SCW: Brothers and Sisters, Aloha! We welcome you to the opening devotional of 2014. We hope that you have enjoyed a wonderful Christmas season and the opportunity to remember and celebrate the birth of our Savior.
MSW: And we hope that the start of a new year has provided an opportunity for you to reflect on the bounteous blessings that a loving Heavenly Father and His Son have provided for you. Today, we would like to discuss one of the most important and precious of those blessings – the blessings associated with virtue and moral purity.
SCW: Our young brothers and sisters, there is such great power in virtue and moral purity! Its value is priceless!
We read in the Doctrine and Covenants, “Wherefore, lift up your hearts and rejoice, … and take upon you my whole armor that ye may be able to withstand the evil day, having done all, that ye may be able to stand” (D&C 27:15).
MSW: And in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians we read, “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:10-13).
Today we’d like to discuss with you the Lord’s whole armor, that which has the greatest power of protection in these perilous times, even virtue and moral purity.
SCW: Because of the sensitive nature of this topic, we have chosen to use a team approach in discussing it. Thus, both of us will share the podium throughout today’s devotional. This is a topic we feel strongly prompted to address for the benefit of all of us at this time and place. We humbly seek the guidance of the Spirit so that each of you might know and feel the things a loving Heavenly Father and His Son would have you receive here today.
MSW: We also feel strongly that the nature of this topic merits the use of video footage from many of our prophets, so that you can sense and feel their conviction and spirit as they discuss the power and blessings of virtue and moral purity.
SCW: We have chosen to organize our message around four essential questions:
1-Why is virtue and moral purity so important?
2-Why has Satan made this his primary battleground here in mortality?
3-What are the blessings of virtue and moral purity?
4-How do we put on the “whole armor” so we can secure these blessings?
1-Why is Virtue and Moral Purity so important?
MSW: To understand why virtue and moral purity are so important, we must first acknowledge that marriage, parenthood, and eternal families are central to our Father in Heaven’s plan of happiness. This truth was stated clearly by President Gordon B. Hinckley when in September of 1995, he first read The Family: A Proclamation to the World.
VIDEO OF PRESIDENT HINCKLEY
“We, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.
“All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose. ”The first commandment that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God's commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife. ”We declare the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and its importance in God's eternal plan.
“We warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.” [Hinckley, Gordon B., “The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Ensign, Nov. 1995.]
SCW: As we just heard from President Hinckley, our sexual identities and procreative powers are an integral part of our Father in Heaven’s plan. We are His sons and daughters, and we have the potential to become like Him. He has entrusted each of us with a portion of His creative powers and provided specific guidelines on the proper use of those powers within the bonds of marriage as we strive to create an eternal family. Our obedience to those guidelines in the use of that power will determine in large measure whether we will merit additional creative powers in the eternities.
Listen to what Elder Dallin H. Oaks has shared concerning the appropriate use of these procreative powers:
VIDEO OF ELDER OAKS
“The power to create mortal life is the most exalted power God has given his children. Its use was mandated in the first commandment, but another important commandment was given to forbid its misuse. The emphasis we place on the law of chastity is explained by our understanding of the purpose of our procreative powers in the accomplishment of God’s plan.
“The expression of our procreative powers is pleasing to God, but he has commanded that this be confined within the relationship of marriage. President Spencer W. Kimball taught that ‘in the context of lawful marriage, the intimacy of sexual relations is right and divinely approved. There is nothing unholy or degrading about sexuality in itself, for by that means men and women join in a process of creation and in an expression of love’ ( The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982, p. 311).
“Outside the bonds of marriage, all uses of the procreative power are to one degree or another a sinful degrading and perversion of the most divine attribute of men and women. The Book of Mormon teaches that unchastity is ‘most abominable above all sins save it be the shedding of innocent blood or denying the Holy Ghost’ (Alma 39:5). In our own day, the First Presidency of the Church has declared the doctrine of this Church ‘that sexual sin—the illicit sexual relations of men and women—stands, in its enormity, next to murder’” (“Message of the First Presidency,” 3 Oct. 1942, as quoted in Messages of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, comp. James R. Clark, 6 vols., Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965–75, 6:176). [Oaks, Dallin H., “Plan of Happiness,” Ensign, Nov. 1993.) [Oaks, Dallin H., “The Great Plan of Happiness,” Ensign, Nov. 1993.]
MSW: As stated by Elder Oaks, the use of our God-given procreative powers within the bonds of marriage are an appropriate and important part of God’s plan for each of us. But outside the bonds of marriage, any and all uses of that power are a sinful and degrading perversion of the most divine attribute of men and women.
SCW: In other words, our physical bodies and the senses we experience through them are an essential part of Gods plan for us. They are not merely incidental to God’s plan; they are essential to it. In his conference talk of April 2013, Elder David A. Bednar explained more fully the essential role of our physical bodies as we pass through mortality:
VIDEO OF ELDER BEDNAR
“Our physical bodies make possible a breadth, a depth, and an intensity of experience that simply could not be obtained in our pre-mortal existence. Thus, our relationships with other people, our capacity to recognize and act in accordance with truth, and our ability to obey the principles and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ are amplified through our physical bodies. In the school of mortality, we experience tenderness, love, kindness, happiness, sorrow, disappointment, pain, and even the challenges of physical limitations in ways that prepare us for eternity. Simply stated, there are lessons we must learn and experiences we must have, as the scriptures describe, ‘according to the flesh’” (1 Nephi 19:6; Alma 7:12–13). [Bednar, David A., “We Believe in Being Chaste,” Ensign, May, 2013.]
MSW: Our physical bodies are indeed such a wonderful blessing that they caused all of us gathered at that grand council in Heaven as spirit sons and daughters of God to “shout for joy” when we learned that we would receive a mortal body as a result of God’s plan (see Job 38:7).
But precisely because our physical bodies with their procreative powers are such a fundamental and essential element of God’s plan of happiness, God through his living prophets has also provided unequivocal bounds on the use of those powers. Listen further to Elder David A. Bednar as he describes these bounds:
VIDEO OF ELDER BEDNAR
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a single, undeviating standard of sexual morality: intimate relations are proper only between a man and a woman in the marriage relationship prescribed in God’s plan. Such relations are not merely a curiosity to be explored, an appetite to be satisfied, or a type of recreation or entertainment to be pursued selfishly. They are not a conquest to be achieved or simply an act to be performed. Rather, they are in mortality one of the ultimate expressions of our divine nature and potential and a way of strengthening emotional and spiritual bonds between husband and wife. We are agents blessed with moral agency and are defined by our divine heritage as children of God—and not by sexual behaviors, contemporary attitudes, or secular philosophies.” [Bednar, David A., “We Believe in Being Chaste,” Ensign, May, 2013.]
SCW: We refer to this, the Lord’s standard for virtue and moral purity as the law of chastity – “total abstinence before marriage and full fidelity afterwards” (Kimball, Spencer W. Ensign, Nov. 1978, p. 105.). It is an undeviating law of God, given to protect and bless us. One of the true keys to happiness in marriage and within our families is adherence to the law of chastity. Contrary to what the world would have you believe, moral purity is not a sliding scale. It is a constant, timeless standard the Lord has set.
When we follow this law and utilize our sexuality and procreative powers only in a manner and within the bounds the Lord has set, we prepare ourselves to receive all of the blessings of the Plan of Happiness both in mortality and in the eternities. This is precisely why virtue and moral purity are of utmost importance to each of us. But it is also why Satan has chosen to focus his primary efforts on challenging virtue and moral purity in his continuation of the War in Heaven.
2-Why has Satan made this his primary battleground here in mortality?
MSW: While our loving Heavenly Father has a plan for our Happiness and Exaltation, Satan has a plan for our unhappiness and destruction. Through his disobedience, Satan is denied a physical body. As a result, his goal is to have us misuse our bodies because he knows such misuse will result in pain and sorrow and the loss of those blessings so integral to the plan of happiness.
For Satan, the battle for our souls is a continuation of the war in Heaven. Long before any of us came to Earth, Satan and his followers were battling against God’s plan. In that premortal council, our Savior stepped forward and offered to help our Father in Heaven accomplish His divine work. At that stage of the battle, good triumphed over evil. Here in mortality, on a new battleground and with new weapons, Satan and his followers continue to wage a war against righteousness. Again, our Savior has stepped forward to show us the way. Though the warfare continues, the end result of this stage of the battle is as certain as was the first stage. The only question is which side we will end up on; will we triumph with the righteous or fall with the wicked?
SCW: Satan’s most tried-and-true tactic is to attack our bodies, as described in these words by Elder Melvin J. Ballard, over eighty years ago:
“All the assaults that the enemy of our souls will make to capture us will be through the flesh, because it is made up of the unredeemed earth, and he has power over the elements of the earth. The approach he makes to us will be through the lusts, the appetites, the ambitions of the flesh” (Ballard, Melvin J. “The Struggle for the Soul,” Liahona, Sept. 1984.).
Elder David A. Bednar recently expanded on why Satan is so focused on tempting us to misuse our physical bodies and abandon God’s plan of happiness.
VIDEO OF ELDER BEDNAR
“Because a physical body is so central to the Father’s plan of happiness and our spiritual development, Lucifer seeks to frustrate our progression by tempting us to use our bodies improperly. One of the ultimate ironies of eternity is that the adversary, who is miserable precisely because he has no physical body, entices us to share in his misery through the improper use of our bodies. The very tool he does not have is thus the primary target of his attempts to lure us to spiritual destruction.
“Violating the law of chastity is a grievous sin and a misuse of our physical tabernacles. To those who know and understand the plan of salvation, defiling the body is an act of rebellion (see Mosiah 2:36–37; D&C 64:34–35) and a denial of our true identity as sons and daughters of God. As we look beyond mortality and into eternity, it is easy to discern that the counterfeit companionship advocated by the adversary is temporary and empty.” [Bednar, David A., “We Believe in Being Chaste,” Ensign, May, 2013.]
MSW: Our prophets have repeatedly warned us about avoiding the many seemingly small but inappropriate activities that Satan knows would inflict misery and spiritual destruction on our souls by entrapping and enslaving us in a web of deceit and infidelity. Listen to the warning and guidance offered by Elder Richard G. Scott concerning our physical emotions:
VIDEO OF ELDER SCOTT
“Satan knows that those powerful emotions can be aroused by things you could see, hear, or touch. When stirred, those emotions can be used to lead one to destructive experimentation, then to serious transgressions. He uses pornography through videotapes, movies, magazines, computer images, or contaminated music for this purpose. Close your eyes, ears, mind, and heart to it. Unchecked, it would surely grow unrelentingly from initial curiosity step-by-step to become a raging monster. That demon would wreck wholesome desires, worthy companionship, noble thoughts and acts until it could destroy you. Don’t lift the cover of salacious material in any form, and you will not be captured by it. If you have become entangled in that devastating web, stop immediately and seek help. Ask the Lord to guide you to that help and give you the strength to overcome that addictive habit.” [Scott, Richard G., “The Power of Righteousness,” Ensign, Nov 1998.]
SCW: What precious and heartfelt advice from one we sustain as a prophet, seer, and revelator. As Elder Scott clearly states, if we will conscientiously and consistently avoid “salacious material in any form,… [we] will not be captured by it.” Even seemingly insignificant and minor compromises regarding our moral purity provide an opportunity for Satan to “poison us by degrees.” Sister Elaine S. Dalton, formerly the General President of the Young Women, recently described this process of being progressively poisoned:
VIDEO OF SISTER DALTON
“Lehonti in the Book of Mormon was well positioned on the top of a mountain. He and those he led were ‘fixed in their minds with a determined resolution’ that they would not come down from the mount. It only took the deceitful Amalickiah four tries, each one more bold than the previous, to get Lehonti to ‘come down off from the mount.’ And then having embraced Amalickiah’s false promises, Lehonti was ‘poison[ed] by degrees’ until he died. Not just poisoned, but ‘by degrees.’
“Could it be that this may be happening today? Could it be that first we tolerate, then accept, and eventually embrace the vice that surrounds us? Could it be that we have been deceived by false role models and persuasive media messages that cause us to forget our divine identity? Are we too being poisoned by degrees? What could be more deceptive than to entice the youth of this noble generation to do nothing or to be busy ever-texting but never come to a knowledge of the truths contained in a book that was written for you and your day by prophets of God—The Book of Mormon?
“What could be more deceptive than to entice women, young and old, you and me, to be so involved in ourselves, our looks, our clothes, our body shape and size that we lose sight of our divine identity and our ability to change the world through our virtuous influence? What could be more deceptive than to entice men—young and old, holding the holy priesthood of God—to view seductive pornography and thus focus on flesh instead of faith, to be consumers of vice rather than guardians of virtue?” [Dalton, Elaine S., “A Return to Virtue,” Ensign, Nov. 2008]
MSW: It should be abundantly clear to all Latter-day Saints, that outside the bonds of marriage, all uses of our God-given procreative power are a sinful degrading and perversion of the most divine attribute that we have been given as sons and daughters of God. Satan knows this. Thus, Satan has chosen such sins and temptations as the chief battleground in his continued struggle to destroy our happiness and our very souls.
Satan would have us start down that slippery slope – through what we see, hear, touch and think, so that he might poison us by degrees. As President Henry B. Eyring has taught,
“Satan will expand the space that is not safe. He will try every way he can to persuade you that there is no danger in trying to come as close as you can to that dividing line. At the same time, he is trying to persuade people that there really is no line at all. Because he knows that you know it is there, he will say to you, ‘Come close to the line.’” (Elder Eyring, Henry B. "Waiting upon the Lord," BYU Devotional, Sept. 30, 1990.)
SCW: No wonder the Book of Mormon teaches that unchaste behavior is “most abominable above all the sins save it be the shedding of innocent blood or denying the Holy Ghost” (Alma 39:5). And no wonder that the First Presidency in our day has declared “that sexual sin – [defined as] the illicit sexual relations of men and women – stands, in its enormity, next to murder” (“Messages of the First Presidency,” 3 Oct. 1942, as quoted in Messages of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, comp. James R. Clark, 6 vols., Salt Lake city: Bookcraft, 1965-75, 6:176).
3-What are the blessings of virtue and moral purity?
Knowing the eternal importance of our physical bodies to the plan of happiness, and knowing that Satan would pursue every avenue imaginable to entangle and destroy us, a loving Father and His Son have provided us with a host of blessings that enable us to “stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:13) to “withstand the evil day” (D&C 27:15) and emerge victorious. Whatever stage of life you are in, single or married, young or old, there are powerful blessings promised to those who maintain virtue and moral purity. Elder David A. Bednar recently summarized some of these blessings:
VIDEO OF ELDER BEDNAR
“President Marion G. Romney declared, ‘I can think of no blessings to be more fervently desired than those promised to the pure and the virtuous. Jesus spoke of specific rewards for different virtues but reserved the greatest, so it seems to me, for the pure in heart, “for they,” said he, “shall see God” (Matt. 5:8). And not only shall they see the Lord, but they shall feel at home in his presence.
“‘Here is … the Savior’s promise: “Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God” (D&C 121:45)’ (“Trust in the Lord,” Ensign, May 1979, 42).
“We also are promised that, as we pursue the pathway of virtue, ‘The Holy Ghost shall be [our] constant companion’ (D&C 121:46). Thus, living the law of chastity invites some of the greatest blessings men and women can receive in mortality: appropriate spiritual confidence in the presence of family, friends, Church associates, and, ultimately, the Savior. Our innate longing to belong is fulfilled in righteousness as we walk in the light with hope.” [Bednar, David A., “We Believe in Being Chaste,” Ensign, May, 2013.]
MSW: What a wonderful blessing to know that we can have confidence standing in the presence of God. But it is not just the blessings of eternity that come from living the law of chastity and pursuing a life of virtue and moral purity.
There are also a number of important blessings promised in mortality to all who are obedient to these commandments. One of those relates to the blessings that come as a result of the covenants made in the temple, and moral purity is a pre-requisite to obtain those temple blessings. Listen to Sister Dalton as she explains the strength and power that accompany these temple blessings.
VIDEO OF SISTER DALTON
“Virtue [and moral purity] are prerequisite[s] to entering the Lord’s holy temples and to receiving the Spirit’s guidance. Virtue ‘is a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards’ ( Preach My Gospel, 2004, p. 118.) 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. President Monson has counseled: ‘You be the one to make a stand for right, even if you stand alone. Have the moral courage to be a light for others to follow. There is no friendship more valuable than your own clear conscience, your own moral cleanliness—and what a glorious feeling it is to know that you stand in your appointed place clean and with the confidence that you are worthy to do so’” (Monson, Thomas S., “Examples of Righteousness,” Ensign, May 2008.) [Dalton, Elaine S. “A Return to Virtue,” Ensign, Nov. 2008]
SCW: Clearly, the temple is one of the “appointed places” where we should stand, worthy and confident. There is such great power to be freely had through the temple. It is a place where we can escape the battle for a time and find healing comfort and renewed strength. There is another kind of power also found in purity. This is a unifying power. When obediently reserved for marriage, as commanded, intimacy strengthens our ability to “become one,” as the Lord has commanded us to do. Listen to the counsel of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland in this regard:
VIDEO OF ELDER HOLLAND
“In matters of human intimacy, you must wait! You must wait until you can give everything, and you cannot give everything until you are legally and lawfully married. To give illicitly that which is not yours to give (remember, ‘you are not your own’) and to give only part of that which cannot be followed with the gift of your whole self is emotional Russian roulette. If you persist in pursuing physical satisfaction without the sanction of heaven, you run the terrible risk of such spiritual, psychic damage that you may undermine both your longing for physical intimacy and your ability to give wholehearted devotion to a later, truer love. You may come to that truer moment of ordained love, of real union, only to discover to your horror that what you should have saved you have spent, and that only God’s grace can recover the piecemeal dissipation of the virtue you so casually gave away. On your wedding day, the very best gift you can give your eternal companion is your very best self—clean and pure and worthy of such purity in return.” [Holland, Jeffrey R., “Personal Purity,” Ensign, Nov. 1998.]
MSW: One of the greatest blessings the Lord has promised to those who commit and follow a path of virtue and purity is that we will be worthy of the guidance of His Spirit at all times and in all places. There can be no stronger shield to complement our armor than the guidance of the Holy Ghost as we seek to avoid evil and temptations. As summarized by the First Presidency in the booklet, For the Strength of Youth, “[Through virtue and purity,] you will be able to do your life’s work with greater wisdom and skill and bear trials with greater courage” (The First Presidency, For the Strength of Youth (2001).)
I also love the security and safety described by Elder Richard G. Scott as he outlines the blessings and power that come from virtue and purity:
VIDEO OF ELDER SCOTT
“Continually bless your life with the power of righteousness. It builds confidence. It engenders trust. It yields enduring, worthy achievement. To be righteous is to seek intently to be obedient to the commandments of God. It is to be clean in thought and act. It is to be honest and just. Righteousness is shown more in acts than in words. A righteous life requires discipline. Discipline is that characteristic which will give you the strength to avoid giving up what you want most in life for something you think you want now. It is a friend, not a harsh taskmaster that makes life miserable. Discipline is easier to acquire when it is rooted in faith in Jesus Christ, when it is nourished by an understanding of His teachings and plan of happiness.
“By making choices consistent with eternal truth, you will develop righteous character and increasing strength to resist temptation. You are assured of the help of God in fulfilling your worthy decisions. You qualify to be led by the Spirit, to choose the correct path. It will warn you of temptations you might not otherwise recognize.” [Scott, Richard G. “The Power of Righteousness,” Ensign, Nov 1998.]
SCW: As we make choices consistent with eternal truths and in keeping with the laws of God, we deny Satan an opportunity to pick the battlefield. Rather, we make him fight on our terms, where we have the advantage. This is one of the great blessings of avoiding evil and concentrating on activities that strengthen our commitment to virtue and moral purity.
One of the great blessings of the Restoration is that we have living prophets to warn us and counsel us not only on how best to sense danger early and avoid the snares and traps set by Satan but to provide specific insight and guidance on how best to develop and pursue an ever strengthening life of virtue and moral purity. Through our living prophets, the Lord Himself teaches us how to strengthen ourselves and put on His whole armor so that we can have the power of purity to bless our own lives and the lives of those around us.
4-How do we put on the “whole armor” so we can secure these blessings?
MSW: The process of securing the blessings and power of virtue and moral purity for ourselves and our posterity are what the scriptures refer to as “putting on the whole armor of God.” Elder M. Russell Ballard spoke recently about the daily, incremental processes that fortify and strengthen that armor:
VIDEO OF ELDER BALLARD
“The Lord has given us specific doctrines and principles that show us how to clothe ourselves in the armor of God so that we can stand against the powers of evil. I have suggested a few ways to incorporate gospel principles into your lives. In most cases, we are not talking about massive changes of behavior. As with chain mail, you need simply to add small, individual pieces of armor each day through prayer, scripture study, focusing on things that matter, and acting in a reverent manner.
“Let us go forward, keeping the commandments of God and following the admonition of the Apostle Paul:
“‘Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
“‘Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil’” (Ephesians 6:10–11). [Ballard, M. Russell. “Be Strong in the Lord,” Ensign, Jul. 2004.]
SCW: What are some of the things that we can do to incorporate gospel principles more fully into our lives and thus add to our armor each day? Certainly, such activities as immersing ourselves in the scriptures on a daily basis can be a source of great power and strength. So, too, is daily heart-felt prayer, seeking the Lord’s guidance in all we do and counseling with Him in all things. Fasting offers the opportunity to gain special strength and power beyond our normal ability.
And renewing our covenants with him weekly and, where endowed, regular temple attendance can all help. As President Ezra Taft Benson taught, “We must do more than simply remove the negative influences from our lives. We must replace them with righteous activities that fill us with the strength and determination to live as we should” (Benson, Ezra Taft. “The Law of Chastity,” New Era, Jan 1988.).
MSW: As we follow the gospel of Jesus Christ and the teachings of His living prophets, we will develop even greater strength of moral discipline and faith in the Atonement, and over time, we will become steadfast in our commitment to virtue and moral purity regardless of the challenges we might face.
SCW: No one steps into immorality in an instant. The first seeds of immorality are always sown in the mind. This is one of the reasons that the First Presidency has not only counseled but chosen to require that all of those involved in any of the Church’s institutions of Higher Learning – students, faculty and staff – must agree to adhere to the Honor code. Each of the four elements of the honor code – the dress and grooming standards, the standards for academic honesty, the residential living standards, and the standards for continuing ecclesiastical endorsement – are designed to strengthen not only our individual armor but our collective BYU–Hawaii armor. Indeed, when we conform our lives to both the letter and the spirit of those standards, we not only protect ourselves and those around us from evil, but we add to the power of virtue and moral purity on this campus. And that power can further strengthen our ability to learn both spiritual and academic truths, whether single or married, young or old.
MSW: No matter how hard we try, on occasion, our armor may become damaged and need repair. We need to learn to avail ourselves of the Lord’s plan of repentance. That is the process by which we can become clean. Following such repentance, we can move forward to strengthen ourselves and gain the greater power he has promised all those who humble themselves and follow Him. Unfortunately, some have the impression that a few indiscretions now are no big deal and that they can repent quickly later and move on with a happy life. Speaking to a gathering of Priesthood, but it applies equally to sisters, Elder M. Russell Ballard taught the following on this subject:
VIDEO OF ELDER BALLARD
“Young men, please believe me when I tell you that this scenario is a gross deception by Satan; it is a fairy tale. Sin will always, always, result in suffering. It may come sooner, or it may come later, but it will come. The scriptures state that you will ‘stand with shame and awful guilt before the bar of God’ (Jacob 6:9) and that you will experience "a lively sense of . . . guilt, and pain, and anguish’ (Mosiah 2:38).
“A related misconception is that repentance is easy. President Kimball said that ‘one has not begun to repent until he has suffered intensely for his sins. . . . If a person hasn't suffered, he hasn't repented’ ( The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1982, pp. 88, 99). You need only talk to a person who has truly repented of serious sin to understand that the momentary pleasure of an immoral act is simply not worth the pain that always follows.
“Now, let us consider the grand blessings the Lord has promised those who are obedient to the commandment to be morally clean. You never need to repent of a sin you have not committed. That seems obvious, but I want to emphasize it. Repentance is a great blessing, but you should never make yourself sick just so you can try out the remedy. You are infinitely better to maintain your spiritual health by staying morally clean. If you feel confident in the presence of your parents, peers, and priesthood leaders, you can sense how you will feel when you have the confidence and acceptance of the Savior.” [M. Russell Ballard, "Purity Precedes Power," Ensign, Nov. 1990.]
SCW: As Elder Ballard states so clearly, we are infinitely better off to maintain our spiritual health by staying morally clean. As we do so, we are then prepared to develop our own personal program for growing in virtue and moral purity – developing a stronger and more complete set of armor – one with no chinks and with multiple layers of protection.
MSW: As many of you know, President Wheelwright travels to Salt Lake City regularly to meet with the Board of Trustees, which consists of President Monson and his counselors, a few of the Apostles, and other General Authorities. Upon his return, he regularly shares with me the great love and concern that these inspired leaders have for you, the youth of the noble birthright. We would like to conclude by having you listen to a recent summary and plea to all of us, but especially to you students, from our prophet, President Thomas S. Monson, regarding the power and blessings of virtue and moral purity:
VIDEO OF PRESIDENT MONSON
“I turn next to the courage you will need to be chaste and virtuous. You live in a world where moral values have, in great measure, been tossed aside, where sin is flagrantly on display, and where temptations to stray from the straight and narrow path surround you. Many are the voices telling you that you are far too provincial or that there is something wrong with you if you still believe there is such a thing as immoral behavior.
“Isaiah declared, ‘Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness’ (Isaiah 5:20).
“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!
……
“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’ (First Presidency, in Conference Report, April, 1942.).
“May you have the courage to be chaste and virtuous.” [Monson, Thomas S., “May You Have Courage,” Ensign, May, 2009.]
SCW: Our dear young brothers and sisters, please know that we love you and pray for you. Together we testify of the wonderful truths that we have reviewed here today. We hope that you have felt the love that our chosen leaders have for each of you and that has been manifest in their direct and forthright manner on this most challenging and important subject.
We testify that Satan is real and that he desires only your unhappiness and destruction whereas your loving Father in Heaven and His Son desire only your happiness and exaltation. We know and testify that the doctrine of moral purity and virtue is one of power and of eternal importance. May each of us increase in our ability and commitment to exercise this power, thereby gaining the blessings of Heaven for ourselves and all of those around us, we pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.