No Guile

It’s nice when you can take someone at face value, without wondering if they have hidden agendas or ulterior motives.

King David wrote:

Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.

Psalm 32:2

Jesus may have had this passage in mind when He met Nathanael at the beginning of his ministry. “Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!” He said, prompting Nathanael to exclaim, “Whence knowest thou me?” (John 1:47-48).

Nearly two millennia later, the Savior expressed appreciation to another person who had the same quality. Speaking of Edward Partridge in 1831, He said:

His heart is pure before me, for he is like unto Nathanael of old, in whom there is no guile.

Doctrine and Covenants 41:11

The Book of Mormon prophet Nephi counsels us to “follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent” (2 Nephi 31:13).

Moroni teaches us to approach God “with a sincere heart, with real intent” (Moroni 10:4).

We may think that sincerity and guilelessness are our natural state, but the struggles and injuries of life can easily produce calluses on our souls which we must overcome to be genuine and transparent.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin suggested a series of questions to help us evaluate our guilelessness:

1. “Are we totally free of guile in our conversations and associations with our spouses and children so they always know what to expect and always have unquestioning trust and confidence in us?”
2. “Are we forthright in our interviews with our bishops and other priesthood leaders?”
3. “Are we true to ourselves, our classmates, and our teachers in our schoolwork, even if a little cheating might improve our grades?”
4. “Do we do more work than our employers expect or require, and are we always alert for ways to do our work better?”
5. “Do we pay our employees fairly for their labors?”
6. “Do we file accurate tax returns?”
7. “Are we scrupulous in all business transactions to the extent that our associates always know they are being treated fairly and would feel secure if they had no contract?”
8. “Are we satisfied with our personal standards of integrity, morality, and honesty?”

(“Without Guile,” General Conference, April 1988)

Today, I will strive to eliminate guile from my life. I will strive to be genuine and trustworthy in all of my interactions with God and with other people.