Your life is your own, to develop or to destroy. You can blame others little and yourself almost totally if that life is not a productive, worthy, full, and abundant one.
Spencer W. KimballRead
Whatever thing a man sets his heart on...is his god; and if his god doesn't also happen to be the true and living God of Israel that man is laboring in idolatry.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote suggests that whatever a person prioritizes or values most in life becomes their 'god', and if it's not aligned with a higher truth, it constitutes idolatry.
In this quote, Spencer W. Kimball emphasizes the idea that individuals tend to worship or dedicate themselves to what they value most, whether it's success, wealth, or other pursuits. If these chosen 'gods' do not align with a higher spiritual truth, it leads to a misguided existence characterized by idolatry. Thus, the essence of the message is to encourage people to reflect on their true values and ensure they honor what is genuinely life-affirming and true.
Themes
IdolatryValuesBeliefPrioritiesTruth
In practice
Example use cases
In a sermon about personal values and priorities.
More from Spencer W. Kimball
All quotes →Do not make small goals because they do not have the magic to stir men's souls.
Spencer W. KimballRead
What could you do better for your children and your children's children than to record the story of your life, your triumphs over adversity, your recovery after a fall, your progress when all seemed black, your rejoicing when you had finally achieved? Some of what you write may be humdrum dates and places, but there will also be rich passages that will be quoted by your posterity.
Spencer W. KimballRead
Failure to plan brings barrenness and sterility. Fate brushes man with its wings, but we make our own fate largely.
Spencer W. KimballRead
A dozen times a day we come to a fork in the road and must decide which way we will go. It is important to get our ultimate objectives clearly in mind so that we do not become distracted at each fork in the road by the irrelevant questions: Which is the easier or more pleasant way? Or, Which way are others going?
Spencer W. KimballRead
The day obedience becomes a quest and not an irritation is the day you gain power.
Spencer W. KimballRead
Similar quotes
The truth of Zen is the truth of life, and life means to live, to move, to act, not merely to reflect.
D.T. SuzukiRead
If by some magic, autism had been eradicated from the face of the Earth, then men would still be socializing in front of a wood fire at the entrance to a cave.
Temple GrandinRead
The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons.
Ralph Waldo EmersonRead
Personally, I'd have welcomed a dementor attack. A deadly struggle for my soul would have broken the monotony nicely.
J. K. RowlingRead
Sustainability can't be like some sort of a moral sacrifice or political dilemma or a philanthropical cause. It has to be a design challenge.
Bjarke IngelsRead
The fortunate circumstances of our lives are generally found, at last, to be of our own producing.
Oliver GoldsmithRead