I've chosen to follow the outline from the manual, Doctrines of the Gospel. The first topic . . . "Eternal Truths."
When I begin to study any topic of the gospel, the first thing that I do is take some time to think about and ponder the topic. In this case, my initial thoughts about Truth start with Change.
In our lives, there is always so much change and uncertainty. Relationships and feelings change, plans change, we age, we grow, lose hair, gain and lose weight. Pluto isn't a planet anymore? ;) Life goes up and down, we have good days, we have bad days, friends come and go. One day is the best ever, the next we feel like we're drowning, overcome by the crushing waves of life.
What things can we depend on? What things don't change? What can we trsut? What is ALWAYS the same? What is TRUE?
Truth (defined in the dictionary) - conformity to fact or reality; exact accordance with that which is, or has been, or shall be. Reliable, unfailing, sure.
Or as it says in D&C 93:24 " And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come."
I will assume for the sake of my thoughts that we all believe and/or know that the Gospel is true. With that in mind, my first thoughts:
Wow! The Gospel is TRUE! Or in other words, the Gospel is "reliable, unfailing, sure." For the Gospel to be True, it must never be wrong or anything less than 100% truth. Meaning, we can ALWAYS depend on the gospel. We can ALWAYS count on it to be True. Every promise, every teaching, every single solitary aspect of it is ALWAYS right.
And so I end where I began: The Gospel is not merely proffered as a thought, or ideas. No, it is knoweldge of eternal and unchanging truths. The philosophies of men change every day: that which is believed to be true one day, is often refuted the next. This must be what prompted Christ to say in Matt, Mark, Luke, and John "Heaven and Earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away."
Scriptures Studied:
Jacob 4:13; D&C 93:24--Truth is knowledge of things as they really are, were, and are to come.
Psalm 117:2; D&C 1:37-39; 88:66--Truth is eternal
Alma 7:20; Helaman 8:24; Moroni 8:18; D&C 3:2--Divine truth is absolute
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Going to General Conference, and hearing truth in the conference center, one gets the best feeling of re-assurance. I think it is funny how quickly we know when someone is falsly accusing our doctrine as being false. Does anyone else share that feeling? I am sure we all do.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing it the feeling that we all get when we are telling others about the truthfulness ofour gospel. It is like Christ is speaking for us, which is awesome. I know that when the Elders taught my parents and asked me to bear my witness of what they said about the first vision and Joseph Smith, I was overcame by the feeling of wisdom and eloquentness. I felt like I could say anything and it would make sense. I don't get that feeling unless I am talking about the gospel. I just know it is the only perfect and seemless thing in this world of ours.
I a so grateful for this gospel, because without it, I wouldn't be anywhere near the person that I am now. I feel the same feeling when I talk about the gospel as I did when I finally knew the church was true.
I want to scream, "ITS TRUE!!!! WHY LOOK ANYWHERE ELSE!!!!???? CAN'T YOU SEE!?" at the people that were protesting in front of the conference center. I love how much we all love the gospel and all of its teachings. I think that, alone, shows the truth in it.
Dan, thanks for creating something that can help us build our own testimonies in an indirect way. You are a champ. :)
Without the truth... and without that 100% surety the gospel would be merely an idea or thought of what we as imperfect beings tried to create.
ReplyDeleteLuckily... we have the gospel and it's truth. It's such a blessing to live our lives.... endure the good and the bad and have that comfort that our Heavenly Father, his gospel and everything that comes with it is unchanging.
I know that there have been many times in my life where I felt like the rug was being pulled out from under my feet and I was left with my world in a crazy mess and had I not had the gospel and it's truth... I am not sure how I would have ever stood again.
Thanks Dan for taking the time to do this... :)
Brandon,
ReplyDeleteThanks for responding buddy! I hope that you're tearing it up with a million sales a day in Corona! :)
I totally agree with you by the way. When I go to conference or here negative things about the church, it usually just strengthens my testimony more than it's ever caused me to question it. Generally the things they say are wrong, spiteful, hateful, or gross misrepresentations of the truth.
Unfortunately, we know that more and more people (including those in the church)will be led astray "tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine." (Ephesians 4:14)
And that is exactly the point that Julie made, that we can depend on the gospel with 100% surety because it isn't man made. It's not just a thought or idea that emanates from imperfect beings trying to understand their place in the Universe. It comes directly from a being that knows EVERYTHING and sees EVERYTHING and is able to tell us the TRUTH of all things. It comes from GOD who knows everything. :D