Education Quote by Thomas S. Monson

Monson’s line works like a two-step correction: first, it dignifies agency, then it names the most common counterfeit of good judgment. “Take responsibility” is not a bland self-help slogan in a clerical voice; it’s a moral claim about adulthood. In his world, choices aren’t merely preferences, they’re covenants-with consequences that ripple into family, community, and a person’s relationship with the divine. The verb “learn” matters: he’s framing accountability as a practiced discipline, not a personality trait you either have or don’t.

The second sentence tightens the screw. “Don’t take counsel of your fears” is an arresting turn of phrase because it treats fear as a bad advisor rather than an emotion to be eliminated. Monson isn’t promising fear will vanish; he’s insisting it shouldn’t get a vote. The subtext is pastoral and practical: many people outsource responsibility by calling caution “wisdom,” postponement “prudence,” or conformity “peace.” Fear is noisy, persuasive, and often socially rewarded, especially in religious settings where risk can be misread as recklessness. He’s quietly disentangling spiritual discernment from anxiety.

Contextually, Monson preached to a community built around duty, service, and public commitments, often to young people standing at life-branching thresholds. The intent is to push listeners from passive waiting into deliberate choosing, while removing the most convenient alibi: “I was just scared.”