"Nothing is more liberating, more ennobling, or more crucial to our individual progression than is a regular, daily focus on repentance. Repentance is not an event; it is a process. It is the key to happiness and peace of mind."

- Russell M. Nelson, President of the Church, "We Can Do Better and Be Better," General Conference, April 2019

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/04/36nelson?lang=eng 

"every one of our Heavenly Father’s children, on both sides of the veil, deserves to hear the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ"

" My dear young brothers and sisters, these surely are the latter days, and the Lord is hastening His work to gather Israel. That gathering is the most important thing taking place on earth today. Nothing else compares in magnitude, nothing else compares in importance, nothing else compares in majesty. And if you choose to, if you want to, you can be a big part of it. You can be a big part of something big, something grand, something majestic!

When we speak of the gathering, we are simply saying this fundamental truth: every one of our Heavenly Father’s children, on both sides of the veil, deserves to hear the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. They decide for themselves if they want to know more."

- President Russell M. Nelson, "Hope of Israel," New Era, Aug 2018

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/new-era/2018/08-se/hope-of-israel?lang=eng

Conflict is inevitable, contention is a choice

 "Conflict is inevitable. It is a condition of mortality. It is part of our test. Contention, however, is a choice. It is one way that some people choose to respond to conflict.

"When we contend with others, we cause discord, dissension, resentment, and even rage. Harmful emotions almost always accompany contention: anger, hurt, jealousy, hostility, revenge, and malice—to name just a few.

...

"We cannot adjust the volume on others’ bitterness, wrath, or rage. We can, however, choose our response. We can choose a better way—the Lord’s way. Of course this is easy to say and difficult to do.

"To refrain from contending requires great discipline. But that’s what it means to be a disciple.

...

"We cannot force anyone to change. But we can love them. We can be an example of what the restored gospel of Jesus Christ is all about. And we can invite all to come and belong.

"When others throw insults at us, do we return fire?

"There is a better way—the Lord’s way: To some, we say nothing. To others, we state with quiet dignity who we are, what we believe, and why we believe. We stand confident in our faith in God, trusting that He will uphold us in our trials.

"Let us emulate the gentle Christ. And we do that through learning to love God and reaching out to bless others. Yes, there will still be conflict. But our all-powerful Father in Heaven has promised that He will fight our battles for us."

- Dieter F. Uchtdorf, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, "Five Messages That All of God’s Children Need to Hear," 17 Aug 2021, https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/dieter-f-uchtdorf/five-messages-that-all-of-gods-children-need-to-hear/

As adapted in BYU Magazine, Winter 2022 issue, https://magazine.byu.edu/article/5-messages/

If you try your best as a parent, that's all God expects

 "If you try your best to be the best parent you can be, you will have done all that a human being can do and all that God expects you to do."

- Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “Because She Is a Mother”, General Conference, April 1997 , https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/1997/04/because-she-is-a-mother?lang=eng&abVersion=V02&abName=GLOB88 

The temple is the object of all Church activity

 "The temple is the object of every activity, every lesson, every progressive step in the Church. All of our efforts in proclaiming the gospel, perfecting the Saints, and redeeming the dead lead to the holy temple."

- Elder Russell M. Nelson, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Ensign, March 2002, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2002/03/prepare-for-blessings-of-the-temple?lang=eng 

Strong families make the Church strong

 

“Why is the family preeminent in the Church?”

Our relationship to God and the purpose of earth life are explained in terms of the family. We are the spirit children of heavenly parents. The gospel plan is implemented through earthly families, and our highest aspiration is to perpetuate those family relationships throughout eternity. The ultimate mission of the Church is to help us achieve exaltation in the celestial kingdom, and that can only be accomplished in a family relationship.

Church leaders and teachers should use every possible opportunity to recognize the preeminence and strengthen the position of the home and family. As the First Presidency reminded us in 1999, “The home is the basis of a righteous life, and no other instrumentality can take its place or fulfill its essential functions in carrying forward this God-given responsibility.”

 We cannot have a strong Church whose leaders and members come mostly from weak families. Conversely, if most of the families in a ward or stake are strong, the ward or stake will also be strong.

- President Dallin H. Oaks, First Counselor in the First Presidency, "Answers to Seven Questions from Young Married Adults," Ensign, June 2020, https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2020/06/young-adults/answers-to-seven-questions-from-young-married-adults?lang=eng

Marriage isn't hard -- life is

In one marriage relations class, a married student raised her hand and said to the teacher, “Pardon me, you keep saying marriage is hard. It is not marriage that is hard but life that is hard, and marriage, with its ups and downs, can be a blessing where we get to face the joys and challenges of life together.”

- from "The Miracle of Covenant Belonging," by Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Ensign, February 2019
https://www.lds.org/study/ensign/2019/02/the-miracle-of-covenant-belonging.html?lang=eng#title1

Earthly families give us the best chance to make it back to God

"Though earthly families are far from perfect, they give God’s children the best chance to be welcomed to the world with the only love on earth that comes close to what we felt in heaven—parental love. Families are also the best way to preserve and pass on moral virtues and true principles that are most likely to lead us back to God’s presence."

- President Henry B. Eyring, First Counselor in the First Presidency, "Gathering the Family of God," General Conference, April 2017

Prayerfully counsel with spouse about family size

"Families today are smaller than they were a generation ago—even LDS families. We can always find reasons to justify delaying or limiting the number of children we have. For example, “We need to graduate first” or “We need to get a better job so we can have more money” or “Why take all the fun out of marriage by having kids?”

"You’ve been blessed with a testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. You have the blessings of eternity to offer to your children. Don’t get hung up on the thought that you must provide all things temporal. The greatest gift you have to offer to your children is access to all things spiritual in the kingdom of God.

"When you prayerfully counsel with your spouse about having children, remember that you are the youth of the noble birthright. Please don’t leave God out of your deliberations. Share that right to birth with as many spirit sons and daughters as God is prepared to send to your home. After all, these were His children long before they will be yours.

"With faith in God and His prophetic word, go forward without excuse or hesitation and create your own eternal family."

- Elder C. Scott Grow, Of the Seventy, "Prophetic Principles of Faithfulness," Ensign, January 2017, p. 16

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2017/01/young-adults/prophetic-principles-of-faithfulness?lang=eng

Preaching the gospel and family history work are the greatest duty

"Some individuals may wonder how both preaching the gospel and seeking after our dead can be simultaneously the greatest duties and responsibilities God has placed upon His children. My purpose is to suggest that these teachings highlight the unity and oneness of the latter-day work of salvation. Missionary work and family history and temple work are complementary and interrelated aspects of one great work, “that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him” (Ephesians 1:10)."

- Elder David A. Bednar, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, "Missionary, Family History, and Temple Work," Ensign, October 2014, p. 30-31 
https://www.lds.org/ensign/2014/10/missionary-family-history-and-temple-work?lang=eng 

“Happiness in marriage and parenthood can exceed a thousand times any other happiness.”

- James E. Faust, “The Enriching of Marriage,” General Conference, October 1977

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1977/10/the-enriching-of-marriage?lang=eng

Eternal perspective

"If we looked at mortality as the whole of existence, then pain, sorrow, failure, and short life would be calamity. But if we look upon life as an eternal thing stretching far into the premortal past and on into the eternal post-death future, then all happenings may be put in proper perspective.

"Is there not wisdom in his giving us trials that we might rise above them, responsibilities that we might achieve, work to harden our muscles, sorrows to try our souls? Are we not exposed to temptations to test our strength, sickness that we might learn patience, death that we might be immortalized and glorified?

"If all the sick for whom we pray were healed, if all the righteous were protected and the wicked destroyed, the whole program of the Father would be annulled and the basic principle of the gospel, free agency, would be ended. No man would have to live by faith.

"If joy and peace and rewards were instantaneously given the doer of good, there could be no evil—all would do good but not because of the rightness of doing good. There would be no test of strength, no development of character, no growth of powers, no free agency, only satanic controls.

"Should all prayers be immediately answered according to our selfish desires and our limited understanding, then there would be little or no suffering, sorrow, disappointment, or even death, and if these were not, there would also be no joy, success, resurrection, nor eternal life and godhood."

Be righteous, build family, prepare to meet God

"Set Appropriate Goals...

"The essential elements are really quite simple for members who have received the saving ordinances: Be righteous. Build a family. Find an appropriate way to provide. Serve as called. Prepare to meet God."

- Elder Quentin L. Cook, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, "Act Well Your Part," Ensign, Oct 2013, p. 28
http://www.lds.org/liahona/2013/10/act-well-your-part?lang=eng&query=one+of+your+greatest+protections

What could being more joy to a couple than temple worship?

"What is there that is more important than attending and participating in the ordinances of the temple? What activity could have a greater impact and provide more joy and profound happiness for a couple than worshipping together in the temple?"

- Richard G. Scott, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, "Temple Worship: The Source of Strength and Power in Times of Need," Ensign, May 2009
http://www.lds.org/liahona/2009/05/temple-worship-the-source-of-strength-and-power-in-times-of-need?lang=eng&query=profound+happiness+for+a+couple

Devil = Spoiler

"The Hebrew translation of the word devil is "spoiler." The devil seeks to spoil your journey into the eternities.
...
"His methods vary, but they have a common objective: disobedience and the associated loss of blessings."

- Elder Keith K. Hilbig, formerly of the Seventy, "Living for the Eternities," Ensign, Jul 2013, 48, 49

"In creating a family, we fulfill our greatest purpose on earth."

- Elder D. Todd Christofferson, "Elder Christofferson Counsels Members in Central America," Ensign, Jun 2013, 76

"It is in marriage that true happiness is found."

- Elder Brent H. Nielson of the Seventy, "Move Forward With Faith," Ensign, June 2013, 54

"For each of us to “come unto Christ,” (D&C 20:59) to keep His commandments and follow His example back to the Father is surely the highest and holiest purpose of human existence. To help others do that as well—to teach, persuade, and prayerfully lead them to walk that path of redemption also—surely that must be the second most significant task in our lives."

- Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “A Teacher Come from God,” General Conference, Apr 1998
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1998/04/a-teacher-come-from-god?lang=eng#5-

"Man’s earthly existence is but a test as to whether he will concentrate his efforts, his mind, his soul, upon things which contribute to the comfort and gratification of his physical nature, or whether he will make as his life’s pursuit the acquisition of spiritual qualities."

- David O. McKay, Teachings of Presidents of the Church: David O. McKay, (2011), 10–19, Chapter 2: The Dual Nature of Man
http://www.lds.org/manual/teachings-david-o-mckay/chapter-2?lang=eng

"The great task of life is to learn the will of the Lord and then do it."

- Pres. Ezra Taft Benson, President of the Church, "The Great Commandment—Love the Lord," General Conference, Apr 1988
http://www.lds.org/general-conference/1988/04/the-great-commandment-love-the-lord?lang=eng