Why is it Important to Be Honest?

 
 

-Start by talking about the Challenge from last week.

-Read the 13^th article of faith

-What does it mean to be honest?

-Read the paragraphs in the For Strength of Youth about Honesty and Integrity

-Have the girls share their experiences with being honest and how it made them feel.

“One of my favorite books is the British classic Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Brontë and published 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 a 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.”⁸

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.” –Sis. Dibb

-Show “Honesty you better believe it” VIDEO

-Notice how she went and talked to the friend after class. What kinds of things do you think she could be saying?

-Honesty is important to her? Offering to help her study for the next one? Encouraging her to trust in her own abilities?

-How do you think this experience will affect the friend? Do you think she’ll be less likely to try to cheat next time?

-Why is setting a good example so important?

Several years ago Kristi and Jenn were in the same high school choir class in Hurst, Texas. Although they didn’t know each other well, Jenn overheard Kristi talking with her friends one day about religion, their various beliefs, and favorite Bible stories. Recently, upon reconnecting with Kristi, Jenn 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, Kristi. 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 dreams. I remembered that you were a Mormon. I checked the Mormon website. 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. 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 aBook of Mormon to my home. I said, ‘Yes.’ I was baptized three and a half months later. Two years later I met my husband at church. We were married in the Dallas Temple. Now we are the parents of two beautiful little children.

“I wanted to thank you, Kristi. 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, Kristi shared: “Sometimes I think we hear the list of attributes that the thirteenth 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 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.’”- Sis. Dibb

-Bare you testimony of the importance of honesty and integrity. 

Handout:

I gave them Hi-chews with a paper that said "Chews you this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord."

Combined Activity- Gospel Millionaire

My Beehives were in charge of the YM YW combined this month. My girls came up with the idea to play Gospel Millionaire. They came up with all the questions and I just made them into a Power Point (linked for you to download).

I found the Millionaire music HERE and had it playing in the background as we played the game.

We even used the life lines. They could use the 50/50, phone a leader, and poll the audience. For poll the audience I used this cool and free texting survey website HERE. I just set them up for A,B,C,and D so it would work for any question. The kids thought it was really cool.

All in all I think the game was a success and we just let the winning team have 2 scoops of ice cream. Feel free to download the Questions and Answers and the power point and try them with your group.

*Note*- Some of the questions are my ward specific so you may want to go through and change a few of the answers.

Let me know if you have any questions. If you decide to use it feel free to tell me know how it went!  :)

How do the things I say affect me and those around me?

-Start off with having the girls read Matthew 26:34-35, 69-75

Just as a passport photo, a signature, or a thumbprint can identify individuals, Peter’s speech revealed who he was and where he had been reared. Just as surely are you classified and put in a special category by those who hear the words you speak. Our speech reflects the kind of person we are, exposing our background and our way of life. It describes our thinking as well as our inner feelings. –Elder L. Tom Perry

-How does our speech identify us either as a follower of Christ, and how should our speech be different then others?

SWEARING

Joanna was one of only three members of the Church in her high school and the only young woman in her ward. She committed to herself and the Lord that she would never use bad language. When she was paired with a young man for a school project who had not made the same commitment, she did not lower her standards. She asked him to respect and honor her values. Over time, with many gentle and some not-so-gentle reminders, her friend formed new habits and used cleaner language. Many people noticed the difference, including his father, who thanked Joanna for being a good influence in his son’s life. –Sister Dibb

-No cussing club VIDEO

-Joanna and McKay didn’t allow their friends to change the way they spoke. Instead they helped them to be better by setting the good example and challenging them to be different. I know that standing up for what is right can be scary, but it is what the Lord would want you to do.

-Have the girls share an experience of when they stood up for what was right even when it was scary.

“My young friends, be strong. … You know what is right and what is wrong, and no disguise, however appealing, can change that. … If your so-called friends urge you to do anything you know to be wrong, you be the one to make a stand for right, even if you stand alone.” –President Monson

NEGATIVE SPEAKING

In all of this, I suppose it goes without saying that negative speaking so often flows from negative thinking, including negative thinking about ourselves. We see our own faults, we speak—or at least think—critically of ourselves, and before long that is how we see everyone and everything. No sunshine, no roses, no promise of hope or happiness. Before long we, and everybody around us, are miserable. –Elder Jeffery R. Holland

-How does it make you feel when someone speaks or jokes negatively to you, or how does you acting that way effect others?

"We need more of the distinctive, influential voices and faith of women. We need you to learn the doctrine and to understand what we believe so that you can bear your testimonies about the truth of all things—whether those testimonies be given around a campfire at girls’ camp, in a testimony meeting, in a blog, or on Facebook. Only you can show the world what women of God who have made covenants look like and believe." -Elder Ballard

-Give the girls the Challenge paper and ask them to sign it and keep it in a place where they will see it often to remind themselves of their promise to “Guard their speech” with no cussing and only speaking positively to themselves and to others.