1/18/20
President Faust gave a talk about honesty a long time ago but his
message is still in my mind, this week's lesson reminded me of that talk
"Honesty, you better believe it."
This week's lesson reminded me of that talk and on how our ethics
our values and our beliefs can create the best or the worse place to live in.
I have always been a fan of sister Sheri L. Dew so I was excited
to study her message called "True Blue, Through and Through."
She shared something very remarkable (worth making a remark about). I liked it so much that I even shared it on Facebook.
She said, "You don’t really know what you believe until your beliefs are tested. You don’t know if you’re honest until your honesty is tested. You don’t know if you really prize chastity until your virtue is tested. You don’t know if you can be trusted–with someone’s feelings, with money, with influence, with power–until your trust is tested. In every trial comes a moment of truth when you must decide what you really believe."
It made me things of those times where I was tested about my beliefs and my values. I believe we should all think more about our beliefs and values and ask ourselves what we are going to do if we are tested on something, what is going to be our decision when that temptation comes.
She also said something that inspired me so much.“If you need someone who will have the courage and determination to face the world at its worst, here am I, send me. If you need husbands and wives who will be faithful to each other, raise their children in the admonition of the Lord, and defend the family, here am I, send me. If you need men and women who will see through the lies of the world about family and gender and intimacy, and who will never confuse being tolerant of others with tolerating sin, here am I, send me. If you need men and women who can think straight in a confused, twisted world, here am I, send me. If you need men and women who will be fearless in building the kingdom of God, please, here am I, send me.”
It helped me ask myself, what if I'm not worthy, will God even call me? So, how can I make sure that I'm always going to be worthy of being called? By living my beliefs. I know Satan can put thoughts in our minds and make us think that we are not worthy, let me explain that I'm not referring to this situation. I'm referring to when we are not worthy because we have made a wrong choice and we haven't used the Atonement of Christ.
I always tell my kids, "You are bound to your words." If you say you will take the trash out, you do it. If you say you'll bring cookies to church, you do it. Those really are small things BUT they are a big deal to me. I have reflected a lot about it in these last couple of years. One thing that always ticks me off is unpunctuality. It seems to me that everyone now thinks that it's ok to be late. No, it's never ok to be late. Do you know that saying "Better never late"? Yeah, my saying is "Better never late" but why do I make such a 'big deal' out of it? Because I'm bound to keep my word and because I made a covenant that I won't steal from anyone. Believe or not, when we are late on a date or appointment or church or whatever it may be, we are stealing that time from others.
I said I have been reflected on that for many years now, wondering why this "keep your word" is such a big deal to me. My parents were divorced and my father always said that he would come to pick me up and never did. So, now when I say things to my kids, I make sure I'm keeping my words.
This week also, we made a list of I will and I will never do concerning our ethics.
Mine looked like this.
She shared something very remarkable (worth making a remark about). I liked it so much that I even shared it on Facebook.
She said, "You don’t really know what you believe until your beliefs are tested. You don’t know if you’re honest until your honesty is tested. You don’t know if you really prize chastity until your virtue is tested. You don’t know if you can be trusted–with someone’s feelings, with money, with influence, with power–until your trust is tested. In every trial comes a moment of truth when you must decide what you really believe."
It made me things of those times where I was tested about my beliefs and my values. I believe we should all think more about our beliefs and values and ask ourselves what we are going to do if we are tested on something, what is going to be our decision when that temptation comes.
She also said something that inspired me so much.“If you need someone who will have the courage and determination to face the world at its worst, here am I, send me. If you need husbands and wives who will be faithful to each other, raise their children in the admonition of the Lord, and defend the family, here am I, send me. If you need men and women who will see through the lies of the world about family and gender and intimacy, and who will never confuse being tolerant of others with tolerating sin, here am I, send me. If you need men and women who can think straight in a confused, twisted world, here am I, send me. If you need men and women who will be fearless in building the kingdom of God, please, here am I, send me.”
It helped me ask myself, what if I'm not worthy, will God even call me? So, how can I make sure that I'm always going to be worthy of being called? By living my beliefs. I know Satan can put thoughts in our minds and make us think that we are not worthy, let me explain that I'm not referring to this situation. I'm referring to when we are not worthy because we have made a wrong choice and we haven't used the Atonement of Christ.
I always tell my kids, "You are bound to your words." If you say you will take the trash out, you do it. If you say you'll bring cookies to church, you do it. Those really are small things BUT they are a big deal to me. I have reflected a lot about it in these last couple of years. One thing that always ticks me off is unpunctuality. It seems to me that everyone now thinks that it's ok to be late. No, it's never ok to be late. Do you know that saying "Better never late"? Yeah, my saying is "Better never late" but why do I make such a 'big deal' out of it? Because I'm bound to keep my word and because I made a covenant that I won't steal from anyone. Believe or not, when we are late on a date or appointment or church or whatever it may be, we are stealing that time from others.
I said I have been reflected on that for many years now, wondering why this "keep your word" is such a big deal to me. My parents were divorced and my father always said that he would come to pick me up and never did. So, now when I say things to my kids, I make sure I'm keeping my words.
This week also, we made a list of I will and I will never do concerning our ethics.
Mine looked like this.
I will never
-
I will never lower my standards so that I can “win” something
-
I will never cheat or steal or hurt others
-
I will never take hard decisions without praying about them
-
I will never make unethical decisions, without principles
-
I will never lie so I can get out of trouble
I will always
-
I will always be honest in my dealings with my fellowmen
-
I will always try to see others as what they can become instead of
just seeing them as what they are now
-
I will always keep my word. “You are bound to your words”
-
I will always remember who I am
-
I will always thank God for the blessings He has given me
-
I will always recognize God’s hand in all things
It was easy for me to come up with things that I will always do than the one I will never do.
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