Painful Truth

What makes truth painful?  Our reaction to it.  If we fight it, it hurts, if we embrace it, we love it.

There is a radio personality based in Atlanta, Georgia who calls himself the ”High Priest of the Church of the Painful Truth.“

While this title is fanciful and meant to be entertaining, this self-selected moniker touches on some underlying truths.

Name Calling

When I was younger, name calling hurt my feelings when I thought [or more accurately, KNEW] the labels applied to me were true.  It also hurt because even when not true, I knew they were trying to be mean to me and it bothered me.

A similar phenomenon occurs today with people who run from their religion or people who they disagree with.   This is of course not true in all cases, but is a common enough occurrence to warrant notice.

Pain Resulting From Truth

The pain resulting from a truthful statement is based on our reaction to it.

If I am told I need to lose weight or I will die prematurely [true], it only hurts if I feel powerless to do anything about it or if I am unwilling to accept that as a true statement.  If I feel empowered or inspired to action because of this reminder of my own mortality and my role in prolonging my life, then it serves as a wise reminder to make better choices.  If I instead believe the statement is a lie and fight against this statement with a full litany of justifications and explanations why I should not change my behavior, reminders that I am on a collision course with an early death will be painful.

This kind of pain also resonates with religious truth.  If the truth is that I need to change my life because I have sinful ideas or choices that I have embraced [true], it only hurts if I continue to justify my wrongly held beliefs or bad actions.  If I embrace my need to repent and further follow God in my mind and heart, then these reminders of my own failings are inspiring to better action instead of being painful.

Mistakenly Believing Statements  “I once thought I was wrong, but later realized I was mistaken.”

Some statements are painful because we believe they are true when they are not.  Anyone who has heard a devastating rumor later proven to be a lie knows what this is about.  Sometimes we are taken in with a lie that is very persuasive and damaging.  The only thing that makes these lies powerful is that people believed them.

Knowing the Difference

It can be very difficult to know if the pain we feel is because something is true or if it is because we only believe it is true.  There is a reliable truth detector outside of our own thoughts and feelings.

As Latter-Day-Saints, we can seek personal revelation on many things.  We are empowered to receive revelation and receive answers.

How do I know when I have received a truthful answer and have not just been tricked?  When revelation often happens through emotions, thoughts, and feelings, it can be easy to fool yourself into believing the wrong things.  It can be easy to do.

It is also possible to receive revelation about future changes in policy as has been reported by many people prior to a certain revelation announced in 1978.

Here is the method I use to measure personal revelation against, which I seem to remember was also recommended by Elder Dallin H. Oaks.  It helps me choose which ideas to act on.

I compare my personal thoughts and feelings to scripture and measure it to see if it is compatible with scripture.  I also compare it to current teachings.  If my personal revelation is harmonious with gospel principles [not in some tortured reading] then the revelation is from God.  If the comparison shows my personal revelation is not in harmony with scripture and current teachings, then I need to re-consider.

It might be possible that I have received a revelation regarding a future change in policy.  If the personal revelation is correct, it is not my place to proselyte for that possible truth or advocate for it.  I should have the spiritual maturity to simply SHUT UP ABOUT IT.  It is my role to patiently bide my time living according to the truths currently taught in the church because no matter how carefully I live, I might still be mistaken.  Because of the risk involved, I certainly shouldn’t act on these ideas that are contrary to the current revealed word of God.  That is part of the purpose of Prophets and scripture, to help protect us against skillful deception.

Avoiding Painful Truth

The best way to avoid painful truth is to do some soul-searching [and scripture searching] to determine the truth and then to embrace it.

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Hearkening to the Counsels of God

There are several philosophies espoused by people I know that are at odds with the theology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints specifically and with Christianity in general yet these same people identify with these religious philosophies.  As politics, philosophy, and religion seem to unify in public forums, it is appropriate to address these issues as they intermingle across culture and politics.

It seems that people study and learn new things then become impressed with these new ideas and think that their religion is either wrong or should be improved in some way.

That type of thinking is exactly backwards.  Theological Truths should be used to refine philosophical thinking.  Many current philosophies have a some truth to them mixed with damaging and false teachings.  Religious study will help people to better know the difference.

Here are a few examples.

Feminism.  Feminists have the truth that women have been poorly treated and oppressed in the past.  That is true.  Women should not be held back and should be free to pursue their righteous desires.  Where this philosophy departs from truthful principles is where it over-emphasizes the importance of women.  Ideas are evaluated solely on how they will impact women without due consideration of how these same ideas will impact men.  Christianity advocates for unity of people and a focus on the welfare of all people regardless of gender.  Where feminism ignores these equally valid considerations, it deviates from Christianity.

Scientific Pursuits.  Science is extremely useful and provides benefits not easily obtained via other means.  Some people have accepted the mistaken idea that all truth must be scientifically verifiable.  Science is all about what can be tested and observed via the five senses, whether experimentation will verify any given hypothesis.  There are many truths not encompassed in the scientific method.   Remembering there is a Creator who made the Universe is important in scientific discourse.

Social Liberal Policies.  It is true that we should help our fellow man or woman.  We are supposed to serve and help even our enemies.  Where social liberal policies go off course is using the power of government to take tax money and spend it for other individuals.  This is a different form of armed robbery.  Charity is no longer charity when it is forced.

Abortion.  There is a time and place where birth control and abortion may be appropriate.  Each case is highly circumstantial.  The current laws are an abomination to common sense.  My wife of 14 years could get pregnant and have an abortion and I could do nothing about it.  There is exactly zero consideration to a father’s natural rights or interest in an unborn child.  A teenager in Texas was sentenced two two life sentences for murder because his girlfriend hectored him into standing on her stomach until she miscarried with twins.  He went to prison, she went free.  The status quo is reprehensible.

There are a few other guiding principles in political discourse that should be noted as well.

• Advocating for good or righteous behavior is not the same as wanting to compel good behavior.
• Freedom without righteous principles is anarchy and will devalue, dehumanize, demoralize, and detach humanity from itself.
• Freedom with righteous principles is liberty.
• Freedom as envisioned by the God is the freedom to pursue righteous goals and desires in spite of our past sins and current imperfections.
• Freedom to do whatever you want without regard to righteous principles is freedom as envisioned by Satan.  It is dressed up hedonism and will lead to bondage.

It is much better to listen to and follow Godly principles.  These principles will lead to peace and happiness.

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Clarity of Message

Messages are important.

Some messages are clear, other messages are  not so clear.

We often have mis-communication, anger, frustration, and sadness when the message received was not the message intended.

The best kind of misunderstanding is where the parties quickly discover the dis-junct and laugh about it.  Communications and misunderstandings can happen in an continuing cycle where the parties communicating have an ongoing relationship and can further refine the ability to correctly understand the messages sent in an open and honest two way communication.

There is a second and worse kind of misunderstanding where where the misunderstanding is potentially never discovered.

The person may be completely convinced that they have properly understood the message and then continue to act based on a misunderstanding.

For example, a person might listen to a gospel message such as “God loves you.”  Or maybe even after praying feel very reassured that God loves them.

That is a perfectly true statement that God Loves You.  It is.  No matter who you are or what you may have done, God loves you.

The misunderstanding later comes when this same person takes the “God loves me” message and takes it to mean that there is no need to improve behaviors or seek to further align your thoughts with God’s thoughts.  Love does not mean and complete agreement with your behavior or philosophies.

Another message might be about the importance of being humble and taking this to mean that you should hate yourself and have poor self-esteem.

Please take some time to re-think the messages you are listening to, what they mean, and how you might be mistaken about what they mean.  It could be a very enlightening experience.

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How Would You Describe Yourself?

People need labels.   Not in the same way we label packages or objects.

We tend to label ourselves so that we can make sense of the vast array of thoughts floating around in our own minds.  Labels help us to make sense of ourselves.

We also tend to label others in ways that make sense to our own worldview.  It makes sense to put certain people in categories or definitions.

When introductions are made, we ask about who a person is and use that information to try and place people in categories.

At a work party, people will often identify themselves by what part of the company they work in.

In other settings like a wedding or other family based event, people will identify themselves by how they are related to the bride or groom or where they fall in the family tree.

Self-imposed labels are often context specific.

If a woman in a neutral setting introduces herself as a Doctor, Mother, and a Catholic it is a fair supposition (even if inaccurate) to think that her priorities will also fall in that order.

In other words, she sees herself as a Doctor first, a Mother second, and a Catholic third.

Regardless of accuracy, that is the message being sent.

Take some time to think about how you think about yourself and the message you send every time someone asks you who you are.

Who are you really?  What is most important to you?  Are your priorities in line with how you introduce yourself?

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Pizza and Gay Couplings

There have been many headlines from last month about Pizza as a Vegetable.

While that idea is laughable and turns common sense on its head, the rule was actually declaring tomato paste as a vegetable much like ketchup is a vegetable.

The whole Pizza is a Vegetable chorus was making fun of congress for voting to keep Pizza on the list of acceptable foods for school lunches.

Why isn’t there a similar outcry for trying to redefine marriage as being between two men, or two women?

Words mean things and simply trying to change the definition of a word when it defies common sense and experience is ridiculous.

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