The Importance of Character and Integrity

"The Great Wall of China, built as an impenetrable defense against barbaric hordes to the north, is a magnificent structure," wrote Vice Admiral Thomas J. Kilcline, Captain Irv Elson and Commander Carlos Sardiello (all U.S. Navy) in the July 2010 issue of the U.S. Naval Institute's Proceedings. "Many believed the wall guaranteed that no army could penetrate the country's borders" they continued. "However, during the first hundred years of its existence, China was invaded three times. Not once was [the wall] torn down or scaled by invading armies. Rather, each time invaders entered by bribing a gatekeeper and simply marching through the gates. The Chinese had so relied on the physical integrity of the formidable stone walls that they overlooked the importance of ensuring the moral integrity of their soldiers."

The authors note that "cracks have developed in our society's walls of integrity. A 2006 Gallup Poll showed that 80 percent of Americans rated the moral condition of our country as fair or poor and thought it was worsening."  Members of the LDS Church are not immune to the conditions of society, and even missionaries may struggle with issues of character and integrity.  It is often said that 20 percent of missionaries do 80 percent of the work while 80 percent do 20 percent of the work -- I always thought the split was more like 90-10. Many missionaries also struggle to live the mission rules; some may find specific rules difficult or even pointless, still others will think it is cool to break the rules.

But, to paraphrase the authors of the Proceedings article, while the moral condition of society and missionaries is open to discussion, one thing is clear: Our first and best line of defense should not be to rely on our "walls" of commandments and rules, but on ourselves, as gatekeepers.  Commandments and rules are important, but our personal integrity is the key as without it we will be more easily swayed to break them.

 In 2008, Vice Admiral Kilcline wrote first about "The Whole Sailor," and discussed the importance of character and integrity. “Character underpins our humanity,” he wrote, “and we should seek to nurture it in our Sailors. Ultimately, character defines a Sailor and has the greater impact on motivation and subsequent performance during peacetime or war.”  Kilcline called character a force multiplier as well as the foundation of decision-making.

“While there may be some debate on the exact definition of character," wrote Kilcline, "there can be no doubt as to our moral principles.  A man or a woman of character is one whose existence rests on a solid moral foundation.  This foundation sustains the Sailor during the greatest trials and crises and will provide the crucial moral orientation for decision-making at the moment of greatest need.”

Integrity, says the author, "is an integral component of one’s character.  The Latin root of the word, integritas, originally referred to the soundness of the armor plate covering the breasts of the Legionnaires of the Roman Empire.  With integrity, all was possible in battle and all was whole.  Absent integrity, there was vulnerability; indeed, there would be a ‘disintegrity’ or disintegration."

Commenting on leadership, Kilcline noted that "Integrity is the unfailing trait that, above all others, a Sailor demands of leaders.  Absent integrity, there is no moral authority to lead.  It is only when our Sailors see and identify in those that lead them that we are able to demand and foster that same integrity from those who serve under us."

Substitute "Missionary" for "Sailor" and we may see the importance of character and integrity in the missionary as well as in his/her leaders.   ". . . See that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind, and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day."

 "And faith, hope, charity and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work. Remember faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness, godliness, charity, humility, diligence."