What is Truth?

Let's examine some of the statements made by Dieter F. Uchtdorf of the First Presidency in the January 2013 CES Devotional (local copy).

"Satan is the great deceiver ... The adversary has many cunning strategies for keeping mortals from the truth ... For those who already embrace the truth, his primary strategy is to spread the seeds of doubt. For example, he has caused many members of the Church to stumble when they discover information about the Church that seems to contradict what they had learned previously".

Is Mr. Uchtdorf saying that if evangelicals tell Latter-day Saints that Joseph Smith taught that God was once a man who became a God, they are actually acting like Satan because they are planting doubts in Mormon people about whether they are worshipping a false God or not?

In the Book of Mormon, both the Nephites as well as the Lamanites created their own truths about each other. The Nephites' truth about the Lamanites was that they were a wild, and ferocious, and a blood-thirsty people, never able to accept the gospel. The Lamanites' truth about the Nephites was that Nephi had stolen his brother's birthright and that Nephi's descendants were liars who continued to rob the Lamanites of what was rightfully theirs. These truths fed their hatred for one another until it finally consumed them all.

2 Nephi 5:20-21 says, "Wherefore, the word of the Lord was fulfilled which he spake unto me, saying that: Inasmuch as they will not hearken unto thy words they shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And behold, they were cut off from his presence. And he had caused the cursing to come upon them, yea, even a sore cursing, because of their iniquity. For behold, they had hardened their hearts against him, that they had become like unto a flint; wherefore, as they were white, and exceedingly fair and delightsome, that they might not be enticing unto my people the Lord God did cause a skin of blackness to come upon them".

Alma 3:6-7 says, "And the skins of the Lamanites were dark, according to the mark which was set upon their fathers, which was a curse upon them because of their transgression and their rebellion against their brethren, who consisted of Nephi, Jacob, and Joseph, and Sam, who were just and holy men. And their brethren sought to destroy them, therefore they were cursed; and the Lord God set a mark upon them, yea, upon Laman and Lemuel, and also the sons of Ishmael, and Ishmaelitish women".

I wonder if Mr. Uchtdorf believes that these Book of Mormon statements are 'truths' created by the Nephites.

If you look at the Book of Mormon, the word "birthright" is not found and no mention is ever made about Nephi stealing any birthright.

The LDS Church associates the birthright with the priesthood. "It is Ephraim, today, who holds the priesthood. It is with Ephraim that the Lord has made covenant and has revealed the fulness of the everlasting gospel. It is Ephraim who is building temples and performing the ordinances in them for both the living and for the dead. When the "lost tribes" come - and it will be a most wonderful sight and a marvelous thing when they do come to Zion - in fulfilment of the promises made through Isaiah and Jeremiah, they will have to receive the crowning blessings from their brother Ephraim, the "firstborn" in Israel" (Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 3:252-53, Religion 430-431 - Doctrines of the Gospel Student Manual, p. 66).

The LDS Church's Bible Dictionary for "Ephraim" says, "Ephraim was given the birthright in Israel (1 Chr. 5: 1-2; Jer. 31: 9), and in the last days it has been the tribe of Ephraim's privilege first to bear the message of the restoration of the gospel to the world and to gather scattered Israel".

"Under the patriarchal order, the right or inheritance of the firstborn is known as birthright. This generally included a land inheritance as well as the authority to preside. The firstborn of flocks and of human families was considered as belonging to the Lord and was expected to be dedicated to Him. This dedication could be either literal or by the payment of redemption money (Ex. 13:11, 16).

From time to time certain prerogatives, opportunities, and blessings have attended those who were born of a particular lineage. Thus the office of high priest (of the Aaronic order) and the office of the patriarch to the Church (in the Melchizedek Priesthood) are hereditary in nature. Lineage alone does not guarantee the blessings or spiritual power of the office, but the opportunities are offered to the firstborn of the selected lineage. There are several instances in the scriptures of the one who was the firstborn losing his birthright because of unrighteous-ness and his office being given to another; such is the case with Esau (Gen. 25:24-34) and Reuben (1 Chr. 5:1-2; Jer. 31:9) (LDS Bible Dictionary for birthright).

This is incorrect. The opportunities for the priesthood were not offered to the firstborn according to the Old Testament - the Levites were chosen in place of the firstborn.

Numbers 3:12 - "And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine".

Numbers 3:41,45 - "And thou shalt take the Levites for me (I am the Lord) instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel; and the cattle of the Levites instead of all the firstlings among the cattle of the children of Israel".

Numbers 8:14-19 - "Thus shalt thou separate the Levites from among the children of Israel: and the Levites shall be mine. And after that shall the Levites go in to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation: and thou shalt cleanse them, and offer them for an offering.For they are wholly given unto me from among the children of Israel; instead of such as open every womb, even instead of the firstborn of all the children of Israel, have I taken them unto me.For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I sanctified them for myself. And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel.And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary".

Mormon President Uchtdorf does not understand this.

In the patriarchal order, the firstborn son is the heir and inherits the leadership of the family upon the death of the father. This is often spoken of in the scriptures as birthright (Gen. 43:33). Under the law of Moses, the firstborn son was regarded as belonging to God, and special ordinances were provided for his redemption (Ex. 13:12-15; 22:29; Num. 3:45; Luke 2:22-23). The eldest son received a double portion of his father's possessions (Deut. 21:17); and after his father's death, he was responsible for the care of the mother and sisters (LDS Bible Dictionary for firstborn).

In the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 1:29 is linked to Doctrine and Covenants 68:17."For the firstborn holds the right of the presidency over this priesthood, and thekeys or authority of the same" and Abraham 1:3. "It was conferred upon me fromthe fathers; it came down from the fathers, from the beginning of time, yea, even from the beginning, or before the foundation of the earth, down to the present time,even the right of the firstborn, or the first man, who is Adam, or first father, throughthe fathers unto me".

Before there ever were priests of Aaron, there already were priests of Israel.

Exodus 28:1 - "Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests--Aaron and Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar".

These were the precursors to the Aaronic Priests.

Manasseh and Ephraim did not rule over the other tribes of Israel. It was actually Judah who would hold the sceptre. And Jerusalem was the place where God chose to put His name. These two tribes did not hold the priesthood in the Old Testament so their 'birthright' (or Nephi's) could not be stolen.

"We simply don't know all things-we can't see everything. What may seem contradictory now may be perfectly understandable as we search for and receive more trustworthy information. Because we see through a glass darkly, we have to trust the Lord, who sees all things clearly".

Is this similar to what Jehovah's Witnesses teach? ... that new light comes to correct previously-given false light? Or does it imply that we can go the grave believing and acting upon false teachings without consequences in the resurrection?