“Being Honest,” Liahona, Feb. 2002, 16

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 the store, and we should always tell the truth even though we may be punished.

One day when I was nine, I was waiting on the school patio for my mother and I saw a wallet on a bench. There was money in it.

I thought about what I should do. My mother works very hard to take care of 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 money and how much she would miss it. I sat down and waited because I knew she would come to look for it.

After some time, a very upset woman appeared and asked, “Have you found a wallet?”

I answered, “Is this it?”

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

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

I am grateful for having learned to be honest.

Illustration by Scott Snow