Integrity

"Integrity is a purity of heart, an absolute honesty with God, ourselves, and our fellow man.  It is choosing the right, not merely because God requires it, because because our character demands it."

Today Elder Tad R. Callister gave a BYU Devotional on Integrity.  This is a concept I have struggled with in my life, as I've faced a rather inordinate amount of situations that make black and white look like shades of gray.  This week I made a choice to stand up for my integrity in a way that had the potential to compromise one of my most important relationships.  I am grateful for the influence of stalwart friends who help me with their examples of unshakable honesty. In discussing a "gray" situation with one friend earlier this week, one thing he said stuck out to me: "What really matters is if it feels right."

Thoughts from Elder Callister's devotional:

Does my integrity have a price? And if it does, is it really integrity? 

How can we be humble if we are not honest about our failures and mistakes?

The faster we admit our mistakes, the faster we can move forward.  

Part of preserving our integrity means protecting the integrity of others. 

Integrity makes decisions based on eternal implications.

"It is not grades, but godhood that is our destination." 

"Somewhere, somehow, we must face the wall square up and climb it." 

We trust people who we know have nothing to hide.   

"If I were bound only by a written contract I might find a loophole.  There are no loopholes in my word."  

"This above all: To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man" -Shakespeare (Polonius, to Hamlet)

And my favorite thought, as it defines perfectly my change of perspective this semester:

Repentance is not a temporary change of a behavior, but a permanent change in nature.  With the Lord's help, we can change our behavior to be consistent with our nature.