Integrity

            Families, communities, and nations are strengthened as individuals seek greater knowledge. This is the eighth in a series on the Young Women values. The first post in the series can be found here. It discusses the Young Women values and the Personal Progress program that assists women of all ages to develop these attributes. Each value is represented by a specific color.

            The seventh Young Women value is integrity, and it is represented by the color purple.  This color represents royalty because long ago purple dye was so rare and expensive that only kings and queens could afford to buy it. All human beings are sons or daughters of the Heavenly King. This means that we are princes and princesses now and have the potential to become kings and queens.  

            A natural question is, “What is integrity and how does it relate to royalty?”  Integrity is essential in society as a whole, and it is a particularly important quality for leaders (royalty) to have. The term “leaders” implies that there are “followers.” Leaders must have high moral principles and ethical standards if they want the support of their followers. Whether a leader is righteous or wicked has a tremendous effect in the type of people who follow them.

            Employers consider integrity to be a fundamental value in employees. Integrity means doing the right thing for the right reason. It means living high moral principles and ethical standards even when no one is watching.

            President James E. Faust spoke on integrity during the April 1982 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He explains at the beginning of his talk that integrity “connotes soundness and incorruptibility. It is the mother of many virtues. It begins when we deal justly with ourselves. … Integrity is the value we set on ourselves. It is a fulfillment of the duty we owe ourselves. An honorable man or woman will personally commit to live up to certain self-imposed expectations. They need no outside check or control. They are honorable in their inner core. … Integrity is the light that shines from a disciplined conscience. It is the strength of duty within us.” (See James E. Faust, “Integrity, the Mother of Many Virtues,” Ensign, May 1982.) 

            There are many examples of integrity in the scriptures with Jesus Christ being preeminent. He is the perfect examples of one who keeps His promises and serves others. Other examples in the scriptures include: (1) Joseph fleeing from Potiphar’s wife (Genesis 39);

(2) Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego who refused to worship a golden idol (Daniel 3);

(3) Daniel who was put in the lion’s den because he would not stop praying (Daniel 6); (4) 2,000 stripling warriors who were described as being “men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted. … men of truth and soberness” (Book of Mormon – Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Alma 53:20-21); (5) Joseph Smith who refused to deny that he had seen Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ in person (Joseph Smith – History 1:21-25).

            We have a few examples of integrity in the history of our nation. George Washington was loved and respected because he had integrity and always tried to do the right thing. Vice President Mike Pence seems to have integrity. He and his wife recently made headline news because they have a good marriage.

            Integrity embodies many other qualities. If a person has integrity, they are honest in all their dealings and have high moral character. Integrity is an essential quality for individuals in order to strengthen homes, communities, and nations.