Honesty

Elder Robert C Gay of the Seventy, What Shall a Man Give in Exchange for His Soul?, General Conference October 2012 “All was well until I turned 12. Standing in line one afternoon, I realized that the ticket price for a 12-year-old was 35 cents, and that meant two less candy bars. Not quite prepared to make that sacrifice, I reasoned to myself, 'You look the same as you did a week ago.' I then stepped up and asked for the 25-cent ticket. The cashier did not blink, and I bought my regular five candy bars instead of three.

"Elated by my accomplishment, I later rushed home to tell my dad about my big coup. As I poured out the details, he said nothing. When I finished, he simply looked at me and said, ‘Son, would you sell your soul for a nickel? His words pierced my 12-year-old heart. It is a lesson I have never forgotten.”

President David O McKay, “We Believe,” Improvement Era, September 1963, p. 803

“Honesty and sincerity are the basic virtues of a noble character.”

President David O McKay,   Treasures of Life [Deseret Book Co., 1965], p. 455 
“Honesty … is the first virtue mentioned in the Thirteenth Article of Faith. It is founded on the first principles of human society and is the foundation principle of moral manhood.”

President David O McKay,   Conference Report, April 1968, pp. 7–8 
“It is impossible to associate manhood with dishonesty. To be just with one’s self, one must be honest with one’s self and with others. This means honesty in speech as well as in actions. It means to avoid telling half-truths as well as untruths. It means that we are honest in our dealings—in our buying as well as in our selling. It means that an honest debt can never be outlawed, and that a man’s word is better than his bond. It means that we will be honest in our dealings with the Lord, for ‘true honesty takes into account the claims of God as well as those of man; it renders to God the things that are God’s, as well as to man the things that are man’s.’”

Gordon B. Hinckley, “Personal Worthiness to Exercise the Priesthood,” Ensign, May 2002, 52

“You cannot afford to do anything that would place a curtain between you and the ministering of angels in your behalf.
“You cannot be immoral in any sense. You cannot be dishonest. You cannot cheat or lie. You cannot take the name of God in vain or use filthy language and still have the right to the ministering of angels.”

Gospel Principles, “Honesty”

“When we are completely honest, we cannot be corrupted. We are true to every trust, duty, agreement, or covenant, even if it costs us money, friends, or our lives. Then we can face the Lord, ourselves, and others without shame”

Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed. [1939], 252

“Let every man’s life be so that his character will bear the closest inspection, and that it may be seen as an open book, so that he will have nothing to shrink from or be ashamed of”

President Thomas S. Monson, "Preparation Brings Blessings", Priesthood Session of General Conference April 2010

"A Latter-day Saint young man lives as he teaches and as he believes. He is honest with others. He is honest with himself. He is honest with God. He is honest by habit and as a matter of course."


Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Brigham Young [1997], 293
“If we accept salvation on the terms it is offered to us, we have got to be honest in every thought, in our reflections, in our meditations, in our private circles, in our deals, in our declarations, and in every act of our lives”