A narcissist society, in which each person is busy looking out for number one, can build neither brotherhood nor community. Aren't we glad in this Easter season and in all seasons that Jesus did not selfishly look out for number one? No wonder we have been told, 'Thou shalt have no other gods

Neal A. Maxwell

God does not begin by asking us about our ability, but only about our availability, and if we then prove our dependability, he will increase our capability.

Neal A. Maxwell

availability asking doe

How can you and I really expect to glide naively through life, as if to say, 'Lord, give me experience, but not grief, not sorrow, not pain, not opposition, not betrayal, and certainly not to be forsaken. Keep from me, Lord, all those experiences which made Thee what Thou art! Then, let me come and dwell with Thee and fully share Thy joy!'

Neal A. Maxwell

pain life art

In conclusion, the submission of one's will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on God's altar. The many other things we 'give,' brothers and sisters, are actually the things He has already given or loaned to us. However, when you and I finally submit ourselves, by letting our individual wills be swallowed up in God's will, then we are really giving something to Him! It is the only possession which is truly ours to give!

Neal A. Maxwell

individual brother giving

Time is clearly not our natural dimension. Thus it is that we are never really at home in time. Alternately, we find ourselves wishing to hasten the passage of time or to hold back the dawn. We can do neither, of course, but whereas the fish is at home in water, we are clearly not at home in time--because we belong to eternity.

Neal A. Maxwell

home time water

Patience is tied very closely to faith in our Heavenly Father. Actually, when we are unduly impatient, we are suggesting that we know what is best—better than does God. Or, at least, we are asserting that our timetable is better than His. We can grow in faith only if we are willing to wait patiently for God's purposes and patterns to unfold in our lives, on His timetable.

Neal A. Maxwell

faith god patience

During our mortal schooling in submissiveness, we will see the visible crosses that some carry, but other crosses will go unseen. A few individuals may appear to have no trials at all, which, if it were so, would be a trial in itself. Indeed, if, as do trees, our souls had rings to measure the years of greatest personal growth, the wide rings would likely reflect the years of greatest moisture-but from tears, not rainfall.

Neal A. Maxwell

adversity tree years

If, in the end, you have not chosen Jesus Christ it will not matter what you have chosen.

Neal A. Maxwell

matter jesus christ

The more seriously we work on our own imperfections, the less we are judgemental of the imperfections of others.

Neal A. Maxwell

judgemental imperfection missionary

Men's and nations' finest hour consist of those moments when extraordinary challenge is met by extraordinary response. Hence in those darkest hours, we must light our individual candles rather than vying with others to call attention to the enveloping darkness. Our indignation about injustice should lead to illumination, for if it does not, we are only adding to the despair-and the moment of gravest danger is when there is so little light that darkness seems normal!

Neal A. Maxwell

illumination light men

I fear that, as conditions worsen, many will react to the failures of too much government by calling for even more government. Then there will be more and more lifeboats launched because fewer and fewer citizens know how to swim. Unlike some pendulums, political pendulums to not swing back automatically; they must be pushed. History is full of instances when people have waited in vain for pendulums to swing back.

Neal A. Maxwell

swings government people

The soul is like a violin string: it makes music only when it is stretched.

Neal A. Maxwell

strings violin soul

Sometimes the best people... have the worst experiences... because they are ready to learn

Neal A. Maxwell

worst sometimes people

Trials and tribulations tend to squeeze the artificiality out of us, leaving the essence of what we really are and clarifying what we really yearn for.

Neal A. Maxwell

leaving essence trials

It is extremely important for you to believe in yourselves, not only for what you are now, but for what you have the power to become.

Neal A. Maxwell

inspirational life believe

No love is ever wasted. Its worth does not lie in reciprocity.

Neal A. Maxwell

doe love-is lying

In racing marathons, one does not see the dropouts make fun of those who continue; failed runners actually cheer on those who continue the race, wishing they were still in it. Not so with the marathon of discipleship in which some dropouts then make fun of the spiritual enterprise of which they were so recently a part!

Neal A. Maxwell

cheer spiritual fun

To be cheerful when others are in despair, to keep the faith when others falter, to be true even when we feel forsaken—all of these are deeply desired outcomes during the deliberate, divine tutorials which God gives to us—because He loves us. These learning experiences must not be misread as divine indifference. Instead, such tutorials are a part of the divine unfolding.

Neal A. Maxwell

cheerful despair giving

We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count.

Neal A. Maxwell

gratitude thanksgiving motivational

A society which permits anything will eventually lose everything.

Neal A. Maxwell

permit loses

Do not let the future be held hostage by the past

Neal A. Maxwell

future government past