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3.07.2011

This is a message I wrote tonight on our ward's Young Women blog. I thought I'd share it here just because I haven't written anything here in a looooong time and I'm too tired to come up with anything new tonight. Enjoy . . . or don't. Whatever. I just want to push that post about Eggz down a little bit. I'm over it. I'm trying to be be over it.

integrity (in-teg-ri-tee)
–noun
1. adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.
2. the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished.
3. a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition.

For the month of March we have chosen to focus on the value of Integrity. As I sat in the temple last weekend thinking about you girls and the message that Heavenly Father would want me to share with you about integrity, I thought of a simple formula that will help us to remember what it means to live with integrity:

SAY IT (decide, commit to something) & MEAN IT (be ready to put forth a sincere effort) & DO IT (act accordingly) : INTEGRITY


When we talk about integrity in Young Women we often refer to the first definition listed above-- to adhere to moral principles, to do what is right even when seemingly no one is watching. To me, integrity also means keeping our promises -- the promises we make to others, to ourselves and to our Heavenly Father. I'd like you to think about the other definitions {above}for a minute. What does it mean to be whole and undiminished? To be sound and unimpaired? To me it means to be strong -- strong enough to resist trials and temptations that would lead us to break our promises. The source of that strength is our Heavenly Father. Sister Carol B. Thomas said, "Our HONEST EFFORT to improve our INTEGRITY allows God to increase our power to DO IT." Our Heavenly Father never leaves us to bear the burdens of mortality on our own.

On Sunday I shared with you my own recent experience with keeping a promise. It's a silly little thing, but I think it helps you to see, in a small degree, the consequences of living without integrity. I love to drink soda. I mean realllllllly love it. A couple of weeks ago on Sunday night I decided that I needed to give it up. I said it and I meant it . . . I thought. But first thing Monday morning I couldn't resist the urge to run out and buy myself a soda for breakfast {No judgements here, OK?} I was immediately ashamed of myself and didn't want my husband to see how weak I had been so I quickly drank the soda in the car as I drove home and threw the cup away before I entered the house. I did the same thing again later that day as I was out running errands. No one would ever know about those sodas. But I knew. I knew that I had broken a promise to myself and I was ashamed. I felt weak and a little bit hopeless about making the change I desired in my life. Now, do I think that drinking soda is some huge sin? Of course not. Does Heavenly Father care if we drink some soda? Probably not. The point is, when I broke that promise I made to myself, I felt weak. I felt bad about myself and I felt like there was no way I would ever be able to change. How much worse would I have felt if I had broken a bigger promise or really let someone down? Or if I had broken a covenant with my Heavenly Father? When we don't live with integrity, we weaken ourselves. We alienate ourselves from the Spirit and lose confidence in ourselves and our individual worth which makes us vulnerable to Satan's whisperings. He takes advantage of those weaknesses in our spiritual foundation to pick away at our self worth. He tells us that we really are weak and that we'll never be able to become like our Heavenly Father. He'll tell us that things really are hopeless and that our situation will never get better.

Luckily, because our Heavenly Father loves us and keeps His promises perfectly, we can repent and regain our spiritual strength and try again. We can close the door on Satan and no longer be brought down by his lies. Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin said:

The rewards of integrity are immeasurable. One is the indescribable inner peace and serenity that come from knowing we are doing what is right. Another is the absence of guilt and anxiety that accompany sin. Another reward of integrity is the confidence it can give us in approaching God. When we are doing what is right we will not feel timid or hesitant about seeking divine direction.


Sisters, my hope for you is that you will live lives of integrity. That you will keep your promises, even the little ones, and know the peace and confidence that comes from doing so. I love you and your Heavenly Father loves you very much. Always remember that in all that you do.

Love, Sister Gregson


1 comment:

  1. You are such an inspired leader! We are lucky to have you leading and teaching our young ladies :) Even though I don't have one of my own, I am grateful for the work you do for these girls. You are helping to shape the girls that will one day mother my grandchildren - and that means a lot to me.
    Love ya Lady!

    ReplyDelete

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