Quotes About Youth
"Beloved young friends, much of our future rests with you. You are needed—not to be weak, but to be strong. WE BELIEVE IN YOU."
Elder David B. Haight, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
"Every country in the world desperately needs a young generation of champions—-champions of TRUTH, of HONESTY, of PURITY, of HIGH MORAL STANDARDS."
Elder David B. Haight
"You young people are very important to this Church. You can't afford to do anything that would represent a forsaking of the standards for which this Church stands. It expects great things of you, tremendous things. . .
"Now is the day of your great youth time. Don't ruin your lives, whatever you do. You have such tremendous opportunities. Stay away from drugs. They'll destroy you. Drugs will literally destroy you. They will take from you all control of your life, and you'll become a slave to them, and all of your future will be endangered because of them. Stay away from it. Don't get video tapes, things of that kind, of a pornographic nature. You are a youth of the noble birthright. You are the great promise of the future. You are the young people of whom we expect so very, very much as we look ahead. Keep yourselves worthy. Live up to the highest standard of which you are able. It's so important that you do so."
President Gordon B. Hinckley - From Halifax, Nova Scotia, member meeting. Church News, May 9, 1998
"I want to live my life so that I can look back and say, 'I'm glad I did,' rather than 'I wish I would have.'"
Kevin M. Harrison, Priest, Dover Ward—Church News, May 9, 1998, p. 10
"You live in a world of terrible temptations. Pornography, with its sleazy filth, sweeps over the earth like a horrible, engulfing tide. It is poison. Do not watch it or read it. It will destroy you if you do. It will take from you your self-respect. It will rob you of a sense of the beauties of life. It will tear you down and pull you into a slough of evil thoughts and possibly of evil actions. Stay away from it. Shun it as you would a foul disease, for it is just as deadly. Be virtuous in thought and in deed. God has planted in you, for a purpose, a divine urge which may be easily subverted to evil and destructive ends. When you are young, do not get involved in steady dating. When you reach an age where you think of marriage, then is the time to become so involved. But you boys who are in high school don't need this, and neither do the girls."
President Gordon B. Hinckley, General Conference, October 1997, Priesthood Session
"One of Satan's most frequently used deceptions is the notion that the commandments of God are meant to restrict freedom and limit happiness. Young people especially sometimes feel that the standards of the Lord are like fences and chains, blocking them from those activities that seem most enjoyable in life. But exactly the opposite is true. The gospel plan is the plan by which men are brought to a fulness of joy."
The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 357
"Believe in your power to discipline yourselves against the evils which could destroy you."
President Gordon B. Hinckley, "Be Not Afraid; Only Believe", Sept 9, 2001
"Some of you may feel that you are not as attractive and beautiful and glamorous as you would like to be. Rise above any such feelings, cultivate the light you have within you, and it will shine through as a radiant expression that will be seen by others.
"You need never feel inferior. You need never feel that you were born without talents or without opportunities to give them expression. Cultivate whatever talents you have, and they will grow and refine and become an expression of your true self appreciated by others. "
Gordon B. Hinckley - From the Life of Gordon B. Hinckley
"Young men and young women, raise the standard; carry the torch for your generation. We have absolute confidence you will."
Vaughn J. Featherstone, CR, Oct. 1999, "One Line Still Holds"
"My young brethren, you are something special. You must rise above the ordinary. You must put on the whole armor of God and walk with virtue. You know what is right. You know what is wrong. You know when and how to make the choice. You know that there is a power in heaven on which you can call in your time of extremity and need. Pray with fervency and with faith. Pray to the God of heaven whom you love and who loves you. Pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave His very life for you. Stand up and walk as becomes the sons of God.
President Gordon B. Hinckley, Priesthood Session, Gen. Conf. October 1997
"Choose good friends. Friends help to determine your future. You will tend to be like them and to be found where they choose to go. Remember, the path we follow in this life leads to the path we follow in the next."
President Thomas S. Monson, on 2000 Historical Calendar
"The kingdom of our Lord needs you. Be worthy of it. Be loyal to your best selves. Never stoop to anything which would take from you the strength to abstain."
Gordon B. Hinckley, President Gordon B. Hinckley, "Loyalty," Ensign, May 2003, 58-59
"You are of the finest generation that has come to earth. You have prepared yourself well in the premortal existence and have been selected to come forth in this singularly important time in the unfolding of Father in Heaven's plan. I am deeply moved to be in your presence. I realize that the majority of you do not have the slightest idea of how truly capable, noble, and wonderful you are."
Elder Richard G. Scott of the 12 Apostles, BYU Devotional, March 3, 1996, "Do What is Right"