Moroni 10:29

And God shall show unto you, that that which I have written is true.

Moroni appeals to God to prove his words. Or rather, he challenges us to look to God to prove that his writings are true. He knows the source of the truths he had written, and he directs us to go to that source to learn for ourselves. We do not have to take the word of any human. We can appeal to God himself. Moroni promises that God will give us an answer. No other book in the world makes such a bold assertion. No other book claims that God will testify of it. The test is infallible. The results are miraculous.

Moroni 10:26

And wo unto them who shall do these things away and die, for they die in their sins, and they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God; and I speak it according to the words of Christ; and I lie not.

If Joseph Smith made up these words as a fraud, he is the boldest liar in history. He is either a liar or a prophet. He does not quibble on the middle ground. It is so simple to take him at his word and put him to the test. Ask God. Surely the Lord would not let such a liar take his name in vain and not make the fraud known to any honest seeker. An evil man could not write such a book and a good man would not try -- unless it were true.

3 Nephi 2:2

Imagining up some vain thing in their hearts, that it was wrought by men and by the power of the devil, to lead away and deceive the hearts of the people; and thus did Satan get possession of the hearts of the people again, insomuch that he did blind their eyes and lead them away to believe that the doctrine of Christ was a foolish and a vain thing.

Deception turns the truth upside down. Satan would have us believe that the truth is a deception, and that his deception is the truth. He is not so much interested in getting us to believe his bold-faced lies  as he is in getting us to simply question God's truth and relinquish our commitment to it.

Helaman 9:18

And it came to pass that the five were liberated on the day of the burial. Nevertheless, they did rebuke the judges in the words which they had spoken against Nephi, and did contend with them one by one, insomuch that they did confound them.

The truth boldly spoken can confound the most devious lies. The bearer of truth must be steadfast and diligent, however, to get the better of sophisticated liars. He cannot waver or doubt. If he weakens, the subtle lies will fool even the very elect. The hope is, however, that the honest in heart will respond to the message of truth. We must therefore be strong in the truth.

Alma 30:18

And thus he did preach unto them, leading away the hearts of many, causing them to lift up their heads in their wickedness, yea, leading away many women, and also men, to commit whoredoms—telling them that when a man was dead, that was the end thereof.

Satan's great ploy is to convince us that absolute truth and eternal right and wrong do not exist. If he can get us to doubt that God cares about what we do, our own imaginations will lead us down any number of paths, none of which will be right. God has given us a conscience, but if we sear it with a hot iron, we can destroy guilt. We then become laws unto ourselves. Chaos reigns, anarchy follows, and misery is always the results, both for the individual and for society. I testify that God is real, he knows us, and he cares about us. Death is not the end but only a step closer to him.

Alma 1:4

https://bycommonconsent.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/nehor.jpg

And he also testified unto the people that all mankind should be saved at the last day, and that they need not fear nor tremble, but that they might lift up their heads and rejoice; for the Lord had created all men, and had also redeemed all men; and, in the end, all men should have eternal life.

This verse recounts the false testimony of Nehor the Anti-Christ. Half truths are the weapons of Satan to confuse and blind those who are not careful. It is true that God created all people. And it is true that Christ has atoned for all sins of all people for all time. What is not true is that redemption is guaranteed to everyone with no effort on their part. We must participate in our own salvation. Each must work out his own salvation with fear and trembling, meaning with humility and effort. Anyone CAN be saved, but not everyone WILL be saved.

Jacob 7:23

And it came to pass that peace and the love of God was restored again among the people; and they searched the scriptures, and hearkened no more to the words of this wicked man.

We protect ourselves from deception by immersing ourselves in the scriptures, the Living Water.

Jacob 7:12

And this is not all—it has been made manifest unto me, for I have heard and seen; and it also has been made manifest unto me by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, I know if there should be no atonement made all mankind must be lost.

More powerful than hearing and seeing is the power of the Holy Ghost to convince us of the truth. We hear and see things all the time that are not true. The film making industry thrives on the ability to show us things that are not real. Yet despite how real the images on the screen look, we know they are the product of computers, props and engineering. The Holy Ghost, on the other hand, has the power to not just make us think something is real, but to testify to the reality. Seeing an angel is not convincing unless the Holy Ghost testifies to our hearts and mind that we have seen an angel. That is why Laman and Lemuel could see angels and hear the voice of God and still rebel. They did not allow the Holy Ghost to testify to them. Which suggests another principle about the power of the Holy Ghost, namely, that it is never coercive. He never exercises his power without an invitation. If we do not ask, he does not act.

Jacob 4:13

Behold, my brethren, he that prophesieth, let him prophesy to the understanding of men; for the Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto us plainly, for the salvation of our souls. But behold, we are not witnesses alone in these things; for God also spake them unto prophets of old.

Manmade truth is transitory, but real truth is absolute. Real truth does not change. God sees things as they really are, and he will tell us how they really are if we will listen.

Second Nephi 9:51

Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth, nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy. Hearken diligently unto me, and remember the words which I have spoken; and come unto the Holy One of Israel, and feast upon that which perisheth not, neither can be corrupted, and let your soul delight in fatness.

The gospel is rich, nutritious, and nourishing to the soul. It builds and enlivens our spirit. The truth is satisfying, even exhilarating.  It makes us happy and brings great joy. We can take great pleasure in the gospel, for it is good news on which we can rely to always be true.

Second Nephi 9:40

O, my beloved brethren, give ear to my words. Remember the greatness of the Holy One of Israel. Do not say that I have spoken hard things against you; for if ye do, ye will revile against the truth; for I have spoken the words of your Maker. I know that the words of truth are hard against all uncleanness; but the righteous fear them not, for they love the truth and are not shaken.

The guilty take the truth to be hard. Unless the light of Christ is extinguished, they know they are wrong, and when their transgressions are pointed out to them, they become doubly uncomfortable.

Guilt is like pain to our spirits. It warns us of danger. It motivates us to stop doing the thing that causes the pain. If we put our hand on a hot stove, we do not debate the philosophy of heat; we move our hand. Yet how many times do we debate the morality of our sins, which are hurting us, instead of  stopping the harmful behavior. Would we justify burning our hand because it is such a small part of our total body mass? Or because we can take a painkiller and forget about it? Or because we figure it will heal eventually, so there is no permanent damage? Or because everyone else is doing it? Do we ignore the warning indicator that says the cook top is hot, with the attitude that no silly red light is going to stop us from doing what we want? The natural man goes to great lengths to protect the physical body but cares not at all for the spirit within it.

When we hear someone say they have heard enough talks and lessons about the word of wisdom or chastity or tithing or Sabbath observance, it is likely that they are taking the truth to be hard because it is sharpening their guilt.

The righteous, on the other hand, or at least those who strive for righteousness, love to hear the truths of the gospel taught, discussed and reiterated. They are validated by the truth, rather than convicted by it. They grow in their desire for righteousness. They feast on the truth and drink it in like a thirsty person.

First Nephi 16:2

And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center.

Simply put, the truth is hard for the guilty who don't want to hear it. Those who love the truth, however, welcome it even when -- no, especially when -- it informs them of changes they need to make.