Based on a talk by Elder F. Enzio Busche

I thought of the many songs from our Hymn book that we sing about truth. The second verse of "Oh Say What is Truth" uses the words aspire, search, pursue and aim, which tells me we don't just stumble upon truth, it takes action:

V. 2:
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.

"Go search in the depths where it glittering lies" These words reminded me of an experience I had as a teenager that, I think, parallels our search for truth:

Near the small town where I grew up, at the base of the hills there is a small underground cave complete with stalactites, stalagmites and other cave formations.. When it was found many years ago it was given the name "Dads Hole". It isn't often that people venture to this cave. In the first place it is very hard to find and once you do find the opening it is very difficult to enter because it is almost straight down. One summer when I was in High School a group of us decided we wanted to "Go search in the depths where it glittering lies" and explore Dads Hole. We solicited the help of my dad and grandpa, who had been there before. On the way to the cave I soon realized that without our guides we could never have found it. In fact, after driving as far as we could we all spread out and started searching, scanning the hills, knowing that Dads Hole was just beyond a small hill. The problem was that when we got close each hill looked just the same--from a distance it had been very misleading. Finally after much organized searching the hole was found, right there where it should have been. Once it was found we were puzzled that we couldn't have just walked straight to it but dad said thats always the way it is, you don't find it until you've put forth enough effort. It was simply a hole in the ground and we had to climb down a rope to get to the first room. Once there we soon realized that the hard part was still ahead. Another much bigger hole lead to the real cave. Many of us started getting chicken when we looked into the seemingly bottomless darkness. And a couple of the kids decided they would stay right there in the first room--that was enough for them. The rest of us very carefully inched our way down a second rope making sure our footings were secure on the rocks. And I must say I was scared to death. But once safely on the bottom we were exhilarated that we had endured and now could run around and see and touch the different cave formations that had formed so long ago.

Like my cave experience we have a guide in our search for truth. That guide is the light of Christ. And like the cave, you can never find real truth just by stumbling upon it. The hills from a distance were very misleading and the darkness and slippery rocks were frightening. That’s what Satan does in our search for truth. He does his best to keep us in the darkness by misleading and deceiving. These days, everywhere we turn someone is trying to teach us something, the media, magazines, books, we are bombarded with information. And to casually let ourselves be open to all that is rediculous--you don't stumble upon truth. And I imagine Satan is thrilled when some of us, like the kids who gave up in the cave, have the "I don't care" attitude and simply stop searching for truth.

The day of our trip to Dads Hole we could have avoided the planning, the searching the sweat and the hard work. We could have gotten into a car and driven 100 or so miles to the mouth of Lehmans Cave, paid some money and easily walked through a huge spectacular, impressive cave. That is what Satan wants us to do, not put forth the effort and get only an immediate thrill that doesn't last.

Elder Busche tells us that "All learning leads to nothing unless it is centered on finding the roots of truth. And that cannot happen until we realize there is a raging battle going on inside each of us. We are made up of two parts--our innocent spirits, the original child of God, and the flesh or the natural man. As mortals on earth these two are inseparably connected. Before we came to this earth we knew of Christs plan of redemption, that without Him we would be lost. But then we were born and with that birth came forgetfulness. But we can sense it again with the help of the Light of Christ (which speaks to our spirits) and as it says in D&C 88:11, our minds are quickened with understanding.

On the other hand, Satan, the enemy of God is fighting with all fury and cunningness to appeal to our other part--the natural man. In 2 Ne 2:27 it says "He seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself." We must be able to see ourselves (our natural selves) in our sinful, mortal existence as well as recognize our divine spiritual side before we can find truth in its complete dimension.

This war is a war that has to be fought by all of Heavenly Father's children, whether they know about it or not. Without the knowledge of the plan and the Light of Christ it is being fought subconsciously and we don't have much chance to win.

How would it be if we could get rid of all the misery in this world, do away with everyones unhappiness and lack of joy, lack of self confidence, faith and testimony, and on the other extreme do away with pride, arrogance, even all acts of cruelty and indecency. Elder Busche tells us that all these things are the result of these individual wars being fought and the natural man is defeating the spirit.

One of the great tragedies is that the adversary, through the influences of our "flesh" can cheat us into establishing images of truth or perceptions of truth. Our brain, the great computer where all the facts of life's memories are held together, can also be programmed by the "flesh," with its self-centered ideas to deceive the spiritual self. Without the constant striving through prayer and contemplation to reach the ends of self-awareness and honesty, our so-called intellect can, therefore, based on look-alike truths, play many games of reason, to impress, to get gain, to intimidate, or even to manipulate truth with the vain results of deceit. In 2 Tim. 3, 2-7 the apostle Paul wrote "For men shall be lovers of their own selves,...proud, blasphemers...unholy,...Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof,...ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."

How do we fight this war and win? Once we are honest in our understanding of these two sides, we should follow the Prophet Moroni's counsel: "Because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which comforter filleth with hope and perfect love."

I believe that these two words "meekness" and "lowliness" don't seem to be very popular words these days. Everywhere, we are urged to be strong and forceful and assertive in dealing with our own selfish desires. I wasn't quite sure what Meekness and lowliness meant so I went to the dictionary. Meek does NOT mean overly submissive, it means patient and mild. And one definition of lowly is simply humble. The definition of humble is "Not proud, having or showing awareness of ones defects." Which goes right back to what Elder Busche said about being able to see ourselves in our sinful, mortal existence.

There was a sister missionary named Kira Pratt Davis, who served a mission in Holland. She wrote about meeting a man while she was tracting who obviously hated Mormons, and religion in general. He accused the missionaries of trying to sell God the way McDonald's sold hamburgers. She said "It was cold-blooded, it was pure hate; it was evil." When they left she says "I felt as if I had struggled with someone trying to drown me. He had held my head under water in spite of my hitting and kicking and all that I could do, and I had begun to drown." After she got home she was in tears. She knelt down to pray. She said, "I wanted to know if it was worth it to be out here spilling my guts out; I wanted to know what God thought of me--if I was really as worthless a piece of trash as this man had made me feel. And as I prayed, I did see myself; I saw a silly, vain, and intense person who had gone on a mission largely to prove that she wasn't just anybody. I saw how smart I thought I was. I saw myself posing and struggling, in my own way, for everyone, all the time. I cried, but at the same time, I felt a kind of solid earth beneath my soul, a bedrock reassurance that He regarded me kindly and saw all of what I was, but that it did not matter, as if his love were some low, constant, pervasive humming, undisturbed by my falseness in the treble. It was a surprising answer. I had expected to be reassured that I was not all THAT bad. Instead, I realized that I WAS all that bad--but that God's feeling for me was not because I was good, but because HE was good."

Quoting from Elder Busche, "Once enlightened by the spirit of truth and through prayer, true repentance can be born. Gone are all our little lies of self defense. We see ourselves in our vanities and false hopes for carnal security. We are shocked to see our many deficiencies, our lack of gratitude for the smallest things. This is the place where the conversion and the rebirth of the soul are happening. This is the place where the prophets were before they were called to serve. This is the place where converts find themselves before they can have the desire to be baptized fort the remission of their sins. This is the place where sanctifications and rededications and renewal of covenants are happening. This is the place where suddenly the atonement of Christ is understood and embraced. This is the place where suddenly, when commitments have solemnly been established, a change of heart is experienced and the soul begins to "sing the song of redeeming love and indestructible faith in Christ is born. This is the place where we suddenly see the heavens open as we feel the full impact of the love of our Heavenly Father, which fills us with indescribable joy. We will never be happy anymore just by being ourselves or living our own lives.

The last verse of the same hymn:
Then say, what is truth? Tis the last and the first
For the limits of time it steps o'er.
Tho the heavens depart and the earth's fountains burst
Truth, the sum of existence, will weather the worst,
Eternal, unchanged, evermore.

(January 23, 1998)

by Sally O Meservy