The “Grit” of Integrity: Living Life as an Extension of Your Beliefs

Christ is a promise-keeper.  Am I?  Are you?

Ten years ago this month, I was just beginning my eighteen-month church mission in Russia. (Enter nostalgic comments about time flying and me laughing politely when you ask if it was cold.) A few months in, I was in the city of Irkutsk, in eastern Siberia. It was a sunny day, and my associate and I were walking the streets downtown. A professional-looking woman had stopped to talk with us, and soon, we were all three engrossed in our conversation about Christ and His restored gospel.

Then, someone began yelling at us. Startled, we turned to see that a few yards off, a young mother was struggling to push her baby carriage up the steps to a nearby business. Out of breath from her fruitless efforts, her frustrated words pierced me. She questioned loudly how it was that we were missionaries talking about Jesus Christ, while disregarding a need for genuine help right before us. That true servants of Christ would do more than speak about Him; they would help as He did. We ran to her aid, apologizing–for truly, we hadn’t seen her until she had made herself known.

That brief experience changed how I approached the remainder of my missionary service. I was a servant on an errand greater than my own, and I wanted all to know that purpose through the words I spoke and by the way I lived and served. I wanted my actions to do their thing–to “speak louder than words”…especially since my Russian language skills were lacking ;).  Even more, I wanted my actions and my words to be saying the same thing. I wanted transparency. I sought for integrity.

Integrity is an interesting word. Try thinking of its adjective form–hard to do? Writers most often opt for synonyms (decent, virtuous, honest) rather than the obscure archaic integrous. English gurus debate whether this adjectival form is even valid. Simply put, it doesn’t work. You can’t modify integrity. Fitting, really. It literally is what it is. You cannot separate “incorruptibility, the quality or state of being complete or undivided” (Merriam Webster Online). It is a word not to be minced. A concept of completeness.

Christ is the embodiment of integrity. He is who He says He is. He does what He says He will do. His motives and actions are perfectly, completely aligned. His Father’s will is His will and He accomplished all that His Father sent Him to do. Christ invites us each to come to Him and be filled with and saved by His integrity: “I am the way, the truth and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (Bible KJV, John 14:6) The Way, the Truth, the Life, Savior, Redeemer. These are each much more than a name or title. They are descriptions of the promises He makes and the actions that extend from those promises. Truly, He is the great “I Am.”

He invites us to believe in His integrity. And He invites us to live in that integrity. If we believe in Christ, then our lives should look different than those who do not. How we spend our time, resources and energy should be an extension of our beliefs. Speaking to fellow apostle Timothy, Paul invited him to not only believe, but to “be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” (Bible KJV, 1 Timothy 4:12, italics added). His invitation to live our beliefs is extended to all.

I recently went through an exercise of putting more “grit” into my own integrity. Of re-aligning my hands with my heart. And oh what a difference it has made.

This summer, our family was busy. Busy doing fun summer-y things (this was the first summer since being married that I wasn’t pregnant or nursing–BIG deal) and non-summery things, and just things in general. Our life was filled. But it lacked some fulfillment at times.  

Over the course of a few weeks, a scriptural phrase kept coming to my mind: “And if ye believe these things, see that ye do them.” I finally sat down to search it out. This phrase comes from a sermon given by a prophet and political leader in the ancient Americas. King Benjamin encouraged his people to

“Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend. And again, believe that ye must repent of your sins and forsake them, and humble yourselves before God; and ask in sincerity of heart that he would forgive you; and now, if you believe all these things see that ye do them.” (Book of Mormon, Mosiah 4:9-10, italics added)

I had read this passage dozens of times before, yet that last line struck my heart–“See that ye do them.” Did I believe in God? That He has all wisdom and power? That I need to repent and change and humble myself before the Lord? There was no hesitation in my answers to these questions: YES! Then what was I doing every day to show that I believed those things? Where was the daily “grit” in my integrity as a disciple of Christ?

I talked with my husband about all of this, and my desire to better align my life with my beliefs. We decided that me stepping outside of the day-to-day scene might help facilitate this process. So I took a “Solo Self-Reflection Saturday” trip to the temple and the neighboring grounds (a place where I knew I could feel peace and inspiration).

I sat outside and reflected on some version of the following questions: What do I really believe? What would the Lord have me value more? What would He have me value less? What would He have me to be doing with my life? How can I better align myself with His will?

And then I thought, What am I doing about those beliefs and priorities? What does my belief in [God, living revelation, importance of family] look like in daily life? What do I need to start, stop, and/or continue to better align my actions with my beliefs?

This self-examination led to some specific principles for me to improve and get “gritty” about. I value my relationship with my Heavenly Father and my Savior. We have made promises with each other. I believe in my marriage and family. And I believe that I’m here for so much more than personal accomplishment (service).

And then I looked at my planner, and deeper, at my heart. It wasn’t that I was spending my time in awful ways. But there wasn’t always a direct correlation between truths that I claimed were of the utmost importance and how I was spending my time and energy.

I took out a sheet of paper and went to work making an action plan to change that. I drew up a simple blank calendar. First priority: my relationship with God and my Savior. What does my belief in God look like daily and at this stage in my life? I wrote “Church worship” on my Sunday. At the top of every morning, I wrote “gospel study time” because it takes good and real investments of time to build real and good relationships. Thoughts came to mind of what and how to study. I am grateful for these impressions from the Spirit as I was seeking the will of the Lord.

I did the same with my other beliefs and priorities. Some actions fit easily into time and day slots. Others did not, but were still important. I wrote them along the side of the calendar and challenged myself to see how/when I could do them.

I looked at what I had written–it was a game plan and a promise. Not that other things wouldn’t come in and fill my days. But I had put first things first. And many of the “other” activities I had been fluttering about my life trying to do and accomplish didn’t seem important at all. I had seen in real time that “When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities.” (Ezra Taft Benson, April 1988, The Great Commandment–Love the Lord)

Maybe that all sounds regimented and forced. But to me, this exercise was about being a more deliberate and intentional disciple of Christ. Integrity and discipleship and faith are not “one-and-done” type of concepts; they are life-long journeys. And so, regular self-evaluation and reflection are helpful catalysts of great change.

Can I tell you what? My life is a lot simpler now…and it is filled with good things. And the promises of the Lord are being fulfilled in my life.  Remember King Benjamin’s sermon? He promised that “…if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the knowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.” (Mosiah 4:12) And those blessings are happening. Because Christ is a promise-keeper.

Am I?

Are you?

Invitation: Consider the following questions– In what area of your life are you striving for greater integrity?  What joy are you following in that process?  How does it bring you closer to your Savior?

Please share your thoughts using the hashtag #myvoiceofgladness.