A sentence (or variations thereof) often attributed to the American author Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) is “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” However, according to an entry in QuoteInvestigator.com, nobody quite knows who first said it.
An intriguing version of the quote is, “Our times call not for diction but for action. It has been said that the two most important days of a man’s life are the day on which he was born and the day on which he discovers why he was born. This is why we were born: To love the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves.” [Sermon by Minister Ernest T. Campbell, delivered on January 25, 1970 in New York City.] Note that Mr. Campbell states, “It has been said…,” so he apparently didn’t know the source of the saying, either.
The Quote Investigator entry goes on to note other variations by quite a few authors or speakers, including a later variation by Mr. Campbell.
Though I’m not commenting on every thought or belief of Mr. Campbell, I like his original continuation of the quote as to why we were born: “To love the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves.” Though the Quote Investigator considers the quote to be by “Anonymous,” who knows? Perhaps Mark Twain did say it after all.
clarakatalin 
The Two Most Important Days
A sentence (or variations thereof) often attributed to the American author Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) is “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” However, according to an entry in QuoteInvestigator.com, nobody quite knows who first said it.
An intriguing version of the quote is, “Our times call not for diction but for action. It has been said that the two most important days of a man’s life are the day on which he was born and the day on which he discovers why he was born. This is why we were born: To love the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves.” [Sermon by Minister Ernest T. Campbell, delivered on January 25, 1970 in New York City.] Note that Mr. Campbell states, “It has been said…,” so he apparently didn’t know the source of the saying, either.
The Quote Investigator entry goes on to note other variations by quite a few authors or speakers, including a later variation by Mr. Campbell.
Though I’m not commenting on every thought or belief of Mr. Campbell, I like his original continuation of the quote as to why we were born: “To love the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves.” Though the Quote Investigator considers the quote to be by “Anonymous,” who knows? Perhaps Mark Twain did say it after all.
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