“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” (KJV Exodus 20:16)
How much of the information that is used to inform people today involves bearing false witness? How common might this practice be? If bearing false witness is one of the basic moral standards to observe, how important is it to examine what it means?
To begin, it may be asked, what does it mean to be a witness of something? The book of Mormon gives an example when a group of people witness an incredible event of Jesus making himself known to them after his resurrection and ascension into heaven. The account includes this statement, “And the multitude did see and hear and bear record; and they know that their record is true for they all of them did see and hear” (LDS 3 Nephi 17:25). If this is to be used as a standard, then to be a witness, one must personally see and hear what they are bearing record of.
In contrast, on this same occasion the same multitude that is bearing record of one thing, is also unable to bear record of another, even though they are present as it happens. The record includes this, “And it came to pass that when Jesus had made an end of these sayings, he touched with his hand the disciples whom he had chosen, one by one, even until he had touched them all, and spake unto them as he touched them. And the multitude heard not the words which he spake, therefore they did not bear record” (LDS 3 Nephi 18:36-37).
Even though they are present as it happens and may have eventually received an account from the disciples of what Jesus spoke as he touched them, the multitude is not considered to be qualified to bear record of what Jesus said. They held themselves to this standard, so they did not bear record of it. Even though what Jesus says is important and one may want to give an account of everything they can, the multitude did not bear record of what he said when they did not hear him say it.
If I hear from others an account of an important event and I believe that their account is true, does that make me a witness? If I am present when something important happens and I see things going on but cannot hear what is said, am I qualified to bear record of it anyway?
Suppose I am a diligent juror on a trial. I study the topic and consider all of the information presented, and then make an informed decision on the matter, am I a witness? If I spend a lot of time and effort on the subject and it becomes my full time occupation to study it out, does that make me a witness? If I put forward my decision and present it as being from an authoritative witness on the subject, am I bearing false witness?
If I hear many witnesses on a complicated issue and come to a correct understanding of the matter, and then I present my correct view as if I also am a witness, am I bearing false witness? If what I say and the conclusions I present actually are true, could I be bearing false witness anyway?
When I am not a witness to something that is very important to me and which I have studied out extensively, is it possible for me to be a false witness on the topic?
If I can still be a false witness after diligent study and being well informed on a subject, is it possible for me weigh in and discuss the matter without bearing false witness? How should I present what I have to say to avoid bearing false witness on a topic?