Last week, I brought you the story of my friend Angela who recently testified about the true nature of families in front of the New Zealand Parliament. After reading about her experience, many of you expressed a desire to be more courageous in defending truth.
Today, in order to nurture the desire that lies within all of us to stand for truth and righteousness, I have a sacrament talk for your reading pleasure, given by my good friend Alana Lee. Alana and I grew up together in the Cleveland, Ohio Stake. (She has also shared here in the past.)
The funny thing about youth from the Cleveland Stake (at least from the 1990's) is that we all know the words to the song "True to the Faith." Why, you ask? Because every month, at the stake youth firesides, we sang that song. Every month.
The song asks the question: "Shall the youth of zion falter in defending truth and right?"
"While the enemy assaileth, shall we shrink or shun the fight?" "NO!!!"
"True to the faith that our parents have cherished. True to the faith for which martyrs have perished. To God's command. Soul, heart, and hand. Faithful and true, we will ever stand."
Years later, it's rewarding to see my old friends, like Alana, living out their testimonies. Those youth of yesteryear, whose faces come to mind whenever I sing that song, truly did not shrink or shun the fight. They are right in the thick of it, defending truth and right. God bless those youth leaders who inspired a generation of us to prove this song right!
Here's Alana:
Modesty, Purity, and Tolerance
(Sacrament Meeting talk, delivered March 10, 2013)
by Alana Lee
I would like to start my talk with a powerful quote
from Elaine S. Dalton, YW General President, spoken during a CES fireside in
2009.
“In the
premortal realm you participated in a war. You fought with your faith and
testimony to accept and sustain the plan that was presented by God the Father.
You knew it was right, and you knew that the Savior would do what He said He
would do, because you
knew Him! There were no neutral spirits in the War in Heaven, and
there can be no neutral positions now where choices between right and wrong are
to be made. The Lord Himself said, “He that is not with me is against me” (Matthew 12:30). You stood with Him! You were eager
for your assignment. You knew what was going to be required of you. You knew
how difficult it would be, and yet you were confident you could not only
accomplish your divine mission, but that you could make a difference. As one
prophet said of you and your day:
'For
nearly six thousand years, God has held you in reserve to make your appearance
in the final days before the Second Coming of the Lord. … God has saved for the
final inning some of his strongest children, who will help bear off the Kingdom
triumphantly. And that is where you come in, for you are the generation that
must be prepared to meet your God.
'All through the ages the prophets have
looked down through the corridors of time to our day. Billions of the deceased
and those yet to be born have their eyes on us. Make no mistake about it—you
are a marked generation.'9”
Although she was addressing young adults, what she
said applies to each of us. She was making an important point about our role as
disciples. Discipleship is not passive. Our faith and commitment require
action.
My heart and mind have been heavy this past week
because of inappropriate media that my friends and I have recently seen.
Check-stand magazine covers are becoming increasingly pornographic. Television
commercials are doing Satan's work, spreading lies, and doing it at a time when
children are watching. And I feel the weight of my burden as a mother of three
girls. It is for this reason, and having obtained my errand from the Lord, that
I am speaking today on modesty, sexual purity, and tolerance.
Because we can't teach purity without having taught
modesty, I will start with modesty—because those two virtues are companions.
One way we, as disciples, can show our faith and commitment to Christ is by
dressing modestly.
The Church’s web site defines Modesty as: “an attitude of propriety and decency in dress,
grooming, language, and behavior. If we are modest, we do not draw undue
attention to ourselves. Instead, we seek to "glorify God in [our] body,
and in [our] spirit" (1
Corinthians 6:20).”
Sister Silvia Allred, former member in the Relief
Society General Presidency, said: “One of the challenges members of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints face today is obeying principles of modesty
in an increasingly immodest world.”[i]
“From the beginning, the Lord has asked
His children to cover their bodies. After Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden
fruit, their eyes were opened and they became aware that they were naked. Adam
and Eve tried to cover themselves with simple aprons made of fig leaves. But
the aprons were not enough, so the Lord made them more modest coats of skins.
God had a higher standard then, just as He does now. His standards are not
those of the world.”
Modesty
is a timeless principle of the gospel.
I
grew up in a house of five girls—you
can imagine that I’ve heard more than a few lectures on modesty from my father.
However, my mother was more subtle. She taught by example and she placed
scripture verses and quotes strategically throughout the house. She framed the
virtue sermon found in Proverbs 31 and put it in a place where girls tend to
spend a lot of time—the bathroom. I read those verses nearly every time I went into the bathroom. Some of my favorites were: “Who can find a virtuous
woman? for her price is far above rubies. Many
daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she
shall be praised.” (10, 29-30)
I found myself trying to memorize the
verses, and it forged in me a desire to be virtuous and modest, like my mother.
Elder
Robert D. Hales said, “Some
Latter-day Saints may feel that modesty
is a tradition of the Church or that it has evolved from conservative,
puritanical behavior. Modesty is not just cultural. Modesty is a gospel
principle that applies to people of all cultures and ages. In fact, modesty is
fundamental to being worthy of the Spirit. To be modest is to be humble, and
being humble invites the Spirit to be with us.”[ii]
Like charity, modesty “vaunteth not itself, …
doth not behave itself unseemly.” (1
Cor. 13:4–5.) Vaunt means to boast or act boastfully. John S.
Tanner explains: “Modesty does not seek undue attention, does not flaunt
itself, but shows respect for the feelings of others. Though it means much more
than merely good manners, modesty belongs among the social virtues because it
requires sensitivity and tact.”[iii]
Sister
Silvia Allred has said: “Girls
might not recognize that the physical display they create when they dress
immodestly affects boys more than it does them. Help children, especially
daughters, understand that attracting someone of the opposite sex solely by
physical means does not create a lasting relationship.”
The bottom line is this: We either follow
the prophets or we don’t. There is no in-between. And the prophets have
repeatedly commanded us to dress modestly.
We all need a testimony of the importance
of modesty and the sacredness of our bodies.
And if we don’t have one, we should seek our Father’s help in prayer
that He will plant that desire and testimony in our hearts.
Too
many people mindlessly mimic the vain world around them. To a degree, some of
it is unintentional. Yet some aim below their potential just to be different.
Either way, they succumb to a sphere of barely-existent standards.
Immodesty
is arousing to human nature and shows a lack of respect, not only for your
sacred body, but for others. Many times a person has to see something immodest
before they can know not to look at it, and then the image may be emblazened in
his or her mind. Immodesty is placing temptation in other's paths.
Many who dress and behave immodestly falsely believe
they're not hurting anyone. What
are the consequences of immodesty? Some of you might know people who think, “It’s who I am on the inside that counts.” I
am going to share with you 3 perils of immodesty: 1) Pride, 2) Permissiveness
or Promiscuity, and 3) Pornography.
The first peril is Pride
People
either dress and behave immodestly because of ignorance or pride.
President Ezra Taft Benson warned us in his
hallmark address,
“Beware of Pride.” “The
Doctrine and Covenants tells us that the Book of Mormon is the “record of a
fallen people.” (D&C 20:9.) Why did they fall? “Behold, the pride of this
nation...hath proven their destruction.” (Moro. 8:27.)”[iv]
He continues, saying, “The central feature of pride is
enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means “hatred
toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.” It is the power by which Satan
wishes to reign over us.”
“Pride is essentially competitive in
nature. We pit our will against God’s. When we direct our pride toward God, it
is in the spirit of “my will and not thine be done.”[v]
Dressing modestly shows humility. Whether
we like it or not, how we dress also sends a message to others about our values
and attitudes. And dressing immodestly attracts immodest, and often immoral,
people to you. But dressing modestly attracts virtuous people and the
companionship of the Holy Ghost.
The second peril is
Permissiveness or Promiscuity
When we
dress immodestly, our behavior soon follows. Immodest behavior paves the path
to permissiveness, which runs into the road of promiscuity. President Spencer
W. Kimball said: “One
contributing factor to immodesty and a breakdown of moral values is the modern
dress. I am sure that the immodest clothes that are worn by some of our young
women, and their mothers, contribute directly and indirectly to the immorality
of this age. Even fathers sometimes encourage it. I wonder if our young sisters
realize the temptation they are flaunting before young men when they leave
their bodies partly uncovered. …
“I am
positive that the clothes we wear can be a tremendous factor in the gradual
breakdown of our love of virtue, our steadfastness in chastity” (Faith Precedes the Miracle [1972], 163, 168).
The third peril is
Pornography
President
Thomas S. Monson, has declared: “When I consider the demons who are twins—even immodesty and immorality—I should make them triplets and include pornography. They all three go together.
“A
modern-day Apostle, Hugh B. Brown, has declared, 'Any immodesty inducing impure
thoughts is a desecration of the body—that temple in which the Holy Spirit may
dwell.' 8
President Monson continues, “I commend to you...a jewel from the Improvement Era. ... 'The current and common custom of indecency
in dress, the flood of immoral fiction in printed literature, in the drama, and
notably in [motion] picture[s] … , the toleration of immodesty in every-day
conversation and demeanor, are doing deadly work in the fostering of
soul-destroying vice.'” (“Peace, Be Still,” Ensign, Nov 2002, 53)
Today's definition of pornography is complicated and
confusing. My childhood friend, who spent time as journalist for CNN, now uses
the internet to help teach truth. The other day she posted on Facebook about a
magazine with a pornographic cover near the checkstand at a popular store that
was placed at eye-level for a child. While many shared her outrage, a few said
it wasn't pornography, it was just salacious, and therefore amusing, just like
dangling keys in front of a baby. Similarly, my husband knows a few men who
think pornography is only pornography when in the form of a video. Let's define
pornography right now, according to Gospel standards.
The
Church defines pornography as “any
material depicting or describing the human body or sexual conduct in a way that
arouses sexual feelings. It is distributed through many media, including
magazines, books, television, movies, music, and the Internet. ...It can lead
to other serious sins. Members of the Church should avoid pornography in any
form and should oppose its production, distribution, and use.”
Be bold
in your refusal to look at pornography. Raise your banner and set your standard
high when it comes to impurity and pornography: “Not even once.”
In the
August 1989 Ensign, it teaches that “something is obscene if it is “offensive to chastity
or to modesty....Chastity has to do with the sacredness of the power of
procreation. This is an especially sacred power, to be used only within the
bonds of marriage.
“The Lord has referred to the human body as a temple.
(See D&C 93:35.) ...Like a temple, the body is sacred; and its most
sacred power—procreation—may be likened to the celestial room in the temple.
The temple walls and veil provide multiple layers of protection for this sacred
place, to keep it holy. In like manner, the power of procreation should also be
protected by multiple layers—layers of modesty.” (R. Gary Shapiro, “Leave the
Obscene Unseen,” Ensign, Aug 1989, 27)
Immodesty
contributes to the breakdown of virtue, chastity, and thus the family. And according to Dallin H. Oaks it also
contributes to the growing problem of pornography addiction. He states, "...And young women, please understand that
if you dress immodestly, you are magnifying this problem by becoming
pornography to some of the men who see you." - General Conference
Report, April 2005
Pornography
and immorality are poisons that we need to guard our families against. Would
you intentionally feed your children a small dose of rat poison because just a
little won't hurt?
Just because we dress and behave modestly, does not
mean that we won't be tempted, and it doesn't mean that we still won't be
bombarded with philosophies and pressures and images that are contrary to
revealed truth.
What is the most effective technique that Satan uses
to destroy souls? Sexual impurity. Let me first say that it is NOT a sin to be
tempted. However, it is a sin to dwell on or relish the thought, or act upon
temptations. Jesus “suffered temptations but gave no heed unto them.” (D&C 20:22.)
When a temptation sneaks in, shun it! Do NOT entertain
sinful thoughts. As soon as they enter your mind, replace them with virtuous
thoughts. Else 2 Nephi 26:22 comes true: And there are also secret combinations, even as in times of old, according to
the combinations of the devil, for he is the founder of all these
things; yea, the founder of murder, and works of darkness; yea, and he leadeth them
by the neck with a flaxen cord, until he bindeth
them with his strong cords forever.
And 2 Nephi 28:21 And others will he pacify, and lull them away into carnal
security, that they will say: All is well in Zion; ...and thus the devil
cheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.
In a
CES Fireside last month, Dallin H. Oaks said: “Our young people are amazing in their faith and their devotion to what is good and right. Measured by any
righteous criteria, they are superior. For example, a recent study showed
that the percent of young Mormons who stay true to their faith and regularly
attend Church services is the highest of any faith-group in America.[1] I
believe our youth and young adults are better than any earlier
generation. Yet they still need our help to reinforce them against the
diversions and evils that surround them, which are intense and
persuasive. ...President Boyd
K. Packer observed that “The world is spiraling downward at an
ever-quickening pace.”[2] And in rededicating the Boise Idaho Temple last November,
President Thomas S. Monson declared that our young members “walk in a
world saturated with the sophistries of Satan.”[3]
This
quote from Elaine S. Dalton illustrates the troubling paradox of our current
world:
“We
live in a world that is concerned about cleanliness and purity—the cleanliness
of our air and the cleanliness of our environment, our water, and even our
food. In some places we legislate against pollution and even have
government-funded environmental protection agencies to ensure that we are not
made ill by contaminants that get into our air, our water, or our food supply.
Yet society tolerates moral pollution in the form of pornography on billboards,
television, and the Internet and in entertainment and other media. We tolerate
filth that invades our minds through suggestive lyrics, music, and language. In
some respects we are an organic generation ensuring purity and quality in our
lives, and yet we are polluting our moral fiber. I believe that the lack of
virtue in our society is directly responsible for many of our social,
financial, and governmental ills. I believe that the disintegration of faith
and families and the financial unrest are directly related to a lack of virtue
in our society. And I believe that a return to virtue could save an entire
nation.”
Sister Dalton
continued, saying: “We
call for a social reform, but what is really needed is a moral reform—a call
for a return to virtue. You were leaders in the premortal world and stood for
everything that is now threatened in society. You who are preparing to be
influential in every sector of society, the young adults of The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints, can and must lead this return.”
I
believe what she says is true. A return to Virtue could save a nation! Our
world is in need of change agents. The rapid demise of the family and the
similar destruction of goodness stem from the selfish, immoral behaviors of
others. The world will not become a better place until we, as individuals,
foster a sense of respect for God and for self. And once we, as
individuals, have risen above the filth
of gluttonous immorality, our world has changed. As Ghandi once said, “You must
be the change you wish to see in the world.”
Now I
would say a few words on tolerance. We must abhor sin. But we must still love
the sinner. We must be cautious not to be persuaded away from truth because we
are trying to practice tolerance of other lifestyles.
Alexander
Pope describes what it means to be persuaded away from truth, or as Mormon
describes it, “poisoned by degrees.”
Vice
is a monster of so frightful mien, (mien means character)
As to be hated needs but to be seen;
Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace.
As to be hated needs but to be seen;
Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace.
How can
we balance our love of truth, our love of others, and our abhorrence of sin?
The best sermon that I have read on tolerance is found in last month's Ensign
(Feb 2013), entitled “Balancing Truth and Tolerance” by Elder Dallin H. Oaks.
He defines tolerance as: “...a
friendly and fair attitude toward unfamiliar or different opinions and
practices or toward the persons who hold or practice them.”
This
attitude of tolerance goes both ways: toward others with different opinions,
and from others towards us. Elder Oaks also states:
We live in a world where more and more persons of
influence are teaching and acting out a belief that there is no absolute right
and wrong....
The philosophy of moral relativism, which holds that each person
is free to choose for him or herself what is right and wrong, is becoming the
unofficial creed for many in the United States and other Western nations. At
the extreme level, evil acts that used to be localized and covered up like a
boil are now legalized and paraded like a banner. Persuaded by this philosophy, many of the rising generation are
caught up in self-serving pleasures, pornography, dishonesty, foul language,
revealing attire, pagan painting and piercing of body parts, and degrading
sexual indulgence.
In
1976, Elder Neal A. Maxwell said this of moral relativism, using his trademark
alliteration: “Relativism has sometimes been a small, satanic
sea breeze, but now the winds of relativism have reached gale proportions. Over
a period of several decades relativism has eroded ethics, public and personal,
has worn down the will of many, has contributed to a slackening sense of duty,
civic and personal. The old mountains of individual morality have been worn
down. This erosion has left mankind in a sand-dune society, in a desert of
disbelief where there are no landmarks, and no north, no east, no west, and no
south! There is only the dust of despair!” (Some Thoughts on the Gospel and the Behavioral
Sciences)
Now
back to Elder Oaks Ensign article: [A]ll
of us—especially the rising generation—have a duty to stand up and speak out to
affirm that God exists and that there are absolute truths that His commandments
establish.
Unfortunately,
some who believe in moral relativism seem to have difficulty tolerating those
who insist that there is a God who should be respected and that there are
certain moral absolutes that should be observed.
President
Gordon B. Hinckley (1910–2008) expressed this idea for Latter-day Saints:
“...Each of us is part of a great family, the human family, sons and daughters
of God, and therefore brothers and sisters. We must work harder to build mutual
respect, an attitude of forbearance, with tolerance one for another regardless
of the doctrines and philosophies which we may espouse.”3
Our Savior also taught that His followers will
have tribulation in the world, that their numbers and dominions will be small, and that they will be hated because they are not of
the world. But that is our role. We are called to live with other children of
God who do not share our faith or our values and who do not have the covenant
obligations we have assumed. We are to be in the world but not of the world.
...We
must seek tolerance from those who hate us for not being of the world. As part
of this, we will sometimes need to challenge laws that would impair our freedom
to practice our faith, doing so in reliance on our constitutional rights to the
free exercise of religion.
Our
tolerance and respect for others and their beliefs does not cause us to abandon
our commitment to the truths we understand and the covenants we have made. We
are cast as combatants in the war between truth and error. There is no middle
ground. We must stand up for truth, even while we practice tolerance and
respect for beliefs and ideas different from our own and for the people who
hold them.
While
we must practice tolerance and respect for others and their beliefs, including
their right to explain and advocate their positions, we are not required to
respect and tolerate wrong behavior.
Our
obligation to tolerance means that ...behaviors...we consider deviations from
the truth—should [n]ever cause us to react with hateful communications or
unkind actions.
Finally,
the spirit of our balance of truth and tolerance is applied in these words of
President Hinckley: “...There may be situations where, with serious moral
issues involved, we cannot bend on matters of principle. But in such instances
we can politely disagree without being disagreeable. We can acknowledge the
sincerity of those whose positions we cannot accept.”10
Elder
Oaks counsels us to use wisdom when it comes to tolerance. We don't just bend
because the world asks us to bend. Rather, we remain steadfast and true to our
covenants while practicing the pure love of Christ. We must be models of
virtue.
Sister
Dalton explains what it means to be a virtuous people “Virtuous
people are committed to the sanctity of life. They respect God’s counsel on how
life is to be conceived, protected, and nurtured. There is no strength that is
greater than the strength of virtue, nor any confidence that is more sure than
the confidence of a virtuous life.”
We all
leave our marks, and what we do will affect other people, for better or for
worse. The smallest actions can have very grand and profound effects. There
are still millions of good, honorable around the world, but those in opposition
to absolute truth are often more outspoken. The responsibility to stand up for
absolute truth lies with us.
In
Doctrine and Covenants 60:2, the Lord said: “But
with some I am not well pleased, for they will not open their mouths, but they
hide the talent which I have given unto them, because of the fear of man. Wo
unto such, for mine anger is kindled against them.”
I would
like to end with another quote from Elaine S. Dalton's CES Fireside in 2009:
During
the critical days of World War II, Winston Churchill aroused an entire nation
when he said: “You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: victory.
Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and
hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.”11 ...I echo that call for the war in which we are
engaged today by paraphrasing the words of Winston Churchill for you: You ask,
what is our aim? I can answer with one word: virtue. Virtue at all costs,
virtue in spite of all opposition, virtue, however long and hard the road to
repentance may be; for without virtue, there can be no victory.
In the
words of a familiar hymn, I ask: “Who's on the Lord's side? Who? Now is the time to show. We ask it fearlessly: Who's on
the Lord's side? Who?” (Hymn 260)
It is
my prayer that we can be examples of modesty and purity, and that we will stand
as guardians of virtue within our community and within society, willing to open
our mouths when the loudmouths of moral relativism seek to destroy God-given
absolute truths, however subtle their tactics may be. We are on the Lord's side,
and the Lord's side will rise triumphant in the end, with the help of virtuous
covenant-keepers. To any who have strayed, no matter how far, there is still
hope. I testify to you of the reality of the cleansing and healing power of the
Atonement of Jesus Christ. I testify to you of the absolute truths I have
spoken of today. Heavenly Father lives, Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, and both
love us infinitely and perfectly, no matter our temptations or weaknesses.
Of this
I testify, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
