Missy's soapbox on Integrity.

I have had an experience lately that has left me wanting better for my children. Wanting them to be better than someone I have had the misfortune to interact with lately. So, here I am on my soap box, after all, while the blog is for all of you it is mostly for us. For us to remember and learn what has happened in the preceeding days and to be better people because of it. If you don't want to hear my lesson, quit reading. Otherwise, Kayla and Kade, this is for you. (Kayla often checks the blog on her own to see what I have posted.)

So I have been having an especially hard time lately, it's no secret that I get down at times depending on the situation and the medication. But, today, I'm feeling good. Today I am learning how to "get over" things. There has been a situation in my life where I felt like I let down a friend but ultimately found out that, that person was NO friend at all. It has been reconfirmed to me the importance of treating everyone kindly. As cheesy as it sounds, that having that Christlike love and being kind to people (regardless of how you truly feel about them) is important and can change peoples lives. If there is anything that I manage to teach my children I hope that it is how important their personal integrity is and that they should always make their choices wisely. I hope that I can teach them integrity and what it means to be a person of integrity. I am seeing how each day our integrity is being challenged.

I found the following, "You must remain totally committed to your own integrity, while at the same time prize that which threatens your integrity." I have been faced lately with people who most definitely threatened my integrity. And how is it that we can find the good or prize worthy in others when they are so hateful to us? The answer is in integrity itself. On Wikipedia it states that integrity is the refusal to engage in lying, blaming or other behavior generally seeming to evade accountability. It was said in a talk by Carol B. Thomas, who was at the time the First Counselor in the Young Women's General Presidency, " Integrity makes you whole and complete" that's it exactly, those who have within them to the ability to belittle, alienate and otherwise harass or assault others are lacking that completeness. Where do we get that completeness? In living the gospel of Jesus Christ. Our beloved Pres. Hinkley was quoted in that same talk as saying, "There is nothing more beautiful in this world than a … young woman who is clean in thought and word and deed” (Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley, 384). This stands true for young men also. (Kade)
"As servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, we can do it! Our honest effort to improve our integrity allows God to increase our power to do it. Let me repeat that: Our honest effort to improve our integrity allows God to increase our power to do it. I promise you, as you read your scriptures and say your prayers—that’s the magic formula—the Holy Ghost will help you in your noble quest to strengthen and develop your integrity. Of this I testify, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."
This is exactly what I needed. I want to be an example to my children and I have learned today, through sharing these thoughts on here that it doesn't matter who likes me or who doesn't, what one person thinks of me or how they choose to treat me, it is about my integrity, not theirs. I want to be that beautiful, (not so young woman) that is continually clean in both my thought and words. It makes me think of the 13th Article of Faith, which, for my non-LDS friends and family reads, " 13 ^aWe believe in being ^bhonest, true, ^cchaste, ^dbenevolent, virtuous, and in doing ^egood to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we ^fhope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to ^gendure all things. If there is anything ^hvirtuous, ⁱlovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things."
I speak to each of you, especially to my two beautiful babies, integrity is important. I hope that I might be an example of integrity and that I will be able to teach them the importance of their personal integrity and at the same time be able to teach them their importance before the Lord and before us, as their parents. They (you) are children of their (your) Heavenly Father and they (you) are loved more than anything, by your Heavenly and earthly parents.