Teaching Chastity

I am linking up with Laura over at Living a Big Story blog for meditation Mondays.  This is what I am thinking about this week!

I am a relief society teacher.  This means that I teach the women in the church one Sunday every month.  This month, the lesson was on chastity.  That is a really hard subject for me, and I studied and prayed a lot to be able to teach it.  I struggle with it, because it is such a hard subject to teach my children about.  I know how I feel, but I struggle explaining how very, very important it is to follow that one teaching.  I spent so much time over the past four weeks preparing to teach this.  I read the teaching of the Prophets, the scriptures, the manuals and prayed often that I would be able to teach in a manner of love and understanding.  
I have found within myself, a renewed purpose in living a virtuous life.  I have seen the blessings in my own life that come from following this commandment, as well as the sorrows that come when we do not.  I have learned so much in the preparation for this, and I am sincerely grateful that I was able to study and prepare to teach. 
I am not going to share everything with you, but there are a couple of things that I thought were very beneficial.  I  loved these two quotes: 

“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.” Elaine S. Dalton

I so agree, we need more virtue. We have enough of everyone trying to be just like everyone else. Sometimes it seems to me as if we live in a world where we are taught that the only thing that matters is to do exactly as we want. We are supposed to be just like the women that the world has determined are beautiful. We are judged on the way we dress, the way we look, the way we are different. 

I think that chastity has a lot to do with modesty. Not only in the way we dress, but in the way we think, in the way we act, in our very expectations. The only way to live a virtuous life, is to decide that is the way we want to live, and than keep the commandments that will enable us to have that type of life. Virtue is a decision. It is not an accident.
Modesty is also a decision. It is not only how we cover ourselves, it is also how we interact with others, how we speak, and how we conduct ourselves in all our doings. Modesty is not just in clothing, but in attitude. I think that we all need to look at each other (as well as ourselves) in the way that Jesus would look at us if He were here. He would look at us as children of a loving Heavenly Father. As brothers and sisters. As disciples and friends.
I do have a testimony of the importance of living the law of chastity. I know that we are only truly happy when we are keeping the commandments and following the teachings of the scriptures. I know that our Heavenly Father loves us and cares for us, and wants us to live with Him again. I know that "If there is anything virtuous, lovely, of good report, or praiseworthy; we seek after these things". I know that living a life within the bounds that the Lord has set is the only way that we will find true happiness.

Margaret D. Nadauld, Young Women General President said: “The world has enough women who are tough; we need women who are tender. There are enough women who are coarse; we need women who are kind. There are enough women who are rude; we need women who are refined. We have enough women of fame and fortune; we need more women of faith. We have enough greed; we need more goodness. We have enough popularity; we need more purity. We have enough vanity; we need more virtue.” (“The Joy of Womanhood,” Ensign,Nov. 2000, 15).