Daily tensions between the sacred and the secular are part of the ethical dilemma, and Latter-day Saints seek help from the scriptures and classical sources. The teleological approach appraises the morality of an act by its relation to an end or purpose, while the deontological approach understands morality primarily in terms of duty or response to law. In Christian ethics, these views have proved difficult to reconcile. For Latter-day Saints, however, both obedience to divine imperatives and pursuit of ultimate happiness are correlative elements in the maturation of human beings. The conflict between duty and desire is overcome as one grows closer to God through faith and service and finds joy in upholding divine counsels and commandments.
Ethicists likewise contrast performance and motive in the religious life.
Rabbinical tradition, for example, emphasizes the continuous study and scrupulous observance of Torah, while Reformation Protestantism stresses motive. Grace transforms men toward a Christlike nature. Classical Christian thought encourages the cultivation of habits and dispositions tied to both intellectual and moral virtues. Much ethical discussion today revolves around whether there are any external and binding sanctions for ethics and morality. In the theological context, there is the classical dilemma of whether God's will is right because he wills it or whether he wills it because it is right.