I am an outgoing and forthright kind of person. I speak with people in a very straightforward manner; whatever I want to say, I say it—I’m not the type to beat around the bush. In my interactions with others I tend to be a pretty straight shooter. I’m often cheated or ridiculed for placing trust in others too easily. This is often very distressing for me. After believing in God, I read in His words that God loves those who are simple and honest. I thought to myself: God wants honest people; in the past while out in the world, my guilelessness put me at a disadvantage and made me vulnerable to the bullying by others, but now in the church I no longer need to fret over being too guileless. Since then, I felt especially comforted when I read
God’s words saying that only the honest shall receive God’s salvation. I thought of myself as an honest person, and that attaining God’s
salvation wouldn’t be an issue. When I saw how distressed my brothers and sisters had become as they began to recognize their deceitful nature but they were unable to change it and couldn’t be in accord with God’s will, I felt even more relieved that, being innately honest, I wouldn’t have to go through all of that. One day, however, after receiving the enlightenment of God’s words, I finally realized I wasn’t an honest person.