An anchor of faith

[The Church] provides people an anchor of faith and certainty in a changing world. . . . The Church puts great emphasis on the family. We teach of the sanctity of the family. We teach the sanctity of marriage. We teach the sanctity of children, of the importance of parents who love and nurture their children.

— From Boston Globe interview, Aug. 14, 2000.

Be faithful and true

I hope that you who have been baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be faithful and true, and decent, and pure, and good, and benevolent, and prayerful unto the Lord all of the days of your lives.

— From Ogden Riverdale Regional Conference, May 21, 2000.

Photo by Sarah Jane Weaver

Family circle: There is love and honor and respect in the family circle.

Family circle

There is love and honor and respect in the family circle. There is no generation gap among such people. This is the result of Church teachings and Church family programs.

— From National Press Club address, March 8, 2000.

Human quest for knowledge

I constantly stand in awe as I reflect on the human quest for knowledge and understanding of man and his universe.

"Libraries become the depositories of all of the knowledge that has gone before us. Men have come and gone, generations of them. Fortunately, we still have preserved the thoughts, the words, the writings of the great intellects who have laid, stone upon stone, the very bulwark of our civilization.

— From rededication of BYU Harold B. Lee Library, Nov. 15, 2000.

Miracle of the priesthood

The great miracle of this Church is that every man may become worthy to hold the priesthood of God. That priesthood isn't vested in just a few trained men. It is vested in every worthy man in this Church. Think of what a miraculous thing that is. The authority to speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world. The authority to govern in the affairs of the Church. The authority to go to preach the gospel. The authority to stand at the head of a righteous family.

— From member meeting, Noumea, June 17, 2000.

Never cease to grow

A truly educated man never ceases to learn. He never ceases to grow. I hope you women, as you take upon yourselves the burden of rearing families, will never set aside the desire to acquire knowledge. I hope that you will read to your children. They will be blessed and you will be blessed if you do so. I hope that you will even read to your husbands. They need to be read to. I hope that you will read to yourselves.

— From BYU alumni devotional address, Sept. 12, 2000.

Service to all mankind

Three years ago lightning struck the house next to my daughter's home. Windows were blown out of some 23 houses in the neighborhood. Almost immediately, with the rain still falling, members of the elders quorum of the ward were going from house to house boarding up the shattered windows so that there could be some measure of comfort in each home. One of those neighbors said to my daughter: "I cannot understand your church. Those young men were here immediately after I needed them. They seemed to come out of nowhere. No money was asked for or expected. I do not belong to your church, but I was treated as though I did."

— From BYU alumni devotional address, Sept. 12, 2000.

Tithing

Just as Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, the great high priest of the Old Testament, so do our people contribute their tithes to the work of the Lord. They do so cheerfully with faith in the promise of Malachi that God will open the windows of heaven and shower down blessings upon them. We pay our tithing, and can testify to the goodness of the Lord.

— From National Press Club address, March 8, 2000.