Survival as a Fitter Truth

I'm possessed by the "truth is the most precious pearl" concept taught to me as a young Mormon.

I'm constantly holding the sacrifices of my ancestors before me. Those who chose to vacate family, community, culture, tradition, property, comfort, "the known", and life itself in pursuit of "the truth." At once but no longer to reverence the price they paid for "the truth" that I have allegedly inherited, rather the price they paid in exchange for the quest.

I realize that it's likely much more complex than a straight-forward exchange. That human motives are profoundly irrational while being justified with rational arguments. That there's a great danger here of justifying the indefensible.

So would I abandon my family, as my great-great-great-grandfather did, in pursuit of truth? No. I believe that there is a lie ... a self-deception in this exchange.

But would I put myself and my family through hell in pursuit of the truth? Yes, I would.

So long as human families are a framework for the basic needs of the human mind, then I will not exchange truth -- a valid understanding (to the best of our abilities) of the world as it really is -- I will not exchange this for peace and comfort, nor for the gratification of my personal delusions. To do so would be to betray myself and my loved ones to the tyranny, enslavement, and proven destruction that befalls human ignorance.

We humans have survived and prospered to the degree that we have mastered "the truths" of our environment, including "the truths" of our own natures. Such truths have come at great cost and immeasurable pain, perhaps mostly from our ignorant resistance.

To survive and prosper is what I wish for my children. And to fully enjoy the few comforts and pleasures which nature affords us as motivation along the way.