What is truth?

John Jaques (1803-89), born in Moraket Bosworth, Leicestershire, England, became a Latter-day Saint in 1845. He immigrated with his family to America in 1856 and crossed the plains with the fated Martin Handcart Company. His daughter was among those who died. He returned to England as a missionary (1869-71), and there, at Stratford-upon-Avon (of Shakespear fame), he penned the Mormon hymn, "O Say, What Is Truth." After his return from England he worked for the Deseret News and in the Church Historian's Office. (Mormon Literature and Sacred Arts)

I have sung this hymn many times in my life, at times with vigor and earnestness, but until today I had not really allowed it's robust message of truth to wash over me. I have included the full text for your review, with a few observations and hope you will ponder the verses carefully, and consider the importance of embracing truth in your respective lives.

Oh Say, What Is Truth?
John Jaques

Oh say, what is truth? 'Tis the fairest gem
That the riches of worlds can produce,
And priceless the value of truth will be when
The proud monarch's costliest diadem
Is counted but dross and refuse.

(The arrogant ruler with costly diadem or crown is discarded as worthless or useless.)

Yes, say, what is truth? 'Tis the brightest prize
To which mortals or Gods can aspire;
Go search in the depths where it glittering lies
Or ascend in pursuit to the loftiest skies.
'Tis an aim for the noblest desire.

(Truth indeed should be our most prized aspiration and no obstacle transcends it's worth.)

The sceptre may fall from the despot's grasp
When with winds of stern justice he copes,
But the pillar of truth will endure to the last,
And its firm-rooted bulwarks outstand the rude blast,
And the wreck of the fell tyrant's hopes.

(Truth is the bulwark or protection against external danger or injury. It outlasts tyranny or injustice.)

Then say, what is truth? 'Tis the last and the first,
For the limits of time it steps o'er.
Though the heavens depart and the earth's fountains burst,
Truth, the sum of existence, will weather the worst,
Eternal, unchanged, evermore.

( Truth the enduring principles ordained of God that he, and we are subject to, outlast the sands of time and eternity. To learn them and embrace them is indeed the brightest prize that Mortals or Gods aspire. Like two parallel lines our happiness and peace, not as the world giveth, is perfectly correlated to the degree to which we are aligned to truth.)