Category: 2026 Essay

What is revealed truth?

It is ideas implanted in the mind of a man which are a representation of actual states of the universe, past, present, future and distant given in a scope and detail adequate to the needs he has for discharging a responsibility.

How does one obtain revealed truth?

By obedience to the requirements God has set, namely faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism, and receiving the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands.

How does one know revealed ideas are true?

By the tests of rational self-consistency of revealed ideas with each other, by agreement with the empirical universe, by success when acting according to ideas given, and by witness of divine personages. This kind of truth has been known among men from the time of Adam.

Why did other claimants to “truth” come into being?

Because men have with regularity rejected revealed knowledge, various substitutes have appeared to fill the void.

1. Apostate religious “truth” is hypocritical propaganda. It enables men to salve their consciences and to enjoy promises of salvation, but lacks consistency, power and agreement with divine revelation.
2. Poetic truth is an irresponsible sentimentalism which affords an escape from reality. Sometimes quite moral and in no way necessarily bad, it nevertheless it often diverts the attention of men from more important and more efficacious nourishment.
3. Scientific truth is spiritually blind ad hoc rationalization which enables mankind to agree on descriptions and theoretical explanations of the physically observable universe, One of its great strengths is that it enables technical achievement and manufacturing efficiently (that is to learn to deal effectively with recurrent problems having controllable variables). It is limited to extrapolation of the here and now to everything else.

Why is revealed truth superior to these rivals?

Revealed ideas give men

1. an understanding of states of the universe anywhere, anytime, which are pertinent to the problems of their present situation.
2. an understanding of what should be states of the universe here, now, and elsewhere in order for men to obtain a maxim of happiness.
3. an understanding of what to do to turn what “is” into what “could be.”

This is a bald claim to the availability of omniscience, but unfortunately claimed by but few persons and actually possessed by even fewer.

What about the supposed limitations of revealed truth?

1. Authoritarian: it is authoritarian only for those who don’t have it. Every man is supposed to be and can be his own priest and prophet.
2. Private: Everything mental is private, but people with similar experience can communicate about their experiences.
3. Variable: No two persons have exactly the same situations or problems. Revealed truth is given by degrees in tailor-made portions to suit the capabilities and diligence of the recipients, thus giving the appearance of variability. But each person eventually comes to the same understanding as others if he goes far enough.
4. Subjectivity: Revealed ideas are the most stern task-master men know of; but only he who has struggled in the Spirit knows this.

Conclusion

Any person who could compare revealed ideas with other claimants to “truth” would see that as to power, dependability, and availability, revealed ideas have no peer. But men shy away from revealed ideas because one cannot gain nor benefit from them without restructuring his moral life. The burden of repentance causes most men to shrink from the divine light and to heap calumny on those who possess it.

The greatest of all the gifts of God is charity. The principles of the gospel teach us how to love, to have charity. The ordinances of the gospel increase our power to love. Stewardship gives focus to our love.

Family relationships give stewardship pattern to our love:

• To love father and mother we obey.
• To love brother or sister we share.
• To love son or daughter we bless.

A teacher is like a brother or sister

Teachers share with others:

• Knowledge
• Testimony
• Wonderings
• Joy
• Wealth
• Time
• Concerns
• Griefs
• Sorrows
• Poverty
• Ignorance

The teacher’s role is to share good and absorb evil.

The man who cannot pray can never find peace. The man who will not pray must be his own god. The man who knows not how to pray is lost. The man who forgets to pray is captive.

But the man who righteously and earnestly prays to his God in the worthy name of Jesus Christ, be he at the moment saint or sinner, shall find rest unto his soul. How should we pray? The following five steps are suggestions for seeking the Lord through prayer.

• Believe in Jesus Christ. In a time of educated unbelief such as ours the first challenge of prayer is to believe sincerely in Jesus Christ. If we have truly received the gospel message, we have also received divine witness that Jesus was and is the Son of the living God, that he as a perfect man and merciful God wrought an atonement for our souls, and is an all-powerful, all-knowing, benevolent being. He is able to help us with every problem and to save us from all of our enemies. But it is one thing to entertain even correct ideas about abstract theological attributes of our God; it is quite another thing to embrace those ideas with a trust that will make such ideas the basis of our decisions and actions. This is not blind faith, but implicit belief through the abundant sufficient evidence which the witness of the Spirit brings as the basis for true prayers. If we believe in Jesus Christ, we will love him for all he has done for us, for his suffering, for his sacrifice, for his selflessness.

If we believe in Jesus Christ, we will trust that he is everywhere in his power to bless and save. If we believe in Jesus Christ, we will serve him as the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace, the Holy One of Israel. We will honor him as the Lord and Master of all the pure in heart; give him the homage of serving him with all of our mind, might, and strength. And we will gladly give, sorry only that we do not have more to offer.

It is not who we are, it is not where we pray, it is not the words we say that makes for great prayer. It is the strength of our feelings, it is the penetration of our conscious thought, it is the depth of our humility, it is the power of our love, it is the sincerity of our belief that makes our prayers real.

• Pray as you have need. One pitfall we should not fall into in our praying is vain repetition: the saying of the same words and phrases over and over again without really thinking about what we are saying. One good way to avoid this pitfall is to remember to pray as we have need. The situation and circumstance of almost every prayer will be different from all others. If we will consciously think over our needs, then pray exactly as we have need, then our prayers will be neither repetitious nor vain. We will be grateful, praise our maker, share sorrow with him and request his help.

This is not to suppose that our only need is to ask for favors and blessings. These we should indeed ask for; though our Father knows all our needs even before we ask him, yet he desires that we choose good things and desire them through our Savior. But as we have need to give thanks to the One who so richly blesses us, we should thank him. As we have need to rejoice and share the treasured moments of supreme happiness that come to us as we live the gospel, who better could we tell about our happiness than our Father in Heaven? As we sorrow in the manifold tribulations of mortality, who will more willingly share our burden and receive the anguished outpourings of our soul than our Father in Heaven? As we seek understanding to know why things are as they are, our Father will be our companion in the labor of our analysis. As we strive for wisdom, we will seek to pray that we might act in a manner that will solve problems and bless others. He who has overcome all is delighted to hear us and guide us. As we have need that is genuine and righteous, the Lord is glad to bless us spiritually, intellectually and physically.

What is the ultimate need we mortals have? As we progress in spirituality through prayer and righteous living, the time will come when we shall see that of ourselves we do not know what is good for us. Then as little children we will rely on the love, power and knowledge of our God, claiming the promise of the scriptures: “And if ye are cleansed and purified from all sin, ye shall ask whatsoever you will in the name of Jesus and it shall be done. But know this, it shall be given you what you shall ask.” (D&C 50:29–30)

Is there any matter too trivial to take to the Lord? The answer is that there is nothing trivial about any human being in the all-encompassing love of the Lord. Not even a hair of our head falls to the ground unnoticed. Let us heed the admonition of Alma: “Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let thy thought be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.” (Alma 37:36)

• Pray always. The life of a true Latter-day Saint becomes more and more a never-ending two-way conversation with the Lord. As each of us takes the covenant of baptism and as we renew that covenant in partaking of the sacrament, we promise to take upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, to remember him always, and to keep his commandments which he has given us. The Lord promises us that if we do these things, we shall always have his spirit to be with us. Always we will have the guidance, the light, the comfort, the gifts, that come from the Savior through the Holy Ghost! Always we may hear the voice of the Lord, to know what is true, what is wise, what is good. Is this not indeed a pearl of great price? For this a man should be willing to give all that he has. And he will do it if he loves righteousness and even begins to understand the worth of this great pearl.

But what is it that we must do to enjoy this great gift? It is simply to keep our promises. As we keep the commandments of God, we become worthy of and able to bear all blessings. But we know the commandments of God only through his spirit. We receive the spirit as we remember him always and honor his name. And what more significant way is there to remember him always than to pray in his name continuously? Note the witness of Amulek: “Yea, cry unto him for mercy, for he is mighty to save. Yea, humble yourselves and continue in prayer unto him. Cry unto him when ye are in your fields, yea over all your flocks. Cry unto him when ye are in your houses, yea over all your household, both morning, mid-day and evening. … But this is not all ye must pour out your souls in your closets and your secret places, and in your wilderness. Yea, and when you do not cry unto the Lord, let your hearts be full, drawn out in prayer unto him continually for your welfare and also for the welfare of those who are around you.” (Alma 34:18–27)

• Reinforce prayer with fasting. The great damper upon spirituality is lack of self-control, giving way to the bestial impulses that beset all of us. One of the great challenges of this probationary mortality is to see if we, as a rational, intelligent personality, can learn to govern completely the magnificent machine each of us has for a physical tabernacle. The body of itself has many cravings, desires, impulses, passions. It is these passions, physical and social, that the adversary uses to ensnare us in his powerful bonds. But the satisfaction of body needs and the use of our bodies to accomplish good are important parts of receiving a fulness of joy. The matter can be stated simply: If our passions control us, we are minions of the adversary. If we control our passions and allow them satisfaction only within the bounds of righteousness as prescribed by the Lord, then we are children of the Most High.

Fasting, the temporary abstaining of food, drink or other physical satisfaction, is the God-given way of overcoming and subjecting our own physical tabernacles. As we exercise control, we gain power over our bodies. As we use this control to do good works, we gain power in the Holy Spirit, which gives us the possibility of even greater control over the physical body.

Every good thing is available to those who love the Lord. Fasting is not a denial of the flesh but rather a training of the flesh to do the will of God and thereby to receive a fullness. Thus it is that fasting is a special key to help us make our prayers more efficacious through righteousness. To all who would truly serve him the Lord has said: “I give unto you a commandment that ye shall continue in prayer and fasting from this time forth.” (D&C 88:76) Can we understand and profit by this counsel?

• Heed the Lord and he will heed you. How many persons have said “I don’t think my prayers are getting past the ceiling.” Our Father hears all prayers, but doubtless as far as getting any result goes, many times it is as though the prayer was never uttered. How can we be assured of doing better than that?

We must remember always that it is the purpose and delight of our Father and his Son to bless their children with all good things. But in their mercy they give us only those blessings which we can stand, and we can stand blessings only in direct proportion to how well we have learned to live the gospel. Let us not suppose that when we are obedient to the Lord, we earn a blessing; thought he receiving of blessings is always predicated upon the fulfillment of law, the blessing is almost always a result quite out of proportion to the effort we put forth to fulfill the law. The purpose of the law is then mainly to give us the strength to cope with the blessing when we receive it. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the message of a pattern of life wherein we may be prepared by God to receive a fullness of all blessings.

Is it any wonder then that our prayers are effective only when we are obedient? It is the just reproof of a guilty conscience which makes us doubt the worth of our own prayers. And it is the spiritual witness of worthiness to receive that makes a righteous man mighty in prayer. If we cannot hearken when the Lord entreats and entices us to become worthy and capable of receiving blessings through living his commandments, can the Lord hearken to us? To live by one’s conscience in all things is the key to righteousness, and righteousness is the key to all blessings. “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16)

The light that shineth in darkness commends us to pray, thus to enjoy communion with the Spirit and to prepare to fulfill the end and purpose of our existence when we are reunited with our Maker. Truly, no words can express fully the manner not the rewards of effective prayer. These are known only by our own careful experiment and experience. But we can say that in and through God-given opportunities of prayer lies everything good which eternity can offer. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” (Matthew 7:7)

(Written in the 1960’s)

Why do men organize? Men organize because their collective power is greater than their individual power; sometimes it is greater than their additive individual power.

What does organization necessitate? Organization necessitates leadership: someone to direct and coordinate the members of the group that the pursuit of their collective goal through collective power might be efficient. Were the group not coordinated—that is to say, they would attempt to function as a group but without leadership—it would have the effect only of a mob. It might accomplish destructive but not constructive goals.

What is the usual pitfall of organization? The great pitfall of organization almost always encountered, almost everywhere, almost all the time, it that those who assume positions of leadership begin to subvert the benefits of collective power for their own personal aggrandizement or enrichment. This is the suggestion of D&C Section 121. It says that we have learned by past experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little power and authority, as they suppose, to begin to exercise unrighteous dominion.

What can the group do to avoid and restrain the selfishness of leaders? One of the best devices which men have discovered to keep leadership in check is to have short terms of office with the possibility of recall at any time. These provisions make the leader responsive to the will of the people. It is not surprising, however, that many leaders seek to lengthen the time of their office, to destroy the mechanisms of recall, to entrench themselves in power, etc. It is not infrequent that leaders will create crises as an attempt to frighten constituents into keeping them in office under the idea of “not rocking the boat” or “not changing horses in mid-stream.”

The question might be asked, “Is it not inefficient to elect frequently and to subject leaders to recall?” the argument from efficiency is generally used in a deceptive manner in focusing on the short run. But the only efficiency that really counts is long-run efficiency. Righteousness, goodness, expertness, perfection are seldom efficient in the short run. It is only in the long run that anything really good can be vindicated, and the long run always vindicates that which is right. To say this another way, right is that which turns out to be good in the long run. Being eternal beings, it is to the long run of our existence that we must most carefully attend. The Father of Lies would have us judge things only in the immediate perspective and as we succumb to his propaganda, thus he has greater power to destroy our understanding of what is good and right. Satan’s argument in the pre-existence was that of efficiency: he would come down and save everyone, that not one soul should be lost. But this, of course, was only a short-term good because in the long run he would have deprived all of the opportunity for exaltation.

Is there not perhaps a positive way to prevent the abuse of leadership? Indeed there is, and this is to select men and women as our leaders who are strong, moral persons; persons who will not yield to the temptation to subvert the power and opportunity of their office to their own personal ends.

What might be the principle of morality which a leader should have and should follow? There are four principles that are paramount in the morality of leadership.

First, the leader must see himself and consider himself only as a member of the group. That is to say, he should allow the group to benefit him only in the same ways in which every other member of the group is benefited.

Secondly, the leader must see that the group, in fulfilling its potential of producing good, builds the individual members of the group so that each becomes a stronger, better, more capable and more moral person. One theory of leadership is that power should be delegated, but never authority. This theory is seen in operation where the leader makes all decisions, but expects everyone else to do all the work. But only as a person has authority and discretion and must discern for himself the best use of his own power does he grow as an individual. If he grows as an individual, he becomes capable of releasing greater good to the society, and the society can only be great and good if the individual members of the society are good and great. A great society without great individuals at its base is a species of the purest fantasy, completely unrelated to any earthly possibility.

Thirdly, the leader must know that what he is doing is best for the group. The world has no shortage of people who think they know what is right. Every generation, every situation, has its self-appointed savior: people who assert that they have the wisdom and the insight, and if given the reins of power they can solve the problems at hand. A little investigation of epistemology readily shows, however, that human beings, as human beings, have no mental capability that would enable them to know for sure what is right and what is wrong. So far as plans and solutions for our practical problems are concerned, the most intelligent act of any human being as a leader would be to defer to someone who does know all, knows what is best, and who can and will direct him. The only possible source of such omniscience and wisdom is, of course, the Lord. This is why every leader who will not accept Jesus Christ as his head is immoral. That is to say, he does not benefit the group as he could and thus leads them astray.

Fourthly, the leader must have the courage of his convictions. He must be willing to sacrifice himself, his fortune, his life, his property, if necessary, in the execution of what is right and good through his office. If he has not courage, the ubiquitous pressure for privilege, for pride, and for self-interest on the part of both himself and others associated with him will destroy him and his efforts no matter how good his intentions are.

It can be seen from the above that the morality of leadership is inextricably associated with the living of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is why the Lord has given his Saints only to be rulers of this earth. All other ruling is immoral at least and is also a usurpation if inflicted upon a group by some power other than their own free choice.

But please do not confuse membership in the Church of Latter-day Saints to be the same as a true saint. A true saint actually lives the Gospel of Jesus Christ, whereas some members of the Church do not. In fact, a member who professes faith in Christ but actually serves Satan is one of the most dangerous people in this world.

(Written in the 1950’s)

Democracy is a travesty without the responsible participation of an intelligent and informed electorate. No person can be intelligent and informed without an understanding of both sides of an issue. Russell Kirk’s work The Conservative Mind, provides an excellent opportunity for every citizen to become more responsible through reading a careful and thorough assessment of the historical and ideological facets of conservatism. The importance of this book is measured in large part by the fact that liberalism is ubiquitous in our society; it is unavoidable because it permeates education and communication, and has penetrated virtually every institution of our society. Liberalism is the legacy of Greek naturalism resurrected in Renaissance humanism and promulgated by the majority of the “intellectuals” of the modern society. Its proponents like to find it the cause and concomitant of everything good in Western Civilization.

Conservatism on the other hand is a position which has had few articulate and even fewer popular spokesmen. Most of the persons Kirk discusses will be either unknown or not previously known to be outstanding conservatives for most readers. But conservatism has not lacked for adherents. A conservative is anyone who tries to preserve something which is demonstrably good. The great mass of conservatives has been religious people who have sought to retain the tried and true aspects of their faith against the onslaught of excessive rationalism. Since the educated liberal rationalists have controlled most educational and communication opportunities in the modern world, conservatism has persisted mainly as a passive resistance to intellectual vagary, a somewhat inarticulate solid “common sense” of practical people.

Unfortunately for the conservative cause, the reactionism of vested material interests has frequently been aligned with conservatism in historical situations. In this unnatural but de facto association, the reactionary element has usually been more vocal and has pressed its leadership. This association has given the liberals an opportunity to smear conservatism with the moral irresponsibility that properly applies to most reactionism. In religion, the prophets have been the conservative leaders, trying to persuade the people to hold fast to the good word of God; the Pharisees have been the reactionaries, and the Sadducees have been the liberals. When the people have had no prophet, those of conservative bent have had to suffer somewhat silently under the oppression of self-styled leaders of the right or the left.

Political conservatism is in the main a rather recent possibility. The history of mankind has generally been one of bestial tyranny of man over man. In such cases of tyranny, the only good cause was liberal, to free men from despotic power. But any degree of freedom for the “common man” has usually been short-lived. One shining example to the contrary has been the experiment with constitutional republican government among Anglo-Saxon peoples. The crux of this movement has been voluntary submission to just law as a substitute for forced suppression under the will of the tyrant. British and American society have known during the last two hundred years a freedom for the common man virtually unparalleled in history. The attempt to conserve this freedom for the common man is the essence of political conservatism.

Conservatism in politics becomes a necessity because the maintenance of freedom is a precarious balance. The tyranny of the monarch must not be succeeded by the tyranny of the aristocracy, of the legislature, or of the majority. Perhaps the most obvious generalization of history is that men in power generally abuse that power. Checks and balances of power and decentralization of government provide the only hitherto proven basis for the protection of the freedom of the common man. Such a government appears to the rationalist to be an inefficient basis for economic maximization; the rationalist is presently engaged in attempting to buy the freedom of the common man from him by paying him with pottage. The choice is between a real and present freedom as opposed to a promised carnal security.

Though the able proponents of conscious political conservatism have been few, they have spoken and spoken well, though largely unheard thanks to the careful censorship and insidious ridicule of the liberal canopy. Kirk attempts to impress the reader with the logical clarity, the realism, the responsibleness of the few conservative statesmen who have risen above the reactionary politicians to proclaim the conservative case on the basis of principle rather than expediency. Those of a conservative bent will find Kirk’s book a satisfying witness that they are not alone and that conservatism is intellectually respectable. Those who are uncertain will find an opportunity to test their own hearts for conservative yearnings.

Kirk lists six basic canons of conservative political thought which provide the thread to unite thinkers from Burke to Santayana. These six ideas might be paraphrased as follows:

1. Belief in a divine power to which men are responsible, political problems being basically moral and religious problems.
2. Delight in the opportunity for the expression of individual differences as opposed to the leveling and equalitarianism enforced in most modern liberal schemes.
3. Recognition that men are not equal even though they should be considered morally equal under the law. Tyrants and unprincipled men should not be allowed to replace natural leaders of moral stature.
4. Belief that private property and freedom are inseparably connected.
5. Belief that man must subdue his appetites and passions to the rule of reason and knowledge. Mob action and anarchy must be checked by principle.
6. Recognition that change is not always progress.

Though these canons are neither exhaustive nor mutually exclusive, they do provide an excellent working basis for a conservative thinker to probe his own mind and to perfect the ideological basis of his own conservatism.

My Father:
Forgive me: my head bowed low
Is weighted down with sin;
I need not say, you too well know
The rottenness within.

I could not ask for blessings more,
My cup e’en yet o’erflows;
The wicked soul when blest is poor,
His debt still ever grows.

What can I say to you, O Lord,
Who are most just and right;
You cannot make me better, Lord;
I, alone, must fight.

What is this beast within my breast
That o’erpowers me so:
Am I doomed to live with him
And down to Hell to go?

Whence comes his strength, so fierce and great
He flaunts my conscious will;
And shamefully does desecrate
That which I love still.

Is he me, and I this devil,
That oft appears so fair;
And yet within doth so oft revel
In sin’s red, ugly glare?

What can I do to purge my soul?
Oh were it hand or foot!
Dismember and regain the whole
Without this damning root?

But, alas, my heart, my mind,
Cure not by bladed thrust;
Oh! would to God, that he might bind
My soul-consuming lust!

My God is good, and right, and just;
Free agency is mine.
So, I am free, in Hell to rust;
My end, my own design.

This freedom that now drags me low
My stepping stone will be;
I’ll kill that beast within, and know
Eternal life with Thee.

So, my God, in hectic prayer,
I two things only ask;
I cannot else, in my despair,
And in my fearful task:

First, for me, just let me live,
That I may battle long;
And each won battle strength will give,
Till victory be my song.

By everything within me true,
If Thou wilt give me time,
In some far day, my soul all new,
Will dwell in realms sublime.

Next, and most, for others, Lord;
My loved ones sweet and true;
If I fall by sin’s great sword,
Let them dwell with you.

Ease their pang, make them forget
That ever I did live;
Lest one who falls into the jet
To others damage give.

This, my prayer, O Lord of Night,
You know my struggle sore;
You too, have fought this deadly blight,
But now you fight no more.

I know no what the future might,
This only do I ken:
I love Thee, Thy truth and right;
In name of Christ, Amen.