New Year's resolution

Four pledges for the new year: I will listen, I will learn, I will labor, I will love. As we fulfill these pledges, we can have the guidance of our Heavenly Father and in our own lives experience true joy. Now, I don't simply mean that we should make a wish, or that we should dream a dream, but rather determine to do that which we pledge to accomplish. We can, if we will. … Now, shall we go forward with such resolutions? Can we change our practices if such need changing? I declare that we can. — "A Time to Choose," BYU devotional, Jan. 16, 1973

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"I would urge you to stay close to the Lord. Call upon Him for guidance and for help in the choices which are placed before you."

Decisions

No decision that Latter-day Saints must make is minor or unimportant, for every decision has a bearing upon our eternal welfare. I would urge you to stay close to the Lord. Call upon Him for guidance and for help in the choices which are placed before you. The results of these choices can be good, or they can be very damaging. They can have a bearing upon another's spiritual welfare through eternity, as well as directing one's own spiritual attainment. — "The Three R's of Choice," BYU devotional, Nov. 5, 1963

Commitment

Today we have a rebirth of ancient Sodom and Gomorrah. From seldom read pages in dusty Bibles they come forth as real cities in a real world, depicting a real malady — pernicious permissiveness.

We have the capacity and the responsibility to stand as a bulwark between all we hold dear and the fatal contamination of such sin. An understanding of who we are and what God expects us to become will prompt us to pray — as individuals and as families. Such a return reveals the constant truth, "Wickedness never was happiness" (Alma 41:10).

May each of us seek the good life — even life everlasting, with mother, father, brothers, sisters, husband, wife, sons and daughters, together forever.

Remember the Savior's words spoken to the Nephites: "Ye must watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have you" (3 Nephi 18:18).

Let us join in the fervent declaration of Joshua: "Choose you this day whom ye will serve … but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15). Let us shun those things which will drag us down. Let our hearts be pure. Let our lives be clean. — "I Will Serve the Lord," BYU devotional, Jan. 20, 2004

Endure to the end

You may be tempted to shortcut your preparation. Discouragement, that tool of the devil, can prompt depression. Should this occur, don't quit! — "Eternal Flight," Church Educational System Fireside satellite broadcast, Feb. 4, 1996

The abundant life

To measure the goodness of life by its delights and pleasures and safety is to apply a false standard. The abundant life … does not make itself content with commercially produced pleasure, the night club idea of what is a good time, mistaking it for joy and happiness.

On the contrary — obedience to law, respect for others, mastery of self, joy in service — these constitute the Abundant Life. — "In Quest of the Abundant Life," Utah State University Baccalaureate, June 2, 1967

Prepare for the future

The best way to prepare for the future does not consist of merely dreaming about it. Great men have not been merely dreamers; they have returned from their visions to the practicalities of replacing the airy stones of their dream castles with solid masonry wrought by their hands.

Vision without work is daydreaming.

Work without vision is drudgery.

Vision, coupled with work, will ensure your success. — "Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow," Weber State College Baccalaureate, May 31, 1968

Press onward

While we reach outward, we have the responsibility to press onward. Whatever part you choose to play on the world stage, keep in mind that life is like a candid camera; it does not wait for you to pose. Learning how to direct our resources wisely is a high priority. We don't have to keep up with the change. We have to keep ahead of it. — "Be All That You Can Be," BYU-Hawaii Commencement, Dec. 14, 2002