Personal Progress and Integrity

I had the privilege of serving in the Young Women organization of our LDS ward for about two years, and while serving, I decided I was going to work on Personal Progress with my daughters and the other Young Women. I did Personal Progress as a Young Woman, under the program that was created by Ardeth Kapp and her counselors and board, but I knew it was important for me to work on this new program, not only for my benefit, but also to be a good example to my daughters and the girls I was serving, and so that I could have a sure testimony of this Personal Progress program. It is a wonderful program that our stake leaders called "the Young Women program in action!" I love that. We can facilitate powerful lessons and meaningful activities, but if the Young Women don't go home and DO something they learned, then they will not grow the kind of testimonies and build the kind of gospel knowledge that will keep them standing on the Rock no matter what happens to them. I didn't finish the program before I was released, so I have continued to work on it here and there, and I am hoping to finish with my oldest daughter. 

Surprisingly, it has been a little easier for me to do the 10-hour projects than the value experiences. Serving in my calling helped with that somewhat. For instance, when we were planning and getting ready for Girls' Camp, I had never done anything like that before in my life, so I was able to use that for my Knowledge project. I learned a lot! I was also prompted to write a song for the Young Women to sing at Young Women In Excellence, so I ended up using the time I spent writing the lyrics and music and teaching it to the girls for my Individual Worth project. I am also a mom of six kids, and I have tried to volunteer in their schools where I can--that went toward my Good Works project. I have also applied other things I do as a mom toward Personal Progress, like menu planning. And I have used the program to help me improve relationships with my children or my husband. Looking at the good things we do every day and applying them to Personal Progress helps us to see that we really are accomplishing more than we think! 

I have almost completed every project and am steadily accomplishing the value experiences, and I discovered that I still didn't know what I was going to do for my Integrity project. After looking over the suggestions and pondering about it, I had the thought that I should resurrect my long-neglected blog and use my blog as a way to document examples of integrity in people's lives. So that's what I'm going to do, and hopefully, doing this will also motivate me to blog about something else once in a while, too. :)

Integrity is an interesting word and value. I have always thought of integrity as honesty, which it is, but mostly in the sense of telling the truth verbally. Several years ago, though, I began to see integrity as more than that, and my visualization became linked to ships and their hulls. Ships are constantly inspected to ensure that their hulls and structures have integrity, which means that they are free from holes, cracks, and other defects that will compromise the ship's ability to keep out water that could place it and its passengers in danger, as well as its ability to stay afloat so that it can accomplish the purpose for which it was created. 

This visualization of integrity has helped me to understand what this value really means in my life and in the lives of my children. Our "hull" and "structure" is built by what we believe, the values we have. And when we live our lives according to what we believe, to what values we have, no matter where we are or who we are with or what circumstances surround us, our hull has integrity. We can't only live the gospel when we are with good members of the Church, or when we want others to think we are righteous, or just when we are at church or home; and then behave differently in order to fit in or seal a business deal or get something we want. We also cannot preach or teach repentance and gospel living to others if we are not willing to repent or to live the gospel ourselves.  Not only is that hypocritical, but it demonstrates a grave lack of integrity. We must apply the Atonement in our lives, repent of our sins, fix those holes in our character, and truly live according to our baptismal covenants. Then we will be able to fulfill the purpose for which we were created. Integrity is in essence telling the truth in word and in deed. We are not expected to be perfect, only to keep trying our best and repenting. I have discovered many ways in which my hull has cracks and defects, and I am so thankful for the Master Repairman who helps me to fix these problems through repentance.

I love the following words of President Henry B. Eyring for so many reasons, and I think they capture the meaning of integrity very well. No matter where we are, no matter who we are with, no matter what happens to us, may we have a hull free from defects and cracks and demonstrate who we are--disciples of Christ--in all we do and say.

Photo from Henry B. Eyring's Facebook page,

meme by Melissa West