138. TRUTH vs. Information

In a world overflowing with information, discerning truth from error requires a combination of critical thinking, confirmations of truth and reliable sources.

We discuss a willing and seeking heart to come to a place to receive what the Lord truly has for us.

Books Referenced:

Letters to a Young Mormon By Adam Miller
Faith is not Blind By Bruce and Marie Hafen

Transcript

Hello and welcome to the Latter day Ladies podcast. I'm your host and your friend Jennie Moss, and today we are going to talk about exact words only.  Do you ever get overwhelmed by the amount of information that comes to your screen every single day?  I definitely do. And it can be hard sometimes to try to dig into something and really be able to decipher truth, especially when someone's giving a very compelling argument.

So strap in because we're going to have an awesome conversation today.  Hello, hello, hello.  Uh, this podcast came because I was laying on the couch trying to figure out what to speak about and  I have just like a million notes. I think it's in the eight hundreds of notes of podcast ideas, things that I've written down, studies that I've done.

And I go through and I pray and try to find something that feels like it's the right message to share. But tonight, I did not know what to do. My brain felt Empty and fuzzy and tired, and I said to Aaron, I can't do it.  And then I remembered,  Heavenly Father telling me in a blessing this week, Be very careful with the words you use to describe yourself.

And I was like, okay.  I feel like I can't do it. And Aaron was like, oh yeah, you feel like you can't do it. And he knew exactly what I was correcting myself for. And I said, yeah, I do feel that way.  But feelings aren't facts.  And I can do this.  And then I started to remember this conversation that it feels like we've been having for the last couple years.

And that is exact words only.  Truth is truth, nothing more or nothing less. And being able to understand those truths about God and understanding the gospel of Jesus Christ in context with truth, but also understanding those things about ourself is really important because our thoughts create our feelings and help inform our action.

So I'm trying to be better about speaking very, very carefully and speaking only truth. I love this quote from Joseph, Joseph Fielding Smith. He said this quote,  everyone should learn something new every day. You all have inquiring minds and are seeking truth in many fields. I sincerely hope your greatest search is in the realm of spiritual things, because it is there that we are able to gain salvation and make the progress that leads to eternal life in our Father's kingdom.

The most important knowledge in the world is gospel knowledge.  I thought about this concept of gospel knowledge and how important it is to our life yesterday when I was at the temple, um, thinking about how everything that I know in my personal life has been built upon the things that I've learned over the years.

From the gospel of Jesus Christ, and all of those truths have been built on when I received my endowment.  The three questions that are on every single person who has lived in this world's mind, Who am I?  Why am I here? And where am I going? Are all taught in such beautiful simplicity but also complexity  in and out of the temple.

And I'm so grateful that we have so many different witnesses helping us understand from every angle the answers to those three questions. So  in the context of our daily life, how do we discern The difference between truth and error. What tools do we have to help us in this quest of separating the two of them?

Because oftentimes they can look like each other, but they are not the same.  So the first thing is studying the word of God can help us recognize truth. I went through a phase. where I loved this one brand,  like, I loved it. And by a phase, I mean like two decades, I learned everything about this store by going in there, looking at all their goods, looking at the magazine, looking online, and because of all of the studying that I did of this brand, I understood the stitching and the style and the cuts that they chose.

And now when I go into any thrift store, I have this talent of just casually walking by and being able to pull this specific brand off of the rack every time. And even though styles have changed, I can still spot the silhouette and the fabrics. I know exactly what I'm looking for. And it's the same thing when we are studying the gospel.

If we can consistently spend time in our scriptures, we know how the spirit feels when we read truth. We know the patterns of the Lord and we can come to see Christ as the overarching message of the doctrine.  That repetition is how we can identify core doctrine because it's taught over and over in the canon, uh, Pure truth is not tucked away in an archive somewhere, but it's something that's been stated and restated, taught in various instances by the mouth of two or three or 20 witnesses. 

We also are given an incredible tool, which is the gift of the Holy Ghost, to be able to identify and then confirm truth.  Uh, I've had several instances where people I really trusted. said things that were  partially true, uh, misunderstood and just flat out false. And I was able to pray about those things and come to an understanding myself.

It can be really hard when we have someone that we trust, someone that we look up to who teaches us something that does not feel quite right. But we have the opportunity to really peel back all of the biases and ask specific questions to the Lord desiring for the answer and he will be able to verify to us what is true and what is assumption and what is a half truth and etc, etc.

Sometimes it takes a while to really identify what was false about what the claims were being said or the story that was being told. But um, I've noticed in my own experience that often context comes over time and you're able to understand, oh, okay, uh, this whole section was completely misunderstood for that interaction.

So that's been something that's been really helpful to me is being able to go and confirm with the spirit to know what is truly from God.  Elder Uchtdorf taught this in his iconic talk, What is Truth? He said this, quote, Satan is the great deceiver, the accuser of the brethren, the father of all lies, who continually seeks to deceive, that he might overthrow us.

For those who already embrace the truth, his primary strategy is to spread the seeds of doubt. For example, he has caused many members of the church to stumble when they discover information about the church that seems to contradict what they had previously learned.  If you experience such a moment, remember that in this age of information, there are many who create doubt about anything and everything at any time and every place.

It is always good to keep in mind that just because something is printed on paper, appears on the internet, is frequently repeated, or has a powerful group of followers.  doesn't make it true. Sometimes untrue claims or information are presented in such a way that they appear quite credible.  What may seem contradictory now may be perfectly understandable as we search for and receive more trustworthy information.

End quote.  It can be disconcerting when we hear something that is false.  It's an abomination of Satan trying to use repetition, which is an amazing way that the Lord teaches us. And he is trying to use it for his gain. But something that I've learned about truth is it holds up despite scrutiny, despite claims being made.

It holds up. I loved this quote from Elder Neil L. Anderson. Uh, he said this quote. We might remind the sincere inquirer that the internet information does not have a truth filter. Some information, no matter how convincing, is simply not true. End quote.  I also really love this quote by  Adam Miller.  And he says this, quote,  Faith is more like being faithful to your husband or wife.

End quote. Then it is, like in Believing in Magic,  fidelity is key. You may fall in love with someone because of how well they compliment your story,  but you'll prove yourself faithful to them only when you care more for the flawed, difficult, unplotted life you end up sharing with them.  Faith isn't the opposite of knowledge.

Rather, like love, faith is.  Perfects knowledge by practicing fidelity to it. End quote.  I think that this is a masterful, uh,  masterful  observation that he's made because if we are faithful, End quote. literally have fidelity to the truth that we've been given. We cleave unto it as we cleave unto our spouse.

We hold onto it as the precious thing that it is.  We're able to understand that  There are going to be difficult things.  There are going to be difficult things about living a faithful life. There are going to be hard questions that we have to ask. Um, maybe some sleepless nights praying and, uh, counseling with the Lord. 

I've recently had,  uh, some really difficult  times not being able to sleep because of things that are happening in my life personally.  And  I can say that I don't have a specific answer to all of  my questions,  but I keep having this feeling of peace, that God knows the situation I'm praying about, that he knows and is working actively in the favor of what I am seeking, and that I need to trust the process. 

I am trying to have fidelity towards the truth that I know,  that I can trust God.  I can trust God. That is a truth. I can trust the outcome  and it may not be the outcome I'm seeking. But I can trust his outcome, right?  I really like, uh, leaning into that understanding and really turning over my will to his.

It's really hard, but I like, I like the thought of it. Um, I also loved this by Adam Miller.  Both of the quotes that I'm reading from him are in his book, Letters to a Young Mormon. He wrote it quite a while ago and it still holds up. It's a great book. He says this, quote, 

But your version of his stories as well.  Your softly lit, watercolor felt board version of scripture stories.  And church history must, like all of your stories, be abandoned at his feet. And the messy, vibrant, and inconvenient truths that characterize God's real work with real people will have to take center stage.

If they don't. Then how will God's work in your hungry, messy, and inconvenient life ever do the same?  When God knocks, don't creep up to the door and look through the peephole to see if he looks like you thought he would.  Rush to the door and throw it open.  This is such a beautiful representation of what's talked about in the book Faith is Not Blind by Bruce and Marie Hafen where they talk about how everyone's faith goes through a journey where you have this simplicity, this understanding of God, of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and then you go through an experience that puts you into a state of complexity where you really have to dig in and Uncover truth, understand who God really is and what he can really do with your life. 

And when you're willing to go through that process with him, you move on to the next stage, which is simplicity on the other side of complexity. It's an informed, simple understanding of God's capabilities in your life.  I've had to go through this process multiple times with different areas of my life, but specifically understanding  that when I was so sick, when my chronic illness was so bad. 

I needed to be willing to give up the idea that I was ever going to heal. I needed to be willing to accept my life  as a bed bound person. Someone who doesn't leave the house. Someone who's not able to physically interact with her children. Someone who is always sitting down.  When I was willing to do that, when I was willing to receive whatever God had for me,  That is when I really started receiving answers and traction in physically healing my body. 

It was such a transformative experience because I truly had to give my complete will over to him, hand over all of the ideas that I had about my life, and receive and take up what he wanted.  And it's been hard. There are some really hard things that I've had to hold onto. Things that he tells me are important.

Things that I need for my eternal progression. There are things that I, I don't want to have as part of my story. That I would be so much more comfortable with another aspect  that brings vibrance to my life rather than what I'm currently dealing with. But I do know God, and I do know that He will take these things, and He will create in me and with me what He needs to create.

And I don't know the timeline, on the hard, I don't know maybe how it'll look in five years, but I do know Him,  and I know His plan.  character and his goodness, and that truth reverberates in me. That although I don't have all of the answers, all of the truth about my future, I know who he is and what he is capable of. 

I feel like this is the perfect quote to end on because it is one of the most powerful quotes about truth  that I've ever come into contact with. And that is, uh, Joseph Smith, he's speaking in the Wentworth Letter, and this is called The Standard of Truth. Quote, The standard of truth has been erected.  No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing. 

Persecutions may rage. Mobs may combine,  armies may assemble,  calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly,  nobly, and independent,  till it has penetrated every continent,  visited every clime,  swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished. And the great Jehovah shall say the work is done, end quote. 

The work of God  is  large scale. It is for the world. It is understanding that the truth will go forward to all.  But that work of truth is also equally important in your life.  That you may be able to decipher truth from error, that you may be able to continue building upon the things that you know are right, because you're reading them in the scriptures.

You are holding them dear to your heart. You are having fidelity towards that testimony and understanding of what is truly true. Right from God.  I know that we have the ability to verify that truth with the Holy Ghost and  If you are feeling icky and uncertain about something that you've interacted with Whether it be in person or online or a book that you're reading Know that you have the ability and you have access to what is really true  I know that God lives, I know that Jesus loves us so much, and He loves you,  and I hope you have an amazing week. 

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