When we don't like to face up to hard facts, we use soft words. We do not speak about killing a baby within the womb, but about "termination of potential life." Words are often multiplied to try to cover dark deeds.
Neal A. MaxwellRead
Stubborn selfishness leads otherwise good people to fight over herds, patches of sand, and strippings of milk. All this results from what the Lord calls coveting "the drop," while neglecting the "more weighty matters." (D&C 117:8) Myopic selfishness magnifies a mess of pottage and makes thirty pieces of silver look like a treasure trove. In our intense acquisitiveness, we forget Him who once said, "What is property unto me?"
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote warns against the perils of selfishness and materialism, which can lead good people to fights over trivial possessions while ignoring more significant moral matters.
In this quote, Neal A. Maxwell critiques the nature of human greed and selfishness, illustrating how these traits can distort values, prompting individuals to prioritize material wealth over essential spiritual truths. He highlights the irony of people becoming entangled in disputes over insignificant belongings, forgetting the greater importance of love, compassion, and spiritual depth, encapsulated in the admonition to focus on 'weighty matters' rather than superficial desires.
Themes
SelfishnessMaterialismValuesSpiritualityGreed
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about community values, one could use this quote to emphasize the importance of looking beyond material gains.
More from Neal A. Maxwell
All quotes →The issue for us is trusting God enough to trust also His timing. If we can truly believe He has our welfare at heart, may we not let His plans unfold as He thinks best?
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So it is that real, personal sacrifice never was placing an animal on the altar. Instead, it is a willingness to put the animal in us upon the altar and letting it be consumed! Such is the 'sacrifice unto the Lord... of a broken heart and a contrite spirit,' (D&C 59:8), a prerequisite to taking up the cross, while giving 'away all [our] sins' in order to 'know God' (Alma 22:18) for the denial of self precedes the full acceptance of Him.
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If we knew how often the obedience of others is affected by our own, and how often our stepping forth soon brings forth a whole platton of helpers, and how often our speaking forth soon creates a chorus - we would be even more ashamed of our slackess and our silence.
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In a 'wheat and tares' world, how unusually blessed faithful members are to have the precious and constant gift of the Holy Ghost with reminders of what is right and of the covenants we have made. 'For behold, ... the Holy Ghost ... will show unto you all things what ye should do.' (2 Ne. 32:5.) Whatever the decibels of decadence, these need not overwhelm the still, small voice! Some of the best sermons we will ever hear will be thus prompted from the pulpit of memory—to an audience of one!
Neal A. MaxwellRead
Those who believe for a while make only a brief tour in the kingdom, though thereafter they often feel qualified to inform those who know even less about the Church; but the fact is they were really only tourists - not natives who really knew the kingdom's countryside.
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