The LDS Daily WOOL Home Page
(8/23/01)
"The clearest teaching on record as to the nature of the spirit of man
was given 2200 years B.C., when Jesus, in his spirit body, appeared to
the brother of Jared and said: 'Behold, I am Jesus Christ.... Seest
thou that ye are created after mine own image? Yea, even all men were
created in the beginning after mine own image. Behold, this body,
which ye now behold, is the body of my spirit; and man have I created
after the body of my spirit; and even as I appear unto thee to be in
the spirit will I appear unto my people in the flesh.' (Ether
3:14–16.)"
Marion
G. Romney
"The Worth of Souls,"
"Ensign," Nov. 1978, p. 14
(8/24/01)
"It is not a question of when 'meaningful life' begins or when the
spirit 'quickens' the body. In the biological sciences, it is known
that life begins when two germ cells unite to become one cell,
bringing together twenty-three chromosomes from both the father and
from the mother. These chromosomes contain thousands of genes. In a
marvelous process involving a combination of genetic coding by which
all the basic human characteristics of the unborn person are
established, a new DNA complex is formed. A continuum of growth
results in a new human being. The onset of life is not a debatable
issue, but a fact of science."
Russell
M. Nelson
"Reverence for Life,"
"Ensign," May 1985, p. 13
(8/25/01)
"While our physical bodies might be basically 'carnal, sensual and
devilish, by nature,' our eternal spirit has the power to rule over
the body. We can be in control of our thoughts, feelings, and actions
if we properly exercise our moral agency."
L.
Lionel Kendrick
"Our Moral Agency,"
"Ensign," Mar. 1996, p. 32
(8/26/01)
"President Joseph Fielding Smith taught: 'The Spirit of God speaking
to the spirit of man has power to impart truth with greater effect and
understanding than the truth can be imparted by personal contact even
with heavenly beings. Through the Holy Ghost the truth is woven into
the very fibre and sinews of the body so that it cannot be forgotten'
(Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [1954–56],
1:47–48).
Dallin
H. Oaks
"Teaching and Learning by the Spirit,"
"Ensign," Mar. 1997, p. 7
(8/27/01)
"We have come to earth and gained a body. Now we must learn to master
it. President Brigham Young taught that self-control is essential to
receiving eternal life: 'The [body] must be brought in subjection to
the spirit perfectly, or your bodies cannot be raised to inherit
eternal life.... Seek diligently, until you bring all into subjection
to the law of Christ.'"
Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, p. 204
3/1/07
"Development of the spirit is of eternal consequence. The attributes
by which we shall be judged one day are those of the spirit. These
include the virtues of integrity, compassion, love, and more. (D&C
4:6) Your spirit, by being housed in your body, is able to
develop and express these attributes in ways that are vital to your
eternal progression. (See 2
Ne. 2:11-16, 21-26; Moro.
10:33-34.)" - Russell M. Nelson, "We
Are Children of God," Ensign (CR), November 1998, p.85
10/18/09
“Sometimes we make
excuses for ourselves, when we do what we should not do or fall short
of what we should have done. We use such expressions as, ‘Oh! the
spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.’ With such rationalizations
we insinuate that it is our physical body’s fault that we sin. As a
matter of fact, this is not true. In reality, the physical body is the
strongest part of us. Among other reasons, it was given to us to help
us overcome our addictions, bad habits, and evil desires. The body is
very obedient; generally speaking, it will do exactly what the spirit
tells it to do. So it is not the physical body that we are struggling
with; it is the spirit we must bring into subjection.” - Hartman
Rector, Jr., “Conference Report,” October 1970, Afternoon Meeting,
p. 73
10/23/09
“… your spirits when they came to take tabernacles were pure and holy,
and prepared to receive knowledge, wisdom, and instruction, and to be
taught while in the flesh; so that every son and daughter of Adam, if
they would apply their minds to wisdom, and magnify their callings and
improve upon every grace and means given them, would have tickets for
the boxes, to use brother Hyde's figure, instead of going into the
pit. There is no spirit but what was pure and holy when it came here
from the celestial world. There is no spirit among the human family
that was begotten in hell; none that were begotten by angels, or by
any inferior being. They were not produced by any being less than our
Father in heaven. He is the Father of our spirits; and if we could
know, understand, and do His will, every soul would be prepared to
return back into His presence. And when they get there, they would see
that they had formerly lived there for ages, that they had previously
been acquainted with every nook and corner, with the palaces, walks,
and gardens; and they would embrace their Father, and He would embrace
them and say, ‘My son, my daughter, I have you again;’ and the child
would say, ‘O my Father, my Father, I am here again.’” – Brigham
Young, “Journal of
Discourses,” 26 vols., 4:269
The mind of man is the crowning creation of God, in whose express
image man was made. The development of the mind is a companion
responsibility to the cultivation of the spirit, as set forth in the
revealed principles of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. -