How Important is Integrity?

Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostle of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has observed:

"The bedrock of character is integrity.  Worthy character will strengthen your capacity to respond obediently to the direction of the Spirit.  Righteous character is what you are becoming.  It is more important that what you own, what you have learned, or what goals you have accomplished.  It allows you to be trusted.  Righteous character provides the foundation of spiritual strength.  It enables you in times of trial and testing to make difficult, extremely important decisions correctly even when they seem overpowering."

Earlier in the same talk, given at the April 2003 General Conference of the LDS Church, Elder Scott stated that:

"God uses your faith to mold your character. Character is the manifestation of what you are becoming. Strong moral character results from consistent correct choices in the trials and testing of life. Your faith can guide you to those correct choices. Clearly, it is what you do and what you think about that determine what you are and what you will become. Therefore, the choices you make need to be inspired by the Lord. Others can encourage you to make the right decisions, but those choices must not be prescribed by them. You need to ponder, pray, and exercise faith to willingly make choices consistent with the teachings of the Master. Such choices are made with trust in things that are believed and when acted upon will be confirmed. Only enough guidance is given to lead you aright and not to weaken your growing character. That guidance will solidify your trust in Heavenly Father and the Savior.

Faith will forge strength of character available to you in times of urgent need. Such character is not developed in moments of great challenge or temptation. That is when it is used. Character is woven patiently from threads of principle, doctrine, and obedience. In James we read: 'The trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing'" (James 1:3-4).

See:

The Sustaining Power of Faith in Times of Uncertainty and Testing

How important do I think character and integrity are?  They are among the first things I posted about in this blog:

"Are character and integrity important? The answer can be found in the fourth section of the Doctrine and Covenants, which missionaries everywhere repeat in groups as often as once a week – they did in my day, at least, and in San Jose we also recited The Standard of Truth. 

"'. . . See that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind, and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.'

"What do character and integrity demand of the missionary? They demand hard work. I hope that you are not disappointed in the simplicity of the answer. Actually, hard work might be an understatement when it sits along side serving with all your heart, might, mind and strength."

See:

A Blog is Born

In another early post I used and analogy with the Great Wall of China:

"'The Great Wall of China, built as an impenetrable defense against barbaric hordes to the north, is a magnificent structure. . . .  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.'"

See:

The Importance of Character and Integrity 

I came back to the subject of character and integrity a few weeks later:

"Even missionaries can struggle with issues of character and integrity as they seek to serve God with all their heart, might, mind and strength, and with an eye single to His glory.  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 think it is cool to break the rules.

"As with the Chinese and their soldiers, our first line of defense is not the "walls" of commandments, rules or laws, but is rather our personal integrity and character.  Character underpins our humanity; ultimately it defines us as individuals and has a significant impact on motivation and performance.  Indeed, character is the foundation of all decision-making."

See:

A Return to Character and Integrity