Recently a friend posed the question, “What defines a lovely character?” In my pondering I started googling and found the following on appleseeds.org:
The world needs men and women. . .
who cannot be bought;
whose word is their bond;
who put character above wealth;
who possess opinions and a strong will;
who are larger than their vocations;
who do not hesitate to take risks;
who will not lose their individuality in a crowd;
who will be as honest in small affairs as in greater;
who will make no compromise with wrong;
whose ambitions are not confined to their own selfish desires;
who will not say they do it "because everybody else does it;"
who are true to their friends through good and bad,
in adversity as well as in prosperity;
who do not believe that shrewdness, cunning,
and hardheadedness are the best qualities
for winning success;
who are not ashamed or afraid to stand for the truth
when it is unpopular;
who can say "no" with emphasis, although all the rest
of the world says "yes." Unknown
Sounds like a good measuring stick of character to me, the Mama B.
Elder Boyd K. Packer, in the October 2010 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints gave a speech entitled Cleansing the Inner Vessel. There has been a huge uproar regarding these remarks by a very loud minority. They have taken offense because there is no room in his remarks for their actions to be justified. President Packer has taken a stand. He is like that man standing alone on the lighthouse with the stormy seas swirling around him. 
