"With so great an inheritance, we could do no less than our very
best. Those who have gone before expects this of us. We have a
mandate from the Lord..."
Gordon B. Hinckley
"Latter-day Saints need to remember that we who live now are being
called upon to work out our salvation in a special time of intense
and immense challenges -- the last portion of the dispensation of the
fulness of times during which great tribulation and temptation will
occur; the elect will almost be deceived, and unrighteous people will
be living much as they were in the days of Noah. It will be a time o
polarization... Hardness of heart in many will produce other
manifestations of hardness and coarseness. Civility will be one
casualty of these conditions, and a lowered capacity to achieve
reconciliation, whether in a marriage or between interest groups, will
be another. Therefore, though we have rightly applauded our ancestors
for their spirirtual achievements (and do not and must not discount
them now), those of us who prevail today will have done no small thing.
The special spirits who have been reserved to live in this time of
challenges and who overcome will one day be praised for their stamina
by those who pulled handcarts."
Neil A. Maxwell, Notwithstanding My Weakness, p.18
"You, our youth of today, are among the most illustrious spirits to be
born into mortality in any age of the world."
President Harold B. Lee
"You are not just ordinary young men and young women. You are choice
spirits, many of you having been held back in reserve for almost 6,000
years to come forth in this day, at this time when the temptations,
responsibilities, and opportunities are the very greatest... We pray
that you will be prepared for the reigns of leadership... I pray that
you -- the young and rising generation -- will keep your bodies and
minds clean, free from the contaminations of the world, that you will
be fit and pure vessels to bear off the kingdom of God triumphant in
preparation for the second coming of the Savior."
President Ezra Taft Benson
"This is a very different generation from any others. It is a
generation when the Lord has decreed...that in the last days
the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be
destroyed nor given to other people. The Lord has chosen a
small number of choice spirits...to come forth in the last days...
to organize the Kingdom of God upon the earth, to build it up and
to defend it."
President Wilford Woodruff
"The Lord has now sent a wonderful generation of youth who will
not be men and women to be conquered... Remember, my
young friends, you must be lean and hard. You must be fit for
the race. You must place character, integrity, and principles of
truth as the guiding lights for the dark days ahead... Future
greatness...awaits those who are pure and true to the teachings
and examples of the Master."
Vaughn J. Featherstone
"My dear friends, you are a royal generation. You were preserved
to come to the earth in this time for a special purpose. Not just
a few of you, but all of you. There are things for each of you
to do that no one else can do as well as you... If you will let
Him, I testify that our Father in Heaven will walk with you
through the journey of life and inspire you to know your
special purpose here."
H. Burke Peterson
"Paul was persecuted and driven; he was hated and despised. Eventually
his life was taken because he fearlessly bore witness of the Redeemer
of all men. We must prepare to do likewise."
Gordon B. Hinckley
"May the Lord bless you, my dear young friends. May His watch care be
over you... He has a great work for you. Do not fail Him."
Gordon B. Hinckley
"Be yourself. Try to be anything else but your genuine self, even if
you deceive the entire world, and you will be ten thousand times worse
than nothing. ...You have been blessed with special skills that are
yours alone. Use them, whatever they may be, and forget about wearing
another's hat. A talented chariot driver can win gold and renown with his
skills. Let him pick figs and he would starve. No one can take your
place! Realize this and be yourself. You have no obligation to
succeed. You have only the obligation to be true to yourself. Do the
very best that you can, in thr things that you do best, and you will
know, in thy soul, that you are the greatest success in the world."
Og Mandino
"The self-esteem to which I refer is something different. It is not
blind, arrogant, vain love of self, but is self-respecting, unconceited,
honest esteem of ourselves. It is born of inner peace and strength."
Elder James E. Faust
"You are the child of God. He is the father of your spirit.
Spiritually you are of noble brith, the offspring of the King of
Heaven. Fix that truth in your mind and hold to it. However many
generations in your mortal ancestry, no matter what race or people
you represent, the pedigree of your spirit can be written on a
single line. You are a child of God!"
Elder Boyd K. Packer
