God Will Hold One Strictly Accountable Who Destroys Faith in the Ultimate Truths

In the words of President J. Reuben Clark: “He wounds, maims, and cripples a soul who raises doubts about or destroys faith in the ultimate truths. God will hold such an one strictly accountable; and who can measure the depths to which one shall fall who fitfully shatters in another the opportunity for celestial glory?”
Thomas S. Monson, Only a Teacher, Ensign January 1990, 
A Prophet's Voice--Messages from Thomas S. Monson p. 190

Interest Never Sleeps

President J. Reuben Clark Jr.: “Interest never sleeps nor sickens nor dies; … Once in debt, interest is your companion every minute of the day and night; you cannot shun it or slip away from it; you cannot dismiss it; it yields neither to entreaties, demands, or orders; and whenever you get in its way or cross its course or fail to meet its demands, it crushes you” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1938, 103).

A Prophet's Voice--Messages from Thomas S. Monson, Threads in Your Tapestry, p437

Marriott School Alumni Magazine Summer 2004

They Want It Straight, Undiluted.

When I began my teaching career, President J. Reuben Clark Jr., the First Counselor in the First Presidency, had spoken to teachers. His words went into my heart and influenced me ever since.

President Clark described youth as “hungry for things of the Spirit [and] eager to learn the gospel.” He said: “They want it straight, undiluted. They want to know … about our beliefs; they want to gain testimonies of their truth. They are not now doubters but inquirers, seekers after truth.”

President Clark continued: “You do not have to sneak up behind this spiritually experienced youth and whisper religion in [their] ears; you can come right out, face to face, and talk with [them]. … You can bring these truths to [them] openly. … There is no need for gradual approaches.”9

Since then I have taught young people in the same way that I teach adults.
Author: Boyd K. Packer
Title: Counsel to Young Men
Where: Ensign, May 2009, 49–52

I Am Carrying my Priesthood Here

Wherever we go, our priesthood goes with us. Are we standing in “holy places”?3 Said President J. Reuben Clark Jr., who served for many years as a counselor in the First Presidency: “The Priesthood is not like a suit of clothes that you can lay off and take back on. … Depending upon ourselves [it is] an everlasting endowment.” He continued: “If we really had that … conviction … that we could not lay [the priesthood] aside, and that God would hold us responsible if we [demeaned] it, it would save us from doing a good many things, save us from going a good many places. If, every time we started a little detour away from the straight and narrow, we would remember, ‘I am carrying my Priesthood here. Should I?’ it would not take us long to work back into the straight and narrow.”4


Author: Thomas S. Monson
Title: The Priesthood—a Sacred Gift
Where: Ensign, May 2007, 57–60