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“The laughter of the world is merely loneliness pathetically trying to reassure itself.”
― Neal A. Maxwell, The Neal A. Maxwell Quote Book

“Faith is not so much something we believe; faith is something we live.”
― Joseph B. Wirthlin

“You are good. But it is not enough just to be good. You must be good for something. You must contribute good to the world. The world must be a better place for your presence. And the good that is in you must be spread to othersâ€� In this world so filled with problems, so constantly threatened by dark and evil challenges, you can and must rise above mediocrity, above indifference. You can become involved and speak with a strong voice for that which is right.”
― Gordon B. Hinckley

“Breckin shrugs. “I’m new here. And if you haven’t deducted from my impeccable fashion sense, I think it’s safe to say that I’m…â€� he leans forward and cups his hand to his mouth in secrecy. “Mormon,â€� he whispers.”
― Colleen Hoover, Hopeless

“All men have heard of the Mormon Bible, but few except the "elect" have seen it, or, at least, taken the trouble to read it. I brought away a copy from Salt Lake. The book is a curiosity to me, it is such a pretentious affair, and yet so "slow," so sleepy; such an insipid mess of inspiration. It is chloroform in print. If Joseph Smith composed this book, the act was a miracle â€� keeping awake while he did it was, at any rate.”
― Mark Twain

“Common sense is no match for the voice of God.”
― Jon Krakauer, Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith

“The exaltation and happiness of any community, goes hand in hand with the knowledge possessed by the people, when applied to laudable ends; whereupon we can exclaim like the wise man; righteousness exalteth a nation; for righteousness embraces knowledge and knowledge is power.”
― Joseph Smith

“Maybe I’m strange and perverse, but I’ve always thought there was something sexy about a compelling argument.”
― Therese Doucet, A Lost Argument: A Latter-Day Novel

“Every one of us is more beloved than we can possibly understand or imagine. Let us therefore be kinder to one another and kinder to ourselves.”
― Robert D. Hales

“There are conversations going on about the Church constantly. Those conversations will continue whether or not we choose to participate in them. But we cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what our Church teaches... We are living in a world saturated with all kinds of voices. Perhaps now, more than ever, we have a major responsibility as Latter-day Saints to define ourselves, instead of letting others define us.”
― M. Russell Ballard

“Although the far territory of the extreme can exert an intoxicating pull on susceptible individuals of all bents, extremism seems to be especially prevalent among those inclined by temperament or upbringing toward religious pursuits. Faith is the very antithesis of reason, injudiciousness a crucial component of spiritual devotion. And when religious fanaticism supplants ratiocination, all bets are suddenly off.”
― Jon Krakauer, Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith

“I want to see the world without explaining away its mystery by calling things wicked, righteous, sinful, and good. I want to erase in myself the easy explanations, the always mendacious explanations about why things happen the way they do, and in this way, come to know the mystery of beingâ€�-not by any approximation in thought, but by being. I want to be and not be ashamed of being.”
― Therese Doucet, A Lost Argument: A Latter-Day Novel

“We can follow a steady upward course in a world of change without fear, welcoming opportunities”
― Henry B. Eyring

“Neither Emma's tears nor her rage were enough to make Joseph monogamous, however; nor were the prevailing mores of the day. He kept falling rapturously in love with women not his wife. And because that rapture was so wholly consuming, and felt so good, it struck him as impossible that God might possibly frown on such a thing.”
― Jon Krakauer, Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith

“I'm sorry about these two," Mike told the waitress. "Just so you know, I'll be embarrassed with you."
"It's just that we haven't seen each other since summmer camp," Becky said.
"And we'd formed such a bond playing wily tricks on our camp counselors," Felix said.
"Remember how you replaced Miss Pepper's shampoo with liquid Jell-O and turned her hair green?"
"It was sheer genius when you stretched cling film over all the toilet seats."
"Oh." The waitress turned to Mike, as if to address the only sane member of the group. "So, are ya'll ready to eat now, or are you waiting for your date to arrive?"
Mike played with the menu. "Actually, she's my date."
"These are my two husbands," Becky said. "We're from Utah. You know, Mormom.”
― Shannon Hale, The Actor and the Housewife

“Mormons invented themselves just as other religious and ethnic groups invented themselves. But Mormons did so in such a singularly impressive way that we will probably always remain baffled as to how exactly it happened.”
― Laurence Moore

“No sex?" He looked at me in disbelief. "Well if you can't have ze sex, what can you do?"

For the sake of simplicity I took my left arm and lined it up just under my collarbones. "Nothing below here," I said. I took my right arm and lined it up to my knees. "Nothing above here."

"What about your armpit?" he asked. "Can your boyfriend do anything he wants to your armpit?"

I thought about it. Armpits seemed pretty harmless. "Yeah," I said optimistically. "My boyfriend can do anything he wants to my armpit."

"This is good," the Frenchman said. "He can stick his penis in and out of your armpit, and if you grow hair there it is almost like vagine."

Is it too late to change my answer? I wondered, pulling a cardigan over my bare shoulders and covering any hint of an invitation.”
― Elna Baker, The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance: A Memoir

“And I know fuck isn’t a word that Mormons say, but I don’t say this word I only think it, so it doesn’t really count.”
― Hippie, Snowflake Obsidian: Memoir of a Cutter

“We should gather all the good and true principles in the world and treasure them up, or we shall not come out true Mormons.”
― Joseph Smith, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith

“Was I sorry that I chose to come by hand cart? No. Neither then nor any minute of my life since. The price we paid to become acquainted with God was a privilege to pay and I am thankful that I was privileged to come in the Martin Hand Cart Company.”
― Francis Webster

“These early Saints were indeed homeless, but they were not hopeless. Their hearts were broken, but their spirits were strong. They had learned a profound and important lesson. They had learned that hope, with its attendant blessings of peace and joy, does not depend upon circumstance. They had discovered that the true source of hope is faith—faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and in His infinite Atonement, the one sure foundation upon which to build our lives.”
― Elder Wilford W. Andersen

“It is possible to have questions and doubts enliven your faith life rather than squelch it. On the other side of the coin, for those whose testimony is sure, recognizing and even appreciating that doubt is a reality of this mortal probation will better allow you to embrace your brothers and sisters with charity, to minister to them with empathy, "that faith also might increase in the earth" (D&C 1:21).”
― Patrick Q. Mason, Planted: Belief and Belonging in an Age of Doubt

“[August 15, 1844. Thursday.]...I replied to her [Emma] that there were many things which I was unwilling the world should know anything about and should not lend my hand to ruin the church. She then grew more angry and said I had neglected her and the business, and there was nothing that had President Smith's name to that should not be investigated. She said she had no secrets nor anything she was unwilling the whole world should know. I told her that there was some things which would be unwilling the public should know. She denied it. I said I knew things that she did not want the world to know. She said if I harbor'd any idea that she had ever done wrong it was false. I answered "what I have seen with my eyes and heard with my ears I could believe." She said, if I said she had ever committed a crime I was a liar and I knew it. I replied Sister Emma I know I don't lie and you know better what I know I know and although I never have told it to any soul on earth nor never intend to yet it is still the truth and I shall not deny it.”
― William Clayton, An Intimate Chronicle: The Journals of William Clayton

“[June 22, 1844. Saturday.] Joseph whispered and told me either to put the records of the Kingdom into the hands o some faithful man and send them away, or burn them, or bury them. I concluded to bury them, which I did immediately on my return home.”
― William Clayton, An Intimate Chronicle: The Journals of William Clayton

“[May 1, 1842. Monday.] A.M. at the Temple. At 10 m[arried] J[oseph] to L[ucy] W[alker]. P.M. at President Josephs . . . I have seen 6 brass plates which were found in Adams county . . . President Joseph has translated a portion and says they contain the history of the person with whom they were found and he was a descendant of Ham through the loins of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and that he received his kingdom from the ruler of heaven and earth.”
― William Clayton, An Intimate Chronicle: The Journals of William Clayton

“[December 21, 1845. Sunday.]...Elder Kimball showed the right fashion for a leaf, spoke of Elder Richards being protected at Carthage Jail, having on the robe, while Joseph and Hyrum and Elder Taylor were shot to pieces, said the Twelve would have to leave shortly, for a charge of treason would be brought against them for swearing us to avenge the blood of the anointed ones, and some one would reveal it and we shall have to part some say between sundown and dark.”
― William Clayton, An Intimate Chronicle: The Journals of William Clayton

“[April 23, 1852. Friday.]...Arrived at Provo at noon...This town looks dirty. The houses look miserable, and many young men idling in the Streets. It seems there is not much energy here, and there seems to be little spirit of accommodation or friendship among people.”
― William Clayton, An Intimate Chronicle: The Journals of William Clayton

“As important and revolutionary as these things were, it was Joseph Smith's teachings on marriage that had a more visible and far-reaching effect on William Clayton's life than anything else he learned in Nauvoo. Two doctrines, “eternal marriage" and "plural marriage," went hand-in-hand, and Clayton learned of them during the last two years of his association with the prophet.

Why would the straitlaced, idealistic William Clayton, who was almost overly concerned with what people thought of him, seriously consider the practice of plural marriage when it so clearly violated all his earlier values as well as the morality and sensibilities of the society in which he lived? He had a good marriage with Ruth Moon, which had endured considerable adversity. He was also close to her family. By the time the doctrine of polygamy was presented to him Ruth had borne three children and on February 17, 1843, just two months before his second marriage, she presented him with his first son. It was no lack of love or compatibility that led him to take additional wives. The most compelling factor was his single-minded conviction that whatever Joseph Smith told him to do was right and that he must spare no pains to accomplish it. At the same time, it is clear that his affection for Sarah Crooks of Manchester was still there, and once he was convinced that the principle was true, it was only natural that he should think of her as a possible second wife.”
― James B. Allen, Trials of Discipleship: The Story of William Clayton, a Mormon Pioneer

“Latter-day Saints must find a way not simply to coexist with but to truly embrace the diversity that already exists within the family of God. To that end, believing Mormons must come to understand that disbelief is possible. People can have genuine reasons for opting out of the church without being dissolute sinners (at least, not any worse than the rest of us). Disbelievers can be good, solid people who love their spouse and children and live ethical, productive, meaningful lives. At the same time, disbelievers must understand that educated, informed, and sincere people can believe in the reality of Joseph Smith's revelations, the truth of the Book of Mormon, and the divine inspiration behind the church. They are not covering up secret doubts nor are they victims of false consciousness when they bear testimony. There are informed people who genuinely believe in and belong to the church. I am one of them.”
― Patrick Q. Mason, Planted: Belief and Belonging in an Age of Doubt

“My own belief is the result of a combination of many acts of grace and many acts of will. It is the product of study, experience, and encounters with God - both directly and through his children. At the most basic level, however, the reason I believe is because God gave me the spiritual gift of faith. I humbly count this as a precious gift from God. I do not take my gift of faith for granted. I don't deserve it. I didn't earn it. I can't explain why, but I was born, like Nephi, naturally inclined to religion, more so even than two of my siblings who were raised in the same home by the same parents and who attend church but struggle with it more than I do. Religion has come fairly naturally for me, church has generally been a comfortable place for me, and God has always been real for me. I have spent a lot of time with troubling historical and even anti-Mormon material, but I have never experienced a faith crisis. I have not always been immersed in God's spirit, but I have never felt totally forsaken. That doesn't make my story of faith any better or worse than anyone else's - it just happens to be mine.”
― Patrick Q. Mason, Planted: Belief and Belonging in an Age of Doubt