Striving to be Virtuous

My second son, Benjamin, gave a talk today in church. He is leaving to serve a two-year mission in Peru. His talk was excellent so I thought I would share it here. I'm going to miss him so much. It's very hard to let him go. 😪 

Striving to be Virtuous

Refer to Moroni 7

1. Introduction

Good morning Brothers and Sisters today I have chosen to speak on Moroni’s April of year 401 (ad) talk titled “Chapter 7” which was really just a copy of his dad’s old Sunday school talk. Or in other words I am speaking on the importance of gaining and maintaining Christlike virtues. But before I begin I’d like to talk about my mission area. I will be serving in the Peru Limatambo mission speaking spanish. I have already started home MTC and will leave for the Provo MTC September 18th for my final month of training.

2. Explanation of topic and the virtues that will be discoursed ( Charity, humility, meekness, faith, hope, diligence) knight in armor

Although Moroni 7 only refers to 4 virtues, which are Faith, Hope, Meekness, and Charity, I would like to discuss 6 Faith, Hope, Meekness, Charity, Humility, and Diligence. When I'm learning things that are boring, I often try to connect more entertaining things to the new concepts that I am learning, this helps me more easily remember what I need to be learning. So to best explain each virtue I will parallelize them with components that make a good medieval knight. Not that I think my talk is boring, although some of my younger siblings may, but that I want everyone to remember it.

3. Faith

Mormon begins his discourse on virtues in verse 33 with faith. Stating “it is by faith that miracles are wrought” and “ it is by faith that angels appear and minister to men.” Faith is our knight’s physical strength, which not only enables a knight to act and lift his sword in battle, but is the source of his power in general. Like faith, strength is gained and maintained through constant training. If a knight hasn’t properly trained for battle then he will be of little use when the time comes and he finds he can hardly carry his shield to defend himself. Without faith Mormon states we “ are not fit to be numbered among the people of his church.” And I believe that without Faith it will be very difficult to even remain a member of Christ’s church.

Faith can be gained in a variety of ways. Most of which are unironically the primary answers. Reading and studying our scripture regularly, attending sacrament service, and other church meetings, acting on Christ’s and the apostles’ invitations to service, and praying multiple times a day. Over time as we do these things with hope in our hearts, we will develop our faith in Christ and we will strengthen our testimonies of the truth behind his church.

4. Hope

The next virtue that Mormon explains is Hope which he teaches is a complimentary virtue to faith stating “ without faith there cannot be any hope.” Scriptures attest that Alma agreed with Mormon in that Hope is a complimentary virtue to faith and he even went one step further, to say that Hope is the root of faith. Alma Chapter 32 verse 21 states “faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” Hope is our knight’s purpose. And is the foundation of our church’s message. If there was no Hope left we and our knight would have no reason to fight for what is right, and he would be useless even if he was the strongest man in all the land. We as members of the church of Jesus Christ find hope in Jesus’s atonement. Because of this, if we want to be more Hopeful a good way of going about doing that is studying, appreciating and ultimately believing and having faith in the atonement, which is our church’s central message.

5. Meekness

Next is Meekness. Not weakness, Meekness or a lowliness of heart. This is our knight’s skill. I think Mormon and I would agree that without meekness our spiritual potential is hindered, and our power to utilize our faith and hope is limited. Mormon states “ behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart” and “for none are acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly of heart.” A knight will never make it to the battlefield if he could never pass the Chivalry exams due to a lack of skill with the sword. We as individuals will never learn the actions involved in virtuous conduct if we are not willing to listen to those who have already developed Christlike attributes. Without Meekness we cannot progress in virtuous development.

Now, how do we obtain meekness? Well that's a difficult question to ask. Having personally thought about it I think I found the answer in a very unlikely place, on my brother's shirt which said in black letters, Just Do It! That’s easy to say but hard to do, so here are a couple of tips I think help. First make a resolution, tell yourself “ Ben you are striving to be meek, so today go about your normal chores keeping your desire to show meekness in mind.” Next remember that it will most likely take some time till meekness becomes easy in all situations.

Lastly, strive to look at the world with the eyes that everyday we are learning new things and the best way to do so is to be meek.

6. Charity

Charity is the final virtue that Mormon discusses in Moroni chapter 7. I also think that it is his favorite virtue. For he designates the rest of the chapter to Charity, explaining that it is quote:

“the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever, and whoso is found possessed of it in the last day, it shall be well with him.” (or her)

If Jesus’s earthly ministry was broken down into two main concepts that Christ felt were most important to teach his followers, they might have been: first, believing in him, that he is the son of God, and through the grace of God he was sent to redeem all mankind. And second, to come unto God again every individual needs to become like him, by replicating his actions in our own lives. These two concepts are very similar to the Two Great Commandments: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” and “the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” The beautiful thing about Charity is that it fulfills both commandments simultaneously and can even be interpreted as the very act of loving our neighbors as ourselves. Although that interpretation makes it sound like Charity only fulfills the second commandment, Jesus, in John Chapter 21 affirms with Peter three times, that if he truly loves him he will feed his sheep.

I believe Charity would be our knight’s gleaming two edged sword. With its power the enemy is driven back and kept at bay. Charity is our spiritual offensive. If we never act on the offensive the battle will never be won, and the war never over. What good is a knight without even a dagger? If we want to be true disciples of God we will take initiative and strive to be Charitable every day. If we want to be found possessed with the virtue Charity at the last day we will follow Mormon’s advice in verse 48, (“Wherefore my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ”)

7. Humility

The first virtue that, if I could, I would add to Moroni 7 is Humility. And Humility, in that chapter, already is to a degree included within charity and meekness. Although not discussed by Mormon, Humility plays an essential part in the completion of our virtuous knight. Though it is related to meekness it is distinguishable enough from it that it is its own virtue. If meekness is our spiritual skill or ability to learn, then Humility is our spiritual defense. For our knight it is his shining armor, and majestic shield. As far as I can imagine, skill on the battlefield can be a great form of defense for any warrior, especially in close upfront combat, and attacks from the enemy, knowing how to dodge is very useful. But I find it hard to imagine skill saving my life from the rain of arrows and fiery darts that are sure to be dispelled by the adversary. Only true armor and a sturdy shield can do that. In reality, humility not only blesses the lives of those around us, but also shields us from the greatest and most powerful device of the devil, Pride.

I believe the best way to develop Humility is to Humbly ask God in prayer for its gifts. As we pray regularly for this we should always keep in mind that true Humility is all about thinking about others, not ourselves. If we catch ourselves thinking about ourselves we should stop and think about what we, in that moment, can do for others. Self-focus will only delay our development of Humility, whereas reliance on the Holy Ghost, and God’s hand in our lives will accelerate it.

8. How to obtain virtues

If you haven’t already noticed, all of these Christlike virtues can be developed in similar, or nearly the same ways. Although I haven’t completely solved the equation yet, the formula for becoming Christlikle, which I have developed, so far goes like this (a^2+b^2=c^2): First, choose to have a desire to improve. Second, surround yourself in Holy things like scripture study, Church activities, or service to build Faith. Third, use what faith you have to pray sincerely and ask Heavenly Father to help you, continue this step throughout. Fourth, Just Do It, go do things that involve acting on the virtue you are trying to develop. Fifth, be diligent in repeating all the previous steps throughout your life.

9. Diligence

Although strength, a purpose, skill, a sword, a shield, and armor seem to be all the components needed to make a good medieval knight, there is one virtue that he must have to obtain and maintain each of these, that is Diligence. There is no skill, talent, or virtue that doesn't require Diligence. Individuals who have committed to a single sincere, helpful, and kind act are hardly ever, by the majority of people, considered sincerely kind people. It is the individuals who are kind on a daily basis, and over time have committed to thousands of kind acts who are considered kind people. Diligence can also be interpreted as enduring to the end. So one way or another we are commanded to be diligent. When developing a new skill or habit If we give up on constant practice, we benefit far less from what we have already accomplished.

When we surround ourselves in good things, virtues become habitual, in the sense that they share many of the same qualities as a habit. The more we do them the more likely we are to do them in the future, and the less we do them the less likely we are to do them in the future. This does not mean however that if we have a very solid habit of being kind to those around us we will not experience the temptation to be rude to our siblings. But it does mean that when temptation comes, we will have a stronger desire to choose the right, and we will have a clearer understanding of the potential consequences of each choice. Diligence in doing what’s right is essential because temptations will be with us throughout our lives.

10. What virtues are not

Virtues are not something to be simply obtained. Or, in other words I can’t wake up one day, go do seven acts of service to the first seven people I see then declare at the end of the day that I am now a charitable person. Virtues are not easily gained through self focus, in the way that self focus during weightlifting helps us easily gain strength. On the contrary we only fully embrace virtuism when our lives’ focus is on others. Contrary to popular belief, virtues within an individual are not unveiled in the situational reactions of the individual but rather in her actions towards interaction. A truly charitable person spends their day seeking opportunities to help, love and support those they come in contact with, not waiting for the perfect opportunity to show kindness. Remember “To be virtuous is a constant, conscious, continuous, choice.”

11. Testimony (What I hope to gain from my mission)

To be virtuous is to make constant, conscious, and continuous choices that help us come closer to Christ. Simply obtained at one point in time

○ Easily gained through self focus

○ A reaction but rather an action to seek interaction

○ Corruptible, ( A virtue and an anti virtue cannot remain together) true virtues cannot incite bad actions

○ Do not come merely by desire but, like everything else, by hard work and determination