That sounds good, right? It's inspiring, and it makes sense, but is it true? Joel Osteen is not a Prophet or an Apostle. This quote wasn't taken from a General Conference or the scriptures. We can't take this quote as gospel doctrine, but on the other hand, it might be true anyway. This may be a controversial statement, but not all truths are found in the scriptures or in General Conference. Some truths aren't important enough to be included, like truths about mathematical equations. Some truths haven't been revealed yet. Who knows? Maybe Joel Osteen was unwittingly quoting a General Conference talk that hasn't happened yet.
What I'm saying is that we don't know for sure whether the quote above is true or not. At least, I don't. As far as I know, it might be true, but it also might not be true, so while I might take some inspiration from it, I'll also try not to put too much stock into it. Of course, we'd all be much safer taking our life-changing, inspirational doctrine from a source that we know we can count on. The scriptures are true, and the words of the Prophets and Apostles at General Conference are true.
Joel Osteen...? Well, I'd say his sermons have about as much doctrinal validity as my blog posts do. Which is almost none. When we quote Prophets and Scriptures, you can know that those quotes are doctrinally valid, as long as we're using a correct translation and aren't misquoting anything. Our commentary on those quotes, however, are not doctrinal, though they may still be inspired. I'm pretty sure any person can be inspired.
So if my blog posts of Joel Osteen's sermons inspire you, that's a good thing, but don't believe everything we say. I've been wrong many times before, and I'm sure Joel Osteen has been wrong a few times, too. The ones you really ought to trust as dispensers of eternal truths are the Prophets and Apostles, and even then, only when they're speaking as such, like when they're giving talks.
If Thomas S. Monson said, in a casual conversation, "I think the Patriots will win their next football game," do not take that as a prophecy. They might still lose, and it won't suggest that President Monson is a false prophet if they do. Even prophets have the right to speak their own minds (and sometimes be wrong) on occasion. He has the freedom to make guesses and share opinions just as the rest of us do. So, even with prophets, you can't take every word that comes out of their mouth to be the very absolutely true word of God. On the other hand, even when they're not dispensing gospel truths, they're still fairly wise men and should be listened to.
So, what can you trust to be true? When there are so many uninspired teachers, such as myself, and even God's own chosen spokespeople have the right to speak for themselves sometimes, how do you know if the messages you're receiving are really the word of God? Well, for one thing, what's written in the Scriptures (assuming you have the right translation) and what's said at General Conference are true. You can trust messages from those sources. For everything else, you don't have to just guess. If you really want to know whether something's true or not, you can pray and ask God if it's true. He can tell you straight to your heart whether something is true or not, and that way, you can test inspirational messages before you take them to heart.
I hope that my messages are inspired more often than not. I try not to say anything that I don't know is true, but I sometimes give my own guesses and opinions, and I have to admit that those guesses and opinions may be wrong. So, if I'm not directly quoting an Apostle or a Prophet, please understand that what I'm saying may not be 100% correct. My advice is to trust only the sources you know you can trust and to second-guess and double-check all other messages and suggestions, including this piece of advice. That way, you can be pretty sure that the messages you receive into your heart are true.
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