Link to Elder Andersen’s talk: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/04/25andersen?lang=eng

A Google search for “What is truth?” brings more than a million responses. We have more available information on our cell phones than in all the books of a brick and mortar library. We live with information and opinion overload. Enticing and alluring voices pursue us at every turn.

Caught in today’s confusion, it is no wonder that so many consign themselves to the words spoken 2,500 years ago by Protagoras to the young Socrates: “What is true for you,” he said, “is true for you, and what is true for me, is true for me.”

Are there any absolute truths that are the same for every person on the earth?

Blessed with the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, we humbly declare that there are some things that are completely and absolutely true. These eternal truths are the same for every son and daughter of God.

What are those eternal truths?

The scriptures teach, “Truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come.” Truth looks backward and forward, expanding the perspective of our small point in time.

What do you think Elder Andersen means when he says that truth expands the perspective of our small point in time?

‘When we see things as they really were, really are, and really will be dispensations are merely seasons, new friendships are but relationships resumed, and prophets sent forth on their errands from the Lord reflect associations which arc across the ages as they later rendezvous on mountaintops and hills, in woods, fields, groves, and even jails. ‘ (Neal A Maxwell, General Conference, April 1986)

What is the difference between information and truth?

Why should we be cautious about the sources we use in our search for truth?

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Truth shows us the way to eternal life, and it comes only through our Savior, Jesus Christ. There is no other way.

What methods should we use when we seek truth about religion?

The scriptures, our prayers, our own experiences, modern prophets, and the gift of the Holy Ghost bring us the spiritual perspective of truth necessary for our journey here on earth.

President Joseph Fielding Smith said:

“Today we are troubled by evil-designing persons who [endeavor] … to destroy the testimonies of members of the Church, and many … are in danger because of lack of understanding and because they have not sought the guidance of the Spirit. … It is a commandment from the Lord that members … be diligent … and study … the fundamental truths of the gospel. … Every baptized person [can] have an abiding testimony. … but [it] … will grow dim and eventually disappear [without] … study, obedience, and diligent seeking to know and understand the truth” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1963, p. 22).

We lived before our birth. Our individual identity is stamped in us forever. In ways we don’t fully understand, our spiritual growth there in the premortal world influences who we are here. We accepted God’s plan. We knew that we would experience difficulties, pain, and sorrow upon the earth. We also knew that the Savior would come and that as we proved ourselves worthy, we would rise in the Resurrection, having “glory added upon [our] heads for ever and ever.”

How can what we did in the premortal life influence who we are here?

President Dallin H. Oaks said: “All of the myriads of mortals who have been born on this earth chose the Father’s plan and fought for it. Many of us also made covenants with the Father concerning what we would do in mortality. In ways that have not been revealed, our actions in the spirit world influence us in mortality” (“The Great Plan of Happiness,” Ensign, Nov. 1993, 72).

In my lifetime, we have seen a dramatic change in the world’s beliefs about many of the principles taught in the proclamation. During my teenage and early married years, many in the world walked away from the Lord’s standard we call the law of chastity, that sexual relations are to occur only between a man and a woman who are lawfully married. In my 20s and 30s, many walked away from the sacred protection of the unborn, as abortion became more acceptable. In more recent years, many have walked away from God’s law that marriage is a sacred union between a man and a woman.

Consider reviewing in greater detail The family-a proclamation to the world

How can we better stand up for the truths revealed through the Lord’s prophets?

(Passages in italics are excerpts from Elder Andersen’s address)