Illusions

A couple of weeks ago, I took my kids to the Museum of Natural Curiosity.  My kids spent two solid hours in interactive play from water creations, motion, wind, rope bridges, and so on.  I know there were tons of things we didn't even get to experience.  I watched in amazement when my kids stepped into the magic shop.  We were surrounded by things that tricked our eyes.  K stared at an image like this for quite a while:

It frustrated her a bit because she never could see the old woman.  She could easily spot the young woman.  She grew impatient and walked away after a while. 

However, she quickly saw the illusion in this picture:

How can this so clearly have three ends on one side, but two ends on the other side?  She smiled at the thought.

Screen monitors showed us that this rectangle is not really a rectangle, it is a square.

These are the same.  But are they the same, really?

Earlier this week, my kids started watching a show on Netflix called Brain Games.  It was filled with more of these optical illusions:

The color on the top block is the same as the color on the bottom block.  Don't believe me?  Put your finger over the middle.  They are the same. 

And there is this one, where the center, top, brownish color is supposedly the same color as the center, side, orange color.  Take away all the other colors--yep, it's the same.

Then came this picture:

It drove me CrAzY!

I know what I see and it isn't what everyone else tells me to see.  At first I thought it was a silly internet thing, but after asking my family we were all split with the white/gold and blue/black controversy as well. 

I stared at it and stared at it.  I didn't understand. 

It just plain messed with my mind. 

I started talking to my kids about all of these illusions we had come across and the thought occurred to me--illusions haven't just snuck in during the last couple of weeks.  We are surrounded by them daily, from the voice on the radio and the image on the computer screen to the influences in the halls at school.

Satan is THE master of illusions. He knows that if he can twist, shade, mold, shape, bend, or shadow things enough, they can look completely different than they really are.  Good can look evil, and evil somehow seems good.  (Isaiah 5:20) But, we don't have to become a victim of our own perceptions--a victim of Satan's deceptions. 

How?  By one of the greatest gifts given to man:  The Holy Ghost.  I am so thankful for the power of the Holy Ghost who manifests "the truth of all things."  (Moroni 10:5) I know that the Holy Ghost can and does testify of the truth of all things, not just things of a spiritual nature...the truth of ALL things.  I know that if I had really needed an answer to the dress dilemma, I could've just asked.  More importantly, I know that if I ask my Heavenly Father specifically about what my son is struggling with or how to best help my daughter through a certain trial, that the truth will be made known to me. 

I can be guided without deceptions, I can be directed without shadows, I can be taught without mind games, and I can be instructed without bias.  What a beautiful gift!