(9/4/00)
"Some seem to think that with the looseness and trends in the world
today affecting the thinking of some of our youth and even some of our
bishops and stake presidents, we are altogether too strict in the
teaching of morals when we see what is going on all around us. In
fact, we are accused of being prigs, which to me means narrow-minded
persons who assume superior virtue and wisdom. Judged by the ways of
the world, probably we are prigs. Are we going to lose faith, deny
modern revelation, modernize our way of life to be like the world? Or
are we going to be a peculiar people and honor and magnify our
priesthood and do our duty?" — "The Priesthood: A Royal
Army", President N. Eldon Tanner, General Conference, April 1972
(9/5/00)
"Complete trust in each other is one of the greatest enriching factors
in marriage. Nothing devastates the core of mutual trust necessary to
maintain a fulfilling relationship like infidelity. There is never a
justification for adultery." — "The Enriching Of
Marriage", Elder James E. Faust, General Conference, October 1977
(9/6/00)
"The first deviation toward moral breakdown in a man or woman is
similar to a spark that ignites a devastating forest fire. On a hot,
windy summer day this year in Midway, Utah, embers from a small
campground fire were fanned into a raging forest fire that soon swept
over the entire mountainside. Before the flames were brought under
control, the lives of two outstanding members of the Church were lost.
The roaring fire had destroyed the beautiful autumn foliage, plus
eighteen homes. We risk similar damage to our moral integrity when we
let our guard down for even one brief moment. The spark of an evil
thought can enter our mind and could ignite and destroy the moral
fiber of our soul." — "The Straight And Narrow Way",
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, General Conference, October 1990
(9/7/00)
"I have no hesitancy, brothers and sisters, in stating that unless
checked, permissiveness, by the end of its journey, will cause
humanity to stare in mute disbelief at its awful consequences." —
"Becometh As a Child", Elder Neal A. Maxwell, General
Conference, April 1996
(9/8/00)
"It is absolutely essential that you set an undeviating course of
loyalty and faithfulness to your companion, to whom you have
previously made these very commitments and promises. The example of
your great love and respect for her, the two of you being as one, will
establish a singular guiding strength that your children will desire
to follow. Your voices and actions blending together in a united front
as you teach and lead your little family will be the trumpet with a
certain sound of strength and unity leading to safety. Synonyms of
fidelity are allegiance and devotion. They will be critical supports
to your foundation of fidelity. 'Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy
heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else' (D&C 42:22)." —
"An Eternal Key", Elder Durrel A. Woolsey, General Conference,
October 1990
(9/9/00)
"You young men are the protectors of your sisters and of the girls
with whom you associate. Your duty to them and to yourself is to be
morally clean and sexually pure before the Lord. Movies and television
scenes often imply moral cleanliness is old-fashioned and not in tune
with this modern world, but commandments cut into the stone tablets by
the finger of God have not changed. The Lord declared, 'Thou shalt not
... commit adultery,' and later added, 'nor do anything like unto it'
(D&C 59:6). The commandments are clear and understandable and
uncompromising." — "A Time For Preparation", Elder
David B. Haight, General Conference, October 1991
(9/10/00)
"Our youth seem confused about the definition of moral cleanliness.
Some young men and women take a certain definition and then push it to
its limits to see how far they can go without being immoral by that
definition. I suggest an opposite approach. Several years ago, Elder
Hartman Rector, who spent twenty-six years as a navy pilot, gave an
interesting analogy. The navy had a rule that said, in effect, 'Thou
shalt not fly thy airplane in the trees.' That makes sense. But to
ensure that he obeyed this rule, he set his own standard: 'Thou shalt
not fly the airplane closer than 5,000 feet to the trees.' He said,
'When you do this you make the navy's commandment of not flying in the
trees easy to live' (in Conference Report, Oct. 1972, p. 172; or
Ensign, Jan. 1973, p. 131)." — "Purity Precedes Power",
Elder M. Russell Ballard, General Conference, October 1990
(8/4/04)
"The code for moral law is found in the scriptures, stated as simply
as, 'Wickedness never was happiness.' ( Alma
41:10 .) The
scriptures speak in general terms, leaving us free to apply the
principles of the gospel to meet the infinite variety of life. But
when they say 'thou shalt not,' we had better pay attention." - Boyd
K. Packer, " Our
Moral Environment ,"
Ensign, May 1992, p. 68
8/22/07
"Today many people are obsessed with the Y2K problem and worry about
the date coming up right because of the way computers measure time. As
someone once said about time: '[It] changes with time: in youth, time
marches on; in middle age, time flies; and in old age, time runs out.'
(Evan Esar, comp., '20,000 Quips and Quotes' (1995), 812.) We have
come to rely on electronics for much of our daily work, and we are
naturally concerned about the need to reprogram computers to move into
the next century. While some glitches may occur, I am optimistic that
no great catastrophic computer breakdown will disrupt society as we
move into the next century. I have a far greater fear of the
disruption of the traditional values of society.
"Indeed, I am more concerned about the failure of our moral computers
of honesty, integrity, decency, civility, and sexual purity. How many
people today are truly incorruptible? So many get caught up in waves
of popular issues and tides of rhetoric. This breakdown of moral
values is happening because we are separating the teachings of God
from personal conduct. An honorable man or woman will personally
commit to live up to certain self-imposed expectations, with no need
of an outside check or control. I would hope that we can load our
moral computers with three elements of integrity: dealing justly with
oneself, dealing justly with others, and recognizing the law of the
harvest." - James E. Faust, "This
Is Our Day," Ensign (CR),
May 1999, p.17
1/23/09
"Into
what depths have we fallen when government officials will announce
publicly that morals do not count anymore, and that we should look
upon deviations from chastity as the expected thing in this so-called
enlightened age. How dark is the public mind which is lulled to sleep
with such an evil philosophy when certain clergymen condone it!"
- Ezra Taft Benson, "The
Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson,"
p.87
8/14/09
“If we had
slipped away then, where are we forty years later? In 1947, television
and computers were in their infancies. We had no satellite broadcasts
or videotapes and no computer fraud. Certainly our moral standards of
decency and propriety have slipped from where they were in 1947. The
obscenity, nudity, and other forms of pornography that would have made
us blush and turn away in shame in 1947 are now thrust at us openly in
printed and audiovisual material. They are even paraded through our
homes unless we are careful to keep them out. As a people, we are
slipping further from our old moorings today because we are not
following our prophets.” - Joseph B. Wirthlin, “Patience, a Key to
Happiness,” Ensign (CR), May 1987, p. 30
1/1/10
“By
‘moral discipline,’ I mean self-discipline based on moral
standards. Moral discipline is the consistent exercise of agency
to choose the right because it is right, even when it is hard. It
rejects the self-absorbed life in favor of developing character
worthy of respect and true greatness through Christlike service
(see
Mark 10:42–45). The root of the word discipline is
shared by the word disciple, suggesting to the mind the
fact that conformity to the example and teachings of Jesus Christ
is the ideal discipline that, coupled with His grace, forms a
virtuous and morally excellent person.” – D.
Todd Christopherson, “Moral Discipline,” Ensign, November 2009
9/20/15
Many
have twisted moral values to suit themselves, have scoffed
at integrity, and have become victims of a feverish tension,
lacking the one thing they want most—inner peace. To a
considerable extent this nation has behaved like great
civilizations of the past when they have become
self-indulgent and pleasure ridden, just before they
crumbled. - Franklin
D. Richards, "Conference Report," October 1970,
Afternoon Meeting, p. 79
12/7/15
It is important for you to be
philosophical defenders as well as practicers of chastity.
Articulate advocacy is surely needed now to counter some of the
damaging balderdash we see and hear in the world pertaining to
immoral life-styles. - Neal A.
Maxwell, “The Stern But Sweet Seventh Commandment”
10/29/16
We
immediately act to protect ourselves from physical dangers, but what
about spiritual or moral dangers? We do have spiritual and moral laws
to help protect us from the evils of the world, but these laws are
more often questioned, opposed, criticized, and ignored than temporal
laws. Is this because spiritual wounds are not as visible as physical
wounds or because, while mortal death causes trauma, spiritual death
causes only inner stress and anxiety? What is it that causes a
rejection of what are considered spiritual laws? In answer, the Lord
has said that it is worldly attitudes that lead to the rejection of
spiritual laws. – Charles Didier, “The
Sabbath—Holy Day or Holiday?” Ensign (CR) November 1994