quotes and misc items from the back of my missionary scripture set

i've recently decided to focus on transferring my "highlights" from my missionary scripture set to my lds 'notes and journal' which is on-line.  i've already completed my 'book of mormon inspection' via blog, but now i'm going back and transferring all my highlights and sidebar comments from my physical set of scriptures to my digital set.

as i've been doing this, i've found lots of little inserts and other quotes either sitting in the set or written in.  i figured i could transfer these to a single post and have them placed here on this blog.  each "item" is detailed below between the asterisks.

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taken from elder loren c dunn's article in the june 1995 ensign: elder marion g romney said, "a testimony comes when the holy ghost gives the earnest seek a witness of the truth.  a moving testimony vitalizes faith; that is, it induces repentance and obedience to the commandments.  conversion, on the other hand, is the fruit of, or the reward for, repentance and obedience.  (of course ones testimony continues to increase as he is converted)“Conversion is effected by divine forgiveness, which remits sins. The sequence is something like this. An honest seeker hears the message. He asks the Lord in prayer if it is true. The Holy Spirit gives him a witness. This is a testimony. If one’s testimony is strong enough, he repents and obeys the commandments. By such obedience he receives divine forgiveness which remits sin. Thus he is converted to a newness of life. His spirit is healed.” (see conference report october 1963)

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 i did have one non-quote item in my scriptures that i kept from december 1996 ... back then, we had to actually use pens and pencils and paper to write letters.  we then had to fold the paper and put it in an envelop and mail it off which required postage.  from guatemala, we would send our letters to the mission office who would put all the letters in a pouch which got delivered to salt lake city.  the contents of the pouch were then dumped in the u.s. postal service system.  so my letters to my family in the u.s. only cost me $.32 (compared to $.49 today).  my family would send me books of stamps so i could write them back.  i kept one stamp from december 1996.  why did i keep it?  not exactly sure, but whenever i look at this stamp, i get these warm nostalgic feelings - a reminder of home, i guess.

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one quote is in spanish and is attributed to "dr. cristian barnard", but when i found the quote on-line, it is actually attributed to walter wintle.  regardless, i like the quote.
If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you like to win, but you think you can’t,
It is almost certain you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost,
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow’s will.
It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You’ve got to think high to rise,
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man.
But soon or late the man who wins,
Is the man who thinks he can.

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i had a clipping from a church news article (August 31, 1996) that summarized the various reasons people serve.  this was from a talk given by elder dallin h oaks from the october 1984 general conference.  here is the link to the whole talk: why do we serve?

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some hand-written notes ... not sure where they came from ... maybe from a talk given at a zone conference.
at the top is the thought: there must be law or government from a supreme being for happiness to exist.

below that thought i have the word LAW circled.  below is a line to two columns:
disobey - action - obey
punishment - consequence - blessing
misery - feelings - happiness

other notes
through diligent study, faith & prayer we gain knowledge.
knowledge allows us to decide wisely - to choose consequences.
we must decide what we want to receive.
who or what makes us act?  we must be given choices and then choose
satan - enticement/agency - god

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another couple of quotes; i got these from the church news as well.
the english writer william thackeray put it this way: to endure is greater than to dare; to tire out hostile fortune; to be daunted by no difficulty, to keep heart when all have lost it; to go through intrigue spotless, to forego even ambition when the end is gained - who can say this is not greatness? (the virginians)

henry wadsworth longfellow wrote a few lines that are frequently quoted:
the heights by great men reached and kept
were not attained by sudden flight,
but they, while their companions slept
were toiling upward in the night
(the ladder of st. augustine)

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another non-quote item ... this is from my parents who were serving in the prague czech republic mission at the same time.  they were on a church education mission, helping set up institutes and seminaries in central europe.  my mom wanted to show me they were trying to memorize section 4 in the czech language.