Lesson: Honesty

Lesson Summary for 8 May 2011

Ch. 31 “Honesty”

This was the last lesson taught by Sis. Ostler, as she has been called to the Primary presidency.

From p. 182, by Joseph F. Smith: “Let every man's life be so that his character will bear the closest inspection, and that it may be seen as an open book, so that he will have nothing to shrink from or be ashamed of.”

What is honesty? Truthfulness, no cheating, no deception, no guile, integrity, no gossiping.

What rationalizations do we use? Just once; the truth might hurt; “borrowing”; no one minds; white lie; nobody will know; it doesn't hurt.

From p. 182: “People use many excuses for being dishonest. People lie to protect themselves and to have others think well of them. Some excuse themselves for stealing, thinking they deserve what they took, intend to return it, or need it more than the owner....These excuses and many more are given as reasons for dishonesty. To the Lord, there are no acceptable reasons.”

Honesty in Thoughts:

From p.179, by Brigham Young: “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.”

We need to honestly look at our own selves.

It is not okay to mock others in our heads.

From p.181, “Whenever we lead people in any way to believe something that is not true, we are not being honest.”

We don't have to watch our actions or words if we are honest and good in our heads.

Be yourself. Don't think you have to be extraordinary.

Honesty in Actions:

To steal is dishonest. Carol Wing talked about taking things back to the store, returning incorrect change. Others shared annoyance with “bait and switch” tactics that stores can use. Traci talked about being so happy with a store that believed her when she told them she hadn't gotten her cash back.

What do you do if you can't forgive yourself for a mistake?

Satan wants you to believe that the atonement doesn't apply to you or to this thing. It stops your progress when you fixate on one mistake. Our purpose on earth is to learn from our mistakes.

Remember, a dishonest person wouldn't worry about it!

Traci told of a lab she worked in that encouraged folks to confess mistakes so they could be fixed so the data and experiments would be correct. Confessions were celebrated by being commemorated on an old bowling pin.

Shawna failed to report something she should have once in nursing school. Five years later, guilty about it, she finally did. Her advisor said, don't hold onto it, do it right away.

We need to stand as witnesses for righteousness at all times. It's not about the money, but about being a witness of God.

Build character by making right choices.

As Carol said, “I'm not going to sell my soul for a quarter!”

To Cheat is Dishonest.

Br. Faust told a story about being in med school when much of the class was cheating when the professor left the room. A man stood up and threatened to turn the cheaters in if they did not stop. They stopped. We too can inspire others to be better.

Keep your commitments.

In dealing with a spouse, don't think about what's best for yourself alone.

Don't cheat our children our our time.

Don't blow up at your kids over their mistakes, let them feel safe talking to you.

Elder Bednar said that integrity and honesty result from understanding we are children of God.