Is There Absolute Truth?

Philosophers have argued the question “What is truth?” through the ages and many still argue this question today. If you do not have any kind of faith, then it is easy to say there is no absolute truth and, even if there were, there is no way to know what that absolute truth is. Some scientists may argue that science is the only absolute truth, but any good scientist knows that the deeper you delve into something, the less concrete it becomes. We have laws of physics that govern our world, but when you go to the microscopic level or to the universal level (e.g. black holes), these laws that we have so carefully discovered and meticulously compiled don’t hold up.

I believe that there is absolute, eternal truth. I believe that God knows this absolute truth and that He has given us laws (commandments) to follow which help us to abide by these truths, even if we sometimes cannot comprehend what those truths are.

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (which church is frequently misnamed the “Mormon Church”), I believe that God has a plan for each of His children which extends far beyond this temporal life. I believe that God created each of us as spirit children before He created this world for us, where we come to gain experience and learn to choose right from wrong. It is my personal belief that God not only is absolute truth, but that He is also bound by it. However, His understanding of these eternal laws is far beyond our current comprehension. He can seemingly bend and break the laws we understand because He has a comprehensive understanding of the laws beyond those laws.

What God gives us in this life is what we need to know to get through this stage of our existence. He gives us commandments and consequences for keeping or breaking those commandments. Thus, on a much smaller level, we learn these absolute truths by experience. We learn to choose right from wrong, to accept and follow or reject these absolute truths, but the consequences of our actions teach us that the outcomes are predictable and absolute, if not always immediate.

The doctrine of learning a little bit at a time is found in the Holy Scriptures: “Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little” (Isaiah 28:9–10).

Absolute truth exists, but we have difficulty understanding it. Accepting that there is absolute truth is a matter of faith in this life. However, once we exercise that faith and test it, we can come to know through experience that these things are true, and that faith can turn into knowledge. God does not expect or want us to follow Him blindly. It does take a leap of faith, but once we take that leap, He will confirm the truth of our actions to us. Alma, a prophet in the ancient Americas, taught:

And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true. . . . Now, as I said concerning faith—that it was not a perfect knowledge—even so it is with my words. Ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than faith is a perfect knowledge.

And now, behold, because ye have tried the experiment, and planted the seed, and it swelleth and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, ye must needs know that the seed is good. And now, behold, is your knowledge perfect? Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing (Alma 32: 21, 26, 33–34).

I can truly testify that this process works. It is because of my continued experience and success with this process that I can say with all surety that I know God lives. I know that His Son, Jesus Christ, is the Savior and Redeemer of mankind. I know that God loves me because He expresses that love to me when I pray to Him in faith. We can all have this knowledge. He wants us to have this knowledge. Test it out and you will come to know this absolute truth for yourself.

Article Written By Doris

Additional Links:

Mormon Scripture

Jesus Christ in Mormonism

Meaning of Life

God’s Plan of Happiness