Robert D. Hales Quotes

“To hope and trust in the Lord requires faith, patience, humility, meekness, long-suffering, keeping the commandments and enduring to the end.”

— Robert D. Hales

“Every one of us is more beloved than we can possibly understand or imagine. Let us therefore be kinder to one another and kinder to ourselves.”

— Robert D. Hales

There is nothing that we are enduring that Jesus does not understand, and He waits for us to go to our Heavenly Father in prayer. If we will be obedient and if we are diligent, our prayers will be answered, our problems will diminish, our fears will dissipate, light will come upon us, the darkness of despair will be dispersed, and we will be close to the Lord.

— Robert D. Hales

“Suffering is universal; how we react to suffering is individual. Suffering can ... be a strengthening and purifying experience combined with faith, or it can be a destructive force in our lives if we do not have the faith in the Lord's atoning sacrifice. The purpose of suffering ... is to build and strengthen us. We learn ... obedience by the things we suffer. We should be humbled and drawn to the Lord.”

— Robert D. Hales

“Often we do not know what we can endure until after a trial of our faith.”

— Robert D. Hales

“Tests and trials are given to all of us. These mortal challenges allow us and our Heavenly Father to see whether we will exercise our agency to follow His Son. He already knows, and we have the opportunity to learn, that no matter how difficult our circumstances, all these things shall be for our experience, and our good.”

— Robert D. Hales

We were not sent by Father in Heaven just to be born. We were sent to endure and return to Him with honor.

— Robert D. Hales

“If you are there for the Lord, He will be there for you. If you love Him and keep His commandments, you will have His Spirit to be with you and guide you.”

— Robert D. Hales

In some quiet way, the expression and feelings of gratitude have a wonderful cleansing or healing nature. Gratitude brings warmth to the giver and the receiver alike. Gratitude expressed to our Heavenly Father in prayer for what we have brings a calming peace-a peace which allows us to not canker our souls for what we don't have.

— Robert D. Hales

“Gratitude on a daily basis means we express appreciation for what we have now without qualification for what we had in the past or desire in the future.”

— Robert D. Hales

“None of us marry perfection; we marry potential.”

— Robert D. Hales

When you cannot do what you have always done, then you only do what matters most.

— Robert D. Hales

The greatest blessings of general conference come to us after the conference is over. Remember the pattern recorded frequently in scripture: we gather to hear the words of the Lord, and we return to our homes to live them.

— Robert D. Hales

To the young members of the Church, I promise that if you will listen, you will feel the Spirit well up within you. The Lord will tell you what He wants you to do with your life.

— Robert D. Hales

How we live our religion is far more important than what we may say about our religion.

— Robert D. Hales

“As we follow [the Savior], He blesses us with gifts, talents, and the strength to do His will, allowing us to go beyond our comfort zones and do things we've never before thought possible.”

— Robert D. Hales

“Obedience makes us progressively stronger, capable of faithfully enduring tests and trials in the future. Obedience in Gethsemane prepared the Savior to obey and endure to the end on Golgotha.”

— Robert D. Hales

“Work together as a family, even if it may be faster and easier to do the job ourselves. Talk with our sons and daughters as we work together.”

— Robert D. Hales

“Oh, how we need general conference! Through conferences our faith is fortified and our testimonies deepened. And when we are converted, we strengthen each other to stand strong amid the fiery darts of these last days.”

— Robert D. Hales

“Whenever we choose to come unto Christ, take His name upon us, and follow His servants, we progress along the path to eternal life. In our mortal journey, it is helpful to remember that the opposite is also true: when we don't keep the commandments or follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost, our opportunities are reduced; our abilities to act and progress are diminished.”

— Robert D. Hales

“All of us are responsible to provide for ourselves and our families in both temporal and spiritual ways. To provide providently, we must practice the principles of provident living: joyfully living within our means, being content with what we have, avoiding excessive debt, and diligently saving and preparing for rainy-day emergencies. When we live providently, we can provide for ourselves and our families and also follow the Savior's example to serve and bless others.”

— Robert D. Hales

“In the Lord's service the path is not always easy ... But in serving Him, we discover that His hand is truly over us.”

— Robert D. Hales

“As disciples of Jesus Christ we have a responsibility to work together with like-minded believers, to raise our voices for what is right.”

— Robert D. Hales

All men and women
including young men and young women
should wear clothing that covers the shoulder and avoid clothing that is low cut in the front or back or revealing in any other manner. Tight pants, tight shirts, excessively baggy clothing, wrinkled apparel, and unkempt hair are not appropriate. All should avoid extremes in clothing, hairstyle, and other aspects of appearance. We should always be neat and clean, avoiding sloppiness or inappropriate casualness.

— Robert D. Hales

“Study the scriptures; pray morning and night; keep a near, well-groomed appearance; follow a schedule; set and achieve goals; be honest in all your dealings; keep commandments; and always live the standards revealed by prophets.”

— Robert D. Hales

“As our understanding of obedience deepens, we recognize the essential role of agency.”

— Robert D. Hales

“As disciples of Christ, we have a sacred obligation to uphold His laws and commandments and the covenants which we take upon ourselves.”

— Robert D. Hales

“The gift of the Holy Ghost, given to us when we are confirmed, gives us the ability to discern the difference between the giving ways of the kingdom of God and the taking practices of the world.”

— Robert D. Hales

By choosing to be in His kingdom, we separate-not isolate-ourselves from the world.

— Robert D. Hales

“True friends don't hold us back spiritually or pull us down when we're trying to rise and progress. True friends protect us. True friends help us be better than we would be on our own.”

— Robert D. Hales

Gratitude brings a peace that helps us overcome the pain of adversity and failure. Gratitude on a daily basis means we express appreciation for what we have now without qualification for what we had in the past or desire in the future. A recognition of and appreciation for our gifts and talents which have been given also allows us to acknowledge the need for help and assistance from the gifts and talents possessed by others.

— Robert D. Hales

“The blessings we enjoy now are because we made the choice to follow the Savior before this life. To everyone hearing or reading these words, whoever you are and whatever your past may be, remember this: it is not too late to make that same choice again to follow him.”

— Robert D. Hales

“Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil”

— Robert D. Hales

“I want to help you "fly right" in the gathering storms of the last days. You are the pilots. You are responsible to think about the consequences of every choice you make. Your righteous choices will keep you from getting off course.”

— Robert D. Hales

Light and darkness cannot occupy the same space at the same time.

— Robert D. Hales

“Never make someone have to choose between your ways and the Lord's ways. And always make sure that you're making it easier to live God's commandments for those who are by your side and who are your friends.”

— Robert D. Hales

“For the sacrament to be a spiritually cleansing experience each week, we need to prepare ourselves before coming to sacrament meeting. We do this by deliberately leaving behind our daily work and recreation and letting go of worldly thoughts and concerns. As we do, we make room in our minds and hearts for the Holy Ghost.”

— Robert D. Hales

“The events and prophecies of our time are preparing us for the Savior's Second Coming.”

— Robert D. Hales

“You and I were among those who used their agency to accept Heavenly Father's plan to come to earth, to have a mortal life, to progress. "We shouted for joy ... to have the opportunity of coming to the earth to receive bodies [for we knew] that we might become, through faithfulness, like unto our Father, God." Now we are here on earth, where opportunities to use our agency abound; for here "there is an opposition in all things." This opposition is essential to the purpose of our lives.”

— Robert D. Hales

“We become converted and spiritually self-reliant as we prayerfully live our covenants-through worthily partaking of the sacrament, being worthy of a temple recommend, and sacrificing to serve others.”

— Robert D. Hales

“Too often we pray to have patience, but we want it right now!”

— Robert D. Hales

“As I recognized the beauty of the earth, I knew that my Heavenly Father loved me.”

— Robert D. Hales

“We may not know when or how the Lord's answers will be given, but in His time and His way, I testify, His answers will come. For some answers we may have to wait until the hereafter. This may be true for some promises in our patriarchal blessings and for some blessings for family members. Let us not give up on the Lord. His blessings are eternal, not temporary.”

— Robert D. Hales

“I learned respect for womanhood from my father's tender caring for my mother, my sister, and his sisters. Father was the first to arise from dinner to clear the table. My sister and I would wash and dry the dishes each night at Father's request. If we were not there, Father and Mother would clean the kitchen together.”

— Robert D. Hales

“The temple is a sacred edifice, a holy place, where essential saving ceremonies and ordinances are performed to prepare us for exaltation. It is important that we gain a sure knowledge that our preparation to enter the holy house and that our participation in these ceremonies and covenants are some of the most significant events we will experience in our mortal lives.”

— Robert D. Hales

Each of us has been sent to earth by our Heavenly Father to merit eternal life

— Robert D. Hales

“Your Heavenly Father needs you. His work, under the direction of our Savior Jesus Christ, needs what you are uniquely prepared to give.”

— Robert D. Hales

“Agency used righteously allows light to dispel the darkness and enables us to live with joy and happiness.”

— Robert D. Hales

The more I live, the more I recognize that the teaching moments in my youth, especially those provided by my parents, have shaped my life and made me who I am. It is impossible to overestimate the influence of parents who understand the hearts of their children.

— Robert D. Hales

“I promise you in [Jesus] name that if you pray with a sincere desire to hear your Heavenly Father's voice in the messages of this conference, you will discover that He has spoken to you to help you, to strengthen you, and to lead you home into His presence.”

— Robert D. Hales