Witness

Is seeing really believing?

I wonder. We live in an age of visual manipulation. Photoshop, clever video editing, and computer generated images can make anything seem real, from things that are mundane to things that are unbelievable. Virtual wars can be fought, treasures won, women enhanced, men made to do strange and miraculous things...

We also live in an age of information manipulation (say that 10x fast!). People distort truths or report selectively in an effort to deceive or to promote a certain agenda. Surely this has been happening since the dawn of time, but it seems to be more prevalent now - perhaps because our individual access to information is greater now than it has ever been.

I recently visited a friends home. He had purchased a set of encyclopedias dated 1975. He got them mainly as a curiosity and to fill up space on his bookshelf - they make your bookshelf look more scholarly! I perused the "A" volume and was interested to note that asbestos was listed. Following a summary of the chemical and physical properties of asbestos, the encyclopedia went on to explain several of the practical uses to which this material could be used - everything from brake pads to insulation to fire-resistant clothing for emergency personnel.

If this encyclopedia was your only reference, your only source of knowledge, you could be justified in assuming that asbestos was a wonderful, versatile, and very useful material. You would expect to see it in use in many locations. You may even be tempted to try to invent new ways to use it.

However, in the mid 1980s, new research was completed on asbestos, in particular asbestos dust and particulates, which shed a very different light on this material. People with exposure to asbestos were subject to more frequent problems with lung diseases, including cancer. Now we know that asbestos is a class A carcinogen and that it should be avoided at all costs. There are asbestos abatement programs, people must sign waivers or statements of understanding which demonstrate that there is no asbestos in their building, and the use of this hazardous material is strictly regulated to ensure that people are kept safe from its harmful effects.

So in this case, is reading believing?

If we cannot trust the input of our eyes, if we cannot trust others to give us valid and trustworthy information, where can we turn to know the truth?

Joseph Smith was very much alone when he began the translation of the Book of Mormon. He did not know if anyone would ever be able to help him bear this burden. He alone had seen the plates and he alone stood to testify of what he had seen. However, in course of translation of the book, he came across passages that led him to understand that others would be chosen to see the book and stand as witnesses to the reality of it.

Martin Harris, Oliver Cowdery, and David Whitmer became these witnesses. Each of them became disaffected with the Church and were either excommunicated or removed themselves from the fellowship of the Saints. Yet they never denied the truth of what they had seen.

Add to that the testimonies of eight other individuals who claim that Joseph showed them the plates, not to mention others who did not directly see the plates but otherwise hefted or handled them (Emma Smith, for example).

Surely the testimonies of 12 men who are rational, sound-minded men would not fail to procure an affirmative judgement in a court of law. Yet even this is not enough. They may have been duped - led on in an elaborate hoax or con by Joseph Smith in an effort to gain something (although what he gained other than his own death is unclear - what was his motive? certainly it was never money or other such prosperity...).

So again, how can we know truth?

I believe that God Himself testifies of truth in ways that are undeniable and unmistakable. Our physical senses may be deceived, but our hearts and our souls can know truth in ways that transcend physical or empirical evidences. There are other senses, sensitivities of the Spirit, of the soul, or of the heart that are every bit as real - and perhaps more so - than the crude experiences we have with our bodies. Those who are humble and receptive can come to know these things, while those who are relying solely on the evidences of their eyes may be deceived.

Why is it that none of the Three Witnesses denied their testimonies, even though they were disaffected and excommunicated? Surely they could have done so with relative impunity. Yet they did not. They went to their graves affirming the truth of what they had experienced, for their experience left an indelible mark on their souls which changed them forever.

These experiences are open to all. You and I can know truth - know it in ways that are stronger and more real than any physical method. There is truth to be known in the world, and we can know it. We have been commanded to ask, seek, and knock, and then the answers we desire will be opened unto us. Why would God deny us of such information? Why wouldn't He want us to know the truth of all things in a way that we know we are not deceived?

And why don't we all ask?

He will answer.