Mormon Musings

When we pray, we are not conveying any information to God that he does not already have.  Nor, when we confess our sins before Him, is it news to Him that we have misbehaved.  More than we realize, being honest with God in our prayers helps us be more honest with ourselves. Elder Neal A. Maxwell

"In our culture today it seems that the traits of honesty and integrity are often lacking or absent in individuals, governments, politics, businesses, and even athletics. Unfortunately, honor, trustworthiness, and incorruptibility are traits that take a backseat to winning and aspirations of high position and/or wealth. You have the choice to be honest and ethical or not. Remember the thought 'Here Be Dragons' when you enter the realm in which choices can lead to a path of dishonesty and a lack of integrity. You have made covenants with your Heavenly Father to be honest. . . . Once lost, your integrity and reputation for honesty are very difficult to regain. Steer clear of the dragons that would take them from you." —Sharon G. Samuelson

“May the integrity of our souls have a sign that reads in bold black letters ‘NOT FOR SALE AT ANY PRICE’ so that it might be said of us, as it was of Hyrum Smith, “Blessed is my servant Hyrum Smith; for I, the Lord, love him because of the integrity of his heart” ( D&C 124:15 ). Elder Tad R. Callister -“Integrity- Foundation of a Christlike Life,”  Ensign , Feb. 2013, 55

"Good men sometimes make mistakes. A man of integrity will honestly face and correct his mistakes, and that is an example we can respect.   Sometimes men try but fail. Not all worthy objectives are realized despite one's honest and best efforts. True manhood is not always measured by the fruits of one's labors but by the labors themselves--by one's striving." -D. Todd Christofferson, "Let Us Be Men," Ensign, Nov. 2006, 47-48.

Now, there are a great many people, even to this day…who make a practice of telling lies…They make a practice of it. They cannot transact business except they must lie a little. How long, do you suppose, it will take that man to get to heaven and to enter into celestial glory, where lies or anything that is impure cannot exist? It will take him as many millions of years as there will be millions of years to come. Perhaps some people may think that if we do lie and are dishonest, and so forth and so on, when we die, the death that comes upon us and the change that comes upon us will change and take away those lies, and we shall find ourselves basking in truth. No such thing. I may tell a lie to you—I may be dishonest to my neighbors and ungodly, then I may get up and go out of doors; and I want to know what better am I when I go through that door than I was this side of it? Has it changed my nature? No—not one particle…Well, our change from this state of existence does no...

"Simple truth, simplicity, honesty, uprightness, justice, mercy, love, kindness, do good to all and evil to none, how easy it is to live by such principles!  A thousand times easier than to practice deception!" Brigham Young, J.D. 14:76 "A very simple person can tell the truth, but it takes a very smart person to tell a lie and make it appear like the truth." Brigham Young, J.D. 11:304

Complete honesty is necessary for our salvation. President Brigham Young said, “If we accept salvation on the terms it is offered to us, we have got to be honest in every thought, in our reflections, in our meditations, in our private circles, in our deals, in our declarations, and in every act of our lives”  (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young [1997], 293).