(6/22/00)
"There are two things that enter into the life of every man: Those things which we plan for ourselves, and those things which enter into our lives in spite of all our plans. Sometimes, happily, we fare better than we had honestly hoped, and sometimes, unhappily, we find we fall far short of achieving those things for which we have striven. But no matter how well we seem to control those elements which affect our lives, there are always to be considered things unlooked for. Surely it must be better that way. It would be difficult to imagine a more unsatisfactory existence than the life of a man into which nothing unexpected ever came. Furthermore, it is all part of a great plan. The Lord still chasteneth whom he loveth, and all those things which come into our lives in spite of our best laid plans, are part of the education and enriching experience of every child of God who walks the earth. We may think what we would like for ourselves, and then, in the spirit of that resignation born of faith, we must reconcile ourselves at one time or another, to say as in the words of the hymn about to be sung, 'I'll go where you want me to go, dear Lord; I'll be what you want me to be.'" — "Conference Report," October 1938, p. 90

(6/23/00)
"What a glorious thing faith is! Faith! All of us would like to know a lot of answers we do not know. All of us shall some day. But it was meant that men should live in part by faith. It is a glorious thing to have it, to meet the unanswered questions, to meet the fears of life, to carry us over all difficulties -- the glorious principle of faith, the first of the first principles of the gospel." — "Conference Report," April 1955, p. 113 - 114

(6/24/00)
"Life is a great search for all of us. We all have unanswered questions, and I am grateful to witness to you this day that in the gospel of Jesus Christ, as restored to earth in this day and dispensation, I have found, in the faith of my fathers, the road that leads to the answers to life's compelling questions -- the road along which the search lies, that gives purpose and meaning to life, a great sense and assurance of the ultimate objectives and of the everlasting continuance of truth and intelligence and personality, and of sweet association with loved ones and all that means the most -- a gospel which gives freedom: freedom for the search, freedom for the seeking of truth, freedom for learning, indeed, not only freedom for it but also a solemn charge to pursue it." — "Conference Report," April 1960, p. 29 - 30

(6/25/00)
"...I have no fear of learning, of the pursuit of knowledge, for any of our young people, if they will keep in mind diligence and obedience--obedience to the commandments of God, diligence in keeping close to the Church, in keeping active, keeping prayerful, keeping clean, keeping circumspect in their conduct. It isn't learning or the love of learning, or knowledge, or the pursuit of any subject that would take from a man his faith, but it is failure to keep the commandments, the failure of a man to feed all sides of himself..." — "Conference Report," April 1956, p. 44

(6/26/00)
"An interesting sentence recently read has lodged in my mind: 'What's the use of running when you're on the wrong road?' We had better do our best to be sure we are on the right road before we run in any direction." — "Conference Report," April 1968, p. 87

(6/27/00)
"There isn't any way to cheat nature, to bypass law, to run away from life. The commandments haven't been repealed; the laws of morality, the spiritual laws, the laws of life are still in force and effect. Oh, don't let others drag you down, and don't drag yourself down. No matter what cynical or immoral or even honestly mistaken people may say, don't let them destroy your faith or your virtue, or lead you to a lower way of life. And when they try to tell you what you're missing, you tell them what they're missing: peace and self-respect and a quiet conscience—happiness—and the assurance of the highest opportunities of everlasting life." — "Conference Report," October 1969, p. 67

(6/28/00)
"But no matter what everybody does, an error is still an error even though it is multiplied millions of times. So is an evil, and it doesn't matter how popular or how glamorous or how universal evils become, they are still evils. Some evils have been made very glamorous, very appealing and very popular, but we must be aware of the fact that they are still what they are, regardless of who partakes of them or what they are called, or what appearance they assume. History has proved many times over that the opinion of one man who knows and who knows that he knows, the opinion of one man who has the truth and proclaims it, is much more important than the opinions of many millions who don't know." — "Conference Report," October 1948, p. 63

(6/29/00)
"So I say to these youth of ours: go forth and live your lives with humility, with gratitude, with repentance, keeping the commandments of God and having faith in the future and preparing yourselves for the future, as the Church itself continues its building. There is nothing to lose by having faith in the future, but there is much to lose by not preparing for the future." — "Conference Report," April 1950, p. 105

(3/17/03)
"He has sent us here, from where we were with him before birth, for a brief period of mortal experience, with our free agency, our right of choice, with principles and commandments, and with his Spirit to light us through life, and has assured us everlasting life with the glorious promise of limitless and eternal progress and possibilities, with all the sweetness of association of family and friends in the peace and protection of his presence-if we will. He has assured us that 'men are, that they might have joy,' (2 Nephi 2:25) and has declared it to be his purpose 'to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.' (Moses 1:39.)" — Richard L. Evans, "We Are Not Alone in Life" "Improvement Era," January, 1955

(1/15/05)
"Why run against the laws of life? Why run headlong into ill health and unhappiness? Why live contrary to conscience? Think of the heartbreak and waste and regret that could be prevented by living as we ought to live. No one can set aside consequences. As Cecil B. DeMille said: 'We cannot break the... Commandments. We can only break ourselves against them.' O let us think and live and teach the power of prevention. 'If it is not right,' said Marcus Aurelius, 'do not do it; if it is not true, do not say it.'

"But wherein we may have failed in this (and heaven help us not to fail), then let us turn with all our hearts to the power of repentance." - Richard L. Evans, "Where Are You Really Going?" Ensign, June 1971, p. 74

(2/9/05)
"Perhaps I could begin with an interesting question posed recently and an equally interesting answer. The question was, 'Don't you think the commandments should be rewritten?' The answer was, 'No, they should be reread.'

"This may be a good point from which to take off for consideration of some fundamental facts; namely, the commandments of God are there. They come from a divine source. The experience of the ages has proved the need for them, and has proved what happens if they are ignored.

"So why spend life in the frustration and unhappiness and sorrow and tragedy of trying to rationalize and wave them away?" - Richard L. Evans, "Should the Commandments Be Rewritten?" Ensign, Dec. 1971, p. 57

(10/30/05)
"No matter how much we may be discouraged or how often we are set back, we must begin again and again, if necessary, and earnestly pursue the purposes of life, full of faith for the future. Enduring to the end is exceedingly important. Pursuing the opportunities and the duties of every day is exceedingly important, and repenting while there is still time to repent is also exceedingly important." - Richard L. Evans, "Conference Report," October 1950, Afternoon Meeting, p.141

1/9/06
"'My life is my message,' said Mahatma Gandhi. It is so with each of us. The impressions of what we are and do and feel and believe and live and teach are carried over to our children. If we depart from principles, may we reasonably expect our children not to depart?" - Richard L. Evans, Conference Report, April 1969, Afternoon Meeting, p.75