“History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance of which their civil as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purposes.”

“Experience declares that man is the only animal which devours his own kind; for I can apply no milder term to the governments of Europe, and to the general prey of the rich on the poor.”

“What draws people to be friends is that they see the same truth. They share it.”

“January 10 Pursuing Peace I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. JOHN 16:33 Peace is one of the greatest blessings that God has given us, and we should thank Him for it daily. Simply desiring a life of peace is not enough. You have to pursue peace with God, peace with yourself, and peace with those around you. I have found that the more thankful I am, the more peaceful I am. Gratitude helps me focus on what I have instead of what I don’t have, allowing me to stay focused on my blessings instead of worrying. When walking in peace becomes a priority, you will make the effort needed to see it happen. I spent years praying for God to give me peace and finally realized He had already provided peace, but I had to choose it. Jesus said in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you.” Jesus has already provided your peace. Make the decision to walk in that peace today! Prayer of Thanks Father, thank You that You have provided everything I need to live at peace. Today, I choose to pursue that peace and live at rest, knowing You are greater than any trial or tribulation I may be going through. You are everything I need. You are my peace.”

“Christians do not take advantage of what belongs to them. Either they do not know how to take advantage of what belongs to them, or the do not know what belongs to them.”

“The great news is that God knows everything about you, both good and bad, and He still loves you and values you unconditionally. God does not always approve of our behavior. He is not pleased when we go against his will, and when we do, we always suffer the consequences and have to work with Him to correct our thoughts, words, actions, or attitudes. And while you should work to improve in the areas where you fall short, nothing you do will ever cause God to love you less…or more. His love is a constant you can depend on.”

“There is no such thing as part freedom.

“Those people who develop the ability to continuously acquire new and better forms of knowledge that they can apply to their work and to their lives will be the movers and shakers in our society for the indefinite future.”

“Government does not solve problems. It subsidizes them.”

“I’m afraid many young people today have very romantic ideas about marriage—ideas that do not necessarily reflect the truth . . .Romantic feelings alone are not enough when the problems and strains come—as they inevitably do.”

“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.” 

“I agree with yours of the 22d that a professorship of Theology should have no place in our institution. but we cannot always do what is absolutely best. those with whom we act, entertaining different views, have the power and the right of carrying them into practice. truth advances, & error recedes step by step only; and to do to our fellow-men the most good in our power, we must lead where we can, follow where we cannot, and still go with them, watching always the favorable moment for helping them to another step.

“When you get yourself under complete control, you can be your own boss.”

“Everything I know, I know because of love.”

“A successful person finds the right place for himself. But a successful leader finds the right place for others.