Participatory Journalism:
Whom Will You Trust?

by Larry Tippetts

There’s a confusing chorus of voices out there giving advice on how to live your life. Which ones do you listen to?

A few years ago I heard a story that has had a profound impact on my search for truth and understanding. I can’t even remember where I heard the story, but it has haunted me for years.

During World War II a young soldier became concerned for the safety of his wife and baby as the enemy armies pressed toward his village. He put them on a night train for a nearby neutral country to spend the remainder of the war with relatives. Traveling through the night, the young mother became very sleepy. As the conductor walked by her seat, she asked how long until the train arrived at her destination. Glancing at her ticket, he explained that hers was the next stop, but that she had plenty of time to rest. He promised to wake her before arriving. With that assurance, she fell asleep, and the train rumbled on through the night.

Sometime later, the train came to a stop. A man seated across the aisle who had overheard the conversation noticed that the conductor wasn’t in their car and that the young lady was sleeping heavily. Fearing that she would miss her stop, he kindly awakened her. She thanked the man, gathered her baby and her bag, and slipped off the train just as it pulled away.

When the conductor came back into the car and found that the young lady wasn’t there, he inquired about her. The man across the aisle spoke up. “You weren’t here, so I had her get off at the last stop.” The conductor became very upset and explained that the train merely stopped to take on water. There was no shelter available! After the train finally arrived at the next village a search party was sent. The freezing weather had taken its toll, and they found the young mother and her baby dead from exposure.

That is a tragic story, but it brings up some important points to consider. Was the man across the aisle sincere in his effort to help? Of course he was. But did he have the knowledge necessary to give the young woman advice? Sadly, he did not.

Sitting across the aisle from us are people eagerly giving advice on how to live our lives. Many are like the man on the train—sincere, but lacking the knowledge or perspective necessary to give us helpful advice. In fact, the advice we get from some of those around us is destructive. Thanks to modern advances in communication, you and I are bombarded daily with many voices: advertisers shouting at us from the television and the billboards; singers spreading their philosophy via tapes, records, and the concert hall; playwrights and producers focusing our attention on center stage; editors and columnists filling the pages of our daily newspapers; authors and teachers speaking from the textbook and the lectern; along with church leaders, counselors, philosophers, parents, and peers—all joining in the confusing chorus of advice on how to live our lives. “There are, it may be, so many kinds of voices in the world, and none of them is without signification” (1 Cor. 14:10).

In trying to decide whom you are going to trust, which voices you will listen to and which you will ignore or tune out, you should consider the following two questions:

1. Who sincerely cares about me and my happiness?

You might take a pencil and paper and make a list of the people who sincerely care about you. During a seminary class one young lady came up with a list of over 150 names of friends, relatives, church leaders, and others that she felt were sincerely concerned about her welfare. Her comment: “I had no idea so many people were pulling for me.”

Now make another list of those people who are not concerned about your happiness. I hope you don’t know too many personally, but be sure to include those in our society who are merely trying to use you—those who are merely seeking to profit financially at your expense, or those for whom popularity or prestige is more important than propriety. There are many who will teach you their philosophies of freedom but who fail to tell you of the costly and painful side effects of their kind of freedom. Learn to tune out the voices of those who don’t care about your happiness.

2. Who has sufficient knowledge to give me advice?

Many of those seeking to give advice are very sincere, just like the man across the aisle on the train. They have no ulterior motives of wealth, power, or pleasure. On the contrary, many voices seem to have a genuine regard for the happiness and welfare of those they assist. Keep in mind, however, that it is possible to be sincerely wrong. The Apostle Paul referred to those with an understanding of the purpose of life as “children of light” (1 Thes. 5:5), meaning that such persons had a knowledge of who they really were and what their potential was, by virtue of their access to the Holy Ghost and the teachings of living prophets. Most of the good, well-trained teachers and experts of the world do not have that added understanding and, consequently, draw conclusions about life that are incomplete or incorrect.

For example, I would screen very carefully the advice and counsel given me by one who believed that man is simply the highest form of animal life and will cease to exist after death. That limited perspective alone can result in all sorts of false conclusions about how to use our time in this short life. There is much of great worth to be learned from those who do not share our understanding of the plan of salvation, but keep in mind that many experts are strictly limited in the kind of advice they can give.

In contrast, consider the unusual perspective or vision possessed by one who has seen beyond the veil and communicated with God—one who knows of the reality of God by personal experience. I speak of the prophets in all dispensations called by God to ensure that his attentive children have the understanding necessary to make wise decisions in this life and eternity. They are the eternal experts, with insight and understanding that temporal expertise alone cannot provide.

Will you trust others? Yes, of course you must trust others, but remember that many lack sufficient knowledge or the proper motives to advise you. Will you trust God? I hope that you will, for he is the one sure source of knowledge and wisdom. I recognize that it is sometimes difficult to know his will. But if we harken to the united voice of the holy scriptures, the teachings of the living prophets, and the personal promptings we receive from the Holy Ghost, we can be sure that we will not be led astray.

Photos by Grant Heaton