I’ve been considering the topic of “truth” on a frequent basis for quite some time, now. It is increasingly clear to me that the truth is something one must never take for granted. In this article, I hope to explore how one can evaluate whether the truth exists in our daily encounters with the outside world, and also in our personal and spiritual-based relationships.
It is very disturbing for me to see the definition of truth become so degraded and diluted in our modern society. The declination of truth has been a long and steady process which has its roots in the earliest recorded scriptures. It is not a great leap to realize that this process is occurring at a nearly blinding pace today, with the advent of social media and other forms of instant communication. We need to be ever more vigilant in divining what is actually true and what is false.
Truth is the conformity to fact or actuality. Truth can be proven and should be adhered to. The absence of truth in a given situation should be a clear warning that one is about to make some possibly grave mistake if we fall in with what is being presented in such a situation. It is easy for people to create their own version of the truth when they believe it is expedient to go along with whatever is popular at the time. If something is proven to be untruthful, or a lie, we must fall back on the scriptures to give us the confidence we need to resist those who are being untruthful, or are lying.
The application of what has become considered to be the truth is, in many instances, a collection of selected beliefs which promotes or glorifies the individual or a group of people. This modern application of what passes for the truth does not glorify God in all too many instances. Truth stands the test of time because it is of God and not of Satan.
Ether very directly addresses what I’m trying to explain here. In Ether 3:100:
“And it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, which is the father of all lies; even that same liar which beguiled our first parents;”
A further explanation can be found in John 8:44:
“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”
These scriptures amplify the absolute need which each of us has in being able to reliably discern what is true and what is not. When we communicate something which is not totally true, we are disavowing the plain and precious things which we have been taught, in favor of taking a possibly easier road of not owning up to what we know is correct. This is never the correct decision to make. We cannot go wrong in telling the truth at all times. It is what is expected of each one of us!
