How Do You Spell Honesty?

By Elder Timothy J. Dyches

Of the Seventy

“Do that which is honest” (2 Corinthians 13:7).

When I was in sixth grade, I hadn’t missed a spelling word all year long. If I kept getting perfect scores, I would receive an award for spelling at the end of the year.

Our teacher, Mr. Caldwell, let us grade each other’s papers. One day as we passed our spelling tests back to each other, I saw that mine said “100%” at the top. But then I noticed I had actually misspelled a word! I had practiced spelling that word correctly many times before. But this time I had spelled it wrong, and the person who graded my paper hadn’t noticed.

“Well,” Mr. Caldwell said, “I see you got 100% again! You’ll get the spelling award for sure!”

I was tempted to stay quiet. But my parents had taught me to be honest. And I knew Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ would want me to be honest.

So I said, “Mr. Caldwell, you need to look at number 23.”

“Oh, you did miss one word,” he said. “That’s too bad.”

A few minutes later, Mr. Caldwell said, “I’d like to talk with you for a minute.” He left someone else in charge and took me outside.

“Timmy,” he said, “thank you for being honest. An award is nice, but honesty will bless your entire life.”

And it has. That’s why I encourage you to be honest in everything you do and say.

Honesty Quiz

Doing the right thing takes courage! Take this quiz to think about how you can be honest with yourself and others.

You accidentally break your mom’s phone. You:
1. Say your little brother broke it.
2. Don’t say anything. Maybe she won’t notice!
3. Tell your mom you broke it and ask how you can make it right.
Your friend is stealing candy from the store. You:
1. Grab some too and hope no one sees.
2. Don’t take any, but eat some of the stolen candy your friend took.
3. Choose not to take any and encourage your friend to do the same.
You get to school and realize you forgot to finish your homework! You:
1. Lie to your teacher.
2. Copy off your friend’s paper. They offered!
3. Tell your teacher the truth and make a better choice next time.
You got in an argument with a friend and said something hurtful. You:
1. Tell your other friends mean things about her that aren’t true.
2. Pretend like nothing happened.
3. Admit that what you said was wrong and tell her you’re sorry.

If you answered …

Mostly a: Your choices might be hurting you or others more than you think. Next time you are tempted to lie, steal, or cheat, be brave! Heavenly Father can help you have courage to do the right thing.

Mostly b: You’re not exactly lying or stealing, but you’re not being fully honest either. These kinds of choices are still harmful. Think about how you can be more honest in what you do and say.

Mostly c: You’re being honest. You’re also setting a good example for others to follow! Keep it up. Heavenly Father is proud of your choices.