Thomas S. Monson

"Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting. It is happiness because we see joy in people. It is forgetting self and finding time for others. It is discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values."

"Courage, not compromise, brings the smile of God's approval."

"Faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other."

"Finding the real joy of Christmas comes not in the hurrying and the scurrying to get more done, nor is it found in the purchasing of gifts. We find real joy when we make the Savior the focus of the season."

"I have never known Frances to complain once of my Church responsibilities. I have been gone many days and many nights, and I have rarely been able to sit with her in the congregation. But there is no one like her - absolutely no one. She is in every way supportive and is a woman of quiet and profoundly powerful faith."

"I wasn't with Joseph, but I believe him. My faith did not come to me through science, and I will not permit so-called science to destroy it."

"My brothers and sisters, may the spirit of love which comes at Christmastime fill our homes and our lives and linger there long after the tree is down and the lights are put away for another year."

"My brothers and sisters, true love is a reflection of the Savior's love. In December of each year we call it the Christmas spirit. You can hear it. You can see it. You can feel it."

"Perhaps the surest test of an individual's integrity is his refusal to do or say anything that would damage his self-respect."

"Should doubt knock at your doorway, just say to those skeptical, disturbing, rebellious thoughts, I propose to stay with my faith, with the faith of my people."

"The future is as bright as your faith."

"The principles of living greatly include the capacity to face trouble with courage, disappointment with cheerfulness, and trial with humility."

"The spirit of Christmas is the spirit of love and of generosity and of goodness. It illuminates the picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world's busy life and become more interested in people than in things."

"There is no better time than now, this very Christmas season, for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the principles taught by Jesus the Christ. It is the time to love the Lord, our God, with all our heart - and our neighbors as ourselves."

"We must not let our passions destroy our dreams."

"What will you and I give for Christmas this year? Let us in our lives give to our Lord and Savior the gift of gratitude by living His teachings and following in His footsteps."

"Work will win when wishy washy wishing won t."