My dear young women, it is a great privilege and an
opportunity for me to stand before you this evening.
You are an amazing and an inspiring sight.
The 13th article of faith is the 2011 Mutual theme.
As I've attended youth gatherings and sacrament
meetings this year, I've heard young men and young women
share what the 13th article of faith means to them and how
it applies in their lives.
There are many who know it to be the last article of faith,
the longest, the hardest to memorize, and the article of
faith they hope the bishop does not ask them to recite.
[LAUGHTER]
However, many of you also understand the 13th article of
faith is much more.
The 13th article of faith is a guide for
righteous Christian living.
Imagine for a moment what the world would be like if
everyone chose to live by the teachings found in the 13th
article of faith.
We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent,
virtuous, and in doing good to all men.
Indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul.
We believe all things.
We hope all things.
We have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure
all things.
If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or
praiseworthy, we seek after these things.
In the first Sunday morning general conference address,
President Thomas S. Monson delivered as the prophet,
he quoted the admonition of Paul, found in Philippians
chapter 4, verse 8, which inspired many of the principles in the
13th article of faith.
President Monson acknowledged the challenging times in which
we live and provided encouragement.
He said, "In this sometimes precarious journey through
mortality, may we follow that advice from the Apostle Paul
which will help keep us safe and on course."
Tonight, I would like to focus on two closely related
principles in the 13th article of faith that definitely help
keep us safe an on course.
I have a strong testimony of and commitment to the
important principles of being honest and being true.
First, I believe in being honest. What does
it mean to be honest?
The booklet True to the Faith teaches, "To be honest means to
be sincere, truthful, and without deceit at all times.
It is a commandment from God to be honest. And complete
honesty is necessary for our salvation."
President Howard W. Hunter taught that we must be willing
to be strictly honest. He said, "Several years ago there
were posters in the foyers and entries of our chapels that
were entitled, 'Be Honest with Yourself.' Most of them
pertain to the little ordinary things of life.
This is where the principle of honesty is cultivated."
There are some who will admit it is morally wrong to be
dishonest in big things, yet believe it is excusable if
those things are of lesser importance.
Is there really any difference between dishonesty involving
$1,000 or that which involves only a dime?
Are there really degrees of dishonesty, depending on
whether or not the subject is great or small?
President Hunter continues, "If we would have the
companionship of the Master and the Spirit of the Holy
Ghost, we must be honest with ourselves, honest with God,
and with our fellow man.
This results in true joy." End quote.
When we are honest in all things big and small, we
experience peace of mind and clear conscience.
Our relationships are enriched because they are based on
trust. And the greatest blessing that comes from being
honest is that we are able to have the companionship of the
Holy Ghost.
I would like to share a simple story that has strengthened my
commitment to be honest in all things.
A man went one evening to steal corn from
his neighbor's field.
He took his little boy with him to sit on the fence and
keep a lookout, so as to give warning in case anyone should
come along.
The man jumped over the fence with a large bag on his arm,
and before commencing to take the corn,
he looked all around,
first one way, and then the other.
And not seeing any person, he was just about
ready to fill his bag.
The boy then called out, "Father, there is one way you
haven't looked yet.
You forgot to look up."
When we are tempted to be dishonest, and this temptation
comes to all of us, we may suppose that no
one will ever know.
This story reminds us that our Heavenly Father always knows,
and we are ultimately accountable to Him.
This knowledge helps me continually strive to live up
to the commitment
"I believe in being honest."
The second principle taught in the 13th article of faith is
"I believe in being true."
The dictionary defines the word "true" as being steadfast,
loyal, accurate, or without deviation.
One of my favorite books is the British classic Jane
Eyre, written by Charlotte Bronte in 1847.
The main character, Jane Eyre, is a penniless teenage orphan
who exemplifies what it means to be true.
In this fictional account, a man, Mr. Rochester, loves Miss
Eyre, but is unable to marry her.
Instead, he begs Miss Eyre to live with him without the
benefit of marriage.
Miss Eyre loves Mr. Rochester as well.
And for a moment she is tempted, asking herself, "Who
in the world cares for you?
Or who will be injured by what you do?"
Quickly, Jane's conscience answers, "I care for myself.
The more solitary, the more friendless, the more
unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself.
I will keep the law given by God.
Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no
temptation.
They are for such moments as this.
If at my individual convenience I might break
them, what would be their worth?
They have worth.
So I have always believed.
Preconceived opinions, foregone determinations are
all I have at this hour to stand by.
There I plant my foot."
In a desperate moment of temptation, Jane Eyre was true
to her beliefs.
She trusted in the law given by God, and she planted her
foot in resistance to temptation.
Being true to our beliefs, even when doing so isn't
popular, easy, or fun, keeps us safely on the path that leads
to eternal life with our Heavenly Father.
I love this picture, drawn by one young woman, to remind her
of her desire to experience the joy of living with her
Heavenly Father forever.
Being true also allows us to have a positive effect on
the lives of others.
I recently heard this inspiring story of a young
woman who, through her commitment to be true to her
beliefs, had a great impact on another young woman's life.
Several years ago, Christie and Jan were in the same high
school choir class in Hurst, Texas.
Although they didn't know each other well, Jan overheard
Christie talking with her friends one day about
religion, their various beliefs, and
favorite Bible stories.
Recently, upon reconnecting with Christie,
Jan shared this story.
"I felt sad that I didn't know anything about what you and
your friends were talking about, and so for Christmas, I
asked my parents for a Bible.
I received the Bible and I started reading it.
This began my religious journey and my search for the
true church.
Twelve years passed. During that time I visited several
churches and attended church on a regular basis, but still
felt that there was something more.
One night I fell on my knees and begged to know what to do.
That night, I had a dream about you, Christie.
I hadn't seen you since we had graduated from high school.
I thought my dream was strange, but I didn't
attribute it to anything.
I dreamed about you again for the next three nights.
I spent time thinking about the meaning of my dream, and I
remembered that you were a Mormon.
I checked the Mormon website, and the first thing I found
was the Word of Wisdom.
My mother had passed away from lung cancer two years
previously.
She had been a smoker, and reading about the Word of
Wisdom really hit home with me.
Later, I was visiting my father's house, and I was
sitting in his living room.
And I started to pray.
I asked to know where to go and what to do.
At that moment, a commercial for the Church came on
television.
I wrote down the number and called the same night.
The missionaries called me three days later, asking if
they could deliver a Book of Mormon to my
home, and I said yes.
I was baptized three and a half months later.
Two years later, I met my husband at church, and we were
married in the Dallas Temple.
Now, we are the parents of two beautiful little children.
I wanted to thank you, Christie.
You set such a wonderful example
throughout high school.
You were kind and virtuous.
The missionaries taught me the lessons and invited me to be
baptized, but you were my third missionary.
You planted a seed through your actions, and you truly
have made my life better.
I have an eternal family now.
My children will grow up knowing the
fulness of the gospel.
It is the greatest blessing that any of us can be given.
You helped bring that into my life."
When I contacted her, Christie shared, "Sometimes I think we
hear the list of attributes that the 13th article of faith
outlines, and we feel overwhelmed.
However, I know that as we live these standards and
strive to follow Christ's example, we can make a
difference."
I feel much like Ammon in Alma chapter 26:3 when he says,
"And this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon
us, that we have been made instruments in the hands of
God, to bring about this great work."
It is my prayer that each of you will not only state, "I
believe in being honest and true," but that you will also
commit to live that promise each and every day.
I pray that as you do this, Heavenly Father's strength,
love, and blessings will sustain you as you do the work
you were each sent here to do.
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.