Let me state clearly that no polygamist group, including those calling themselves Fundamentalist Mormons or other derivatives of our name have any affiliation whatsoever with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. M Russell Ballard, general conference October 2011
Of this you may be certain: The Lord especially loves righteous women. M Russell Ballard
Perhaps being the father of our five daughters and now the grandfather of twenty-two granddaughters makes me an expert on the subject of women. M Russell Ballard
Today we are fighting a battle that in many ways is more perilous, more fraught with danger, than the battle between the Nephites and the Lamanites. Our enemy is cunning and resourceful. We fight against Lucifer, the father of all lies, the enemy of all that is good and right and holy.
What we need now is the greatest generation of missionaries in the history of the church ... The bar that is the standard for missionary service is being raised. The day of the ‘repent and go’ missionary is over. M Russell Ballard, general conference October 2002
We are not marketing a product. We are not selling anything. We are not trying to impress anyone with our growth numbers. M Russell Ballard
BALLARD: We believe that the Garden of Eden was on this continent.
TUCHMAN: So that the Garden of Eden wasn’t in the Holy Land?
BALLARD: No, not in our doctrine. CNN 19th October 2007
We walk in a world that’s filled with darkness and, to be frank, is reeling to and fro with the influence of the evil one. But because of Smith’s revelations and instruction, church members do not need to fall victim to that darkness. M Russell Ballard, Deseret News 5th November 2005
You beautiful girls: Don’t wander around looking like men. Put on a little lipstick now and then and look a little charming. It’s that simple. I don’t know why we make this whole process so hard. M Russell Ballard
Each of us has two distinct channels to God, the first is governance which is obedience to the leadership, and the second is personal testimony which gives us our knowledge in his existence. Dallin H Oaks, general conference report April 2008
How many children should a couple have? All they can care for! Dallin H Oaks
I also said something else that has excited people: that it’s wrong to criticize leaders of the Church, even if the criticism is true, because it diminishes their effectiveness as a servant of the Lord. One can work to correct them by some other means, but don’t go about saying that they misbehaved when they were a youngster or whatever. Well, of course, that sounds like religious censorship also.
But not everything that’s true is useful. Dallin H Oaks
If you dress immodestly you are magnifying this problem by becoming pornography to some of the men who see you. Dallin H Oaks
In our system of Church government, evil speaking and criticism of leaders by members is always negative. Whether the criticism is true or not. Dallin H Oaks, article Ensign February 1987, ‘Criticism’
It’s wrong to criticize leaders of the Church, even if the criticism is true. Dallin H Oaks
My duty as a member of the Council of the Twelve is to protect what is most unique about the LDS church, namely the authority of priesthood, testimony regarding the restoration of the gospel, and the divine mission of the Savior. Everything may be sacrificed in order to maintain the integrity of those essential facts. Thus, if Mormon Enigma reveals information that is detrimental to the reputation of Joseph Smith, then it is necessary to try to limit its influence and that of its authors. Dallin Oaks, ‘Inside the Mind of Joseph Smith: Psychobiography and the Book of Mormon’ introduction footnote
One has not begun to repent until he has suffered intensely for his sins. Dallin H Oaks, address BYU students 1990
Real love for the sinner may involve confrontation. Dallin H Oaks, 2009
Satan can even use truth to promote his purposes. Truth can be used unrighteously. Facts, severed from their context, can convey an erroneous impression ... The fact that something is true is not always a justification for communicating it. Dallin H Oaks, general conference October 1983
Sisters, don’t fall for the worldly urging that women should emulate men in various masculine characteristics. That is not what the Lord created you to do. Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that women should not be doctors or lawyers or any particular occupation that fits their circumstances. To use lawyering as an example, what I am saying is that women should not attempt to be manly lawyers. Nor should women emulate the worldly ways of womanhood. Your destiny is to be a wife and a mother in Zion, not a model and a streetwalker in Babylon. Dallin H Oaks, Brigham Young University 7th November 2006
The idea that all truth is based on scientific evidence is simply untrue. Dallin H Oaks, general conference report 5th April 2008
The ultimate act of destruction is to take a life. That is why abortion is such a serious sin. Our attitude toward abortion is not based on revealed knowledge of when mortal life begins for legal purposes. It is fixed by our knowledge that according to an eternal plan all of the spirit children of God must come to this earth for a glorious purpose, and that individual identity began long before conception and will continue for all the eternities to come. Dallin H Oaks, conference report Ensign November 1993
The whole experience with polygamy was a fertile field for deception. It is not difficult for historians to quote LDS leaders and members in statements justifying, denying, or deploring deception in furtherance of this religious practice. Dallin H Oaks, fireside address BYU 12th September 1993, ‘Gospel Teachings About Lying’
We gain or strengthen a testimony by bearing it. Dallin H Oaks, general conference report 5th April 2008
We encourage children to define themselves by their growing testimonies, not their athletic or academic achievements. ibid.
We have those critics who appear to wish to cull out of a vast panorama of information those items which demean and belittle some of the men and women of the past who worked so hard in laying the foundation of this great cause. They find readers of their works who seem to delight in picking up these titbits, and in chewing them over and relishing them. In so doing they are savoring a pickle, rather than eating a delicious and satisfying dinner of several courses. Dallin H Oaks, general conference October 1983
When I was 66, my wife June died of cancer. Two years later – a year and a half ago – I married Kristen McMain, the eternal companion who now stands at my side. Dallin H Oaks, address Brigham Young University 29th January 2002
Even if the church is true, it’s not very useful. Soothseeker board post 26th February 2004
While many Mormons would like to forget the Church’s history of discrimination against blacks, an Apostle’s recent statements comparing the post-Proposition 8 Mormon backlash to the Civil Rights-era harassment of black voters have brought that painful past back into the spotlight.
Mormon Apostle Dallin Oaks chose a friendly audience deep within the Book-of-Mormon-belt for his now controversial October 13 speech in defense of the Mormons’ ongoing fight against same-sex civil marriage. Speaking to students at Brigham Young University-Idaho, Oaks decried the continuing erosion of religious freedom and the declining influence of religion in the public sphere, before mounting a strongly-worded defense of ‘the ancient order’ of marriage against the alleged civil right of same-gender couples to enjoy the privileges of marriage ... Oaks, a former University of Chicago law professor, who clerked for United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren in 1957 and 1958 in the aftermath of the Warren court’s landmark Brown v Board of Education (1954) desegregation decision, knew that his black-Mormon comparison would draw public attention. In fact, when he previewed his speech for an AP reporter on October 12, he speculated that it might ‘be offensive to some’.
Sure enough, commentators from within (and without) the world of Mormonism have questioned the soundness of Oaks’ analogy, asking whether Mormons in their effort to eliminate same-sex marriage are more justly characterized as proponents of religious freedom or opponents of gay human rights. In fact, four Mormon gay rights groups issued a joint statement on October 16 urging the Apostle to consider how the Mormon anti-gay marriage effort might paradoxically compromise religious freedom for members of faiths that recognize the sanctity of committed same-sex relationships.