Commonplace Book

A collection of thoughts, ideas, anecdotes, poems, observations, and quotes that stood out and caught my attention, some with comment, some without. Essentially a scrapbook, a repository of thoughts too good to just pass over and let go.

“If you think the Church has been fully restored, you are just seeing the beginning. There is much more to come.”
(Russell M Nelson, from a room overlooking the newly dedicated Concepción Chile Temple, October 28, 2018, as reported in the Church News. October 29, 2018)

“... but caution is the parent of safety.”

(Joseph Smith letter to Emma Smith, June 27, 1844) 

“The Savior reminded Joseph that the Saints could not suffer more than He had. He loved them and could end their pain, but He chose instead to suffer affliction with them, carrying their grief and sorrow as part of His atoning sacrifice. Such suffering filled Him with mercy, giving Him power to succor and refine all who turned to Him in their trials.”

(Saints, The Story of the Church of Jesus Christ in the Latter Days, Volume 1, The Standard of Truth, 1815–1846, page 389) 

“I have wasted a lot of time living.”

(Michael Oakeshott (December 1901–December 1990), an English philosopher and political theorist who wrote about philosophy of history, philosophy of religion, aesthetics, philosophy of education, and philosophy of law.) 

“We have come to realize also that the mere performance of a ceremony does not bring happiness and a successful marriage. Happiness does not come by pressing a button, as does the electric light; happiness is a state of mind and comes from within. It must be earned.”

(Spencer W Kimball, “Marriage and Divorce”, BYU Devotional, 7 Sept 1976) 

“Loneliness in “epidemic proportions” is producing a “loneliness literature” of sociological and medical findings about the effect of loneliness on individuals’ brains and bodies, and on communities. Sasse (R-Neb.) says “there is a growing consensus” that loneliness — not obesity, cancer or heart disease — is the nation’s “number one health crisis.” “Persistent loneliness” reduces average longevity more than twice as much as does heavy drinking and more than three times as much as obesity, which often is a consequence of loneliness.  This reflects a perverse phenomenon: What has come to count as connectedness is displacing the real thing.”

(George F. Will, “We have an epidemic of loneliness. How can we fix it?”, Washington Post, October 12, 2018) 

“The same God that placed that star in a precise orbit millennia before it appeared over Bethlehem in celebration of the birth of the Babe has given at least equal attention to placement of each of us in precise human orbits so that we may, if we will, illuminate the landscape of our individual lives, so that our light may not only lead others but warm them as well. (Neal A Maxwell, That My Family Should Partake, p. 86) 

“Gambler's Fallacy - the misconception that what has happened recently will affect what occurs next even if the two events are unrelated. For example,  if flipping a coin nine times results in nine instances of “heads”, probability still applies: There's a 50 percent chance the tenth flip will be heads. … Recast the notion of probability like this: A hundred-year flood doesn't happen every 100 years; rather, it has a one percent chance of happening every year.”

(Why We Ride Out Life Threatening Storms and Do Other Crazy Things, by Macomb Roberts, NY Times, 10/11/2018) 

“Having women and men in the conversation can affect the nature of both the questions asked, and the findings found.”

(Susan Madsen, Utah Women Leadership Project, Utah Valley University)