Truth. It is such a simple and direct concept, yet it can also be troublesome.
I remember a funny saying I heard years ago that "All generalizations (including this one) are false."
So much hinges on the knowledge of truth. It determines trust, confidence, peace and freedom, and yet it is the perception of truth that usually drives us.
One main point that came to mind as I considered this topic is that the enemy of Truth is Satan, the father of lies. We are sure that he is the author of most of the lies we encounter. My thoughts, however, led me to the idea that his greatest power is not the direct lie, but what leads us to doubt truth once we have embraced it. Satan's purpose is not only to feed us lies, but is to sow contention, distrust and hate.
Good examples of this can be found the scriptures. In my recent personal reading, I thought of all this as I read in First Nephi, chapter 16:
"38 Now, he (Nephi) says that the Lord has talked with him, and also that angels have ministered unto him. But behold, we know that he lies unto us; and he tells us these things, and he worketh many things by his cunning arts, that he may deceive our eyes, thinking, perhaps, that he may lead us away into some strange wilderness; and after he has led us away, he has thought to make himself a king and a ruler over us, that he may do with us according to his will and pleasure."
This became the theme of Lamanite complaining against the Nephites for generations: "He (or they) lied to us."
Another word for lie and deception in the Book of Mormon is "cunning." In Alma the story of Lamoni as he met his father shows this. His father sums up that same attitude and excuse: "... thou art going to deliver these Nephites, who are sons of a liar. Behold, he robbed our fathers; and now his children are also come amongst us that they may, by their cunning and their lyings, deceive us, that they again may rob us of our property. ..." Alma 20:13
I usually laugh at this one because basically he is saying that the Nephites are just smarter than they are and are using that to exert power over them — "duh, we are just stupid! "
It appears that the easy way to prove a point and to vilify someone else and accuse them of conspiring to trick us with their secret "cunning.." This seems to apply to our desire to be rid of some unwanted influence, be it an individual or a group of political or religious leaders, or even people who stand firm against some thing we desire. Our fall-back response is to simply say that they lie to us, whether we have evidence of that or not. We assign, not only blame, but also intent or deliberate deception, onto the actions or policies of others. Calling someone a liar is an act of judgement of someone else. In making such a judgement and attempting to convince others of that judgement goes against what the Savior said about not judging others.
I see that some distrust authority saying that such leaders are using their position and knowledge to just keep us blindly in their power and that we should rebel against it. I see that in politics and also in those who disaffect themselves from the faith.
My concern is about what such an attitude leads people to do. Usually it tears them away from the good that they once had, based entirely on a deception given them concerning their previous conviction.
Of course, it is important to be sure we are not being purposely deceived or misled by those in authority. It is not wrong to have questions. The trouble comes when we start to believe reports or narratives which present what is purported as fact when really it is yet another agenda based on either outright falsehood, or more often, only partial truth, mixed with some deliberate tiny lies. Many times, the distrust sown by these questioners is based on some new or obscure historical "fact." Often, such reports of history have a fair amount of truth, but are interpreted such that they cause others to seriously question everything they previously held and committed themselves to as truth.
Whom do you trust?
Basically, in my experience and understanding, there is really only one source of this Truth. The struggle comes when we turn to God for the truth and feel silence. Often that comes because of some aspect of ourselves that is not in harmony with the nature of our Heavenly Father. None of us are sinless, but if we are not trying to overcome our frailties, not trying to work to live closer to the Spirit, we cannot expect to easily receive answers and truth. We are expected to do serious work in preparing ourselves and putting our minds in a place where God can speak to us, or even understand how to hear His counsel. The wonderful thing is when those moments of unexpected clarity come as we just try to make that effort. He doesn't wait until we are perfect or nearly so. He really wants us to know and be sure.
I really believe that the main trouble with the current trend of mistrust and fear comes with the lack of patience necessary to trust that the Lord will direct His people in His own timeline. In that patience, we must not let that mistrust and question of truth lead to meanness and hate. Sometimes the best thing we can do is to hope that others are not as bad as they seem, instead of vilifying them as absolute enemies to be fought at all costs. When we have deep fear, we tend to put up barriers that never lead to any kind of reconciliation. What we really need now, both in the political and the religious arena is patience, compassion and hope, trusting that good will win out. For our part, kindness and respect is needed.
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