(September 24, 2014)
One
thing that seems consistent over time is that the truth is content to be the
truth – it doesn’t need to be proven. Only
when we work to lie to ourselves does the demonstration and acceptance of this ‘truth’
become important to us. It is enough for
us to merely know the truth, so long as it is the truth. When what we believe is not the truth,
however, it suddenly becomes important that those around us accept our version
of ‘truth’ – for them to do otherwise runs the risk of us discovering the ways
we have deceived ourselves.
We see
this behavior in this chapter. Alma,
preaching to the people of Ammonihah, realize just how hard-hearted they were. They would not accept the truth, and so he
chose to move on to teaching other people (because the truth was the truth
regardless of what the people of Ammonihah thought about it).
Now he
turned back when an angel told him to, and he started to preach again to the
people. And he had some success. Now the shoe was on the other foot. The leaders of the city of Ammonihah were now confronted with people who
disagreed with their version of ‘truth.’
What did they do? They
slaughtered the women and children and burned the records. But Alma and Amulek, they spared.
They
had to spare Alma and Amulek, because their lie was at risk for self-discovery.
They needed Alma and Amulek to reinforce
what they had told themselves. The truth
is strong enough to stand on its own without any other support, but a
self-generated ‘truth’ needs confirmation and validation. So they tormented Alma and Amulek, hoping they
could bring the pair of prophets to agree with them (and thus solidify their ‘truth’).
Of course, that never happened.
The
lesson that I take from this is an important one in knowing how to judge myself
and what I believe. If it is important
to me that someone else come around to my way of thinking, chances are I am
lying to myself. If, on the other hand,
I have accepted a genuine truth then I find myself unconcerned whether others
believe me or not. The truth stands
boldly, nobly, and independent.
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