Ezra Taft Benson

"Pride adversely affects all our relationships - our relationship with God and His servants, between husband and wife, parent and child, employer and employee, teacher and student, and all mankind."

"A positive self-image has little relationship to our material circumstances."

"Efficient spending and saving will give the family more security, more opportunities, more education, and a higher standard of living."

"Every man eventually is backed up to the wall of faith, and there he must make his stand."

"Family preparedness has been a long-established welfare principle."

"Fatherhood is not a matter of station or wealth. It is a matter of desire, diligence and determination to see one's family exalted in the celestial kingdom. If that prize is lost, nothing else really matters."

"I firmly believe in prayer. It is possible to reach out and tap the unseen power which gives strength and anchor in time of need."

"If a man does not control his temper, it is a sad admission that he is not in control of his thoughts."

"Many men and women in the world demonstrate great willpower and self-discipline in overcoming bad habits and the weaknesses of the flesh."

"One who is kind is sympathetic and gentle with others. He is considerate of others' feelings and courteous in his behavior. He has a helpful nature. Kindness pardons others' weaknesses and faults. Kindness is extended to all - to the aged and the young, to animals, to those low of station as well as the high."

"The one man other than my father who made the most lasting impression was an uncle, Serge B. Benson. He taught me in three different classes - but above all, he taught me lessons in moral, physical, and intellectual courage that I have tried to apply in later life."

"We are eternal beings. We lived as intelligent spirits before this mortal life. We are now living part of eternity. Our mortal birth was not the beginning; death, which faces all of us, is not the end."

"When obedience ceases to be an irritant and becomes our quest, in that moment God will endow us with power."

"When our children obey the Lord and go to the temple to receive their blessings and enter into the marriage covenant, they enter into the same order of the priesthood that God instituted in the very beginning with father Adam."

"Your most important friendships should be with your own brothers and sisters and with your father and mother. Love your family. Be loyal to them. Have a genuine concern for your brothers and sisters."