I come from a group of friends that kept hundreds of secrets from one another, this lead to a lot of confrontation and enemies being made. I believe that the truth should always be told, people shouldn't be left in the dark.
Many people might disagree with me, saying that sometimes the truth needs to be hidden to keep someone happy, but I believe the way someone finds out the truth is the issue, not the truth itself.
This why I will always be honest when it is required, but honesty requires a skill, sometimes just telling someone the truth will cause more damage, sometimes they need to find out for themselves. This is where the art of sugar-coating comes in, sometimes the best way to tell a harsh truth is by telling it in a toned down format, thereby limiting the shock and hurt.
I've seen many friendships torn apart because honesty was the last thing on their mind, I'd expect my friends to tell the truth and not leave me in the dark.
After all, if you can't be truthful with your friends, who can you tell the truth?

And yes, the truth may hurt sometimes, but I'd like to think that living in ignorance is far worse than living with a lie.