Non-Prophet Organization
Scott Adams, (author of Dilbert and some other books) has a personal blog that covers a wide span of topics. His post for today asks
“So for you Christians and Jews, especially Mormons, how do you go about deciding which prophets are the real ones? This is not a rhetorical question. I actually want to know.”
I’m looking forward to reading the ensuing discussion, and have been considering writing a response. I’ve been reading his blog since he started, and this is a rather unusual thing. He often will ask some flame-baiting question, and tell people to convince him. In this post he specifically indicates that he only wants to hear from believers, and indicates that he will delete comments from non-believers. This is also the second post in three days that mentions Mormons specifically in a fairly positive light.
My response was initially going to talk about eternal patterns of calling prophets, specific scriptures that prophesy the calling of prophets, etc. As I thought about it, I realized that none of that means anything to someone who doesn’t already believe.
I’ve always been taught that trying to convert someone by logic will nearly always fail. The only way to really convert someone is to bear testimony of your beliefs so that the Holy Ghost can enter the person’s heart. Today that teaching became logical. Logic can be twisted and argued and refuted all day long. The quiet and highly personal burning sensation of the Holy Ghost is a real phenomenon. If you’ve felt it you’ve felt it, and there is no getting around that. You may not know how to act on those feelings, or may not fully understand what it imports, but you will not be able to deny that you felt something. As one grows and learns that feeling will return at choice moments, and will slowly teach a person what is and is not truth.
That is, perhaps, the greatest mercy of God, that He has given us an unfailing truth-o-meter that will never break. The importance of that gift is often overlooked, but when one considers what the most serious of sins is then it’s importance becomes clearer. It is a gift that I have used and am endlessly grateful for.
April 17th, 2006 09:15
I tried leaving some links to the General Conference pages at lds.org. I’m not sure that my comment was posted.
April 17th, 2006 09:35
His comments are heavily moderated. They won’t show until he approves them, which he does about 3 times a day. I’m sure your comment will get through, and will be posted.
April 17th, 2006 11:36
Danithew–
Your comment is up now.
Here’s what I had to say:
There are two approaches to questions like this–doctrinal & spiritual. The former can make some sense to non-believers, but it is the latter that matters.
Approaching it doctrinally: God covenanted with Abraham, and while Ishmael was his firstborn son (the line through which Muslims arise), Isaac was the firstborn to him after the covenant with God, and therefore that holy authority runs through his line leading to the Jews and the law of Moses, etc. In Jesus Christ the looked-for messiah came and fulfilled the law, leading holy authority, or the ability to speak on earth in the name of God down the Christian branch. Christ appointed twelve apostles who were martyred before proper channels could be established for passing on that authority to speak for God on the earth, also called priesthood authority. While faith was kept alive for many centuries with the information thus far imparted by prophets up to those twelve, the nature of worship and faith shifted slightly bit-by-bit until it varied such that the Lord restored that priesthood authority to the earth, and opened the prophetic line of communication again by calling a young man named Jospeh Smith. The Lord, by way of Jospeh then called twelve apostles as well, and they were each given the same kind of priesthood authority as well as a means of passing it on. Therefore, when Jospeh Smith died, the role of prophet was able to be conveyed to another, on through Brigham Young, passed down again and again thorugh the years to Gordon B. Hinckley today.
So, that is the straight narrative of the logic by which is see the authority. Of course, it presupposes that prophetic right is something given of God and that much be handed down appropriately and can not be assumed at will or by virtue of just calling on the scriptures, etc. It is not particularly telling, though, is it? It’s kind of flat.
How did I decide that that train of logic was the right one? How did I discern the true from the fals prophets? Alas, to an unbeliever’s mind the answer is somewhat dull. Prayer. I know; how anticlimactic is that??? Fact is, though, when we set our shell of doubt aside, and open ourselves for just the briefest possibility that He might really be there, we find out for ourselves. I can no more tell you what it feels like than I could describe the the color fuschia in terms of the sense of taste. You have to use the right sense.
In our modern modes of thought, we look at everything as if it were an experiment. It’s all scientific method, observation-hypothosis-test. There are aspects of various experiences in life, though, that simply defy that subject-object duality. So long as they are observed as opposed to experienced they can not and will not be understood. This is one such thing. It must be experienced. Once it has been, though, it is as evident as any object ever examined. The experience is palpable, real, and testifies unmistakably to even the most analytical mind that it is just plain true. It is by the Holy Spirit that we can know the truth of all things, but, as I said before, you have to use that sense.
It seems illogical to rely on a feeling, but the feeling and the experience can’t be denied, and once they have been felt, the logic of the decision is as evident as any physical observation. Spirit is no less valid than matter in the evidence it can yield, but it can’t be accessed with sight, sound, taste, touch, or smell.
April 17th, 2006 13:17
For me a spiritual help and a tangible link is The Book of Mormon. To me it is just to good to ignore. It seems its translation as one of the first things Joseph did was no fluke. The content that the prophets produce is amazing to me and appeals to both logic and spirit.
April 18th, 2006 06:17
Naiah- that is one of the clearest and most beautiful explanations I have ever read- I may forward it to my agnostic mother who wonders if I’ve lost my mind. Thanks
April 18th, 2006 08:14
Tracy,
Sure. Go for it. Hahaha, you might want to check it for typos first! Man, one of these days I’m going to learn to read my comments before hitting ‘publish’…
:P
April 18th, 2006 15:25
I second Tracy M. That is a masterful essay. Thanks so much. That is a keeper.
April 18th, 2006 17:45
OK, I have a meeting starting in 20 minutes, and I’ve frittered away my afternoon reading the comments on Scott Adam’s site. What strikes me is that the comments fall into a handfull of categories. Did anyone else notice? The Hindus seem to often say they are Hindu because they were born that way. The Jews and Muslims often don’t say *why* they believe, but they explain where Adams got their belief wrong, or why others are wrong, or they explain what they believe about prophets, scriptures in general. Christians are a large group of posters, and they do this as well. There is also a large christian contingent that compares everything to the Bible. There is another group that uses the scripture “by your fruits ye shall know them” as their guiding principle. Mormons often use that motto as well, but by and large we are the only ones who believe because of personal experience with revelation. It was fascinating!
Anyone else notice anything interesting in the comments?
Also, I really like Starfoxy’s post.