Comments on: Be Honest With Yourself: The Background

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 19:50:00 +0000

Welcome to Keepa, Ken. All the posters and commentary are posted here (go to the “Topical Guide” link in the upper left-hand corner of this screen, then use your browser search to find “Be Honest With Yourself” [no quotation marks] You’ll find links to all the posters). If there are particular images that you want for your history, let me know and I’ll send you scans.

By: Ken Monson

Ken Monson — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 19:03:48 +0000

Thanks for giving this history of the BHWY posters. This is my first visit to your website, and my first time to post online. I was thinking about things that shaped my life while working on my personal history and searched hoping to find some of these posters. Each card had a message on the back that gave food for thought about the scene in the poster. I was hoping to read some of these messages on the back because the campaign, especially the “Be Honest With Yourself” and “Know The Truth” taglines, had a profound effect on me. These messages convinced me that being honest, especially with yourself, was an important key to peace and happiness in life. Perhaps the packaging is more sophisticated today, but the simple truths of the messages are the same.

By: Diana Kilbourn Yates

Diana Kilbourn Yates — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 03:58:59 +0000

Hello!

I am Dale Kilbourn’s daughter. How delightful it was to find your blog, and the discussion of the BHWY ads/cards. My dad worked on them before I was born, but many of the cards feature my older brothers and sisters. Dad did artwork for the church for almost 50 years, and it is so nice to see that people still remember him. He will turn 83 next month, and still does some artwork for family and friends. I am immensely proud of him, and it’s great that others appreciate his work, too!

By: Connie

Connie — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 04:09:58 +0000

Does anyone have sheet music on Be Honest with Yourself

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 16:29:32 +0000

I just made a scan of the booklet Rachelle identifies. No promises as to when it will be up, but it looks like the kind of thing that would be interesting to post here a chapter at a time.

By: Rachelle

Rachelle — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 15:41:10 +0000

I have my mother’s booklet. It is 104 pages, light green with Red writing and a drawing of a girl on the cover and is from the YMMIA, 3rd edition, revised 1956, written by Angelyn W. Wadley.

It has 10 chapters: Hello You, The Present Reflects the Past, The Star of Your Own Romance, Can You Manage Your Emotions?, Can You Face Life Squarely?, Do You Have Growing Pains?, Personality for Popularity, What About Dating?, Can You Say No? and A Source of Help and Inspiration.
Sound familiar?

By: Janice W

Janice W — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:21:20 +0000

I too remember and love those posters and cards. I still have them in my memory box. I loved the little ring bound booklet of small talks by church leaders of that time. Perhaps it was only my stake or ward that did that? Does anyone remember the “Be The Girl Of Your Dreams” small booklet of that same era? It may have been Sunday School, but I believe it was Young Women’s. I have lost my copy that I saved for so many years. Would sure appreciate some info regarding it.

By: Margie D

Margie D — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 00:22:38 +0000

I still have many of these “Be Honest with Yourself” cards. The campaign continued with “Know the Truth/Keep the Faith” and “Get the facts/Keep the Faith.” I found your article by searching “Be Honest with Yourself.”

By: J. Paul

J. Paul — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 18:15:35 +0000

I remember the ‘Mormonad’ posters with a wide variety of messages but that was further down the evolutionary chain. Is there a “missing link” from the fairly recent Mormon ads back to this campaign?

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 17:04:36 +0000

All is well! I have enjoyed everybody’s comments and their recognition of the intent, and even the execution, of this campaign.

I was afraid, I suppose, that because these came from the same era as the corny hygiene films that some of us remember from P.E. classes, as well as “Leave It to Beaver” and the “duck and cover” campaigns to protect school kids from total thermonuclear war by the shield of what must have been magical elementary school desks, that we would automatically think this campaign was just as simplistic.

But comments show otherwise, for which I’m grateful.