Virtue: Then and Now (Especially in Movies)

I just barely got back from Girl's Camp and our theme this year was Go For The Gold! with an emphasis on virtue.

Virtue is a prerequisite to entering the Lord’s holy temples and to receiving the Spirit’s guidance. Virtue “is a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards.”  It encompasses chastity and moral purity. Virtue begins in the heart and in the mind. It is nurtured in the home. It is the accumulation of thousands of small decisions and actions. Virtue is a word we don’t hear often in today’s society, but the Latin root word virtus means strength. Virtuous women and men possess a quiet dignity and inner strength. They are confident because they are worthy to receive and be guided by the Holy Ghost. President [Thomas S.] Monson has counseled: “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” (“Examples of Righteousness,” Apr. 2008 general conference).1

I like how this definition says that virtue starts in the mind and heart.

I know that virtue is an important thing to have especially in this day and age. Virtue is kind of rare these days. When the movie Gone With The Wind was released, it was banned form a number of states due to Rex's last line which included a swear word. But now we hear swear words, cuss words, we hear them all over the place.

I think it's just sad how far America has changed since 1940 (the year Gone With The Wind came out). And it just seems to be getting worse. I mean, how many G rated movies do we see these days?

I looked on IMDb and looked at the Most Popular Feature Films of 2014 and in the first two pages found no G-Rated movies. That doesn't mean there aren't any but.... So I didn't see any G-Rated but do you want to know how many R-Rated movies were on there? No, you don't. I don't believe that we should have any R rated movies. The R stands for restricted. Why is anyone watching anything that is restricted?! I just don't get it.

R-rated movies are not for people under 17 and definitely not for kids. I think that if youth and children can't watch it because of the content and stuff, then we shouldn't have it at all.

Virtue is something we need. Gordon B. Hinckley said that "There is nothing in all this world as magnificent as virtue. It glows without tarnish. It is precious and beautiful. It is above price. It cannot be bought or sold. It is the fruit of self-mastery." "Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God." (D&C 121:45)
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1 lds.org/virtue