which ultimately cannot be enforced.

The most meaningful and spiritual prayers I have experienced contained many expressions of thanks and few, if any, requests.

Very simply, the Spirit of Elijah is the Holy Ghost. The Spirit of Elijah will influence anyone who is involved in this work. That, for a young person in the wickedness in the world in which we live today, is one of the greatest safeguards against the temptations of the adversary. The Spirit of Elijah will not only bless you, it will protect you.

Through persistent, effective, and diligent work, a person can accumulate knowledge in the form of facts, data, information, and experience. Intelligence, however, can only be gained through obedience. Thus, knowledge is a prerequisite to and foundation for true spiritual intelligence.

Repentance is the sweet fruit that comes from faith in the Savior and involves turning toward God and away from sin.

Love increases through righteous restraint and decreases through impulsive indulgence.

Often as we teach and testify about the law of tithing, we emphasize the immediate, dramatic and readily recognizable temporal blessings that we receive. And surely such blessings do occur. Yet some of the diverse blessings we obtain as we are obedient to this commandment are significant but subtle.

Disciples who are steadfast and immovable do not become fanatics or extremists, are not overzealous, and are not preoccupied with misguided gospel hobbies.

Steady, sustained, and incremental spiritual progress produces the fruit of steadfastness-and helps us to reduce the disparity between what we know and what we do. Testimony is strengthened and conversion unto the Lord is deepened through small and simple things done well over time.

I now extend to you the invitation to help transform the trickle into a flood….I exhort you to sweep the earth with messages filled with righteousness and truth—messages that are authentic, edifying, and praiseworthy—and literally to sweep the earth as with a flood.

The Savior is the perfect example of praying for others with real intent. In His great Intercessory Prayer uttered on the night before His Crucifixion, Jesus prayed for His Apostles and all of the Saints.

Sporadic and shallow dipping in the doctrine of Christ and partial participation in His restored Church cannot produce the spiritual transformation that enables us to walk in a newness of life. Rather, fidelity to covenants, constancy of commitment, and offering our whole soul unto God are required if we are to receive the blessings of eternity.

The knowledge and spiritual conviction we receive from the Holy Ghost are the result of revelation.

Feeling the security and constancy of love from a spouse, a parent or a child is a rich blessing. Such love nurtures and sustains faith in God. Such love is a source of strength and casts out fear. Such love is the desire of every human soul.

You and I, today and always, are to bear witness of Jesus Christ and declare the message of the Restoration. ... Missionary work is a manifestation of our spiritual identity and heritage.

A home with a loving and loyal husband and wife is the supreme setting in which children can be reared in love and righteousness and in which the spiritual and physical needs of children can be met.

As we gain experience with the Holy Ghost, we learn that the intensity with which we feel the Spirit's influence is not always the same.

Trust and confidence in Christ and a ready reliance on His merits, mercy, and grace lead to hope, through His Atonement, in the Resurrection and eternal life. Such faith and hope invite into our lives the sweet peace of conscience for which we all yearn.

Not only does the Atonement of Jesus Christ overcome the effects of the Fall of Adam and make possible the remission of our individual sins and transgressions, but His Atonement also enables us to do good and become better in ways that stretch far beyond our mortal capacities.

Just as the unique characteristics of both males and females contribute to the completeness of a marriage relationship, so those same characteristics are vital to the rearing, nurturing, and teaching of children.

Every sincere prayer is heard and answered by our Heavenly Father, but the answers we receive may not be what we expect or come to us when we want or in the way we anticipate.

Be careful to not haul around in our lives so many nice but unnecessary things that we are distracted and diverted from the things that truly matter most.

Satan does not have a body, and his eternal progress has been halted. Just as water flowing in a riverbed is stopped by a dam, so the adversary's eternal progress is thwarted because he does not have a physical body.

Righteousness and faith certainly are instrumental in healing the sick, deaf, or lame - if such healing accomplishes God's purposes and is in accordance with His will. Thus, even with strong faith, many mountains will not be moved. And not all of the sick and infirm will be healed.