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In moments of fear or doubt or troubling times, hold the ground you have already won, even if that ground is limited. In the growth we all have to experience in mortality, the spiritual equivalent of this boy’s affliction or this parent’s desperation is going to come to all of us. When those moments come and issues surface, the resolution of which is not immediately forthcoming, hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes.

From a general conference address given in April, 2013.

Read, watch, or listen at lds.org

The expanding access we enjoy to the Prophet’s work and teachings fills previous voids in our knowledge, confirms some things we already knew or thought, and supplies answers to questions we might have had. The information also raises new questions and highlights new areas of inquiry to pursue. Realistically, however, we ought not to expect in this life to know all the answers (or for that matter, all the questions). The Prophet himself declared:

You don’t know me; you never knew my heart. No man knows my history. I cannot tell it: I shall never undertake it. I don’t blame any one for not believing my history. If I had not experienced what I have, I would not have believed it myself. . . . When I am called by the trump of the archangel and weighed in the balance, you will know me then.7

You know, of course, that as prophesied by Moroni, there are those whose research relating to Joseph Smith is not for the purpose of gaining added light and knowledge but to undermine his character, magnify his flaws, and if possible destroy his influence. Their work product can sometimes be jarring, and so can issues raised at times by honest historians and researchers with no “axe to grind.” But I would offer you this advice in your own study: Be patient, don’t be superficial, and don’t ignore the Spirit.

From a devotional address given at BYU-Idaho on September 24, 2013.

Read, Listen, or Watch at http://web.byui.edu/DevotionalsandSpeeches

In order for us to be examples of the believers, we ourselves must believe. I would think that each of us within the sound of my voice has a testimony, although our testimonies are no doubt of varying degrees. It is up to each of us to develop the faith necessary to survive spiritually and to project a light for others to see. Amidst the confusion of our age, the conflicts of conscience, and the turmoil of daily living, an abiding faith becomes an anchor to our lives. Remember that faith and doubt cannot exist in the same mind at the same time, for one will dispel the other. Among the most effective ways to gain and keep the faith we need would be to read and study the scriptures and to pray frequently and consistently.

From a devotional address given at BYU on November 1, 2011.

Read, Watch, or Listen at speeches.byu.edu

By World Economic Forum from Cologny, Switzerland - Leading Through Adversity: Clayton ChristensenUploaded by January, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24692519

I wanted to just recount for you five decisions that I made when I was a young adult that in retrospect have had a profound influence on my life, because these are decisions that I think many of you will find yourself needing to make, and maybe, if I can talk through with you how I wrestled with and made those decisions, it might help you think through a similar problem if it arises in your life.

From a devotional talk given at BYU-Idaho on June 8, 2004.

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Much of the confusion we experience in this life comes from simply not understanding who we are. Too many go about their lives thinking they are of little worth when, in reality, they are elegant and eternal creatures of infinite value with potential beyond imagination.

Discovering who we really are is part of this great adventure called life.

Read or watch this message at lds.org

From http://www.analysisgroup.com/experts-and-staff/affiliated-experts/w--steve-albrecht/

With your knowledge of who you are and what is important in life and by maximizing options, adding value each day, and avoiding inhibitors of success, the changing world you face presents great opportunities, not threats, for you. With your background, training, knowledge, beliefs, and standards, you are much better poised to take advantage of future opportunities than are most others.

Read, view or listen to this message at speeches.byu.edu

My focus this morning will be on the divine nature and destiny of women and the sacred role they play in the sanctification and purification of men. In pondering the effect women have had on my life, I have concluded that there has been a metamorphosis of my spirit that could not have taken place without these relationships.

Complete text of this talk and other formats are available at speeches.byu.edu.

You need not be either rich or hold high position to be completely successful and truly happy.

In fact, if these things come to you, and they may, true success must be achieved in spite of them, not because of them.

It is remarkably difficult to teach this truth.

Original talk at lds.org

...Many of the things we value in our religion will not be enough to save us.  Personal testimony, for example, is not enough, a temple recommend won’t do it, visions and ministering of angels, personal healings, a brilliant grasp of the gospel, a righteous lineage; all of the ordinances put together will not do it; the celebrity and universal good opinion of your friends and colleagues in the Church will not do it.  Each of these is necessary, but without reaching out to the "least of these, my brethren" they don’t qualify us.

Listen or Read at BYUI devotional site.

If you and I would learn to discern the difference between our own emotions and the promptings of the Holy Ghost, then we must come to recognize the Lord’s pattern and process for giving us spiritual knowledge. And the phrase “line upon line, precept upon precept” describes a central feature of the Lord’s pattern.

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