(9/10/04)
"Someone once said, 'If you come to a fork in the road, take it.' But it doesn't work that way. The Savior said, 'No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.' (Matt 6:24.) Today many of us are trying to serve two masters-the Lord and our own selfish interests-without offending the devil. The influence of God, our Eternal Father, urges us, pleads us, and inspires us to follow him. In contrast the power of Satan urges us to disbelieve and disregard God's commandments." - James E. Faust, "Serving the Lord and Resisting the Devil," Ensign, September 1995, p. 2

(9/11/04)
"When Gladstone was asked the secret of his brilliant career, he answered with one word: 'Concentration.' Concentration is achieved by limiting the scope. Emerson said: 'The one prudence in life is concentration; the one evil is dissipation' (The Complete Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, New York: Wm. H. Wise & Co., 1929, p. 542). Jesus was limiting the scope when he cautioned us to keep our eye single (see D&C 4:5). A single vision should also have a narrow focus. Jesus proclaimed this same philosophy when he said: 'No man can serve two masters' (Matt. 6:24)." - Sterling W. Sill, "The Strait Gate," Ensign, July 1980, p. 6

(9/12/04)
"I take it he [Jesus, referring to Matt. 6:24] understood that in the lives of most men the time would come when they might have to make a choice as to whether or not they should choose God or mammon, and it is my conviction and my testimony that when we make the choice, if we choose to serve the Lord, it is just like forming a partnership with him. He will be on our side, he will see us through; and I wonder sometimes if we really sacrifice when we choose to serve the Lord, rather than to serve mammon, and make the necessary effort and contributions required to show our faith in him." - LeGrand Richards, "Conference Report," October 1948, Afternoon Meeting, p. 41

(9/13/04)
"One major cause of real fatigue, little appreciated by those so afflicted, is trying to serve two masters. This is devastating double duty. If so divided, one inevitably ends up being ineffective, even disloyal, in respect to one master or another--a most fatiguing circumstance. (Matthew 6:24.)" - Neal A. Maxwell, "If Thou Endure It Well," [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1996], p. 115

(9/14/04)
"In his teachings, Christ said that we cannot love two masters (something that controls or dominates our thoughts and actions) for either we will love one and hate the other or we will begin to despise the one and love the other. Service is a powerful master. Elder Marvin J. Ashton has said that we learn to love that which we serve, and we serve that which we love. An example of this truth is the mother who serves her family with barely any thought for herself; the love she has for those whom she serves is beautiful to behold. Elder Ashton describes the effects of service on what we love: 'If our top priorities are constantly directed toward the acquisition of more and better worldly goods, it will not take long to increase our love in those directions.... How can we decrease our love for things not for our best good? We must... stop the expenditure of time and effort in these directions.... We must constantly emphasize the truth that we love that to which we give time, whether it be the gospel, God, or gold.' (Ye Are My Friends, pp. 13-14.)" - Robert E. Wells, "The Mount and the Master," [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1991], p. 158