Oh Say, What is Truth?

            Let’s be honest. I’m not going to lie. I’m going to be real straight forward here. The truth is on our minds all the time. It sneaks its way into our everyday conversations. It skips onto our facebook feeds. It jaunts into our essays and blog posts. We think about it. We talk about it. Not always, but sometimes, we dream about it. A few times, it’s a nightmare. It’s cold and hard and will always set you free. The truth will set you free… unless you’ve done something really bad. Then, you should probably plead the fifth and get a lawyer. He’ll mold the truth into something much more manageable. But is that real freedom? Is this really truth? How, really, should we manage the truth? Who’s really right? What is the truth about the truth? Now we’re on to something. What is the truth about the truth? This is an important question, because, really, you can know all you want to know, but unless you know what to do with it, you know nothing. With so many truths out there, many that contradict, before you start deciding for yourself which you believe (or much more seriously, what you know), you need to decide your relationship to truth.  

I propose that there are two dangerous extremes when it comes to the truth. The first is what I call “Radical Truth.” The second is Moral Relativism or “Relative Truth.” I’d like to briefly discuss both, and introduce what I think is the better way, the truth about truth.

First, Radical Truth is truth monopoly. Subscribers to this idea affirm the existence and importance of truth. Right and wrong exist and they are arch nemeses. They know what they know and know that all other parties, unless agreeing, know not. If you’re not right you’re wrong. This philosophy of truth is a deeply rooted binary. As humans, we like to double categorize. Men vs. Women, us vs. them, true vs. false, right vs. wrong, and so forth are examples of binaries. The only thing wrong with these groupings is in the two letters that always find their way between them. If you’re not with us, you’re against us! And if you’re against us, you must die. This is at the root of many a conflict. We draw boundaries between each other and fight to the death. A prime example, very much to do with truth, is the ageless contest between Christians and Muslims in and around the Holy Land. Lots of bloodshed has resulted from the Islamic idea that Christians are wrong and the inverse Christian equivalent. The crusade and the jihad stem from an eternal “us vs. them,” and a “right vs. wrong.” For more examples, flip on facebook or the daily news and do a look around for controversy. I’m convinced that something is controversial when both parties can’t see how anyone in their right mind could think the way the other does.

If you’re wondering if you fall into the above category, pay attention to the amount of rage that you feel when you read about the next dangerous ideology, moral relativism. In spite of the timeless popularity of the right vs. wrong binary system of thought, moral relativism is increasingly popular. Subscribers to this idea believe that truth is relative. Maybe truth exists, maybe it doesn’t. Regardless, who are we to decide? Who am I to judge? I have my ideas about what is true and what is not and you have yours and who knows, maybe we’re both right! Maybe we’re all wrong together and who cares? Let’s be nice to one another. While this sounds harmless, it certainly has repercussions. Moral relativism is an ideology of tolerance. If I believe truth is in the eye of the beholder, I’m accepting of everything, from gay marriage, to abortion, to marijuana use, to atheism. In all my niceness, I decide that all voices should be viewed equally, so I lift up minority voices and attempt to drown out, or wipe out, long lasting majorities. On the flip side, if I really believe in the relativity of truth, I become a wimp when it comes to defending the truth I’ve decided on that week, and majority voices probably prevail. I also must accept that what people consider truth has a great deal to do with their actions and I must accept that. Religious and ideological freedom through this lens technically allows for the free practice of whatever anyone believes to be right. This includes suffrage and suffering. It tolerates all extremes, from the LGBT alliance to the Westborough Baptist Church. Under this ideology tolerance, as Boyd K. Packer explained it, turns from a “virtue to a vice.”

I propose that the truth solution is Mormonism. If you’re not a Mormon, please don’t run away yet. I’m not saying what you think I’m saying. Brigham Young defined Mormonism: ““Mormonism,” so-called, embraces every principle pertaining to life and salvation, for time and eternity. No matter who has it. If the infidel has got truth it belongs to “Mormonism.” The truth and sound doctrine possessed by the sectarian world, and they have a great deal, all belong to this Church. As for their morality, many of them are, morally, just as good as we are. All that is good, lovely, and praiseworthy belongs to this Church and Kingdom. “Mormonism” includes all truth. There is no truth but what belongs to the Gospel.” Mormons believe that they are in a search for truth. They believe that the whole truth about God is being revealed through living prophets in the latter days, but that it is our duty to seek it from everywhere it might be. We affirm that all religions have light and truth and that that there is inherent goodness in everything. We definitely believe that truth exists and that it is possible to collect it. It is possible to be wrong, but just because someone is wrong in one way or another, doesn’t mean that they are bad or that they are never right. We find truth in Islam, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism and the sciences. The church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is deeply invested in education in all fields and its members are encouraged to seek “anything that is virtuous, lovely, of good report, or praiseworthy.” There really is no us vs. them binary. We’re all in this together, us vs. Satan. And we encourage diversity and free thought.

In the Book of Mormon we read that the people of ancient America protected religious freedom under the law, blended with a responsible moral code, “Now there was no law against a man’s belief; for it was strictly contrary to the commands of God that there should be a law which should bring men on to unequal grounds. For thus saith the scripture: Choose ye this day, whom ye will serve. Now if a man desired to serve God, it was his privilege; or rather, if he believed in God it was his privilege to serve him; but if he did not believe in him there was no law to punish him. But if he murdered he was punished unto death; and if he robbed he was also punished; and if he stole he was also punished; and if he committed adultery he was also punished; yea, for all this wickedness they were punished. For there was a law that men should be judged according to their crimes. Nevertheless, there was no law against a man’s belief; therefore, a man was punished only for the crimes which he had done; therefore all men were on equal grounds.”

Ultimately, love truth. Seek truth. Recognize and respect the truth possessed by all. Love the truth more than you love your religion or your political party. Love the truth more than you love being right. Don’t try to impose your opinion upon truth. Rather, impose truth upon your opinion. Tell the truth and live truthfully, constantly seeking and progressing and the truth will set you free.