“A lot of my strength came from my upbringing.”

The greatest lesson I learned that year in Mrs. Henry’s class was the lesson Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to teach us all: Never judge people by the color of their skin. God makes each of us unique in ways that go much deeper.

I want to inspire kids.

That’s really what my work is all about – bringing kids together.

You cannot look at a person and tell whether they’re good or bad.

If you really think about it, if we begin to teach history exactly the way that it happened – good, bad, ugly, no matter what – I believe that we’re going to find that we are closer, more connected than we are apart.

We must absolutely take care of one another.

We have tolerance, respect, and equality in our written laws but not in the hearts of some of our people.

Racism is a form of hate. We pass it on to our young people. When we do that, we are robbing children of their innocence.

Now that I’m a parent, I know that my parents were incredibly brave.

I pray for my enemies, that God would forgive them.

Evil looks like you and I. I know what evil looks like, and I know that it comes in all shades and colors.

Kids come into the world with clean hearts, fresh starts.

My mother and our pastor always said you have to pray for your enemies and people who do you wrong, and that’s what I did.

Love is Love. Better to Love than Hate!!!

Evil isn’t prejudiced. It doesn’t care what you look like; it just wants a place to rest. It’s up to you whether you give it that place.

Learn from these monuments, whether we like them or not, and put them in their context.

Growth is often a painful process.

What you focus on grows, what you think about expands, and what you dwell upon determines your destiny.

I think as you grow up, you realize you have obligations just in your life – being a citizen, being part of humanity – to help other people, to help your country, to help the world.

The virtuous soul that is alone and without a master is like a long lone burning coal; it will grow colder rather than hotter.

I still love the theology of the Mormon religion and think it is a wonderful way to grow up.

My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

Where you are now, is not where you will always be.

He who lives only unto himself withers and dies, while he who forgets himself in the service of others grows and blossoms.