While I was serving in the great Idaho Boise Mission, I met a man who I feel exemplifies honor. Joe was a humble man who lived in a camper that would usually be placed inside the bed of a pick-up truck. The first time that I met him, he told me this: “I don’t have much in this world. I’ve got my horse, and I’ve got my word, and both of those mean a lot to me.” This was a man who understood that when you give your word, you don’t betray the commitment you’ve made. We started teaching Joe about the gospel, and he would never give us his word that he was going to come to church on Sunday. However, the one time he finally told us he was going to come, he was there. I’ll never forget how much Joe’s word meant to him, and the lesson that he taught me by his example. I feel the way that Joe feels – giving my word of honor means a lot to me.
It pains me to see when people do not keep their word, and it pains me to realize the times when I have not kept my word! I realize that nobody on this campus is perfect, and the Lord doesn’t expect that we will be perfect immediately. However, becoming honorable men and women is an important way in which we can move toward perfection. When we allow honor to become a vital part of our character, we will achieve great things, and those around us will be able to depend on us for strength and consistency.
Honor could be interpreted in many ways, but I feel that giving our word and staying committed to what we have promised is at the heart of honor. I fear that far too many of us give little or no thought to giving our word that we will or will not do something. As we each come to BYU, we sign the Honor Code. We sign our name, certifying that we will live our lives to a higher standard. We promise to do our part to maintain the magnificent, unique spiritual environment and culture that is found on this campus.
Showing honor at BYU is done by small, simple acts. I see honor every time students take quizzes in class, all sitting at the same table, and nobody trying to look at the papers of other people for the answers. I see honor displayed triumphantly every time I see a girl jogging down the road dressed in a way that shows she really understands what it means to live the dress and grooming standards at all times. I see honor every time someone points out that it’s almost time for the opposite gender to leave the apartment for the night. At that same moment, there is honor shown by those who don’t complain about leaving, because they have given their word and are glad to keep that standard. The list goes on, but the point is simple. There are thousands of examples of honor every day on this campus, and that makes me so happy to be a BYU Cougar. I hope that I can be that kind of example throughout my life, no matter where I am.
We have all heard Karl G. Maeser’s quote about the circle of honor. Why could he never cross that chalk line? It was because he gave his word. Consider this: If you drew that chalk circle and gave your word not to cross that line, would people trust you? Would they really believe you were not going to cross that line? Or would you cross that chalk line as soon as you saw some people playing your favorite sport just across the courtyard from where you’re standing in your chalk circle? After all, it’s just a line drawn on the ground. Or do your good name and your honor mean more to you than that?
Believe it or not, we can find a wonderful example of honor in a very wicked man in the Book of Mormon. When Captain Moroni and his army have Zarahemnah and the Lamanite army surrounded, Moroni tells Zarahemnah that they must surrender their weapons and give an oath that they will not come against the Nephites in battle again. The other choice that Moroni presents is for the Lamanite army to be slain. Pay attention closely to Zarahemnah’s response: “And now it came to pass that when Zerahemnah had heard these sayings he came forth and delivered up his sword and his cimeter, and his bow into the hands of Moroni, and said unto him: Behold, here are our weapons of war; we will deliver them up unto you, but we will not suffer ourselves to take an oath unto you, which we know that we shall break, and also our children” (Alma 44:8). Zarahemnah, this very wicked man, would not give his word because he knew he was not going to keep it!
I hope that each of us can take this lesson from Zarahemnah, from Karl G. Maeser, from that girl dressed modestly as she jogs, from the student who refuses to cheat, and from my friend Joe who had nothing in this world but his horse and his word. Betraying your word is betraying your honor. Keep your word to keep your honor.
