I am not afraid of the pen, or the scaffold, or the sword. I will tell the truth wherever I please. — Mother Jones in Linda Atkinson's book, Mother Jones (1978)

You never find yourself until you face the truth. — Pearl Bailey, The Raw Pearl (1968)

You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. — Christian scripture, John 8:32

Big Question: What is truth?

"Always tell the truth" and "Never tell a lie" are often the first moral imperatives a child learns. But adults do not always set good examples. We lie, and children know. Sometimes we excuse our prevarications as choices we make to "protect" people from the truth or otherwise to do good. Small wonder if youth are confused about what truth is and why it is important.

This session asks youth to search for deep truths in the morals of fables and in their interactions with peers. The story lifts up Mahatma Gandhi's view of truth and his commitment to it, while WCUU explores different ideas of spiritual truth found within Unitarian Universalism.

Goals

This session will:

• Pose the Big Question "What is truth?" and explore Unitarian Universalist responses
• Define spiritual truth as the truth we find in our own answers to the big questions
• Ask youth to make a commitment to truth-telling
• Demonstrate that different perspectives reveal different truths.

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

• Define truth and explore its importance at several levels
• Learn the role his commitment to truth played in Mahatma Gandhi's life and accomplishments
• Define "spiritual truth" and discover a range of spiritual truths found in Unitarian Universalism
• Explore the implications of gossip.