Salt

President Packer has shared an experience of his about a conversation with an atheist.  The man told him that no one could know if there was a God, Elder Packer told him that he knew, and proceeded to illustrate his point by asking the man to describe the taste of salt.  And although the man knew what salt tasted like, he couldn't describe its taste in words.  The same can be said of the Holy Ghost.

I sat in an airplane next to a man who so strongly expressed his disbelief in God that I bore my testimony to him. “You are wrong, I said, “there is a God. I know He lives!” 

He protested, “You don’t know. Nobody knows that! You can’t know it!” When I would not agree with him, the man, who was an attorney, asked perhaps the ultimate question on the subject of testimony. “All right,” he said in a sneering, condescending way, “you say you know. Tell me how you know.” 

I felt perhaps, that I had borne my testimony to him unwisely and was at a loss as to what to do. Then something came into my mind. I said to the man, “Let me ask if you know what salt tastes like.” 

“Of course I do,” was his reply. 

“When did you taste salt last?” 

“When I just had dinner here on the airplane.” 

“You just think you know what salt tastes like,” I said. 

He insisted, “I know what salt tastes like as well as I know anything.” 

“If I gave you a cup of salt and a cup of sugar and let you taste them both, could you tell the salt from the sugar?” 

“Now you are getting silly,” was his reply. “Of course I could tell the difference. I know what salt tastes like. It is an everyday experience.” 

“Then,” I said, “assuming that I have never tasted salt, explain to me just what it tastes like.”
After some thought, he said, “Well, I suppose you could say that it is not sweet and it is not sour.” 

“You’ve told me what it isn’t, not what it is.” After several attempts, of course, he could not do it. He could not explain, in words alone, so ordinary an experience as tasting salt. 

I bore testimony to him once again and said, “I know there is a God. You ridiculed that testimony and said that if I did know, I would be able to tell you exactly how I know. My friend, spiritually speaking, I have tasted salt. I am no more able to tell you in words how this knowledge has come to me than you are able to tell me what salt tastes like. But I say to you again, there is a God! He does live! And just because you don’t know, don’t try to tell me that I don’t know, for I do!” (The Candle of the Lord, Elder Boyd K Packer)

I know what salt tastes like.  I eat salt with almost every meal.  It brings out the flavor of the food, and makes meals more delicious.  Without salt, many food become bland and boring.  Could you imagine eating potatoes without salt?  But even though I know what salt tastes like, I can not describe the taste of salt.  It is salty.  It isn't sweet and it isn't bitter.  But more than that, words just don't exist to describe the taste.

Similiarly, I know what the Holy Ghost feels like.  I am not making up emotions, nor am I confusing the experience with something else.  I have felt the Holy Ghost, and I know what it feels like.  I know the difference between the Holy Ghost and emotions.

But more than that, when I was baptized, I received the gift of the Holy Ghost.  This means that I have the right to have the Holy Ghost as my constant companion.  Just like eating salt is an everyday experience, feeling the Holy Ghost is an every day experience.  It brings out the flavor of life, and makes experiences more delicious to me.  Just like I wouldn't want to eat French Fries without salt, I wouldn't want to live one day without the Holy Ghost.

Multiple Versions of the First Vision

A week ago I had a conversation with an agnostic, an atheist, and a Buddhist about religion.  One of them brought up the fact that there are multiple versions of the first vision as evidence that Mormonism has changed over time.  I didn't know that there were multiple versions of the first vision, and even if there were I would have assumed that they said essentially the same thing.  They don't.  But regardless of that, I didn't answer as well as I could have, and now I wish I had the chance to talk to them again.  Maybe they will read this blog.  Maybe not.  But this is how I wish I would have responded now that I have done my research, read the different accounts, and prayed, and prayed, and prayed.  

First I consulted Google about the different accounts and I found: https://www.lds.org/topics/first-vision-accounts?lang=eng.  The main differences between the two different accounts is that in the first, which Joseph wrote in a private place never intending it to be published, Joseph only mentions seeing the Lord.  Notice the use of the singular.  In the second, Joseph records that he saw two personages.  

The article gives various possibilities for the differences inbetween the two accounts.  Joseph could have merely been emphasizing the part of his vision when Jesus, the Lord, talked to him.  Or he could have also referred to both individuals as the Lord.  

There are other, more consistent ways of seeing the evidence. A basic harmony in the narrative across time must be acknowledged at the outset: three of the four accounts clearly state that two personages appeared to Joseph Smith in the First Vision. The outlier is Joseph Smith’s 1832 account, which can be read to refer to one or two personages. If read to refer to one heavenly being, it would likely be to the personage who forgave his sins. According to later accounts, the first divine personage told Joseph Smith to “hear” the second, Jesus Christ, who then delivered the main message, which included the message of forgiveness.10 Joseph Smith’s 1832 account, then, may have concentrated on Jesus Christ, the bearer of forgiveness. 

Another way of reading the 1832 account is that Joseph Smith referred to two beings, both of whom he called “Lord.” The embellishment argument hinges on the assumption that the 1832 account describes the appearance of only one divine being. But the 1832 account does not say that only one being appeared. Note that the two references to “Lord” are separated in time: first “the Lord” opens the heavens; then Joseph Smith sees “the Lord.” This reading of the account is consistent with Joseph’s 1835 account, which has one personage appearing first, followed by another soon afterwards. The 1832 account, then, can reasonably be read to mean that Joseph Smith saw one being who then revealed another and that he referred to both of them as “the Lord”: “the Lord opened the heavens upon me and I saw the Lord.”11

In order to read the different accounts and explain the differences between them, you must first choose one of two axioms.  Either Joseph Smith told the truth in all the accounts, in which case he was a prophet of God, or Joseph Smith lied in one or more accounts, and then it is reasonable to assume that he wasn't a prophet of God.

Using just the various accounts of the first vision, it is impossible to tell which axiom is true.  Both can be explained using simple logic and it comes down to an interpretation of what Joseph Smith meant when he wrote it.  Anyone who know me, and knows how much I struggle with literature classes, will understand that this is a question I try to avoid as much as possible.  I don't know what the author meant when he/she wrote something.  It is impossible to say.  All you have is the words on the paper, and they can mean whatever you would like them to mean.  You can not say for certain what the author meant when he/she wrote something.  The only way to know for certain what the author meant is to ask him/her and be reasonably assured that the author is telling the truth when he/she responds.  Unfortunately Joseph Smith is dead, so we can't ask him what he meant.  (Imagine how great that would be, if when reading a particular difficult text, like Isaiah or Shakespeare, instead of just grasping at straws trying to understand the meaning, you could just call the author up on the phone and ask them.  I think that would solve every student's problems in literature classes instantly.)

So just looking at the accounts of the first vision, there is no way to know what is true.  Either Joseph Smith lied or he told the truth.  Either he was a prophet or he wasn't.  Choose your axiom, and you can defend it either way.  This corresponds with an agnostic view towards the world.  You can't know, so stop trying to know because you will just keep getting into circular arguments.

Fortunately, we have more resources available then just the original sources of the first vision and the various commentaries on it.  Joseph Smith translated (or made up, depending on the axiom you choose) a work of ancient scripture, the Book of Mormon.  This is the only book on the face of the earth with a promise of its kind in it.  The book promises that if you will read the book, ponder its message, and ask God, then you will come to know the truth of it.

We invite all men everywhere to read the Book of Mormon, to ponder in their hearts the message it contains, and then to ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ if the book is true. Those who pursue this course and ask in faith will gain a testimony of its truth and divinity by the power of the Holy Ghost.

Suppose that Joseph Smith told the truth. (As anyone who has taken mathematical analysis has practiced, it is possible to consider that something is true, without actually accepting it as truth, and then seeing where it leads.)   Then there is a reasonable explanation between the differences of the accounts.  Then Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and the promise made in the Book of Mormon is a promise from God.  Then you can pray to know the truth, and God will answer you.

This is as far as my proof can go.  Unlike mathematical proofs, I can not demonstrate it for you, and stop my argument with a QED.  Only God can prove it to you.  You have to read the book yourself, and then ponder in your heart it's message.  Then you must ask God, in faith, and you will come to know for yourself that it is true.

If Joseph told the truth, then he wasn't the only witness to the events surrounding the first vision, and although we can't ask Joseph what he meant by the differences in the accounts, we can ask God if they are true.  This is a much better practice of obtaining truth then by trying to understand what the author meant when he wrote it.

I have asked God if it is true, and He has answered me.  But before I get to my witness, I want to share the testimony of Elder Holland, a special witness of Christ.

Click here to open the video

Later in this same talk, Elder Holland says, "In this I stand with my own great-grandfather, who said simply enough, “No wicked man could write such a book as this; and no good man would write it, unless it were true and he were commanded of God to do so."

I know that the Book of Mormon is true.  I know because I have prayed and asked God if it is true.  And every time I get the same results.  In a way, more powerful than words, I know that it is true.  The Holy Ghost testifies to me of its truthfulness.  In fact, as I am writing these words, again I am receiving a witness from God that it is true.  

I don't know how to reconcile the differences between the different accounts of the first vision, but I know that the Book of Mormon is true, thus I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet, and he didn't lie.  He did see God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ.  And the church that he established is the Kingdom of God on Earth once more. 

If you want to know of it the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, if you want to know if Joseph Smith told the truth, or if you want to know if the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Kingdom of God, then all you have to do is ask.  Start by supposing that it is true (remember that you can suppose something is true, before you have established it as fact -- mathematicians do it all the time), then read the book, and in faith, ask God.  You will get a witness from the Holy Ghost.

(Note that it is super important to start by supposing the Book of Mormon is true, because then the promise in the Book of Mormon is from God, and it is a real promise.  If you start by supposing the Book of Mormon is false, then the promise in the book was made up by a liar, and you can't do anything about it, and it won't lead you to any more conclusions.)

To Know God (Para conocer a Dios)

So a major theme of this semester for me is knowledge, and how some types of knowledge are different from others (specifically, science and religion).

I was catching up on the Bible Videos, when 1 Corinthians 13:12 really struck me.  Paul says "now I know in part; but then shall I know even as I am known." In Spanish there are two different words for knowing: saber and conocer.  

Saber is to know a fact, to know how to do something, to know something thoroughly, whereas conocer is to know a person or to be familiar with something (see this online spanish lesson for further grammatical instruction).

As I have been thinking about knowledge this semester, I have mainly been thinking about saber, or factual knowledge.  But when Paul is talking about it as he is known, the "I am known" part seems to imply conocer.  Just to check I looked it up in Spanish, and every time Paul uses a form of the verb "to know," Paul uses the word conocer. 

And then I remembered John 17:3, "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent," and I wondered what type of knowledge eternal life, or knowing God, is, and so I looked that up in Spanish as well, and it is also conocer.  

For me saber is the cold, hard facts, while conocer is more intimate and personal.  Saber is the experiments and data; saber is what can be taught in a classroom.  But conocer is personal experiences, and more importantly personal relations.  Learning about God, and the gospel isn't enough.  The facts aren't good enough for eternal life.  Eternal life will come by personally knowing and developing a close relation with God.

It appears that I have been looking at knowledge incompletely.  I would now say that for the most part Scientific Knowledge is the things that can be known (saber) and that religion is the things that can be known (conocer).

What do y'all think?

Una tema mayor de este semestre para me es el conocimiento, y como son algunos tipos de conocimiento diferente de otros (especificamente, la ciencia y la religión).

Estaba mirando los Videos Biblias, cuando dí cuenta de 1 Corintios 13:12 (lo siento, solamente está en Inglés).  Pablo dice, “Ahora conozco en parte; pero entonces conoceré como fui conocido.”

En Inglés, solamente hay una palabra para saber y conocer, y estaba pensando del conocimiento (y tal vez la sabiduría) en inglés, que son el mismo.  Pero con está escritura, pensaba que la diferencia entre saber y conocer es muy importante.

Y despues, pensaba de Juan 17:3, “Y ésta es la vida eterna: que te conozcan a ti, el único Dios verdadero, y a Jesucristo, a quien has enviado.”

De acuerdo con estás dos escrituras, parece que lo más importante para la vida eterna es conocer o sea desarollar una relación personal con Dios.

Entonces, parece que estaba pensando de sabiduría incompletemente.  Creo que el Conocimiento de la Ciencia es lo que uno puede saber y religión es lo que uno puede conocer.

¿Qué piensen ústedes?

Stories That Bind Us Together

As we approach Pioneer Day (June 24^th, a Utah State Holiday where we celebrate the Mormon Pioneers, for all my friends who live outside of Utah), we remember the pioneers, we watch videos, see pictures and tell stories of the Pioneers crossing the plains.

These stories inspire us.  I love to hear stories about the early pioneers and all of the miracles they had while crossing the plains.  I love to read about how they overcome hardships.  I love the courage and the bravery.  They had a strength that I desire in myself.  They were great examples for me.

But I often forget that the stories didn’t end when they entered the Salt Lake Valley.  In fact, that was really only a beginning.  They went on to build a great city, and then build more great cities, and temples.  They farmed, they built, they worshipped, they loved and they lived.

Their story lives on in me.  I don’t mean that I have a pioneer spirit, and that I continue to be a pioneer like them.  In fact, I don’t think that I would have made a great pioneer.  I am a city girl through and through.  I don’t really like hiking (expect on the rare occasion), and I camp very little.  I really don’t have Pioneer/wilderness survival/trek across the plains skills.

But the city that I love, my city, is the city that they built.  I am a direct descendant from Pioneers.  My Mom’s ancestors came across the plains in covered wagons, and my Dad and his family came across in a Volkswagen.  :D My Dad loves this joke, and I have heard him tell it thousands of times.  My work and my legacy and my life are part of what they started.

The stories don’t end. They had children, who grew up and had children.  But it is all the same story.

My story didn’t begin when I graduated high school, nor when I was baptized.  It didn’t begin when I learned to walk and talk.  I didn’t begin when I was born.  It didn’t begin when my parents met.  But where did my story begin?

William Shakespeare described our stories in one of his poems:

All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts.

So it is all just one big story.  The end of one chapter just leads to the next chapter.  My exits and entrances are different than the other actors in the play, but it is all the same play.

In movies, books and stories, we are accustomed to endings and beginnings.  After all you have to enter and exit the theater sometime, or you would never do anything else.  Books have to begin somewhere, and they have to end, or we would run out of paper.  We live in a finite world, and it is hard for us to understand something, even a story, that has no ending or beginning.  Yet that the very story in which we find ourselves.

Elder Boyd K Packer talked about the story that we are in, and also compared it to a play like Shakespeare.

“In mortality, we are like actors who enter a theater just as the curtain goes up on the second act. We have missed act 1. The production has many plots and subplots that interweave, making it difficult to figure out who relates to whom and what relates to what, who are the heroes and who are the villains. It is further complicated because we are not just spectators; we are members of the cast, on stage, in the middle of it all!” (The Play and the Plan [CES fireside for young adults, May 7, 1995], 1–2).

So the story that we are in is really just act 2 of some bigger play.  Act 2 has a definite beginning.  It began with the Creation of the Earth (See Genesis chapter 1).  We know that it will end at final judgment. 

The stories of our ancestors aren’t just good stories to tell.  They are my story.  They are your story.  My story is theirs.  We all have the same story.  I think that is why we, as a people, are so drawn to these stories of Pioneers, because it is really just our own story.

“And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” (Malachi 4:6).  These stories bind us together.  They link us in ways that I don’t fully comprehend.

Share your story today at familysearch.org in the Memories tab of one of your ancestors.

The stories of our ancestors will bind us together as we turn our hearts to our fathers.

Infinite Arithmetic

I love math, and I love relating math to the gospel.

A long time ago, I realized that when talking about infinity, and limits at infinity, we are describing God and his attributes, because God is infinite and eternal.

By these things we know that there is a God in heaven, who is infinite and eternal, from everlasting to everlasting the same unchangeable God, the framer of heaven and earth, and all things which are in them. (D&C 20:17)

So, I started doing infinite arithmetic, and seeing how the results related to God.

Here are two of my favorites, a mathematical poem, if you will.

This is very similar to what Ammon says in Alma 26:12.

Yea, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

The House of Israel and The Abrahamic Covenant

Hello Everyone,

 

So yesterday, we had the privilege of being taught from a General Authority, Elder Bowen.  He taught to two zones, the Waco zone and the Killeen zone.  It was such a privilege to be taught from a General Authority in such a small group.

 

For the last month or so, he has asked us that we study the Abrahamic Covenant, the Baptismal Covenant, the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood, and the House of Israel to prepare for his visit.  So that is what we have been doing and it has been a delight to study those topics.  We have learned that all of the covenants are essesentially the same thing, and they are all a part of the Abrahamic Covenant, more or less.

 

So anyways, here is some of the things that I learned yesterday from Elder Bowen:

• Compare and contrast D&C 11:20-21 with Moses 1:39.  Moses 1:39 is God's work and glory.  D&C 11:20-21 is our work.
• The gospel is not easy, but it is simple.
• Preach My Gospel should be used for the rest of our lives.  And we should start using it with our children as soon as they can read.  It would be a shame if we were to get home from our missions and put it on a shelf, and say those were 2 great years. 
• Obedience + Work = miracles
• Work = faith
• Miracles don't happen when you don't act.  Miracles come when you've done all you can do.
• doubt + fear equals not faith
• if dark, can't be light
• if light, can't be dark
• Obedience brings power
• Nothing will change unless you do.
• Finding should be a way of life instead of a missionary activity.  Finding ought to be enjoyable.  Get creative and do it with a smile.

Who am I? so I can act accordingly...

• God is a title
• 3 things that I need to know
• 1. know that God lives
• 2. know his characteristics and attributes
• 3. know that the course that I am on is in accordance with the Father.
• We pray to God the Father.  Answers normally comes through the Holy Ghost.
• God isn't gaining knowledge, he is gaining glory.  As we are perfected, it adds glory to him.
• Abraham is our grandfather, and so we should all be happy because he is rich and our inheritance is through him.
• You have the potential to become like your Father in Heaven.
• chosen = obedient
• The Melchezidek priesthood is the same priesthood as Christ used to create the earth.
• The Priesthood is not men, it is the power of God.
• The plan of happiness requires a man and a woman. 
• The Priesthood blesses both of them equally.All of the prophets up to Malachi had the Melchizedek Priesthood.
• The Nephites had the Melchezidek Priesthood.
• Alma 13
• D&C 107:18-19
• in many ancient documents mysteries and ordinances are used interchangeably. ...
• authority = right from God
• power = personal righteousness
• keys = the right to direct the kingdom in your geopgraphical area.
• "If we don't have priesthood authority and keys, then we are a big club that does good things."
• Aaronic priesthood => ministering of angels
• Melchezidek Priesthood => communion and presence of God
• D&C 84:19
• Baptism without the temple isn't worth a lot.
• If we stop at baptism, or even our endowment, we won't be able to enter into the presence of God.
• Where is Abraham now?
• D&C 132:29
• "prepare every needful thing"
• What can this world offer that can compare with all that the Father has?
• If we could part the veil and understand who we are the temptations of this world would seem laughable.
• The temple is the connection point between this life and the next.
• This life is not reality.
• The temple is reality.
• We will only be here for 80 or 90 years and then we will go back to where we belong.
• What do I need to change in my life right now to be a more effective instrument in God's hands?

So, yes, yesterday, was an incredibly edifying day.  We are all children of Israel, children of the covenant, and some of the noble and great ones in the pre-earth life.  Now, that you know who you are, act accordingly. 

 

-Hermana Julie Anna Sanchez

Farewell

I am so excited to be serving in the Texas Fort Worth Mission.  It is going to be an amazing journey!


My favorite scripture is Alma 30:44.  "The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yeas, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator."  


I love this scripture because it is as if Alma is bearing my testimony for me.  Truly all things testify of Christ, from math and physics to temple worship to tender mercies to quiet acts of service to the scriptures everything around me convinces me of the divine reality of my Creator.  I know that there must be a God.


My wonderful sister, Lisa, is going to be managing my blog and facebook account for me.  So updates will continue here throughout my mission.  Be sure to check back often.


But goodbye and farewell.  This will be the last time that I write these entries in blogger instead of having my sister put them here for me.


I wish you all of the best wishes!

Mission Prep Companion Testimony

My Mission Prep teacher had us get into partners or companionships and write a single testimony for the two of us.  It was a very good experience.  I was going through my papers from last semester, found ours and I decided to put it on the blog for everyone to read.

We know that Christ is our Savior.  He is our Creator, our Redeemer and He loves us.

Jesus created this world for our benefit under the direction of His Father.  He created the heavens and the earth and everything on the earth.  He created people in His own image.  "All things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator." (Alma 30:44)  We have seen the works of the Lord in the world around us.

His greatest act upon this earth was performing the Atonement for each one of us, "that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities." (Alma 7:12)  We have felt his love, comfort, and peace in our lives.  He has lifted us during hard moments and whispered peace to our suls in times of stress.  He has strengthened us during trials and we have felt His forgiving power.

We know that He went "forth among the children of men. ... and they were healed by the power of the Lamb of God." (1 Nephi 11:32)

We testify that He lives and that He is our Savior and Redeemer.  Amen.

Awesome Happenings at the Temple

So, today was moving out day for me, but I made sure that I had basically everything ready when I went to bed last night.  Since I had time I woke up and went to the temple this morning (like I have been doing every Saturday since April 5th when I got out my own endowments) because I didn't have to check out until noon.

When I got to the temple, I saw my best friend's parents in the lobby of the temple.  (I wasn't too surprised to see them, because I had seen them yesterday helping her move out of her apartment, and I knew that they were staying the night in Logan.  I thought that maybe they just got up and went to the temple like I did for no special reason, but I thought it was neat that they were there.)  I greeted them, and they told me that they were her because her fiance was getting out his endowments today.  And because I was there at the temple I got to go through on his session with him.

It has been a month since I got out my endowments myself, and this session was really special for me in many ways.  It also very special that I got to go through the session as this good friend was going through for the first time.

I didn't know my friend was getting out his endowments today.  I know that they are getting married in a couple of weeks and that he was going to get his endowments out a couple of weeks before he got married, but I hadn't put those two facts together and made the connection.  He just kept it simple.  The only people at the temple with him were his parents and his fiance's parents.

But the most amazing thing about this is that I saw my best friend's parents as I was entering the temple.  If I hadn't have seen them and arrived precisely when I did I wouldn't have seen them, and I wouldn't have even know my friend was at the temple today.  If I had arrived at the temple 2 minutes earlier or 2 minutes later, then I never would have met them.  I would have gone on the 8:30 session, and never have seen them.  (He was attending the 9:00 session).  And we would have been like ships passing in the night.

There is no way that this could have been a coincidence.  This is one of God's tender mercies. God is so good to his children.  I feel so blessed and so loved.

"That is a very productive church!"

I used to be very confused about why we call our complete standard works published in one colume a quad. After all it contains: the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. And that seems to be five books in my mind, but a quad implies four. Why don't we call it a quint? (I eventually figured out that when we call it a quad, we are counting the entire Bible as one book.)

Well, during High school I attended a thing at the Universit of Utah called Math Circle, and all of the people there loved numbers to a similar degree that I did. So, one day I asked some of the smartest people there about it. I had assumed at they were LDS also, but I was wrong, and they didn't even know what I was talking about.

But when I had explained the situation that there are originally two books and that through modern day revelation we had three additional books. Their response was, "That is a very productive church." That sentence has stuck with me since then.

I was thinking abiut that sentence nd how wonderful it ia to live in a very productive church, when I realized that modern revelation isn't limited to the quad, but every six months our prophets speak to us, and we get taught on high. Not only have we added three books to the original two, but we also have the archives of all of the conferences for many many years. I love being a part of a work that is directed by God!

The Bible says that ye shall know them by their fruits, and normally we interpret it to mean the Book of Mormon, which is amazing and wonderful and God's proof to the world that the Book of Mormon is true.

But perhaps it also refers to all of our fruits. We have more scriptures and revelations and wisdom from God than most people could even imagine. Ours is truly a productive church. If you were to try to count our fruits, you would discover that our tree of revelation is a very productive tree.

So enjoy conference weekend everybody, and think about how thankful you are to live in a "very productive church!"

Are Mormons Christian?

Up until this semester, my answer would have always been yes.  Absolutely.  I believe that Christ is my Savior and he died and suffered for my sins.  He is my God and my Creator.  I thought that was everything that was necessary to be considered Christian.

But I guess that I was wrong.  Apparently the term Christian has a much more complicated definition than I first thought.  There is much more to being Christian than I would have expected.  I don't understand the definition, nor do I know all of it, but I think that in order to be a "Christian" church, the church has to believe in the Trinity.  And Mormons do not believe in the Trinity.  We believe that Christ is the literal son of God the Eternal Father.  We believe in the Holy Ghost as a personage of spirit.  We believe that they are three separate beings, but that they are one in purpose.  This is very different from the view of the Trinity, which I don't understand at all, but I think it has something to do with God being Three in One, and that they are all the same person, or something.

When we were discussing this I felt that I was back in the middle of a Lincoln-Douglas Debate from High School.  I felt that the answer to the question, "Are Mormons Christian?" depends entirely on which definition you prefer.  I remember definition debates and how much I hated them.  We would argue that if a definition came from Black's Law Dictionary then it would be preferable to another definition, and then people would argue over what edition the definition came from.  The idea of debating a definition is laughable and strange from my current perspective.  In math you don't debate definitions.  You accept definitions and then work from there.  A word does not determine a definition, but rather the definition is the word.   However, sometimes a word will have two or more conflicting definitions and it is important to determine which definition you are using to avoid confusion.  This is a very complex and confusing process in determining the worth of a definition and which one should be used in a given situation.

I would much rather avoid a definition debate.  They are long and tedious and nothing is really established.  The whole argument boils down to what you personally believe, which is a very hard way to convince anyone else that you are right.

Are Mormons Christian?  Perhaps.  I have always thought so, and I will continue to think so.  However, that is only by my understanding of the word Christian?

Are Mormons Christian?  I don't really know.  There are better questions to ask:

Do Mormons believe in Christ?  Do they worship Him as their Savior?  Do they believe that He is the Creator of the Universe?  Do they consider Him to be God?  Do they believe that He died to save them?  The answer to every one of these questions is yes.  Absolutely yes.

Am I Christian?  I don't know.  But I do know that Christ is my Savior.  I know that He died to save me.  I know that He created this world, and rules it as God.  He knows me, and knows how to help me in all of my trials.  He is my God, and I love him.

Science and Religion are not necessarily contradictory!

I have always felt that Science and Religion compliment each other.  But it has always seemed that I live in a very small world of people who do so.

When I tell people that I can accept the idea of Evolution and the concept of Creation at the same time, I was always at risk of offending almost everyone around me.  The Scientists would look at Creation and say, "Balk, we don't need a God to explain how the universe came into existence.  God is only a part of those weak minds and poor souls who need something to believe in, because they can't accept reality."  And Churchites would look at Evolution, and say, "But, Genesis says that it was done in a week.  And Genesis says that God created us.  We are not evolved from Monkeys!"

I would try to keep my believes about both to myself, until I knew what type of person I was talking to.  It seemed to me that Genesis is a spiritual account of the Creation.  It tells the record of the people.  It was not meant to be an instruction manual on how to create or even a scientific pamphlet explaining what was done.  Rather it was meant to inspire God's Children to believe on His word and to worship Him and only Him.

The theory of Evolution does not rule out the hand of God, or rule out some intelligent designer ordering everything the way He wanted it to be.  Rather it is a theory that tries to explain natural facts about our world.

Now, the Theory of Evolution is a theory, and like all other scientific facts it can not be accepted as law until proven.  There are many scientific theories, like String Theory,  and others that are internally consistent, but haven't been proven.  That is the way science works.  Scientists find something in their world that they can't explain and try to explain it.  If the explanation seems to hold up against other findings, then it is a theory.  Other scientists will continue to examine the world around them, and occasionally a previous theory is replaced by a more modern theory.  And sometimes theories actually get proven and become Laws, like Newton's Laws of Motion.  But even these Laws of Motion were in time found not to explain everything, and we had to account for Einstein's Theory of Relativity.  Science changes over time, and gradually as a community we come closer and closer to explaining our world.

Now, as a Theory, Evolution makes lots of sense.  It explains what we have observed perfectly and no contradictions have thus far come into light.  Therefore, I have accepted it, and try to understand it.

I see God when I am doing mathematics and everything becomes beautiful.  I see God when I am observing the heavens (Astronomy is a weird science.  It is the only science that doesn't really have the ability for experimentation, because the distances involved are so big.  Rather it is a science of observation).  I see God when a ball drops to the ground and it's motion is perfectly described by Physics.  I see God when Chemicals react precisely with other Chemicals.  I have seen God during a tensile test, when I stretching steel to see when it would break.  The perfect descriptions of our world, that we call Science are also the building blocks of my testimony.

Now it seems that I am not alone in my quest to understand both Science and God at the same time, without contradicting myself.  Here is an interesting article about others and how they view the world in which they live.

Proof of God in a Photon

I think it is interesting that Galileo was the first to really separate Religion and Science.  He was trying to protect Science from an over-powerful church.  Now, the times have changed.  It seems that most churchs are now trying to protect Religion from an over-powerful scientific community.

Why is it that Science and God can't both explain our universe?  They aren't two separate ideas fighting for the right to exist.  Rather they are two different sides of the same coin.

Once I saw that, I see God in my science classes and science in my religious studies.  They are both good!

What would I give to know God?

King Lamoni said that he would give all his kingdom and all his sins to know God. It made me wonder if I would also be willing to give it all. In this video, we are taught that wickedness will bombard us. It will be all around us and everywhere.
 
I recently posted about how wonderful living in the information age is. It is wonderful to live in a world where I can literally carry around all of the standard works and an entire library as well as access to knowledge like never before on the internet.

However, this wonderful blessing sometimes becomes a stinging sword as well. With so much information available everywhere and always, I find myself distracted by things that don't really matter. Am I willing to give it up to know God? Can I tune into the right channel and listen to the Spirit?

I hope so. I pray for the strength to be able to do so.

With all of the distractions around me, I want to be able to always find time each day to contemplate my relationship with God, and how I can improve it.

Tender Mercy # 2853 (Just kidding, I never really counted, but I am sure that it is a really high number!)

I lost my cellphone. This is not something new, I seem to misplace it all the time. But after a call to , I almost always find it. But today I called it, and heard nothing. I looked around and moved things. Maybe it was hiding under something, but still I heard nothing. I even walked over to the Engineering Building, which was the last place I used it, and still I couldn't find it. My phone was as lost as it could be.

I ran some errands, did some homework, and came home. As I was leaving my bedroom to do something (can't remember what, it obviously wasn't important), my phone was sitting on the hallway floor right next to my bedroom, just waiting for me. I can't figure out how it got there. The only thing I can figure is that the Lord place it there for me (or somebody placed under the guidance of the hand of the Lord). I love tender mercies!

The Information Age

We live in a world with so much knowledge and so much information available almost instantly.  Just think of it.  In five minutes you can figure out how to make a cheesecake, calculate the square root of 5879232, check the top stories in the news, and communicate with your family and friends.  Never before has this been possible.  

My generation rarely goes to the library for research. I mean, why go to a building to research what you can find quicker and easier in your own bedroom.  The access that we have to knowledge is remarkable.  I have been thinking about how wonderful this easy access to information is, since I have gotten my iPad.  I can literally look up anything I want almost anywhere.  

The invention of the printing press changed the world, and made access to information easier for the masses.  A similar change is taking place right now.  With the invention of portable tablets and smartphones, information is available to everyone at a rate that never before anyone could have imagined.  

No longer does every family have a Bible, and every town have a library, but soon.  Every person will have the complete standard works, past and current church magazines, church handbooks, Preach My Gospel, the hymnbook, manuals, and any other gospel tool available to them at almost all times.  Not only that, but each person will be able to carry a personal library and access to a global database of information with them at all times.

We have the ability to learn and study as never before.  As the First Presidency mentioned during their Christmas Devotional, they are giving a free gift to everyone in the form of Bible Videos.  They didn't mention (or I didn't hear it) that they are also developing a mobile app that appears to let you read and study the scriptures in an interactive, dive into the pages sort of way.  The app isn't available for download, but some of the screenshots showed me how remarkable the world I live in is (both in the physical, as I have mentioned before in my love of the great creations, but also in the digital or cyberspace).  

I have so many tools and so many resources available to me literally at the touch of a fingertip.  I am so thankful to be living in a time when I can learn anything I want to know and see anything I want to see almost instantly.  

But sometimes, I wonder if I don't take proper advantage of the resources available to me.  Sometimes something becomes so easy, that I often find myself saying, I don't need to do that today, when I can do it whenever and wherever I want.  

I want to change that and use the remarkable resources that have been given to me and this generation to keep the promises I made to myself before I left the Spirit World (alright, so I don't remember what they are, but I am sure that I am the type of person who would have made promises to myself in the preexistence).  I want to better the kingdom of God and do what God expects me to do.  

I need to realize when something is easy, I should do it more often instead of less often!