"There they are, nine Be’s which, if observed, will bring handsome dividends to any young man or woman. They will add sparkle to your days and peace to your nights. They will save you from heartache and pain. They will bring purpose into your life and give direction to your energies.They will bring you friends of your own kind. They will protect you from associations that would pull you down and deflect you from your course. This is a time to be happy. This is a time to feel joy and make friends and enjoy the best this life has to offer. What I have tried to put forth .... are simply a few suggestions, gained from many years of living, to help you do just that. The world will tell that certain kinds of things will bring you happiness – things such as popularity and possessions and satisfying your baser desires. If today you find yourself only drifting as a leaf in a stream, get hold of yourself and determine you will do better. At railroad grade crossing, signs of warning were once common. Two cross arms were emblazoned with the words, “Stop, Look, Listen.” They meant that a train could be roaring down the tracks and you had better be alert. 

            I was riding a train in the Midwest years ago. I looked out the window to my left. A road ran parallel to the tracks. A car with a boy and a girl was speeding down the road a little faster than the train. The car moved ahead until I can no longer see it. Suddenly, the locomotive whistle sounded and the train screeched to a halt as the brakes gripped the wheels. We looked out the window on to the other side. There was a mangled car. Police cars soon converged, followed by the ambulance. The boy and girl were both dead. The road they were traveling crossed the tracks. They did not stop, look, or listen. It all happened in an instant.The better way to Be is the way of these nine Be’s. The years will inevitably pass, and pass quickly. Today is your day of resolution. Promise yourself to make something good of (your) precious life."

-Gordon B. Hinckley