{"id":42784,"date":"2022-04-01T06:00:06","date_gmt":"2022-04-01T11:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.timesandseasons.org\/?p=42784"},"modified":"2022-03-31T23:03:41","modified_gmt":"2022-04-01T04:03:41","slug":"languages-of-the-spirit-science","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/2022\/04\/languages-of-the-spirit-science\/","title":{"rendered":"[Languages of the Spirit] Science"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe are obsessed with ourselves. We study our<\/u> history. Our<\/u> psychology, our<\/u> philosophy\u2026Much of our knowledge revolves around ourselves, as if we were the most important thing in the universe. I think I like physics because it opens a window through which we can see further. It gives me the sense of fresh air entering the house. What we see out there through the window is constantly surprising us.\u201d[1]<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Carlo Rovelli<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe earth rolls upon her wings, and the sun giveth his light by day, and the moon giveth her light by night, and the stars also give their light, as they roll upon their wings in their glory, in the midst of the power of God\u2026All these are kingdoms, and any[one] who hath seen any or the least of these hath seen God.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

D&C 88:45, 47<\/p>\n

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In explaining his belief in God, scientist Francis Collins (a world leaders in genome research), expressed something that many believers can relate to when he said, \u201cI\u2019ve never heard God speak out loud to me. That\u2019s not an experience I have had.\u201d For him, like for so many, God does not speak with an audible voice. There is, however, another way that God reaches him. \u201cI believe God did intend, in giving us intelligence, to give us the opportunity to investigate and appreciate the wonders of his creation.\u201d<\/p>\n

I am not a scientist. Science bored me to tears when I was a kid. When I went to college I found it somewhat interesting so long as we didn\u2019t have to do math, but math is kind of a thing with science so my knowledge didn\u2019t go much farther than a few introductory courses to a few different subjects. Also, I vaguely knew that the more you were into science, the less faithful you became because you started believing in evolution and stuff. (My understanding may not have been comprehensive but it was certainly conclusive.) Science, in other words, may be good in many ways, but it needed to be treated with great care, if not suspicion, and while it may have been interesting, it wasn\u2019t \u201cpertinent to salvation\u201d.<\/p>\n

Some years ago I was praying intently about something and was given an answer. The problem was I didn\u2019t understand that answer, and I wondered about it for years. One day I came across a lecture about Quantum Field Theory, and being somewhat more curious than I was as a kid I tuned in to see what the heck Quantum Field Theory was. And received revelation. Almost point by point the revelation I had received years ago (which I had not been thinking of when I began listening to the lecture) was explained to me. Learning about quantum fields ended up being one of the most spiritual experiences of my life.<\/p>\n

For millennia people in the west have been inclined to draw stark lines of delineation between the spiritual and the material; the spiritual being good and perfect while the material is just kind of\u2026gross. For centuries science and religion have been seen as at best having an uneasy truce, at worst being at war. This is partly because the bible and science do not always align, (though as Latter-day Saints that doesn\u2019t have to concern us as much as we sometimes let it; we\u2019ve got some wiggle room there). I think even more at heart to this tension, however, is a distrust of this old, sinful world and the sinful people in it, and therefore a distrust of what it and they tell us. This earth is separate from, and far inferior to, God\u2019s heaven.<\/p>\n

But is it? Consider when God says, \u201cI, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and\u00a0built\u00a0the earth, my very\u00a0handiwork; and all things therein are mine.\u201d[2]<\/a> According to modern revelation, the material world is not separate from heaven\u2014it is an extension of it. This means that the world is not in opposition to heaven, it is actually part of it.<\/p>\n

We often talk about God being a creator but it is important that we follow through to the conclusion of what that means. If I want to understand Emily Dickinson or Frida Kahlo or Mozart, I would need to study their work. In fact, it is reasonable to say that I could not understand them without seriously studying the things they created. Isn\u2019t it reasonable to suppose the same goes for God? That what is revealed to us in the creation teaches us about its creator?<\/p>\n

From the perspective of faith, what we call science is the processes by which creation comes into being and functions. As mentioned previously, we are speaking in this series as spirit being the connection between us and God. What better way to connect to our Heavenly Parents than by seriously studying what they have made? What better way of seeing into the mind of someone than by understanding what they have crafted with that mind? How better to know someone than to seek to understand how they have used their time and resources and abilities? How better to see the hand of God than in studying what that hand has created?<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t matter what it is\u2014mapping the geologic formation of planets, understanding how the wings of a butterfly work, studying the human mind, charting the growth of ecosystems\u2014to study the universe is to see into the mind and heart of God. It is to see God moving in majesty and power. The study of science can be a profound spiritual experience. It may not make us feel warm and fuzzy, but warm fuzzies are not the only, or even best, fruit of the spirit. The fruits of the spirit are also humility. Awe. The power to heal. Knowledge. Wisdom. Scientific inquiry is among the most powerful ways this spiritual fruit can be born in our lives. Through it lives are enriched, minds are opened, and literally billions have been healed; in other words, through scientific inquiry the spirit has spoken and born fruit. The creation is a powerful voice of the spirit. It is not necessary that everyone must hear and speak this spiritual language, but thank heaven for the blessings we have all been able to reap from the efforts and sacrifices of those who do.<\/p>\n

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[1]<\/a> Reality is Not What it Seems; Rovelli, Carlo; Riverhead Books, New York New York, 2017 pg. 5<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> D&C 104:14<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe are obsessed with ourselves. We study our history. Our psychology, our philosophy\u2026Much of our knowledge revolves around ourselves, as if we were the most important thing in the universe. I think I like physics because it opens a window through which we can see further. It gives me the sense of fresh air entering the house. What we see out there through the window is constantly surprising us.\u201d[1] Carlo Rovelli   \u201cThe earth rolls upon her wings, and the sun giveth his light by day, and the moon giveth her light by night, and the stars also give their light, as they roll upon their wings in their glory, in the midst of the power of God\u2026All these are kingdoms, and any[one] who hath seen any or the least of these hath seen God.\u201d D&C 88:45, 47   In explaining his belief in God, scientist Francis Collins (a world leaders in genome research), expressed something that many believers can relate to when he said, \u201cI\u2019ve never heard God speak out loud to me. That\u2019s not an experience I have had.\u201d For him, like for so many, God does not speak with an audible voice. There is, however, another way […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10396,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-politics"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42784","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\/10396"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42784"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42787,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42784\/revisions\/42787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}