In April 2025 President Nelson gave a talk where he invited us to add virtue to our thoughts. He made some pretty cool promises about how doing this can increase our confidence in the presence of God.

The scripture he quoted is from Doctrine & Covenants 121:45

“Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God;”

I’ll admit: I didn’t really know what it meant to add virtue to my thoughts, but I was particularly interested in the part where President Nelson said, “Virtue will free you from anxious, troublesome thoughts.”

So I got to studying at about virtue, and trying to practice adding it to my thoughts.

what is virtue

I used to think virtue was the same thing as chastity, and while it certainly does include all things pure and holy, there are many other definitions of virtue that include several other Christ-like attributes, for example:

• Strength
• Power
• Integrity
• Kindness

I’m practicing adding strength and power to my anxious thoughts and I’m noticing how it shifts my focus away from the things I’m scared of. I’m excited to continue learning through this process.

Perhaps my favorite thing I’ve learned about virtue so far comes from the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary definition of the word.

In summary, it says that virtue is a high moral standard that is motivated either by religious or non-religious ideas.

For example, a person might be virtuous because it’s convenient (everyone around them is doing it), because someone is forcing them to be (rules from work, parents, etc.), or out of concern for reputation (wanting to look “good” in front of others).

OR, a person can be virtuous because of a sincere love of God.

Sadly, I can see times in my life when I was trying to be virtuous for all the wrong reasons, and now I’m thinking way more about my relationship with Christ, and about why I make certain choices.

Some choices become a lot easier when I consider that I love the Lord and want that love to be reflected in my actions.

And come on, the promise that “our confidence in approaching God will increase,” is kind of a big deal.

President Nelson invites us to:

“take intentional steps to grow in your confidence before the Lord. Then, as we go to our Heavenly Father with increasing confidence, we will be filled with more joy, and your faith in Jesus Christ will increase. We will begin to experience spiritual power that exceeds our greatest hopes.”

Free virtue printable

In order to help myself and my family keep this invitation and promise in mind, I’ve created a printable with the scripture from D&C121:45. I printed and framed mine and it has a place on the hutch in our living room.

I’m offering the same printable for FREE to all of you.

what you get

This printable comes in JPG and PDF in sizes 5×7 and 8×10. Both sizes are great for framing, or just handing out as cards to youth groups or other church classes.

This black and white version is totally free! Just click the download button at the bottom of this post and you’ll get all the files for printing at home, a print shop or a photo center.

If you love this printable and wish you could get it in more color options for your young women, young men, primary or even your own kids, then I’m also offering a set of 6 colors to purchase in my Etsy shop. The purchase comes with all the PDF and JPG files for 6 different colors and it’s only $4.00.

free download

I hope you can find amazing ways to use this free printable at home or at church. Let me know how you use it in the comments below! Just click this button for your free printable virtue quote!

Love, Abby