Integrity

The Hebrew word tom (תֹּם) means completeness, blamelessness, or innocence. The plural form—tummim (תֻּמִים)—represents part of a tool used by the high priest to receive revelation: the Urim and Thummim.

In the King James Version of the Bible, tom and the feminine form tummah (תֻּמָּה) are often translated “integrity.” That word, which is related to the words “integer,” “integral,” and “integrate,” descends from the Latin word integritas, which means “whole,” “complete,” or more literally, “untouched.” (See “integrity” and “integer,” Online Etymology Dictionary.)

The word integrity does not appear in the Book of Mormon, but there are plenty of references to blamelessness.

• King Benjamin tells his people that he has called them together so that he could be blameless when he stands before God (Mosiah 2:27). He also tells them that the only way they can become blameless is through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ (Mosiah 3:21-22).
• Alma asks the people of Zarahemla if they kept themselves blameless, and are therefore ready to stand before God (Alma 5:27). He subsequently told the people of Gideon that he hoped they were blameless and that they should work to remain so (Alma 7:3, 22).
• Moroni tells us that, by the grace of God, we can become “perfect in Christ,” and by His sanctifying power, we can become “holy, without spot” (Moroni 10:33).

President Russell M. Nelson has taught that the way to maintain our integrity is by dealing with small issues as they arise:

The wise fisherman inspects his nets regularly. Should any flaw be detected, he repairs the defect, without delay….

So the wise assess personal cords of integrity on a daily basis. You are the one to identify any weakness. You are the one to repair it.

“Integrity of the Heart,” Brigham Young University Devotional Address, 23 February 1993

The Lord said of Hyrum Smith, “I…love him because of the integrity of his heart” (Doctrine and Covenants 124:15). Elder D. Todd Christofferson recently suggested that we all strive to live worthy of that praise:

In acknowledging that God loves us perfectly, we each might ask, “How well do I love God? Can He rely on my love as I rely on His?” Would it not be a worthy aspiration to live so that God can love us not just in spite of our failings but also because of what we are becoming? Oh, that He could say of you and me as He said of Hyrum Smith, for example, “I, the Lord, love him because of the integrity of his heart.”

“The Love of God,” General Conference, October 2021, italics in original

Today, I will strive to live with integrity. I will inspect my life as a fisherman inspects his nets, looking for small tears or snags that may need to be repaired. I will seek for God’s help to set them right, so that I may stand blameless before Him. I will demonstrate by my actions that He can rely on my love, even as I rely on His.