(1/31/00)
"There are many things worthy of our consideration as we move along in
the pathway to exaltation and glory.... In considering ourselves and
how we have been organized and what we are doing, we discover that
there is immortality connected with us. We are immortal beings. That
which dwells in this body of ours is immortal, and will always exist.
Our individuality will always continue. Eternities may begin,
eternities may end, and still we shall have our individuality. Our
identity is insured." — "Conference Report," April 1901, p. 2
(2/01/00)
"There are men in this Church who are as good in their hearts and
feelings as men ever were, but lack faith and energy, and do not
obtain really what it is their privilege to receive. If their faith,
their energy and determination were equal to their good feelings and
desires, their honesty and goodness, they would indeed be mighty men
in Israel; and sickness and disease and the power of the evil one
would flee before them as chaff before the wind." — "Journal of
Discourses", Vol. 23, p. 194-195, May 6th, 1882
(2/02/00)
"We can easily see the improvements that the people are making. It is
like the babe that passes from a state of infancy to childhood, and
thence to manhood. You cannot tell the particular moments of its
growth and increase in stature; you cannot point out the particular
day, hour, or minute in which it increases; but you are all the time
perfectly aware that it is gaining, growing, becoming greater
continually. It is precisely so in regard to ourselves spiritually. If
we are doing our duty, though we cannot point out the moment, the day,
or the particular time when we receive the increase of knowledge,
wisdom, or power, yet we know and feel conscious, as we reflect back,
that we have gained." — "Journal of Discourses," Vol. 9, p. 21, April
7, 1861
(2/03/00)
"We need assistance. We are liable to do that which will lead us into
trouble and darkness, and those things which will not tend to our
good, but with the assistance of that comforter which the Lord has
promised his Saints, if we are careful to listen to its whisperings,
and understand the nature of its language, we may avoid much trouble
and serious difficulty." — "Journal of Discourses," Vol. 19, p. 343,
April 21, 1878
(2/04/00)
"There is no standing still with the Latter-day Saints. When we were
driven from Kirtland and Jackson County by mob violence, the purposes
of God were being fulfilled and the work was undergoing changes
necessary to its growth and progress, and the trials and afflictions
incident thereto were necessary to the proving of the Saints and the
establishment of the kingdom of God upon the earth. And I would say,
let the motto be to every Elder in Israel, and to every person worthy
to be called a Saint. Fear not, and never stand still, but move on." —
"Journal of Discourses," Vol. 23, p. 152-153, April 7th, 1882
(2/05/00)
"A wonderful work is being accomplished in our temples in favor of the
spirits in prison. I believe, strongly too, that when the gospel is
preached to the spirits in prison, the success attending that
preaching will be far greater than that attending the preaching of our
elders in this life." — "Teachings of Lorenzo Snow," p. 98
(2/06/00)
"Authoritative rule is not the proper rule by which to govern Saints,
but rather seek to administer in the spirit of humility, wisdom, and
goodness, teaching not so much by theory as by practice. Though one
teach with the eloquence of an angel, yet one's good practice, good
examples, one's acts constantly manifesting whole-heartedness for the
interests of the people, teach much more eloquently, much more
effectually." — "Teachings of Lorenzo Snow," p. 78-79
(7/24/03)
"When two Latter-day Saints are united together in marriage, promises
are made to them concerning their offspring that reach from eternity
to eternity. They are promised that they shall have the power and the
right to govern and control and administer salvation and exaltation
and glory to their offspring worlds without end. And what offspring
they do not have here, undoubtedly there will be opportunities to have
them hereafter. What else could man wish? A man and a woman in the
other life, having celestial bodies, free from sickness and disease,
glorified and beautified beyond description, standing in the midst of
their posterity, governing and controlling them, administering life,
exaltation and glory, worlds without end!" — Lorenzo Snow, "Collected
Discourses," 5 vols. [Burbank, Calif., and Woodland Hills, Ut.: B.H.S.
Publishing, 1987-1992], Volume 5
(4/19/04)
"What a glorious condition was this! a condition in which the Lord God
Omnipotent, by the power of His Spirit, had wrought a mighty change in
the hearts of that people, that they no longer had any desire to do
evil, but were filled only with a fervent desire to do that which was
good. This was indeed a great change, and yet it is precisely that
change that comes today to every son and daughter of God who repents
of his or her sins, who humble themselves before the Lord, and who
seek forgiveness and remission of sin by baptism by immersion, by one
having authority to administer this sacred ordinance of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. For it is this new birth that was spoken of by Christ to
Nicodemus as absolutely essential that men might see the Kingdom of
God, and without which no man could enter into the Kingdom. Each of us
can remember, perhaps, the change that came into our hearts when we
were baptized for the remission of our sins.... The feeling that came
upon me was that of pure peace, or love and of light. I felt in my
soul that if I had sinned and surely I was not without sin that it had
been forgiven me; that I was indeed cleansed from sin; my heart was
touched and I felt that I would not injure the smallest insect beneath
my feet. I felt as though I wanted to do good everywhere to everybody
and to everything. I felt a newness of life, a newness of desire to do
that which was right. There was not one particle of desire for evil
left in my soul. I was but a little boy, it is true, when I was
baptized; but this was the influence that came upon me, and I know
that it was from God, and was and ever has been a living witness to me
of my acceptance of the Lord." - Lorenzo Snow, Conference Report,
April 1898
3/31/07
"We should labor for perfection so far as possible, and seek to go
onward. There is no man or woman who can stand still any great length
of time. In this path over which we are moving we are very likely to
go backward if we undertake to stand still or act indifferently. We
must push forward, because as the Church moves on, it is very evident
that things of a more difficult character are occurring constantly,
and we will find it far from easy to overcome them. Unless we improve
as we move along we will find it very difficult to magnify our
callings and to perform the work required at our hands. Latter-day
Saints should not permit themselves to stand still. It is a privilege
we have to serve the Lord and enjoy His spirit in our labors, but many
of the people lose that portion of happiness that they might enjoy
because of not reflecting seriously upon their duties and acting
wisely and prudently. (6 April 1898, CR, p. 12.)" - "The Teachings
of Lorenzo Snow, edited by Clyde J. Williams," p.95
5/12/09
“Do not
falter; continue to do your duty, whatever it may be, whether pleasing
or displeasing; be the servants and handmaidens of God to the very
utmost. In the past His blessings have been upon us just so far as we
have served Him in faithfulness; they will be so in the future. There
is no occasion for any man who has the manifestation of the Lord in
this line to be discouraged. When our surroundings are not so
agreeable as might be wished, think how much worse they might be. Be
contented with our conditions. Improve them when opportunity arises,
but do not worry about them.” – “The
Teachings of Lorenzo Snow,” edited by Clyde J. Williams, p.45
10/12/09
“Having received the light of the everlasting Gospel, and partaken of
the good things of the kingdom, and being of the seed of Israel and
heirs to great and glorious promises, we should labor with fidelity
and diligence to accomplish what God has designed to do through us; we
should be men and women of faith and power as well as good works, and
when we discover ourselves careless or indifferent in the least, it
should be sufficient for us to know it in order to mend our ways and
return to the path of duty.” – Lorenzo
Snow, “Journal of Discourses,” 26 vols., 23:195
11/28/12
We ought to
understand--and I presume that we do generally--that the work which we
have come into this life to perform cannot be done to the glory of God
or to the satisfaction of ourselves merely by our own natural
intelligence. We are dependent upon the Spirit of the Lord to aid us
and to manifest to us from time to time what is necessary for us to
accomplish under the peculiar circumstances that may surround us. It
is the privilege of Latter-day Saints, when they get into
difficulties, to have supernatural power of God, and in faith, day by
day, to secure from the circumstances which may surround us that which
will be beneficial and advance us in the principles of holiness and
sanctification, that we may as far as possible be like our Father. (6
October 1898, CR, p. 2.) - "The Teachings of Lorenzo Snow," edited
by Clyde J. Williams, p.109
5/15/14
There is a necessity of our being more industrious, many of us, in
getting into the spirit of this reformation more than what has already
been received. There is a danger of our being satisfied with a
superficial advancement, with merely advancing on the surface. We talk
of walking in the light of the Spirit and of feeling it upon us, but
do we do these things? We ought to dig deep into the things of God,
lay our foundation upon the rock, until we come to that water which
shall be in us an everlasting fountain of eternal life in the midst of
the people in this reformation. - Lorenzo Snow, "Journal of
Discourses, 26 vols.," 4:185
4/6/16
The Lord has
determined in His heart that He will try us until He knows what He
can do with us. He tried His Son Jesus. Thousands of years before He
came upon earth, the Father had watched His course and knew that He
could depend upon Him when the salvation of worlds should be at
stake; and He was not disappointed. So in regard to ourselves. He
will try us, and continue to try us, in order that He may place us
in the highest positions in life and put upon us the most sacred
responsibilities. - Lorenzo Snow,
"The Teachings of Lorenzo Snow," edited by Clyde J. Williams, p.93
