Oh Say, What is Truth

[captmoroniRM]

I'm currently pondering the subject of "Truth" and all that the word encompasses for blogging purposes. What is truth to you guys? What does it encompass?

[Elgama]

truth to me is what happens when I am busy thinking other things

[hordak]

Truth is relative and personal. To often it is confused with Fact, but they are not the same.

Facts are things we can all agree on, they can be proven, truth is personal interpretation of fact.

[Elgama]

Truth is relative and personal. To often it is confused with Fact, but they are not the same.

Facts are things we can all agree on, they can be proven, truth is personal interpretation of fact.

I agree they are not the same but for me truth is what happens and fact is what we think is happening

-Charley

[Maxel]

Oh boy... you ask the deepest philosopher's question right off the bat! Welcome to LDS.net.

To me, a 'Truth' is any absolute Truth (that is, any factual representation of things as they truly were, are, or will be). To humans, the most important absolute Truth that we can learn is the fact that there is a God, that He is a loving God who wants the best for us, that we are His children, and that through Christ we can return to live with God our Father again.

To me, there is no single truth that can be seen as the all-encompassing Truth other than the phrase 'I exist' when the person speaking fully understands all the facets of existence and the expressions of life in existence- not just in our universe, but in all universes that have ever existed stretching back into the eternities past. The only person who could say 'I exist' and understand all that is God. Therefore, to humans, there is no single absolute Truth, although the closest would be 'God exists', when the person speaking understood all the correct implications of God's existence- including the existence of right and wrong principles, the power of the Priesthood, the eternal nature of the family, etc.

[captmoroniRM]

Thanks thus far for the replies.

It is a tough question indeed. I oft return to the hymn titled the same as this thread. For a simple hymn, its message is as profound as it's subject:

As penned by John Jaques

Oh say, what is truth? 'Tis the fairest gem

That the riches of worlds can produce,

And priceless the value of truth will be when

The proud monarch's costliest diadem

Is counted but dross and refuse.

Yes, say, what is truth? 'Tis the brightest prize

To which mortals or Gods can aspire;

Go search in the depths where it glittering lies

Or ascend in pursuit to the loftiest skies.

'Tis an aim for the noblest desire.

The sceptre may fall from the despot's grasp

When with winds of stern justice he copes,

But the pillar of truth will endure to the last,

And its firm-rooted bulwarks outstand the rude blast,

And the wreck of the fell tyrant's hopes.

Then say, what is truth? 'Tis the last and the first,

For the limits of time it steps o'er.

Though the heavens depart and the earth's fountains burst,

Truth, the sum of existence, will weather the worst,

Eternal, unchanged, evermore.

[hordak]

I agree they are not the same but for me truth is what happens and fact is what we think is happening

-Charley

I don't see how that would work. Could you elaborate? This is how i see it for example

Truth: (to Hordak) the wife was bothering my while trying to do my homework last night.

Truth: (to the misses) I was trying to help hordak relax while he was doing homework last night

Fact: The misses rubbed hordaks shoulders while he was doing homework last night.

Is it just a reverse in terminology?

[Elgama]

I don't see how that would work. Could you elaborate? This is how i see it for example

Truth: (to Hordak) the wife was bothering my while trying to do my homework last night.

Truth: (to the misses) I was trying to help hordak relax while he was doing homework last night

Fact: The misses rubbed hordaks shoulders while he was doing homework last night.

Is it just a reverse in terminology?

think so lol for me facts are what come from human study, truth is what happens regardless of what we think, its just a different way of using same words I guess

-Charley

[Connie]

D&C 93:24 "And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come."

My husband likes to say "Truth is reality."

[Vort]

I'm currently pondering the subject of "Truth" and all that the word encompasses for blogging purposes. What is truth to you guys? What does it encompass?

If your aim is true, that means you shoot straight.

If a timber is true, that means it's straight, not warped.

If an item or belief is true, that means it points straight toward Jesus Christ.

Many beliefs are factually correct but, considering their presentation, untrue.

[Maya]

Truth...

Sometimes you are too close to see it.

sometimes it is too far to comprehend.

But there is only ONE truth.

You may see it through spectacles of different colour,

but it still is the one and only truth.

Take off your glases and you will see it!

[WillowTheWhisp]

Truth is something which remains constant no matter what people believe.

[hordak]

Truth is something which remains constant no matter what people believe.

" But mom, I told you the truth, Susie ate the cookies." Said billy as he wiped the crumbs from his mouth.:)

[HiJolly]

While attending Arizona State Univ., I took a religion class where the professor defined truth as "anything two or more people agree on".

HiJolly

[Sergg]

Truth...

Whatever that word may convey, it certainly does not -just by virtue of its long use- relate to a fixed meaning. I myself like very much Heidegger's notion of truth as aletheia. But again, many thinkers have thought profoundly on this, Agustin, Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Levinas, Lacan, Derrida, De Man, Deleuze, etc... I for one also hold fast to Ortega y Gasset's notion of truth. I do not subscribe to definite definitions of things, but at least to some big aspects. I suggest you all to read more on it and think about it.

[Justice]

Truth is relative and personal. To often it is confused with Fact, but they are not the same.

Facts are things we can all agree on, they can be proven, truth is personal interpretation of fact.

I couldn't disagree with any other statement more.

Truth is the way things were, the way things are, and the way things will be.

Truth cannot be decided on by popular opinion or by majority vote.

Here's an example:

I saw her face, it was red. She was mad.

That is a perception, or an opinion, and it is not truth unless she was indeed mad.

"Were you mad? They said your face was red." "No, I am sick, and when I have a fever my face turns red."

The truth is, assuming she was not lying, that she was sick and not mad.

Too many people think truth can be changed or interpreted. It cannot be. Truth is absolute.

Truth is as God reveals it, and God cannot lie.

Truth and facts are always in harmony.

Main Entry: truth

1 aarchaic : fidelity , constancy b: sincerity in action, character, and utterance

2 a (1): the state of being the case : fact (2): the body of real things, events, and facts : actuality (3)often capitalized : a transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality b: a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true <truths of thermodynamics> c: the body of true statements and propositions

3 a: the property (as of a statement) of being in accord with fact or reality b: chiefly British : true 2 c: fidelity to an original or to a standard

4capitalized Christian Science : god

Edited March 11, 2009 by Justice

[Traveler]

D&C 93:24 "And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come."

My husband likes to say "Truth is reality."

Thank you for getting the answer right. So many think they know the truth when they have a fact but do not understand that a fact is only a one third part of truth.

Few would make wrong choices if they knew the final outcome and actual origin of such choices. But how can a "free choice" be made if the outcome and origin is not known? Such choice is not free choice but an ignorant choice. Jesus said that the truth can only be obtained by “continuing” in his word. Then he said that by knowing the truth we would be free.

The Traveler

[hordak]

Truth and facts are always in harmony.

So tell me the truth are you tall? Young? Nice?

Truth is personal. Or people overuse the word.

She truly is nice...

He's a fast runner, it's true...

Next time you tell someone "the truth" think about if it is fact. Could you prove it?

Truth is opinion given without the knowledge of of it being so.

[Justice]

Whether or not a person is tall, young, nice, or anything else is comparative and opinion. To be absolutely sure of any statement like that you would need to have a frame of reference and a subject(s) of comparison.

But...

Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.

is absolute truth, and it doesn't matter whether anyone believes it or not. It doesn't matter if anyone says it or not. It doesn't matter what kind of evidence is used against it.

We need to speak less of comparative opinions and speak more about the truth.

[Justice]

By the way, I am not tall (5'-11"), I am not young (43), and I try to be nice. :)

Some would diagree that I am not tall, not young, and that I try to be nice.

The truth that we need to concern ourselves with is the truth that's not based on point of view.

[FunkyTown]

This isn't as complex as people are making it out to be. Here is the definition of Truth:

truth   /truθ/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [trooth] Show IPA ,

–noun, plural truths  /truðz, truθs/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [troothz, trooths] Show IPA . 1. the true or actual state of a matter: He tried to find out the truth.

2. conformity with fact or reality; verity: the truth of a statement.

3. a verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle, or the like: mathematical truths.

4. the state or character of being true.

5. actuality or actual existence.

6. an obvious or accepted fact; truism; platitude.

7. honesty; integrity; truthfulness.

8. (often initial capital letter) ideal or fundamental reality apart from and transcending perceived experience: the basic truths of life.

9. agreement with a standard or original.

10. accuracy, as of position or adjustment.

11. Archaic. fidelity or constancy.

—Idiom12. in truth, in reality; in fact; actually: In truth, moral decay hastened the decline of the Roman Empire.

In order to have a real dialogue, you have to agree on definitions. Since this is the dictionary, this is what must be the case.

In this case, when I say "The church is true." I mean it is all of these things: It exists, all its teachings are in conformance with actual existence. I mean it is in agreement with the original church, that it is constant and that it is in conformity with all fact.

Truth is truth regardless of whether a man believes it: A man who falls asleep believes he is safe, but if his house catches on fire in the night the truth of the matter is that he will probably die. Truth is the highest form of fact, regardless of whether we perceive it or not.

[hordak]

Whether or not a person is tall, young, nice, or anything else is comparative and opinion. To be absolutely sure of any statement like that you would need to have a frame of reference and a subject(s) of comparison.

But...

Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.

is absolute truth, and it doesn't matter whether anyone believes it or not. It doesn't matter if anyone says it or not. It doesn't matter what kind of evidence is used against it.

We need to speak less of comparative opinions and speak more about the truth.

I would agree that it is truth under my definition. Jesus being the savior of the world is truth to you. But it is not truth to others. Whether of not it is fact remains to be seen.

I think you and i just have a different definition of the word.

[FunkyTown]

I would agree that it is truth under my definition. Jesus being the savior of the world is truth to you. But it is not truth to others. Whether of not it is fact remains to be seen.

I think you and i just have a different definition of the word.

That's why you need to go by the Dictionary's definition of the word. Otherwise, there can be no dialogue because you aren't speaking the same language.

[MikeUpton]

For my own thoughts on the matter, it seems often people will try to define truth as a subjective thing when it pertains to religion, while they define truth as objective when it comes to everyday life. Perhaps it is because true religion has left their everyday life, or perhaps because they have given up on understanding what truth is, because it can be so difficult for man to find. I think also that man worships the created more than he does the Creator, so much so he confuses the filter people see through for the truth itself.

I have recently been studying this topic in the scriptures, and from the words of latter day prophets, and I have learned some very helpful truths about truth.

-The important truths of life pertaining to our salvation will always be simple to understand so long as we try to understand them through the Holy Ghost which is the messenger of the truth. There's no overcomplicated mess to understand, nothing needing higher education (degrees and whatnot, although not to discourage this) in order to understand truth which will bring us to God, and save us in the end.

-Truth is independent of our senses, thoughts, and beliefs. We may step outside while it rains, and believe it is not raining, but the truth is that it rains, regardless of how many people believe it does not. The truths of God are no different in this nature. Even our belief in God does not make his existence so. I mean to say this not to disqualify a belief in God, but we must realize that God's existence is going to be truth whether we believe it or not.

-Our very senses may fool us, but our senses are fallible and do not constitute the truth in and of themselves.

-God is the source of all truth, regardless of whether it be secular or spiritual truths.

-The Devil is the source of all lies, the father of them.

-Truth is light, giving us insight and ability to see our way to God, and help us with our lives. Lies are darkness and make the way to God or finding the truth about ourselves impossible. Most people are somewhere in the middle with regard to light and darkness.

-As we seek God, and are willing to do his truths, truth and light is added to us, and "that light grows brighter and brighter until the perfect day" Doctrine and Covenants 50

-Those who turn away from God, and choose to not keep his commandments find darkness which obscures their vision of truth, and they find themselves more and more chained to sin, becoming the servant of sin, losing their agency to choose. (think addiction, and the difficulty of doing very good deeds consistently, with a pure heart when in darkness, and you disbelieve the truth or do not know how to do good when all you feel is bad.)

-In light of the last point, while wickedness and darkness enslaves us and takes away our free agency, truth and light frees us and grants us more ability to choose between good and evil. John 8 People who are filled with the light and truth of God are not stripped of their agency to choose between good and evil at any time, they simply choose to do good because they love the truth. It always seems easier to choose evil over good, to choose good one must first build character. It is difficult and hard work.

This is a highly recommended field of study, the metastudy (just study about "Truth" topically, I think I just made that word up) of the truth using the scriptures and words of the prophets as a guide. If you know what truth is, the nature of it, what it does for you, and its perspective against lies, you will be far more ready to find truths in your lives in all other fields of study.

Helpful links:

Topical Guide: Truth

LDS.org - Search

Speeches Website

most prophets have had something to say about truth,

LDS.org - Melchizedek Priesthood

sorry I get carried away but I hope the list helps. Oh, and yes, the dictionary definition :). Very helpful.

truth definition | Dictionary.com

Edited March 11, 2009 by MikeUpton
Came to an understanding there was not enough truth in my post

[Hemidakota]

Truth is truth, whether labeled science or religion. "Truth is knowledge of things as they are, as they were, and as they are to come" (D&C 93:24). Truth is always consistent. It can never be in conflict with itself.