President Monson quote

Great courage will be required as you remain chaste and virtuous amid the accepted thinking of the times.

In the world’s view today there is little thought that young men and young women will remain morally clean and pure before marriage. Does this make immoral behavior acceptable? Absolutely not!

The commandments of our Heavenly Father are not negotiable!

"May You Have Courage" Thomas S. Monson General Young Women Meeting April 2009

Elder Cook quote

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.

"Stewardship--a Sacred Trust" Quentin L. Cook General Conference October 2009

Elder Christofferson quote

All of us experience temptations. 

So did the Savior, but He “gave no heed unto them” (D&C 20:22). 

Similarly, we do not have to yield simply because a temptation surfaces. 

We may want to, but we don’t have to. 

An incredulous female friend asked a young adult woman, committed to living the law of chastity, how it was possible that she had never “slept with anybody.” 

“Don’t you want to?” the friend asked. 

The young woman thought: “The question intrigued me, because it was so utterly beside the point. … Mere wanting is hardly a proper guide for moral conduct.”

^{"Moral Discipline" D. Todd Christofferson General Conference October 2009}

President Monson quote

. . . The Lord indicated that we should let virtue garnish our thoughts unceasingly^.

I recall a priesthood meeting held in the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City when I was a holder of the Aaronic Priesthood. The President of the Church was speaking to the priesthood, and he made a statement I have never forgotten. He said, in essence, that men who commit sexual sin or other sins do not do so in the twinkling of an eye. He emphasized that our actions are preceded by our thoughts, and when we commit sin, it is because we have first thought of committing that particular sin. Then the President declared that the way to avoid sin is to keep our thinking pure. The scripture tells us that as we think in our hearts, so are we. We must have the mark of virtue.

If we are to be missionaries in the kingdom of our Heavenly Father, we must be entitled to the companionship of His Holy Spirit, and we have been told precisely that His Spirit will not dwell in impure or unholy tabernacles.

"A Royal Priesthood" Thomas S. Monson General Conference October 2007

President Hinckley quote

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.

"Opposing Evil" Gordon B. Hinckley General Conference October 1975

James E. Faust quote

Many people do not fully understand the meaning of virtue. One commonly understood meaning is to be chaste or morally clean, but virtue in its fuller sense encompasses all traits of righteousness that help us form our character. An old sampler found in a museum in Newfoundland, stitched in 1813, reads: “Virtue is the chiefest beauty of the mind, the noblest ornament of humankind. Virtue is our safeguard and our guiding star that stirs up reason when our senses err.”. . .

These are challenging times. I believe your spirits may have been reserved for these latter days; that you, like Esther, have come to earth “for such a time as this.” It may be that your most significant, everlasting achievements will be your righteous influence on others, that your divine feminine inner beauty and intuition will find expression in your quiet strength, gentleness, dignity, charm, graciousness, creativity, sensitivity, radiance, and spirituality. Enhance these sublime feminine gifts. They will make you appealing and even irresistible as you serve others as the handmaidens of God.

I testify that if you practice these virtues, you will be able to “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men.”

 

"The Virtues of Righteous Daughters of God" James E. Faust General Young Women Meeting April 2003

H. David Burton quote

As we allow virtue to garnish our thoughts unceasingly and we cultivate virtuous traits in our personal lives, our communities and institutions will be improved, our children and families will be strengthened, and faith and integrity will bless individual lives.

"Let Virtue Garnish Your Thoughts" H. David Burton General Conference October 2009

H. David Burton quote

Virtuous traits form the foundation of a Christian life and are the outward manifestation of the inner man. . . We need only look around us to see what is taking place in our communities to realize that personal traits of virtue are in a steep decline. . . Brothers and sisters, we need not be a part of the virtue malaise that is penetrating and infecting society. If we follow the world in abandoning Christian-centered virtues, the consequences may be disastrous. . . We need to stand tall and be firmly fixed in perpetuating Christlike virtues.

"Let Virtue Garnish Your Thoughts" H. David Burton General conference October 2009

Elaine S. Dalton quote

What can each of you do to be a guardian of virtue? It starts with believing you can make a difference. It starts with making a commitment. . .Making decisions in advance will help you be guardians of virtue. I hope each of you will write a list of things you will always do and things you will never do. Then live your list. 

. . .Prepare now so that you may qualify to receive all the blessings that await you in the Lord’s holy temples. 

"Guardians of Virtue"  Elaine S. Dalton General Young Women's meeting March 2011

Quentin L. Cook quote

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. . . This is one of the reasons why virtue and chastity are so important in our Father in Heaven’s plan.

"Stewardship--a Sacred Trust"  Quentin L. Cook General Conference October 2009