Education: Fill Your Mind With Truth

“First, fill your mind with truth. We do not find truth groveling through error. Truth is found by searching, studying, and living the revealed word of God. We adopt error when we mingle with error. We learn truth when we associate with truth.

…He invites each of us, 'Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me.'(See D&C 19:23)

…We live in turbulent times. Often the future is unknown; therefore, it behooves us to prepare for uncertainties. Statistics reveal that at some time, because of the illness or death of your husband or because of economic necessity, you may find yourself in the role of financial provider. I urge you to pursue your education and learn marketable skills so that, should an emergency arise, you are prepared to provide. 

Your talents will expand as you study and learn. You will be able to better assist your children in their learning, and you will have peace of mind in knowing that you have prepared yourself for the eventualities that you may encounter in life."

President Thomas S. Monson, “Be Thou An Example”, October 2001 General Relief Society Meeting

Read full talk here. 

Agency: A Formula to Guide Your Choices

“I have been thinking recently about choices and their consequences. It has been said that the gate of history turns on small hinges, and so do people’s lives. The choices we make determine our destiny….The scriptures tell us that we are free to act for ourselves, 'to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life.'… Do we have a guide to help us choose the right and avoid dangerous detours? … We can never go wrong when we choose to follow the Savior. Some choices may seem more important than others, but no choice is insignificant.

May I leave with you today a simple yet far-reaching formula to guide you in the choices of life:

Fill your minds with truth.

Fill your hearts with love.

Fill your lives with service.”

President Thomas S. Monson, “Choose You This Day”, October 2004 General Conference

Access entire addess here, or watch below. 

Courage: The Courage to Refrain

“My earnest prayer is that you will have the courage required to refrain from judging others, the courage to be chaste and virtuous, and the courage to stand firm for truth and righteousness. As you do so, you will be 'an example of the believers,' 21 and your life will be filled with love and peace and joy.”

President Thomas S. Monson, “May You Have Courage”, April 2009 General Young Women Meeting

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/04/may-you-have-courage?lang=eng

Trials: This Journey Is a Trial of Faith

“…That long journey, made under such difficult circumstances, was a trial of faith. But faith forged in the furnace of trials and tears is marked by trust and testimony. Only God can count the sacrifice; only God can measure the sorrow; only God can know the hearts of those who serve Him—then and now.”

President Thomas S. Monson, “Tears, Trials, Trust, Testimony”, April 1987 General Conference

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1987/04/tears-trials-trust-testimony?lang=eng

Courage: The Call for Courage

"Life’s journey is not traveled on a freeway devoid of obstacles, pitfalls, and snares. Rather, it is a pathway marked by forks and turnings. Decisions are constantly before us. To make them wisely, courage is needed: the courage to say, “No,” the courage to say, “Yes.” Decisions do determine destiny.

The call for courage comes constantly to each of us. It has ever been so, and so shall it ever be….

Of course, we will face fear, experience ridicule, and meet opposition. Let us have the courage to defy the consensus, the courage to stand for principle. Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God’s approval. Courage becomes a living and an attractive virtue when it is regarded not only as a willingness to die manfully, but also as a determination to live decently. A moral coward is one who is afraid to do what he thinks is right because others will disapprove or laugh. Remember that all men have their fears, but those who face their fears with dignity have courage as well….

Someone has said that courage is not the absence of fear but the mastery of it.1 At times, courage is needed to rise from failure, to strive again."

President Thomas S. Monson, "The Call for Courage", April 2004 General Conference, Priesthood Session

1. See Mark Twain, in Gorton Carruth and Eugene Ehrlich, eds., The Harper Book of American Quotations (1988), 111.

Read or watch the entire address here.

Learn more about the Prophet Thomas S. Monson.

*Photo source: http://news.byu.edu/archive11-nov-presmonsondevo.aspx