Humbled because of. . . . the word or the circumstance?

Neal A. Maxwell, Meek and Lowly, p.17

Again and again, we see the difference between that genuine meekness which comes “because of the word” (Alma 32:14) and that temporary meekness which comes because of circumstances or events. Again and again, we see people who are happily “in a preparation to hear the word” (Alma 32:6), but also people who flourish for a brief season but then wither because they have no root. He whose gospel net it is told us that this would be so: “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind.” (Matthew 13:47.)

Every once and a while we should be glad our will didn’t come to pass

Repentance , p.31
How often have you and I in our provincialism prayed to see ahead and, mercifully, have been refused, lest our view of the present be blurred? How many times have we been blessed by not having our prayers answered, at least according to the specifications set forth in our petitions? How many times have frustrating, even gruelling, experiences from which we have sought relief turned out, later on, to have been part of a necessary preparation that led to much more happiness? “And now when Alma heard this, . . . he beheld that their afflictions had truly humbled them, and that they were in a preparation to hear the word.” (Alma 32:6; italics added.)

Just outside the door

Harold B. Lee, The Teachings of Harold B. Lee, edited by Clyde J. Williams, p.429
We must live so as to be worthy to hear the Lord’s voice. The Lord is standing outside of the doors of the souls of every one of us, even as He said to John [quotes Revelation 3:20]. It isn’t the Lord who keeps Himself away from us. We are the ones that keep ourselves away from the Lord and the Holy Ghost. When we learn to love completely His gospel, then we will be prepared to live in His presence. Wouldn’t you like to so live that when God spoke you would be able to hear it, or to be able to be worthy to have a visitation from an angelic visitor, or perhaps to be ready to go into the presence of the Lord? The Lord told us how we could be ready. Here He said in a great revelation these words: “Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am” (D&C 93:1).

Contemplating the things of God

Joseph Smith; Teachings of the prophet Joseph Smith; Section three: 1838-1839

A fanciful and flowery and heated imagination beware of; because the things of God are of deep import; and time, and experience, and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them out.

Fresh Experiences Required

Cory H. Maxwell, ed., The Neal A. Maxwell Quote Book , p.88

It is not enough for us to have once been close to the Savior. (So was Sidney Rigdon.) Alma said, if we have once “felt to sing the song of redeeming love,” can we “feel so now?” (Alma 5:26.) Dutiful discipleship creates many happy memories, but it does not make nostalgia a substitute for fresh achievement. (“‘True Believers in Christ,’” p. 136.)

The height of spiritual arrogance

When Thou Art Converted. Neal A. Maxwell

When you stop and think about it, it would be the height of spiritual arrogance for any of us to suppose that we have sinned so extraordinarily as to be beyond the reach of Christ’s redemption. To do so would be to suggest that His blood is insufficient, that His power is inadequate, that His sacrifice somehow isn’t enough. Even in the case of murder and the sin against the Holy Ghost, both of which sins are doctrinally unforgivable (D&C 42:18; 132:27), ultimately only God can judge the circumstances and intent of those involved. The vast majority of us can “sing the song of redeeming love” (Alma 5:26) at the top of our voices, with hearts full of love and gratitude for the blessing and opportunity repentance affords each of us to learn, to grow, to adjust, to change.

Why We Should Be Nice To Animals

Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, selected and arranged by Joseph Fielding Smith, p.71

In pitching my tent we found three massasaugas or prairie rattlesnakes, which the brethren were about to kill, but I said, “Let them alone-don’t hurt them! How will the serpent ever lose its venom, while the servants of God possess the same disposition, and continue to make war upon it? Men must become harmless before the brute creation, and when men lose their vicious dispositions and cease to destroy the animal race, the lion and the lamb can dwell together, and the sucking child can play with the serpent in safety.” The brethren took the serpents carefully on sticks and carried them across the creek. I exhorted the brethren not to kill a serpent, bird, or an animal of any kind during our journey unless it became necessary in order to preserve ourselves from hunger. (May 26, 1834.)

Faith of The Ancient Councils

Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, selected and arranged by Joseph Fielding Smith, p.69

But to return to the subject of order; in ancient days councils were conducted with such strict propriety, that no one was allowed to whisper, be weary, leave the room, or get uneasy in the least, until the voice of the Lord, by revelation, or the voice of the council by the Spirit, was obtained, which has not been observed in this Church to the present time. It was understood in ancient days, that if one man could stay in council, another could; and if the president could spend his time, the members could also; but in our councils, generally, one will be uneasy, another asleep; one praying, another not; one’s mind on the business of the council, and another thinking on something else.

Accounting For Our Lives

Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, selected and arranged by Joseph Fielding Smith, p.68

Men not unfrequently forget that they are dependent upon heaven for every blessing which they are permitted to enjoy, and that for every opportunity granted them they are to give an account. You know, brethren, that when the Master in the Savior’s parable of the stewards called his servants before him he gave them several talents to improve on while he should tarry abroad for a little season, and when he returned he called for an accounting. So it is now. Our Master is absent only for a little season, and at the end of it He will call each to render an account; and where the five talents were bestowed, ten will be required.

Preparing to Enter

Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, selected and arranged by Joseph Fielding Smith, p.54

God has in reserve a time, or period appointed in His own bosom, when He will bring all His subjects, who have obeyed His voice and kept His commandments, into His celestial rest. This rest is of such perfection and glory, that man has need of a preparation before he can, according to the laws of that kingdom, enter it and enjoy its blessings.