Charity and Virtue

Summary

In the April 2025 General Conference, President Russell M. Nelson emphasized developing charity and virtue to become more Christlike. Charity, the pure love of Christ, inspires unselfish service, patience, and peacemaking, while virtue involves moral excellence, integrity, and pure thoughts. Through faith, prayer, covenant-keeping, and daily effort, these qualities can be cultivated. The example of Jerry and Becca Morton illustrates this principle: they radiate love, uplift others, maintain joy despite trials, and serve selflessly. By following their example and President Nelson’s counsel, individuals can increase happiness, withstand challenges with faith, strengthen relationships, and experience the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost.

Takeaways

• 😀 Charity and virtue are essential attributes that help us have confidence in God's presence and strengthen our spiritual lives.
• 😀 Charity is the pure love of Christ, expressed through selfless actions, patience, forgiveness, and enduring love for others.
• 😀 Virtue includes integrity, moral excellence, strength, and purity, and should 'garnish our thoughts unceasingly.'
• 😀 Charity and virtue reinforce each other: virtuous thinking fosters charity, and charity encourages virtuous thoughts.
• 😀 Developing charity and virtue requires faith, prayer, consistent effort, and a commitment to follow Jesus Christ.
• 😀 Jerry and Becca Morton exemplify charity and virtue by being positive, loving, and helpful to everyone around them.
• 😀 They cultivate these attributes through daily repentance, gospel study, covenant-keeping, and seeking to serve others.
• 😀 Experiencing trials and challenges can help us grow in charity and virtue when we trust in God's plan and maintain faith.
• 😀 Practicing charity and virtue leads to increased happiness, peace, resilience, and the ability to bless others.
• 😀 Following the example of Christ and living according to gospel principles allows us to obtain the Holy Ghost as a constant companion and become more Christlike.

Q & A

What are the main attributes that President Russell M. Nelson encouraged people to develop in the April 2025 General Conference?

President Nelson encouraged people to develop charity, the pure love of Christ, and virtue, which includes integrity, moral excellence, positive and pure thoughts, and righteous actions.

How do charity and virtue relate to each other according to the transcript?

Charity and virtue are self-reinforcing: virtuous thoughts make it easier to have charity, and having charity promotes virtuous thoughts and actions.

What is charity, as defined in the transcript?

Charity is the pure love of Christ; it involves selflessness, desiring and working for what is best for others, enduring all things to help them, and having faith and hope centered in Jesus Christ.

How can individuals cultivate virtuous thoughts?

Virtuous thoughts can be cultivated by studying the Savior’s teachings, choosing faith over doubt, replacing negative thoughts with positive ones, memorizing scriptures, singing hymns, serving others, and praying regularly.

Who were Jerry and Becca Morton, and why are they highlighted in the transcript?

Jerry and Becca Morton are a couple with a blended family of seven children, highlighted as examples of living lives filled with charity and virtue through service, positivity, forgiveness, and faith in Jesus Christ.

What role does faith play in developing charity and virtue?

Faith in Jesus Christ, His gospel, and His atonement enables individuals to follow His teachings, endure trials, repent daily, and ultimately develop charity and virtuous thoughts.

How do trials and challenges contribute to developing these Christlike attributes?

Trials help individuals trust in God’s plan, strengthen faith, teach perseverance, and encourage reliance on prayer, repentance, and positive thinking, which contribute to growing charity and virtue.

What practices did the Mortons use to strengthen their charity and virtue?

They studied the gospel daily, kept their covenants, repented daily, prayed for guidance, served others selflessly, focused on positive thoughts, and applied faith consistently in good and challenging times.

What are the spiritual benefits of cultivating charity and virtue?

Spiritual benefits include increased happiness, peace, confidence in God’s presence, the companionship of the Holy Ghost, better understanding of doctrine, enhanced ability to bless others, and becoming more Christlike.

How does President Nelson’s invitation relate to the lives of the Mortons?

President Nelson’s invitation to develop charity and virtue mirrors the Mortons’ approach: by following Jesus Christ, exercising faith, serving others, and striving daily to be Christlike, individuals can experience happiness and spiritual growth.