Old Crow

You may wonder, at my age, what I can contribute to your lives. I have been where you are and know where you are going. But you have not yet been where I am. I quote a few lines of classic poetry:

The old crow is getting slow.

The young crow is not.

Of what the young crow does not know

The old crow knows a lot.

At knowing things the old crow

Is still the young crow’s master.

What does the slow old crow not know?

—How to go faster.

The young crow flies above, below,

And rings around the slow old crow.

What does the fast young crow not know?

—Where to go.

October 2011, General Conference, Boyd K. Packer

We all need to remember: men are that they might have joy—not guilt trips!

We all need to remember: men are that they might have joy—not guilt trips!2 We also need to remember that the Lord gives no commandments that are impossible to obey. But sometimes we fail to comprehend them fully. 

Russell M. Nelson, October 1995 General Conference, Perfection Pending

You will find that every doctrine, every principle, no matter how universally believed, if it is not in accord with the divine word of the Lord to his servants, will perish.

"So far as the philosophy and wisdom of the world are concerned, they mean nothing unless they conform to the revealed word of God. Any doctrine, whether it comes in the name of religion, science, philosophy, or whatever it may be, if it is in conflict with the revealed word of the Lord, will fail. It may appear plausible. It may be put before you in language that appeals and which you may not be able to answer. It may appear to be established by evidence that you cannot controvert, but all you need to do is to abide your time. Time will level all things. You will find that every doctrine, every principle, no matter how universally believed, if it is not in accord with the divine word of the Lord to his servants, will perish. Nor is it necessary for us to try to stretch the word of the Lord in a vain attempt to make it conform to these theories and teachings. The word of the Lord shall not pass away unfulfilled, but these false doctrines and theories will all fail. Truth, and only truth, will remain when all else has perished."

Chapter 10: Our Search for Truth, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Fielding Smith, (2013), 139–50

You Will See Plenty of the World

You will see plenty of the world—it will be before you all the time—but if you live so as to possess the Holy Ghost you will be able to understand more in relation to it in one day than you could in a dozen days without it, and you will at once see the difference between the wisdom of men and the wisdom of God, and you can weigh things in the balance and estimate them at their true worth (DBY, 323).

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, (1997), 242–50

Real Wisdom Is A Real Pleasure; Real Wisdom, Prudence, And Understanding, Is A Real Comfort

It is the privilege of man to search out the wisdom of God pertaining to the earth and the heavens. Real wisdom is a real pleasure; real wisdom, prudence, and understanding, is a real comfort (DBY, 262).

Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young, (1997), 192–201