Guardians of Virtue

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the General Young Women Meeting of the April 2011 conference.

If my calculations are correct then the young women attending and viewing this session are now between 26 and 33 years old. I hope most are married and mothers. I know that some won't be, I have a 36 year old daughter who has never had the opportunity to marry and have children though she would love that blessing.

 

These talks were so encouraging to even me, a "little old lady" in the autumn of life. Wouldn't it be wonderful for those girls to hear or read them again and be reminded of all that was said.

 

Sister Elaine S. Dalton is special to me because of the way she greeted me with a hug, as if we were best friends, prior to a regional Young Women morning devotional in Omaha, Nebraska.  She made me feel special and important and I was in my fifties having driven some young women from our branch to the meeting.

 

One thing I've learned as I've lived into my seventh decade, is that each generation lives in what seems to be the most wicked times. And for that generation it is! No generation has had it easy, without challenges and struggles. Mortality is hard, but it's supposed to be; after all, it is a test.

 

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.

 

Being a guardian of virtue means you will always be modest not only in your dress but also in your speech, your actions, and your use of social media.

 

For mothers listening tonight [and these young women, now grown up], you are your daughters' most important example of modesty and virtue--thank you. Never hesitate to teach them that they are royal daughters of God and that their value is not based on their sensual appeal. And let them see your belief modeled correctly and consistently in your own personal attitude and appearance. You are also guardians of virtue.

 

When we were praying about homeschooling in 1994 I received an unexpected answer. I was told that we needed to know how to homeschool because in the future it would not be safe to send covenant children to public schools. I have seen that answer fulfilled year after year. Whether or not you homeschool, we all need to stand as guardians of godly virtues and be a light to the increasingly wicked world. Modest, virtuous young women and young men are especially needed lights to those who are seeking a better way to live but haven't been taught in their own homes.

 

Building our life upon the rock of our Redeemer is the only sure way to stand firm in keeping covenants, obeying commandments and withstanding temptations. As the gulf between good and evil deepens and widens let's be found on the right side, the Lord's side, safely anchored in His teachings, ordinances and covenants.

The "ity" Virtues

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Sunday morning session of the October 2009 conference.

I like Bishop H. David Burton. He just sounds like a good man, and a fun grandpa. In 1998 he gave a talk called A Season of Opportunity and shared a lesson he had learned from President and Sister Joseph Fielding Smith about patronizing stores that honored the Sabbath Day. That changed the way I shopped ever since. I wrote about it here.

This session's talk was about standing tall and being firmly fixed in perpetuating Christlike virtues. He called them the "ity" virtues because they mostly end in the letters "i t y". 

He spoke of many virtues and quoted President James E. Faust as suggesting "that integrity is the mother of many virtues." I find that to be true because a person of integrity is one whose actions match their words and beliefs. If I say I'm kind but my actions don't show kindness I'm not a person of integrity. 

We live in great and perilous times. The sides (good vs. evil) are polarizing with no middle ground. Either we follow Jesus Christ and practice what we preach, or we follow the other guy. It's becoming impossible to be neutral or to have one foot in each camp. We all must choose one or the other.

Bishop Burton said, "I testify and declare that our Heavenly Father expects His children to exercise integrity, civility, fidelity, charity, generosity, morality, and all the 'ity' virtues. May we have the humility to take the opportunity to act upon our responsibility to demonstrate our ability to do so, I pray in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen."

I needed this reminder to examine my life, repent and bring it more into harmony with my covenants to follow the Savior. Studying the past General Conferences is such a blessing in my life! I recommend it to everyone. It's really like studying the scriptures, modern scriptures given in our very day. 

Virtue

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the General Young Women Meeting of the April 2009 conference.

Sister Elaine S. Dalton gave me a big hug when we met at an early morning Young Women Devotional in Omaha, Nebraska. She's a wonderful woman.

During her time as Young Women General President her focus was on the quality of virtue. As I listened to her talk from this session of conference I reflected on how relevant it seems right now; which I have come to realize is a way to recognize eternal truths, they never sound dated or old-fashioned, they sound fresh and current.

I've long said that human nature hasn't changed since Adam and Eve. Technology, fashion, styles, knowledge and many other things have changed, but human beings haven't. Eternal truths apply to us as God's children whether we live today or five thousand years ago; and when we hear them they sound relevant to us and our times.

John Adams, one of America's Founding Fathers, said, "Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."

I thought of that as I listened to Sister Dalton's talk. We need, as individuals and as a nation, to return to virtue, morality, and righteousness to defeat evil and be ready for the Savior's return. 

This is a critical time. You are being tapped on the shoulder. You are preparing now for that work which will be your finest hour. You are preparing for eternity.

 

Modesty is More than Just Not Showing Skin

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the General Young Women session of the April 2007 conference.

Modesty has been a topic of conversation, blogs, YouTube videos, Pinterest photos, and much more for decades. Lots of opinions and counsel swirl around the internet. Often the discussion gets heated as opinions clash, offense is taken, and justifications are offered.

Sister Elaine S. Dalton, then Second Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency offered what I think is the best definition of modesty outside of scripture or prophetic/apostolic teachings.

Modesty is not a matter of being "hip." It is a matter of the heart and being holy. It is not about being fashionable. It is about being faithful. It is not about being cool. It is about being chaste and keeping covenants. It is not about being popular, but about being pure. Modesty has everything to do with keeping our footing securely on the path of chastity and virtue.

 

Measured against that description we, young, in the middle, or old, can know how to dress, speak, and behave. 

Even though I'm almost 67, I enjoy the counsel to the Young Women. In many ways, and especially compared to Heavenly Father, I feel like a teenager who needs encouragement and guidance. This particular Young Women presidency was one of powerfully spiritual women. Their instruction, encouragement and testimonies are still relevant.  

Virtue

"There's not half the virtue in being happy when surrounded by luxuries, as when deprived of them." 

from Mollie: The Journal of Mollie Dorsey Sanford, p. 15

University of Nebraska Press

Peonies from my garden.