Josie worked hard in writing this talk. She was nervous to stand up and share it. She did so great today! She spoke, slowly & clearly and delivered it so well. We’re so happy for you Angel Face! We love you so.
Josie’s Talk- (Topic- how scripture study helps us recognize truth and avoid deception-)
Good afternoon, brothers and sisters. My name is Josie
Jones. I am in 8th grade at Fall Creek Jr. High. I have 3 brothers
and 2 parents. 😊 I have lived
in this ward my whole life. If you’re new here, welcome!
Today I was asked to speak about recognizing truth.
Nowadays, it’s getting harder to distinguish truth
from lies, reality from fiction. I’m sure we’ve all seen something that has
made us stop and ask ourselves, “Is this AI?” How are we supposed to
know what is right and what is a lie disguised as truth?
The easiest and fastest way to find a trusted source
of truth is to open the SCRIPTURES! The 8th Article of Faith states
that “We believe the Bible to
be the word of
God as far as it is translated correctly;
we also believe the Book of
Mormon to be the word of God.” The Prophet Joseph Smith
said: “I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of
any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer
to God by abiding by its precepts, than any other book.”
My family has read the scriptures together my whole
life. I have learned the stories and can tell you about them in moderate detail.
I have learned from them the result of being wicked and what the blessings of
obedience are. I trust that the scriptures are true, but I am still working
on gaining my own testimony of them. 😊
In October 2023, Elder John C. Pingree Jr. gave a talk
titled Eternal Truth. He said: “So,
what is our understanding of truth in today’s world? We are constantly
bombarded with strong opinions, biased reporting, and incomplete data. At the
same time, the volume and sources of this information are proliferating. Our
need to recognize truth has never been more important!”.
In his talk, he goes on to say: “As we seek eternal
truth, the following two questions can help us recognize whether a concept
comes from God or from another source: First- Is the concept
taught consistently in the scriptures and by living prophets? And second-
Is the concept confirmed by the witness of the Holy Ghost?” (Close quote) 😊
Having proof or evidence, is not always necessary to
know if something is accurate. What we need is the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost
is vital in recognizing truth. His job is to guide us to make the right decisions
and to discern between TRUTH & ERROR. But how do you know if the promptings
you get are from the Spirit or just your own thoughts?
In Galatians
5:22 and 23, we read: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” That
means if it’s feels wrong, evil, sickening, or confusing, it is not from
God. If it gives a calming, warm, loving feeling or if it “enlightens our minds”,
it is from God.
Lies in the world: There are many lies constantly told in today’s
world. Being firm in your beliefs and growing your testimony can help you to
know what is right and true.
As followers of Christ, it is not enough to recognize
and know what is good & true. We also need to defend what is
good & true. 😊 We should not have long debates or angry
arguments. A simple declaration of what we feel is true, is enough. For example:
When I was in elementary school, I would
often read on the bus. Occasionally, I would listen to the conversations around
me while I looked down at my book. On one of these such occasions, the two girls
in the seat in front of me were having a conversation about ‘Mormons’. One of
the girls said to the other: “Yeah, they have, like, multiple wives or
something,”. I looked up and said loud enough for them to hear, “What? That’s not
true,” and went back to reading my book. The girls turned around and stared at
me, confused, but didn’t talk about it again. I knew what they said was not
true and I needed to speak up.
So what truths are crucial for us to defend? Here is the
list I came up with:
1)
We
are all children of Heavenly Parents and They love us
2)
Jesus
Christ is our Savior and He loves us as well.
3)
Joseph
Smith was a prophet ordained by God. And we have a prophet today!
4)
The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the true restored church.
5)
The
Scriptures are real records that teach us to follow Jesus.
6)
Families
can be together forever!
In speaking of families, another truth that we need to
defend is God’s plan for our families.
Family Proclamation: The Family- A Proclamation to the World
outlines some of the most important truths we need to stay on the covenant path,
especially now, 31 years after the Proclamation was shared. Some of these
truths include: Marriage is between a man and a woman, the family is ordained
of God, and families can, and will, live together forever, as it says in the
classic Primary song.
Conclusion: John 8:32 reads: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall
make you free.”
Knowing
truth gives us the power to confidently make the right decisions
and gives us peace of mind in our lives.
God
wants us to be happy and be free from the weight of the world.
Satan
wants us to be trapped and miserable. But by discerning truth, we can avoid his
deception & lies.
Matthew 11:30 – “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
No
matter the amount of confusion around us, the Lord will love & guide us
through it.
TESTIMONY-
I believe Joseph Smith was a prophet.
I believe I will be with my family forever.
I believe these blessings all come from our Heavenly
Father.
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