Family Home Evening Lesson #40: STANDING FOR SOMETHING--HONESTY

1. Opening Prayer

2. Sing "I Believe In Being Honest" Children's Songbook pg. 149

3. Read D&C 51:9 And let every man deal honestly, and be alike among this people, and receive alike, that ye may be one, even as I have commanded you.

4. Read and discuss the following from Gordon B. Hinckley:

Some may regard the quality of character known as honesty to be a most ordinary subject. But I believe it to be the very essence of the gospel. Without honesty, our lives and the fabric of our society will disintegrate into ugliness and chaos.

The thirteenth Article of Faith of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints affirms that “we believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men.”

We cannot be less than honest, we cannot be less than true, we cannot be less than virtuous if we are to keep sacred the trust given us. Once it was said among our people that a man’s word was as good as his bond. Shall any of us be less reliable, less honest than our forebears?

Those who are living the principle of honesty know that the Lord does bless them. Theirs is the precious right to hold their heads in the sunlight of truth, unashamed before any man. On the other hand, if there be need for reformation in any member of this Church, let it begin where we now stand.

Brothers and sisters, the Lord requires his people to be honest. May we desire with all our hearts to be honest in all our relationships and in all the things that we do. God will help us if we seek the strength that comes from him. Sweet then will be our peace of mind and our lives. Blessed will be those with whom we live and associate. And God will bless and guide us with his loving care.

5. Closing Prayer

Additional Resources: Honesty (FHE Resource Book)
We Believe In Being Honest (Ensign, Oct. 1990)
Be Honest (New Era, Oct. 2005)
Honesty: A Moral Compass (Friend, Nov. 2001)

Family Home Evening Lesson #31: YOUNG WOMEN VALUES--INTEGRITY

1. Opening Prayer

2. Sing "True to the Faith" Hymns pg. 254

3. Read Job 27:5 God forbid that I should justify you: till I die I will not remove mine integrity from me.

4. Read and discuss the following from "Young Women Personal Progress"

I will have the moral courage to make my actions consistent with my knowledge of right and wrong.

Then read and discuss the following from David A. Bednar:

You and I must strive to become people of integrity and to be honest with God, honest with ourselves, and honest with other people. Integrity and honesty with God result from knowing and understanding who He is and our relationship to and kinship with Him as our Eternal Father.

Integrity and honesty with ourselves result from knowing and understanding who we are as sons and daughters of God. And integrity and honesty with other people result from knowing and understanding they are sons and daughters of the Eternal Father and are our brothers and sisters. All unprincipled and dishonest thoughts and actions are a betrayal of God, a betrayal of self, and a betrayal of other people.

Becoming people of integrity and honesty does not occur quickly or all at once, nor is it merely a matter of greater personal discipline. It is a change of disposition, a change of heart. And this gradual change of heart is one that the Lord accomplishes within us, through the power of His Spirit, in a line-upon-line fashion. For example, in Philip. 2:12, Paul encourages the Saints to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” But how are we to do that? Note the answer that follows in verse 13: “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” That is, we give ourselves to the Lord and choose to be changed. He is working on us and in us.

Remember that becoming people of integrity and honesty is not simply a matter of more personal determination, more grit, and more willpower; rather, it is accomplished through the enabling power of the Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ.

5. Closing Prayer

Additional Resources: Personal Integrity (Ensign, May 1990)
Be Honest (New Era, Oct. 2005)
Honesty (For the Strength of Youth)

Family Home Evening Lesson #20: FOR THE STRENGTH OF YOUTH--HONESTY

1. Opening Prayer

2. Sing "I Believe in Being Honest" Children's Songbook pg. 149

3. Read Exodus 20: 15-16 Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

4. Read and discuss the following from "For the Strength of Youth"

Be honest with yourself, others, and the Lord. When you are honest in every way, you build strength of character that will allow you to be of great service to God and others. You will be blessed with peace of mind and self-respect. When you are honest, you will be trusted by the Lord and by those around you.

Dishonesty hurts you and usually hurts others as well. When you lie, steal, shoplift, or cheat, you damage your spirit and become less able to do good things. Be honest in your job, giving a full amount of work for your pay.

Don’t rationalize that wrong is right, even though many people around you may think there is no harm in being dishonest. Being honest requires courage and commitment to do what you know is right.

Then read and discuss the following from James E. Faust:

Honesty is a principle, and we have our moral agency to determine how we will apply this principle. We have the agency to make choices, but ultimately we will be accountable for each choice we make. We may deceive others, but there is One we will never deceive.

5. Closing Prayer

Additional Resources: Be Honest (New Era, Oct. 2005)
Honesty (FHE Resource Book)
Honesty (Gospel Principles, Chapter 31)