Virtue - A Cornerstone on Which to Build Our Lives

“There is nothing in all this world as magnificent as virtue,” Gordon B. Hinckley teaches in Chapter 18, Virtue—A Cornerstone on Which to Build Our Lives. It is “the way that leads to strength of character, peace in the heart, and happiness in life.”

So what is virtue? Some define virtue to mean only sexual purity. However, it is much, much more. We are taught that “virtue is a prerequisite 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.’ 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.”1 And if we look up virtue in the topical guide of the scriptures, it tells us to “see also chastity; cleanliness; goodness; holiness; modesty; purity; sacred.”2

In the scriptures we are told to “let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly,”3 to “walk in the paths of virtue”4 and to “practice virtue and holiness before me continually.”5 The thirteenth Article of Faith reminds us that “if there is anything virtuous . . ., we seek after these things.”6

We know that Satan “seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.”7 He goes about making evil seem good and good seem evil. He tries to persuade us to “eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.”8 Yet the prophets from the beginning have warned against this type of thinking and taught that true happiness comes as we have faith in and follow the Savior.

A month after watching the implosion of the Key Bank building, a 20-story office building just south of the Salt Lake Temple, President Hinckley used that experience to teach the students of BYU an important lesson. He explained that the building, which had stood for nearly thirty years and which took a year or two to build, was turned to rubble in only three or four seconds. “That, my friends, is the story of so many lives. We nurture them ever so carefully over a period of years. Then we find ourselves in highly charged circumstances. Mistakes are made. Chastity is compromised. There is an implosion, and a ball of dust is all that is left. … Do not sell yourself short by compromising your commitment to morality. You are, each one of you, children of a divine Father in Heaven. Your body is sacred. It is the temple of your spirit. Do not defile it with sin.”9

Since I am a visual learner, I wanted to attach the video of the implosion of the Key Bank building. (You only need to watch the first 45 seconds.) It is amazing to see something so big and so strong brought down in seconds. Watching it gives an added perspective to the tremendous consequences even just a few seemingly small decisions can make in our lives.

Then, in his ever-optimistic way, President Hinckley told the students that a new and beautiful building would soon be constructed where the old building had fallen (the beautiful City Creek Center, pictured below, now stands in its place) and lovingly reminded them, “Similarly, those who have transgressed can turn to their Redeemer, our Savior Jesus Christ, and, through the power of His Atonement, be made clean and new again.”9

Since Satan’s greatest attack is on the family, I believe that is why much of this lesson is about chastity. President Hinckley admonishes us to “walk according to time-tested standards of virtue before marriage and total fidelity within marriage,” to shun pornography “as you would a foul disease, for it is just as deadly” and to “be clean in mind.” The rippling effect of infidelity is devastating! Addiction to pornography is far too prevelant. Marriages and families are being caught in the crossfire of Satan’s war.

But it is clear from the title that this lesson is about more than chastity. With the visual image of the imploding building, think of this warning from President Hinckley, “Stay away from those things which will tear you down and destroy you spiritually.” Oh how we need the Savior in our lives - every day! It is inperative that we draw on the power that comes from His Atonement - every day! Living moral, virtuous lives will help us draw on that power. He is there to help us, to strengthen us and to make us better. I love the hymn “More Holiness Give Me” and I think the words are especially appropriate here.

More holiness give me, More strivings within, More patience in suff’ring, More sorrow for sin, More faith in my Savior, More sense of his care, More joy in his service, More purpose in prayer.

More gratitude give me, More trust in the Lord, More pride in his glory, More hope in his word, More tears for his sorrows, More pain at his grief, More meekness in trial, More praise for relief.

More purity give me, More strength to o’ercome, More freedom from earth-stains, More longing for home. More fit for the kingdom, More used would I be, More blessed and holy— More, Savior, like thee.10

In April general conference, both Russell M. Nelson and Quentin L. Cook referred to the scriptural account of the woman touching the hem of the Savior’s garment and being healed. They each taught that faith in the Savior enables us to draw on the His power. Elder Cook taught that the word virtue could easily mean power, as it does in both the Spanish and Portuguese languages. This woman’s faith “was such that touching the border of the garment drew upon the healing power of the Son of God.” Building “foundations of faith, the kind of faith that this woman demonstrated, should be the great desire of our hearts.”11

President Nelson said, “Faith in Jesus Christ propels us to do things we otherwise would not do. Faith that motivates us to action gives us more access to His power. We increase the Savior’s power in our lives when we make sacred covenants and keep those covenants with precision. Our covenants bind us to Him and give us godly power. Covenant-keeping men and women seek for ways to keep themselves unspotted from the world so there will be nothing blocking their access to the Savior’s power.” He also taught that in order to draw the Savior’s power into our lives, just like this woman, we need to “reach up to Him in faith. Such reaching requires diligent, focused effort. … This faithful, focused woman needed to stretch as far as she could to access His power. Her physical stretching was symbolic of her spiritual stretching. … When you reach up for the Lord’s power in your life with the same intensity that a drowning person has when grasping and gasping for air, power from Jesus Christ will be yours. When the Savior knows you truly want to reach up to Him—when He can feel that the greatest desire of your heart is to draw His power into your life—you will be led by the Holy Ghost to know exactly what you should do.”12

Isn’t that what the scripture means when it says to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge.13 Faith in Jesus Christ is the foundation. Virtue is the cornerstone. Virtuous lives enable us to enjoy the companionship of the Holy Ghost. Through the Holy Ghost, we are able to “know the truth of all things”14 or, in other words, add knowledge. Likewise, with the companionship of the Holy Ghost, we become temperate and patient. And without it, we will never add godliness, brotherly kindness or charity.

Robert D. Hales taught this so powerfully. He said, “Genuine discipleship is a state of being. Disciples live so that the characteristics of Christ are woven into the fiber of their beings, as into a spiritual tapestry.” Elder Hales suggests that 2 Peter 1:5-7 is an “invitation to become a disciple of the Savior.” Acquiring the Christlike attributes of faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and charity, he reminds us, “are not a script to be followed or list to be checked off. They are interwoven characteristics, added one to another, which develop in us in interactive ways. In other words, we cannot obtain one Christlike characteristic without also obtaining and influencing others. As one characteristic becomes strong, so do many more.”

Elder Hales also reminds us that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation. He said, “We measure our faith by what it leads us to do. Faith is a catalyst. Without virtuous living, our faith is without power to activate discipleship.” Hence, the virtue that we add to our faith “is cleanliness and holiness in mind and body. Virtue is also power. As we faithfully live the gospel, we will have power to be virtuous in every thought, feeling and action. We embody Christ not only in what we say and do but also in who we are.”

If we have built a foundation of faith, with virtue being the cornerstone, then all the other attributes can be added. How incredibly important is the kind of knowledge Elder Hales speaks of that we add to virtue! “As we live virtuous lives, we come to know our Heavenly Father and His Son in a special way. This knowledge is personal testimony. It is knowledge that transforms us. By our virtuous living, we make the journey from ‘I believe’ to the glorious destination of ‘I know.’”

Then to knowledge we add temperance. “As temperate disciples, we live the gospel in a balanced and steady way. Day by day we move forward, undeterred by the refining challenges of mortality. Being temperate in this way, we develop patience and trust in the Lord. We are able to rely on His design for our lives. With His plan and purposes in our hearts, we move forward not only enduring all things but also enduring them patiently and well. This patience leads us to godliness. As the Father is patient with us, His children, we become patient with one another and ourselves. From temperance to patience and from patience to godliness, our natures change. We gain the brotherly kindness that is a hallmark of all true disciples. The efforts we make to become disciples of our Savior are truly added upon until we are ‘possessed’ of His love.”15 Only then will we have added charity to brotherly kindness.

It is clear to see why President Hinckley counseled, “Let virtue be a cornerstone on which to build your lives.” With the strength and power we gain from that virtue, we will become more holy, more patient, more joyful, more grateful and more hopeful. We will have more faith in our Savior. We will be more genuine disciples. We will be more like Him.