United States of America

"Our anxiety has been increased when we have listened to the attempts of men in high stations to stir up class hatreds that contradict the age-old constitutional guarantee of free enterprise. (True Patriotism 1; revised in Ye Are the Light of the World 174)"

-Herold B. Lee (BYU Religious Studies, 11.1)

Kindness

“Catch others doing something right.”

-M. Russell Ballard (quoted in Ensign, Nov 2006, 19)

Kindness/Charity

“Meaningful progress can be made only when all of us can cast the motes out of our own eyes, leave judgment to our Father in Heaven, and lose ourselves in righteous living.”

–Marvin J. Ashton (Ensign, Nov 1982, 63)

Kindness

"The Savior taught, 'Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.' He also taught that 'with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.' 'But,' you ask, 'what if people are rude?' Love them. 'If they are obnoxious?' Love them. 'But what if they offend? Surely I must do something then?' Love them. 'Wayward?' The answer is the same. Be kind. Love them. Why? In the scriptures Jude taught, 'And of some have compassion, making a difference.' Who can tell what far-reaching impact we can have if we are only kind?”

 –Joseph B. Wirthlin (Ensign, May 2005, 28)

Kindness

“When we are filled with kindness, we are not judgmental.”

–Joseph B. Wirthlin (Ensign, May 2005, 28)

Kindness

“If you are criticizing others, you are weakening the Church. If you are building others, you are building the kingdom of God.”

–Joseph B. Wirthlin (Ensign, May 2005, 28)

Kindness

“Never look down on those who are less perfect than you.”

–Joseph B. Wirthlin (Ensign, May 2005, 28)

Kindness

“Even when we think we are doing no harm by our critical remarks, consequences often follow.”

–Joseph B. Wirthlin (Ensign, May 2005, 27)

Kindness

“Kindness is the essence of a celestial life. Kindness is how a Christlike person treats others. Kindness should permeate all of our words and actions”

–Joseph B. Wirthlin (Ensign, May 2005, 26)

Kindness

“There is no substitute for kindness in the home. This lesson I learned from my father. He always listened to my mother’s advice. As a result, he was a better, wiser, and kinder man.”

–Joseph B. Wirthlin (Ensign, May 2005, 27)

Kindness/Joseph Smith

“The Prophet Joseph Smith exemplified kindness in his life to everyone, old and young.”

–Joseph B. Wirthlin (Ensign, May 2005, 27)

Kindness

“Kindness is the essence of greatness and the fundamental characteristic of the noblest men and women I have known. Kindness is a passport that opens doors and fashions friends. It softens hearts and molds relationships that can last lifetimes.”

–Joseph B. Wirthlin (Ensign, May 2005, 26)

Kindness

“There is no end to the good we can do, to the influence we can have with others. Let us not dwell on the critical or the negative. Let us pray for strength; let us pray for capacity and desire to assist others. Let us radiate the light of the gospel at all times and all places, that the Spirit of the Redeemer may radiate from us.”

–Gordon B. Hinckley (Ensign, May 2006, 61)

Kindness

“Whenever your politics cause you to speak unkindly of your brethren, know this, that you are on dangerous ground.”

 –George Albert Smith (qtd by Robert S. Wood, Ensign, May 2006, 95)

Kindness

“There is nothing in the world more deleterious or harmful to the human family than hatred, prejudice suspicion, and the attitude that some people have toward their fellows, of unkindness.”

–George Albert Smith (qtd by Robert S. Wood, Ensign, May 2006, 95)

Kindness

“Now, there is much that we can and must do in these perilous times. We can give our options on the merit of the situation as we see it, but never let us become a party to words or works of evil concerning our brothers and sisters in various nations on one side or the other. Political differences never justify hatred or ill will. I hope that the Lord’s people may be at peace one with another during times of trouble, regardless of what loyalties they may have to different governments or parties.”

–Gordon B. Hinckley (qtd. Robert S. Wood, Ensign, May 2006, 95)

Kindness

“The poet Robert Frost once defined education as “the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.” Probably we will never be free of those who are openly anti-Mormon. Therefore, we encourage all our members to refuse to become anti-anti-Mormon. In the wise words of old, can we “live and let live”? (Johann Schiller, in The Home Book of Quotations, New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1935, p. 1119.)”

–Marvin J. Ashton (Ensign, Nov 1982, 63)

Kindness

“We cannot afford to be caught up in a world prone to give and take offense.”

–Robert S. Wood (Ensign, May 2006, 95)

Kindness

“General Andrew Jackson, as he walked along the line at the Battle of New Orleans, said to his men, ‘Gentlemen, elevate your guns a little lower!’”

–Robert S. Wood (Ensign, May 2006, 94)

Kindness

‘Those who reach out to life and serve others “will come to know a happiness….never known before…Heaven knows there are so very, very, very, very many people in this world who need help. Oh, so very…many. Let’s get the cankering, selfish attitude out of our lives, my brothers and sisters, and stand a little taller and reach a little higher in the service of others.”

–Gordon B. Hinckley (qtd by Joseph B. Wirthlin, Ensign, May 2006, 101)