“Dare to do right! Dare to be true! Other men's failures can never save you. Stand by your conscience, your honor, your faith; Stand like a hero and battle till death.” So ends the children’s hymn that was penned by George L. Taylor in the 1800s. But the doctrine and principles embedded in the melody echo the faith of children and adults who confidently live with “moral authority.”
Bishop Ryan Heieie of the London ward in Winnipeg, Manitoba believes that church members should demonstrate the validity of their faith by actions, as well as by word. “When you’re speaking in church, it’s a real easy opportunity to invite someone to come and hear you speak. I remember Edwin, who was inactive in the Church. He felt that people looked down on him because he wasn’t attending church. I asked him to come and listen to my sermon in church one day. He came! And then he began coming more and is now an active member in another ward. I made sure he was comfortable when he came to church, but he’s active now because he wanted to be. That was a direct connection to my inviting him to church and to other events.”
Bishop Heieie’s invitation was successful not only because he said the right things at the right time, but also because he was doing what was right. That action is a principle known as “moral authority.” When our lives, including thoughts, actions and intentions, are held in conformity with the Lord’s teachings, then the ability to help and influence others is activated.
“Don’t be afraid to walk out of a movie, turn off the television set, or change a radio station, if what’s being presented does not meet your Heavenly Father’s standards,” taught President Thomas S. Monson. (Preparation Brings Blessings, General Conference, April 2010) “In short, if you have any questions about whether a particular movie, book or other form of entertainment is appropriate, don’t see it, don’t read it, don’t participate.”
The source of moral authority emanates from God and is planted and cultured in the home. Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles spoke of the moral force of women as a primary well-spring of this strength. “By the power of her example and teaching, her sons learn to respect womanhood and to incorporate discipline and high moral standards in their own lives. Her daughters learn to cultivate their own virtue and to stand up for what is right, again and again, however unpopular. Protect and cultivate the moral force that is within you. Take particular care that your language is clean, not coarse; that you dress reflects modesty, not vanity; and that you conduct manifests purity, not promiscuity.” (The Moral Force of Women, Ensign, November 2013)
One need not be a leading authority of the Lord’s Church in order to have a moral influence among peers and in society. Indeed, it is the hand that rocks the cradle that has shaped the moral authority of Church leaders. “My family moved into the New Brunswick Ward when I was a teenager,” says Elder Christofferson. “Sister Anna Daines took notice of me and often expressed her confidence in my abilities and potential, which inspired me to reach high -- higher than I would have without her encouragement. Once because of a thoughtful and timely warning from her, I avoided a situation that would surely have led to regret.”
Speaking to the youth of the Church, President Thomas S. Monson counseled, “Be influenced by that still, small voice. Remember that one with authority placed his hands on your head at the time of your confirmation and said, ‘Receive the Holy Ghost.’ Open you hearts, even your very souls to the sound of that special voice that testifies of truth. As the prophet Isaiah promised, ‘Thine ears shall hear a word … saying, This is the way, walk ye in it.’ Make every decision you contemplate pass this test: what does it do to me? What does it do for me? And let your code of conduct emphasize not ‘What will others think?’ but rather ‘What will I think of myself?’ (Standards of Strength, Thomas S. Monson)
Church leaders emphasize the importance of the home and family and their influence, or, in some cases, the lack of influence on each individual on the earth. “When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies?” asks Elder Neal A. Maxwell. “The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and in neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling that what happened in congresses?” (The Women of God, Ensign, May 1978)
Elder Christofferson extends the responsibility for raising a moral generation to the feet of the fathers, as well. “By praising and encouraging the moral force in women, I am not saying that men and boys are somehow excused from their own duty to stand for truth and righteousness, that their responsibility to serve, sacrifice and minister is somehow less than that of women or can be left to women. Brethren, let us stand with women, share their burdens, and cultivate our own companion moral authority.” (The Moral Force of Women, Ensign, November 2013)