David Wright > Quotes

“People only rooted for the underdog in movies, not in middle school.”
― Sean Platt & David Wright, Yesterday's Gone: Season One

“Grace is defined in the Webster 1828 dictionary as “the free unmerited love and favor of God.”
― David Wright, Receiving the Atonement

“Looking into the eyes of those in need we recognize that God’s unmerited grace and mercy are the only reason we were released from spiritual prison. When we are offered the privilege of helping someone else who may not technically deserve our help, as God does to us, we are placed on holy ground.  It is holy because we are placed in the temporary position of God to determine whether we will act with grace and mercy as He has with us.”
― David Wright, Receiving the Atonement

“When it’s all said and done, I want to be able to say I got the most out of my potential. I don’t want to look back, however many years from now, and say, ‘I wonder if I would have worked a little harder. I wonder if I would have done this or done that, how things would have turned out.’ I want to, when it’s all said and done, be able to put my head on my pillow and say, ‘I did everything I could do — good or bad.”
― David Wright

“The Lords’ grace unlocked by the atonement can perfect our imperfections…while much of the perfection process involves a cleansing from the contamination of sin and bitterness, there is an additional affirmative dimension through which we acquire a Christ-like nature…The Savior’s victory can compensate not only for our sins but also for our inadequacies; not only for our deliberate mistakes but also for sins committed in ignorance, our errors of judgment and our unavoidable imperfections.  Our ultimate aspiration is more than being forgiven of sin- we seek to become holy…divine grace is the only source that can finally fulfill that aspiration, after all we can do. (The Broken Heart pp. 16,20)”
― David Wright, Receiving the Atonement

“The distinction between sin and weakness is important to understand the enabling or strengthening power of the atonement.  Sin results from the wrong choices we make when faced with temptation.  Sin is a choice to do wrong when we know what is right  (see Romans 3:20; 5:13).  God does not encourage or give us sin.  Moroni makes the important distinction between sin and weakness by clearly stating, “I give unto men weakness that they may be humble” (Ether 12:27).  We can’t imagine a prophet saying “God gives unto men sin.”  In fact, Elder Russell M. Ballard taught that “…the Lord gives us weaknesses-- not sin but weaknesses-- so that we may be humble…if you will but humble yourselves and turn to Them, Their grace, Their enabling power can not only help you throw off the chains of sin but actually turn your weaknesses into strengths” (BYU Speeches March 3, 2002).  This distinction helps us see that overcoming weakness is not necessarily the same thing as overcoming sin.  Weakness seems to be a part of the human nature inherent in mortality.  This weakness is felt as we experience temptation, trial, suffering, or the challenge of spiritual tasks or progression.  But it is not sin.”
― David Wright, Receiving the Atonement

“Because Jesus Christ has prepared Himself from the foundations of the world we can trust Him as one uniquely qualified through the fullness of His love for His Father and us.  His love, meekness, condescension, knowledge, power, commitment to agency, and obedience combine to bring this elusive peace to all of God’s children.  Our peace was purchased by the shedding of the innocent blood of God’s purest Son.  Our trust in His capacity to bring us this peace can be complete because that has been part of His work and His glory from the beginning.”
― David Wright, Receiving the Atonement

“Christ wants no disciple who is forced to follow Him, but that is the way Satan would love to get disciples.  While Lucifer has great power, and coercion is Satan’s preferred approach to getting followers, even he cannot force us.  He resorts to deception to get us to follow him.  He has to because his plan for happiness is a lie.  We must recognize that being deceived is our choice-- Satan cannot force it.  Lasting peace becomes impossible for one who is deceived.  Piercing through that deception is the challenge of every mortal.”
― David Wright, Receiving the Atonement

“Jesus perfect empathy was ensured when, along with His atonement for our sins, He took upon Himself our sicknesses, sorrows, griefs, and infirmities and came to know these according to the flesh.  He did this in order that He might be filled with perfect mercy and empathy and thereby know how to succor us in our infirmities.  He thus fully comprehends human suffering.(Ensign April 1997, 22)”
― David Wright, Receiving the Atonement

“…our Father’s plan subjects us to temptation and misery in this fallen world as the price of authentic joy.  Without tasting the bitter, we actually cannot understand the sweet…But growth means growing pains.  It also means learning from our mistakes in a continual process made possible by the Saviors grace, which he extends both during and “after all we can do.”  Adam and Eve learned constantly from their often harsh experience…Yet because of the Atonement, they could learn from their experience without being condemned by it.  Christ’s sacrifice didn’t just erase their choices and return them to an Eden of innocence.  That would be a story with no plot and no character growth.  His plan is developmental…(Ensign May 2004, 97)”
― David Wright, Receiving the Atonement

“learning not to give a f*ck and not to focus on the non-essentials and the superfluous is the way forward.”
― David Wright, How to Be a Stoic Minimalist: Employing Ancient Philosophy and Simplicity to Live a Happy Life

“The Book of Mormon teaches us that God will always prepare a way for us to escape from the trials we will be given.  But we must understand that the escape will almost never be out of the trial.  It will usually be through it and, in the process, the Lord will change our hearts”
― David Wright, Receiving the Atonement

“However dim our days may seem, they have been a lot darker for the Savior of the world.  As a reminder of those days, Jesus has chosen, even in a resurrected state, to retain for the benefit of His disciples the wounds in His hands and in His feet and in His side- signs if you will that painful things happen even to the pure and the perfect: signs if you will that pain in this world is not evidence that God does not love you; signs if you will that problems pass and happiness can be ours.  Remind others that it is the wounded Christ who is the captain of our souls.  He who yet bears the scars of our forgiveness… these wounds are the principal way we are to recognize Him when He comes.  He may invite us forward, as He has invited others, to see and feel those marks.(Ensign January 2003, 33)”
― David Wright, Receiving the Atonement

“We can walk out of our own prisons of pain and suffering.  Indeed the walls and chains of our captivity have been removed.  The warmth of the sun of healing can be felt, the flowers of spiritual renewal can be smelled, and the fresh air of liberation can be breathed if we will become convinced that Jesus has accomplished the healing part of the atonement.  But we must leave the prisons of our own disbelief.  We must recognize that the chains of victimhood have been broken.”
― David Wright, Receiving the Atonement

“Can you change something? If so, do it; if not, don’t worry about it – it’s that simple.”
― David Wright, How to Be a Stoic Minimalist: Employing Ancient Philosophy and Simplicity to Live a Happy Life

“The first principle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is helpful sometimes to look at expanded definitions of faith to understand it fully and as a result understand better the principles of the gospel that follow it like repentance.  Many understand faith as only belief.  This does not convey the full idea of saving faith. Trust is closely related to faith and might be used interchangeably with faith.  In fact, trust is a term that expands our understanding of faith.  It encourages more than just believing in something or someone but rather places confidence in and relies on that something or someone.  Trust implies risk.  Trust coupled with repentance seems to bridge the gap between belief and redemption.”
― David Wright, Receiving the Atonement