A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken. Proverbs 15:13.
All may possess a cheerful countenance, a gentle voice, a courteous manner, and these are elements of power.—Education, 240.
The human countenance itself is a mirror of the soul, read by others, and having a telling influence upon them for good or evil.—Testimonies for the Church 3:523.
The faces of those who are benevolent and sympathetic will shine with the luster of true godliness, while those who do not cherish kindly thoughts and unselfish motives, express in their faces the sentiments cherished in their hearts.—Testimonies for the Church 4:64.
Christ abiding in the heart shines out in the faces of those who love Him and keep His commandments. Truth is written there. The sweet peace of heaven is revealed. There is expressed a habitual gentleness, a more than human love.—Christ’s Object Lessons, 102.
Love imparts to its possessor grace, propriety, and comeliness of deportment. Love illuminates the countenance and subdues the voice; it refines and elevates the entire man. It brings him into harmony with God; for it is a heavenly attribute.—Testimonies for the Church 4:559.
From Radiant Religion - Page 147
Radiant Religion
Thought for the Day
In the estimation of Heaven, what is it that constitutes greatness? Not that which the world accounts greatness; not wealth, or rank, or noble descent, or intellectual gifts, in themselves considered. If intellectual greatness, apart from any higher consideration, is worthy of honor, then our homage is due to Satan, whose intellectual power no man has ever equaled. But when perverted to self-serving, the greater the gift, the greater curse it becomes. It is moral worth that God values. Love and purity are the attributes He prizes most.... Unselfish joy in the ministry of Christ presents the highest type of nobility ever revealed in man. Desire of Ages, p. 219