How is Truth Determined?

by Oscar C. Miles

What probably bothers me most about Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons is that they do not allow any possibility that they might be in error. It seems to me that they have been programmed to resist the possibility of fallibility in their organization. They believe that they are God's organization and thus must be right. But what determines truth is not what is taught by God's official organization on earth but by His Word: "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth" (John 17:17).

We should not have so little confidence that we change our minds any time someone disagrees with us, but we should always say, "I believe I have the truth on this subject, but I might be wrong." Otherwise, our attitude is no different from Jehovah's Witnesses. The wise man listens to the ideas of others; the fool thinks he knows it all already: "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise" (Proverbs 12:15).