Divine Truth

Introduction
Discovering what truth is and applying it in our
lives are the most important things we can do
while on earth. Only by gaining a knowledge of
the truth are we able to build the kingdom of God
and prepare for eternal life.
Doctrinal Outline
A. Divine truth is absolute reality.
1. Truth is knowledge of things as they really are,
were, and are to come (see D&C 93:24; Jacob 4:13).
2. Truth is eternal (see Psalm 117:2; D&C 1:37–39;
88:66).
3. Divine truth is absolute (see Alma 7:20; Helaman
8:24; Moroni 8:18; D&C 3:2).
B. All divine truth is possessed by God and
imparted by Him to His children.
1. God is a god of truth (see Ether 3:12;
Deuteronomy 32:4; John 14:6; D&C 93:11, 26).
2. All things are known by God (see 2 Nephi 2:24;
9:20; Alma 26:35).
3. All light and truth proceed from God to His
children (see D&C 88:11–13; Proverbs 2:6).
4. God uses the Holy Ghost to impart truth (see
1 Nephi 10:19; D&C 50:19–22; 91:4).
C. Adherence to revealed truth brings great
blessings and, ultimately, salvation.
1. Truth is given by the Spirit “for the salvation of
our souls” (Jacob 4:13).
2. All blessings from God are predicated upon
obedience to eternal law and truth (see D&C
130:20–21).
3. The word of the Lord is truth and is of the
greatest value (see 1 Corinthians 2:9–16;
Colossians 3:2; 2 Nephi 9:28–29; D&C 84:45).
4. By following Christ we gain truth, which will
make us free (see John 8:31–32).
5. Those who gain more truth than others in this life
have an advantage in the world to come (see
D&C 130:18–19; Alma 37:44).
6. We cannot be saved in ignorance (see D&C 131:6;
John 17:3).
Supporting Statements
A. Divine truth is absolute reality.
■ “It is vital to know that there really is a God, that
there really is a Savior, Jesus Christ, that there really
is impending immortality for all men, that there
really will be a judgment with genuine personal
accountability, and that there really is purpose in life
and a divine plan of happiness for man.
“When we know such basic truths as these, then
we know what really matters, how to approach life
and how to view man in the universe. There is great
power in perspective. Therefore, the adverb ‘really,’
as used by Jacob [Jacob 4:13], is deeply significant”
(Neal A. Maxwell, Things As They Really Are, 4).
■ “We are willing to receive all truth, from
whatever source it may come; for truth will stand,
truth will endure. . . . Truth is at the foundation, at
the bottom and top of, and it entirely permeates
this great work of the Lord that was established
through the instrumentality of Joseph Smith, the
prophet” (Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 1).
■ “This true way of life [the gospel] is not a
matter of opinion. There are absolute truths and
relative truths. . . . There are many ideas advanced
to the world that have been changed to meet the
needs of the truth as it has been discovered. There
are relative truths, and there are also absolute
truths which are the same yesterday, today, and
forever—never changing. These absolute truths
are not altered by the opinions of men. As science
has expanded our understanding of the physical
world, certain accepted ideas of science have had
to be abandoned in the interest of truth. Some of
these seeming truths were stoutly maintained for
centuries. The sincere searching of science often
rests only on the threshold of truth, whereas
revealed facts give us certain absolute truths as a
beginning point so we may come to understand
the nature of man and the purpose of his life. . . .

“We learn about these absolute truths by being
taught by the Spirit. These truths are ‘independent’
in their spiritual sphere and are to be discovered
spiritually, though they may be confirmed by
experience and intellect. (See D&C 93:30.) . . .
“God, our Heavenly Father—Elohim—lives.
That is an absolute truth. . . . All the people on the
earth might deny him and disbelieve, but he lives
in spite of them. . . . In short, opinion alone has no
power in the matter of an absolute truth. He still
lives. And Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the
Almighty, the Creator, the Master of the only true
way of life—the gospel of Jesus Christ. The
intellectual may rationalize him out of existence
and the unbeliever may scoff, but Christ still lives
and guides the destinies of his people. That is an
absolute truth; there is no gainsaying. . . .
“The Gods organized and gave life to man and
placed him on the earth. This is absolute. It cannot
be disproved. Amillion brilliant minds might
conjecture otherwise, but it is still true” (SpencerW.
Kimball, “Absolute Truth,” Ensign, Sept. 1978, 3–4).
B. All divine truth is possessed by God and
imparted by Him to His children.
■ “The Father, Son and Holy Ghost, as one God,
are the fountain of truth. From this fountain all the
ancient learned philosophers have received their
inspiration and wisdom—from it they have
received all their knowledge. If we find truth in
broken fragments through the ages, it may be set
down as an incontrovertible fact that it originated
at the fountain, and was given to philosophers,
inventors, patriots, reformers, and prophets by the
inspiration of God. It came from him through his
Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost, in the first
place, and from no other source. It is eternal”
(Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 30).
■ “The philosophy of the heavens and the earth
of the worlds that are, that were, and that are yet
to come into existence, is all the Gospel that we
have embraced. Every true philosopher, so far as
he understands the principles of truth, has so
much of the Gospel, and so far he is a Latter-day
Saint, whether he knows it or not. Our Father, the
great God, is the author of the sciences, he is the
great mechanic, he is the systematizer of all things,
he plans and devises all things, and every particle
of knowledge which man has in his possession is
the gift of God” (Brigham Young, Discourses of
Brigham Young, 2–3).
■ “What is this knowledge, intelligence, and
light and truth that our Heavenly Father would
have us receive? Does it consist solely of the
truths God has revealed through his prophets?
What place does knowledge gleaned from secular
sources and with secular means have in the
scheme of eternal progression?
“In considering these questions, we must
recognize that secular knowledge alone can
never save a soul nor open the celestial kingdom
to anyone.
“The Apostles Peter and John, for example, had
little secular learning—being termed ignorant, in
fact. But Peter and John knew the vital things of life,
that God lives and that the crucified, resurrected
Lord is the Son of God. They knew the path to
eternal life. They learned that mortality is the time
to learn first of God and his gospel and to receive
the saving priesthood ordinances.
“Yet secular knowledge can be most helpful to
the children of our Father in Heaven who, having
placed first things first, have found and are living
those truths which lead one to eternal life. These
are they who have the balance and perspective to
seek all knowledge—revealed and secular—as a
tool and servant for the blessing of themselves and
others” (Spencer W. Kimball, “Seek Learning, Even
by Study and Also by Faith,” Ensign, Sept. 1983, 3).
C. Adherence to revealed truth brings great
blessings and, ultimately, salvation.
■ “Much of really living consists of acquiring
perspective about everlasting things so that we can
successfully manage the transitory factual things,
for tactical choices do crowd in upon us all hour
by hour. Knowing the facts about a bus schedule,
for instance, is helpful, but such facts are clearly
not the lasting or emancipating truths Jesus spoke
of as being necessary to experience real freedom,
for ‘the truth shall make you free.’ (John 8:32.)”
(Maxwell, Things As They Really Are, 2).
■ “We consider that God has created man with a
mind capable of instruction, and a faculty which
may be enlarged in proportion to the heed and
diligence given to the light communicated from
heaven to the intellect; and that the nearer man
approaches perfection, the clearer are his views,
and the greater his enjoyments, till he has
overcome the evils of his life and lost every desire
for sin; and like the ancients, arrives at that point
of faith where he is wrapped in the power and
glory of his Maker and is caught up to dwell with
Him. But we consider that this is a station to
which no man ever arrived in a moment” (Joseph
Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 51).