Whimsical. Endearing. Magical. Mysterious. These are a few among a host of words that can describe the famous Albus Dumbledore, but among the most accurate is wise. Like many children born in the '90s, I was raised on the Harry Potter books and the words of Albus Dumbledore, who taught me what true bravery and power look like.
Since Latter-day Saints are taught to “seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom” (D&C 88:118), I wanted to take a moment to reflect on this childhood hero of mine and the times Dumbledore taught doctrine:
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1. “It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.” —Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
"We shouldn’t wait to be happy until we reach some future point, only to discover that happiness was already available—all the time! Life is not meant to be appreciated only in retrospect." —Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Of Regrets and Resolutions"
2. “It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.” —Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
"Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." —1 Timothy 4:12
3. "To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." —Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
"Brothers and sisters, we live to die and we die to live—in another realm. If we are well prepared, death brings no terror."—Russell M. Nelson, “Now Is the Time to Prepare”
4. "As much money and life as you could want! The two things most human beings would choose above all—the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them." —Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
"For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."—Mosiah 3:19
5. “The truth. It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with caution.” —Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." —John 8:32
"Wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center." —1 Nephi 16:2
6. “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” —Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
"The choices we make determine our destiny." —Thomas S. Monson, "Choices"
7. "Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light." —Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
"Will your happiness in spite of your trials draw others who are good and noble and who need your friendship? Will you turn on your light? I testify the Lord Jesus Christ will go before us and be in our midst." —Sharon Eubank, "Turn on Your Light"
8. “You think the dead we loved ever truly leave us? You think that we don’t recall them more clearly than ever in times of great trouble? Your father is alive in you, Harry, and shows himself plainly when you have need of him.”―Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
"As a special witness of Jesus Christ, I testify that He lives! I also testify that the veil of death is very thin. I know by experiences too sacred to relate that those who have gone before are not strangers to leaders of this Church. To us and to you, our loved ones may be just as close as the next room—separated only by the doors of death."—Russell M. Nelson, "Doors of Death"
9. “You fail to recognize that it matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be!” —Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
"What we think and do determines who we are—and who we will become." —Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The Love of God"
10. “Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.” —Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
"We are created in the image of our heavenly parents; we are God’s spirit children. Therefore, we have a vast capacity for love—it is part of our spiritual heritage. What and how we love not only defines us as individuals; it also defines us as a church. Love is the defining characteristic of a disciple of Christ."—Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "The Love of God"
11. "We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided." —Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
"Be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine." —D&C 38:27
12. "Curiosity is not a sin. . . . But we should exercise caution with our curiosity." —Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
"There are times in our struggle with the adversities of mortality when we become weary, weakened, and susceptible to the temptations that seem to be placed in our pathways. . . . As with Jesus, so with us, relief comes and miracles are enjoyed after the trial and temptation of our faith." —Howard W. Hunter, "The Temptations of Christ"
13. "We must all face the choice between what is right, and what is easy." —Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
"As we face the many decisions in life, the easy and popular messages of the world will not usually be the right ones to choose, and it will take much courage to choose the right." —L. Tom Perry, "Choose the Right"
14. "While we may come from different places and speak in different tongues, our hearts beat as one." —Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
"You have seen evidence, as I have, that we are moving toward becoming one. The miracle of unity is being granted to us as we pray and work for it in the Lord’s way. Our hearts will be knit together in unity." —Henry B. Eyring, "Our Hearts Knit as One"
15. "This pain is part of being human . . . the fact that you can feel pain like this is your greatest strength." —Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
" In the pain, the agony, and the heroic endeavors of life, we pass through a refiner’s fire, and the insignificant and the unimportant in our lives can melt away like dross and make our faith bright, intact, and strong. In this way the divine image can be mirrored from the soul." —James E. Faust, "The Refiner's Fire"
16. "It is important to fight and fight again, and keep fighting, for only then can evil be kept at bay though never quite eradicated." —Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life.” —1 Tim. 6:11–12
17. "It is the unknown we fear when we look upon death and darkness. Nothing more." —Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
"Life does not begin with birth, nor does it end with death. . . . We were born to die, and we die to live (see 2 Corinthians 6:9). As seedlings of God, we barely blossom on earth; we fully flower in heaven." —Russell M. Nelson, “Doors of Death"
18. "I am not worried, Harry, I am with you." —Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
"Fear thou not; for I am with thee." —Isaiah 41:10
19. "We must try not to sink beneath our anguish . . . but battle on." —Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
"The war is for the souls of men. The battle lines have been drawn since Adam: evil versus righteousness. In this the final dispensation and in preparation for the Millennium, the forces of evil have intensified and united under the powerful influences of Satan. On the opposite side of the line, the kingdom of God is clearly sounding the trumpet of righteousness, as perhaps never before." Durrel A. Woolsey, "A Strategy for War"
20. “It is a curious thing, Harry, but perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it.” —Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
"God so loved the world that He sent His Only Begotten Son to help us. And His Son, Jesus Christ, gave His life for us. All so that we could have access to godly power—power sufficient to deal with the burdens, obstacles, and temptations of our day." —Russell M. Nelson, "Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives"
21. "Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living and above all, those who live without love." —Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
"'Love,' Emily Dickinson wrote, 'is life, and life hath immortality'. . . . Life without love has a peculiar, haunting quality of resignation and stagnation about it. But love is a force that makes life volatile, and the contagion of it sweeps like wildfire from heart to heart. Where love is, life begets life and love begets love, and in all its compounding there is born a quality of immortality." —Barbara S. Smith, "Love Is Life"
22. "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." —Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
"But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." —Matthew 6: 20-21
Bonus Dumbledore Quotes
Though not necessarily gospel related, here are a few extra words of wisdom from Albus Dumbledore it's hard to pass up.
"One can never have enough socks." —Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
"For in dreams we enter a world that is entirely our own. Let them swim in the deepest ocean or glide over the highest cloud." — Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
"Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?" —Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows