Sunday 16 February 2014

Do you believe in God and Jesus Christ?

In a temple recommend interview we're asked if we have a testimony of God the Father and Jesus Christ. Here's the thoughts I have in answering that question:

I start from the premise of thinking a creative force behind our existence is probably a more likely explanation than pure chance. I have considered Atheism and it doesn't work for me. I believe in a creator.

This leads me to ask myself some additional questions:

Does the loving, personal, "weeping" God of Mormonism exist?
Do we have a spiritual Father and Mother who created us?
Was our elder brother, Jesus Christ, with us in the pre-mortal life?
Did he really live on earth, suffering the pain of the sins of every person who ever lived in one agonising evening?
Did he die and then come back to life after three days, thereby guaranteeing every person will live again too?

Are all these things a reality?

I don't know. I hope so. 

It's the hope that is meaningful to me. Acting on this hope makes my life better. 

The creator doesn't seem to have left conclusive evidence of what they are really, actually like (or if they exist at all).

With that in mind I choose an image of the creator that works for me and that brings hope to my life. I like the description of the creator found in Mormonism. Perhaps the creator is always manifested to us in the most useful way for each of us. Perhaps we all create God in our own image. Perhaps it was designed that way. It seems that, for the majority, their personal image of God encourages them to be better people. Not always, but usually. Sometimes it's even a disbelief in God that motivates them to be a better person. If that's what is needed, it seems the creator is ok with that. 

What of Jesus Christ? Again, I don't know for certain that he was the historical, godlike, perfect person described in the New Testament. I hope he was. That hope is enough to apply the principles of the atonement: grace, repentance (effective change), forgiving (self and others) and hope that we are eternal beings on a path towards becoming more like God. 

I can say with confidence that this belief and behaviour has an effect. I have a testimony of hoping and acting on the hope. 

So yes, I have a belief and even a testimony in the Mormon description of God the Father and Jesus Christ. Not because I have a conviction that this description is the way things really are but because I have the experience of the "change effect" of acting on the hope.

Rather than giving this long answer, when it comes to the temple recommend question, I simply say "Yes."

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