The LDS Daily WOOL Home Page
(9/5/98)
"Then I think, as I read those Articles of Faith written by the
Prophet Joseph Smith (and there are many other important doctrines
that he didn't list), how could anybody read those articles and then
not believe that we have the truth? No other church in the world has
such a foundation to build upon." — LeGrand Richards, "Laying
A
Foundation For The Millennium," General Conference, October 1971
(7/13/03)
"Could any historian be expected to describe this event any more
clearly than to say that the Lord and Moses talked with each other
'face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend'? Does anyone need to
be told how a man speaks to his friend? The Father and the Son spoke
with Joseph Smith 'face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.'
There is only one thing that made this possible, and that is the fact
that God did create man in his own image and likeness. Could any other
image or likeness have been half so wonderful?" — LeGrand Richards, "A
Marvelous Work and a Wonder" [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1950],
p. 16
(8/10/03)
"Is there any amount of wealth in this world that could take the place
of that positive assurance that Job had in his heart, as a friend of
God, through the testimony of the Holy Ghost, that though his body
should be destroyed yet in his flesh should he see God—whom he should
see for himself?" — LeGrand Richards, "Conference Report," October
1948, p. 42
(8/31/03)
"Could you imagine living upon the earth when the God of Heaven
fulfills that promise made by the Prophet Isaiah and not wanting to
know what that 'marvelous work and a wonder' is all about? No boy or
girl or man or woman in this world, if they understood fully what God
has done in restoring His truth to the earth in our day, could call it
anything but 'a marvelous work and a wonder.' When the God of Heaven
says that it will be a 'marvelous work and a wonder' in His eyes, then
what ought it to be to those of us who are privileged to be partakers
of it? Then he said, 'For the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.' Can any man
account for what the Lord has done in restoring His truth here in our
day?" — LeGrand Richards, "BYU Speeches of the Year," 10 February
1960, p. 6
(9/20/03)
"The Lord promised he would take the record of Joseph that was in the
hands of Ephraim and put it with the record of Judah and make them one
in his hands. (See Ezek.
37:16-17.) Can't we believe that God would do that which he said
he would do? If the Book of Mormon isn't that record, where is it?" -
LeGrand Richards, "General Conference Reports," October 1970, p. 61
(10/2/03)
"Why should we have a prophet? And then I think of the passage Brother
Petersen quoted yesterday, where the Lord said through the prophet
Amos, 'Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his
secret unto his servants the prophets.' (Amos
3:7.) What does that mean? It means that no honest person
believing in the holy scriptures could look to find God's eternal
truth upon the earth without a prophet at its head, because we have no
record that he has ever had a church or a movement without a prophet."
- LeGrand Richards, "General Conference Reports," April 1970, p. 108
(10/10/03)
"Just think of the consequences if the hearts of the fathers are not
turned to their children and the hearts of the children turned to the
fathers, and no one in this world outside of this Church can tell you
the true meaning of those words, nor would we be able to do so except
for the fact that Elijah did come and appeared to the Prophet Joseph
Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple, and he revealed these
great truths to them. That accounts for our building these holy
temples all over the world, so that with the power of the priesthood
of God that has been restored in our day, men and women can be sealed
together for time and for all eternity and know that their children
shall be born under the new and everlasting covenant and shall be
theirs throughout the countless ages of eternity." - LeGrand Richards,
"General Conference Reports," October 1962, p. 109
(2/10/04)
"The Book of Mormon tells us that when Lehi was in the desert, he told
his son Joseph that the Lord had promised Joseph who was sold into
Egypt that he would raise up a prophet in the latter days from his
loins like unto Moses; that his name would be Joseph, his father's
name would be Joseph, and that he should bring forth his word. (See 2
Ne. 3:6, 9, 15.) That obviously was the Prophet Joseph Smith. He
brought us the Book of Mormon. He brought us the Doctrine and
Covenants. He brought us the Pearl of Great Price and many other
writings. Then the Lord said: '...unto him will I give power to bring
forth my word... and not to the bringing forth my word only,... but to
the convincing them of my word, which shall have already gone forth
among them.' (2 Ne.
3:11.) In other words, he would bring them to a true
understanding of the Bible." - LeGrand Richards, "He
Has
Sent His Messenger to Prepare the Way," Ensign, July 1973, p. 78
(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
(11/13/04)
"Then the apostle Paul told us that the Lord had placed in His church
apostles and prophets, pastors and teachers, and evangelists for the
work of the ministry (that is the great missionary program), for the
edifying of the body of Christ (that's the teaching in our auxiliaries
and home teaching and priesthood teaching and so forth), for the
perfecting of the saints (that comes through the service that they
render), 'till we all come in the unity of the faith.' (See Eph.
4:11-13.)" - LeGrand Richards, "The
Things
of God and Man," Ensign, November 1977, p. 23
(2/16/05)
"Today I thought I would like to say a few words about the kind of a
foundation we have for our faith, and what we live for, and what our
aims and our ambitions really are. I think of the time the beautiful
temple here on this block was erected, over a hundred years ago. When
the foundation was being laid, we are told that it was sixteen feet
wide, and at one time President Brigham Young came and saw the workmen
throwing in chipped granite. He made them take it out and put in those
great granite blocks with this explanation: "We are building this
temple to stand through the millennium." Isn't that a good thought?
Each one of us ought to want to build our lives and help our families
to build their lives so that we can stand through the millennium." -
LeGrand Richards, "Laying
a
Foundation for the Millennium," Ensign, Dec. 1971, p. 81
12/18/06
Topic: The Power of the Holy Ghost
"I think one of the most positive and powerful demonstrations of what
this Holy Spirit, the Comforter, can do for a man, as we find recorded
in Holy Writ, is the experience of the great apostle Peter. You
remember just prior to the Savior's crucifixion Peter said, 'Though
all the world forsake thee, I will not forsake thee.' (See
Matt. 26: 33.)
And you recall the Savior said that before the cock would crow that he
would deny him thrice. But after he had tarried at Jerusalem,
according to the command of the Savior, and he had received the Holy
Ghost, we have a different Peter. when he was commanded that he should
no more preach Christ and him crucified in the streets of Jerusalem,
his answer was, 'We ought to obey God rather than men.' (Acts
5:29.)
"If the Lord had not placed in his Church of today his Holy Spirit, we
would not be the Church that we are; we could not have accomplished
what we have accomplished; the Saints could not have endured all the
privations, hardships, and persecutions through which they have
passed; neither could we carry on the great missionary program of the
Church as we are doing, because the Lord has breathed into his work
the breath of life, and our people are willing to make every sacrifice
at the call of the Church in order to prove their love of the Lord and
their desire to build his kingdom and to share the truth with their
fellowmen." - LeGrand Richards, "Conference Report," April 1966, Third
Day, Morning Meeting, p.112
1/2/08
"The
Lord has not left any without some gift and as you look about you, you
will find that where one is strong in one way he may be weak in another.
The Lord never did give all His gifts to any one individual. Even in the
great work the Prophet Joseph accomplished, the Lord told him that his
gifts were limited in some respects. You remember how Alma of old said
he would that he had the voice of an angel, that he might cry repentance
to all the world, but the Lord did not grant his desire, even though he
was a prophet. Paul carried a thorn in his flesh all his days, but the
Lord did not see fit to remove it; and the Book of Mormon says thereto
are we given weaknesses that we might remain humble. Is there one among
you who does not feel his weakness and would that he had greater power
than he possesses for achievement in this great and mighty latter-day
work? And yet you have to satisfy yourselves to do the things that are
within your own reach and with the gifts that the Lord has seen fit to
bestow upon you. But
remember, 'The
manifestation of the spirit is given to every man to profit withal'—that
is why the Lord gave the parable of the talents. To one He gave five
talents; to another, two; and to another, one. And remember the Lord
will return and expect an accounting according to the talents given."
- LeGrand Richards, "Conference
Report," April 1943, Second
Day—Morning Meeting, p.48
3/17/09
"When
we look at a building, we realize that it did not come into existence
without purpose. Every building was planned and erected for a special
reason. Likewise, when we look upon this beautiful earth upon which we
are privileged to live, we realize that it did not come into existence
without purpose."
- Legrand Richards, "A Marvelous Work and
a Wonder," p.292
6/29/09
“I believe, my brothers and sisters, that our greatest danger as a
people is from within, and I would like to believe that the Latter-day
Saints believe in the leaders of this great Church to the point that
they are willing to accept their counsel and advice. I think sometimes
we almost bind them so that when they have the inspiration of Almighty
God and would like to speak to us they hesitate for fear some of us
will feel that they are interfering with political affairs. If I had
my way I would welcome the day, come it as soon as God may grant, when
these men with whom I am associated so intimately and whose very
intimate thoughts I know and their desires for the welfare of this
people and the welfare of the Kingdom of God, might not only be
issuing instructions to this great Church but to this great nation,
which we are told is a land choice above all other lands and over
which Christ our Lord, as decreed, shall reign, as King of Kings and
Lord of Lords, because in this land it is decreed that the new
Jerusalem of the Lord our God shall be established.” - LeGrand
Richards, “Conference Report,” October 1940, Afternoon Meeting, p.
85
1/14/10
“Those words in that song, where it tells us that ‘Prayer will change
the night to day,’ I want to tell you prayer will change the sinners
into righteous men and they will preserve men from making mistakes,
and there is nothing else in this world more fundamental to a man’s
success and happiness in this life and achieving greatness than to
have that friendship with God, that you know him other than by
hearsay.” - LeGrand Richards, October 29,
1963, “BYU Speeches of the Year,” 1963, p. 8
7/30/11
Today in
our natural, routine patterns of life, our children go to school as we
did for twelve to twenty years, to learn how to have a richer life
here in mortality, to earn a better living and enjoy the cultural and
refined things of life. If it is worth spending twelve to twenty years
to prepare for a life of seventy-five to a hundred years, what is it
worth to prepare for a life that never ends? - LeGrand
Richards, "