Discernible

As Alma taught the Zoramites, he offered the following intriguing proof for the truth of their burgeoning testimonies of the gospel:

O then, is not this real? I say unto you, Yea, because it is light; and whatsoever is light, is good, because it is discernible, therefore ye must know that it is good

Alma 32:35

This is not an appeal to reason; it’s an appeal to direct perception. In Alma’s telling, you are not evaluating the credibility of a witness; you are the witness.

Mormon later provided the same criterion for discerning between good and evil:

The Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. …

Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil.

Moroni 7:16, 19

Commenting on both of these passages, Elder Lynn G. Robbins said:

Both prophets testify that it is the Light of Christ that gives us a perfect knowledge of truth. Even the people of the world recognize that they have an inner sense of right and wrong. They acknowledge the Light of Christ in the use of the word conscience, which comes from the Latin word conscientia, or “knowledge within oneself.”

“Tasting the Light,” Worldwide Devotional for Young Adults, 3 May 2015, Salt Lake Tabernacle

In November 1831, the Lord made a similar appeal to a group of church members evaluating a set of revelations received by Joseph Smith. “Ye know that there is no unrighteousness in them,” He said:

…and that which is righteous cometh down from above, from the Father of lights.

Doctrine and Covenants 67:9; see also James 1:17

Physical light enters our eyes through the cornea and lens, landing on the retina, a membrane which holds approximately 125 million photoreceptors, known as rods and cones. These photoreceptors trigger electrical pulses which travel along the optic nerve to the brain, where these signals are assembled into the images we see. It’s a complex and miraculous process, and yet something we experience all day every day and largely take for granted. As a result of this gift, we don’t have to rely on other people to describe things we can see for ourselves. We can know many truths by direct perception, independent of the opinions and assertions we may receive from others.

Our spirits are likewise equipped to perceive spiritual light. As Alma and Mormon testified, we can recognize truth by our own direct experience, independently of any other person.

We all have this ability. “The Spirit giveth light to every man [and woman] that cometh into the world” (Doctrine and Covenants 84:46). We can also improve this ability through conscious use. “He that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light” (Doctrine and Covenants 50:24).

Today I will use my God-given receptors of light and truth. I will be grateful for His gift of physical and spiritual eyes, and I will be grateful for everything I know because of my own direct experience.