Integrity #2

2. Conduct a self-assessment of your personal integrity. Ask yourself the following questions: Do I avoid gossip, inappropriate jokes, swearing and profanity, and being light-minded about sacred subjects? Am I completely truthful, morally clean, honest, dependable, and trustworthy in my schoolwork and other activities? Pray daily for strength and for the guidance of the Holy Ghost to help you live with integrity. Write in your journal the things you can do to improve your personal integrity and at least one new habit you want to develop.


~ Self-Assessment of my Integrity ~
I think as a youth I probably fell short in the category of integrity while I was still trying to figure out who I was and my place in the world. Though better now, there is always room for improved integrity in my life.

~ Improve Integrity ~
I am going to do better at work. I will make sure all my work is done as much as it can be before I move on to personal projects. I will also be better at paying for the personal copies and printouts I make on the work printer. I know that by so doing I will be able to have greater integrity and stand with confidence before the Lord.

Integrity #1

1. Integrity is the willingness and desire to live by our beliefs and standards. Read Moroni 10:30–33 and think about what it means to “deny yourselves of all ungodliness.” Read the pamphlet For the Strength of Youth. Reflect on how the Lord’s standards differ from the world’s standards. Record in your journal appropriate standards for behavior, dress, and conversation, as well as literature, movies, television, Internet, music, cell phones, and other media. Also write your plan to stay morally clean and worthy to attend the temple. After keeping your standards for at least one month, record your feelings in your journal and continue to keep your commitment.


* Moroni 10:30-33, "deny yourself of all ungodliness"
This means that we must learn right and wrong and choose the right. That which is wrong is not of God and so we follow God when we do what is good.

* For the Strength of the Youth, How do the Lord's standards differ from the world?
The Lord tells us to be chaste, virtuous, and benevolent. They bring the Holy Ghost into our lives and edify us.

~ The Lord's Standards ~
* Behavior: be thankful, choose right, be a peacemaker, be obedient
* Dress: be well groomed and modest, show respect to the Lord and you
* Conversation: have clean and intelligent language that uplifts, encourages, and compliments others
* Literature/Movies/TV: watch only that which uplifts, good media that does not offend the Spirit and leads us to do good
* Internet: only view websites that uplift and righteously educate
* Music: uplifting music that influences you for good
* Cell Phones: use for good conversation and be careful about what you receive

~ My Plan to Stay Morally Clean & Temple Worthy ~
I will dress modestly, choose the right, be discerning in all my media choices, and speak with clean and intelligent language so that the Spirit will always be with me.

One month later...

It really hasn't been so difficult to keep the standards outlined in For the Strength of Youth. Once you put your mind to it, it becomes almost easy to make good choices and live the standards. As I have done this, and especially as I have made better media choices, I have definitely felt more of the Spirit and love from my Father in Heaven. These blessings and more are worth all the effort it takes to have integrity and live the standards.

Choice and Accountability #3

3. Agency, or the ability to choose, is one of God’s greatest gifts to His children. Read about agency in Joshua 24:15; 2 Nephi 2; and Doctrine and Covenants 82:2–10. With a parent or leader, discuss the blessings and responsibilities of agency. Record in your journal your understanding of agency and the consequences of choices and actions.


~ Agency ~
* Joshua 24:15 = the Lord gives us agency to choose whom we will serve or worship. We get blessings for serving the Lord but it is up to us to choose.
* D&C 82:2-10 = our choices, good or bad, have consequences; beware of the adversary who wants you to make bade choices; the Lord gives us commandments to teach us how to act and what is right; when we choose the right we will be blessed.
* 2 Nephi 2 = We are taught good and evil; Christ atoned for us and allowed for us to have agency; agency is all part of the plan; when we make mistakes we must repent; do good and find joy; we are free to choose and receive the consequences.

~ Blessing and Responsibilities of Agency ~
Because we have the ability to choose we will know the joy that comes from making righteous decisions and we can reap the associated blessings. Especially the blessing of eternal life. Because God has given us agency and taught us right from wrong, and because we know the great blessings that await us, we have the responsibility to choose the right or we willfully suffer the consequences.

~ Consequences of Choices and Actions ~
Agency is the ability and right to choose good or evil. When we choose good we are blessed and our privileges increase. When we choose evil we are held captive by sin, guilt, and sorrow. Elder Hales stated in October 2010 conference, "When we choose to do the will of our Heavenly Father, our agency is preserved, our opportunities increase, and we progress." I want to progress in this life and receive my promised blessings. Therefore, I will always strive to choose the right and do what is right so that the Lord can bless me.