Do not offend God by not doing as He wants you to.—J. of D. Vol. V., p. 236.
If you could crowd an individual or a community into heaven without experience, it would be no enjoyment to them. They must know the opposite; they must know how to contrast, in order to prize and appreciate the comfort and happiness, the joy and the bliss they are actually in possession of.—J. of D. Vol. V., p. 294.
We have to learn to submit ourselves to the Lord with all our hearts, with all our affections, wishes, desires, passions, and let Him reign and rule over us and within us, the God of every nation; then He will lead us to victory and glory; otherwise He will not.—J. of D. Vol. V., p. 352.
There is only one thing to fear, and that is, that you will not be faithful to the kingdom of God.—J. of D. Vol. V., p. 228.
My Christian brethren in the world say it is a piece of folly a species of extreme nonsense, to believe that water will wash away sins. It is no matter to me what they say; it is a commandment of the Lord; there is no mistake in it, it tells for itself. He says, Do thus and so, and your sins shall be washed away. I care not how they are taken away; whether an angel takes them to the Lord to get forgiveness, whether they sink to the bottom of the stream, or float on the top, and be scattered to the four winds; He says, Go into the water and be baptized, and they shall be washed away; which is enough for me.—J. of D. Vol. I., p. 239.
When the wicked have power to blow out the sun, that it shines no more; when they have power to bring to a conclusion the operations of the elements, suspend the whole system of nature, and make a footstool of the throne of the Almighty, they may then think to check, Mormonism in its course, and thwart the unalterable purposes of heaven. Men may persecute the people who believe its doctrine, report and publish lies to bring tribulation upon their heads, earth and hell may unite in one grand league against it, and exert their malicious powers to the utmost, but it will stand as firm and immovable in the midst of it all as the pillars of eternity.—J. of D. Vol. I., p. 88.
The time will come when the kingdom of God will reign free and independent. There will be a kingdom on the earth that will be controlled upon the same basis, in part, as that of the Government of the United States; and it will govern and protect in their rights the various classes of men, irrespective of their different modes of worship; for the law must go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and the Lord Jesus will govern every nation and kingdom upon the earth.—J. of D. Vol. V., p. 329.
Keep your spirits under the sole control of good spirits, and they will make your tabernacles honorable in the presence of God, angels, and men. If you will always keep your spirits in right subjection, you will be watching all the time, and never suffer yourselves to commit an act that you will be sorry for, and you can see that in all your life you are clear. Do not do anything that you will be sorry for.—J. of D. Vol. V., p. 328.
The Lord will not reveal all that we at times wish Him to. If a school master were to undertake to teach a little child algebra, you would call him foolish, would you not? Just so with our Father; He reveals to us as we are prepared to receive.—J. of D. Vol. V., p. 330.
The philosophers of the world will concede that the elements of which you and I are composed are eternal, yet they believe that there was a time when there was no God.—J. of D, Vol. I, p. 5.