“The highest of all ideals are the teachings and particularly the life of Jesus of Nazareth, and that man is most truly great who is most Christlike. What you sincerely in your heart think of Christ will determine what you are, will largely determine what your acts will be… By choosing him as our ideal, we create within ourselves a desire to be like him, to have fellowship with him.”
– David O. McKay
“The true measure of a man is how he spends his time when he doesn’t have to do anything.”
– Robert L. Simpson
“There is another responsibility correlated and even coexistent with… agency, which is too infrequently emphasized, and that is the effect not only of a person’s actions, but also of his thoughts. Man radiates what he is, and that radiation affects to a greater or less[er] degree every person who comes within that radiation.”
– David O. McKay
“Preaching and talking mean but very little unless our lives are lived in perfect harmony with our teachings.”
– Heber J. Grant
“Be thankful that sometimes God lets you struggle for a long time before that answer comes. Your character will grow; your faith will increase. There is a relationship between these two: the greater your faith, the stronger your character, and increased character enhances your ability to exercise even greater faith.”
– David O. McKay
“True greatness is never a result of a chance occurrence or a one time effort or achievement. It requires the development of character. It requires a multitude of correct decisions for the everyday choices between good and evil.”
– Howard W. Hunter
“A good character is something you must make for yourself. It cannot be inherited from parents. It cannot be created by having extraordinary advantages. It isn’t a gift of birth, wealth, talent or station. It is a result of your own endeavor. It is a reward that comes from living good principles and manifesting a virtuous and honorable life.”
– L. Tom Perry
“What is the crowning glory of man in this earth so far as his individual achievement is concerned? It is character—character developed through obedience to the laws of life as revealed through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Man’s chief concern in life should not be the acquiring of gold nor fame nor material possessions. It should not be the development of physical prowess nor of intellectual strength, but his aim, the highest in life, should be the development of a Christlike character.”
– David O. McKay
“Thoughts mold your features. Thoughts lift your soul heavenward or drag you toward hell… As nothing reveals character like the company we like and keep, so nothing foretells futurity like the thoughts over which we brood… To have the approval of your conscience when you are alone with your thoughts is like being in the company of true and loving friends. To merit your own self-respect gives strength to character. Conscience is the link that binds your soul to the spirit of God.”
– David O. McKay
“Nearly all men can stand adversity. But if you want to test a man’s character – give him power.”
– Abraham Lincoln*
“Day by day, hour by hour, man builds the character that will determine his place and standing among his associates throughout the ages… More important than riches, more enduring than fame, more precious than happiness is the possession of a noble character. Truly it has been said that the grand aim of man’s creation is the development of a grand character, and grand character is by its very nature the product of a probationary discipline.”
– David O. McKay
“(Matthew 4:11 & JST comparison) One of the greatest indicators of righteous character is the capacity to recognize and appropriately respond to other people who are experiencing the very challenge or adversity that is most immediately and forcefully pressing upon us. Character is revealed, for example, in the power to discern the suffering of other people when we ourselves are suffering; in the ability to detect the hunger of others when we are hungry; and the power to reach out and extend comparison for the spiritual agony of others when we are in the midst of our own spiritual distress. Therefore, character is demonstrated by looking, turning, and reaching outward when the instinctive response of the ‘natural man’ in each of us is to turn inward and to be selfish and self-absorbed. And the Savior of the world is the source, the standard and the ultimate criterion of moral character and the perfect example of charity and consistency.”
– David A. Bednar
