06/04/2026
Sister Kelly Dayley's June Argus Observer article:
"By This Word Shall You Live"
The Information Age began around the mid-20th century. People my age remember when our main sources of information were a daily newspaper, two or three television channels, and a set of encyclopedias. News of popular culture and world affairs were available if you had magazine subscriptions or a radio. These sources seem quaint and limited today.
Around the end of the 20th century, the Information Age took a quantum leap forward with wide access to vast amounts of information on the internet. Today, over 400 million terabytes of new information is generated daily, with Artificial Intelligence set to exponentially increase that number. It is fascinating that an AI Overview definition of itself reports, “Artificial Intelligence exponentially increases the sheer volume of information while heavily decreasing its average quality and authenticity.”
We each must choose how we interact with, evaluate, and respond to the avalanche of information we can access today. There is fierce competition for our time and attention. Many millions of dollars and man hours are spent to find every possible way to grab and hold our eyes, our ears, our time. We must navigate constant advertisements, thousands of streaming apps, endless podcasts, trillions of posts on social media, addictive games, exploitative AI algorithms etc. All of these sources are laser focused on claiming our attention and shaping our thinking.
We have the responsibility to diligently measure the information and all the voices we hear to some standard of truth and integrity. Where is a consistent standard of truth and integrity to be found?
I love the powerful words in Psalms 119 that help me remember that God is the source of all truth and light. “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. With my whole heart have I sought Thee: O let me not wander from Thy commandments. Thy word have I hid in my heart.” We need His word to be so deeply in our hearts that it can light all of our paths and guard us from wandering far from the wisdom and safety of keeping His commandments. Time spent studying the word of God can help us recognize absolute and eternal truths and develop a power of discernment to recognize false and destructive ideas and viewpoints.
I appreciated the article recently written for this column by Pastor Wes Higgins. He wrote that we can each build a strong foundation for our faith by reading the scriptures. He closed his article with the admonition, “Read the Word -- it is written.”
There is intellectual and spiritual power in reading the word of God. True principles and doctrines are repeatedly taught in the scriptures, through stories, letters, sermons, prayers and songs. The Holy Spirit can teach us as we read. Eternal truths can distill into our souls, forming a bedrock and foundation for our thinking and decision making. Reading and pondering scriptures reminds us of our identity as children of God and disciples of Jesus Christ. It can encourage the word of God and the love of God to become the standard of truth we use.
The beautiful words of Jesus Christ teach us that “Blessed are … they who hunger and thirst after righteousness.” His words remind us to “seek not the things of this world but seek ye first to build up the kingdom of God.”
Before his death Moses counseled the children of Israel to be faithful and obedient to all he had taught them. He boldly testified that “God is our Rock,” full of truth, justice, and perfection. Moses concluded by cautioning them to, “Take to heart all the words by which I am warning you today, that you may command them to your children, that they may be careful to do all the words of this law. For it is no empty word for you, but your very life, and by this word you shall live.” (Deuteronomy 32)
These ancient scriptures are “no empty word.” They are full of truth and light we can use to judge other information. They expose the corrosion of evil and the consequences of sin; they illuminate wisdom, virtue, and love for one another. Scriptures reveal the word of God and His infinite love for each one of us. They help us set a standard by which we can live.
