I love Moroni because, in a very degenerate society, he remained pure and true. He is my hero. He stood alone. I feel somehow he stands atop the temple today, beckoning us to have courage, to remember who we are, and to be worthy to enter the holy temple—to “arise and shine forth,” to stand above the worldly clamor, and to, as Isaiah prophesied, “Come … to the mountain of the Lord”—the holy temple.
You have inherited the spiritual attributes of the faithful patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. A prophet of God once referred to each of you assembled here tonight as “the one bright shining hope” of the future.
The words contained in this important booklet are standards for the world, and living these standards will enable you to know what to do to become more like the Savior and to be happy in an ever-darkening world. Living the standards in this booklet will help you qualify for the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. And in the world in which you are living, you will need that companionship to make critical decisions that will determine much of your future success and happiness. Living these standards will help each of you qualify to enter the Lord’s holy temples and there receive the blessings and power that await you as you make and keep sacred covenants.
I wish every young woman assembled here tonight would know and understand that your beauty—your “shine”—does not lie in makeup, gooey cream, or the latest clothing or hairstyles. It lies in your personal purity. When you live the standards and qualify for the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost, you can have a powerful impact in the world.
If you desire to make a difference in the world, you must be different from the world.
Do you have something in your life that you need to change? You can do this. You can repent because of the Savior’s infinite atoning sacrifice. He made it possible for you and me to change, to become pure and clean again, and to become like Him. And He has promised that when we do, He will remember our sins and mistakes no more.
It took my breath away as I realized that the Savior is “the light and the life of the world,” that it is His light we must hold up and reflect. We are the tiny crystals that reflect His light, and in order to do that, we must be clean and free from the dust of the world. As I stood in the temple that day, I heard again in my mind Moroni’s call to us—the daughters of Zion: “Awake, and arise from the dust.” “And touch not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing.” “Awake, and arise … , and put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of Zion … , that the covenants of the Eternal Father which he hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled.”
You are the banner! Be virtuous and pure, seek the companionship of the Holy Ghost, bury your sins and transgressions, maintain your focus and don’t let the fog of moral pollution obscure your goals.
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