And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.In my previous post, I focused on the first half of this scripture: "Faith is things hoped for and not seen". In this post, I focus on the second part: "ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith."
Peter tells us that "the trial of your faith" is "more precious than gold", and "though it be tried by fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ". I have written before about our trials being like the refiner's fire, when endured well, they can purge dross from our souls.
We see that often among the chief grievances of skeptics of the gospel is their trouble accepting miracles, visions, angelic visitations, etc. We see this in several places:
The complaint of Laman against Nephi:
Now, he says that the Lord has talked with him, and also that angels have ministered unto him. But behold, we know that he lies unto us; and he tells us these things, and he worketh many things by his cunning arts, that he may deceive our eyes, thinking, perhaps, that he may lead us away into some strange wilderness; and after he has led us away, he has thought to make himself a king and a ruler over us, that he may do with us according to his will and pleasure.The rhetoric of the Amalekites:
Therefore, as Aaron entered into one of their synagogues to preach unto the people, and as he was speaking unto them, behold there arose an Amalekite and began to contend with him, saying: What is that thou hast testified? Hast thou seen an angel? Why do not angels appear unto us? Behold are not this people as good as thy people? Thou also sayest, except we repent we shall perish. How knowest thou the thought and intent of our hearts? How knowest thou that we have cause to repent? How knowest thou that we are not a righteous people? Behold, we have built sanctuaries, and we do assemble ourselves together to worship God. We do believe that God will save all men.The rhetoric of the antichrist Korihor:
Now Aaron said unto him: Believest thou that the Son of God shall come to redeem mankind from their sins?
And the man said unto him: We do not believe that thou knowest any such thing. We do not believe in these foolish traditions. We do not believe that thou knowest of things to come, neither do we believe that thy fathers and also that our fathers did know concerning the things which they spake, of that which is to come.
And thus ye lead away this people after the foolish traditions of your fathers, and according to your own desires; and ye keep them down, even as it were in bondage, that ye may glut yourselves with the labors of their hands, that they durst not look up with boldness, and that they durst not enjoy their rights and privileges. Yea, they durst not make use of that which is their own lest they should offend their priests, who do yoke them according to their desires, and have brought them to believe, by their traditions and their dreams and their whims and their visions and their pretended mysteries, that they should, if they did not do according to their words, offend some unknown being, who they say is God—a being who never has been seen or known, who never was nor ever will be.The logic of Samuel the Lamanite's opponents:
And they began to reason and to contend among themselves, saying: That it is not reasonable that such a being as a Christ shall come; ... But behold, we know that this is a wicked tradition, which has been handed down unto us by our fathers, to cause us that we should believe in some great and marvelous thing which should come to pass, but not among us, but in a land which is far distant, a land which we know not; therefore they can keep us in ignorance, for we cannot witness with our own eyes that they are true. And they will, by the cunning and the mysterious arts of the evil one, work some great mystery which we cannot understand, which will keep us down to be servants to their words, and also servants unto them, for we depend upon them to teach us the word; and thus will they keep us in ignorance if we will yield ourselves unto them, all the days of our lives. And many more things did the people imagine up in their hearts, which were foolish and vain;Quite frankly, this is an interesting standpoint. Each of these rhetoricians are imputing evil unto the believers for teaching that miracles are real and that God exists. And they impute their motive to be that of seeking power and gain over the believers. It was the same with Joseph Smith's opponents. And certainly that of the opponents of the Savior as well.
These accusers always assume that the preachers of righteousness have some ulterior motive. Perhaps it is because they themselves cannot see a purpose to life other than the animal and the material. They cannot see why anyone would believe or persuade others to do so unless it will make them some money. It only shows their depravity and short-sightedness. They cannot admit that someone might have experienced something that they have not (miracles and the visitation of angels), nor can they fathom that someone might know something that they do not. Plato truly taught that a mark of wisdom is to admit that you know nothing...
So how does this amount to a trial of your faith? Well, science and scientists these days hold a lot of clout with the general population. For the most part, what they say goes. There is scholarly discussion and criticism that goes on inside their circles, but the public doesn't see that for the most part. What the public does see, is what popular media and news vendors want them to see. And most of the time, it is what fits their agenda. This can be a trial because we are taught that these things are "facts". When that is not necessarily the case. The truth is, that evidence can be interpreted a thousand different ways, and the models and methods used are simply one person's way of viewing the evidence.
This can be very trying to some, because they may come to believe that the interpretation of the evidence by men is correct, and allow themselves to become confused. When one starts to believe the science, and when the particular popular model contradicts one's personal views of life, it causes turmoil and confusion. It can become a serious, and even a critical trial of our faith.
What we must never do, is allow our faith to be overcome. Instead, we must take things in the proper perspective, and we must continue to search the scriptures as well as other viewpoints. If we are diligent, what we will find in the end, is that the trial actually serves to strengthen our faith.
Although this type of trial is common in our present day, it is not the only type of trial. Trials of persecution, temptation, laziness, etc. are all there. But we must remember that they are there to make us strong, not to tear us down. And if we endure and overcome the trial, as the topic scripture says; we will receive a "witness". In other words, a miracle, to confirm and strengthen our faith.
This is promise is evident in countless passages of scripture and history. Generally speaking, whenever a manifestation from God, or blessing or intervention took place, it was preceded by an act of faith. Whether in the form of prayer, fasting, service, resistance, or otherwise, each act or series of acts was answered. The promise in one of its' simplest forms can be found in the sacramental prayers:
that they may ... witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them; that they may always have his Spirit to be with them.In short, if we take His name upon us, remember Him always, and keep His commandments, then we may always have His Spirit to be with us. The first three parts take faith - And the miraculous part - having His Spirit with us, is the basis of all miracles.
It seems right to me to say that in general, the miracle is relative to the size of the trial, but that is only based on observation from the scriptures.
Notice that conversion and faith doesn't happen because of miracles. The conversion and the faith always happens first, and is never preceded by a miracle. In fact, we are told by the Savior:
A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it...There are some interesting things that we can note from the accounts of the Antichrists in the Book of Mormon. They seek signs:
Now Korihor said unto him: I do not deny the existence of a God, but I do not believe that there is a God; and I say also, that ye do not know that there is a God; and except ye show me a sign, I will not believe.After receiving a sign from God and being struck dumb, he was convinced but not repentant:
...he put forth his hand and wrote unto Korihor, saying: Art thou convinced of the power of God? In whom did ye desire that Alma should show forth his sign? ...Notice that Alma said that Korihor would lead away the hearts of the people if the curse removed; evidence that the sign brought no faith.
And Korihor put forth his hand and wrote, saying: I know that I am dumb, for I cannot speak; and I know that nothing save it were the power of God could bring this upon me; yea, and I always knew that there was a God. ... Now when he had said this, he besought that Alma should pray unto God, that the curse might be taken from him. But Alma said unto him: If this curse should be taken from thee thou wouldst again lead away the hearts of this people; therefore, it shall be unto thee even as the Lord will.
Consider the reaction of the unbelievers to the manifestation of the signs prophesied by Samuel the Lamanite:
... and the people began to forget those signs and wonders which they had heard, and began to be less and less astonished at a sign or a wonder from heaven, insomuch that they began to be hard in their hearts, and blind in their minds, and began to disbelieve all which they had heard and seen — Imagining up some vain thing in their hearts, that it was wrought by men and by the power of the devil, to lead away and deceive the hearts of the people ...So, it seems crazy, but it sounds like you won't believe a miracle, even it is right before your eyes, unless you are prepared to receive and believe it beforehand.
And so the principle still holds true, that you receive no witness until after the trial of your faith. And again I attest that this is a day of miracles. May God help us all have the faith to see them for what they really are.
