The scripture that I chose for the title of this blog [1] is one of my favorites, because it is full of hope! I feel hopeful about this scripture because I do have truth, or at least a great deal of truth. I don’t understand everything yet, but I am learning. While I learn more about the gospel, about the world, and about my relationship with Heavenly Father, I am freeing myself from the chains of ignorance and doubt. Heavenly Father wants his children to be free, to have the truth. He has provided so many sources of spiritual and temporal knowledge because if we are to be like Him some day, we must understand truth as well.
One of the greatest sources of truth that has been given to us is the Holy Ghost. The Spirit can bear witness to us of the truth of all things. As Jacob says, “the Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not” [2]. We can trust in spiritual promptings because the Holy Ghost cannot lead us astray. He can remind us of the things we’ve studied when we take a test at school, confirm the truth of the Book of Mormon to an investigator, or reassure a struggling member of his or her testimony of the gospel. I am so grateful for the gift of the Spirit, because he has strengthened my testimony of truth countless times in my life. I remember one morning I woke up very early and went outside to write in my journal and study the scriptures as the sun was rising. In those quiet moments, I prayed to have a witness that Joseph Smith was a true prophet, as I had been reading in Joseph Smith History that day. My prayer was answered with a peaceful, firm confirmation of the truth of his mission. I believe that I received that witness because I did as King Benjamin encouraged when he said to “open your ears that ye may hear, and your hearts that ye may understand, and your minds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded to your view” [3]. When we do the things that invite the Spirit into our lives, we open our minds to receive truth.
The world is full of people who claim to know the truth. But we know that while people of other faiths have some truth, they do not have the full truth. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the full truth. We also know that Christ’s truth may be different than man’s truth, because His truth is complete. The Hebrew word for “truth” is expressed in several different forms, but two variances of the word struck me as particularly meaningful. The first is “’amitt,” which means “Christ’s truth.” It is used to mean “thy truth,” or “His truth.” The other is the word “alethos,” which means “a truth” [4]. The definition “a truth,” seems to have less force and meaning to me, while an expression noting “Christ’s truth” is steadfast and immovable. It is holy. I feel like I can trust what Christ teaches us because His truth is complete and correct. Alma says that “the glory of the Only Begotten of the Father [is] full of grace, equity, and truth” [5]. We worship Christ and reverence His name because his glory is truth.
Not only is the truth of the gospel complete, it is endless. God’s words to His people were as applicable to the children of Israel as they are to us, and the standards that we live by will still be in place in the last days. Even in eternity, the truth will be the same. As Abinadi said, Christ “is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened” [6]. Light and truth are often synonymous in the scriptures, so this scripture is saying that Christ’s truth is endless. I am grateful to have truth that will be applicable in the eternities. It is comforting to know that when I study the scriptures and listen to the words of the prophets today, I am preparing for my future.
As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we are blessed to have important truths, but we also have a responsibility with those truths. First of all, we have a responsibility to seek out truth. Robert R. Steuer, a member of the seventy, said that “the light and truth we see in all things urges us to obtain knowledge by study and by faith” [7]. We have many ways to obtain this truth, through the scriptures, through prayer and spiritual revelation, and through the words of the living prophets. Second, we have a responsibility to live the values that we know to be correct. Alma remarks that if the people who had been blessed with light and knowledge had transgressed, it would have been worse than if the Lamanites, who did not have the truth, had transgressed [8]. This is because the Lord expects more from the people who understand the truth. Finally, we have a responsibility to share this truth with others. The gospel is spreading rapidly throughout the world because there are countless souls who are seeking for the truth. We must share the truth that we have with them.
I have a testimony of the truth of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that it is endless, eternal truth, and that it brings much hope and joy to the lives of those who follow it. I am so grateful for the gift of the Spirit, and for the truth that the Spirit reveals to us.
Works cited:
[1] (Title) John 8:32
[2] Jacob 4:13
[3] Mosiah 2:9
[4] LDS Scripture Concordance Program
[5] Alma 9:26
[6] Mosiah 16:9
[7] Robert R. Steuer, “The Power of Light and Truth,” Liahona, May 2008, 99–101
[8] Alma 9:23
The Holy Bible. King James text: LDS version. Salt Lake: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Book of Mormon. Salt Lake: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
7 comments:
Great blog, Lindsay! It's very well-rounded and well-thought. Thank you for sharing!
This is a great blog, I loved how you spoke of finding the truth about Joseph Smith for yourself. This kept me interested in reading futher the entire time.
this was very well written. this blog opened my mind to some new things. i like how you tie in the holy ghost to truth. good job!
I like that you mentioned that after we receive truth, we are obligated to share it. Your incorporation of personal experiences really enhanced the blog.
Lindsay,
I really loved how you connected the ideas of "freedom" to "truth". Your paper was very insightful, and helped me to understand that they more I know about the world around me and about God and his plan for each of us, the more free I am. Thank you!
I like the comments on how truth makes us free; it reminded me of something I had to study for my American Heritage class which said true liberty is freedom from sin. When we live the truth, then we won't sin and so we will be free! I also liked your comments on how the Spirit always will reveal truth to us. Thanks for a great blog!
Great blog Lindsay. I truly enjoyed reading your testimony. You did a very nice job of backing your thoughts up with scripture. I also liked how you said that the Spirit can bear witness to us of the truth of all things. Thank you for your thoughts.
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