"And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come;
And whatsoever is more or less than this is the spirit of that wicked one who was a liar from the beginning.
The Spirit of truth is of God. I am the Spirit of truth, and John bore record of me, saying: He received a fulness of truth, yea, even of all truth;
And no man receiveth a fulness unless he keepeth his commandments.
He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things."
Doctrine and Covenants 93:24-28
I like the idea of truth not just as something that depends on individual circumstance, but as something that works for all time. Knowledge that survives time. And God's truth... God AS the spirit of truth... is like that. It's a completely different perspective than the way that we think of truth, or really anything else, because he can see it all at once. Who we were, who we are, who we will become. And with that kind of perspective, he sees the real, everlasting truth of everything--not just the kind of snapshot truth that we rely on.
God gives us commandments so that we can learn to see truth the way that he sees it. As we keep the commandments, we learn more truth. It's kind of like practicing a musical instrument... getting better as we go. We gain more experience with truth and with the spirit the more we practice with them, until someday in the far future... the "perfect day" (Proverbs 4:18; D&C 50:24), when we master them, and can see the way God sees... all of it together, the whole nuanced, multidimensional picture, not just the flat, limited snapshot.
Today, let's remember that the commandments free us rather than restricting us. They lead us to truth... a greater truth than we could ever know otherwise. Let's embrace truth, and learn more of it from God, the source of light and the spirit of truth.
And whatsoever is more or less than this is the spirit of that wicked one who was a liar from the beginning.
The Spirit of truth is of God. I am the Spirit of truth, and John bore record of me, saying: He received a fulness of truth, yea, even of all truth;
And no man receiveth a fulness unless he keepeth his commandments.
He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things."
Doctrine and Covenants 93:24-28
I like the idea of truth not just as something that depends on individual circumstance, but as something that works for all time. Knowledge that survives time. And God's truth... God AS the spirit of truth... is like that. It's a completely different perspective than the way that we think of truth, or really anything else, because he can see it all at once. Who we were, who we are, who we will become. And with that kind of perspective, he sees the real, everlasting truth of everything--not just the kind of snapshot truth that we rely on.
God gives us commandments so that we can learn to see truth the way that he sees it. As we keep the commandments, we learn more truth. It's kind of like practicing a musical instrument... getting better as we go. We gain more experience with truth and with the spirit the more we practice with them, until someday in the far future... the "perfect day" (Proverbs 4:18; D&C 50:24), when we master them, and can see the way God sees... all of it together, the whole nuanced, multidimensional picture, not just the flat, limited snapshot.
Today, let's remember that the commandments free us rather than restricting us. They lead us to truth... a greater truth than we could ever know otherwise. Let's embrace truth, and learn more of it from God, the source of light and the spirit of truth.
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