The LDS Daily WOOL Home Page
Refer your friends to join The LDS Daily WOOL (Words Of Our Leaders)
(2/6/99)
"Contention leads to bitterness and smallness of soul; persons who
contend with each other shrivel up spiritually and are in danger of
losing their salvation. So important is it to avoid this evil that Jesus
expects his saints to suffer oppression and wrong rather than lose their
inner peace and serenity through contention." - Bruce R. McConkie,
"Doctrinal New Testament Commentary", 1:228
(2/7/99)
"If the adversary can influence us to pick on each other, to find
fault, bash, and undermine, to judge or humiliate or taunt, half his
battle is won. Why? Because though this sort of conduct may not equate
with succumbing to grievous sin, it nevertheless neutralizes us
spiritually. The Spirit of the Lord cannot dwell where there is
bickering, judging, contention, or any kind of bashing." - Marvin J.
Ashton, "The Tongue Can Be A Sharp Sword"
General Conference, April 1992
(2/8/99)
"Satan is the 'father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts
of men to contend with anger, one with another' (3
Ne. 11:29; emphasis added). The verb stir sounds like a recipe for
disaster: Put tempers on medium heat, stir in a few choice words, and
bring to a boil; continue stirring until thick; cool off; let feelings
chill for several days; serve cold; lots of leftovers." - Lynn G.
Robbins, "Agency and Anger," General Conference, April 1998
(2/9/99)
"Forgiveness is the miraculous ingredient that assures harmony and
love in the home or the ward. Without it there is contention. Without
understanding and forgiveness there is dissension, followed by lack of
harmony, and this breeds disloyalty in homes, in branches and in wards."
- Spencer W. Kimball, "Miracle of Forgiveness," p. 275
(2/10/99)
"What can we do to combat this canker of contention? What steps may
each of us take to supplant the spirit of contention with a spirit of
personal peace?... the ultimate step lies beyond beginning control of
expression. Personal peace is reached when one, in humble
submissiveness, truly loves God." - Russell M. Nelson, "The Canker Of
Contention," General Conference, April 1989
(9/27/01)
"Occasionally, we hear something like, 'Why, we have been married for
fifty years, and we have never had a difference of opinion.' If that is
literally the case, then one of the partners is overly dominated by the
other or, as someone said, is a stranger to the truth. Any intelligent
couple will have differences of opinion. Our challenge is to be sure
that we know how to resolve them. That is part of the process of making
a good marriage better." - Joe J. Christensen, "Marriage and the Great
Plan of Happiness," "Ensign," May 1995, 65
(9/28/01)
"When we understand our relationship to God, we also understand our
relationship to one another. All men and women on this earth are the
offspring of God, spirit brothers and sisters. What a powerful idea! No
wonder God’s Only Begotten Son commanded us to love one another. If only
we could do so! What a different world it would be if brotherly and
sisterly love and unselfish assistance could transcend all boundaries of
nation, creed, and color. Such love would not erase all differences of
opinion and action, but it would encourage each of us to focus our
opposition on actions rather than actors." - Dallin H. Oaks, "Powerful
Ideas," "Ensign," Nov. 1995, 25
(9/29/01)
"When all the challenges pour down on you, you will have a quiet inner
feeling of support. You will be prompted to know what to do. You can
live in a world of turmoil and great challenge and be at peace. You will
be inspired to know what to do and to have the power or capacity to do
it. Remember this promise of the Lord as clarified by President Harold
B. Lee: “Ye are to be taught from on high. Sanctify yourselves [that is,
keep my commandments] and ye shall be endowed with power.” (D&C
43:16.)" - Richard G. Scott, "Making the Right
Decisions," "Ensign," May 1991, 35
(9/30/01)
"We see an example of individual peace amidst strife and contention in
the life of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Near the end of his life, he was
at the center of a whirlwind of turmoil and tribulation caused by
devious associates, false accusations, and cunning plots against his
life. Yet a few days before his death, he said, 'I am calm as a summer’s
morning; I have a conscience void of offense towards God, and towards
all men.' (D&C 135:4.)
His inner peace sustained him through monumental adversities, even his
own martyrdom." - Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Peace Within," "Ensign," May
1991, 38
9/14/07
"If we can banish Satan from our presence, we shall do a good work; for
he it is who steps in and causes bickerings and strife. But if we will
be wide awake, and not let the enemy come in, there will be no
bickerings or strife, and we will be able to move the heavens and the
earth if necessary; we will be able to drive Satan from our midst, with
all the kindred spirits that are seeking our destruction." - Daniel H.
Wells, "Journal of Discourses," 26 vols., 5:43
2/9/08
"We seldom get into trouble when
we speak softly. It is only when we raise our voices that the sparks fly
and tiny molehills become great mountains of contention. To me there has
always been something significant in the description of the prophet
Elijah's contest with the priests of Baal. The scripture records
that 'a great and strong
wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks but the
Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord
was not in the earthquake:
"'And
after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after
the fire a still small voice.' (1
Kgs. 19:11-12.)
"The
voice of heaven is a still small voice; likewise, the voice of
domestic peace is a quiet voice."
- Gordon B.
Hinckley, "Except
the Lord Build the House,"
Ensign (CR), June 1971, p.71
4/28/09
“There
is in the world today a spirit of strife and selfishness and
contention, and I am wondering if we are permitting this spirit to
come into our midst. We should be living for the future and the
hereafter. As a people, we believe in co-operation, not that supposed
co-operation that breeds hatred, strife, contention and ill-will, but
that co-operation, that brotherly love and good-will, which leads men
to reach the outstretched hand to those in need, to those who suffer,
to those who hunger, to those who are ill. That is the proper
co-operation, and we as Latter-day Saints believe in it and are
expected to practice it.” - David A. Smith,
“Conference Report,” April 1927, Fourth Day—Morning Meeting, p.164
10/4/12
[Satan] damages and often destroys
families within the walls of their own homes. His strategy is to stir
up anger between family members. Satan is the “father of
contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger,
one with another” (3
Ne. 11:29; emphasis added). The verb stir sounds like
a recipe for disaster: Put tempers on medium heat, stir in a few
choice words, and bring to a boil; continue stirring until thick; cool
off; let feelings chill for several days; serve cold; lots of
leftovers. - Lynn G. Robbins, "Agency
and Anger," Ensign (CR) May 1998
9/10/13
His
work proceeds forward almost as if in the comparative calmness of
the eye of a storm. First, He reigns in the midst of His saints;
soon, in all the world! (See D&C
1:36; D&C
133:2–3.) - Neal A.
Maxwell, "O,
Divine Redeemer," Ensign (CR) November 1981
3/10/16
Contention leads to bitterness and smallness of soul; persons who
contend with each other shrivel up spiritually and are in danger of
losing their salvation. So important is it to avoid this evil that
Jesus expects his saints to suffer oppression and wrong rather than
lose their inner peace and serenity through contention. "He that
hath the spirit of contention is not of me," he told the Nephites,
"but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he
stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with
another." (3
Ne. 11:29.) - Bruce R.
McConkie, "Doctrinal New Testament Commentary," 3 vols., 1:228
Refer your friends to join The LDS Daily WOOL (Words Of Our Leaders)