What's in the Book of Mormon? Harden Not Your Hearts Any Longer; Believe in Christ

While among the Zoramites, Alma the Younger and Amulek taught them not to harden their hearts any longer, but to believe in God:

"And now, my brethren, I would that, after ye have received so many witnesses, seeing that the holy scriptures testify of these things, ye come forth and bring fruit unto repentance. Yea, I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you." (Alma 34:30-31)

The Effect of Sin on Faith

In the last year or so, I've noticed in the media a sharp increase in the world's atheism, in its increasing intolerance for God and for those who believe.

There was a TV show where a scientist was asked to serve on a jury. When one of the jury members - a religious leader - expressed his faith that God would guide the outcome, she practically jumped down his throat, excoriating him and comparing belief in God to belief in Santa Claus.

In another TV show, before accepting a patient, the doctor asks whether the parents, who evidently were believers in God, whether they will place their son in his hands or in God's. This atheist doctor didn't want to compete with what, to him, amounted to Santa Claus for the credit in saving their son's life.

In yet another TV show, one character snidely asks his rhetorical question: "Do you really believe there's a man in the clouds that people can talk to? He makes fun of the faithful for believing they can talk to "invisible people".

This blatant atheism - or "anti"-theism as the case may be - is yet another in a long line of examples of the fact that our society has devolved from one of faith into one that disdains God. The reason for this is simple: anyone who knows both faith and sin knows by experience the effect each has on the other.

We saw sin destroy faith among the Nephites in ancient America:

"And now behold, [Satan] had got great hold upon the hearts of the Nephites; yea, insomuch that they had become exceedingly wicked; yea, the more part of them had turned out of the way of righteousness, and did trample under their feet the commandments of God, and did turn unto their own ways, and did build up unto themselves idols of their gold and their silver. And it came to pass that all these iniquities did come unto them in the space of not many years...  And they did grow in their iniquities... to the great sorrow and lamentation of the righteous.  And thus we see that the Nephites did begin to dwindle in unbelief... And thus we see that the Spirit of the Lord began to withdraw from the Nephites, because of the wickedness and the hardness of their hearts." (Helaman 6:31-35)

The apostle Paul taught the Ephesians how "blindness of heart" brought about by lasciviousness causes spiritual ignorance:

"This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness." (Ephesians 4:17-19)

The more we allow sin, the less we can see and feel of God at work in our lives. The less we see and feel of God at work in our lives, the more we allow sin. The two are interconnected and mutually causal. Sin dampens the operation of the Spirit of God in our lives; it deprives us of a very special kind of lab instrument that we need for proving the existence of God. Thus, it should not surprise us that a world so captivated by all things carnal, sensual, and devilish as our is should despise God and even mock those who still most undeniably feel Him at work in our lives.




Some Things Atheists Seem to Have in Common

At the risk of forming an unfair stereotype, I can't help but notice that the atheists I've met in my life all seem to have some things in common.

They Think They're Too Smart to Believe

An atheist I knew in college had something of a fixation on what he viewed as a necessity for debate. Debate is really contention disguised as logic - contention that pits the wits and smarts of one party against another in order to force a change of beliefs or to humiliate those who dissent for reasons that are unpopular or difficult to defend. All "argument" proves is that one party is smarter or more shrewd than the other in the artifice of debate. 

Atheist intellectuals - usually people of above average intelligence - claim they're too smart to believe that the universe or life came into being by way of a process of creation instigated by a supernatural being. They prefer to believe that these things occurred by way of a complex, protracted, yet-to-be-described series of coincidences that somehow worked out in favor of life - not a position I'd expect people to take who are ostensibly known for their cynicism and their demand for proof. I'm just a humble former web developer who has discovered the hard way that creating anything complex and getting it to function properly requires education, training, design, research, experimentation, rework, and refinement. Is gravity or chance or any law of thermodynamics capable of any of these things, of such intelligent thought or action as that which was evidently necessary to develop life? I don't think so. I went into web development in part because I felt genetics was way over my head, and nothing I accomplished during my career was an accident. I don't believe the complex universe or the life it holds was an accident either.

If humans "evolved" into existence, then what is the evolutionary purpose of our ability to experience a sense of wonder, or our tendency to think of love as a thing that should last forever despite the terminal nature of mortality, or our perennial drive to seek for something greater than ourselves out there? How do these things aid us in the "survival of the fittest?"

We believers are not here to force anybody to believe what we do or to prove who is smarter, nor are we here to argue with people who cannot see spiritual things. We are here to "gather the elect" of God - those who are willing to listen to His still, small voice. Those who can feel the voice of God speaking to them in their hearts have all the proof we need. For us, the question of God's existence is no longer an appropriate subject for debate. Rather, it is to us as sure a thing as is the sun coming up every morning. For us, to deny any further the existence of a being who has thus spoken and been heard would be as ludicrous as denying the sun came up this morning. 

For my atheist roommate, his own stubborn insecurity about his decision not to believe seemed to drive him to constantly argue with himself, with me, and with anyone else he saw as dumb enough to believe in God. In his incredibly intelligent mind, he sought ever to convince himself that there is no such thing as God. But in his heart, his "internal lab instrument" (we'll talk more about that in a minute) gave him no peace about it. He was more black sheep and less wolf than he was willing to admit.


They Blame God for Their Pain

Every atheist I've ever met seems to have a story behind his or her decision not to believe. Some keep it to themselves, while the more vocal ones will offer their story as proof of the correctness or veracity of their position. Invariably these stories center around pain they associate with God. 

One formerly Christian atheist blames God for not answering his prayer to make an exception to the rules for his dying mother. 

My roommate gave the pain caused by his ostensibly God-fearing yet abusive Mormon mother as his reason not to believe. He appears to believe that a non-existent God made her enforce His gospel with an iron fist. I find it not a little ironic that these people assign blame without providing any evidence of God's personal involvement in the matter. Not only that, but they assign blame to a being in whom they claim not to believe. Their refusal to believe can't punish a god that doesn't exist, therefore, in attempting to punish God by their disbelief, they unwittingly create and operate within the construct of His existence in their minds.

Another atheist I know blames God for giving us commandments that are impossible to live up to. He's angry with God because he himself was unable (he quit trying) to do what he has been taught God expects of him. He's angry with a God in whom he no longer believes for asking the impossible of us - for dropping us a major reason to realize our need for Him. 

Wouldn't it be far more constructive to correctly understand God's role in our mortal probation and seek the very real comfort, power, and healing He offers us in our journey? I suppose it's one thing to believe God exists; it's another thing altogether different to have a deeply personal experience in the life-changing power of God - the kind of experience that could have prevented the loss of faith for this particular atheist.




They Think God is A Crutch for The Weak


Many atheists seem to think of God as some kind of mental or emotional crutch believers lean on because they're too weak to live life any other way. In truth, having God in our lives is like exercise. It takes work and effort and sacrifice that's easy to procrastinate and not usually fun to do. Some crutch! But, like exercise, while there are those who believe they can eat, sleep, work and play without God in their lives, there are those who believe their lives and spiritual health won't be the same without Him. I suppose both are right.


Atheists see believers burden themselves with the commitments they've made to God, and they think it oppressive, even to the point of accusing religious leaders of tyranny and usurpation. To put it in the words of Korihor, a Book of Mormon anti-theist: 

"O ye that are bound down under a foolish and a vain hope, why do ye yoke yourselves with such foolish things? ...I do not teach this people to bind themselves down under the foolish ordinances and performances which are laid down by ancient priests, to usurp power and authority over them, to keep them in ignorance, that they may not lift up their heads, but be brought down according to thy words. Ye say that this people is a free people. Behold, I say they are in bondage." (Alma 30:13, 23-24) 

Unbelievers don't understand what it is we're trying to accomplish, and, not knowing God as we do, they have no sense of the reward that lay at the other end of the effort - both in this life and in the next. It doesn't help that some believers push God along in their lives, like He's a car and taking the car to our destination in life means pushing it there. But those of us who have begun to see and learn what it means to come unto Christ know that God can become a vehicle, a source of power that makes possible the unimaginable joys that come with living His gospel - a source of power without which a genuine attempt to hold to a respectable moral standard can be oppressive and a cause for great misery!


People who refuse to believe in God and who deliberately make choices to violate His moral laws have difficulty understanding true freedom too. We are all under bondage of one sort or another. Either we're committed and valiant and loyal to a God who protects our spiritual agency, or we're captives to sin that deprives us of the great joys of knowing Him and of having His wisdom and power in our lives. As every failed society in history has proven, the latter - a spiritual captivity of sorts - eventually leads to very real and temporal loss of freedom. In the absence of a sufficient body of self-governing moral people, captivity and tyranny are introduced into society, first in subtle ways, and then in not-so-subtle ways. For some specific examples and in-depth exploration of how faith in God protects our freedoms, see my articles on the Ten Commandments.




In Their Atheism, They Celebrate the False Absence of Absolute Morality

Another thing that seems characteristic of atheists, pretty much universally, is that, with God and His annoying sense of right and wrong out of the picture, most atheists seem to revel in what they perceive to be freedom to do things even they once knew were wrong. Lying when they think it helps their case - why not? Stealing if they think they're smart enough to get away with it, or smart enough to re-manufacture it as the right thing to do - who's to stop them? Excessive alcohol or drugs, verbal and emotional abuse of family members, fellow employees, neighbors - especially of those who believe in God - abortion, pornography, homosexuality, adultery... with no God, no right and wrong, and no perceived moral consequence, anything is game.

It's funny how, when we're talking about my choices and my freedom, the world believes increasingly that it's immoral for you or for anyone to so much as imply that what I'm doing is wrong or unacceptable. Yet when you're the spouse who got cheated on, or you're the teacher whose answer key for a test was hacked into, you're the believer who is losing his religious freedom because of legislation that "protects" sinful behavior, when you're the one who is wronged in any way, somehow, suddenly, right and wrong apply again, and the offending party should have known better. Absolute moral right and wrong are either absolutely morally right and wrong, or they're not. The perspective of the parties in question is irrelevant. We don't get to turn morality on and off when it suits our purpose. To do so is to commit utter hypocrisy.

But if there is no God to impose an eternal consequence for immoral behavior, then what's the point? That we, the human race, should maintain some kind of moral code and abide by it is undeniably the smart thing to do. We can hardly have a functional society otherwise. But without a God to define it and motivate us to live by it, how will society ever peacefully agree as to what that code should be? How will society ever come into the means to "enforce the unenforceable?" How can any attempt to arrive at such a thing avoid plunging us into utter tyranny as we seek to control each other in our effort to protect ourselves? Without a God and His laws and consequences to keep it unchanging, how can any moral code that society does finally manage to agree on ever really have any meaning? A moral code that changes with the apparently fickle winds of public discourse cannot.

Elder Clay Christiansen, Seventy: Religion is the Foundation of Democracy and Prosperity 


Most atheists - albeit with exceptions, and in varying degrees - assert that, since there is no God, there are no moral consequences. What they don't realize is that one of the major consequences of their immorality - most especially that of a sexual nature - is the very spiritual blindness that makes God unobservable to them. Most of the atheists I know are filled with bitterness and anger - especially toward God or those who believe in Him, and they entertain some degree of sexual sin. This is hardly the pure heart that will be necessary if they are ever to see and feel God at work in their lives.


For more information on how sexual sin impacts both individuals and society, see my article on the seventh commandment: Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery

See the mechanics behind how ungodliness and sexual sin pervert absolute morality; see the effect this perversion process has on our society:

Morality in an Immoral World: A Turning of Things Upside Down


In short, what I'm saying is that atheists' refusal to acknowledge what to them is an unobservable God does not by itself make them smarter or better than those who believe. In fact, to continue in this refusal is to knowingly put and keep the blinders on. This refusal certainly doesn't absolve them of what many atheists would describe as the logical blunder of acting on emotionally driven rationale. Those who claim their lack of belief in God is motivated by logic are merely using "logic" as a rock to hide under in nursing their own emotionally driven choice.


Physical Laws, Spiritual Laws

This refusal to believe in God is not unlike a child refusing to learn to ride a bike. From the perspective of a child of that age, who in their right mind would believe that a bike will hold itself up, once in motion? Who would be crazy enough to put their elbows and knees to the hazard long enough to give it a try? One might be inclined to argue that there are demonstrable laws of physics involved, that you can prove the viability of riding a bike scientifically by demonstrating the effects of centrifugal force, center of gravity, gyroscopic stabilization, and so forth. This may well be true, but such an argument is not feasible with a child who, for fear, is unwilling to try.

Similarly, for fear of appearing foolish, those not of faith refuse to try the things that bring about faith in God. Just as a child demands reassurance of something she sees her older brother already doing, even so society now demands "proof" of something that is already working in the lives of billions of people all around them. Were it not for their sin, unbelievers would have spiritual eyes to see how much of the goodness and happiness in the lives of the faithful comes, not just because of their "logic" or their faith, but actually from God Himself.

A willingness to learn to manipulate the laws of physics appropriately results in learning to ride a bike. Luckily, for believers and non-believers alike, there are also spiritual laws that operate for the benefit of those willing to learn to use them. We need to understand the process of how to learn those laws for ourselves.


Applying the Scientific Method

Closed-mindedness in general has caused the world to err before. One early example of earnest scientific inquiry exposing truth that comes readily to mind is that of Gallileo. Gallileo built himself enough of a telescope to enable him to observe the heavens. Through diligent observation, coupled with hypothesis and testing that resulted in rigorous conclusion, Galileo found himself unable to deny that the planets revolved around the sun, rather than around the earth, as was the belief at the time. Knowing how dangerous it was for him to do so, he presented his findings to society anyway. They ended up executing him for "blasphemy" - they were unwilling to see anything but the prevailing mantra. They were not willing to repeat Gallileo's observations and discover for themselves that what he, as well as Copernicus and other astronomers of the time, were saying was the truth.

It took time, but eventually, when enough people applied scientific principles to their process of discovery, the world was forced to recognize the legitimacy of Gallileo's work. Since that time, the scientific community has developed what it calls the scientific method - a process that allows a possibility to become a proven law by way of hypothesis, research and testing.

Similarly, believers in God come into their faith by way of investigation and experience. As surprising as this may seem to those of scientific, atheist bent, the process of developing faith in God is not altogether different from developing faith in a new scientific theory. Both involve application of the steps of the scientific method.


Step 1: Ask a Question

One complaint the world has against God is that "He lets bad things happen". It's funny how even atheists can be quick to blame God or curse His name when misfortune or tragedy strikes. (e.g. OMG, other out-of-context references to deity) The reason why God sent us to live in an imperfect world is because the pain we experience here causes us to ask questions. For those of an open mind and a receptive heart, those questions run soul-deep: Why is this happening to me? Why am I here? What is the purpose of life? Did some part of who I am exist before I was born? What will happen to me when I die? Is there a God, a Supreme Being? Does God still work among men in our time? If such a being exists, does He care about me?

The first step toward faith is acknowledging your own humanity: the drive to ask these kinds of questions.


Step 2: Do Background Research

Once you've identified a question, it's time to do research.

As an avid student of holy writ, I testify that the scriptures provided by God through His prophets prove themselves extensively and in great detail. (see Alma 37:1-10) The Old Testament contains hundreds of prophecies given thousands of years before they were fulfilled in the gospels of the New Testament. Likewise, the New Testament contains hundreds of prophecies concerning the latter days that have since been fulfilled, and are now being fulfilled with increasing intensity and rapidity.

In other words, what I'm saying is, to someone willing to study them deeply, the scriptures are physical proof that there is a God and that He communicates with man. How else can documents written thousands of years ago predict in such incredible detail events that happened hundreds of years later, and even in our time?

A Book of Mormon anti-theist by the name of Korihor said, taunting the believers of his time: 

"Why do ye look for a Christ? For no man can know of anything which is to come."

Korihor is right. No man can know of things to come, therefore the scriptures and the prophets, whose words have repeatedly anticipated future events and then been fulfilled, do in fact prove the existence of God. Even Korihor eventually confessed to knowing this.

I substantiate this claim further in the following articles on my blog: 

The Importance of "New" Scripture
The Canonization of the New Testament 
The Coming Forth of the Book of Mormon

The second step toward faith is intense research of your question in the available body of spiritual knowledge: the scriptures! The Savior's invitation is unto all: "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." (John 5:39)


Step 3: Construct a Hypothesis

Scientists understand the concept of faith better than they think they do. As a matter of fact, they exercise it all the time. There is no scientific discovery, no getting your name in the newspaper without a willingness to believe something that has not yet been proven true. That's what a hypothesis is. That is the definition of faith! Look at the words of the prophet Alma:

"And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true." Alma 32:20-21)

To grow in either spiritual or scientific knowledge and experience, you have to be willing to formulate a hypothesis for testing. In other words, if you're not willing to exercise faith, you can't learn - not spiritually, and not in a secular sense. 

Step 4: Perform an Experiment

Just as in a scientific laboratory, once we've exercised enough faith to reach a hypothesis, we have to run an experiment. Research in the scriptures will provide the requirements for the experiment that must be run. Obviously, we can't try our hypothesis without being willing to do a little work. At the meridian of time, an apostle expressed this scientific concept in these words: "...faith without works is dead..." (James 2:26)

James, this same apostle, also provided the primary guidelines for setting up a spiritual experiment:

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.  For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.  A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." (James 1:5-8)

A Book of Mormon prophet by the name of Moroni invited us to test the Book of Mormon this way. In so doing, he gave essentially this same pattern, emphasizing the role of the Holy Spirit:

"Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts. And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.  And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." (Moroni 10:3-5)

The spiritual experiment by which we learn all spiritual laws and truths is this: to give the Spirit of God something to confirm or reject. We can do this by simply entertaining a thought and opening our hearts to hear what He has to say concerning the matter. If this proves difficult or uncomfortable, we can also do it more formally by way of prayer. 

Regarding Laman and Lemuel's refusal to do such a thing, Nephi said to them:

"Have ye inquired of the Lord? And they said unto me: We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us.  Behold, I said unto them: How is it that ye do not keep the commandments of the Lord? How is it that ye will perish, because of the hardness of your hearts?  Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?—If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you." (1 Nephi 15:8-11)

If we want to learn spiritual things, we have to be willing to try, and we have to be willing to ask the Lord to teach us. To learn more details about how to run spiritual experiments, see my article:

How to Pray 

Step 5: Analyze the Results and Draw a Conclusion

This step is where most unbelievers get hung up. Unbelievers are unbelievers because, for reasons founded on lack of experience and incomplete logic, and motivated more by emotion than most will admit, they refuse to accept spiritual evidences or spiritual results. 

But knowledge of these things is inherently spiritual in nature. Learning these things requires the use of a "spiritual instrument", which we'll talk more about in a moment.

When we run an experiment of this kind, what type of result should we expect? Just as we run physical tests of physical laws and analyze physical results, even so, this must be a spiritual experiment to test spiritual truth and to gather spiritual results. Not unlike learning to ride a bike, learning to run this experiment successfully takes practice believing and practice learning to recognize the result. This effort will likely involve some failure before success is achieved. Whenever possible, I recommend practicing with a spiritual concept that you suspect has already caused you to feel the Lord's influence in your life, before trying this on something new that you are wanting to learn.

Those who succeed at running a spiritual experiment of this kind quickly find something occurring in their minds and hearts that isn't them. Forget all the silly notions about "talking to invisible people" or angels appearing or grand visions of heavenly scenes coming out of nowhere. Most of the time by far, God manifests Himself and His truths by way of what the scriptures call a still, small voice. It's not a voice you hear, it's a voice you feel, a voice that nonetheless conveys intelligence.

To learn more about the operation of the still, small voice, read my article: How to Obtain a Spiritual Witness

Once you have obtained a spiritual witness, you will have your confirmation directly from the Spirit of God of the principle or belief you have sought to verify. Naturally, you'll want to draw an appropriate conclusion and begin to incorporate the newly acquired spiritual truth into the way you live your life.

Naysayers are quick to associate such phenomena with psychological issues - even to the point of mocking us by using such words as "schizophrenia", "delusional", "zealot" "fanatical". Korihor made this same tired accusation:

"...behold, it is the effect of a frenzied mind; and this derangement of your minds comes because of the traditions of your fathers, which lead you away into a belief of things which are not so." (Alma 30:16)

But until they've actually had this experience themselves, these people can only speak in theoretical abstractions about this phenomenon of which they know absolutely nothing. To those who are unwilling to meet the conditions, this phenomenon is utterly unobservable. They reject it because, not having a pure heart toward God, they have no means by which to perceive it, let alone prove or understand it. As the Savior put it, "so persecuted they the prophets who were before [us]". (see Matthew 5:12, 3 Nephi 12:12)

Step 6: Communicate Your Results

Quite without realizing it, many of the religions of the world have made extensive use of this scientific concept in the form of missionary work. While most people in a scientific community are eager to learn of new research and experimentation, the people of the world are easily turned off by a discussion about religion - especially a religion that claims to have received something new from God. These days, the people of the world are mostly unwilling to learn new things that have changed the lives of billions of people throughout the many centuries of the storied history of religion. But people in the religious community know as surely as their scientific counterparts do that our personal, spiritual research and experimentation produces a steady stream of real results that have changed our lives for the better. We want more than anything to see others benefit from what we have not merely believed, but actually experienced. It is for this reason we send out our missionaries and echo our message all over the world, despite the fact that it is becoming increasingly dangerous for us to do so.

A Special Kind of Lab Instrument

There are those who insist that if I can't perceive it with my five senses, it isn't real. If it isn't physical, it isn't real. But this is narrow-minded thinking. You can only prove physical things by way of physical evidences. Those who have no experience in spiritual things have no way to know that spiritual things can also be proven - but only by spiritual means.  

The apostle Paul taught the Corinthians:

"Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.  For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.  Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:9-14)

People once refused to believe that there was such a thing as an animal that was too small to be seen by the naked eye - that is, until the microscope was invented.  The Spirit of God is like a very special kind of lab instrument. Those unwilling to use it cannot see spiritual things.


 Nephi taught that the use of this lab instrument is crucial in the discovery of all spiritual truth:

"...when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men. But behold, there are many that harden their hearts against the Holy Spirit, that it hath no place in them; wherefore, they cast many things away which are written and esteem them as things of naught." (2 Nephi 33:1-2)

The prophet Mormon had another name for this lab instrument. He called it "the spirit of Christ" or "the light of Christ":

"For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the daylight is from the dark night. For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.  But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil; for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him.  And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged. Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ." (Moroni 7:15-19)

During His mortal ministry, the Savior taught His apostles about a "comforter":

"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.... These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." (John 14:16-27, 25-26)

Thus, knowledge that can only be gained and retained by spiritual means is only available to those willing to develop and use those means. 

Alma and Amulek taught that opening our hearts and keeping them open was the key to gaining and growing in spiritual knowledge, while hardening our hearts can actually cause us, not only to cease to believe, but to actually forget what it felt like to know things we once knew:

"And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full. And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries..." (Alma 12:10-11)

Nephi went a little further:

"And whoso knocketh, to him will he open; and the wise, and the learned, and they that are rich, who are puffed up because of their learning, and their wisdom, and their riches—yea, they are they whom he despiseth; and save they shall cast these things away, and consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility, he will not open unto them. But the things of the wise and the prudent shall be hid from them forever—yea, that happiness which is prepared for the saints." (2 Nephi 9:42-43)

To understand more about Nephi's use of the words "rich" or "riches", please see my article: The Pride of the World vs. Living Water.


My Sheep Know My Voice

It takes a certain kind of heart and mind to be able to use this particular lab instrument. Concerning its use, the Savior said to his detractors:

"...ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me..." (John 10:26-27)

If we would know our Good Shepherd's voice, or if we would have the proofs He personally offers each of us for His existence, we must have a pure heart. The Savior taught:

"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." (Matthew 5:8, compare 3 Nephi 12:8)

Okay, so, what is a pure heart exactly? We'll get into it more in my articles on the Beattitudes, but for now, let it suffice me to say that a pure heart is a desire to do what we know is right to the best of our ability, to conform our lives to the will of God concerning us, provided He proves to exist. Note that a pure heart is not the absence of sin, but rather it is an attitude toward our sins - an attitude, a desire, a diligent effort that opens us up to being able to see and feel and perceive spiritual things, things that will guide us toward the unfathomable joy of salvation from sin, things that have been and still are sources of great joy and fulfillment for all who discover them!

A pure heart is what turns on this lab instrument, this light of Christ, and makes of us sheep to the Good Shepherd, who is Christ.



The Unknown is Not License for Dismissing Faith

The other truth that applies in both spiritual and secular contexts is that it is important not to allow what you don't know to invalidate what you do know. In exploring Einstein's theory of relativity, scientists made new observations that cast doubt on what they thought they understood about it. But ultimately, finding answers to questions raised by general relativity has not only validated our understanding, but actually deepened it, adding such sciences as quantum mechanics and string theory along the way. 

Similarly, as we hold onto truths discovered by the witness of the Holy Ghost, we explore unknowns that first challenge our faith, then deepen and strengthen it as our personal understanding grows. 

It has been a similar process that led to a discovery of what scientists now call "dark matter". Dark matter is estimated to take up ninety-four percent of the universe. In other words, to explain the behaviors of some celestial phenomena, we have to account for far more matter than is perceivable by means currently available to us. Why do we believe in "dark matter" we cannot perceive? We believe because of the many evidences that suggest its existence and operation in the universe.
 
One notable scientist was asked the question: "How are we supposed to believe that dark matter exists, that quantum theory really does apply, that string theory has any foundation in reality, that all these dimensions exist, or that the things you say about them are true?". His amused response: it takes "faith". 

Similarly, we believers have experienced evidences of God's operation in our lives that cannot be explained away. We believe because no rational, self-respecting individual having experienced such evidences could dismiss them. 




Making Room for the Logical Possibility That There is Such a Thing as God

Somewhere in the course of exploring general relativity, some theorists began using a mathematical construct called Rieman's Tensor. This method was proven to be capable of describing how gravity can affect light, the degree to which time slows down as we approach the speed of light, and other such phenomena. Scientists took the notion that math could predict undiscovered phenomena a step further and applied it outside of three-dimensional space. They've been able to predict various things that occur many dimensions above what we are able to see. The problem they're having is that their math is able to predict things they can't test, let alone prove. Should we allow Occam and his razor to dismiss truth discovered by rigorous means just because it isn't strictly observable? Who is to say that there isn't life somewhere in the infinite number of describable dimensions of the universe, or in some alternate inversion of the universe as described by quantum theory? 

If such unobservable life does exist, could not such life have a mastery of the sciences that appears supernatural to us? Would it be so strange to call such a being "God?" 

Scientists seem willing enough to spend millions of dollars and thousands of hours on the search for extra-terrestrial life - a search motivated by evidences that don't quite constitute proof. Again, that's called faith! But we believers know by experience that extra-terrestrial life can be found on our knees as we use the means which He has provided for that purpose. Through the power of prayer, believers know, without "seeing things" or "hearing voices", that we most definitely are not alone in the universe! To put it in the Savior's words: "I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you!" (John 14:8)


Prager University: Where do Good and Evil Come From?



Who Created Who?

Anti-theist scientists have given believers a bad time for using various gods throughout history to explain what they didn't understand. But it now seems the more science explains, the more we realize we don't understand. While it has explained many good and important things along the way, all science really has done is deepen our awareness of a bewildering complexity that grows as we learn, rather than diminishes. To believers, this fact still constitutes God's signature, affixed to His work. Here in the midst of our imperfect mortality, religion and science turn out to be equally incapable of grasping the entirety of their respective universes. For every evidence or voice in the world that argues against the existence of God, there is another that provides compelling proof of His existence. Here are some examples:

Prager University - YouTube: Does Science Argue For or Against God?
Prager University - YouTube: Has Science Discovered God?

I don't know about other religions, but in the case of Jews and Christians - including Mormons, we don't believe because we created a God that reconciled our understanding; we believe because God came, revealed Himself to us, and gave us understanding, including the notion that He created us. That is the primary message contained in the Old Testament of the Jews, the New Testament of the Christians, the "other" testament of ancient American Jews, and the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price of the Mormons.


Harden Not Your Heart Any Longer

The Lord and His prophets have some pretty strong words for those who harden their hearts, and will not believe. The reason for this is that God loves us deeply - too deeply to want us to continue in this miserable and dark way. Additionally, He has provided all of us equally the means to come unto Him, to "see" Him in a spiritual sense, and to know Him by way of the prayer of faith and by seeking to follow His voice.


Those who shut out His voice from their hearts and minds knowingly shut out an influence for good, an influence that would otherwise lead them to see for themselves the great joy to be found in the salvation of our God.

The prophet Nephi warned:

"And wo unto the deaf that will not hear; for they shall perish. Wo unto the blind that will not see; for they shall perish also.  Wo unto the uncircumcised of heart, for a knowledge of their iniquities shall smite them at the last day." (2 Nephi 9:31-33)

Whether any of us - or even God - likes it or not, the "last day" is a fixed moment in time that is fast approaching. It is a day when we will know beyond any doubt that God does exist. (see Doctrine and Covenants 38:5-8) It is a day when we will inevitably have to be held to account for our decisions, our beliefs, and our actions in this life. It is a day when the stubborn among us will discover to our great horror that we have put what turns out to be a somehow strangely familiar, loving God between a rock and a hard place: on the one hand He has no choice but to enforce the laws entrusted to Him; on the other, doing so means losing some of His beloved children because we deliberately chose to ignore His voice when He called. 

In a desperate bid to get us to prepare for that day, the prophet Mormon issued this warning:

"And now, I speak also concerning those who do not believe in Christ. Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitation—behold, when the Lord shall come, yea, even that great day when the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, yea, in that great day when ye shall be brought to stand before the Lamb of God—then will ye say that there is no God? Then will ye longer deny the Christ, or can ye behold the Lamb of God? For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God, and also the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a (figurative) flame of unquenchable fire upon you...O then ye unbelieving, turn ye unto the Lord; cry mightily unto the Father in the name of Jesus, that perhaps ye may be found spotless, pure, fair, and white, having been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, at that great and last day." (Mormon 9:1-6)

 
The only thing that can make "the last day" a good day for both us and God is our decision to develop a pure heart, to hear His voice and follow Him, to put ourselves under the watch-care of our loving Savior, Jesus Christ. The Savior has been very plain on this point: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6) 


A Challenge for Those Who Are Willing to Try

God does not wish to be discovered by some scientist building a god detector in his basement. He will only permit Himself to be discovered by those who "hunger and thirst after righteousness". Do you hunger and thirst after righteousness? Do you hunger and thirst to feel that there is something more to life, to your existence than what your five senses are able to tell you? Are you willing to run the necessary experiment to feel and know of God's presence for yourself? Are you willing to accept spiritual evidences as proof of His presence? 

If so, this challenge is for you. It's time to take your spiritual, internal lab instrument on its maiden flight! Here is your challenge...




Live By Faith

Every day for ninety days, I want you make a diligent effort to please God in your thoughts, words, actions and desires. You don't have to actually succeed at making the changes in your life that this will imply; you merely have to be paying attention to what those changes will be and apply a diligent effort. This is something believers do every day, all day for our whole lives. It's called living by faith. The scriptures also implicate this process in the development of what Christ called a pure heart - a heart that is able to activate its internal, spiritual lab instrument.


Daily Prayer

Every day for ninety days, I want you to make a habit of contacting Extra-Terrestrial Life - even that God who has promised not to leave us comfortless. I want you to make a point of telling Him the struggles you're having in your effort to live by faith. Talk to Him as you would a close confidant friend, or even a psychologist. I want you to counsel with Him in how to proceed, how to improve each day. Open your mind and heart for direction that will come. Don't listen with your ears. Listen with both your mind and your heart.


Your Homework Assignment

Every day for ninety days, I want you to make at least a little progress on one or more of the following reading assignments. Read these passages of scripture, and then, using the aforementioned procedure, activate your internal lab instrument and prayerfully test the truthfulness of the accounts they contain. 

These links open in a separate page.

1. The Testimony of the Apostle John the Beloved (John 1:1-15)
2. Eyewitness Accounts of the Lord's Resurrection
1. He is Risen 
2. The Resurrected Jesus' Ministry Among the Nephites
3. Acts 1:1-11
3. The Spiritual Experiments of Others
1. Nephi's conversion (1 Nephi 2:16)
2. Enos' plea for forgiveness (Enos 1:1-8)
3. Conversion story of king Lamoni's father (Alma 22:3-23)
4. Gideon and his fleeces (Judges 6:36-40)
5. Joseph Smith's account of the First Vision (Joseph Smith - History 1:11-17)
6. Becoming a Mormon: Nilia Telleria, Cumana, Sucre, Venezuela
4. The Importance of Experiencing the Love of God for Yourself
1. Lehi's account of the vision of the tree of life (1 Nephi 8)
2. Nephi's account of the vision of the tree of life (1 Nephi 11)
3. Mormon exhorts us to pray to experience the love of God (Moroni 7:45-48)
4. Moroni teaches the importance of having our lives changed by the love and power of God (Moroni 10:30-32)
5. The apostle Paul on the importance of loving God and of feeling His love for us  - referred to in the scriptures as charity (1 Corintians 13:1-7)
6. Alma the Younger's conversion story (Alma 36:12-21)
7. the people of king Benjamin experience a remission of their sins (Mosiah 4:2-12)

Once this ground study is complete, you're ready for your first flying lessons:

Jesus of Nazareth: Our Savior and Friend! 
My Testimony of Jesus Christ


As you work through this challenge, watch what kinds of things begin to change in your life. Watch how you begin to feel about the direction your life is beginning to take. Watch how you begin to feel about God. In the latter days, God has counseled, and believers have obeyed, and we have broad, deep and rich experience in the truth of His words:

"...let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly (for ninety days) ...then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God" (Doctrine and Covenants 121:45, emphasis added)

I testify from extensive personal experience that applying this challenge in my life indefinitely has caused my confidence in the presence of God to increase indefinitely!

A decision not to harden our hearts any longer, but to believe in Christ and listen to His voice, will ultimately prove to be the best decision we ever made. For, in the very moment we make that decision, the great plan of redemption begins to be brought about unto us, and we begin to see and to enjoy the best God has to give us - evidences of His work in our lives, things that must be spiritually discerned!

"All truths are easy to understand, once we discover them. The point is to discover them." - Gallileo


Also of Interest

Movie Trailer: God's Not Dead 
LDS Book: A God Who Weeps, by Teryl and Fiona Givens
Book: The Case for Christ, by Lee Strobel

Rice University's Galileo Project - Galileo's Telescope