The Most Important Question
In my humble opinion, there is one very important question that everyone must confront: Is the resurrection account of Jesus Christ historically accurate? Or, asked more simply, is Jesus who the New Testament says he is?
Why is this important? Blaise Pascal wrote a very compelling essay on how belief in God affects our lives. I have written a response here.
There are those who would argue this is not a good reason to believe or, at least, to act as though you do believe. I’ve heard one critic point out that one who doesn’t actually believe, but tries to act as though he does believe is doing no more than just “going through the motions” and it’s not benefiting him to act this way. Perhaps he is right, but I would like to challenge him a little bit.
You see, as I have already explained, I believe Jesus is who he said he was. I believe he did the things his followers said he did, and I believe he died, was buried and then resurrected. If you choose to believe the evidence that has been presented on this topic, you are opening yourself up to the beliefs that logically follow. You have begun to make your heart into a place where other seeds of truth can be planted. In the Book of Mormon, you can read about how Alma taught people that this is the first step to having a living, breathing, fruitful testimony. He advises that the merest “particle of faith” is nothing more than a “desire to believe”1. This “desire to believe” is enough to begin exercising your faith and actually embark on Pascal’s Wager.
Jesus Christ himself taught about this in his earthly ministry. During the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), he sent his disciples to attend in his place as his time to announce himself as the Messiah had not yet come. Instead he went to the temple and began to teach there. The Jews “marveled” that he had knowledge of the scriptures supposing that he never learned about it, and then he related the principle in question here:
Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. 2
Once you begin to try to do God’s will, you will begin to realize Christ’s promise to “know the doctrine.” I take this to mean that there are some things you can’t know for yourself until you begin to live the principles. Christ was testifying that he had a better knowledge of what the scriptures were trying to communicate because he was living the principles, and the implied invitation is there to “come and see” and this is essentially what Pascal is implying as well. Come live the principles, see what a difference it makes in your life.
I have seen this in my life as well. When I read the scriptures and try to apply the principles I believe I find there, I have found that I am a much happier person.
Implications of Belief
So why would I want to have a “desire to believe” or to “know the doctrine?” This is the real question. If the account is historically accurate, and I want to believe it, what follows?
Childlike Wonder
If you make the choice to believe that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is, in fact, real, and you accept that he is real enough to have transmitted light and knowledge to his followers, then you are opening yourself and softening your heart to the idea that the stories in the scriptures are true. The stories in the scriptures are every bit as fantastic and wonderful as anything that has been dreamt of in human imagination.
Fiery serpents, plagues, giants, global floods, pillars of fire, parting of the Red Sea, water pouring from rocks, angels; all of them are real. The same being that conceived of all the creatures you have ever known and created the planet which contains everything you have ever interacted with knows you and cares about your individual well-being on an intimate level. That same being with that kind of power, cares about you. He knows your name. He knows what your troubles are and wants to help you with the deepest desires of your heart. The God who has created the Earth and all of the creatures I know about and more, has also expressed that he “formed [you] in the belly and knew [you]”3. Jesus taught also that his father “so loved the world” and that we could have “everlasting life” by believing in him.
Promises
This is just the start. Just recognizing where you came from and who created your body and the planet you live on and the universe it occupies is the first step in the journey. There are glorious promises that can be realized today. Some of the promises that get me excited are:
- Ongoing revelation and inspiration4
- instruction on how to lead a good, happy, and joyful life5
- power to effect miracles in harmony with God’s mission for us on earth6
- the ability to serve in a kingdom of other disciples in an effort to change lives for the better and reduce the suffering of mankind
What happens when we don’t believe?
Our success or failure in our faith journey lives and dies with just this one principle. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel7. Without belief, our faith journey is stopped before it starts. This turns out to be a core assumption we make, and Jesus himself recognized this problem
Parable of the Sower
He taught about this very concept in one of his parables:
And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.8
Just as a seed cannot germinate unless it is sown on fertile ground, our faith cannot grow unless it is likewise planted in the same nurturing environment. A hostile environment for growing seeds might have:
- little to no soil
- thorns or weeds
- too much heat
All these things make it difficult for a seed to have what it needs to flourish. All of them will simply choke the life out of the seed such that it cannot germinate or grow even if it does.
Jesus went on to explain the meaning of these symbols:
When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
Similarly, hostile ground for the seeds of faith is going to have conditions that choke out its life. Our faith “soil” is very similar to farming soil. We need the right conditions for it to grow to yield fruit. Look at what Jesus said about the seed sown by the way side. The conditions might have been right for the seed to take root, but the conditions were not right for the seed to grow because it was subject to wicked influences. This is why the choice to believe is so important. Once you make a choice to believe you are no longer subject to these wicked influences because your foundation is based in that choice.
So what are the conditions that choke our faith? There are quite a few:
- Fear
- Doubt
- Disbelief
- and indirectly, sin. (Sin causes the other 3)
What happens when we do believe?
Belief is liberating for many reasons, but chief among them is the actual power belief has. This is the kind of power that miracles rely on: our combined creative power with God to work miracles and bless His people.
Before I share some examples with you from the scriptures first let me point out to you how necessary your faith is. The prophet Moroni was trying to teach those who read his record about this problem. The entire chapter is really important, and I encourage you to read it, but let me just point this one verse out to you:
For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them; wherefore, he showed not himself until after their faith.9
Two requirements
That said, I believe we can infer that miracles have 2 prerequisites:
- God’s will and timing and
- Our faith
God is not going to use His power unless he wants to. He doesn’t want to unless it’s going to advance His mission. His mission is to “bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”10 So if we ask for something that doesn’t fit in his mission, the answer is going to be an emphatic, or indifferent “no.” After all, why would he frustrate His own plans?
Here’s the hard part: God’s permissiveness is far broader than we would like to think. The scriptures are absolutely rife with the promise that all we must do is ask in faith, and we will receive according to our faith and desires.
The Brother of Jared
Jared was a prophet at the time of the Tower of Babel. Once the languages were confounded they fled the area and eventually needed to cross the ocean. After constructing barges according to the Lord’s instructions, he wondered what could be done to provide light inside the watercraft. When he asked the Lord how to light them, the Lord asked, “What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?” and then went on to elaborate on different things that wouldn’t work. After this, the brother of Jared exercised his own faith, came up with a plan, and approached the Lord with it. He had his own ideas and creativity and brought them to bear. We can learn a lot from his prayer:
O Lord, thou hast said that we must be encompassed about by the floods. Now behold, O Lord, and do not be angry with thy servant because of his weakness before thee; for we know that thou art holy and dwellest in the heavens, and that we are unworthy before thee; because of the fall our natures have become evil continually; nevertheless, O Lord, thou hast given us a commandment that we must call upon thee, that from thee we may receive according to our desires.
Behold, O Lord, thou hast smitten us because of our iniquity, and hast driven us forth, and for these many years we have been in the wilderness; nevertheless, thou hast been merciful unto us. O Lord, look upon me in pity, and turn away thine anger from this thy people, and suffer not that they shall go forth across this raging deep in darkness; but behold these things which I have molten out of the rock.
And I know, O Lord, that thou hast all power, and can do whatsoever thou wilt for the benefit of man; therefore touch these stones, O Lord, with thy finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness; and they shall shine forth unto us in the vessels which we have prepared, that we may have light while we shall cross the sea.
Behold, O Lord, thou canst do this. We know that thou art able to show forth great power, which looks small unto the understanding of men.
Take note that although the brother of Jared was undoubtedly righteous, he still felt the need to acknowledge his unworthiness before God. In his simultaneous righteousness and unworthiness, he was bold in what he asked for. He believed that the Lord could do as he desired. The brother of Jared’s prayer and desire was for his people to have light. He was trying to reduce the suffering of his people. He believed that the Lord would help him and he asked for it.
The result is one of the most important stories in the theology of the Church of Jesus Christ. The brother of Jared was able to see the finger of Jehovah and as a result of that experience was given a much grander vision. This is a pattern we can see in many places in the scriptures.
The Woman with the Issue of Blood11
There was a woman with a blood hemorrhage who had been trying to treat it with physicians for twelve years, but had not only been unsuccessful but it had grown worse.
When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
The most curious part about this story, to me, is that the Savior appeared to be unaware of what the woman’s intentions were at the time the miracle occurred.
And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
To me, this suggests that the Lord’s will does not need to be explicit. Implicit conformity with his mission is sufficient. Christ’s response to this is consistent with this idea
Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
How curious. He didn’t point to the power of God, even though we know that’s what it was. Instead he pointed to her belief and her faith in that power. The power of God is essential, yes. The will of God is also essential. But Jesus felt the need to point out to her that it was her faith and her action which made the difference.
This is an incredibly uncomfortable truth. This means that the door is wide open for us to call upon the power of God for our desires. As long as the desire is within the bounds the Lord has set, there is no reason we should expect that it won’t be fulfilled. It’s uncomfortable because, so often, our prayers go unanswered. To what degree do we hold ourselves accountable for own faith?
Peter walks on water
Indeed, the Savior, again, pointed this out to Peter himself when walking upon the water12. Peter asked
. . . bid me come unto thee on the water.
Again, here, it was Peter’s initiative to come out and do as Jesus had done. He wanted to walk on the water. His faith led him to ask, and he knew that Jesus could make it possible.
When Peter began to waver, however, he began to doubt.
And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
This story is especially profound to me because the miracle began to work with his faith, but ceased working when fear, doubt, and disbelief crept into his state of mind. The miracle is powered by the faith of him who asks for it. The miracle lives and breathes within us.
The Most Important Miracle
Which leads me to a very important conclusion. If you’re like me, you’re not aware of a lot of miracles in your life. Blessings? Yes. So many. Tender mercies? Absolutely. Again, there are so many. But miracles. I’m not aware of those. I contend that this is because I am not as faithful as I should be and this is the reason for their dearth.
However, all is not lost. There is one very important miracle that is wrought over time. One that I know the Lord is very interested in. This is the miracle that I can change. He can change me into the kind of man who has enough faith to move mountains and help him with His mission. I believe he can change me. I have just to turn to Him and repent.