Honestly...

I am amazed and somewhat disappointed {yet I know I shouldn't be} at realizing how deceiving and dishonest some peeps out there are. Being honest is not an easy thing, but I also don't think it is a difficult thing. At times, the consequences of being honest are the difficult things to endure, not the act of honesty in itself. Last Sunday in Relief Society we discussed what it was to be an honest person: an honest woman, an honest Christian. Most of us think we are and consequently have access to very special privileges. The more and more I think about what honesty really means, the more I realize I {and everyone else, for that matter} shouldn't be so hasty to answer yes when asked if we are honest in our dealings with those around us.


To be honest is to:
~ speak the truth in its pure form. No adages, not including a personal twist on what we know to be true.
~ be responsible for the things one has said and not blame others for our faults.
~ uphold any promises that have been made, whether we regret making those promises later.
~ refrain from defaming others, from gossiping. This goes hand-in-hand with judging. Who are we to think we can claim to know others' intentions and the whole truth behind any given situation?
~ speaking up when we need to. Sometimes what we don't say is more powerful than what we do say. When we refrain from speaking the truth and sharing the whole truth, we mislead; we lie. By lying, we hinder the recipient's access to the truth, therefore we take the truth from them. We become thieves.


The least initial deviation from the truth is multiplied later a thousandfold.  ~Aristotle