David O. McKay Quotes

There are some things we should feel guilty about, but the guilt feelings should attach to the deed, not to the doer.

God holds his people responsible for righteousness, not for results.

Genius does not excuse evil.

If I was going to act irresponsibly, the least I could do was be responsible for it.

Never accept the blame for what evil people do. We are all responsible for our own actions." She was lecturing him, so she stopped. "Sorry. Hang around with Bran too long, and see if you don’t start passing around the Marrok’s advice as if he were Confucius.

All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride.

A man should not play the coward to his deeds. He should not repudiate them once he has performed them. Pangs of conscience are indecent.

My greatest personal mistake is ever to allow a word or moment that “doesn’t count,” i.e., that I do not refer to my own basic principles. Every word, every action, every moment counts. (This is the pattern on which everybody makes mistakes [or] becomes irrational — not relating their one action or one conviction to another.

Take account of your deeds before they are taken account of.

Self-respecting men and women think about the consequences of their actions-and are willing to take responsibility for them.

People of poor character tend to blame their choices on circumstances. Ethical people make good choices regardless of circumstances. If they make enough good choices, they begin to create better conditions for themselves.

I am only trying to call attention to a fact; the fact that this year, of this month, or, more likely, this very day, we have failed to practice ourselves the kind of behaviour we expect from other people.

We are not responsible for the behavior of anyone that goes contrary to what we teach, any more than the Pope of Rome or the Archbishop of Canterbury or a religious leader who teaches moral law and values can be charged with the errant behavior of a parishioner or congregant who may violate their moral teachings. That is on the individual.

Everyone performs bad actions... A bad person is someone who does not lament his bad actions.

Every person must stand up and be accountable, but be responsible for their actions.

I try to be a good person. I know what my downfalls are, so that's a good thing.

A moral being is one who is capable of reflecting on his past actions and their motives - of approving of some and disapproving of others.

Every person has free choice. Free to obey or disobey the Natural Laws. Your choice determines the consequences. Nobody ever did, or ever will, escape the consequences of his choices.

Asking someone else to do something immoral is immoral.

Men are not punished for their sins, but by them.

Good actions ennoble us, and we are the sons of our deeds.

Good actions ennoble us, we are the sons of our own deeds.

Every human must take responsibility for his actions.

In honorable dealing you should consider what you intended, not what you said or thought.

As somebody once said, we're not punished for our sins, we're punished by them.