William Penn, founding leader of the colony that became Pennsylvania had these rules for conversation:
"Avoid company where it is not profitable or necessary, and in those occasions, speak little, and last. Silence is wisdom where speaking is folly, and always safe. Some are so foolish as to interrupt and anticipate those that speak instead of hearing and thinking before they answer, which is uncivil, as well as silly. If thou thinkest twice before thou speakest once, thou wilt speak twice the better for it. Better to say nothing than not to the purpose. And to speak pertinently, consider both what is fit and when it is fit, to speak. In all debates, let truth be thy aim, not victory or an unjust interest; and endeavor to gain, rather than to expose, thy antagonist."Quoted in the book: God's Little Devotional for Graduates, p. 231
"Cold words freeze people, and hot words scorch them, and bitter words make them bitter, and wrathful words make them wrathful.
Kind words also produce their own image on men's souls; and a beautiful image it is.
They soothe, and quiet, and comfort the hearer. "
Blaise Pascal
Ted E. Brewerton - "Profanity and Swearing" - May 1983 Ensign, page 74
"The word of the Lord has thundered down through the generations: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." Profaning God's name is a great offense to the Spirit, and to do so is Satan's great ploy to mock our God."
For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
Matthew 12:37
“What we say and how we present ourselves not only betray our inner person but also mold that person, those around us, and finally our whole society.”
Seneca
"The Voice of Heaven is a still small voice. The voice of peace in the home is a quiet voice. There is need for much discipline in marriage, not of one's companion, but of oneself... When couples cultivate the art of the soft answer, it blesses their home, their life together, and their companionship."
"A filthy mind expresses itself in filthy and profane language. A clean mind expresses itself in language that is positive and uplifting and in deeds that bring happiness into the heart."
"Be clean in language. There is so much of filthy, sleazy talk these days.... It tells others that your vocabulary is so extremely limited that you cannot express yourself without reaching down into the gutter for words. Dirty talk is unbecoming any man who holds the priesthood, be he young or old. Nor can you as a priesthood holder take the name of the Lord in vain. Said Jehovah to the children of Israel, 'Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain' ."
Leroy Brownlow
"Much counsel has been given concerning our communications with others. The counsel given by the Apostle Paul to the Ephesian Saints seems to be most appropriate for the Latter-day Saints. He cautioned, 'Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is
good.' (Eph. 4:29.)
"There are destructive termites of homes, as well as of houses, and some of these are backbiting, evil-speaking, and faultfinding on the part either of parents or of children. Slander is poison to the soul. In the ideal home, there is no slanderous gossip about schoolteachers, about public officials, or about Church officials. I am more grateful now, as years have come and gone, to my father, who with hands lifted said, 'Now, no faultfinding about your teacher or anybody else.'
"Quarreling and swearing also are evils that lower the standards of the ideal home. I cannot imagine a father or mother swearing in the presence of children or even letting it pass their lips.
"George Washington set us a good example in this regard. When he learned that some of his officers were given to profanity, he sent a letter to them on July 1, 1776, from which I quote:
'The general is sorry to be informed that the foolish and wicked practice of profane cursing and swearing, a vice heretofore little known in an American army, is growing into fashion. He hopes the officers will, by example, as well as influence, endeavor to check it, and that both they and the men will reflect that we can have little hope of the blessing of heaven on our arms if we insult it by our impiety and folly. Added to this, it is a vice so mean and low, without any temptation, that every man of sense and character detests and despises it.' ”
Sally Berger
"Traveling over the country as I do, I recall an experience I had not too long ago when I went into a certain hotel. A group of men sat down around a table. They were business men. The first individual made a statement. What did he do first? He took the name of the Lord in vain. The individual there who answered his question and gave him the information he wanted, what did he do? He took the name of the Lord in vain, too. But in the Church of Jesus Christ, brethren and sisters, we never use the name of the Lord unless we are going to talk to Him, and in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. That is the only time we use those two names."
Joseph L. Wirthlin, "The Kingdom of God is Righteousness,"
"BYU Speeches of the Year," 1960, p. 6
"True eloquence consists in saying all that should be said, and that only."
La Rochefoucauld
Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)