Childviews

Being Honest

I have always learned in Primary and at home that we should be honest. We should not keep what does not belong to us. We should return change when we receive too much at a store, and we should always tell the truth, even though we may be punished.

When I was nine, I was waiting at the school for my mother when I saw a wallet on a bench. The wallet had money in it.

I thought about what I should do. My mother works very hard to care for my two sisters and me, but things weren’t going very well at home. I thought about what I could buy.

Then I started to worry about the person who had lost the wallet. I sat down and waited, knowing that she would come to look for it. After a while, a very upset woman came by. She asked me if I had found a wallet.

I answered, “Is this it?”

Her joy was so great that she hugged me. She thanked me again and again.

At the time, I did not even think about why I had decided to be honest. But when I told my mother about it later, she said that the Holy Ghost had whispered to me and that I had listened to the still, small voice.

I am grateful for having learned to be honest.

Rudinei Antonio Fernandes Filho, age 11
São Paulo, Brazil

Consequences

I was playing at my friend’s home. It is a lot of fun to play outside in the sunny Arizona winter. We rode bikes and played basketball until we were tired.

My friend thought that it might be fun to play in their van, so we got in. I had a feeling to not play in it, so I got out and started riding a bike again. I rode by myself for a while, then thought that it would be more fun to play with my friend again, so I got back in the van. We played a game in which I had to keep my friend from getting out of the van until my mom came to pick me up.

I heard the Holy Ghost tell me to leave the van, but I didn’t listen. When I closed the door, I slammed it on my hand. Now I know that when the Holy Ghost tells you to do something, you should do it, because there are consequences you pay if you don’t listen.

Elizabeth Shafer, age 9
Tempe, Arizona

Illustrated by Scott Snow