What is truth?

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Sunday Morning Session of the April 1978 Conference.

Sam and I were talking this week about how sometimes, living in a world where we can access information so easily, we start to feel like we can know more than we really can know. We've gotten used to being able to use the internet to support our side of an argument, find out a name we've forgotten, learn some needed skill. And it's easy to start assuming everything can be learned that way.

But it can't, of course. Some truth only comes through the spirit, through connection with God, and through an investment of time and effort and self. Some truth is too big for us to fully comprehend. Some is only comprehensible as we purify ourselves to receive it.

And there is another danger, too, as we become aware of how truth and untruth are mingled in our world. If we see too much "fake news," we might go to the other extreme and start to doubt that one can discern between truth and error at all. Probably we are all more susceptible to misinformation than we like to think. We can all be fooled, especially when "evidence" mirrors what we want to believe anyway. But it is a mistake to conclude, as some world-weary sorts do, that because of this, truth is unknown and unknowable.

That's how I imagine Pilate as he talked with Jesus. Cynical, weary, and slightly smug—sure that he was wiser than those wild-eyed fanatics who would follow anyone charismatic enough to stand out in a crowd. And sure that to his slightly derisive question "What is truth?" there could not be a satisfactory answer. But, as this talk by Elder John H. Vandenberg reminded me, Pilate was wrong:

With the question “What is truth?” Pilate left Jesus standing alone, without granting Him the courtesy of reply. One wonders why. Such action leads one to believe that Pilate feared the truth, perhaps as others might fear it—not being willing to face up to it, not wishing to take upon themselves the discipline and responsibility demanded by truth. 

Jesus said, “Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.” Those who are “of the truth” are those who sincerely seek after it. All of mankind should be seekers after truth for it is the supreme essence of their lives.

Truth does exist, and we can find it. Not easily, always, and not without sacrifice—but truth is there for those who are humble and diligent enough to ask God for His help to reveal it.

Elder Vandenberg quotes Francis Bacon as saying that

…the belief of truth, which is the enjoying of it, is the sovereign good of human nature.

"The belief of truth…is the enjoying of it." I love that because it reminds me that my search for truth isn't some esoteric quest for arcane knowledge that no one will ever use. It's something that makes a difference. It's not just useful to find truth, it's essential—because whatever true principles I can learn and apply will transform my life into something better and more joyful than it could ever be without those truths in it. 

Truths like "Loving your enemies brings you closer to God" and "He who loseth his life shall find it" aren't the sort of truths I could easily discover myself. They aren't taught by our world, and they are in many ways counterintuitive to my nature. But by coming to Jesus Christ, the ultimate Truth, I can learn such things. And knowing them gives me the ability to choose happiness, whenever I want it!  I can't think of a better gift from God.

Other posts in this series:

• Classic Scriptures That Hold a Message of Truth by Jan Tolman