Truth.
What is it?
How do we obtain and hold onto it?
In our crazily confused world where truth is considered entirely relative and where many debunk and discount absolute truths, I am increasingly appreciative of the Lord’s reflective definition of truth.
He declared:
“And truth is knowledge of things
as they are,
and as they were,
and as they are to come…”
(Doctrine & Covenants 93:24)
As they are.
As they were.
As they are to come.
This is a panoramic view of truth, encompassing the present, the past, and the future. Since God is all knowing and works within the timeframe of the sphere where He resides, it is thrilling to know that truth spans and encompasses the past, present, and future.
I especially appreciate the word knowledge in this verse. Knowledge of present things as they really are, knowledge of past things as they really were, and knowledge of futuristic things as they really will be – this is what constitutes truth.
I appreciate so much my knowledge of things in the past, namely my pre-earth beginning with God, the stepping forward of Jesus, Father’s selection of Him to be our Redeemer, and my knowledge of and understanding (though incomplete, sufficient for its purposes) of both my first and second estates.
This is empowering doctrine!
To know from where I came – my first habitation!
And then to know that I have a purpose; it’s not just restless wandering or purposeless sojourning here on earth.
Life has meaning. I have something to do, something to become.
And there is something yet to be!
Revelations speak of it. Prophets assure it.
And it all feels right – this circle of truth. Our knowledge of it – though limited – assures us it is indeed true. It comes from the Divine; it is divine. Those who will not seek this knowledge or who will not believe it do not come in possession of absolute truth. They will not regard it or believe it. It is there of course, but they will not accept it, because they invalidate and discredit knowledge of the past, present, and/or future.
“The greatest achievement mankind can make in this world,” said Elder Richard G. Scott, “is to familiarize themselves with divine truth, so thoroughly, so perfectly, that the example or conduct of no creature living in the world can ever turn them away from the knowledge that they have obtained.”
So thoroughly.
So perfectly.
So that nothing of this world can dissuade.
Assurance won through knowledge. The Spirit-to-spirit kind being the most instructive and lasting. It is imperative that we learn divine truth through the Divine’s messenger, the Holy Spirit.
So how to obtain, cherish and grow truth?
Elder Scott admonished believers to take a five-fold approach with divine truth. Speaking of knowledge, he said as it “unfolds,” it must be “understood, valued, obeyed, remembered, and expanded.” (Scott, R. “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge,” October 1993)
Understood:
In my experience, truth is best understood when received from the Holy Spirit. Since that kind of communication comes from a god and is to spirit from Spirit, it is the purest form of truth. Sometimes this kind of truth is unexplainable to another but understood in full by the recipient.
Elder Scott taught that when we encounter elements of truth, we must “carefully examine it…ponder it; inspect it inside out. Study it from every vantage point to discover hidden meaning…Prayerful reflection yields further understanding…” (Scott, R., “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge,” October 1993).
I love this pattern that makes room for meditative contemplation, for thorough examination, for scrutiny, digging, and asking. And then the capstone: prayerfully asking and reflecting for an increase in understanding.
One of my sisters and I were visiting on the phone today, and she shared with me a beautiful symbol associated with the big dipper seen on the exterior of the Salt Lake Temple (I believe it is also on the Washington, DC temple if I am not mistaken). One symbol perhaps is coming to the house of the Lord with a big dipper sized cup to learn. What we bring, He will fill. My sister said if we bring something small like a sacrament cup, that’s what gets filled; conversely, if we bring a large dipper, that is what will be filled. Loved this! (See Bryce Dunfold, You Tube/Temple Symbols).
The Lord wants us to seek to understand truth.
He has declared,
“…seek ye diligently and teach one another…
seek ye out of the best books
words of wisdom;
seek learning, even by study and also by faith.”
(Doctrine and Covenants 88:118)
I love that the process of understanding truth is welcomed and encouraged in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. That feels so beautifully right.
Valued:
Elder Scott connected valuing truth with expressing appreciation for it, “especially,” he said, “in heartfelt prayers of gratitude.” (Scott, R., “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge,” October 1993). When I read this, I tried to think of the last time I had expressed appreciation for truth in my prayers.
I couldn’t remember.
Something to change, effective immediately.
I love that valuing truth is being grateful for truth. That feels so beautifully right.
I am reminded of a really fantastic talk given by Burton Howard in the April 2003 General Conference. He spoke of eternal marriage and what he had come to understand that he said his wife knew many years prior. He’s worth quoting. Speaking of his wife and their beginning marriage, he said:
“We started as poor college students, but her vision for our marriage was exemplified by a set of silverware. As is common today, when we married she registered with a local department store. Instead of listing all the pots and pans and appliances we needed and hoped to receive, she chose another course. She asked for silverware. She chose a pattern and the number of place settings and listed knives, forks, and spoons on the wedding registry and nothing else. No towels, no toasters, no television—just knives, forks, and spoons.
The wedding came and went. Our friends and our parents’ friends gave gifts. We departed for a brief honeymoon and decided to open the presents when we returned. When we did so, we were shocked. There was not a single knife or fork in the lot. We joked about it and went on with our lives.
Two children came along while we were in law school. We had no money to spare. But when my wife worked as a part-time election judge or when someone gave her a few dollars for her birthday, she would quietly set it aside, and when she had enough she would go to town to buy a fork or a spoon. It took us several years to accumulate enough pieces to use them. When we finally had service for four, we began to invite some of our friends for dinner.
Before they came, we would have a little discussion in the kitchen. Which utensils would we use, the battered and mismatched stainless or the special silverware? In those early days I would often vote for the stainless. It was easier. You could just throw it in the dishwasher after the meal, and it took care of itself. The silver, on the other hand, was a lot of work. My wife had it hidden away under the bed where it could not be found easily by a burglar. She had insisted that I buy a tarnish-free cloth to wrap it in. Each piece was in a separate pocket, and it was no easy task to assemble all the pieces. When the silver was used, it had to be hand washed and dried so that it would not spot, and put back in the pockets so it would not tarnish, and wrapped up and carefully hidden again so it would not get stolen. If any tarnish was discovered, I was sent to buy silver polish, and together we carefully rubbed the stains away.
Over the years we added to the set, and I watched with amazement how she cared for the silver. My wife was never one to get angry easily. However, I remember the day when one of our children somehow got hold of one of the silver forks and wanted to use it to dig up the backyard. That attempt was met with a fiery glare and a warning not to even think about it. Ever!
I noticed that the silverware never went to the many ward dinners she cooked, or never accompanied the many meals she made and sent to others who were sick or needy. It never went on picnics and never went camping. In fact it never went anywhere; and, as time went by, it didn’t even come to the table very often. Some of our friends were weighed in the balance, found wanting, and didn’t even know it. They got the stainless when they came to dinner.
The time came when we were called to go on a mission. I arrived home one day and was told that I had to rent a safe-deposit box for the silver. She didn’t want to take it with us. She didn’t want to leave it behind. And she didn’t want to lose it.
For years I thought she was just a little bit eccentric, and then one day I realized that she had known for a long time something that I was just beginning to understand. If you want something to last forever, you treat it differently. You shield it and protect it. You never abuse it. You don’t expose it to the elements. You don’t make it common or ordinary. If it ever becomes tarnished, you lovingly polish it until it gleams like new. It becomes special because you have made it so, and it grows more beautiful and precious as time goes by…” (Howard Burton, “Eternal Marriage,” April 2003 General Conference).
This is precious marriage advice, but I like the application to truth, too.
“If you want something to last forever, you treat it differently.”
If we want to hold onto the truth we have, we treat it special. We value it. We polish it when we find it blemished. We defend it. We keep it in its rightful place. We give it place in our hearts to grow and do its beautiful work in us.
I love that valuing truth means treating it differently. That feel so beautifully right.
Obeyed:
Elder Scott said it so well: “Obedient application of truth is the surest way of making it eternally yours. The wise use of knowledge will permeate your life with its precious fruit.” (Scott, R., “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge,” October 1993).
I don’t know how to say it any better.
That’s been my experience, too.
And the fruit – absolutely precious as he said it would be.
I love that obeying truth gives us claim upon truth. That feels so beautifully right.
Remembered:
Brigham Young declared something interesting when he said, “If you love the truth, you can remember it.” (Discourses of Brigham Young, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1954). I remember my mom telling me that years ago when I was young, and I was, for many years, exactly unsure what it fully meant, but I’ve seen over the years that I do, in fact, remember things that are important to me.
I love that loving truth is the means to remembering truth. That feels so beautifully right.
Expanded:
Elder Scott wisely counseled us to “use the scriptures and the declarations of the prophets to expand [our] knowledge.” (Scott, R., “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge,” October 1993). Moreover, he admonished us to share our knowledge and promised us that as we did so, we would be “rewarded with more understanding” that he called “additional light.” (Scott, R., “Acquiring Spiritual Knowledge,” October 1993). Who among us would not welcome that in our day of considerable spiritual darkness and unmatched confusion? I feel this when I participate in fast and testimony meetings. As I share, my own reserves are enlarged.
I love that expanding truth means sharing our knowledge. That feels so beautifully right.
Unto all the world: May we seek divine truth and hold onto it through the mediums of understanding, valuing, obeying, remembering, and expanding.