Hugh Nibley Quotes

True knowledge never shuts the door on more knowledge, but zeal often does.

Why read the Book of Mormon? Because angels do not come on trivial errands.

Why do people feel guilty about TV? What is wrong with it? Just this: it shuts out all the wonderful things of which the mind is capable, leaving it drugged in a state of thoughtless stupor.

What on earth have a man's name, degree, academic position, and of all things, opinions, to do with whether a thing is true?

Indolent and unworthy the beggar may be—but that is not your concern: It is better, said Joseph Smith, to feed ten impostors than to run the risk of turning away one honest petition.

No matter where we begin, if we pursue knowledge diligently and honestly, our quest will inevitably lead us from the things of the earth to the things of heaven.

[Eve] sees through Satan's disquise of clever hypocrisy, identifies him, and exposes him for what he is...[ever since Satan has] had it in for women.

Don't be like anybody else. Be different. Then you can make a contribution. Otherwise, you just echo something; you're just a reflection.

The gas-law of learning: . . . any amount of information no matter how small will fill any intellectual void no matter how large.

You can only expand your capacities by working to the very limit

The Book of Mormon is an inexhaustible encyclopedia of knowledge.

Every way of life produces its own environment and in turn is influenced by that environment.

The tragedy of the Book of Mormon is not what became of the Nephites but what the Nephites became.

Well, I have a testimony, I may be ignorant, but I am not lost.

It is throwing our life away, to think of the wrong things.

In this crucible of wickedness the true greatness of Mormon shines like a star.

Things that appear unlikely, impossible, or paradoxical from one point of view often make perfectly good sense from another.

Being self-taught is no disgrace; but being self-certified is another matter.

As knowledge increases, the verdict of yesterday must be reversed today, and in the long run the most positive authority is the least to be trusted.

The unique value of Christianity lies in those things which would never in a million years occur to men if left to themselves.

Nobody loves the rat race, but nobody can think of anything else—Satan has us just where he wants us.

At UCLA I quickly learned the knack of getting grades, a craven surrender to custom, since grades had little to do with learning.

Careerism is the determination to reign in hell rather than serve in heaven.

Man's dominion is a call to service, not a license to to exterminate.

The very helplessness of the public which makes it necessary for them to consult the experts also makes it impossible for them to judge how expert they are.

Competitiveness always rests on the assumption of a life-and-death struggle.

Joseph Smith could not have picked a better year to start The Book of Mormon than 600 B.C.

The genius of stable societies is that they achieve stability without stagnation, repetition without monotony, conformity with originality, obedience with liberty.