This is a talk I prepared and gave at the Blackfoot Sixth Ward Conference on March 15, 2009. I spent Friday night at Cindy's (Grandma was having a girl's sleepover) and I slept in Regan's room (she was with Grandma). On her wall was a poster she had made of Sister Elaine Dalton's definition of virtue given at October conference. When I read those thoughts again I knew what I was to speak of the following Sunday. Following is the talk I wrote and gave. You might enjoy some of the thoughts--I certainly did as they were given under inspiration late Saturday night!
Dad
Virtue
Recently, Sister Elaine Dalton, General Young Woman President, declared, “Virtue ‘is a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards.’ It encompasses chastity and moral purity. Virtue begins in the heart and in the mind. It is nurtured in the home. It is the accumulation of thousands of small decisions and actions. Virtue is a word we don’t hear often in today’s society, but the Latin root word virtus means strength. Virtuous women and men possess a quiet dignity and inner strength. They are confident because they are worthy to receive and be guided by the Holy Ghost.”
In contrast, I have a strong sense that we, even as Latter-day Saints, are being slowly desensitized into thinking that high moral standards are old-fashioned, irrelevant, and unimportant in today’s society. Our culture as a whole has yielded to the harsh, the crude, the vulgar, the profane, the violent, the immoral. It has embraced ethical and moral relativism as its standard (ironically, relativism is the antithesis of a set of standards!). Increasingly Virtue is labeled as anachronistic, and in many cases, worthy only of comical derision.
In stark contrast to society’s drift, stands the doctrine of Christ—never changing, always clear and concise—“bright as the sun, clear as the moon, and terrible as an army with banners.” As people of the covenant—as those who have come out of the world in the marvelous light of Christ—we have a job to do. Mormon pleaded with his son, Moroni, at a time when they observed the disintegration of their own society, “And now, my beloved son, notwithstanding [the people’s] hardness, let us labor diligently; for if we should cease to labor, we should be brought under condemnation…. Indeed, today is not the time, as Elder Neal A. Maxwell once said, for “shoulder-shrugging,” but for “shoulder-squaring” in order to bear the burden placed upon us to stand for virtue in the midst of this moral morass.
What can each of us do to begin our own return to virtue? May I share with you Sister Dalton’s scripture-based training program and then comment briefly on each aspect?
She suggested seven areas where we should focus:
“Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly.”
“Cleave unto [your] covenants.”
“Stand … in holy places.”
“Lay aside the things of [the] world.”
“Believe that ye must repent.”
“Always remember him and keep his commandments.”
And “if there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy … seek after these things.”
Clean Thoughts
We must continually look out for those idle times when our minds are allowed to wander into territory that should be avoided. In Proverbs we read, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”
Inescapably our thoughts shape our lives. James Allen has expressed it this way in his book As a Man Thinketh:
“As the plant springs from, and could not be without, the seed, so every act of a man springs from the hidden seeds of thought, and could not have appeared without them. This applies equally to those acts called ‘spontaneous’ and ‘unpremeditated’ as to those which are deliberately executed. …
“In the armory of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself; he also fashions the tools with which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace. … Between these two extremes are all the grades of character, and man is their maker and master. … Man is the master of thought, the molder of character, and the maker and shaper of condition, environment, and destiny.”
Then Mr. Allen added: “Let a man radically alter his thoughts, and he will be astonished at the rapid transformation it will effect in the material conditions of his life. Men imagine that thought can be kept secret, but it cannot; it rapidly crystallizes into habit, and habit solidifies into circumstance.”
Truly we must diligently strive to keep our thoughts clean. The ideal is to keep our thoughts focused on spiritual things.
Stand in Holy Places
The sun was setting on the mortal ministry of the Messiah as he departed the temple at Jerusalem for the last time. Climbing atop the Mount of Olives with his disciples, the Savior prophesied the cataclysmic events that would precede the destruction of Jerusalem and His second coming. He then issued this portentous admonition to His disciples, ancient and modern: “Then you shall stand in the holy place; whoso readeth let him understand.” Latter-day revelations provide understanding. They teach that in our day, amidst strife and catastrophe and pestilence, there are two kingdoms locked in grim struggle for the souls of men—Zion and Babylon. More than once they repeat the injunction to “stand in holy places” for a refuge from these storms of latter-day. Prominent among such holy places, and key to all the others, is the temple of the Lord.
The words Zion and temple belong in the same sentence together. In August 1833, as Saints attempted against much persecution to establish a geographic Zion in Jackson County, Missouri, the Prophet Joseph Smith was counseled in revelation to build a house unto the Lord “for the salvation of Zion.” The temple is the key to salvation, it said, because it is a place of thanksgiving, a place of instruction, and a place of understanding “in all things.” Then comes this glorious promise: “Yea, and my presence shall be there, for I will come into it, and all the pure in heart that shall come into it shall see God. … Therefore, … let Zion rejoice, for this is Zion—the pure in heart; therefore, let Zion rejoice, while all the wicked shall mourn.” For Zion, the pure in heart, the temple holds the key that unlocks holy places—places of rejoicing—while those in Babylon’s byways are condemned to mourn.
Repent
Small errors and minor drifts away from the doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ can bring sorrowful consequences into our lives. It is therefore of critical importance that we become self-disciplined enough to make early and decisive corrections to get back on the right track and not wait or hope that errors will somehow correct themselves.
The longer we delay corrective action, the larger the needed changes become, and the longer it takes to get back on the correct course—even to the point where a disaster might be looming.
Our Heavenly Father knew before we came to this mortal existence that negative forces would tempt us to drift from our course. That is why He prepared a way for us to make corrections. Through the merciful process of true repentance and the Atonement of Jesus Christ, our sins can be forgiven and we will “not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Our willingness to repent shows our gratitude for God’s gift and for the Savior’s love and sacrifice on our behalf. Commandments and priesthood covenants provide a test of faith, obedience, and love for God and Jesus Christ, but even more importantly, they offer an opportunity to experience love from God and to receive a full measure of joy both in this life and in the life to come.
Pres. Dieter Uchtdorf taught recently, “These commandments and covenants of God are like navigational instructions from celestial heights and will lead us safely to our eternal destination. It is one of beauty and glory beyond understanding. It is worth the effort. It is worth making decisive corrections now and then staying on course.”
“Remember: the heavens will not be filled with those who never made mistakes but with those who recognized that they were off course and who corrected their ways to get back in the light of gospel truth.”
“The more we treasure the words of the prophets and apply them, the better we will recognize when we are drifting off course.”
Set Aside Worldly Desires
Desire denotes a real longing or craving. Hence righteous desires are much more than passive preferences or fleeting feelings. Of course our genes, circumstances, and environments matter very much, and they shape us significantly. Yet there remains an inner zone in which we are sovereign, unless we abdicate. In this zone lies the essence of our individuality and our personal accountability.
Therefore, what we insistently desire, over time, is what we will eventually become and what we will receive in eternity. The Lord stated, “For I will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts.” Alma said, “I know that [God] granteth unto men according to their desire, … I know that he allotteth unto men … according to their wills.” To reach this equitable end, God’s canopy of mercy is stretched out, including “all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of the gospel, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom;
“For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts,”
In contrast to God’s merciful plan for our joy and glory, Satan “desires that all men might be miserable like unto himself.”
Some seek to brush aside conscience, refusing to hear its voice. Like it or not, however, reality requires that we acknowledge our responsibility for our desires. Brothers and sisters, which do we really desire, God’s plans for us or Satan’s?
It is up to us. God will facilitate, but He will not force.
Renew Covenants
I have noticed that not everyone approaches the sacrament with the same attitude. There are those who seem to partake of the sacrament just as a matter of routine, while there are many who accept the sacrament with great reverence.
Over the years, I have participated in many sacrament meetings, and to me they really are more than just another meeting. Partaking of the sacrament provides us with a sacred moment in a holy place. We do it in accordance with the commandment the Lord gave us in section 59 of the Doctrine and Covenants:
“And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day.”
From the very beginning, before the world was organized, God laid out a plan whereby He would offer blessings to His children based on their obedience to His commandments. He understood, however, that we would be distracted at times by the things of the world and would need to be reminded regularly of our covenants and His promises.
One of the first commandments given to Adam was that he should worship the Lord and offer the firstlings of his flocks as an offering to Him. This ordinance was given to remind the people that Jesus Christ would come into the world and would ultimately offer Himself as a sacrifice.
From Adam’s time until the time of our Savior, Heavenly Father’s children were commanded to offer sacrifices. It was discontinued with the Savior’s atoning sacrifice. Then, the night before He completed that sacrifice, the Savior instituted the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper to help us remember Him and the Atonement He made for all mankind. Thus, in the ancient law of sacrifice and in the sacrament, the Lord has helped us be certain that we do not forget His promises and the requirement that we follow Him and obey His will.
Elder Melvin J. Ballard once said:
“I am a witness that there is a spirit attending the administration of the sacrament that warms the soul from head to foot; you feel the wounds of the spirit being healed, and the load is lifted. Comfort and happiness come to the soul that is worthy and truly desirous of partaking of this spiritual food.”
When we partake of the sacrament worthily, we remember the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior; that He gave up His life and took upon Himself the sins of the world that we may have the blessing of immortality. We take upon ourselves the name of our Savior and promise to always remember Him and to keep His commandments—that is, to “live by every word that proceedeth forth from the mouth of God.”
Seek After Good Things
An increasing number of Church members focus their attention on “that which is of no worth and cannot satisfy.” Satan is very astute, and he has cunning ways to divert our attention from that which is of greatest worth.
The prophet David O. McKay quoted Charles Jefferson, who wrote: “Man’s earthly existence is but a test as to whether he will concentrate his efforts, his mind, and his soul upon the things which contribute to the comfort and gratification of his physical instincts and passions, or whether he will make as his life’s end and purpose the acquisition of spiritual qualities.”
As members of the Church, we are commanded to “lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better”—or, said another way, to “seek … earnestly the best gifts.
The scriptures and modern-day prophets teach that there are many spiritual gifts. Their purpose, among other things, is to give us strength, lead us to do good, help us resist temptation, encourage and edify us, increase our wisdom, help us judge righteously, and help us qualify for eternal life.
Think about the impact on this world if everyone would seek the sacred gift “given by the Holy Ghost to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he was crucified for the sins of the world.” Or what if everyone sought the gift of forgiving?
Elder Marvin J. Ashton of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles pointed out some less conspicuous but very important gifts: “the gift of asking; the gift of listening; the gift of hearing and responding to the still, small voice; the gift of being able to weep; the gift of avoiding contention; the gift of being agreeable; the gift of avoiding vain repetition; the gift of seeking that which is righteous; the gift of not passing judgment; the gift of looking to God for guidance; the gift of being a disciple; the gift of caring for others; the gift of being able to ponder; the gift of offering prayer; the gift of bearing a mighty testimony; and the gift of receiving the Holy Ghost.”
I would add to these the gift of recognizing what is sufficient for our needs and then finding joy in that abundance. So many of the ills of our modern society and certainly in many marriage relationships, have root in the unbridled desire for “more”, “bigger”, “faster”, etc.
Now more than ever before, it is time to respond to Moroni’s call to “awake, and arise” and to “lay hold upon every good gift, and touch not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing.”
I testify that a return to virtue is possible because of the Savior’s example and the “infinite virtue of His great atoning sacrifice.” Now is the time for each of us to arise and unfurl a banner to the world calling for a return to virtue. May we so live that we can be instruments in preparing the earth for His Second Coming, “that when he shall appear we shall be like him … purified even as he is pure.” In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
