"Even when the winds of adversity blow, our Father keeps us anchored to our hope."- Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, May 1998 Ensign
Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught. ~J.C. Watts
Do not believe in anything simply because you have heard it. Do not believe in anything simply because it is spoken and rumored by many. Do not believe in anything simply because it is found written in your religious books. Do not believe in anything merely on the authority of your teachers and elders. Do not believe in traditions because they have been handed down for many generations. But after observation and analysis, when you find that anything agrees with reason and is conducive to the good and benefit of one and all, then accept it and live up to it. ~Buddha
INTEGRITY:
Carol B. Thomas
First Counselor in the Young Women General Presidency
Integrity makes you whole and complete.
What is this most important principle? Integrity means to do what you say you will do; you keep promises to yourself. The Young Women program defines integrity as: "I will have the moral courage to make my actions consistent with my knowledge of right and wrong."
"We can easily spot . . . someone with integrity. They're honest. They do the right thing when nobody is watching. They keep their word and they keep our confidences. They repay their debts, and they clean up their own messes. They accept responsibility for their actions" ("The Wholeness of Integrity," Church News, 26 June 1999, 16).
Everyone comes into this world with different levels of integrity. Have you ever wondered what qualified Jesus to be given the role as Savior of the world? He was the Firstborn of the Father, chosen from the beginning. But what really made Him perfect? It was His total dedication and desire to please our Father in Heaven. The Savior was capable of sinning, but His desire for "honesty [was] an armor against temptation" (James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ, 3rd ed. [1916], 134). The Savior said, "I do always those things that please [the Father]" (John 8:29). We know that throughout His life, He consistently made right choices. He had the moral courage to make His actions consistent with His knowledge of right and wrong... so on..
To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man. - William Shakespeare
