“Once there was a man who dreamed that he was in a great hall where all the religions of the world were gathered. He realized that each religion had much that seemed desirable and worthy.
“He met a nice couple who represented The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and asked, ‘What do you require of your members?’
“‘We do not require anything,’ they replied. ‘But the Lord asks that we consecrate all.’
“The couple went on to explain about Church callings, home and visiting teaching, full-time missions, weekly family home evenings, temple work, welfare and humanitarian service, and assignments to teach. …
“‘What about your weekly church services? How long are they?’
“‘Three hours, every Sunday!’
“‘Oh, my,’ the man said. ‘Do members of your church actually do what you have said?’
“‘That and more. We haven’t even mentioned family history, youth camps, devotionals, scripture study, leadership training, youth activities, early-morning seminary, maintaining Church buildings, and of course there is the Lord’s law of health, the monthly fast to help the poor, and tithing.’
“The man said, ‘Now I’m confused. Why would anyone want to join such a church?’
“The couple smiled and said, ‘We thought you would never ask’” (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Come, Join with Us,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2013, 21).
“Salt will not lose its savor with age. Savor is lost through mixture and contamination. … Flavor and quality flee a man when he contaminates his mind with unclean thoughts, desecrates his mouth by speaking less than the truth, and misapplies his strength in performing evil acts” (Carlos E. Asay, “Salt of the Earth: Savor of Men and Saviors of Men,” Ensign, May 1980, 42).
“We need not be dismayed if our earnest efforts toward perfection now seem so arduous [difficult] and endless. Perfection is pending. It can come in full only after the Resurrection and only through the Lord. It awaits all who love him and keep his commandments” (Russell M. Nelson, “Perfection Pending,” Ensign, Nov. 1995, 88).
“Why is lust such a deadly sin? Well, in addition to the completely Spirit-destroying impact it has upon our souls, I think it is a sin because it defiles the highest and holiest relationship God gives us in mortality—the love that a man and a woman have for each other and the desire that couple has to bring children into a family intended to be forever. … Love makes us instinctively reach out to God and other people. Lust, on the other hand, is anything but godly and celebrates self-indulgence. Love comes with open hands and open heart; lust comes with only an open appetite” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Place No More for the Enemy of My Soul,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2010, 44–45).
“In ancient times and even under tribal laws in some countries where we now have members, men have power to divorce their wives for any trivial thing. Such unrighteous oppression of women was rejected by the Savior, who declared:
“‘Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered [or allowed] you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
“‘And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery’ (Matthew 19:8–9).
“The kind of marriage required for exaltation—eternal in duration and godlike in quality—does not contemplate divorce. In the temples of the Lord, couples are married for all eternity. But some marriages do not progress toward that ideal. Because ‘of the hardness of [our] hearts,’ the Lord does not currently enforce the consequences of the celestial standard. He permits divorced persons to marry again without the stain of immorality specified in the higher law. Unless a divorced member has committed serious transgressions, he or she can become eligible for a temple recommend under the same worthiness standards that apply to other members” (Dallin H. Oaks, “Divorce,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2007, 70).