Quote of the Day: 3 June 2025 #QotD

“Control the communications of a country and you control the country.” -Andrew Nivens, The Puppet Masters
[If people are only allowed certain information and can only transmit information that is approved then those people will not be able to formulate certain thoughts.]

Quote of the Day: 2 June 2025 #QotD

“It was a magic word, trust. It meant that you had an obligation to the people who gave it to you. It meant that they believed what you said about yourself, and that you had to prove that it was real, not merely to them, but to yourself as well.”-George Winston (thought), Debt of Honor
[Just remember that it can be destroyed in a moment. A hugely important, and yet terribly fragile concept.]

Quote of the Day: 1 June 2025 #QotD

“We will, on the Day of Judgment, stand before the Savior, face to face. It will be a time of great joy for those, in this life, who have drawn close to Him in His service and can eagerly anticipate to hear His words: ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant.’” -Henry B. Eyring

Quote of the Day: 31 May 2025 #QotD

“When a decision matters, we have to stare at the truth unflinchingly. Only then can we find peace in our choices.” -Ferrin, Chasing the Prophecy
[Truth matters. And we need to be willing to speak the truth regardless of the situation in which we find ourselves.]

Quote of the Day: 30 May 2025 #QotD

“I like to see an angry Englishman. They are very amusing. The more emotional they feel the less command they have of language.” -Hercule Poirot, Murder on the Orient Express
[I think this happens to more than Englishmen, but what can you expect from a Belgian?]

Quote of the Day: 29 May 2025 #QotD

“The planet has survived everything, in its time. It will certainly survive us.” -Ian Malcolm, Jurassic Park
[We may or may not survive what we do to it, but it would be infeasible for us to do something that would actually destroy the planet.]

Quote of the Day: 28 May 2025 #QotD

“None of us really know what we’re here for or what we’re supposed to be doing. So, we shout out, hoping someone will hear, hoping someone will see us and reveal the great secret.” -Master Yute, The Book That Wouldn’t Burn
[A feeling about as universal as there ever was. So, reach out in kindness to the people around you, and extend them some grace. You'll feel the benefit even if you don't have the sentiment returned.]

Quote of the Day: 27 May 2025 #QotD

“The real courage is seeing the truth and speaking the truth to each other.” -Dave Cooper as quoted by Daniel Coyle
[The truth doesn't matter if we aren't willing to speak it. Unless the truth comes out in the open, the lies will remain to those who know no better.]

Quote of the Day: 26 May 2025 #QotD

“Bruises heal more quickly than emotional scars do.” -Avi Rozen, The Anatomy of Peace
[It's somewhat implied by calling them scars, but I can't find fault with the statement.]

Quote of the Day: 25 May 2025 #QotD

“As we focus our lives on Jesus Christ, we will find our way home, enduring to the end and rejoicing to the end.” -Sergio R. Vargas

Quote of the Day: 24 May 2025 #QotD

“We need to remember.” -Tiffany Aching, The Shepherd’s Crown
[Absolutely. There are very few things I will commit to as strongly as our need to remember, both as individuals and as a society. Without a memory we are left bereft of any guiding influence.]

Quote of the Day: 23 May 2025 #QotD

“[I]t is impossible to have a great life unless it is a meaningful life.” -Jim Collins
[It might not even be possible to have a good life without making it meaningful, at least to yourself.]

Quote of the Day: 22 May 2025 #QotD

“I prefer my misery to come at me in stages, so I can acclimatize on the way.” -George Cubbins, The Empty Grave
[Ah, the ol' rip the bandage off or boil the frog discussion. I can understand either preference. And as long as it is represented as a preference I won't quibble with either one.]

Quote of the Day: 21 May 2025 #QotD

“You must not say ‘never.’ That is a lazy slurring-over of the facts.” -The First Speaker, Second Foundation
[Precision in thought is indicated by precision in language. And impression in language reveals sloppy thinking.]

Quote of the Day: 20 May 2025 #QotD

“I’ve got plenty of common sense! I just choose to ignore it.” -Calvin, Calvin and Hobbes
[I feel this in my bones.]

Quote of the Day: 19 May 2025 #QotD

“You can wander into debt, but you can’t wander out.” -Dave Ramsey
[A bit like a swamp. And gets your life about as complicated, too.]

Quote of the Day: 18 May 2025 #QotD

“The Atonement of Jesus Christ provides the ultimate rescue from the trials we face in this life.” -Quentin L. Cook

Quote of the Day: 17 May 2025 #QotD

“He settled somewhere between smart and stupid, perched on the very peak of the bell curve and assuming that it was the right place to be, as highest has to be best.” -Hoid, Tress of the Emerald Sea
[There are an awful lot of people like that. I've met so many of them.]

Quote of the Day: 16 May 2025 #QotD

“We live in an age that reads too much to be wise, and that thinks too much to be beautiful.” -Lord Henry Wotton, The Picture of Dorian Gray

[I don't think we're reading as much these days, and I am certain that we, as a society, aren't thinking too much. But I haven't seen an increase in wisdom or in beauty.]

Quote of the Day: 15 May 2025 #QotD

“Mercy, detached from Justice, grows unmerciful. That is the important paradox.” -C. S. Lewis
[When there is no sense of what justice demands, then there is no way to apply mercy.]

Quote of the Day: 14 May 2025 #QotD

“It’s important to develop the habit of noticing the choices you are making.” -Sophia, The Power of TED
[Being aware of those choices is the first step to making good choices.]

Quote of the Day: 13 May 2025 #QotD

“The social cohesion that makes civilized life possible has been loosened by the systematic undermining of families and of commonly shared values and a common culture.” -Thomas Sowell
[Social cohesion is important, and we can build it through a shared culture and by making some other changes to increase trust in one another.]

Quote of the Day: 12 May 2025 #QotD

“Uninformed opinions are easy to come by.” -Susan Wise Bauer
[In fact, that's almost all you will encounter.]

Quote of the Day: 11 May 2025 #QotD

“May each of us treasure this truth; one cannot forget mother and remember God. One cannot remember mother and forget God. Why? Because these two sacred persons, God and mother, partners in creation, in love, in sacrifice, in service, are as one.” -Thomas S. Monson
[Happy Mother's Day!]

Quote of the Day: 10 May 2025 #QotD

“I love other people.

“I just don’t like them.” -Rat, Pearls Before Swine

[I feel this way sometimes. It can be grating to be in close proximity to people, even if you love those people.]

Quote of the Day: 9 May 2025 #QotD

“This is the huge modern heresy of altering the human soul to fit its conditions, instead of altering human conditions to fit the human soul.” -G. K. Chesterton
[It seems to me that we really ought to work at changing conditions rather than souls. Souls feel like something only God ought to be mucking with.]

Quote of the Day: 8 May 2025 #QotD

“At the end of the day, people have to be who they are. If you try to take that from them, you diminish them. You reduce them to children, unable to make decisions for themselves.” -Harry Dresden, Peace Talks
[You have to respect other people's agency and autonomy. Otherwise, they are merely objects to you for you to manipulate to your own amusement or purposes.]

Quote of the Day: 7 May 2025 #QotD

“… Rumor, who is born in a moment, is full-grown the next. She begins to move through the town, trailing ever more elaborate finery behind her.” -Pheris Mostrus Erondites, Return of the Thief
[A good idea of how rumors grow, mutate, and propagates. It also provides a vivid description of the same.]

Quote of the Day: 6 May 2025 #QotD

“Just be careful what you wish for, because fate might give it to you good and hard.” -Kutty, Graveyard of Demons
[Oh, it probably will. At least, that has been my experience. For the most part.]

Quote of the Day: 5 May 2025 #QotD

“The consequences of our actions are always so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is a very difficult business indeed.” -Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
[It is always tricky to predict the future. And always wise to couch those predictions in terms of what is currently known, as it is often something that is unknown that causes the prediction to be incorrect.]

Quote of the Day: 4 May 2025 #QotD

“I recognize that in the midst of the good news of the gospel, there are those who struggle, who have faith challenges, doubts, and questions that seem to have no answers. Brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ is the answer.” -Ronald A. Rasband

Quote of the Day: 3 May 2025 #QotD

“The price of freedom is the willingness to do sudden battle, anywhere, any time, and with utter recklessness.” -Elihu Nivens, The Puppet Masters
[To be willing. But also capable. Without the ability, the willingness is useless.]

Quote of the Day: 2 May 2025 #QotD

“Fundamentally, honor was itself a debt, a code of behavior, a promise, something inside yourself that you owed to the others who saw it in you.” -George Winston (thought), Debt of Honor
[This is one way of looking at it. And if it helps you understand the concept, then take it and apply it as you will.]

Quote of the Day: 1 May 2025 #QotD

“I wish I were an evil wizard. They have all the fun.” -Jason Walker, Chasing the Prophecy
[Not sure I'd care to be an evil wizard. But it does seem that magic users get to have most of the fun. That could be because of the manipulation of cosmic powers thing. Yeah, that's probably it.]

Quote of the Day: 30 April 2025 #QotD

“Spend time with those you love.” -Gad Saad
[A good reminder to prioritize the things that actually matter.]

Quote of the Day: 29 April 2025

“Life expands to new territories. Painfully, perhaps even dangerously. But life finds a way.” -Ian Malcolm, Jurassic Park
[Not all life, and not at all times, but you can expect life to expand to fill the voids. Especially given enough time.]

Quote of the Day: 28 April 2025 #QotD

“[T]he truth is that nobody can truly appreciate world-class talent unless they themselves have spent a great deal of time trying to be even a fraction as good.” -Mark Lawrence
[You have to get to the point of being able to appreciate what he can do that you cannot before you can truly understand how good he truly is. Most don't come close to actually comprehending this discrepancy.]

Quote of the Day: 27 April 2025 #QotD

“How different life could be if the world esteemed Jesus above the level of a profane swearing streak from time to time.” -Jeffrey R. Holland

Quote of the Day: 26 April 2025 #QotD

“[T]hank-yous aren’t only expressions of gratitude; they’re crucial belonging cues that generate a contagious sense of safety, connection, and motivation.” -Daniel Coyle
[Gratitude is a practice almost criminally undervalued in our society. We would be far better off if we were to increase our expressions of gratitude even a little. But so much better if it were increased by an order of magnitude or more.]

Quote of the Day: 25 April 2025 #QotD

“In the way we regard our children, our spouses, neighbors, colleagues, and strangers, we choose to see others either as people like ourselves or as objects. They either count like we do or they don’t.” -Avi Rozen, The Anatomy of Peace
[A good reminder that this is true of everyone we interact with, and not just those closest to us. Though, it may be most evident with those closest to us because we see them so much more than the others.]

Quote of the Day: 24 April 2025 #QotD

“It was wild, it was exhilarating, it was almost getting killed—and the almost bit is what made it something they would feel able to talk about later, though clearly getting killed would shut up most people.” -Terry Pratchett
[That's the razor's edge adrenaline seekers ride. Many of them fall to one side or the other eventually. But it is something that can invigorate your life for a while.]

Quote of the Day: 23 April 2025 #QotD

“You absolutely cannot make a series of good decisions without first confronting the brutal facts.” -Jim Collins
[But they're so uncomfortable. Can't we just ignore them. It'd make things so much more pleasant. Until we fail.]

Quote of the Day: 22 April 2025 #QotD

“Never touch a mummified body part if you don’t know where it’s been. That’s my motto.” -Anthony Lockwood, The Creeping Shadow
[A good practice to follow, if not the best motto to live by.]

Quote of the Day: 21 April 2025 #QotD

“The human mind resents control.” -The Mule, Second Foundation
[Some of them more than others (the Pup being one of the prime examples.) But we all seem to resist when another attempts to subvert our agency.]

Quote of the Day: 20 April 2025 #QotD

“As we turn to Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, He rescues us from the storms of life through His Atonement in accordance with the Father’s plan.” -Quentin L. Cook

[Happy Easter!]

Quote of the Day: 19 April 2025 #QotD

“I keep hoping there’s a less obvious solution.” -Calvin, Calvin and Hobbes
[So many times I just want the obvious solution to be something that can be avoided. However, there is rarely an option that allows me to avoid what I don't want to do while still getting the benefits that come from those uncomfortable acts.]

Quote of the Day: 18 April 2025 #QotD

“The best thing you can do for your kids isn’t to make their life easy. It’s to teach them how to handle challenges, work hard, and make wise financial decisions.” -Dave Ramsey
[Still working on it. I'm not sure I do this well, but it is something we try to do.]

Quote of the Day: 17 April 2025 #QotD

“I figure that’s why the city keeps building more schools. Have you seen how many there are these days? The government is saving them up, in case they need to make some kids happy. Then they’ll burn ’em down.” -Wayne Ferrisborn, The Lost Metal
[I mean, it's as good of a reason as any I've heard for why government schools proliferate. They certainly aren't being used to actually educate the students. In most cases they are a glorified day care provider. All of this notwithstanding the existence of some good and kind teachers.]

Quote of the Day: 16 April 2025 #QotD

“I have learned to save myself useless emotion.” -Mary Debenham, Murder on the Orient Express
[If only it were that easy. Emotions come regardless of your desire for them. You will be affected. But you can learn to deal with them appropriately.]

Quote of the Day: 15 April 2025 #QotD

“One of the biggest lessons I learned in life is that I am under no obligation to set myself on fire so that others can be warm.” -daddybear71
[A vivid description of a common occurrence. You don't have to help others at the expense of your own wellbeing.]