Not long ago I watched the movie "Dances With Wolves". There is one part that I will not forget. To give you a little background, "Dances With Wolves" is the name given to the main character in the story, Kevin Costner, by the Indian tribe, because they saw him playing with a wolf who had befriended him. These Indians knew little about the white man, except they were taking over their land and killing their buffalo. The main Indian character (Who by the way was nominated for an academy award as best supporting actor) was wonderful. You knew the first time you saw him on the screen that he was a good man, and a deep thinker. Later you find that he is the Holy Man. Well, Dances with Wolves knew that this tribe was preparing for an inevitable war against their enemy tribe, who was very evil and bloodthirsty. He told the Holy Man that he wanted to help them, and give them some guns and ammunition. The Holy Man said, "Why would you want to make war with these Indians, do you have a reason? And Dances with Wolves said, You are my friends, you have helped me and I can help you.

As they sat out under the stars, the Holy Man became very quiet and didn't say anything for a while. Then he said, (and this is the part I like) "I was just thinking of all the trails in this life, ... there is one that matters most." And he paused again. "It is a trail of a true human being." And he paused again. Then he turned to Dances with Wolves and said, 'I think you are on this trail, and it is good to see."

What is that trail that matters most, the trail of a true human being? I think it is Integrity.

I want to tell you a story, a true story. When I was a little older than some of you girls I was attending BYU and my brother, a year younger than I am was attending the technical college at Provo. We were close, in fact my boyfriend was a good friend of his and his girlfriend was a good friend of mine. I had an old car and he had asked me to take him to run some errands one afternoon. We did some shopping and as we were getting ready to go home, he remembered he needed a latch for a box he was making for his girlfriend for Christmas. I told him I would wait for him in the car, while he ran into the hardware store to get it. Well, I waited and waited and he didn't come back. Now I knew that it was close to Christmas and there were probably long lines, but this was ridiculous! And he knew I was in a hurry to get home to study. I waited, and waited and he still didn't come! Finally, there was a knock on my car window, and I turned around and there was my brother, being escorted by two uniformed policemen. They told me that he had been caught shoplifting and they were taking him to the police station, and I could come there and pick him up in a few hours. That was a long few hours for me, as I'm sure it was for him. I went home to my apartment, my roommates could tell something was wrong, and I was very close to some of them, but I couldn't tell a soul what had happened. They knew my brother and I thought he would be devastated and I was devastated. A lot of things went through my mind, I thought of excuses like, if it hadn't been so busy, and if I hadn't been in a hurry he would never have done it. And I was kicking myself for not going in with him, because then he would never have done it.

Now I want to depart from the story a bit. Was my brother on this trail of a true human being? From everything I knew he had been a wonderful, caring, honest boy from the day he was born. But I knew that in the past couple of years he had been sowing his oats, maybe trying to find himself. And in the process, he was rebelling a little about whether he would go on a mission. He would argue with my parents, which he never used to do And he wasn't attending seminary or church regularly.

When I look back, I believe he had lost his way a little, and was not on that trail. If he had been, he wouldn't have taken something that didn't belong to him under any circumstances. It wouldn't have mattered that the store would only be out 89 cents, or that the lines were too long, or that his sister was impatiently waiting for him.

Now back to the story. Because the store pressed charges my brother from that day had a police record. He was put on probation, not for weeks or months but for years, he was assigned a probation officer, who he had to check in with often, and I think he had to do some work for the city. For my birthday that year, which was a week after Christmas, my brother gave me this box. He had been making one for his girlfriend and one for me.

Well, I personally think that was kind of a turning point for him. He did go on a mission, was married in the temple, and now I don't know anyone who is more honest and has more integrity than my brother. His wife told me not long ago that to this day whenever he has to fill out a job application, there is a question about whether you have ever had a police record. Even though I believe you can have a record like that removed in time, he always answers yes, because he would never lie about his past.

Now take a look at the characters in these skits, and think of some of the people in the Book of Mormon. You all know who was on this Trail of a true human being, who was never on the trail and who lost the trail, and then found it again.

My brother had a very dramatic experiene that helped him get back, and helped me realize the importance of integrity. Now I want you to think of the little everyday things that happen where we don't usually get caught. Are you firmly planted on this trail?

• Do you ever tell someone you will do something and then not follow through?
• Do you tell one friend one story and when you talk to another friend change it a little?
• Do you ever tell your parents or your teacher just half a truth instead of the whole?

I want to challenge you to get on this trail, and if you are doing what is right you have the Holy Ghost to help you and to remind you when you have a decision to make. I can't look at this box without getting a lump in my throat because of the lessons about integrity that were learned through this experience and I hope that sharing this can help you realize how extremely important it is to be true to your values and the things you believe in.

By Sally O Meservy