God Hears and Answers Prayers

My belief in prayer begins with foundational beliefs:

1. God exists.

2. God is aware of us in the universe.

3. God cares about humans as His children.

4. God engages with us.

5.  The scriptures are true accounts of real people who had real experiences with God.

These fundamental beliefs are the background upon which I have built my belief that prayer works. I have laid out my rationale for these beliefs in previous articles, so I won't rehearse them here. 

I am also aware that many people believe in prayer as a beneficial practice without the notion that a God is listening. Some consider prayer a form of meditation or a way of sending energy into the universe. That's not the kind of prayer, however, that I'm talking about. 

When I speak of praying, I mean a conversation between a human and an omniscient, omnipotent, Supreme Being, the King of the Universe. I believe I can speak to a God who created me, knows me, loves me, sent me to earth to have experiences and learn lessons, and wants me to return to Him.  He is my Father, and I am His child. He knows my name and is interested in me as an individual. 

I believe God hears and answers my prayers because:

1. The Scriptures provide me with a written record of hundreds of answered prayers.  Both the Bible and the Book of Mormon recount the experiences of many people who prayed and received answers. While many of those people were prophets with spectacular experiences, many more were normal people like me, who pleaded for strength, guidance, or rescue and received the help they needed.

2. People I know personally have testified to the effects of answered prayers in their lives. Their needs and desires are very much like those of the people in Scripture, and their petitions have been granted. Some answers have been dramatic, while most have been subtle, almost coincidental--except that so many coincidences no longer appear coincidental.

3. Jesus set the example of prayer. Not only did He teach His disciples to pray, but He also practiced what He preached, often finding places and periods of solitude where He could commune with His Father. 

4. In addition, Jesus promised that prayers would be answered. "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Matthew 7:7). "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it" (John 14:13-14). Because I believe Jesus is the Son of God (another foundational belief), I trust that He is telling the truth.

5. I have had my own personal experience with prayer. I have spoken to my Father in the name of Jesus daily, often multiple times a day, for more than fifty years. I have prayed in times of great sorrow and great joy, great distress and great triumph. Many of my prayers have been outpourings of gratitude. Some have been angry shouts, while most have been whispered or silent. He lets me know that He hears me. Most often, He provides a subtle feeling of peace, a gentle acknowledgement that He has received my message. I have received ideas and impressions. Sometimes He has given me words, sentences, and paragraphs--not in my ears but in my mind. He has strengthened me, encouraged me, lifted me, and prompted me to act. When I have needed guidance, He has confirmed certain critical decisions and directed me away from bad choices.

Not every prayer has required an answer or deserved one. I often get no for an answer, and even more often, I get no answer at all. I've learned that God's silence doesn't mean that He's not listening or doesn't care. Sometimes, He lets me exercise my agency, use my own logic, and learn from the consequences, both good and bad. He's not raising a puppet, He's training a son.

I choose to believe in prayer, not only because I have the evidence and testimony of others, and not only because I have a lifetime of my own experiences, but because my logic tells me that a God who took the time and effort to create the universe and the earth, and who created me and sent me here, would not turn His back and walk away. My Father has a purpose for me, and He wants to have a relationship with me. That relationship I call prayer.

Baptism Is Essential to Salvation

If I believe in Jesus, why do I need baptism?

The word baptism comes from a Greek word that means "dip" or "immerse." It is the introductory ordinance, ushering the recipient into the Church of Christ. While baptism is a prerequisite for membership in Christ's church, it is also a requirement for salvation. The law of the Church dictates the need for baptism. The words and actions of Jesus in the New Testament testify to the essential nature of baptism for salvation. 

I accept as true doctrine the salvatory benefit of baptism by immersion by one holding the necessary priesthood authority for the following reasons:

1) Jesus said baptism was necessary to "fulfill all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15). Jesus Himself was baptized by John the Baptist (see Mark 1:9) to set the example for the rest of us to follow. 

2) Further, Jesus stated specifically, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16), indicating that belief alone is not enough. He famously stated to Nicodemus, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). "Born of the water" is commonly understood to be baptism, and entering "the kingdom of God" is the very definition of salvation.

3) Jesus commanded His apostles to "teach all nations, baptizing them" (Matthew 28:19). He would not have put this requirement for baptism on His disciples if it was not necessary.

4) After Jesus ascended into heaven, leaving His church in the hands of the apostles, those apostles continued to preach the need for baptism: "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 2:38). Additionally, the  Apostle Peter wrote in his general epistle to the Church, "even baptism doth also now save us" (1 Peter 3:21).

Hence, baptism was an indisputably essential ordinance in the ancient Church. If God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, shouldn't the same rules apply in other places and at other times?. Indeed, they do.

5) When the resurrected Christ appeared to the people in the Western Hemisphere, He spoke plainly of baptism: "And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God" (3 Nephi 11:33). 

6) In modern times, Jesus reiterated to the Prophet Joseph Smith the mandatory nature of baptism: "And as many as repent and are baptized in my name, which is Jesus Christ, and endure to the end, the same shall be saved" (Doctrine and Covenants 18:22). Further, in describing those who would inherit the celestial kingdom, which is God's kingdom in heaven, the revelation says, "They are they who received the testimony of Jesus, and believed on his name and were baptized after the manner of his burial, being buried in the water in his name, and this according to the commandment which he has given" (Doctrine and Covenants 76:51).

Thus, the requirement of baptism for salvation was taught anciently by Jesus Himself and His apostles, was instituted in both the Old World and the New, and has been reinforced by revelation to the prophet of this new dispensation. 

7) Finally, I accept the need for baptism not only as a Christian, but also as one of the articles my faith as a Latter-day: "We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Articles of Faith 1:4).

I chose to be baptized when I was fifteen years old because I wanted to be eligible to be saved in the kingdom of God. There is certainly more to receiving the gift of salvation than being dunked in water. Salvation is a lifetime endeavor of learning, growing, following Christ, repenting daily, and receiving the gift of sanctification through the Holy Spirit. I do not earn salvation or sanctification through my works; they are gifts that God gives. But I must indicate my willingness to accept His gifts, and baptism is one of the signs of my desire to follow Christ and become a joint-heir with Him. Because I accept the  scriptures as the word of God revealed to mankind, I believe baptism is essential "because the Bible tells me so."

I Am A Child of God, Made in His Image

If God is so much greater, holier, more powerful, and more glorious than humans, what makes me think I could be His child? How am I different than any other animal that walks the earth?

It is true that I, like all human beings, am so far removed from the glory, intelligence, and power of God that the figurative distance is incomprehensible to my mind. I am vastly inferior in every way to the Supreme Being of the universe. To most people who believe in God, our frail mortal existence separates us from the God of Heaven and Earth in profoundly significant ways. The barrier between God and us is so high, wide, and deep that it seems impenetrable.

And yet, Jesus, God's Beloved Son, has instructed us to address the God of the universe as Father. So, first and foremost, I believe I am the offspring of God because Jesus said so. 

For example, Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). He did not say "my Father" or "the Father," he said "your Father." He used the phrase "your Father" elsewhere in His great sermon: 

• "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven..." (Matthew 6:9).
• "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you" (Matthew 6:14).
• "...your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things" (Matthew 6:32).

The ancient apostles likewise taught very directly of the familial relationship between God and humans. For example, the Apostle Paul wrote: "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together" (Romans 8:16-27). According to Paul, we are not so very distant from God the Father after all.

Prophets in the Book of Mormon also testified of our divine heritage. King Benjamin reminded the Nephites, "...ye are eternally indebted to your heavenly Father" (Mosiah 2:34). 

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught the Saints in the early days of the Restoration about their divine relationship to their Heavenly Father. “The Great Parent of the universe looks upon the whole of the human family with a fatherly care and paternal regard” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, page 39).

Modern apostles proclaimed God's relationship to us in these words, "It is significant that of all the titles of respect and honor and admiration that are given to [God], He has asked us to address Him as Father” (“Father, Consider Your Ways,” Ensign, June 2002, 12). 

So, God is my Father. But in what sense is this true? Do I take this relationship literally, or is it merely a metaphor? Again, the Scriptures provide the answer.

God is the literal Father of all human spirits:

• "O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh" (Numbers 16:22)
• "Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?" (Hebrews 12:9).
• "And he [Moses] beheld the spirits that God had created" (Moses 6:36).
• "Whereupon are the foundations [of the Earth] fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (Job 38:6-7).

My spirit--my essence and consciousness--is a literal son of Heavenly Father, housed temporarily in a mortal body. I lived with God before the Earth was created and before I was born on said Earth. But is there more to my sonship than my spiritual creation?

"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them" (Genesis 1:26-27).

So, my body is in the likeness and image of God. But is this literal or figurative? 

Jesus's beloved apostle John wrote, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2).

And what exactly will we see, and how shall we be like Him?

The Lord answered that question for Joseph Smith when He revealed, "The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man’s; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit." (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22).

I am, therefore, a literal son of God in the spirit, and my physical body has the same form as Heavenly Father's, although without His glory and immortality. Those additional attributes will come in the Resurrection. 

I choose to believe these principles about my nature and relationship to God not only because they have been revealed to prophets, but because they make logical sense. God did not create me to be a lowly creature who would spend eternity groveling before the Supreme Being, but, like any good father, to enable me to become like He is. From the very beginning, He created my spirit to grow and develop, take on flesh and bone like His, pass through a mortal probation where I could learn faith and patience, and then come forth as a resurrected, glorified being, immortal and eternal as God is, God's rightful heir and a joint-heir with Christ (Romans 8:17).

Heavenly Father doesn't want just worshippers; He wants sons and daughters who will follow in His footsteps and become as He is.

Ultimately, I believe I am a child of God because, as the Apostle Paul said, "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God" (Romans 8:16). "And by the power of the Holy Ghost, ye may know the truth of all things" (Moroni 10:5), including the truth about who I am.

Christ's Atonement Is Necessary and Perfect

Why did Jesus have to die? 

Everything that has come before in the Christian faith leads me to Christ's atonement. It is the logical conclusion and the centerpiece of God's plan of salvation for His children.

Because God exists, absolute truth exists. Because God lives every moment in accordance with the laws of absolute truth, He is flawless and holy. He intends us, His children, to be flawless and holy, because He made us in His image. 

God wants us to live with Him forever, but only beings who are as perfect and holy as God can reside in His presence. When God created us, He gave us agency, which is the ability to choose to live like Him. Because of this agency, however, we also have the ability to choose to act in ways that are not aligned with God. 

So that our agency would be effective, God allows evil to exist alongside good. He created a world in which we would face opposition: the tree of knowledge of good and evil vs. the tree of life. God also cut us off from His direct presence so we could make choices without fear of immediate judgment and retribution. We are, therefore, free to choose to align ourselves perfectly with God or not.

Every human born on this earth has a dual nature. Our spirits come from God, and our bodies are of the earth. Our earthly bodies are driven by appetites and passions that throw us out of alignment with God's way of life. Our spirits have to learn to manage and control our earthly bodies. In the learning process, we make mistakes. Like learning to walk, we stumble and trip. And just as willful toddlers intentionally touch a hot stove or run out into the street because they don't understand consequences, we may likewise intentionally choose actions that are not in harmony with God's will. Mistakes are called transgressions, and willful rebellion is sin.

The reality of life on earth is that no one chooses correct actions every time. Every human being has made mistakes and intentionally turned away from God to do something they think will make them happy.

Because of our agency, we are accountable for our choices. We may plead ignorance for some mistakes, but for purposeful disregard for God's standards, we are guilty as charged. Everyone who has ever been born has failed to live up to God's perfect expectations.

The law of eternal justice, by which God abides, requires a punishment for every broken law. Additionally, once a soul is guilty of a sin, that soul remains guilty forever. Suffering the punishment does not remove the guilt. In the human justice system, a thief who has "paid his debt to society" may be allowed to re-enter society, but he can never "unsteal" the thing he stole that made him a thief. God's justice works the same way. I can stop stealing and repay all that I took from others, and so regain a measure of trust and respectability, but the stain of my former guilt will never leave me. I will also be the former thief who stopped stealing; I can never be the man who never stole.

After I have stolen, even once, I will forever be unworthy and incapable of residing in the presence of the perfect, holy God. Even after I have received the punishment for my crime and lived the rest of my life in perfect honesty, the flaw in my character will not allow me to stand in the vicinity of God. His perfect glory will repel me, and I will run from Him to hide my guilt.

That's not what God wants for me, however. He wants me to learn from my mistakes and bad choices. He wants me to grow in my desire and ability to live His kind of life without being forever doomed by my early failed attempts. He wants me to live comfortably and happily in His presence for all eternity. 

How can He be a fair and just God, and also be a loving and merciful God? If He ignores sins without requiring punishment, He has broken the universal law of absolute justice. He would, therefore, not be a flawless and holy God. He would be changeable, partial, and unpredictable. Therefore, He would not be fit to rule the universe.

Further, we would learn nothing about making correct choices if our actions carried no consequences. We would not grow and develop. 

This is where Jesus Christ and His atonement come to the rescue. To make God's plan of salvation work, so that we could make mistakes on earth and still return to live with Him, Someone who deserved no punishment would have to take the punishment for every other person on earth. 

Jesus volunteered for that assignment. The only way He could take the punishment for another person was 1) to be sinless Himself, and 2) to be accountable for and accept the guilt of the other person. He had to remove the guilt from the other person and own it Himself. He who had never stolen would have to confess to stealing whatever I stole. He who had never lied would have to admit to telling my lie. He who had never been immoral would have to accept my immorality as His own.

Once Jesus accepted my guilt by proxy, He became worthy of my just punishment, and I was no longer guilty. I could not be convicted of stealing because Jesus took that action on himself. I was free of the stain of guilt. I could stand in God's presence as if I had never stolen because, as far as Jesus was concerned, I was not the thief; He was.

Jesus took my guilt and punishment not just for the candy bar I stole as a child, but for everything I ever did and would yet ever do that separated me from God. And He did that not just for me, but for every human who has ever or will ever be born on this earth. 

How could Jesus do such a thing? Because, as God, He is omniscient and omnipotent. He has to be all-knowing because if there was even one thing about me He didn't know, He might have missed one of my sins, and I would still be guilty. And He had to be all-powerful because if He lacked even the slightest bit of power, He might not have been able to endure my punishment, and I would still have to accept that punishment.

Therefore, I believe Christ's atonement is necessary and perfect because:

1) I believe God exists.

2) I believe God is a flawless, unchangeable, unerring, and impartial God who is also loving and merciful.

3) I believe I am created in the image of God with an eternal destiny to live with Him forever.

4) I believe I have the God-given agency to choose to live with Him.

5) I believe I have made many wrong choices that doom me to be separated from God's presence forever.

6) I believe God's plan for my life is for me to learn and grow from my mistakes without being penalized by them forever.

7) I believe Jesus, as God's Son, had the knowledge and the power to take my sins upon Himself and suffer the consequences that should rightfully have fallen to me.

8) I believe Jesus loves God and all of God's children enough to be the Sacrificial Lamb to free us all from our just punishments.

9) I believe Jesus's words recorded in the Bible that He would take upon Himself the sin of the world and the sins of all men.

10) I believe the witnesses in the Bible and elsewhere that Jesus rose from the dead as proof of His atoning sacrifice.

Because Jesus died and lives again, I believe that I will live again in God's presence forever.

I choose to believe in Christ's atonement because no other option makes sense to me. Without God and the hope of getting back to Him, nothing in this earthly life has any real meaning. Without the hope of joy, suffering is pointless, and life is meaningless. Without victory, there is no life, only death. I choose to believe that there is more to life than death, and I can choose life because of Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ Is Resurrected

Christ's Resurrection Is Real

The life and death of Jesus of Nazareth is an established fact. The non-Christian historical accounts of Flavius Josephus, Cornelius Tacitus, Lucian of Samosata, Maimonides corroborate one another in relating when and how Jesus died. 

The suffering and death of Jesus are critical to the Christian faith because they are the source of the atonement that reconciles us with God. Yet, as important as Christ's death is, it would mean nothing without His resurrection. Because Jesus Christ rose from the dead, I can trust everything else He promised, including His ability to wash away my sins.

The proof of the Atonement is the Resurrection, and the proof of the Resurrection is witnesses. So, I begin my explanation of why I believe in Christ's resurrection with His witnesses.

1. The eyewitness testimony of Christ's resurrection is credible and sincere. The primary witnesses, the Apostles, suffered prolonged torture and death rather than renounce their testimony. Martyrdom proves sincerity, but it does not prove the facts. Nevertheless, the death of the Apostles is remarkable because they did not claim merely to believe Jesus was resurrected, but that they actually saw Him. Either they did or did not see Him alive and well after His death. The martyrs died not for what they believed, but for what they saw.

2. Saul, a diligent persecutor of the earliest believers in Jesus, had an experience with the resurrected Christ that dramatically changed his life, turning him into a staunch and unwavering defender of Jesus and His resurrection. Saul-turned-Paul testified to his dying day that he saw the resurrected Lord. 

3. The empty tomb could not be denied. The Jewish Sanhedrin claimed that Jesus's disciples stole the body. If that were true, then the Apostles would have known the resurrection was a hoax and would hardly have been willing to die to maintain the lie. Surely someone would have weakened in the face of torture and excruciating death and confessed to the hoax, if not to save himself, then to save his friends and family. It has also been suggested that Jesus faked His death and then escaped the tomb. The possibility that any human could survive being beaten, tortured, lacerated, and stabbed, suffering internal damage, massive blood loss, asphyxiation, and a spear through His side, and then sit quietly in a sealed tomb for more than thirty-six hours without medical attention is absurd.

4. Jesus has been seen in other places besides Jerusalem and at other times besides immediately after His death. The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ records the experience of thousands of people in the Western Hemisphere who saw the resurrected, immortal Christ. After He left his disciples in Palestine and ascended to heaven, He descended from heaven in dramatic fashion, appearing before more than 2,500 people on the American Continent. He called twelve Disciples from among the multitude and bestowed priesthood authority on them to proclaim His gospel and baptize. The resurrected Christ showed the people the wounds in His hands, feet, and side as a testimony that He was truly who He said He was. He preached the gospel, healed the sick and afflicted, and blessed the children. His majestic appearance ushered in a two-hundred-year reign of peace and righteousness among the people, which is chronicled in the Book of Mormon.

5. Modern witnesses have also seen the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus appeared to Joseph Smith, a young farm boy in New York State in 1820, commencing a restoration of ancient Christianity. Joseph Smith saw the resurrected Lord again in 1836, this time accompanied by Oliver Cowdery to stand as a second witness. Like the Apostles of old, Joseph died a martyr's death because he would not deny his testimony of Christ and His resurrection.

A single witness may not be enough to prove the case, but dozens, hundreds, and thousands of witnesses, all experiencing the miracle of the Resurrection at different times, places, and circumstances, make for a strong case. 

Still, if I haven't seen the resurrected Christ with my own eyes, how could I be sure the story is not a total fabrication? Is it possible that so many people have colluded to perpetuate a myth and that so many would die rather than admit the lie? Is it probable? No. But is it possible? Maybe. 

So, to seal the deal, God has promised to anyone willing to admit the possibility that Christ's resurrection is real their own personal witness. He offers to everyone who will ask a testimony provided by the Holy Ghost, the third member of the Godhead, the Comforter and Testifier. 

The Bible says that "no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost" (1 Cor. 12:3). The Holy Ghost "shall teach you all things" (John 14:26). I bear my witness that these statements are true. By the witnessing, testifying, and convincing power of the Holy Ghost, I believe that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is real. He appeared to His Apostles and others in Jerusalem, was seen by more than 500 people in Galilee, visited and spoke to St. Paul on the road to Damascus, appeared to and taught thousands on the American Continent, came to Joseph Smith and others in modern times, and lives today as a resurrected and immortal Being. I know by the Holy Ghost that these things are true.

Jesus Is the Son of God

People generally acknowledge that Jesus was a great teacher, but how can you say he was God's son?

To begin with, I should define what I mean when I say that Jesus is God's Son. We are all children of our Heavenly Father. Every human being born on this earth came from God. Jesus is unique, however, among all people born into this world, in that He had a mortal mother and an immortal, glorified Father. His DNA is a mixture of mortal and deified genes. Therefore, Jesus is literally the Son of God. How, exactly, the union occurred to produce the Son of God is not my concern. I nevertheless believe it happened, however God chose to make it happen, and Jesus is the result, fully human and yet fully God.

I believe Jesus is the Son of God for the following reasons:

1. Jesus's birth, life, death, and resurrection fulfilled more than 300 biblical prophecies. The Jewish scriptures are filled with bold and specific predictions of the Messiah's virgin birth, sinless life, miraculous actions, suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection. Jesus fulfilled every prophecy.

2. Jesus performed miracles as a sign of His heritage and authority that even His bitterest enemies could not deny. The Jewish rulers--the Pharisees and Sadducees--accused Jesus of being a sinner, a blasphemer, and a servant of the devil. Still, they could not deny that men previously blind received their sight, deaf men regained their hearing, lepers were healed, the lame were made to walk, and the dead were brought back to life. Jesus demonstrated supernatural powers that could come only from God.

3. Jesus openly claimed to be the promised Messiah and the Son of God. When the Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well spoke of the prophesied Messiah, Jesus said, "I that speak unto thee am he" (John 4:26). When the Pharisees in the temple questioned Jesus about His claims of divine sonship, He spoke of Abraham longing to see His mission on earth and proclaimed, "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58), echoing God's pronouncement to Moses, "I Am that I Am" (Exodus 3:14).

4. God the Father Himself testified that Jesus was His Son. When John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the River Jordan at the beginning of His ministry, the people at the river heard a voice from heaven say, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17).

5. Jesus died and then rose from the grave and ascended to heaven. Though He had brought others back to life, those people remained mortal, lived out their lives on earth, and then died again. Jesus rose from the dead as an immortal being and returned to His Father in Heaven, never to die again. 

The reasons I have cited above for believing Jesus is the Son of God are not proofs of  His divine claim. They rely on the Bible, which many non-Christians do not hold as a trustworthy source. Beyond the Bible, however, I have other sources. 

6. The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Christ is a second book of holy scripture that verifies Jesus's claim of His divine nature. The Book of Mormon records an account of the resurrected Jesus appearing to people in the Western Hemisphere. As Jesus Christ descended from heaven, the people heard the voice of God proclaim, "Behold my Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name—hear ye him" (3 Nephi 11:7).

7. The resurrected Christ has appeared to people in the modern era and proclaimed His divinity. The Father and the Son appeared to Joseph Smith in 1820. The Father introduced Jesus with these words, "This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!" (Pearl of Great Price, Joseph Smith - History 1:17). Again, in April 1836, Jesus appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the temple at Kirtland, Ohio, saying, "I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father" (Doctrine and Covenants 110:4).

Thus, I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God because ancient prophets predicted He would come; when He came, He fulfilled those prophecies perfectly; He demonstrated His divine power over and over again; He rose from the dead; and in His resurrected form, He appeared to other reliable witnesses both anciently and in modern times. Still, I cannot present scientific proof of Christ's existence as the Son of God. I cannot produce fingerprints or DNA samples. I can display no photographs or other tangible artifacts. All I have on which to base my belief is the testimonies of others. 

But that's not entirely true. I have one additional, personal witness. The Holy Ghost, the third member of the Godhead, whose role it is to testify of the Father and the Son, has revealed to my mind and heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and my Redeemer and Savior. If all the other sources of my faith were to disappear, I have the undeniable witness from God Himself to my soul that Jesus is His Son. 

The Bible Is a Reliable Source of Truth

Is the Bible a Reliable Source of Truth?

We know the Bible was written by fallible humans, and it has passed through many hands, copyists, and translators to give us the book we have today. How can it be reliable?

From a purely scholarly perspective, good evidence exists that the Bible is an accurate record of historic events. 

To begin with, the Bible has an unprecedented number of early manuscript copies compared to other ancient literature, ensuring that the modern text is an accurate representation of the original, with a stable history of transmission. 

As with other ancient books, the physical pieces of “paper” on which the original authors first wrote the New Testament have been lost to history. But we have thousands of other ancient writings (on papyrus, vellum, and parchment) with original-language text copied from each book of the Bible—about 5,400 distinct pieces when it comes to the New Testament, many going back to the first three centuries. They allow us to reconstruct with a huge degree of confidence what the originals said.

The books of the New Testament were written by, or based on, eyewitnesses to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Reliable historians like Josephus corroborate key events in the Bible, such as Jesus's crucifixion by Pontius Pilate.

Countless archaeological discoveries, such as the Pool of Bethesda and the existence of the Hittites, have supported the historical details in the biblical narrative, with no archaeological finding ever having disproved it.

The same holds true for the Old Testament. Through the centuries, professional scribes (soferim) followed hundreds of rules to ensure exact transcription, covering everything from the ink type to the parchment quality. Also, because Torah scrolls are kept in individual communities, there is no single master copy that could be destroyed to lose the text.

In addition to these scholarly evidences, we have the testimony of Jesus Himself, who affirmed the writings of the prophets extant during His lifetime, which Christians call the Old Testament. He told His followers that He came not to destroy the law (Torah) and the prophets (Nevi'im), but to fulfill them.

The Bible contains hundreds of specific prophecies made centuries in advance, with over 2,000 fulfilled to date, particularly regarding the life and mission of Jesus.

Finally, I believe the Bible is the word of God because I have read it twice, cover to cover, and I have studied it repeatedly for six decades. I do not consider myself a Bible scholar, but I am familiar enough with its contents to testify that the Bible's central messages ring true to me: 

• God exists and is involved in the world He created.
• God speaks to prophets and performs miracles. 
• God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be the Redeemer of the world.
• Because of Christ's atonement, I can be saved.

Is the Bible as we have it today, in its many translated forms, a perfect book? Perhaps not, but the truths it espouses form the foundation of the Christian faith to which I subscribe. I choose to believe the Bible because it testifies of God the Father and Jesus Christ.