Return to Virtue

An Old Testament proverb tells us, “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18).

We see an epidemic of blindness throughout many parts of the world where governments have completely disintegrated and others are in upheaval, unsure of what their future holds. People have lost sight of freedom and hope.

Could it be what Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron calls a “slow-motion moral collapse” that causes societal melt down? In speaking of the recent riots in London, Cameron listed several contributing factors: "Irresponsibility. Selfishness. Behaving as if your choices have no consequences. Children without fathers. Schools without discipline. Reward without effort. Crime without punishment. Rights without responsibilities. Communities without control."

Perhaps we have endured, pitied, and now embrace the vice that surrounds us, as Alexander Pope wrote nearly 300 years ago. Moral decay is not a modern problem. And it has a timeless solution—a return to virtue.

The word virtue come from the Latin root virtus meaning “strength.” If we are to remain a strong nation, we must be a virtuous nation. Religious leader, Thomas S. Monson described virtue as “a pattern of thought and behavior based on high moral standards.”

Virtue needs to lead the way on the path back to strength. We must issue a call for virtue. However, you can’t be a leader calling for moral strength and a return to virtue without being moral and virtuous yourself.

Mitt Romney is this kind of leader. We need his vision. Not only is he intelligent and experienced, he has high standards of morality and virtue. This strength is what America needs. This return to virtue will lead to a return to greatness.