Semantics of “True” May 6, 2008
Tonight I was asked, “Do you believe the Book of Mormon is true?” Ummm, no? I don’t like the word ‘true’ in that sentence. A lot of Mormons say, “I know this Church is true” or “I know the Book of Mormon is true.” But what does that mean exactly?
To me, ‘true’ involves facts or something that can be empirically proven. Can I actually prove that the Book of Mormon is true? Can anyone prove that? No. Can anyone prove that God is real? No. Knowing kind of defeats the purpose of faith. Belief is more appropriate. I believe that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. Another way to put it is that I have a testimony. I think that believing is different than knowing but believing in something doesn’t make it less valid. It is a different way of knowing.
After explaining all of this to the missionaries and brother C, one of the missionaries says, “So I understand how you feel about the Book of Mormon. However, if someone else asks you, ‘Do you believe that the Book of Mormon is true…’” I said, “I should just say, ‘yes’ and avoid this 15-minute conversation!” And they said, yeah, that might be a good idea. Another thing I could say is that I have testimony that the Book of Mormon is valid.
Do statements like “This Church is true” bother other people? Is it a grammar issue? Can a noun be true? You don’t usually say, “This pillow is true.” You can say, “This story is true.” I think I’m just being an obsessive English major. I’ll stop now. 
I’ve heard it said by several non-Mormons that the use of the word “know” in the Mormon Church is very unusual. Most people think of the word “know” used in the context you spoke of (i.e. proving empirically something is true). This is not how Mormons use the word. Though it is commonly taken that way.
Mormons “know” the Church is true because they have felt, what they interpret as, the Spirit testifying to their hearts. This is described commonly as a burning of the bosom. When they feel this, they have been taught; they know the thing is true. This goes for anything not just the Book of Mormon.
The word “know” has become so cliché in the Church that a testimony would sound awkward without it. Many forget that it is okay to say “I believe” rather than the more affirmative “I know”. Unfortunately, “I believe” is thought of as a lesser, weaker testimony even though it is probably a more honest expression of faith.
It does sound very strange to non-Mormon ears. Good to know that I’m not the only one who is confused by it. I think the “I know” phrase is supposed to project confidence and authority but it’s very confusing for an investigator to hear. Like I said, believing is a different yet equally valid way of knowing, so I guess in that context the “know” as used by Mormons has a that connotation.
I’ve always thought it funny that we say, “I know the Church is true.” Like you said, where do you find the truth value of an institution? I personally try to put my testimony into words that make sense to me. Others are less concerned about phraseology and rely on their feeling and tone to convey what they mean.
Regarding ‘knowing,’ I’d just like to point out that it is a gradual slope from soft belief up to sure knowledge. We are all at different levels, having experienced many different things. The Israelites in Egypt fled from Pharaoh’s army with a fledgling belief that Jehovah might help them. Once they crossed the Red Sea, most of them ‘knew.’ Likewise, our personal experiences can strengthen our assurance of the Lord and bump us up the slope.
But the slope also pulls us down. It didn’t take too long before the Israelites forgot the miracles they had seen and began to complain to Moses. We need to remind ourselves often of the things we know and knew, and this is one of the primary reasons for testimony-sharing.
What Do Mormons Believe?
I love this post! This is one of my pet pieves of Mormonism…saying you “know” something is “true”. Sounds so weird and I’m not sure where it came from but it’s in the Mormon lingo…especially when people stand up for testimonies and don’t know what else to say!
I prefer to say I “believe” or if I really to know something I can say something like “I know I’ve felt the Spirit in my life…etc.”
You’re not weird for thinking this. Many Mormons agree with you!
http://www.graceforgrace.com
My experiences and observations has shown me that members are essentially trained to say “I Know…..”
I don’t like it but this is what you are going to get when you have GA’s saying stuff like….”a testimony is found in the bearing of it.”