Message from Heber J. Grant
by Susan Wild
 

Print on card stock (two to a page), punch two holes along the left side and put a twig through the holes.

A message to teachers from President Heber J. Grant:

"There is a saying that 'As the twig is bent the tree is inclined.'  You who teach [our children] are engaged in the labor of bending the twig...

There is no dividend that any human being can draw from bonds or stocks, or anything in the wealth of the world, that compares with the knowledge in one's heart that he or she has been an instrument in the hands of God of shaping some life for good; and I can promise the righteous teachers of our youth that as the years come and go they will gather dividends of thanks and gratitude from the children whose lives they have been the instruments in the hands of God of shaping for good...

We may think that the impressions we make may not be lasting, but I can assure you they are.  I am sure that a testimony borne by a teacher to little children, under the inspiration of the living God, is a difficult thing for them to forget...

Each and every one of our teachers has the opportunity and the power under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, to make an impression upon the hearts and souls of little innocent children and young boys and girls who are starting out in the battle of life.  I pray with all the fervor of my soul that God will help you in your labors, and I can promise you that He will help you.  The important thing for you is to have a love of your work and to do your work under the inspiration of the Spirit of the living God."