“I will have the moral courage to make my actions consistent with my knowledge of right and wrong” (Young Women Personal Progress, p.54).
I have to admit it hasn’t been easy putting something together for Integrity. As a youth and member of the Young Women organization in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (more commonly known by the nickname “Mormons”) I always found it difficult to understand the deeper meanings of the word. I knew integrity had a lot to do with things like not cheating, or stealing, or breaking your word. I knew it meant we shouldn’t be hypocrites, like saying we should love our families when our everyday acts show we don’t love them at all.
Over the years I’ve also heard integrity described as those things we do when no one’s looking. Are you a person who takes those quiet, solitary times to read the word of God and other uplifting books, or do an unseen act of service for a loved one, or perhaps study for school? Or are you the person who delves into immoral acts, or wastes hours in front of the television, or reads unwholesome books?
In Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary we can read this definition of integrity:
“Firm adherence to a code of moral or artistic values: incorruptibility; an unimpaired condition: soundness; the quality or state of being complete or undivided: completeness.”
(italics added.)
:
“Look up the word integrity in a dictionary. Interview your mother, grandmother, or another woman you respect about her understanding and application of the word. Make a list of ways you can make your actions consistent with your knowledge of right and wrong, and record in your journal what it means to you to have integrity.”
When you consider the words incorruptible, sound, and complete, of whom do you think? Is there a man or a woman in your life who seems to encompass these words? Why do you think they adhere to these qualities? What do you notice about how they treat others, how others treat them, and their state of happiness?
The scripture chosen by leaders of our Church to go along with the value of integrity can be found in the book of Job.
“Till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me” (Job 27:5).
Job had it all: wealth, a wife, and family. He never let it go to his head, and continually supplicated to the Lord on behalf of his family in case they had sinned. The Lord allowed Satan to test Job. In an instant his wealth was gone, then his children, and lastly his health. Three of his friends, even his wife, repeatedly attempted to get Job to curse God for allowing all of this to happen.
Certainly Job mourned for the loss of his wealth and grieved the passing of his children. With all that his body had been inflicted with he must have wondered why God asked it of him. Yet never did he utter any accusations against the Lord. Things could hardly have become worse for this man, yet through it all his faith in God remained intact. He was incorruptible, sound, and complete when the Lord saw fit to heal him. He maintained his integrity.
In the Book of Mormon – another testament of Christ – we are asked to “stand as witnesses of God, at all times and in all things, and in all places” (Mosiah 18:9), not allowing outside forces to determine how we will respond. We must not become hypocrites, who praise God and follow His ways when everything goes right, yet turn tail at the first sign of hardships.
Becoming a person of integrity may come easily for some. For others it can appear daunting, perhaps even impossible. I can testify this is not impossible. I can also testify that as we practice choosing the right in our dealings with our fellow men, with ourselves, and with God, we will find ourselves a happier people. God blesses us when we stand up for Him, especially when times have been tough.
