I’ve mentioned before how interesting it is to attend school at BYU, a school where the intellectual meets the spiritual in a unique way. You know it’s unique when you spend 20 minutes at the beginning of your dance class talking about how the Waltz relates to God! But really, what better way to learn than with God at its core?
People often try to separate God and intellectual subjects. Philosophers seek to answer the great questions of the universe without referencing divine power – and most of them seem to end up admitting there must be an Almighty power. Scientists try to explain the cosmos with mathematics and physics, which is not wrong but is simply incomplete without referencing God.
What a sad thing this is!
The importance of knowing and acknowledging God cannot be understated. Looking at the benefits of believing in God in the lives of people both ancient and modern makes it clear how much of a boost it gives in both happiness and strength.
For starters, nothing provides more hope and determination to keep on going than this divine vision. In American Heritage this last week we’ve been reading about and studying the American Revolution. What an inspiring story! Against all odds, these ragtag colonists, themselves naturally divided, somehow united together and defeated a global superpower.
How did they do it? Well, I submit that they could not have done it without the divine hope within each of them. There were many moments when reason dictated that they give up. The colonists were cold, wounded, miserable, and surrounded on all sides in New York. They were blessed with a miracle – winds blowing at just the right time to delay the British and allow the Americans to retreat to safety – but their position still seemed hopeless.
At this point, what would keep them going? After all, living under British rule wasn’t too bad. They could still live happy lives. So why did they go on?
They were motivated by a belief in God – that is, they were encouraged by a firm belief that their cause was just and approved of by the Almighty. Now, whether or not you believe that their cause was indeed just, you cannot deny that their belief in this kept them fighting. Even an atheist must admit that a belief in God has helped people get through tough times. Somehow, someway, people find power in this belief.
Another prominent example is in the Book of Mormon. Certain chapters in the Book of Alma share striking similarities to the American Revolution – Captain Moroni, like George Washington, rallies his people with passionate declarations of liberty. They fight “in the strength of the Lord” (Alma 46:20) and defeat their enemies. At its deepest level, this means they relied upon the grace of the Lord to get the strength they needed. But at its simplest level, it means God was in their thoughts as they fought. That hope would have given them the strength and determination to brave the hardest moments of the fight.
“In memory of our God, our religion and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children” (Alma 46:12)
Remembering these principles – notice how God is first – will give us more strength than we can ever know.
Now this is what you could call the “psychological” benefit to believing in God. It’s important, but not as important as the spiritual benefit to knowing and relying upon God. Keep in mind that when I say spiritual, I don’t mean some ethereal, intangible thing – those of us who are religious know that we can feel the Spirit of God. His effects are in many ways as real as the computer I am typing on. Those who deny that haven’t sought that power in their life as diligently as they should.
I believe the power of the Spirit is best felt through revelation. And no matter how much people might deny it, revelation is received much more often than is mentioned. We religious people sometimes mistakenly believe that revelation must be consciously sought after to be given – like we have to be thinking “I need revelation” before we can receive revelation. Now, I am not saying that we should not think that. Truly, revelation is more easily accessible when we actively want and seek it! I am simply saying that we should not deny that revelation has and will continue to come in ways we do not expect.
I am thoroughly convinced that the Founding Fathers of the United States were divinely inspired. I don’t know how often they thought about God or prayed to Him – for some I am sure it was often, others maybe not – but either way, what was produced from their meetings, be it the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution, was in every sense of the word given by revelation.
Revelation does not replace our intellect – rather, it deepens and expands upon it. Our active search for greater intellect is like the act of faith that triggers greater revelation. When we EXTEND our intellect as far as it can go, then revelation can and will give us the last bit of push that we need to grasp a complex idea or solve a difficult problem. For those who pray to God, that revelation is more accessible.
I heard it said, though I cannot find the quote or reference, that President Henry B. Eyring described how receiving revelation was the most intellectually strenuous part of his life. I am sure that in his position this is absolutely. I imagine his wrestle with complex problems, both in his position in the church and in his career before, and the depth at which he must search before revelation can be known and boost him the rest of the way.
Yes, God makes us dig deep, but He will never let us leave without finding the gold.
Now how does this apply daily? For starters, a simple belief in God and a hope for eternal life in the world to come can do more to give us courage and strength than a belief in anything else. So, do you have fears or anxieties that weigh you down? Try to strengthen your belief in God, and that alone will strengthen you.
And that belief won’t only help you “philosophically”, but it’ll help you literally – His grace is sufficient, and that power is real! Revelation will come and will stretch you to intellectual planes you did not know were possible to achieve!
With these benefits to believing in and knowing God, why wouldn’t we want to?
I want to mention a good friend of mine from Australia. For this purpose, I’ll call him Robert. During the time that I ministered to Robert, he was in some of the lowest positions of his life. This poor man had been the recipient of so much damage caused by his own actions and the cruelty of others. But he wanted God in his life. My companion one day bore a powerful, tear-filled testimony about how knowing God was essential to recovery of any form. Robert, also crying, seemed to grasp this concept with both hands and held it as if his life depended on it.
Robert’s situation did not necessarily improve during my time with him. But he was happier and stronger. Revelation gave him a plan and his belief in God gave him the motivation to pursue it. Those blessings saved him and continue to save him to this day.
Let us all be like Robert and rely upon God, no matter how unpopular it may be.
Love you all heaps!
Adam Simpson
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