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From what I can tell, the LDS God has decided faith is the best identifier of a persons worth. He therefor provides little physical evidence for ones intellect, relying on the 'Holy Ghost' to testify to us for our witness. But.....Doesn't one still have to use ones intellect to understand what the promptings are? If I'm getting a certain feeling while reading the Book of Mormon, I still have to use my intellect to figure out the connection. The feeling could be anything.
What I'm struggling with is that god wants to provide some evidence, but not too much.....and based on the individual also. For instance, for our intellect he provides witnesses to the plates, but not the plates themselves as that would be too much.
God must have a pretty sophisticated equation figured out to be able to supply a fixed amount of tactile evidence to the many, that somehow just only doesn't exceed the personal limit of the one.

My real question though is, if god is sending us the holy ghost as evidence.....Wouldn't that be considered too much evidence? I mean, how do you have faith if you know the church is true because God sent you the HG.?

tana wrote:From what I can tell, the LDS God has decided faith is the best identifier of a persons worth. He therefor provides little physical evidence for ones intellect,

A monstrous mistake to have to drag around. A chain providing pointless misery, a treadmill with no end a kingdom devoid of hope.

From what I can tell, the LDS God has decided faith is the best identifier of a persons worth. He therefor provides little physical evidence for ones intellect, relying on the 'Holy Ghost' to testify to us for our witness

You obviously haven't read D&C 9 or the lead up to the First Vision.

bcspace wrote:

From what I can tell, the LDS God has decided faith is the best identifier of a persons worth. He therefor provides little physical evidence for ones intellect, relying on the 'Holy Ghost' to testify to us for our witness

You obviously haven't read D&C 9 or the lead up to the First Vision.

D&C 9
8 But, behold, I say unto you, that you must astudy it out in your bmind; then you must cask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your dbosom shall eburn within you; therefore, you shall ffeel that it is right.
9 But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a astupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is bsacred save it be given you from me.

Study, mind, thought, forget = intellect

tana,

the D&C won't work on you if you think for yourself what you read there. for it to work on you, just let the Sunday School teacher read from the COB manual and tell you what you read means. put your intellect on hold. it works better that way.

tana wrote:From what I can tell, the LDS God has decided faith is the best identifier of a persons worth. He therefor provides little physical evidence for ones intellect, relying on the 'Holy Ghost' to testify to us for our witness. But.....Doesn't one still have to use ones intellect to understand what the promptings are? If I'm getting a certain feeling while reading the Book of Mormon, I still have to use my intellect to figure out the connection. The feeling could be anything.
What I'm struggling with is that god wants to provide some evidence, but not too much.....and based on the individual also. For instance, for our intellect he provides witnesses to the plates, but not the plates themselves as that would be too much.
God must have a pretty sophisticated equation figured out to be able to supply a fixed amount of tactile evidence to the many, that somehow just only doesn't exceed the personal limit of the one.

My real question though is, if god is sending us the holy ghost as evidence.....Wouldn't that be considered too much evidence? I mean, how do you have faith if you know the church is true because God sent you the HG.?

I probably can't answer your questions in detail (or at all), but I do recommend a book that might help.

Glory of God Is Intelligence: Four Lectures on the Role of Intellect in Judaism.

I "loaned" this book to one of my university lecturers in Church History, and I never saw it again. I guess he liked it, but I hope lightning strikes him for being a common thief! (Just joking )

Jacob Neusner

Hey SP, RA, thanks for the input. I''m guessing this has been covered on here before.....by greater minds than mine. What I was trying to zero in on is; if I use my intellect and (blindly?) trust in the teaching of my fathers, god will then, because of that- send me evidence via the HG. to.....give me a feeling that I must decipher with my intellect? Or-somehow convincingly talk to my mind? But, for god to give me irrefutable evidence by talking to my mind through the HG, wouldn't that be considered too much evidence?.....which makes the whole concept of faith inconsequential. Whereas, if he is just sending promptings that I must decipher, then I can never be held accountable as it is all guesswork.

tana wrote:Hey SP, RA, thanks for the input. I''m guessing this has been covered on here before.....by greater minds than mine. What I was trying to zero in on is; if I use my intellect and (blindly?) trust in the teaching of my fathers, god will then, because of that- send me evidence via the HG. to.....give me a feeling that I must decipher with my intellect? Or-somehow convincingly talk to my mind? But, for god to give me irrefutable evidence by talking to my mind through the HG, wouldn't that be considered too much evidence?.....which makes the whole concept of faith inconsequential. Whereas, if he is just sending promptings that I must decipher, then I can never be held accountable as it is all guesswork.

I think you have, tana, described an interesting irony in the Mormon 'logic'. One should use his or her 'mind to think as your told.' Reminds me of Rage Against the Machine's Killing in the Name lyrics. "Do what they tell ya."