Virtue-What Does It Mean? (Part One)

 Doctrine and Covenants 121: 45 "Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven."

What does it mean to be virtuous?  Many people, especially people my age, wonder this quite often. They ask themselves if they are living a virtuous life, if their standards are virtuous, etc. I myself have wondered if the life I live is one of virtue. I decided one day to learn as much as I could about virtue and what it means to live a virtuous life. This post (and next week's as well) are some of the things I learned and decided I wanted to share with you today. 

The dictionary gives the following definitions about virtue: 

1. moral excellence; goodness; righteousness.

2. conformity of one's life and conduct to moral and ethical principles; uprightness; rectitude.

3. chastity; virginity

4. a particular moral excellence. 

5. a good or admirable quality or property: the virtue of knowing one's weaknesses. 

Some synonyms that are given for virtue are: 

excellence, love, faith, goodness, kindness, morality, purity, righteousness, value, charity, chastity, hope, worthiness, respect, and trustworthiness. 

With all this information, what is virtue to you then? For me I wanted to know what the the LDS church said about virtue, so I went and looked at Preach My Gospel (a missionary handbook for the LDS church). This is what Preach My Gospel had to say: 

"Virtue originates in your innermost thoughts and desires. It is a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards. Since the Holy Ghost does not dwell in unclean tabernacles, virtue is prerequisite to receiving the Spirit’s guidance. What you choose to think and do when you are alone and you believe no one is watching is a strong measure of your virtue.

Virtuous people are clean and pure spiritually. They focus on righteous, uplifting thoughts and put unworthy thoughts that lead to inappropriate actions out of their minds. They obey God’s commandments and follow the counsel of Church leaders. They pray for the strength to resist temptation and do what is right. They quickly repent of any sins or wrongdoings. They live worthy of a temple recommend.

Your mind is like a stage in a theater; in the theater of your mind, however, only one actor can be on stage at a time. If the stage is left bare, thoughts of darkness and sin often enter the stage to tempt. But these thoughts have no power if the stage of your mind is occupied by wholesome thoughts, such as a memorized hymn or verse of scripture that you can call upon in a moment of temptation. By controlling the stage of your mind, you can successfully resist persistent urges to yield to temptation and indulge in sin. You can become pure and virtuous." 

I don't know what your thinking right now, but for me: Preach My Gospel pretty much summed it up for me. It teaches me that virtue is something originates in my thoughts and desires, that it is a pattern of life based on high moral standards, that in order to have the Holy Ghost with me; I must be living a virtuous life, that virtue is who I am when I am alone and no one is watching. Virtue is being clean and worthy spiritually and focusing on righteous and uplifting thoughts. Virtue is obeying The Lord's commandments and following the counsel of my leaders. Virtue teaches that I need to pray for strength to resist sin and temptation, and that if I am really being virtuous that I repent quickly of sins and wrongdoings, and I remain worthy of a temple recommend. When it comes down to it: being virtuous means that you are worthy to be in our Heavenly Father's presence. 

Now that we have learned a little more about virtue, let's talk about what it means to be "A Guardian of Virtue". My bishop tells the youth in my ward that we need to protect the virtue of those we are with. (Especially when we are on dates.) I really like this pattern of thought. For me it means that I am responsible for making sure that the person/people I am with go home virtuous. (Or worthy to be in our Heavenly Father's presence.) This is a very important thing to me. This means that I need to be worthy too, that I need to be an example, and I need be willing to help others become more like our Savior. Sometimes this is very hard. Sometimes this means that you need to stand up for your standards even when no one else will stand with you. This is worth it. Heavenly Father will bless you significantly for your strength and your willingness to become like Him. 

To sum up today I want to share a song with you entitled: "Guardians of Virtue." This song was made for the Young Women in the church, but it still applies to the Young Men. It tells of how we were chosen to come to the earth during these days of trial and hardship and how we will do our best to be examples and help others to come unto Christ too. Click Here to watch the video and listen to the song. 

I just wanted to share my testimony with all of you that I know that being virtuous and living a virtuous life is something that has a price far above rubies. Being virtuous is one of the best things that you can be. If you know that you are not living the most virtuous life you could be living I plead with you to make the changes in your life that you need to in order to be virtuous. I know you will be blessed for your efforts and that The Lord will help you. Do not give up when it gets hard. Heavenly Father will guide you and bless you with the things you need and the people you need in order to become more like Him. He loves you. I know it is not easy. I have had to make changes in my life too, and it was not easy: but I am here to testify that it is well worth it. No matter what: it is always worth it to change your life so that you can be closer to our Father In Heaven and so that you can have His spirit with you always. I know it. I promise you will happier too. I want to leave this with you. 

In the name of Jesus Christ, 

Amen 

Love, 

Samantha