A Spiritual Witness

Personal Revelation: A Spiritual Witness

The first four evidences already discussed are based on human reasoning and logic. Although these evidences for Mormonism are compelling, people can always find compelling evidence on both sides of any issue. With regard to religion, God has allowed this so that we are not forced to choose something, but get to use our freedom to choose. Of course evidence can compel us in a certain direction, but the final stamp of approval about spiritual truths can only come from the Holy Ghost. (hence the scripture, they are ever learning, but unable to come to the knowledge of truth)

Principles About Spiritual Revelation

A confirmation from God by The Holy Spirit is the only way to have a complete surety if a religious belief is true.

Matthew 16:17

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” (I’m sure there were learned people who think they had ‘evidence’ to show who Jesus was, but Peter discovered the truth, only by revelation from God.

Philippians 4:6-7

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

From Terryl Givens: proof that there are many ways of knowing (there is no moral calculus to tell us that child abuse is wrong, something inside of us tells us it is-the Holy Ghost)

How does God communicate to us through The Holy Spirit?

In three primary ways:

1. The Spirit of God communicates to our minds

John 16:13

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth

D&C 8:2-3

Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.

2. The Spirit of God communicates to our hearts

Critics cite scriptures like Jeremiah that says the heart is deceitful, thus claiming a spiritual witness is not reliable (Jeremiah 17:9). They mock our claim, according to modern revelation, that a warm feeling in our hearts in one of the different ways God can confirm a spiritual truth to our souls. However, this notion is not without Biblical precedent. Yes, the human heart and mind can be full of sin and deceit. But when God reveals His will to us, how else can it be revealed but through the mind or heart? Here a few of many Biblical examples:

Acts 2:37

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do

Luke 24:30-32

Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

In Galatians 5:22-23, Paul teaches that the fruit of the Spirit is peace, love, joy among other feelings.

In the scriptures understanding is linked to the heart many times. What this perhaps means, as Elder Bednar has said, is that while it’s important to use our minds and our rational capacity to obtain and evaluate information, if we use only that method, we will not yield true understanding. The scriptures suggest that true understanding occurs when the knowledge we have in our heads moves to our hearts, and then we begin to understand.

3. Blessing us with miracles/ “coincidences” that only seem able to be explained if God was the author of them

An example from my life

Conversion Story Testimonies of Receiving Revelation From God

Since 1830, tens of millions of people have joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, because they have experienced God speaking to their souls in beautiful ways through The Holy Ghost.

What are the odds that tens of millions of people would feel God’s Holy Spirit communicating to them in miraculous and beautiful ways that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is God’s restored church on earth today, if Joseph Smith was a fraud?