NATHAN CENTRAL The Personal Homepage of Nathan Richardson

▪ Home ▪ Links ▪ LDS Stuff ▪ Iconic Alphabet ▪ The Legend of Zelda		Revelation and Helicopters LDS Stuff » Revelation and Helicopters An Interesting Conversation I have a friend with whom I periodically chat on MSN Messenger. Besides being such a great guy to talk to, I also love our conversations because I learn more about how other people approach their search for knowledge about God. He's non-denominational Protestant Christian, and I've been trying to persuade him to pray about the Book of Mormon, but he won't. Following is an interesting exchange we had during a chat in May 2003. (In the text below, my ID is "Natanás" and his is "Yazna".) Yazna: But the foundation of how we see in this western world is reason. Natanás: Is that necessarily a good thing? Yazna: Not necessarily. But to me a westerner, I need my faith to be western to me in some sense. . . . Natanás: I think there are many who are initially brought to the path of the gospel by rationality— Yazna: That is what I asked the Sister missionaries to do. Natanás: —I just hope you'll try to complete that knowledge by the Spirit. Natanás: And what if the Book of Mormon is true, but there is insufficient evidence for it right now? Yazna: Then I will wait. Natanás: Would you deprive yourself of the blessings of accepting it? Yazna: Yes. Willingly. Natanás: Why? There is another source of that knowledge that God has provided. Yazna: I believe that God is big enough to work the evidence in his favor. Natanás: He could, but there are reasons He doesn't. He wants us to develop that latent sense of the Spirit. I was so surprised to hear him freely admit that he would willingly forego the blessings of accepting the restored gospel until such time as God not only showed him the truth of it, but showed him in his preferred manner. I couldn't help but be a little sad. However, our conversation really got me thinking. Revelation as a Route to Knowledge Joseph Fielding Smith said, "Knowledge comes both by reason and by revelation. We are expected to study and learn all we can by research and analysis. But there are limits to our learning abilities in the realms of reason and study. The things of God can be known only by the Spirit of God."1 Many times we know something is true, by revelation (personal, scriptural, or prophetic), long before we can explain it logically. I believe that the most important truths, saving truths, can only be known through spiritual means; often the complete evidence or reasoning behind them is not available in mortality. For example, I know God lives, I know the Book of Mormon is true, and I know The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord's true and living Church. I think those truths can only be known through personal revelation, and that the Lord wants it that way. Many times we can describe, explain, or elaborate on certain truths to some degree with logic and reasoning. For example, I have had several powerfully spiritual experiences about the eternal importance of families. In addition, I have read much literature that shows, through science and statistics, the family's importance to society and individuals. I first came to a conviction of family's importance through the Spirit; I then buttressed that conviction with evidence and reasoning. It is sometimes difficult for people not of our faith (or people of no faith) to accept eternal truths unless we can lead them to the truths through logic or evidence—even though that is not the path we took. Until they accept the revelatory route, we can try to help them arrive at those truths through logic and reason (so that they can draw the partial benefits that come from accepting part of the truth).2 But just because we may not find that logical path in the first couple attempts does not mean we should abandon the truths ourselves. For example, just because I can't show irrefutable physical evidence for the Book of Mormon within the next week doesn't mean I should stop believing in it (people have done that in the past). Such evidence will probably never be available in this life, and yet I know it is true. It may sometimes look to the unbelieving person like we have an a priori assumption and are therefore using poor logical techniques (for example, it's not that I believe in God because I see evidence of Him in nature; rather, I know God exists, and so I expect to find evidence of Him in nature). That would only be the case if we believed in finding truth through logic alone; we do not. "Such techniques speak to many after the manner of their understanding. But there are other methods and values, too, and we must not be so committed to scholarship that we close our eyes and ears and hearts to what cannot be demonstrated by scholarship or defended according to physical proofs and intellectual reasoning."3 After sorting this out in my head, I thought of a metaphor that I think describes my frustration with trying to get my friend to pray about the Book of Mormon. A Metaphor Compare it to a helicopter pilot who, in flying over a huge wilderness area, finds a fabulous lost city full of treasure and beauty. He tells his friend about it so she can go visit it herself and derive all the benefits from having access to it. His friend says, "Tell me how to get there." The pilot (1) knows the lost city is there because he has been there and (2) knows how to get there quickest—in his helicopter. However, his friend does not trust flying machines and wants to know how to get there by walking. So he gets his surveying equipment and tries to find a navigable path to the lost city through the mountains, cliffs, rivers, glaciers, and forests. He even goes up in his chopper occasionally to hunt for a route from the air. As many times as he invites his friend to take the helicopter directly there, she refuses because she thinks flying is unreliable and unsafe. He may be able to find a walkable route, but it could take years. Eventually his friend tires of his promises and says, "I doubt that lost city even exists." He replies, "But I’ve been there myself!" To which his friend responds, "Not really—you’ve only flown there. You haven’t walked there." How foolish is it for his friend to assert that he is using poor hiking techniques simply because he flies there? How foolish would it be for him to stop believing the lost city exists just because he’s never arrived there on foot? How foolish would it be for the pilot to never return to the city and its treasures simply because he can’t immediately find a way to walk there? Conclusion Further on in that same conversation, I told my friend, Natanás: If you receive a spiritual confirmation, you are right—it will be subjective. You will have a very difficult time explaining it to others. It can be disheartening to have something so wonderful and so unconveyable. Even embarrassing sometimes. I think that's what Paul meant when he said we are to be "fools for Christ."4 I hope my friend eventually decides to try out James's invitation to ask of God. I will keep trying to persuade him. Whenever I feel like my words are inept at describing revelation to him, I take comfort in Boyd K. Packer's statement: "We cannot express spiritual knowledge in words alone. We can, however, with words show another how to prepare for the reception of the Spirit."5 With the Lord's help, my words may some day do just that. Notes 1. Quoted in J. Elliot Cameron, "Questions and Answers: Is religious education more important than academic education?" New Era, Feb. 1972, 34. 2. For example, if I want legislators to enact pro-family legislation, I am motivated by my spiritual conviction of the family's importance, but to be effective I must also use logic and scientific evidence to convince my fellow citizens. 3. Elder Dallin H. Oaks, "The Historicity of the Book of Mormon," Provo, Utah: FARMS. 4. 1 Cor. 4:10. 5. Boyd K. Packer, "The Candle of the Lord," Ensign, Jan. 1983, 51. Copyright © 2005 by Nathan Richardson. All rights reserved. First posted 4 Nov. 2004. Note to self. Expanded metaphor—Surrounded by storage outposts scattered throughout the surrounding hills
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