In a fun-to-read blog article, Darth Vader (Star Wars) and Samantha Carter (Stargate TV series) conspire to destroy the solar system.

The result: A paradox.

But actually, not. There is no paradox, and the reasons have profound spiritual implications. Don’t believe it? Read the article (and my reply!) to see if you agree: Count Infinity: It Never Happened

“I imagine it must have been hard for you to be religious and study science at the same time.”

My reply startled her visibly. I said something like this: “Not at all. I’ve found that truth is truth, wherever it is found. Truth in science never contradicts truth in religion. Conflicts only come from things we falsely assume to be true—false science or false religion.”

“Things as They Are”

When Pilate examined Christ, he asked: “What is truth?” The Bible then implies that he immediately turned and left, not waiting for an answer. (John 18:38.) What could he have learned if he had listened?

That question is central to the purpose of this blog. Here I intend to address truth—”every good thing”—not only from my personal experiences and religious principles, but also from related scientific and technical topics.

Does this seem an unusual assortment? Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and first latter-day prophet (according to LDS teachings and my personal conviction), said this:

One of the grand fundamental principles of “Mormonism” is to receive truth, let it come from whence it may. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 313.

This is my sentiment and probably the central philosophy of my life. Truth, which Christ in modern times defined as “knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come” (D&C 93:24) is simply knowledge of reality, “things as they really are” (Jacob 4:13). This embraces and encompasses all frames of reference at once, whether scientific, cultural, or religious.

Higher Truths

We certainly can’t know all truth ourselves in this life, but we can come to know some truths with certainty. Still, not all truth is equally valuable, and not all sources are equally reliable. Scientific principles that once seemed clear according to best evidence turn out to be incomplete or mistaken as additional data comes to light. That’s simply the scientific process, iteratively getting a better grasp of testable reality.

However, in my experience the purest and surest source of essential truth is direct from God himself, and in fact there are certain truths that can be discerned through no other means. For example, Elder Bruce R. McConkie pointed out:

God is and can be known only by revelation; he stands revealed or he remains forever unknown. BYU Devotional Address, 2 March 1982.

In other words, some higher truths cannot be tested according to terms we dictate from our frame of reference. Instead, they must be projected into our existence from a higher plane (“looking “down”). When knowledge is communicated from that higher plane to this one, it is called revelation.*

Knowing for Sure

I’ve discovered for myself that this channel of truth—personal, individual revelation from God—remains open. (See James 1:5.) It is a reality that by “the power of the Holy Ghost,” we can “know the truth of all things.” (See Moroni 10:5.) This makes it possible to know all essential truth with certainty. However, “there are certain bounds also and conditions” to obtaining that type of knowledge (D&C 88:38). We must comply with the laws that govern it, or it remains undiscerned.

That truth which I have found and believe to be of more than passing value, I intend to discuss here. I invite you to join the journey.

*To me, one-way discernibility of higher truths is not only spiritually but mathematically and scientifically sound. We are like beings in a Flatland who cannot see beyond their two-dimensional existence to the ultimate three-dimensional reality. They (and we) lack power even to peer into some higher dimensions unaided. However, to a three-dimensional being, the entire two-dimensional flatland is laid bare to the minutest, innermost detail. Nothing is “hidden.” Communication from that realm to the flatland is not only possible but simple.

Feel the same way? Let me explain where I think this blog is headed in the months just ahead:

• Dating vs. Courting. We struggled with dating questions in non-LDS areas. Who do you date? When? Why? After much thought, prayer, and late-night discussions with more than one teenager, we’re excited about our answer. So were others in our ward and stake when they heard it. Maybe it will help your family too? (Preview: “Dating is a friend thing, courting is a marriage thing.”)
• Reviews of family-friendly technology and solutions. Keeping kids (and parents) safe takes some work nowadays, but fortunately, others have done it for us already.
• The Resurrection and the Atonement. Why was the atonement a prerequisite for the resurrection?
• Supermassive Black Holes and the Book of Abraham. (Yes, you read correctly.) Just discovered a decade ago, SMBH shed profound “light” both on the processes of galaxy formation and the Book of Abraham (cosmologically, symbolically, and especially spiritually).
• Exciting new ways to contribute to family history research. This is both for my very-extended family and everyone in general.
• Review of Ghandi: The Story of My Experiments with Truth. I recently read this and came away with great lessons about covenant making/keeping and consecration. There’s a lot to learn from Ghandi and our Hindu brothers and sisters.
• Discerning Truth. The “Mormon” Church believes in continuing revelation. However, since there is “opposition in all things,” continuing revelation implies that false revelation is also possible. How then, exactly, would we tell the difference between true and false revelation? And are there even more important considerations than that one in seeking, receiving, and following inspiration? (Yes.)
• Web site for Calvin P. and Elsie Midgley and Semilunar Biopsy Repair. We can get the word out about this groundbreaking surgery and the lives of these great people (Lake County, Illinois). It isn’t hard to do. Maybe somebody, somewhere, will pick up the ball and run with it. Without the help of those of us who know about it, those searching won’t find it, because the articles are now buried.

If any of this sounds interesting, I invite you to subscribe to this blog by clicking on the links at the very top right corner. Share your comments and thoughts, and we’ll explore these things together.