A classic and popular early post from our old blog, “My Best LDS”. Created as a New Year’s post, but inspiring all year long.

Are you ready for the start of a brand new year? Are you thinking about what lies ahead, maybe making some resolutions? Here are a few quotes from leaders of the about the future and goal setting to herald in the New Year!

“Personally, I am enthusiastic about the future. You can be too. You are living in the most exciting period of time in history. Many reasons could be cited for that optimism. Yet your greatest source of hope and assurance is that you have the fulness of the teachings of the Master. They will show you how to live a good life. You can receive ordinances and covenants that when righteously lived assure true happiness and significant attainment.”
—Elder Richard G. Scott

“As we think about the future, we should be filled with faith and hope. Always remember that Jesus Christ—the Creator of the universe, the architect of our salvation, and the head of this Church—is in control. He will not permit His work to fail. He will be victorious over all darkness and evil.”
—President M. Russell Ballard

“The time has now come to turn about and face the future. This is a season of a thousand opportunities. It is ours to grasp and move forward. What a wonderful time it is for each of us to do his or her small part in moving the work of the Lord on to its magnificent destiny.”
—President Gordon B. Hinckley

“You must cultivate a desire to develop the skill of setting worthy and realistic goals.

If your goals are righteous, then go for them.

When you set a goal and commit yourself to the necessary self-discipline to reach that goal, you will eliminate most of the problems in your life. Spend your energies doing those things that will make a difference.

We have to have faith. We have to have faith in God. We have to have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And oh, how desperately we have to have faith in ourselves.”
—President M. Russell Ballard

“Setting goals is a worthy endeavor. We know that our Heavenly Father has goals because He has told us that His work and glory is ‘to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man’ (Moses 1:39).

“Our personal goals can bring out the best in us. However, one of the things that derail our efforts in making and keeping resolutions is procrastination. We sometimes delay starting, waiting for the right moment to begin—the first day of a new year, the beginning of summer, when we’re called as bishop or Relief Society president, after the kids get into school, after we retire.”
—Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

“You don’t need an invitation before you start moving in the direction of your righteous goals. You don’t need to wait for permission to become the person you were designed to be. You don’t need to wait to be invited to serve in the Church.
“We can sometimes waste years of our lives waiting to be chosen (see D&C 121:34–36). But that is a false premise. You are already chosen!”
—Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

“An old proverb says, ‘The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.’
“There is something wonderful and hopeful about the word now. There is something empowering about the fact that if we choose to decide now, we can move forward at this very moment.

“Now is the best time to start becoming the person we eventually want to be—not only 20 years from now but also for all eternity.”
—Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf

“It is not possible to make real change all by ourselves. Our own willpower and our own good intentions are not enough. When we make mistakes or choose poorly, we must have the help of our Savior to get back on track. We partake of the sacrament week after week to show our faith in His power to change us. We confess our sins and promise to forsake them.

When our best efforts are not quite enough, it is through His grace that we receive the strength to keep trying.  The Lord says: ‘If men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them’ (Ether 12:27).”
—Sister Julie B. Beck

“I testify to you that our promised blessings are beyond measure. Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to our hearts as we walk uprightly and keep the commandments. There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us.

“My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith.”
—President Thomas S. Monson

“It is not enough to want to make the effort and to say we’ll make the effort. We must actually make the effort. It’s in the doing, not just the thinking, that we accomplish our goals.”
—President Thomas S. Monson

“If we constantly put our goals off, we will never see them fulfilled. Someone put it this way: Live only for tomorrow, and you will have a lot of empty yesterdays today.”
—President Thomas S. Monson

“I repeat, the crucial decision of life does not center in the choice between fame and obscurity, nor between wealth and poverty. The decision of life is between good and evil. It is possible to be both rich and famous and at once succeed in the eternal spiritual sense, but the Lord warned of the difficulty of it when He talked about camels and needles.
“If neither wealth nor prominence are ideal objectives, how can we then be motivated to excellence? Toward what goals can we strive?

“There are two that I would suggest. Excellence itself is a worthy goal—to be good, very good, at whatever you do; to develop your own talents to the fullest extent that you can; to develop a balanced, worthy, sensible individual.

“The Lord said it. ‘Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect’ (Matt. 5:48).
“The other goal is service. ‘When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God’ (Mosiah 2:17).”
—President Boyd K. Packer

“Your vision of your future will help you press forward. Take a few minutes to envision where you want to be in one year or two or five. Then take action to prepare yourselves. People don’t just run a marathon when they decide to do it. They must train daily, slowly building stamina and endurance to run the 26.2-mile distance. So it is with life. It is daily diligence with prayer and scripture study that will help you reach your goals. Your daily decisions will influence generations.”
—Sister Elaine S. Dalton

“Set goals that are well balanced—not too many nor too few, and not too high nor too low. Write down your attainable goals and work on them according to their importance. Pray for divine guidance in your goal setting.”
—President M. Russell Ballard

“With technology you are witnessing an explosion of knowledge. You are constantly bombarded by sound, video, and networking. Be selective and don’t allow this surge of information to distract you or slow your progress. Arise, young women! You determine your goals. You decide what enters your mind and heart.”
—Sister Mary N. Cook

“Some of you may wonder: Is there any future for me? What does a new year or a new semester, a new major or a new romance, a new job or a new home hold for me? Will I be safe? Will life be sound? Can I trust in the Lord and in the future? Or would it be better to look back, to go back, to stay in the past?

“To all such of every generation, I call out, ‘Remember Lot’s wife.’ Faith is for the future. Faith builds on the past but never longs to stay there. Faith trusts that God has great things in store for each of us and that Christ truly is the ‘high priest of good things to come’ (Hebrews 9:11).”
—Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

“Keep your eyes on your dreams, however distant and far away. Live to see the miracles of repentance and forgiveness, of trust and divine love that will transform your life today, tomorrow, and forever. That is a New Year’s resolution I ask you to keep.”
—Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

“Our goal is to achieve eternal life. That is the greatest goal in the world. We are not opposed to goals. We do not want stake and full-time mission presidents to establish quotas for the missionaries. Rather, we expect them to inspire missionaries to set their own goals, and make them high enough to challenge their very best efforts, and work to achieve them. … We look to you to teach these principles and follow up.”
—President Spencer W. Kimball

“If we believe and are faithful, we are promised all that the Father has. If we receive all that the Father has, there is nothing more for us to receive in this life or the life to come. We should remember that in our challenges and struggles against the powers of evil and darkness, ‘they that be with us are more than they that be with them’ (2 Kgs. 6:16). We belong to the greatest cause on earth. We are the pioneers of the future. Let us go forth like the armies of Helaman and build the kingdom of God. Like the royal army, let us be ‘united, bold, and strong, … marching forth to conquer on life’s great battlefield’ (Hymns, #251).  All of these hopes, blessings, and opportunities will come to us if we will only believe and be not afraid.” —President James E. Faust

“Do what is right; be faithful and fearless.
Onward, press onward, the goal is in sight.
Eyes that are wet now, ere long will be tearless.
Blessings await you in doing what’s right!”
—LDS Hymns, #237

Happy New Year! Make it Awesome!