Sometimes in teaching the scriptures I have rewritten the scriptures to suit the audience. Everyone has added their name in place of say Oliver Cowdery or Emma Smith. We might modernize some words so we carry out a deeper, more personal meaning. I’m sure Alma or Mormon don’t mind when we do that. Likewise, I hope Pres. Monson doesn’t mind me rewriting his talk from this past Priesthood session, because it was fantastic and we need to hear it as women. I am chopping things up a little bit and focusing on my favorite parts, so be sure to look up the talk to read it in full. I am merely turning this talk into a talk for women of all ages.
EXAMPLES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS President Thomas S. Monson May 2008 Ensign
Tonight I am aware that you, my sisters, represent the largest gathering of the Relief Society ever to assemble. You are a part of the greatest sisterhood in all the world. How fortunate and blessed you are to be sisters in Zion.
As sisters, you have been placed on earth in troubled times. You who are of the Relief Society can make a difference. When you qualify for the help of the Lord, you can build boys and girls, you can mend men and women, you can accomplish miracles in His holy service. Our opportunities are without limit.
Ours is the task to be fitting examples. We are strengthened by the truth that the greatest force in the world today is the power of God as it works through men and women. If we are on the Lord’s errand, sisters, we are entitled to the Lord’s help. Never forget that truth. That divine help, of course, is predicated upon our worthiness. Each must ask: Are my hands clean? Is my heart pure? Am I a worthy servant of the Lord?
We are surrounded by so much that is designed to divert our attention from those things which are virtuous and good and to tempt us with that which would cause us to be unworthy to exercise the power around us. I speak not just to the young girls, but those of all ages. Temptations come in various forms throughout our lives.
Sisters, are we teaching our sons to honor the priesthood they hold? Are our sons clean in body and spirit as they sit at the sacrament table on Sunday and bless the emblems of the sacrament? Are our boys worthy to prepare the sacrament? Do they do so knowing that they are spiritually qualified to do so? Have you, as mothers, taught well enough your boys to fully understand the importance of all the sacred duties they perform? (And yes, women should play a roll in this.)
My young dear sisters, be strong. The philosophies of men surround us. The face of sin today often wears the mask of tolerance. Do not be deceived; behind that façade is heartache, unhappiness, and pain. You know what is right and what is wrong, and no disguise, however appealing, can change that. The character of transgression remains the same. If your so-called friends urge you to do anything you know to be wrong, you be the one to make a stand for right, even if you stand alone. Have the moral courage to be a light for others to follow. There is no friendship more valuable than your own clear conscience, your own moral cleanliness—and what a glorious feeling it is to know that you stand in your appointed place clean and with the confidence that you are worthy to do so.
You dear women and mothers, do you strive diligently each day to live as you should? Are you kind and loving to your husbands and your children? Are you honest in your dealings with those around you—at all times and in all circumstances?
If any of you has slipped along the way, there are those who will help you to once again become clean and worthy.
Many of you will remember President N. Eldon Tanner, who served as a counselor to four Presidents of the Church. He provided an undeviating example of righteousness throughout a career in industry, during service in the government in Canada, and consistently in his private life. He gave us this inspired counsel: “Nothing will bring greater joy and success than to live according to the teachings of the gospel. Be an example; be an influence for good… Every one of us has been foreordained for some work as [God’s] chosen servant on whom he has seen fit to allow us the power to act in his name. Always remember that people are looking to you for leadership and you are influencing the lives of individuals either for good or for bad, which influence will be felt for generations to come.”
My sisters, I reiterate that, as women of God, it is your duty to live your lives in such a way that you may be examples of righteousness for others to follow.
The prophet Brigham Young said: “We should never permit ourselves to do anything that we are not willing to see our children do. We should set them an example that we wish them to imitate.”
To you who are mothers of girls or who are leaders of girls, I say, strive to be the kind of example the girls need. The mother, of course, should be the prime example, and the girl who is blessed with a worthy mother is fortunate indeed. Even an exemplary family, however, with diligent and faithful father and mother, can use all the supportive help they can get from good women who genuinely care. There is also the girl who has no mother or whose mother is not currently providing the type of example needed. For that girl, the Lord has provided a network of helpers within the church. When the Lord’s program is in effect and properly working, no young girl in the church should be without the influence of good women in her life.
The effectiveness of an inspired bishop, adviser, or teacher has very little to do with the outward trappings of power or an abundance of this world’s goods. The leaders who have the most influence are usually those who set hearts afire with devotion to the truth, who make obedience to duty seem the essence of womanhood, who transform some ordinary routine occurrence so that it becomes a vista where we see the person we aspire to be.
Not to be overlooked—and in fact our primary example—is our Savior, Jesus Christ. What finer example could we strive to emulate? Let us begin now, this very night, to do so. Cast off forever will be the old self and with it defeat, despair, doubt, and disbelief. To a newness of life we come—a life of faith, hope, courage, and joy. No task looms too large; no responsibility weighs too heavily; no duty is a burden. All things become possible.
In his second story Pres. Monson describes a young missionary who was threatened with cancer. This elder was described as having faith as unquestioning, undeviating and unyielding. He was an example to all. Because of his example of dedication, his fellow missionaries lived closer to God.
My sisters, as we now leave this meeting, let us all determine to prepare for our time of opportunity and to honor the priesthood through the service we render, the lives we bless and the souls we are privileged to help save. You are a chosen generation, a royal daughter of God, an holy nation, and you can make a difference. To these truths I testify in the name of Jesus Christ, our Savior, amen.