In Doctrine and Covenants 11:12-14, the Lord gives counsel on discerning truth from falsehood: "And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good — yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, I will impart unto you of my Spirit, which shall enlighten your mind, which shall fill your soul with joy;
"And then shall ye know, or by this shall you know, all things whatsoever you desire of me, which are pertaining unto things of righteousness, in faith believing in me that you shall receive."
In his October 1990 general conference address, Elder Lynn A. Mickelsen of the Seventy asked: "How can we know the truth? The early members of the Church brought with them many customs, traditions, and practices from their earlier beliefs. Not all of these practices conformed to the will of the Lord. In a revelation given in May 1831, He explained to the elders of the Church how to discern and decide which of these practices were appropriate. He referred to both sides of the issue of teaching and receiving. Not only must we teach by the Spirit, we must receive by the Spirit.
" 'And again, he that receiveth the word of truth, doth he receive it by the Spirit of truth or some other way? If it be some other way it is not of God.' (Doctrine and Covenants 50:19-20.)
"If we do not receive the truth by His Spirit, it is not His word," continued Elder Mickelsen.
"As we seek for the truth, we should always bear in mind the counsel of Mormon when he explained, 'Wherefore, all things which are good cometh of God; and that which is evil cometh of the devil.' (Moroni 7:12.) He then counseled us to be very careful in choosing and gave us the way to decide.
" 'For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night. For behold, 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.' " (Moroni 7:15-16.)
