[1]<\/a>\u00a0 Perhaps the spiritual confirmation only meant that the Book of Mormon was leading me in the right direction.\u00a0 Maybe God wanted to point me towards the gospel because that would better align my life with his will.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cYou really think God would tell you that the Book of Mormon was true just to lead you down the right path?\u00a0 Even if its historical contents were objectively false?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGod allowed the holocaust to happen.\u00a0 I don\u2019t see how letting us struggle with the meaning of spiritual experiences is so far beyond the pale.\u201d\u00a0 Alexei stirred the hot chocolate in his hands, waiting as the whipped cream slowly dissolved.<\/p>\n
\u201cOK, let\u2019s put this to the test.\u00a0 Let\u2019s see how far you\u2019re really willing to go with this theory.\u201d\u00a0 Ivan sipped his coffee meditatively.\u00a0 \u201cDo you still believe the other doctrines of the Church?\u00a0 Do you still believe that President Nelson is a prophet called by God?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u00a0 \u00a0So far, all of my spiritual experiences have confirmed that the teachings of the Church are true, which is to say that following the teachings of the Church will lead me in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of the teachings of the Church?\u201d Ivan probed with his eyes.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve never doubted the Church\u2019s teachings on homosexuality, for instance?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there may yet be revealed many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.\u201d\u00a0 Alexei smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cA clever deflection, but I\u2019ll let you get away with it.\u201d\u00a0 Ivan responded with a grin.\u00a0 \u201cBut that leads you to a more fundamental problem.\u00a0 If spiritual revelations don\u2019t give us eternal \u2018truths\u2019 but just point us in the right direction, then is there any limit to what the actual, objective truth could be?\u00a0 Could God just be generically Christian?\u00a0 Could he have told you the Book of Mormon is true because he knew that following the Book of Mormon would make you a better Christian?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s possible,\u201d Alexei admitted.\u00a0 \u201cI think there are some parts of traditional Christian faith \u2013 particularly the idea of a closed cannon \u2013 that I disagree with.\u00a0 But if God is just pointing me in the right direction, then I couldn\u2019t conclusively rule out your supposition.\u00a0 But I would stay within the Church unless I got further revelation that God wanted me to go elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s take it a step further.\u00a0 What about beyond a Christian God?\u00a0 What if the objective truth was closer to Buddhism or Hinduism or some as-yet-undiscovered religion?\u00a0 What if He \u2013 or It \u2013 was just telling you that the Book of Mormon was true because doing so would make you a better person in general?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI must admit that that too is possible. \u00a0Though once again I would stay in the Church based on my experiences so far, unless and until I receive another strong spiritual revelation pointing me in another direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd let\u2019s take it a step beyond that.\u00a0 What if there is a God, but no afterlife?\u00a0 What if he is revealing \u2018truth\u2019 to you because he wants you to be happy and to live a good life, but there is no ultimate reward for your righteousness in the hereafter?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI must also admit that that\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen here\u2019s your problem,\u201d Ivan grinned again.\u00a0 \u201cIf all those things are possible, then why are you following God to begin with?\u00a0 You do have agency; you could always choose not to follow God.\u00a0 If your interpretation of your spiritual experiences is so broad as to allow for basically any kind of God to exist, why are you so certain that you should be following God\u2019s revelations in the first place?\u201d<\/p>\n
Alexei took a long, deep sip from his hot chocolate before he began.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, let\u2019s examine what I know about my spiritual experiences so far.\u00a0 I know that I have experienced something.\u00a0 I believe that what I experienced could only come from a power beyond my own conscious or subconscious mind.\u00a0 I know that the spiritual direction I have received has led me to help other people, strengthen my personal relationships, and do good.\u00a0 So, I believe that there is some form of God, that He does communicate via revelation to us, and that He is benevolent.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t even matter if God is all powerful or even whether He can save us from death.\u00a0 As long as He exists, has power, and wants to do good, that is reason enough to follow Him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if he can\u2019t promise you eternal life?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEven then,\u201d Alexei confirmed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut why?\u00a0 If there is no afterlife, then you only get this one life to live.\u00a0 Shouldn\u2019t you just be having as much good experiences as you can while you still exist?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn that case, God can still reveal to you the best actions to take in this life.\u00a0 As long as your life is better following God than not following Him, then you should still follow God.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut what about the greatest sacrifice?\u201d\u00a0 Ivan countered.\u00a0 \u201cWhat if God asks you to lay down your life for others even through there is no afterlife?\u00a0 Would you still do it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut why?\u00a0 Once you die, all consciousness ends.\u00a0 That is the definition of the end of all value.\u00a0 If you have to choose between still being alive albeit harrowed by guilt, isn\u2019t that still better than no longer existing at all?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is debatable,\u201d Alexei conceded. \u201cBut that is the price you have to pay to be a true follower of God.\u00a0 You can\u2019t be a true follower of God without being willing to sacrifice for others, including sacrificing your own life if necessary.\u00a0 Your reward for that is to have the constant presence of the Holy Ghost.\u00a0 The price is that you must make that sacrifice if you are called upon to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy can\u2019t you just back away at the last moment?\u201d Ivan asked.\u00a0 \u201cIf you know that you are only willing to follow God because it makes you happy, why wouldn\u2019t you just stop following God the instant that it no longer makes you happy?\u00a0 Especially if God suddenly demands your life from you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re truly converted, it\u2019s not possible to back away at the last moment.\u00a0 And if you\u2019re not truly converted, then you can\u2019t enjoy the constant presence of the Holy Ghost while you are still alive.\u00a0 I would choose the former path, even if it risked my own extinction.\u201d<\/p>\n
A silence fell over the two brothers as they both took turns sipping their now lukewarm drinks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if it was all in your subconscious anyway?\u201d Ivan asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had too many experiences that I can\u2019t explain by appealing to the subconscious.\u00a0 My subconscious doesn\u2019t know which problems I needed to recheck on my physics midterm.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t know which of one of the hundreds of Somalis I passed by on my mission (because none of them spoke the same language as me) would be the one that was Christian and knew English and was looking for a church.\u00a0 My friend\u2019s subconscious didn\u2019t know that he should put on his seatbelt a few minutes before he got into an accident that broke his neck and would have otherwise certainly killed him.\u00a0 Spiritual promptings intervened in each of those cases.\u00a0 Something is going on here besides our own subconscious.\u00a0 I choose to call it God and I choose to listen to it when it tells me to live the gospel, to keep the commandments and to keep going to church.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if someone hadn\u2019t had those experiences that you have been blessed with?\u201d Ivan countered.\u00a0 \u201cWhat if someone couldn\u2019t say that they knew that there was a God because of external validation?\u00a0 Would they ever know if their spiritual confirmations were anything more than a chemical reaction in their brain?\u00a0 A way to keep them sane in spite of existential dread?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDoes following the spiritual promptings make them happier than the alternative?\u00a0 Does it help them make other people happier than the alternative?\u00a0 If so, why not keep following them anyway?\u201d Alexei asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what if the spiritual promptings are just your own subconscious and they don\u2019t lead you or anyone else to be happier?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I suppose you have finally found a reason not to follow them,\u201d Alexei admitted.\u00a0 \u201cBut tell me honestly, Ivan.\u00a0 Are you happier for having not followed your spiritual promptings?\u00a0 Can you deny that you have had them?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t deny that I\u2019ve had them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd can you explain away what you\u2019ve felt by saying it was all your subconscious?\u201d Alexei pressed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can not,\u201d Ivan admitted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why don\u2019t you come to church, even though you know there is a God?\u201d<\/p>\n
Ivan thought a long while.\u00a0 \u201cHaving spiritual experiences you can\u2019t explain isn\u2019t enough to say that there\u2019s a God.\u00a0 It\u2019s also not enough to justify a lifetime of obedience to one particular God.\u00a0 Especially if you know that at least some of the beliefs related to that God are objectively false.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re upset that God isn\u2019t exactly what you thought he was,\u201d Alexei replied, \u201cso you\u2019re rejecting him entirely.\u00a0 That seems even more irrational to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
[1]<\/a> http:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2020\/02\/joseph-smith-and-the-worst-case-scenario\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cIf you don\u2019t believe in the historicity of the Book of Mormon, then why are you still part of the Church?\u201d Ivan questioned his brother Alexei.\u00a0 The two enjoyed their gospel conversations, though Ivan left the Church years ago.\u00a0 Oddly enough, they agreed on most of the facts, but never on their implications. \u201cI don\u2019t let what I don\u2019t believe get in the way of what I do,\u201d Alexei replied. \u201cThen what do you still believe?\u201d \u201cI know I had a spiritual experience when I read the Book of Mormon.\u00a0 I asked if it was true and I got a strong spiritual confirmation.\u201d \u201cThat sounds like you can\u2019t trust your \u2018spiritual confirmation,\u2019\u201d Ivan sipped his coffee.\u00a0 \u201cIf your ‘spiritual confirmation’ told you that something was true and it turned out that it wasn\u2019t true, then spiritual confirmations aren’t a reliable source of truth.\u00a0 You shouldn\u2019t trust them anymore.\u201d \u201cNot necessarily.\u00a0 It could be that I misinterpreted the meaning of the experience.[1]\u00a0 Perhaps the spiritual confirmation only meant that the Book of Mormon was leading me in the right direction.\u00a0 Maybe God wanted to point me towards the gospel because that would better align my life with his will.\u201d \u201cYou really […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10400,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latter-day-saint-thought"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10400"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39882"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39913,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39882\/revisions\/39913"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}