Let Virtue Garnish Your Thoughts
Bishop H. David Burton
(Excerpts from October 2009 General Conference Talk)
"Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God" (Doctrine & Covenants 121:45).
"We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul--We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things" (13th Article of Faith).
Today I wish to speak about personal traits we call virtues....The spelling in English of many individual virtues concludes with the letters ity: integrity, humility, charity, spirituality, accountability, civility, fidelity, and the list goes on and on. Relying on literary license, I refer to the virtues ending in ity as the "ity" virtues. "Ity" is a suffix that means quality, state, or degree of being.
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.
....We need not be a part of the virtue malaise that is penetrating and infecting society. If we follow the owrld in abandoning Christian-centered virtues, the consequences may be disastrous.
We need to stand tall and be firmly fixed in perpetuating Christlike virtues, even the "ity" virtues, in our everyday lives. Teaching virtuous traits begins in the home with parents who care and set the example. A good parental example encourages emulation; a poor example gives license to the children to disregard the parents' teachings and even expand the poor example. A hypocritical example destroys credibility.
President James E. Faust suggested that integrity is the mother of many virtues. He noted that integrity can be defined "as a firm adherence to a code of moral values." He also suggested that "integrity is the light that shines from a disciplined conscience. It is the strength of duty within us." It is difficult for a person to display virtuous traits if he or she lacks integrity. Without integrity, honesty is often forgotten. If integrity is absent, civility is impaired. If integrity is not important, spirituality is difficult to maintain.
President Thomas S. Monson reminded us a few years ago that "most people will not commit desperate acts if they have been taught that dignity, honesty and integrity are more important than revenge or rage; if they understand that respect and kindness ultimately give one a better chance at success."
Virtuous traits, especially the "ity" virtues, must never be forgotten or set aside. If forgotten or set aside, they will inevitably become the "lost virtues." If virtues are lost, families will be measurably weakened, individual faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will soften, and importantn eteranal relationships may be jeopardized.
May we have the humility to take the opportunity to act upon our responsibility to deomonstrate our ability to do so, I pray in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.
*Sister Caprice Erickson gave a beautiful lesson on living a virtuous life and remembering the virtues that are so important. It was a good to remember the individual virtues that keep our lives and communities intact. If we live a virtuous life, we can better our own lives, our families, and our communities.
For the full talk, visit the following website:
LDS.org - Ensign Article - Let Virtue Garnish Your Thoughts
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