Mormon Musings

If any man has a truth that we have not got, we say, "Let us have it." I am willing to exchange all the errors and false notions I have for one truth, and should consider that I had made a good bargain. We are not afraid of light and truth. Our religion embraces every truth in heaven, earth or hell; it embraces all truth, the whole Gospel and plan of salvation, and the fulfillment of the whole volume of revelation that God has ever given.  Wilford Woodruff (Journal of Discourses 18:117)  

If I seem mankind to be an error, shall I bear them down? No, I will lift them up and in their own way too, if I cannot persuade them my way is better, and I will not seek to compel any man to believe as I do, only by force of reasoning, for truth will cut its own way. Joseph Smith

"This I count one of the greatest blessings that God has given to the children of men, to have the plain truth pointed out to them. You look at the religions of the day, and see their confusion and the mystery that hangs around them: you may present the truth to them as plainly as you can, and so simply that an intelligent child might understand, and still they cannot comprehend it. You ask a man among them about the character of God, and about his attributes, and what can he tell you? They will preach about God, about the Son, and the Holy Ghost, long sermons, to prove that those three personages are one; and when they get through, they know nothing about it, and conclude it is a great mystery. Where is the man or woman that comprehended anything about God or about eternity until Joseph Smith revealed the fulness of the Gospel? I could read of those things in the Bible which we now believe in and receive; but I was surrounded by the traditions of the world and could not comprehen...

Search the Scriptures and ask your Heavenly Father, in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, to manifest the truth unto you;...you will then know for yourselves and not for another.  You will not then be dependent on man for the knowledge of God; nor will there by any room for speculation.  Joseph Smith

 “Is every Christian expected to bear witness? A man content to bear no witness to the truth is not of the Kingdom of Heaven. One who believes must bear witness. One who sees the truth, must live witnessing to it. Is our life, then, a witnessing to the truth? Do we carry ourselves in [the] bank, on [the] farm, in [the] house or shop, in [the] study or chamber or workshop, as the Lord would, or as the Lord would not? Are we careful to be true?... When contempt is cast on the truth, do we smile? Wronged in our presence, do we make no sign that we hold by it? I do not say we are called upon to dispute, and defend with logic and argument, but we are called upon to show that we are on the other side… The soul that loves the truth and tries to be true, will know when to speak and when to be silent; but the true man will never look as if he did not care. We are not bound to say all we think, but we are bound not even to look [like] we what we do not think.”  George MacDonald

 

The truth of God refers to the core truths that underlie His plan of happiness for His children. These truths are that God lives; that He is the Heavenly Father of our spirits; that as a manifestation of His love, He has given us commandments that lead to a fulness of joy with Him; that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and our Redeemer; that He suffered and died to atone for sins on condition of our repentance; that He rose from the dead, bringing to pass the Resurrection of all humankind; and that we will all stand before Him to be judged, that is, to account for our lives. 18 Alma 33:22 22 ... cast about your eyes and  begin  to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to  atone  for their sins; and that he shall  rise  again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the  resurrection , that all men shall stand before him, to be  judged  at the last and judgment day, according to ...

The earth is spherical. If all the . . . people in the world think it flat, they are in error. That is an absolute truth, and all the arguing in the world will not change it. . . . God, our Heavenly Father, . . . lives. That is an absolute truth. All . . . the children of men on the earth might be ignorant of him and his attributes and his powers, but he still lives. All the people on the earth might deny him and disbelieve, but he lives in spite of them. They may have their own opinions, but he still lives, and his form, powers, and attributes do not change according to men’s opinions. In short, opinion alone has no power in the matter of an absolute truth. Spencer W. Kimball, “First Presidency Message: Absolute Truth,” Ensign, September 1978.

  It seems to be a trait of humanity to assume that we are right even when we are wrong. And if that is the case, what hope is there for any of us? Are we destined to drift aimlessly on an ocean of conflicting information, stranded on a raft we have poorly pieced together from our own biases? Is it possible to find truth? The purpose of my remarks is to proclaim the joyful message that God Himself—the Lord of Hosts who knows all truth—has given His children the promise that they can know truth for themselves. Please consider the magnitude of this promise: The Everlasting and Almighty God, the Creator of this vast universe, will speak to those who approach Him with a sincere heart and real intent. He will speak to them in dreams, visions, thoughts, and feelings. He will speak in a way that is unmistakable and that transcends human experience. He will give them divine direction and answers for their personal lives. Of course, there will be those who scoff and say such a thing is im...

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/lawrence-corbridge_stand-for-ever/

It would be unwise, of course, for the Church to tie itself to the provisional truths of science at any point in science's unfolding history. Ultimately, scientific truth will align with divinely revealed truth; meanwhile we can applaud genuine scientific advances, noting them without depending overly much upon them.  (Elder Neal A. .Maxwell, Men and Women of Christ, pp. 91-92.)

“Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it.” (Leo Tolstoy, A Confession) 

"For what if some did not believe? Shall their  unbelief  make the faith of God without effect?" Romans 3:3 Truth, like God, is unchangeable, and cannot be controverted. Darkness flees before it, and error hides its head wherever it appears. John Taylor, Journal of Discourses  5:148

"Man was also in the beginning with God.  Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be.  All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence." D&C 93:29-30

"... by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  ye  may  know  the  truth  of  all  things." Moroni 10:5

...truth can never be confirm'd enough.   Though doubts did ever sleep. Shakespeare, Pericles, Prince of Tyre (Act 5, Scene 1)

Truth, like God, is unchangeable, and cannot be controverted. Darkness flees before it, and error hides its head wherever it appears. John Taylor 5:148

No nation possesses any wisdom but what it has received from the same God that we worship. He is the best mechanic and the most scientific personage that we have any knowledge of. There is not a principle in astronomy, known by men of science, but what has been revealed from Heaven.  All true knowledge among men, in relation to agriculture, the arts, the science, commerce, and every vocation of life, has been given from our Father in Heaven to His children, whether they acknowledge and obey Him or not. Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses 8:278

It was never the intention of our Father in heaven to leave men to grope and feel their way in darkness and that without any light to guide them, and expect them under such conditions to find their way back into his kingdom and into his holy presence. That is not the way of the Lord. All down the ages from the beginning our Father in heaven has shown his kindness for his children and has been willing to give them direction. From the earliest times the heavens have been opened, the Lord has sent messengers from his presence to divinely appointed servants, men holding the authority of the priesthood who have been commissioned to teach the principles of the Gospel, to warn the people and teach them righteousness; and these men have received this knowledge, this inspiration and guidance from these messengers from the presence of God. This is true of our own dispensation. There is no need for men to shut their eyes and feel that there is no light only as they may depend upon their reason, f...

36  The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.   37  Light and truth forsake the evil one.   D&C 93:36-37