Virtue

“Your Heavenly Father loves you and wants you to be happy. The way to do this is to “walk in the paths of virtue” and “cleave unto [your] covenants.”  Young women, in a world ever growing in moral pollution, tolerance of evil, exploitation of women, and distortion of roles, you must stand guard of yourself, your family, and all those with whom you associate. You must be guardians of virtue.

“What is virtue and what is a guardian? “Virtue is a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards. It includes chastity and [moral] purity.”  And what is a guardian? A guardian is someone who protects, shields, and defends.  Thus, as a guardian of virtue, you will protect, shield, and defend moral purity because the power to create mortal life is a sacred and exalted power and must be safeguarded until you are married. Virtue is a requirement to have the companionship and guidance of the Holy Ghost. You will need that guidance in order to successfully navigate the world in which you live. Being virtuous is a requirement to enter the temple. And it is a requirement to be worthy to stand in the Savior’s presence. You are preparing now for that time. Personal Progress and the standards found in For the Strength of Youth are important. Living the principles found in each booklet will strengthen and help you become “more fit for the kingdom.”
-              Elaine S. Dalton, April 2011 General Conference, “Guardians of Virtue”  https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/guardians-of-virtue?lang=eng&query=royal

“I see young women, radiant in the beauty of youth, whose virtue is more precious than rubies—young women who are bright and who study with enthusiasm and diligence to learn the word of the Lord and also to equip themselves to take their places with honor and ability in the world in which they will live. I see young women who know the word of God and can quote it; who know the standards of the Church and live by them; who have a sense of worth and a wondrous sensitivity to the beauties of life and nature, music and art; who treasure truth and seek to enlarge their understanding of it; who have determined that worthiness to enter the house of the Lord for a divine endowment and an eternal sealing is the most desirable of all goals. Can anyone doubt that there is something divine within such?”
-              President Gordon B. Hinckley, “Rise to the Stature of the Divine within You,” October 1989 General Conference https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1989/10/rise-to-the-stature-of-the-divine-within-you?lang=eng&query=divine+nature

“Some years ago another First Presidency made this statement, and your First Presidency today echoes the appeal. I quote: “To the youth … , we plead with you to live clean [lives], for the unclean life leads only to suffering, misery, and woe physically,—and spiritually it is the path to destruction. How glorious and near to the angels is youth that is clean; this youth has joy unspeakable here and eternal happiness hereafter. Sexual purity is youth’s most precious possession; it is the foundation of all righteousness.”

 “May you have the courage to be chaste and virtuous.”
-              Thomas S. Monson, April 2009 General Conference, “May You Have Courage” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/04/may-you-have-courage?lang=eng&query=virtuous+people

“Peter goes on to say that we must add to our faith virtue. A priesthood holder is virtuous. Virtuous behavior implies that he has pure thoughts and clean actions. He will not lust in his heart, for to do so is to “deny the faith” and to lose the Spirit (D&C 42:23)—and there is nothing more important in this work than the Spirit.”
-              Ezra Taft Benson, October 1986 General Conference, “Godly Characteristics of the Master” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1986/10/godly-characteristics-of-the-master?lang=eng&query=virtuous+people

“Moral discipline is learned at home. While we cannot control what others may or may not do, the Latter-day Saints can certainly stand with those who demonstrate virtue in their own lives and inculcate virtue in the rising generation.”
-              D. Todd Christofferson, October 2009 General Conference, “Moral Discipline” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/moral-discipline?lang=eng&query=virtue

“Just as the pure spring was polluted when not protected, we live in a time when virtue and chastity are not safeguarded. The eternal significance of personal morality is not respected. A loving Father in Heaven has provided us with the means to bring His spirit children into this world to fulfill the full measure of their creation. He has instructed us that the wellsprings of life are to be kept pure, just as the beautiful spring on the ranch required protection in order to sustain life. This is one of the reasons why virtue and chastity are so important in our Father in Heaven’s plan.”
-              Quentin L. Cook, October 2009 General Conference, “Stewardship—a Sacred Trust” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2009/10/stewardship-a-sacred-trust?lang=eng&query=virtue

“We cannot hope to influence others in the direction of virtue unless we live lives of virtue. The example of our living will carry a greater influence than will all the preaching in which we might indulge. We cannot expect to lift others unless we stand on higher ground ourselves. … The home is the cradle of virtue, the place where character is formed and habits are established.”
-              Gordon B. Hinckley, “Opposing Evil,” Ensign, Nov. 1975, pp. 38–39.

“Above all, courtesy to companions cannot be defiled by disobedience to the law of chastity. That sin is joy’s deadly poison. The first morning’s glance in the mirror cannot reflect joy if there is any recollection of misdeeds the night before. The surest step toward joy in the morning is virtue in the evening! Virtue includes courtesy to companions all day long.”
-              Elder Russell M. Nelson, “Joy Cometh in the Morning,” Ensign, November 1986 https://www.lds.org/ensign/1986/11/joy-cometh-in-the-morning?lang=eng&query=virtue+in+the+Ensign

“You must have honesty, integrity, chastity, virtue, and a willingness to forego something attractive, even apparently desirable for the moment, for greater good in the future. I speak of the willingness when circumstance demands to lay everything on the altar to defend true principle.”
-              Richard G. Scott, “Living Right,” BYU Commencement Address, April 22, 2004 http://speeches.byu.edu/?act=viewitem&id=1321

“In all events, a mother can exert an influence unequaled by any other person in any other relationship. By the power of her example and teaching, her sons learn to respect womanhood and to incorporate discipline and high moral standards in their own lives. Her daughters learn to cultivate their own virtue and to stand up for what is right, again and again, however unpopular. A mother’s love and high expectations lead her children to act responsibly without excuses, to be serious about education and personal development, and to make ongoing contributions to the well-being of all around them.”
-              Elder D.Todd Christofferson, October 2013 General Conference, “The Moral Force of Women” https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/10/the-moral-force-of-women?lang=eng&query=virtue

Position Statement:

A man or woman of virtue is something each of us should try to be.  We must be virtuous to have the companionship of the Holy Ghost.  A person of virtue is clean and pure, even in his or her thoughts.  We must teach our children to be virtuous and clean in all things.  If we chose not to be virtuous, we will not be happy in this life or the next.  We must be virtuous in order to live with our Father in Heaven again. If we want to help others, we need to seek for virtue in our own lives.  It is much easier to help others when they see the happiness and joy we enjoy because we hold virtue sacred.