Sister Coleman's Quotes & Extras

Lesson Quotes: President David O. McKay “In the most impressive prayer ever offered, Jesus prayed for his disciples on the night that he faced Gethsemane, saying to his Father— “This text is taken from one of the most glorious prayers—I suppose the greatest prayer—ever uttered in this world, not excepting the Lord’s Prayer. This was Christ’s prayer uttered just before he entered the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of his betrayal. It must have been impressive for John to remember so much of it and to write it word for word, as he has here. “The occasion itself would be impressive to John, and undoubtedly as they knelt there in that upper room before they went through that beautiful gate into Gethsemane, the garden of olives at the base of the Mount of Olives, he noted particularly the plea of the Savior. I know of no more important chapter in the Bible.” (CR Oct. 1967) From Life and Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles “With a perfect understanding of his mission and that...

Lesson Quotes: Elder Jeffery R. Holland “‘Abide in me’ [John 15:4] is an understandable and beautiful enough concept in the elegant English of the King James Bible, but ‘abide’ is not a word we use much anymore. So I gained even more appreciation for this admonition from the Lord when I was introduced to the translation of this passage in another language. In Spanish that familiar phrase is rendered ‘permaneced en mi.’ Like the English verb ‘abide,’ permanecer means ‘to remain, to stay,’ but even [English speakers] like me can hear the root cognate there of ‘permanence.’ The sense of this then is ‘stay—but stay forever.’ That is the call of the gospel message to [everyone] in the world. Come, but come to remain. Come with conviction and endurance. Come permanently, for your sake and the sake of all the generations who must follow you. … “… Christ is everything to us and we are to ‘abide’ in Him permanently, unyieldingly, steadfastly, forever. For the fruit of the gospel to blossom...

Lesson Quotes: Elder Jeffrey R. Holland “In New Testament times, people wore open sandals, walked on mostly dirt roads that accumulated the filth of beasts, and had only irregular access to bathing water. Their feet became very dirty, and washing another person’s feet could have been a distasteful task. … This custom of hospitality was usually performed by the lowest level of servants” (NTSM,  242). During this final supper, “Christ quietly arose, girded himself as a slave or servant would, and knelt to wash the Apostles’ feet” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “He Loved Them unto the End,” Ensign, Nov. 1989, 25). President Thomas S. Monson  “To find real happiness, we must seek for it in a focus outside ourselves. No one has learned the meaning of living until he has surrendered his ego to the service of his fellow man. Service to others is akin to duty—the fulfillment of which brings true joy” (“Guideposts for Life’s Journey” [BYU, Nov. 13, 2007], 4). President M. Russell...

Lesson Quotes: Elder Bruce R. McConkie  “Decomposition was well under way; death had long since been established as an absolute certainty. … To the Jews the term of four days had special significance; it was the popular belief among them that by the fourth day the spirit had finally and irrevocably departed from the vicinity of the corpse” (DNTC, 3 vols. [1965–73], 1:533). Elder Bruce R. McConkie “What a scene this is—the Son of God in tears! And yet God and man are of the same race, endowed in greater or lesser degree with the same characteristics and attributes; why then should not even Deity weep? (Moses 7:28-37.) Moreover, the man Jesus, Mary's Son, the great Exemplar, while he dwelt in the flesh, was subject to every normal mortal feeling and desire. He suffered temptations, pain, hunger, thirst, and fatigue. (Mosiah 3:7.) He rejoiced with his friends, wept with the mourners, loved those who kept his commandments, satisfied his hunger with food, and in all things set...

Lesson Quotes: Elder Neal A. Maxwell "This is a doctrine … which reminds us mortals that we do not have all of the data. There are many times when we must withhold judgment and trust God lest we misread, as did Jesus' disciples when they inquired about the man blind from birth and Jesus gave the immortal reply: 'Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him' (see John 9:1–3)" (But for a Small Moment [1986], 94). "There are clearly special cases of individuals with special limitations in life, which we cannot now fathom. Like him who was 'blind from birth,' some come to bring glory to God. (John 9:1–2.) We must be exceedingly careful about imputing either wrong causes or wrong rewards to all such. They are in the Lord's hands and he loves them perfectly. Some of those who have required much waiting upon in this life may be waited upon in the next world—but for the highest of reasons...