John Bytheway

“I was never involved in any fights in high school. I'm glad I wasn't. I'm not very big, and I don't find great joy in cuts and bruises.”

“And I, Nephi, took one of the daughters of Ishmael to wife.' Well Mr. Go-And-Do just went and did!”

“When we die, our spirits go to the spirit world, and our bodies return to the elements of the earth until the resurrection.”

“While I am aware of no counsel on whether kissing should be reserved only for post-mission dating or courtship, I am aware of plenty of counsel concerning honesty in our actions and treating others with respect and kindness. Casual attitudes about expressions of affection such as kissing can cause much grief and heartache.”

“My own back yard, and my mom and dad's back yard, is where I learned about tomatoes and weeds and daily maintenance.”

“Be the kind of friend who takes people to Christ.”

“If our testimonies are strong onthis point and if we feel the absolute assurance that God loves us, we will change our questons. We won't ask, 'Why did this happen?' or 'Why doesn't God care about me?' Instead, our questions will become, 'What can I learn from this experience?' or 'How does the Lord want me to handle this?”

“Expressions of affection, like putting your arm around someone's shoulder, holding hands, or giving a kiss good night, involve the principle of honesty.”

“If you are emotionally honest, you should mean what you say but also mean what you do.”

“Sometimes bad things happen to good people. We don't know the meaning of all things, but we know God loves His children! And because He loves us, He will never desert us.”

“If you're trying to be miserable, it's important you don't have any goals. No school goals, personal goals, family goals. Your only objective each day should be to inhale and exhale for sixteen hours before you go to bed again. Don't read anything informative, don't listen to anything useful, don't do anything productive. If you start achieving goals, you might start to feel a sense of excitement, then you might want to set another goal, and then your miserable mornings are through. To maintain your misery, the idea of crossing off your goals should never cross your mind.”

“If someone were to ask whether communications skills or meekness is most important to a marriage, I'd answer meekness, hands down. You can be a superb communicator but still never have the humility to ask, 'Is it I?' Communication skills are no substitute for Christlike attributes. As Dr. Douglas Brinley has observed, 'Without theological perspectives, secular exercises designed to improve our relationship and our communication skills (the common tools of counselors and marriage books) will never work any permanent change in one's heart: they simply develop more clever and skilled fighters!”

“God already knows what we're made of, but perhaps He wants us to learn what we're made of. I think we would all agree that we learn more from our tough times than from our easy times.”

“Decide while you're young to keep the commandments of God, and you won't have to think fast, because before temptation even steps up to the bat, you'll have made your decision. You were smart enough to think first.”

“Everyone would like to have stronger faith. By themselves, the scriptures may not strengthen your faith, but being faithful to what they teach, does. In other words, faith cannot be separated from faithfulness.”

“Victory in physical battles requires strength, muscles, and skill; but the fight is never tougher and victory is never sweeter than in the battles over self.”

“To have friends who will always take you to higher ground is an incalculable blessing.”

“Adversity is simply part of earth life. From it we can grow and progress if we choose to. Yes, some trials come because of our own disobedience, but many trials are simply part of life.”

“An important part of dating is communicating. We communicate by sharing our thoughts, ideas, and feelings. We enjoy being with someone when we have an easy time communicating or when we have a lot to talk about.”

“Occasionally, we are given a reminder of how precious a gift it is to understand the plan of salvation.”