What is good?

It's interesting to see what people's definitions of good are.  We use this word or one of it's many synonyms  on a regular basis and I don't think we stop to think about what it means.
Without getting very philosophical I'm going to offer up two definitions which I think are two ways of saying the same thing.
Definition one
Good is what we call the things that lead to the outcomes we want.  You may read that and think, "huh?"  Here's an example, I want to have a brightly colored room.  I go shopping for paints, and I see a very dark, rich green color, and say, "That's a bad color."  I see a bright cheery yellow and say, "that's a good color." That yellow is good because it leads to the outcome you want.
Definition two

From the Bible in Matthew chapter 7 we read:

  11 If ye then, ^abeing evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

  12 Therefore all things ^awhatsoever ye would that ^bmen should ^cdo to you, ^ddo ye even so to them: for this is the ^elaw and the prophets.

  13 ¶ Enter ye in at the ^astrait ^bgate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to ^cdestruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

  14 Because ^astrait is the ^bgate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto ^clife, and few there be that find it.

  15 ¶ Beware of ^afalse prophets, which come to you in ^bsheep’s clothing, but ^cinwardly they are ravening ^dwolves.

  16 Ye shall ^aknow them by their ^bfruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

  17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth ^agood ^bfruit; but a ^ccorrupt tree bringeth forth ^devil fruit.

  18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

  19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good ^afruit is ^bhewn down, and cast into the fire.

From the Book of Moroni (in the Book of Mormon) chapter 7 verse 13 we read:

12 Wherefore, all things which are ^agood cometh of God; and that which is ^bevil cometh of the devil; for the devil is an enemy unto God, and fighteth against him continually, and inviteth and enticeth to ^csin, and to do that which is evil continually.

  13 But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do ^agood continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and ^benticeth to do ^cgood, and to love God, and to serve him, is ^dinspired of God.

  14 Wherefore, take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is ^aevil to be of God, or that which is good and of God to be of the devil.

  15 For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to ^ajudge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night.

  16 For behold, the ^aSpirit of Christ is given to every ^bman, that he may ^cknow good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.

  17 But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do ^aevil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.

Boiled down to it's core both of these passages say the same thing: what is good is what takes you toward God, what is bad takes you away from Him.

I find these two things very compatible, or more precisely I'm saying that for me, good is what leads to God.  So when someone says something is good, ask yourself, what does that mean?  What is good for? Or more literally what does it lead to?

One of the most important skills we can gain and refine in this life is the ability to tell which of our many small actions, attitudes, choices, values, and activities will lead us to what we want.  What do you want? What are you moving toward in your life?

Today I made some bad choices because they led me away from God, because they led me away from what I wanted to achieve, and of course I made some good choices too.  It is rare indeed when we can say that all of one choice or activity is purely good or bad.  Now given this way of understanding good or bad, can anyone be a "bad person" in this definition?  No, instead you have to say what you mean by good, and then say that a persons actions were either good or bad.  You can say that perhaps that person sets a bad example for what you want  in your life, but to say that person is bad, just doesn't make sense.

So I ask you again: what do you want in your life and are the things you do each day leading towards them?  I am not evangelizing here, though if that is a side effect, I'm happy for it.  Decide what you want.  Not what someone told you that you should want, not what you grew up thinking you want, what do you really want?  If you're not sure, examine your heart.  If you've ever prayed or currently do pray, then pray and ask for guidance, and listen for the answer in your heart.  Decide what it is you want and then you know what is good for you.  Then you can begin to gain mastery in that skill, seeing how what we do each day is either good or bad.  You will be surprised though that with reflection you can turn something that is bad into something that is good, usually because you've then learned something about what that thing led you to, and in the future you can make different choices.