The Vitality of Honesty
As a young boy, raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by righteous parents who provided a gospel-centered home, I remember coming to a conclusion that certainly reflected my very young mind. This conclusion was that, since I had learned the importance of avoiding addictive substances such as alcohol, smoking, drugs, pornography, and gambling, I would never experience any form of addiction in my life. While I successfully avoided everything I - at that time - thought could become an addiction, I eventually met with disappointment in my later teenage years and early 20's.
Through various circumstances and choices that are far too complex for me to recall entirely, I found myself struggling so largely with God's commandment of honesty. While I knew it to be true, this knowledge had not yet grown large enough to translate directly into action. While I knew dishonesty was sin, it seemed as if no matter how oft I repented that I always cycled back around sooner than later. And eventually I realized that what I had concluded in my youth would never happen, indeed did happen.
But upon this realization, which likely happened around the age of 16 or 17, I did not give up hope. I had, by that point, learned for myself that Christ's Atonement was indeed powerful enough to help me change. So, going one day at a time, I began striving to overcome my addiction to dishonesty. And while consistent effort helped decrease the frequency of my "favorite sin", it was very slow and got stretched out for over 6 years.
At the age of 22 I again realized that, even though I had improved greatly in terms of honesty, my weakness was still present. And after hours of personal pondering I reasoned that I had not been fully successful at eliminating my addiction solely because I didn't see the full importance of God's commandment to be honest. And at nearly the same time through clear divine intervention, I was responsible to prepare a lesson for the Sunday School hour of Church on the very topic of honesty. So, in my final resolution to eliminate this sin from my life once and for all, I turned to what I knew to be the true source of all knowledge: the scriptures of God.
Through hours of study, I found the following set of scriptures that cumulatively amplified my understanding of the vitality of honesty:
Reading these scriptures, through the lens of trying to understand the importance of honesty, changed my perspective completely. My view of it as a relatively secondary commandment switched to seeing it as one of the most vital. And the cumulative effect was so large in my mind that from that point to today I confidently acknowledge that I fully overcame my addiction to dishonesty. As a consequence, I have also learned about the great joy and peace that comes from living an integrity-filled life. Thanks to the Lord's patience and guidance through the scriptures, I have at least learned one vital life-lesson: the importance of honesty cannot by overstated.
Through various circumstances and choices that are far too complex for me to recall entirely, I found myself struggling so largely with God's commandment of honesty. While I knew it to be true, this knowledge had not yet grown large enough to translate directly into action. While I knew dishonesty was sin, it seemed as if no matter how oft I repented that I always cycled back around sooner than later. And eventually I realized that what I had concluded in my youth would never happen, indeed did happen.
But upon this realization, which likely happened around the age of 16 or 17, I did not give up hope. I had, by that point, learned for myself that Christ's Atonement was indeed powerful enough to help me change. So, going one day at a time, I began striving to overcome my addiction to dishonesty. And while consistent effort helped decrease the frequency of my "favorite sin", it was very slow and got stretched out for over 6 years.At the age of 22 I again realized that, even though I had improved greatly in terms of honesty, my weakness was still present. And after hours of personal pondering I reasoned that I had not been fully successful at eliminating my addiction solely because I didn't see the full importance of God's commandment to be honest. And at nearly the same time through clear divine intervention, I was responsible to prepare a lesson for the Sunday School hour of Church on the very topic of honesty. So, in my final resolution to eliminate this sin from my life once and for all, I turned to what I knew to be the true source of all knowledge: the scriptures of God.
Through hours of study, I found the following set of scriptures that cumulatively amplified my understanding of the vitality of honesty:
"The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth." ~ Doctrine & Covenants 93:36
"And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come; And whatsoever is more or less than this is the spirit of that wicked one who was a liar from the beginning."
"Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in they holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart." ~ Psalms 15:1-2
"He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit. There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health. The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil: but to the counsellors of peace is joy. There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief. Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight." ~ Proverbs 12:17-22
"Wo unto the liar, for he shall be thrust down to hell." ~ 2nd Nephi 9:34
"Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another." ~ Ephesians 4:25
"And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God." ~ Revelation 14:1,5
"Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men ye should observe to uphold; otherwise whatsoever is less than these cometh of evil." ~ Doctrine & Covenants 98:10
"And [the 2,000 stripling warriors] were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all - they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted. Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him." ~ Alma 53:20-21
Reading these scriptures, through the lens of trying to understand the importance of honesty, changed my perspective completely. My view of it as a relatively secondary commandment switched to seeing it as one of the most vital. And the cumulative effect was so large in my mind that from that point to today I confidently acknowledge that I fully overcame my addiction to dishonesty. As a consequence, I have also learned about the great joy and peace that comes from living an integrity-filled life. Thanks to the Lord's patience and guidance through the scriptures, I have at least learned one vital life-lesson: the importance of honesty cannot by overstated.
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