“We did live in dire poverty. And one of the things that I hated was poverty. Some people hate spiders. Some people hate snakes. I hated poverty. I couldn't stand it. My mother couldn't stand the fact that we were doing poorly in school, and she prayed and she asked God to give her wisdom. What could she do to get her young sons to understand the importance of developing their minds so that they control their own lives? God gave her the wisdom. At least in her opinion. My brother and I didn't think it was that wise. Turn off the TV, let us watch only two or three TV programs during the week. And with all that spare time read two books a piece from the Detroit Public Libraries and submit to her written book reports, which she couldn't read but we didn't know that. I just hated this. My friends were out having a good time. Her friends would criticize her. My mother didn't care. But after a while I actually began to enjoy reading those books. Because we were very poor, but between the covers of those books I could go anywhere. I could be anybody. I could do anything. I began to read about people of great accomplishment. And as I read those stories, I began to see a connecting thread. I began to see that the person who has the most to do with you, and what happens to you in life, is you. You make decisions. You decide how much energy you want to put behind that decision. And I came to understand that I had control of my own destiny. And at that point I didn't hate poverty anymore, because I knew it was only temporary. I knew I could change that. It was incredibly liberating for me. Made all the difference.” 

“Escoja estar feliz, escoja tener una buena actitud. Recuerde que estar contento es una decisión que usted tiene que tomar, y aun cuando no lo entienda, sepa que Dios está haciendo una obra en y a través de usted. Decida que desde ahora en adelante, usted florecerá donde esté plantado y disfrutará de cada día de su vida.”

“Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it.”

“My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.”

“And your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way; walk in it… ISAIAH 30:21” 

“I gang my own gait and have never belonged to my country, my home, my friends, or even my immediate family, with my whole heart; in the face of all these ties I have never lost an obstinate sense of detachment, of the need for solitude — a feeling which increases with the years.”

“The care of human life and happiness, and their destruction is the first and only legitimate object of a good government.”

“There is more to life than increasing its speed.”

“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”

“Learn to wait on God.”

“Smile at each other. Smile at your wife, smile at your husband, smile at your children, smile at each other- it doesn't matter who it is- and that will help to grow up in greater love for each other.”

“Mankind must put an end to war - or war will put an end to mankind.

“No one can understand my conflict who has not looked into the eyes of those he loves, knowing that he has no alternative but to take a dangerous stand that leaves them tormented.” 

“When we first got married, we made a pact. It was this: In our life together, it was decided I would make all of the big decisions and my wife would make all of the little decisions. For fifty years, we have held true to that agreement. I believe that is the reason for the success in our marriage. However, the strange thing is that in fifty years, there hasn’t been one big decision.”

“Peace, that glorious moment in time when everyone stops and reloads.”