Just as with Brigham Young, Leonardo da Vinci’s ultimate allegiance wasn’t to a single discipline but rather to the “triumph of truth.” No individual or perspective is the owner of truth; truth is as widespread and diverse as those who search for it.
For me, these kinds of paradigm-shifting moments triggered by a facing of truth are fundamental to the real BYU experience. Indeed, they help me understand the words of Christ when He said, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).
My message to you today is that truth does exist, it does matter, and it can be discerned. A major part of your purpose here at BYU is to enhance your knowledge of the truth and your ability to discern it.
By using our best thinking, by choosing to act with real intent, and by seeking direct revelation from God, we can come to a humble yet firm conviction of the truth of all things.
When we apply the gospel to all aspects of our life, we stay true to ourselves and connected to our purpose for living.
Just as both wings are necessary and must be in working order for the dove or the eagle to fly, so too both faith and reason are necessary for the intellectual and spiritual quest and for the intellectual and spiritual life.
If we are not afraid, our life experiments can be tools to learn truth and to make changes. The pioneer chemist Marie Curie believed that “nothing in life is to be feared—it is only to be understood.”
If the acquisition of knowledge is an act of humility and faith on our part that is powered by personal revelation from the Holy Ghost, then we need to do all we can to take full advantage of the gift of the Holy Ghost in our lives.
I testify that by the proper application of our extrarational processes there is a systematic path leading to a high degree of assurance of things hoped for, even knowledge and a surety of divine and spiritual things.
I am worried that the companionship we have with our smartphones is competing with the companionship of the Holy Ghost. This potentially harmful situation is created when we forget that there are “things to act and things to be acted upon."
If you follow the Spirit, your personal search for the truth inevitably leads you to the Lord and Savior, even Jesus Christ, for He is “the way, the truth, and the life.” This may not be the most convenient way, but it will be His way—the Savior’s redeeming way.
I know words carried by the gift of the Holy Ghost can bring to your understanding “the truth of all things.” All truth is worth knowing. Some truths are more useful, but there are truths that are most worth knowing.
Our tolerance and respect for others and their beliefs does not cause us to abandon our commitment to the truths we understand and the covenants we have made.
Sometimes life’s greatest lessons come to us at the most dreadful times of our lives. How we respond at such times of crisis determines if such challenges will be times for progression or merely times of suffering.
An essential part of the glory of God is light—or living, life-giving energy. In the scriptural sense, light is a capacitating power through which the righteous are given the faculty to receive truth.
We want to be ready when the Lord asks—for He will ask. He said to John the Revelator, “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” The Lord is so gracious.
The text for this speech is unavailable. Please see our FAQ page for more information. It is both the reading and abiding that gets us nearer to God, and that allows us to accept His invitation to come unto Him and be saved because we cannot be saved in ignorance. We cannot receive all that our Father has without understanding all that He is and does.
If you really understood that truth, you would sacrifice anything—everything—to achieve it. Understanding this truth is central to your purpose for being on the planet.
Simon Schama, creator of the television program A History of Britain, believes that the study of history should be an inquiry of the past, not an inaccurate representation of events. In order to preserve the truth of history, he explains different tactics he utilizes to maintain historical integrity.
The properties of physical light teach us about spiritual light and truth. By working toward the objectives of BYU, we can bring more light to the world.
The simple principles of agency, opposition, and obedience can help us teach our youth and fill our lives, and theirs, with ever-growing light and truth.
The premise of all my remarks is that a glorious restoration has taken place in our time. We have come to understand that the history of the world is marked in dispensation units. The world has suffered through periods of relative darkness, ignorance, and error. It has also been blessed with periods of truth and light. You and I have the blessed privilege of living in the full light of…
I would like to speak about a wonderful gift that we all share, without which we could not fulfill our purpose on earth. It is the gift of language. To place this topic in proper perspective, I will start at the very beginning—a very good place to start. When God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, He made it clear that they and their descendants were to…
The revolutionary and powerful truths revealed by the Prophet Joseph Smith can change the world—and, if we are true to them, each one of us.
Our conduct and our way of life cannot be separated from our doctrine, for what we believe empowers and directs what we do.
My dear fellow students seeking learning, even by study and also by faith: I salute you in this noble effort. I consider myself doubly blessed to be permitted to serve some of you as a faculty mentor, others as a campus bishop. My life and that of my family is unmeasurably richer because of our associations with BYU students, whom Linda and I (sort of as doting surrogate parents) consider…
We receive the most powerful education when we seek to answer the questions of our hearts, diligently taking both our efforts and answers to the Lord.
Can you sense the excitement in the air as we begin another marvel called BYU Campus Education Week? There is nothing quite like it in scope or quality in all the world. Over 180 of the world’s best and brightest have spent long hours preparing their presentations to provide more than 1,100 classes ranging from deep doctrine to folk dancing, from family and marriage to the healing wings of music.…
We are on a journey, going home. We must search for truth, make our works worthy of it, and seek the companionship of the Holy Ghost to guide this journey.
The gospel of Jesus Christ offers light and truth, answers to our most pressing questions. Truth, however, is only one of many blessings of the gospel.
No matter how much the world changes, we can succeed in discovering truth—in both secular and spiritual matters—if we are willing to work for it.
To gain learning and understanding, we must use the proper equipment. Both rational thought and spiritual revelation are necessary for our progression.
“On my honor” is the rule by which every Latter-day Saint must govern his or her life. Living with honor brings the light of truth into our lives, while its opposite brings darkness and deception.
It is incumbent upon us to believe the truth. We have the obligation to find out what is truth, and then we have the obligation to walk in the light and to apply the truths that we have learned to ourselves and to influence others to do likewise.
The simple eternal truth of the gospel is that Jesus Christ is our Redeemer and has restored His Church to the earth to help us return to Him.
Only the Creator can establish a true value system and determine what is right and wrong. Our job is to live by His principles to obtain His blessings.
I have prayerfully selected my topic for today with the desire that it benefit both student and missionary on this campus. I know what I would communicate but find it difficult to choose appropriate words to underline the principles I would share with you. Therefore, I appreciate most sincerely the prayer that was offered in my behalf at the beginning of this session. I would speak on the topic: “How…
President Kimball teaches that there is absolute truth - and testifies of the truths of the Creation, Fall, Atonement, Apostasy, and Restoration.
At the dedication of the enlarged Harold B. Lee library, President Marion G. Romney shares some thoughts about the importance of knowledge and truth.
John H. Vandenberg issues a reminder that in the pursuit of truth, men and women must rely on God, who is the source of all knowledge.
No experience compares to searching for the truth. We can come to know of the truth of the gospel by faithfully experimenting upon the words of Christ.
Learn how authors of anti-Mormon materials use specific strategies to convince readers of their trustworthiness, knowledge, and lack of bias.
We should build our testimonies and lives on the foundation of revealed truth that teaches us about the nature of God and His relationship to us.
In your quest for truth, drink from the fountains of both secular and spiritual learning, and remember that God is the source of all truth.
In our quest for answers, says Elder Richard L. Evans, let us not lose the patience to wait for the right ones from the Spirit that leads to truth.
To Brigham Young University graduates, President David O. McKay speaks on how we can live a variety of eternal truths to improve our lives.
