The Lord loves integrity of heart. Integrity means wholeness, completeness, or purity. We can achieve and maintain it just as building inspectors ensure structural integrity—by looking for "cracks" in our discipleship and repairing them before they become large enough to threaten our spiritual foundation.
“Defend It”
Helaman's army recognized that some things are worth fighting for, even though their parents had made an oath of pacifism. Most of us rarely face physical threats, but we all have opportunities to defend the truth and the vulnerable.
“I Feared the People”
Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.... Pilate was merciful till it became risky.C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, 161 Saul may have been the king, but he was afraid of his people. The first time he failed to follow instructions from the prophet... Continue Reading →
Machpelah: Paying Full Price
When Sarah died, Abraham wanted to give her a proper burial. Although he was wealthy and highly regarded among his neighbors, and although he had lived in Canaan for many years, he still felt like an immigrant. "I am a stranger and a sojourner among you," he said to his neighbors. "Give me a possession... Continue Reading →
Borrowing
To borrow something is to make a commitment. Inherent in borrowing is a promise to return the object to the owner in good condition. In the law of Moses, the Lord decreed that if someone borrowed an animal, "and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof being not with it, he [the borrower] shall... Continue Reading →
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... Continue Reading →
Entrusted
Part of Heavenly Father's plan for our eternal happiness is to give us responsibilities and then to help us live up to the trust He has placed in us. Generations of record-keepers in the Book of Mormon conscientiously preserved and added to the sacred records containing the history of their people. When Alma passed those... Continue Reading →
Slippery – Helaman 13:31-36
Samuel the Lamanite warned the Nephites in Zarahemla that the time would come when they would have a hard time holding on to their possessions: The time cometh that [the Lord] curseth your riches, that they become slippery, that ye cannot hold them; and in the days of your poverty ye cannot retain them....And then shall... Continue Reading →
“I Have Told You the Truth” – Mosiah 13:4, 7
It's not just about the message; it's also about the messenger. Alma was convinced of the truthfulness of the gospel when he heard Abinadi preach in King Noah's court. Abinadi's words were true, but he was persuasive not only because of his message. He was persuasive because of the personal sacrifice he was willing to... Continue Reading →
How Can I Be a Both a Defender of Truth and a Peacemaker?
Disciples of Jesus Christ have an obligation to tell the truth, even when others don't want to hear it. Our promise to "stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places" (Mosiah 18:9) is a promise to speak up, to share our convictions with others, to say what... Continue Reading →