I observed modern courage the past two years while watching a young man in my ward. This young man was true to his principles, true to his prophet, and true to his God. In the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet, the prophets have asked us not to have boyfriends and girlfriends during high school to protect us morally and for a variety of other reasons.

This young man made a commitment to follow this council. This was a commitment not for the faint of heart, and there was tremendous peer pressure to pair off as many do in high school, despite the pleadings of our prophets and leaders. This young man had a few best friends who all decided to ignore these prophetic warnings and invitations and exclusively date the same person for long periods of time. They decided it was cool and convenient to have girlfriends. I watched as all of these friends followed this dangerous path. 

This lone young man, after watching his closest friends, was tempted to do the same. He stood his ground. He stood with power. He was committed to follow the prophet through high school and stay away from inappropriate relationships and exclusive courting while in high school. The blessing to him during this time was remaining morally clean. I was grateful to have a chance to speak with him just before he left on his mission. He shared a powerful experience with me regarding what a blessing it was to go in for his mission and priesthood interviews without having to lie, without having to confess serious sins, without having to change his life, without having to wait for a time for his mission, without having to come back after sin, and without having to go through a difficult repentance process because of moral transgressions. This conversation was enlightening and powerful.