Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith

For the last several years (with a brief exception) the manuals for study in Priesthood and Relief Society have been Teachings of Presidents of the Church, with each year focused on the teachings of a particular president. I have decided to go back and re-read each manual since there is a good chance I didn't read half the lessons during the course of study (oops, confession time!) Rather than read them in the order in which they were studied, I have decided to read them in chronological order of when they were the President of the Church. Therefore, Joseph Smith is where I began.

I love Joseph Smith and revere him as a prophet. I want to highlight just a few of my favorite passages from his teachings.

Page 66-"But when this fact is admitted, that the immediate will of heaven is contained in the Scriptures, are we not bound as rational creatures to live in accordance to all its precepts?"

Page 73-"It is the will of God that man should repent and serve Him in health, and in the strength and power of his mind, in order to secure His blessing, and not wait until he is called to die."

Page 132-"No man can receive the Holy Ghost without receiving revelations. The Holy Ghost is a revelator."

Page 243-"My dear Emma, there is great responsibility resting upon you in preserving yourself in honor and sobriety before them [their children] and teaching them right things, to form their young and tender minds that they begin in right paths and not get contaminated when young by seeing ungodly examples."

Page 318-"The moment you permit yourselves to lay aside any duty that God call you to perform, to gratify your own desires; the moment you permit yourselves to become careless, you lay a foundation for apostasy."

Page 356-"You cannot be too good."