1 Gaining the truth means understanding God’s will through every word that He says; it means putting God’s words into practice once you have understood them, and allowing God’s words to be lived out by you and become your reality. Only when you have a thorough understanding of the word of God can you really grasp the truth. The word of God is the truth. However, one will not necessarily understand and gain the truth after they read God’s words. If you fail to gain the truth through eating and drinking the words of God, then what you gain will be letters and doctrines. You do not know what it means to gain the truth. You may hold the words of God in the palm of your hand, but after reading them you still fail to understand God’s will, you only acquire some letters and doctrines.

2 First of all, you should realize that the word of God is not so straightforward; the word of God is utterly profound. Even one sentence of God’s words will require your lifetime to fully experience. You read the words of God, but you do not understand God’s will; you do not understand the intentions of His words, their origin, the effect they seek to achieve, or what they seek to accomplish. How can this mean you understand the truth? You may have read God’s words many times and perhaps you can recite many passages by heart, but you still have not changed at all, nor have you made any progress. Your relationship with God is just as distant and estranged as ever. There are still barriers between you and God, and you still remain doubtful toward Him. Not only do you not understand God, but you give excuses to Him and harbor notions about Him. You resist Him and even blaspheme Him. How could this mean you have gained the truth?

Adapted from The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three