Honesty as a Cornerstone
Neil Mufson

Why is honesty, the PDS value for October, one of the initial concepts we focus on during our year-long focus on character? Because, along with kindness, it is so closely aligned to trust, which stands at the root of almost all meaningful, positive, satisfying, harmonious, and productive human relationships. Also, even our youngest children can understand many of the ins and outs of truthfulness, which is an essential building block of integrity, the broader value we seek to instill.

Plato put it this way: “Truth is the beginning of every good thing… and he who would be blessed and happy should be from the first a partaker of truth, for then he can be trusted.” Mark Twain put it far more practically: “If you tell the truth, then you don’t have to remember anything.”

What both Plato and Twain point to are some of the fundamental verities about honesty that can resonate with Primary Day children, particularly with the benefit of clear adult guidance. Why be truthful even if it can sometimes be very difficult and even a little scary? It’s the right thing. It feels better. It’s less complicated. It often softens consequences and hastens forgiveness. It builds trust. In short, it makes good things more possible.

Contrast all of this with the model we seemingly so consistently see in public life, where saying something repeatedly stands in for truth; where dishonesty and the opposite of kindness have shattered the public trust; and where lies of supposed leaders imperil lives, endanger our planet, and jeopardize justice. We clearly want our children to inherit a better world. But we also want them to develop the power to change it. So we start with kindness and honesty, then gratitude and patience, cornerstones to strong individuals, stronger relationships, and a stronger world.