There is one sure criterion of judgment as to religious faith in doctrinal matters; can you reduce it to practice? If not, have none of it. — Hosea Ballou Copy Share Image
There is no better rule to try a doctrine by than the question, Is it merciful, or is it unmerciful? If its character is that of mercy, it has the image of Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and… — Hosea Ballou Copy Share Image
Envy may justly be called "the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity;" it is the most acid fruit that grows on the stock… — Hosea Ballou Copy Share Image
Be circumspect in your dealings, and let the seed you plant be the offspring of prudence and care; thus fruit follows the fair blossom,… — Hosea Ballou Copy Share Image
Honest and courageous people have very little to say about either their courage or their honesty. The sun has no need to boast of… — Hosea Ballou Copy Share Image
The cloudy weather melts at length into beauty, and the brightest smiles of the heart are born of its tears. — Hosea Ballou Copy Share Image
Servility is disgusting to a truly noble character, and engenders only contempt. — Hosea Ballou Copy Share Image
Too many people embrace religion from the same motives that they take a companion in wedlock, not from true love of the person, but… — Hosea Ballou Copy Share Image
Man, being not only a religious, but also a social being, requires for the promotion of his rational happiness religious institutions, which, while they… — Hosea Ballou Copy Share Image
There is one court whose findings are incontrovertible, and whose sessions are held in the chambers of our own breast. — Hosea Ballou Copy Share Image
