All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience, by Neal A. Maxwell, is the inspiration for this post. Even though the book is only about 125 pages, it took me about a week and a half to read it, because his writing style is to condensed and he uses a lot of big words of which I do not know the meanings. He talks of all experiences and their value to us, but what he really hits on is our own reactions to each daily occurrence and expounds upon the different virtues that can help us navigate each experience, and more importantly every trial, with the help we need, allowing us to come off conquerer.
One point he touches upon that made me pause and ponder, is the difference between fact and truth. We tend to build so much of our lives on facts. It is a fact that church for me starts at 9am every Sunday. It is a fact that my only means of transportation is either my scooter, a bus, or walking. It is a fact that in order to survive in this world, money is a necessary evil I have to accept and work with. These are all facts of my life, however, they are subject to change, therefore, though they are currently true, they are not truth.
Truth is eternal. God is our Eternal Heavenly Father, that is truth. It will never change. Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer, that is truth. This world was created by God for the purpose of us, His Children, to come here, gain a body, and have the opportunity to make our way back to Him. These are all truths that will never, ever change. In fact, using absolutes, words such as "always", "never", "every", "any", "all", and "always", are tricky to use, because when you use them with anything that is just merely a fact, they don't work, they become and exaggeration. With truth however, you can safely use them. Truth will never change. Truth can always be relied on.
Truth is a solid foundation on which to stand. Fact is a wobbly structure at best that may keep you upright until a storm comes along and wipes it all away. Fact may touch upon truth, in fact in order for fact to remain a fact, it has to rely on truth. Truth, however, stands alone. It does not rely on anything but the light from which it springs to remain truth.
So how do we find truth? Well, truth is light. Doctrine and Covenants 88:7-13 says:
"Which truth shineth. This is the light of Christ. As also he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made.
"As also he is in the moon, and is the light of the moon, and the power thereof by which it was made;
"As also the light of the stars, and the power thereof by which they were made;
"And the earth also, and the power thereof, even the earth upon which you stand.
"And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings;
"Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space—
"The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things."
There is only once source of truth. There are countless sources of fact. When looking for answers to life's questions, do not let yourself be satisfied with facts. Facts bring only mediocrity. Elder Maxwell in his April 2002 Conference address said,"Brothers and sisters, our individual worth is already divinely established as “great”; it does not fluctuate like the stock market." Let us live up to our already established worth. Our worth is a truth. Do not let your life be built with a whole bunch of facts, that construct themselves into what appears to be a mansion. Seek out truth, and grab on to it like gold. Even if you start out with just one or two plain truths, they will take you farther in your life, and lead you to even more truths than 10, 20, or even 100 glittery facts ever will. And never, ever trade any truth you already possess for a fact that looks more appealing. That fact will leave you stranded and alone.
