This above all, perhaps, sums up the essence of our Faith: to know God.
How?
Knowing God is for some as an alien a notion as traveling to outer space. Can it be done, and how?
When God and His Son appeared to Joseph Smith, they appeared as glorified beings of flesh and bones. This epiphany countered to centuries-old belief that God was a force, a phantom, or a universal presence. It is this belief in an incarnate glorified God that sets Latter-Day Saints apart.
We don't expect to see God in this lifetime. Of course, to see Him, touch Him and speak to Him face to face would no longer require faith on our part. We would have sure knowledge of His existence. And that is the reason we are better to not Know him in this manner. A sure knowledge would no longer work faith in us. And what faith we sometimes need to press forward in this life!
Faith, like a muscle, grows only in the absence of evidence. And interestingly enough, when we see our life unfold and can sense God's influence in it, we are more likely to see our faith grow. Faith combined with a clean lifestyle allows us to accomplish much more.
Knowing God therefore is a matter of witnessing His influence in our life, and above all seeing the transformation in our character. Character is like steel. It has different tensile strengths in different people. When steel is tested, it is placed under enormous stress to see if it will break. The blade of a Samurai's sword goes through extensive heating and testing before it is deemed fit for a warrior. And so it is with a character anchored in faith.
How easily will your character break?
When you end up losing everything, as Job did in the Bible, what will your character be made of? Will you curse God and die? Or will you praise His name even during the deepest trials that shape you?
It is through those trials, and the injustices that are heaped upon us that we get to know God's Son, Jesus Christ. For He also suffered the same injustices. And so, if the Son of God who is the hallmark of Love and Purity suffered them, then who are we to complain about our own sufferings? It is exactly those sufferings that help us know God better. In fact, we become His friends.
In the final analysis to know God is to want to be like Him. And to want to be like Him qualifies us to enter into His presence and have Eternal Life. This does not happen in a moment. It takes redoubling of effort in times of weakness, a resolve to hang on when one's moorings drift away, and the patience of Job.
How?
Knowing God is for some as an alien a notion as traveling to outer space. Can it be done, and how?
When God and His Son appeared to Joseph Smith, they appeared as glorified beings of flesh and bones. This epiphany countered to centuries-old belief that God was a force, a phantom, or a universal presence. It is this belief in an incarnate glorified God that sets Latter-Day Saints apart.
We don't expect to see God in this lifetime. Of course, to see Him, touch Him and speak to Him face to face would no longer require faith on our part. We would have sure knowledge of His existence. And that is the reason we are better to not Know him in this manner. A sure knowledge would no longer work faith in us. And what faith we sometimes need to press forward in this life!
Faith, like a muscle, grows only in the absence of evidence. And interestingly enough, when we see our life unfold and can sense God's influence in it, we are more likely to see our faith grow. Faith combined with a clean lifestyle allows us to accomplish much more.
Knowing God therefore is a matter of witnessing His influence in our life, and above all seeing the transformation in our character. Character is like steel. It has different tensile strengths in different people. When steel is tested, it is placed under enormous stress to see if it will break. The blade of a Samurai's sword goes through extensive heating and testing before it is deemed fit for a warrior. And so it is with a character anchored in faith.
How easily will your character break?
When you end up losing everything, as Job did in the Bible, what will your character be made of? Will you curse God and die? Or will you praise His name even during the deepest trials that shape you?
It is through those trials, and the injustices that are heaped upon us that we get to know God's Son, Jesus Christ. For He also suffered the same injustices. And so, if the Son of God who is the hallmark of Love and Purity suffered them, then who are we to complain about our own sufferings? It is exactly those sufferings that help us know God better. In fact, we become His friends.
In the final analysis to know God is to want to be like Him. And to want to be like Him qualifies us to enter into His presence and have Eternal Life. This does not happen in a moment. It takes redoubling of effort in times of weakness, a resolve to hang on when one's moorings drift away, and the patience of Job.
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