The Book of Mormon account indicates that “to be the salt of the earth” is a goal members of the Church should strive for (3 Nephi 12:13). In the Mosaic sacrificial ritual, salt was a reminder that we should remember and preserve our covenants with God (see Numbers 18:19; 2 Chronicles 13:5). In a similar sense, Saints should help restore and preserve the covenants in these latter days. Doctrine and Covenants 101:39–40 indicates what one must do to be accounted as “the salt of the earth.”
To be considered “the salt of the earth” carries an important meaning. While serving as a member of the Presidency of the Seventy, Elder Carlos E. Asay (1926–99) explained to priesthood holders:
“‘When men are called into mine everlasting gospel, and covenant with an everlasting covenant, they are accounted as the salt of the earth and the savor of men;
“‘They are called to be the savor of men’ (D&C 101:39–40; italics added).
“The word savor (s-a-v-o-r) denotes taste, pleasing flavor, interesting quality, and high repute. …
“A world-renowned chemist told me that salt will not lose its savor with age. Savor is lost through mixture and contamination. Similarly, priesthood power does not dissipate with age; it, too, is lost through mixture and contamination. …
“Flavor and quality flee a man when he contaminates his mind with unclean thoughts, desecrates his mouth by speaking less than the truth, and misapplies his strength in performing evil acts. …
“I would offer these simple guidelines, especially to the young men, as the means to preserve one’s savor: If it is not clean, do not think it; if it is not true, do not speak it; if it is not good, do not do it (see Marcus Aurelius, ‘The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius,’ in The Harvard Classics, Charles W. Eliot, ed., New York: P. F. Collier and Son, 1909, p. 211)” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1980, 60–61; or Ensign, May 1980, 42–43).