Moroni 10:32
"...then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ..."
Saturday, January 16, 2016
All Things Denote There is a God
This week we have been studying Alma 30-35 and of course, the highlight of this passage is the interaction between Alma and Korihor, the anti-Christ. I have loved reading, studying, and pondering Alma's responses to Korihor's stubborn beliefs that there is no Savior. There are two points in particular that have impressed me this week:
When Alma testifies of God and of Jesus Christ in verse 39, he teaches us how to respond to objectors in a way that invites the Spirit. "For behold, I say unto you, I know there is a God, and also that Christ shall come." Alma exemplifies sincere faith in the Savior and patterns for us the way in which we should testify. Our personal testimonies are a powerful way for us to share our beliefs without engaging in arguments or contention, and testimony invites the Spirit into the discussion.
After Korihor asks Alma for a sign to convince him that there is a God, Alma speaks pure wisdom: "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, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator." Alma responds to Korihor's request with strong evidence, whereas Korihor cannot prove that there is no God.
From the Book of Mormon Institute manual I found the following quote from Elder Gerald N. Lund: "When questioned, Korihor categorically denies that he believes there is a God. Alma then asks, 'What evidence have ye that there is no God , or that Christ cometh not? I say unto you that ye have none save it be your word only.' (Alma 30:40) "It is an inspired insight on Alma's part. Korihor is not consistent in his own thinking. If we truly can know only those things for which we have empirical evidence, then we cannot teach there is no God unless we have evidence for that belief. And Korihor has no evidence." Lund goes on to explain how Korihor would need to be a God himself in order to prove that God does not exist. He says "Therefore, in declaring there is no God, he is acting on 'faith', the very thing for which he so sharply derides the religious leaders!"
I love this video that teaches us the powerful lesson of faith and what happens when we ignore the warnings of our leaders.
I have loved reading your posts and love the scriptures you have chosen to highlight. Yesterday reading a health update on the immune system and thinking about the complex systems in our body and how they are all interdependent and function together so perfectly it testified to me once again how our Heavenly Father is the Creator because surely something this perfect could not emerge from chaos and testifies of intelligent design. Without a doubt. Mom :)
1 comment:
I have loved reading your posts and love the scriptures you have chosen to highlight. Yesterday reading a health update on the immune system and thinking about the complex systems in our body and how they are all interdependent and function together so perfectly it testified to me once again how our Heavenly Father is the Creator because surely something this perfect could not emerge from chaos and testifies of intelligent design. Without a doubt. Mom :)
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