An honest heart

Yes, there is a city with this name it is in New Mexico.

Today I want to talk about honesty. Because more and more all the time I get the feeling that people are choosing on purpose to be dishonest. Not just dishonest with other people but dishonest with themselves. People are completely out of touch with themselves because they have been lying to themselves for so long. Also they are choosing to believe lies...from other people...from Satan....or whatever the source.

The more and more we are honest with ourselves, the better of a person we become....the more like Jesus we become. I think that our cells respond to it. We physically feel inferior to someone who has a higher standard of honesty. When we are dishonest with ourselves and/or others we shrink.

The little things each day provide us with an opportunity to be honest. To illustrate: 

My son cries. He wants to be held/fed/etc. I want him to be held/fed/etc. I don't want him to feel neglected. He is the most important thing to me. Yet I may choose to hold off because I am googling something amazing and just can't wait to find the results...which makes me even more curious....and causes me to ignore my son's wishes even more. Hopefully this doesn't happen to anyone else. But I have an intense need to be involved on the internet with finding new interesting things that could possibly enrich my life or give me some sort of pleasure. So sometimes I struggle with that. It is a simple thing but I try to be honest with myself and my son in how I REALLY feel about him.

That example may or may not have worked out well for you. I apologize if it didn't. But I hope that you can begin to realize that it is the little things that we tell ourselves or choose to believe or tell other people that either make us a more honest person or a dishonest person. 

D&C 51:9

9 And let every man deal ^ahonestly, and be alike among this people, and receive alike, that ye may be ^bone, even as I have commanded you.

I found this off the church website under honesty:

When we are honest in every way, we are able to enjoy peace of mind and maintain self-respect. We build strength of character, which allows us to be of service to God and others. We are trustworthy in the eyes of God and those around us.

On the other hand, if we are dishonest in our words or actions, we hurt ourselves and often hurt others as well. If we lie, steal, cheat, or neglect to give the full amount of work for our pay, we lose our self-respect. We lose the guidance of the Holy Ghost. We may find that we have damaged relationships with family members and friends and that people no longer trust us.

Being honest often requires courage and sacrifice, especially when others try to persuade us to justify dishonest behavior. If we find ourselves in such a situation, we can remember that the lasting peace that comes from being honest is more valuable than the momentary relief of following the crowd.

Make a goal to be more honest today. Start with what you tell yourself.