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David O. McKay (Church President: April 9, 1951 - January 18, 1970)No principle of life was more constantly emphasized by the Great Teacher than the necessity of right thinking. To Him, the man was not what he appeared to be outwardly, nor what he professed to be by his words: what the man thought determined in all cases what the man was. No teacher emphasized more strongly than He the truth that ‘as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he’ [see Prov. 23:7]. … … Contentment, complacency, peace—all that makes life worth living—have their source in the mind of the individual. From the same source spring unrest, turbulency, misery—everything that leads to dissolution and death. …
… It is well for [every teacher and officer in the Church] to ascertain ‘what he is thinking about when he doesn’t have to think,’ for ‘what he thinketh in his heart, so is he’ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Day by day, hour by hour, man builds the character that will determine his place and standing among his associates throughout the ages. …
… More important than riches, more enduring than fame, more precious than happiness is the possession of a noble character. Truly it has been said that the grand aim of man’s creation is the development of a grand character, and grand character is by its very nature the product of a probationary discipline. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
What is the crowning glory of man in this earth so far as his individual achievement is concerned? It is character—character developed through obedience to the laws of life as revealed through the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Man’s chief concern in life should not be the acquiring of gold nor fame nor material possessions. It should not be the development of physical prowess nor of intellectual strength, but his aim, the highest in life, should be the development of a Christlike character. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
I would like to have the young men of Israel feel so close to [God] that they will approach Him daily, not in public alone, but in private. I would have them have the trust in Him which the little blind girl had in her father. She was sitting on his lap in the train, and a friend sitting by said: “Let me rest you,” and he reached over and took the little child on his lap. The father said to her: “Do you know who is holding you?” “No,” she replied, “but you do.” Oh, the trust of that child in her father. … Just so real should be the trust which the Latter-day Saint boys and girls have in their Father in heaven. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Brethren, we do not spend enough time meditating.
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