Truth for most earth dwellers is an elusive and controversial concept. We all believe we have a piece of it, but very few think they have the whole of it. Truth is described in one discourse as, “What was, what is now, and what always will be.” Truth is eternal. Anything less than truth will be slippery and temporary, even though it may appear to be valid for those contemporary with it. Charles S. Deford, from the introduction to his 1931 book, in which he proves the world is flat, stated that “To me truth is precious…I should rather be right and stand alone than run with the multitude and be wrong… My views have already won for me the scorn and contempt and ridicule of some of my fellowmen. I am looked upon as being odd, strange, peculiar…but truth is truth, and though all the world reject it and turn against me, I will cling to truth still.” Obviously, the world must be flat! Alexander Greene posed the question; “What is the secret of eloquence, the standard of virtue, the basis of moral authority, the object of philosophy, the most formidable power on earth, the noblest expression of the human spirit, and beauty itself ? The answer, of course, is “truth.”
Thoreau said it was better than money, love or fame. The New Testament proclaims it the basis of personal freedom(John8:32). Schopenhauer observed that truth is first ridiculed, then violently oppressed, then accepted as self-evident.”
There are so many documented “worldly truths,” and there are an equal number of “Truth Sayers.” Where does one turn to, where can one travel to find the real “truth sayer”? As a young man, I recall listening to many stories of events and philosophies and thinking that what was being told to me was probably true. We are raised by our parents to believe certain things as truth as well. Looking back on many of those occurrences, with the knowledge base I currently have, I know that most all of them were half truths at best. Winston Churchill observed, “Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.” More accurately, men occasionally stumble over a “truth” and then hurry off before it has a chance to effect their belief system or modify their behavior. Grover Cleveland said, “I would rather the man who presents something for my consideration subject me to a zephyr of truth and a gentle breeze of responsibility rather than blow me down with a curtain of hot wind.”
It is interesting to know that what appears to be and is portrayed as a truth is quickly received by one and just as quickly rejected by another. What is it that constitutes a truth and just as interesting, is how does one evaluate it to know that it is a truth and, as such, it may have immense value? As described by Alexander Green (above), there are many kinds of truth—truths that pertain to various sciences, occupations, worldly pursuits. These are truths that are documented and truths that a group may abide by until they are supplanted by a new set of truths. Worldly truths are often transient or ever changing based on the whims of the group’s changing leadership. A modern day prophet has said, “We believe in all truth, no matter to what subject it may refer. No sect or religious denomination in the world possesses a single principle of truth that we do not accept or that we will reject. We are willing to receive all truth, from whatever source it may come; for truth will stand, truth will endure.” —President Joseph F. Smith
Scientific truths are experimentally based, while most other truths are witness based. Criminal trials, where a person’s life or punishment may be determined, are evidence and witness based. The witness is asked to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, so help him God. The testimony of witnesses will often seal the person’s fate, even though witness testimony usually varies significantly from witness to witness. The Lord made it clear that one witness should never condemn a man. “One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth, (but rather) at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.” (Deuteronomy 19:15) Speaking of truths of the spirit, we can all be blessed with truths based on our faith, as did Oliver Cowdrey, as described in the Doctrine and Covenants: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things. Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?” (D&C 6:22–23) I love some of the expressions in the scriptures such as, “Cast your mind upon the night…” I had a very spiritual experience, as well, when I first became acquainted with the Book of Mormon. If I, too, desire further witness I can “cast my mind upon the time” that I first read the Book of Mormon, and I cried unto the Lord in my heart that I might know the truth of it. He spoke peace to my mind, as well, regarding the matter of my concern. The Holy Ghost is the purveyor of all truth, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.” ( John 16:13) The Spirit of Truth is described in the following excerpt from a Gospel Doctrine Manual: “The office of the Holy Spirit is to enlighten the minds of the people with regard to the things of God, to convince them at the time of their conversion of their having done the will of the Father, and to be in them an abiding testimony as a companion through life, acting as the sure and safe guide into all truth and filling them day by day with joy and gladness, with a disposition to do good to all men, to suffer wrong rather than to do wrong, to be kind and merciful, long suffering and charitable. All who possess this inestimable gift, this pearl of great price, have a continual thirst after righteousness.
…Therefore it behooves the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to live pure and upright, in order that this Spirit may abide in them; for it is only possessed on the principle of righteousness. …It is the privilege of all alike to be made partakers of it.” (Gospel Doctrine, 50–51)
The power of discernment is a gift given to many and truth is a powerful guide in their lives. By living worthy of the Spirit of Truth, we too can be blessed to know the truth of all things. Primarily, the greatest truth of all, the truths of eternal life, the truths of our God.
I enjoyed the following story of misunderstanding between a man and his wife—what she thought was truth was his ignorance of her needs; “Tonight, I thought my husband was acting weird. We had made plans to meet at a nice restaurant for dinner. I was shopping with my friends all day long, so I thought he was upset at the fact that I was a bit late, but he made no comment on it. Conversation wasn’t flowing, so I suggested that we go somewhere quiet so we could talk. He agreed, but he didn’t say much. I asked him what was wrong; He said, ‘Nothing.’ I asked him if it was my fault that he was upset. He said he wasn’t upset, that it had nothing to do with me, and not to worry about it. On the way home, I told him that I loved him. He smiled slightly and kept driving. I can’t explain his behavior. I don’t know why he didn’t say, “I love you too.” When we got home, I felt as if I had lost him completely, as if he wanted nothing to do with me anymore. He just sat there quietly, and watched TV. He continued to seem distant and absent. Finally, with silence all around us, I decided to go to bed. About 15 minutes later, he came to bed. But I still felt that he was distracted, and his thoughts were somewhere else. He fell asleep—I cried. I don’t know what to do. I’m almost sure that his thoughts are with someone else. My life is a disaster.
His diary: Motorcycle won’t start…can’t figure out why. (Women might say—a typical man.)
Truth is a tricky concept at best, bright as shining gold, yet slippery as an eel’s coils. Attempts to subscribe it to scientific study have proven very unsatisfactory, almost comically so. There is a method we call science. I applaud it—to look, to investigate, to speculate and theorize, then to attempt proofs or, if no proof is forthcoming, to revise the theory and continue trying, in a spirit of humble enquiry.
But the idea of science as a body of knowledge called “the truth” is plain laughable. As I said in the first edition of this book, our view of the world is changing fast. A quarter of a century ago there were things that scientists were absolutely certain were true which, today, we are absolutely certain are not true…the reality is that science, as its own proponents define it, is a shifting quicksand of fashions and opinions, which regularly contradicts itself—often embarrassingly so. Even when we have the absolute truth, we need to challenge it on a regular basis. By doing so we keep alive its value to us. If we do not we become numb to its significance to us. The “truth” will make us and keep us free.