Twice in modern revelation, the Lord commands church members to “practice virtue and holiness before me” (Doctrine and Covenants 38:24, Doctrine and Covenants 46:33).
To practice something is to perform it repeatedly and habitually. This can be something that we have already mastered, such as medicine or the law, or it can be something we are trying to learn, such as a musical instrument or a sport. The common denominator is engaging consistently and intentionally in the activity.
Virtue is a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards. (See Preach My Gospel, “Chapter 6: Seek Christlike Attributes.”) It requires effort to invite virtuous thoughts into our minds, but the positive impact is substantial. As President Russell M. Nelson recently taught:
Imagine the boost you will receive to any positive thought when you enhance it with virtue. Virtue makes everything better and happier! On the other hand, imagine what will happen when you add virtue to an impure thought, a cruel thought, or a depressing thought. Virtue will drive away those thoughts. Virtue will free you from anxious, troublesome thoughts.
“Confidence in the Presence of God,” General Conference, April 2025
Holiness means being purified from sin and separated from worldly things. The word “saint” means someone who is holy, so King Benjamin was teaching us to seek for holiness when he encouraged us to put off the natural man and become a saint. (See Mosiah 3:19.) Sister Carol F. McConkie emphasized the process of becoming more holy when she said:
Holiness is in the striving and the struggle to keep the commandments and to honor the covenants we have made with God. Holiness is making the choices that will keep the Holy Ghost as our guide. Holiness is setting aside our natural tendencies and becoming “a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord.”
“The Beauty of Holiness,” General Conference, April 2017
Don Staheli, who served as personal secretary to Presidents Gordon B. Hinckley and Russell M. Nelson, pointed out that this admonition implies a process of personal growth:
Since He says practice, I guess that gives us some sense that you don’t have to [be] perfect at it in the beginning; you just have to practice it. Keep practicing.
And what happens when we practice? We’ll get better and better and better. … So, we practice virtue and holiness every day. And what happens when we practice? Well, if you are like me, you’re going to make a lot of mistakes. That’s why you are practicing. But it’s okay to make the mistakes. That’s part of the practice effort.
“The 7 Habits of Holiness,” Ensign College Devotional Address, 24 January 2017
Moroni ends the Book of Mormon with a description of the journey of spiritual growth that is possible as we intentionally practice virtue and holiness before God:
Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness. … And…if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, … that ye become holy, without spot.
Moroni 10:32-33
Today, I will practice virtue and holiness before the Lord. I will recognize that my repeated efforts to cultivate virtuous thoughts and let go of worldly influences are part of a process of discipleship—a process by which God can make me holy.
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