One of the most important things in the world is freedom of the mind; from this all other freedoms spring. Such freedom is necessarily dangerous, for one cannot think right without running the risk of thinking wrong, but generally more thinking is the antidote for the evils that spring from wrong thinking. More thinking is required, and we call upon you students to exercise your God-given right to think through on every proposition that is submitted to you and be unafraid to express your opinions, with proper respect for those to whom you talk and proper acknowledgment of your own shortcomings.

You young people live in an age when freedom of the mind is suppressed over much of the world. We must preserve it in the Church and in America and resist all efforts of earnest men to suppress it, for when it is suppressed, we might lose the liberties vouchsafed in the Constitution of the United States.

Preserve, then, the freedom of your mind in education and in religion, and be unafraid to express your thoughts and to insist upon your right to examine every proposition. We are not so much concerned with whether your thoughts are orthodox or heterodox as we are that you shall have thoughts.

Dialogue v. 17, p. 77

Dissatisfaction with what is around us is not a bad thing if it prompts us to seek betterment, but the best sort of dissatisfaction in the long run is self-dissatisfaction which leads us to improve ourselves.

Dialogue v. 17

Affection of any sort borders on vulgarity, and at the least it is ridiculous to pretend to feelings and beliefs that do not appeal to your intelligence.

Dialogue v. 17

But while I believe all that God has revealed, I am not quite sure that I understand what he has revealed, and the fact that he has promised further revelation is to me a challenge to keep an open mind and be prepared to follow wherever my search for truth may lead.

Dialogue v. 17

Again I emphasize, there is no final goal. Life must continue to expand, to unfold, and to grow, if it is to continue to be a good life.

Dialogue v. 17

We have been blessed with much knowledge by revelation from God which, in some part, the world lacks. But there is an incomprehensibility greater part of truth which we must yet discover. Our revealed truth should leave us stricken with the knowledge of how little we really know. It should never lead to an emotional arrogance based upon a false assumption that we somehow have all the answer-that we in fact have a corner on truth. For we do not.

Dialogue v. 17

There are forces at work in our society today which degrade an intellectual quest for knowledge. These forces are nothing new. They have always been powerful. They are anti-intellectual. Forces in this country and in other countries are known and grappled with, but they are making headway. The Know-Nothings of the last century in this country could be cited as but one example. Germany in the thirties say the burning of books and the glorification of barbaric emotion as part of the tragedy of Hitlerism.

Dialogue v. 17

As you go forward in your search for truth, and as you espouse principles and establish ideals toward which to work, pray for courage to be true to you loyalties, to your ideals and to yourself

Dialogue v. 17

As we progressively become aware of ourselves, our universe, and the purpose of our being, we envision certain goals and ideals toward which to work. If you enthrone high ideals in your hearts and minds, they will mirror your destiny and become a part of you.

The Abundant Life, p. 44, “Be Aware–Beware”

With self awareness we discover the innate music and beauty which the Creator planted in our hearts and minds; the loveliness which enshrouds our purest thoughts, our finest impulses. As we become aware of the latent beauty of the soul we stand in awe, wonder, and reverence. We are made humble and inquisitive before life’s unexplained mysteries, but proud and grateful that we are part of it all; thankful that we can wonder and search, comprehend, aspire, unfold, and achieve.

The Abundant Life, p. 44, “Be Aware–Beware”

Be constantly aware and increasingly more worthy of your image nature, for of all of God’s creations only man was created in His image. He breathed into man the breath of life, planted in him the seed of Godhood, and entrusted him at birth with a precious fragment of the divine mind to develop and mature in the harsh soil of mortal life. Let each one be aware of his ever-emerging best and cultivate a divine discontent and candid self-criticism.

The Abundant Life, p. 47, “Be Aware–Beware”

He who would enrich his personality and live abundantly must glorify his intelligence with the warmth and glow of love for God and fellowmen. In other words, the head and heart must support each other.

The Abundant Life, p. 45, “Be Aware–Beware”

Be temperate in all things.

The Abundant Life, p. 49, “Be Aware–Beware”

A sense of relationship and co-partnership with God involves the concept of universal brother-hood and that will help to develop intelligent tolerance, open-mindedness, and good-natured optimism. Life is really a battle between fear and faith, pessimism and optimism. Fear and pessimism paralyze men with skepticism and futility.

The Abundant Life, p. 50, “Be Aware–Beware”

Be dauntless in your pursuit of truth and resist all demands for unthinking conformity. No one would have you become mere tape recorders of other people’s thoughts. Be modest and teachable and seek to know the truth by study and also by faith. There have been times when progress was halted by thought control. Tolerance and truth demand that all be heard and that competing ideas be tested against each other so that the best, which might not always be your own, can prevail. Knowledge is most complete and dependable when all points of view are heard.

The Abundant Life, p. 50, “Be Aware–Beware”

Science and religion are partners in man’s constant effort to learn the truth about himself, his universe, and God.

The Abundant Life, p. 52, “Be Aware–Beware”

Our education is just beginning, and that is true and will always be true of all of us, both here and hereafter. Life will continue to be a commencement, a beginning, and those two words will, carrot-like, be forever dangling and beckoning along the way. Beware of arriving, for that puts an end to the journey, deadens interest in horizons, and kills the stimulating spirit of adventure.

The Abundant Life, p. 47-4, “Be Aware–Beware”

They who seek truth must have courage, must love truth, and must be unafraid of new adventure. They must be willing to depart, if need be, from the beaten path, and to alter and amend their own opinions. They must have vision to see, valor to venture, and faith to sustain them on the quest.

Eternal Quest, p. 17

Religion is dynamic, positive, joy giving—an eternal challenge to creative living.

Eternal Quest, p. 19

There is no goal at which we arrive and, arriving may bide. We believe not only in eternal life but in eternal progress. Let us then, as our loved ones leave us, turn our faces hopefully towards the dawn and courageously carry on.

Eternal Quest, p. 49

We seek to arouse in all who are young in mind, a broad and well-rounded acquaintance with and enthusiasm for fine books, that their increasing knowledge shall continue to be vigorous, dynamic, and zestful, that life may be worth living. Liberal education—the education that liberates the human mind from prejudice and provincialism—is education for freedom. The love of great books should be earnestly desired by every person. If we are to be free, our minds must be free. He who loves and becomes acquainted with great books is the richest and happiest of men.

Improvement Era volume 63, p. 628

In my opinion, there are no people in the world to whom the challenge of this generation’s vast outpouring of knowledge is more direct and more imperative than it is to the Latter-day Saints.

The Abundant Life, p. 103

The wise are too aware of their weaknesses to assume infallibility. The man who knows the most knows how little he knows.

The Abundant Life, p. 103

I am concerned with the Latter-day Saints as a group, concerned that they shall never feel that because we say we have the truth our search for truth has therefore ended. What we have is truth, but there is much truth that has not yet been revealed. We must keep open minds and be inquiring constantly into the latest ideas, inventions and propositions that are available to us in current literature. Our acceptance of the gospel is just the beginning of our education. This must be added upon.

The Abundant Life, p. 104

Let us measure all so-called “new truths” by the standard of basic truth, which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These truths do not become obsolete, nor do they change; but our interpretation may be faulty and incomplete. In fact, we know it is.

The Abundant Life, p. 105

In man’s quest for God and the good life, there is one book which continues to be indispensable[: the Bible].

The Abundant Life, p. 105

I sometimes fear that our own members are not as well acquainted with the bible as they ought to be.

The Abundant Life, p. 106

While making a lifetime study of the Standard Works of the Church, one should also become familiar with the classics, with Shakespeare, Milton, Tennyson, and Wordsworth. He should read something of the philosophers and scientists, should find out how boundaries of knowledge have been altered and extended in religion and in literature. One should know something of the writings of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, and the later philosophers, who, while they err in many respects, will start a man thinking independently and courageously on the meaning of life and its purpose.

The Abundant Life, p. 107

I stood not long ago in the nation’s Capitol, and was present at the funeral of President Kennedy. There were present, of course, the heads of government from many parts of the world—kings, rulers, presidents, ambassadors, premiers. I felt rather subdued and humbled, as would anyone in the presence of such an aggregation of leadership.

But this morning I find myself in the House of God, where I feel he is present. By comparison all of the rest of these put together do not amount to anything but glitter and show. Authority, yes; responsibility, yes; but when I come into this presence, His presence, I do not address Him as “Your Majesty,” as “Mr. President,” I do not bow before a crowned head—I come into His presence and say, “Father-my Father.” What does that mean? It means that my presence there results from that relationship, and that I don’t need to feel subservient in the sense that vassals do. I am reminded again and gain that He, the God of Heaven, the Creator of all that is, is my Father; and that the Savior of all the world, the Redeemer, is my Brother. Oh, that I would be worthy of these relationships.

The Abundant Life, p. 115

Brethren and sisters, I feel—and I am sure you do—that it is incumbent upon us as members of the Church…to pray, to commune with God, to take advantage of the priceless opportunity to come into His presence. If I should wish to see President Johnson of the United States next week or next month, it would be necessary for me to make an appointment through proper channels and wait my turn, and the waiting may be a long time. If I should want to see the Queen of England, or come into her presence, I would have to go through a long preparation and be introduced properly, and dress properly, and undertake to behave myself properly in her presence. If I wish to come into the presence of God, [I] simply walk up (figuratively) and open the door and say, “Good morning, as Thy son I would talk with Thee.” His door is always open, always available. I don’t have to have somebody prepare the way for me. I can talk to Him at any time.

The Abundant Life, p. 117

[T]he time will come when all men will know something of the glory of God. But the time will not come when I or any other man will arrive at a point in knowledge, experience or understanding beyond which we cannot go. In other words, we believe in eternal progression.

The Abundant Life, p. 116

This comprehension, this understanding, this concept of God that is ours is the greatest thought that can come into the heart or mind of a man anywhere in the world. I am a child of God. There is something of Him in me, and therefore there is no limit to what I may aspire to, no status that I may not work for, no glory that may not be mine if I will keep the laws that apply to the kind of growth that I wish to make.

The Abundant Life, p. 119

History rests on the shoulders of those who accepted the challenges of difficulties and drove through to victory in spite of everything.

The Abundant Life, p. 139

We of the Board of Education of the Church challenge you, members of the faculty, staff, academic and non-academic, to bring to us your problems, to express your opinions, to be unafraid to think, and we want you to be sure that you need not fear the consequences of expressing what you think. Of course, it is assumed that you have progressively something more incisive to think with; that you have some knowledge of the subject you propose to teach and that its truth is a part of you. There has grown up in some places a feeling that there is not complete academic freedom here and that there might be dire consequences for freely expressing thought. We challenge you to bring your best thinking to us. We do not expect to always follow all that you suggest, but we certainly need your help, and for that we plead tonight. We are anxious to do everything we can as a Board of Education to assist you in your continued intellectual and moral growth as teachers and as students, so the minds and spirits of the men and women whose lives you touch may continue to be fresh, exciting, dynamic — and hungry.

The Abundant Life, p. 87

Revelation may come in the laboratory, out of the test tube, out of the thinking mind and the inquiring soul, out of search and research and prayer and inspiration.

The Abundant Life, p. 88