Have you ever experienced or observed a troubling situation that might be in a “gray area” of right and wrong:
(1) While playing Rummy, all your cards finally form runs or groups that you can lay down, except one Jack that you can discard, go OUT, and claim the 25 bonus points. Your opponent throws down his hand in disappointment and THEN you notice that the discarded Jack can actually be played on his group of Jacks, so the game technically isn’t over, he gets another turn, and you see those coveted 25 points disappearing. His hand is still intact, face down on the table. What do you do?
(2) Or read an historical account that doesn’t line up with other sources (i.e., Thomas Jefferson fathered children with Sally Hemmings)?
(3) Or finally you find yourself sitting at the feet of an enthralling speaker who says that we can think our way to prosperity and is promoting a book called The Secret?
Religions, by definition, teach truth or believe they do. Similarly, religious people are also seeking truth, eternal truth, or say they are. Joseph Smith in 1820, as one of them, went into the Sacred Grove to ask God directly about the truth of the many churches vying for his attention. See #3 below for what he learned.
So as we seek truth, even this same truth, we can learn from Joseph’s journey, and what was that journey? I identify 3 steps:
(1) His own EXPERIENCE: He attended various churches, listened to the discussions going on in his family and neighbors, and then observed the “fruits” of all of them in their behavior, attitudes, and treatment of others. These observations created more questions and few answers.
(2) His own STUDY: His family read the Bible and Joseph searched the scriptures on his own. Then he came across the verses in James 1:5-6:
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
(3) His own REVELATION (FAITH): Joseph exercised faith with purity of intent and sincerity of heart, offered a humble prayer to God, and he got an answer! He was young and immature in some ways, and certainly not perfect. But his sincerity and real intent brought forth an answer. Because of his prophetic role to come, his answer came in an amazing form: the actual appearance of God the Father and Son Jesus Christ advising him to join “none of them” [other churches]. The rest, they say, is history, which started him on a path to restore the original church of Jesus Christ through direct revelation from deity and purity of doctrine based on actual and eternal truth: And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come; . . . (Doctrine & Covenants 93:24)
I followed a somewhat similar path to understanding eternal truth and finding God’s Restored Church. And I soon understood the scripture of learning “by study and by faith” (D&C 88:118). View the ABOUT page for my conversion story. My experience, followed by study, and then faith/prayer led me to standing on my own personal Rock of Revelation, still my road to truth today.
Let’s take the examples above and discuss them in light of these three steps:
(1) EXPERIENCE: My son and I play traditional Rummy regularly and this exact situation happened to me during a very competitive game. Peter didn’t see that as I laid down all my other cards, the Jack I discarded could actually be played on his 3 Jacks on the table, that I had missed seeing. He just threw down his hand in defeat, but just as he did that, in horror I saw my mistake. I had a choice: say nothing and get the extra 25 points for “going out” or acknowledge my error and continue the game. Fortunately I made the choice of integrity and said, “Ouch, I didn’t see this Jack was playable, so it’s still your turn.” I put the Jack on my side where it belonged, netting me only 10 points, and he took a turn. We came to a true ending soon after. I still won but by a lot fewer points. Why didn’t I take that easy bigger win? Because honesty was more important to me than a quick and soon forgotten win. In discussing this, we agreed that to win by cheating is NO WIN AT ALL, because all violations of the laws of God eventually are “shouted from the housetops” (Thou Shalt Not Steal). We could only really win playing “by the rules.” One of my siblings plays a different family card game where they all cheat, as often as possible, but they also all agree that All’s fair in war and cards” and this is war! I contend that they’re playing a different game than the one we usually play, just technically with the same name, and it’s fine if everyone is informed. Finally, my great-great grandfather Samuel Parrish is buried in the Centerville UT Cemetery. His simple headstone reads: Here Lies An Honest Man. My mother told me many times that his honesty was legendary, and this legacy followed after him to my grandparents, parents, and their descendants. That is a cardinal character trait I greatly value and emulate. To cheat in a card game, even in a small way, puts a blot on my soul that I don’t want to carry, now or into the next life. Experience teaches us these lessons – our own and watching others.
In the world of STUDY, humans use the Scientific Method, careful historical research (primary vs secondary sources, wherever possible), and logical analysis. It is my experience from growing up immersed in the academic world, that everything we think is absolute truth may only be relative to the level of creation in which we find ourselves. Even something like the Law of Gravity seems to be suspended when reading about Near Death Experiences with people and spiritual beings being transported effortlessly up, not always down, and through solid materials like walls and ceilings, and there is other evidence for higher realms of existence with different governing physics. So we need to not mistake theory for law: The Theory of Evolution is just that and definitive proof has never been established through rigorous scientific study. Why do scientists and historians vehemently uphold as truth things not fully proven? Many analysts can often identify a private agenda behind their posturing. Example: Evolution opens the door to tossing out God’s rule book and opening Pandora’s box on every imaginable sin. And haven’t we seen that? Just watch any of the true crime shows for a ringside seat! So watch for hidden agendas and actual “fake news”!
(2) BY STUDY: Example: Did Thomas Jefferson really father illegitimate children by Sally Hemmings? Evidence for YES: DNA from her descendants partly matches Thomas Jefferson’s. Evidence for NO: He had promised his wife not to remarry after her death, which he honored. He was a devoted Christian who practiced great personal integrity according to an historian, Dumas Malone, who did a lifetime of research and wrote a 6-volume biography of this esteemed president. This was also corroborated in accounts of early biographer Henry Randall who practically lived with Thomas Jefferson, and in an adjoining room where he couldn’t miss any comings or goings. He described Jefferson as “immaculate a man as God ever created.” And finally, Randall described a conversation with Jefferson’s grandson, Thomas Jefferson Randolph, who related that the family all knew that Hemmings was the mistress of Jefferson’s nephew, Peter Carr, and that “their connection . . . was perfectly notorious at Monticello.” He also had the Jefferson DNA and this is as close to historical truth as we usually get. The misinformation was spread by James Thomson Callender, an angry journalist who didn’t get an appointment as Postmaster in Richmond, VA, so he sought to smear all Federalists leaders, Jefferson being one of them. This was enlarged upon more recently by Fawn Brodie whose works are widely condemned by established scholars. It appears she didn’t want to climb the academic ladder with real historical research so she sought a popular and sensation-seeking readership among the public. Those with an agenda jumped on her ideas and widely promoted her books. Lesson here: authors, publishers, and politicians frequently have an agenda. Ignore that at your peril!
Enter the world of FAITH and we also encounter problems. It’s easy for the human side of us to mistake our wishes and emotions as answers from God. Or there are the hypocrites who know they’re lying but they want fame, wealth, power, or all three. Then there are the sincere seekers who simply don’t know how to distinguish doctrinal fact from theory or erroneous interpretation.
(3) FAITH/REVELATION: In our third example above, we encounter someone who claims that we can create immense wealth in our lives simply through the power of our own thoughts. A book promoting this idea, called The Secret, was reviewed and promoted on Oprah in the early 2000s, and quickly gained a following. It was certainly attractive to me; I had struggled financially for years as a single mother. How could this be wrong? Don’t we all know our thoughts can be self-fulfilling prophecy as demonstrated in many university studies? But it wasn’t long before an LDS speaker punctured that balloon: while our thoughts certainly can influence outcome, especially in the form of FAITH, it is really God that ultimately brings blessings He deems appropriate as the result of righteous living and consecrating all to God: But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you (Matthew 6:33 and 3 Nephi 13:33). I stood corrected, lesson learned, and the subtlety of the Adversary duly noted!
How do we make sense of these situations while “holding to the Rod” firmly and confidently? As we progress down the path of Sincerity and Real Intent, with Faith in Christ, we start to get real answers. Then as we listen to our leaders and church educators, we must be alert to how their words actually line up with true doctrine. I have, therefore, created my own list of guidelines for “vetting” the source of spiritual truth:
AUTHORITATIVE:
(1) Personal Revelation, straight from God through the Holy Ghost, and correctly understood.
(2) Prophets and Apostles, then living, over the pulpit or in official publications
(3) Scriptures, correctly translated and understood
SEMI-AUTHORITATIVE:
(1) Church Education, dependent upon the correct understanding of the church educator.
(2) Church College Professors, with the same proviso above.
(3) Deseret Book Publications, sometimes incorrect statements or doctrine creep in spite of their editors’ best efforts. Note that books are regularly recalled when errors are discovered.
(4) The Apocrypha, see D&C 91:1-6
INTERESTING – All Else:
(1) All human learning is subject to personal error or opinions of the speaker/writer, BUT IT MAY ALSO BE TRUE AND VALUABLE. Keep in your MAYBE BOX.
It’s so easy, even appealing, to jump on an idea that sounds right, but here’s a good caution from French philosopher Simone Vey (emphasis added):
All wrong translations, all absurdities in geometry problems,
all clumsiness of style, and all faulty connection of ideas,
all such things are due to the fact that
thought has seized upon some idea too hastily and,
being thus prematurely blocked, is not open to truth.
(quoted by Kate Holbrook, formerly of the Church History Dept]
But we don’t need to let all these real concerns stop us from courageously examining ideas, but let’s always remember to verify them through other sources and then hold them up to the light of what we already know, what I call my Baseball Diamond of Basic Truths. Each plate is a truth I’ve already vetted “by STUDY and by FAITH” and by personal EXPERIENCE:
HOME PLATE: God is perfect and loves us perfectly.
FIRST BASE: There is an eternal plan and places are being prepared for us in the hereafter that align with our choices in this life.
SECOND BASE: The Lord has organized His church, ordinances, and doctrine to provide the path back home to Him, should we choose it.
THIRD BASE: God gave us Free Agency and He will never use force in His Kingdom.
The entire baseball field represents this mortal, fallen world, including the ability to stray from the path around the bases that completes a “HOME RUN” or attaining eternal life. I invite you to really examine your faith and how you would label your own bases. When life starts to pull us away from our fundamental faith and spiritual knowledge, we can touch those bases again and renew our commitment. I like to live a quote from Brigham Young (paraphrased here): It’s all right to think far out, just be sure you can think your way back!
We have many church authorities and educators who’ve given us great teaching and insight into the path to exaltation. And, increasingly, we also have ordinary members who’ve chosen to do a “deep dive” into the scriptures and ecclesiastical history. However, none in this group always gets it right, including me, and they admit theirs is a work in progress. So study widely and do your own original searches on our church website as well as:
https://scriptures.byu.edu/ – Scripture Citation Index from BYU that gives all citations of General Authorities’ usage of particular scripture references.
https://www.josephsmithpapers.org – The Church has posted their complete file of Joseph Smith documents, arranged oldest to newest and by category.
Church Scriptures – Use the Search feature with the magnifying symbol in the top horizontal menu. You might try “church of the firstborn” as an exact phrase or “remnant of Jacob” and see what you learn. For this post I read the Truth section in the Guide to the Scriptures under Study Helps on this site and was amazed at what I learned in 30 minutes!
Click on link for my FINDING TRUTH handout to learn more, and as the man said, Try it, you’ll like it!
© 2023 Janet Kent – all rights reserved