I can't decide whether God exists!

yaddoe said:

I know the Bible definitely has flaws, (For example in the New Testament in the original translation and most other languages such as German, James's name is actually Jacob and (As far as I am aware, only the English Bible says James instead of Jacob. but you should try reading the Book of Mormon. In the very introduction of it, it is called "the most correct book on earth. I invite you to challenge that.

Oh and another thing, having a living prophet is so much better than having a dead prophet.

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If the Christian Bible has so many flaws, then how can anyone consider it to be an accurate text?

yaddoe said:

So you are stating if the German New Testament was translated from Hebrew to German and not Greek to German, as well as the Bibles of so many other languages?

And what about the very first Hebrew word in the Bible?

"I shall comment on the very first Hebrew word in the Bible; I will make a comment on the very first sentence of the history of creation in the Bible—Berosheit. I want to analyze the word. Baith—in, by, through, and everything else. Rosh—the head, Sheit—grammatical termination. When the inspired man wrote it, he did not put the baith there. An old Jew without any authority added the word; he thought it too bad to begin to talk about the head! It read first, “The head one of the Gods brought forth the Gods.” That is the true meaning of the words. Baurau signifies to bring forth. If you do not believe it, you do not believe the learned man of God. Learned men can teach you no more than what I have told you. Thus the head God brought forth the Gods in the grand council."

Another translation error I recently learned about was was also in the book of Genesis after God formed Adam from the dust of the earth he commanded him to "multiply and replenish the earth" The word replenish means to make full or complete again, or refill. Using the word replenish implies that God formed men on earth previous to Adam, which simply isn't true. Why does it say replenish? It is a translation error. I don't remember the exact Hebrew word that was used off the top of my head, but if you look it states the very same Hebrew word in Genesis 1:22 when God commanded the fish to fill the oceans and seas. It is the very same Hebrew word, but this time it was translated correctly.

Don't get me wrong, I very much believe in the Bible, although I do acknowledge the fact that there are several translation errors.

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This is the problem with texts being translated, in almost every area. Mistakes in translation are bound to happen. First of all, Baith is not a prefix in Hebrew. The letter is properly pronounced as "Beis." And it's not "Berosheit" (no such word), it's "Bereishis," which means "In the beginning." One of the reasons why the Jews have been able to retain their knowledge of the Torah and their traditions is because although we may translate the Torah into English for those who don't understand Hebrew, the majority of Jews who study the Torah know how to read the ancient text. Therefore, we still study the Torah in its original Hebrew. Actually, we cannot properly study the Torah in English, because one of the secrets of the Torah is that there are certain words used instead of others to indicate hidden meanings in the passages; they aren't just read at face value. The Torah codes (if they truly exist) can only work with the original Hebrew wording that God wrote. Even regarding the Christian Bible, it wouldn't make sense for you to properly understand the Bible if you don't anymore have the original language used in writing the Bible. The Torah that we have today is written the same way as the first Torah scroll that was written by Moses; that is part of how our traditions continue from generation to generation.

You're right about "replenish." The proper translation of the word "U'mil'u" is "to fill."

james2ko said:

One of the definitions of twist is:

"An unexpected change in a process or a departure from a pattern, often producing a distortion or perversion:"​

You went from accusing me of implying yoda would remain in a "perpetual state of uncertainty" to "remain undecided". Big difference between the two terms. So yes, you did twist my statement.

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remain = perpetual
undecided = uncertainty

Read the verses carefully. Adam and Eve's world was not wicked prior to their act of disobedience (Gen 1:31). Therefore we can conclude this passage would not apply.

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then it would be better to decide to do nothing even though they were innocent free beings... which is a choice no less...so then how can you reconcile that with being innocent because
innocence is all about yes...no limits, boundless and free

You are assuming "doing nothing" correlates to remaining undecided. They are actually two separate independent actions. One doesn't necessarily have to follow the other.
Yoda can do her due diligence and still remain undecided (agnostic) or she can do nothing and simply decide to accept His existence on faith. She can also do her due diligence and reject God's existence or do nothing and come to the same conclusion on faith. The point is there's no correlation between inactivity and remaining undecided which is why it was excluded.

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one has to actively do something to get from point a to point b
i will not arrive to point b by repeating what i've already done, (which has proven itself useless over and over. and in case you haven't noticed, the thread implies yoda wants to come to some sort of a conclusion)...so now i need to actively figure out how to get to point b by doing something different

what's that saying? doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results...is a sign of insanity.

This is why, from God's point of view, there should be no feelings of insecurity about His existence. (Rom 1:20)

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"For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."
you mean earthquakes, and diseases are god's way of punishing us? it was so obvious to them then :areyoucra

no i wouldn't say gods perspective...that's being way too presumptuous of a being that isn't at all empirically experienced, it's paul's ignorant perspective.

You're absolutely right, it doesn't. Osmosis is a physical process. The revelation of truth is spiritual.

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the revelation of truth is an empirical experience, observed by all...understood the same way...
spiritual truth is just another way of saying, "i see the truth of the matter because i am spiritual" when this perspective is based on a subjective POV... and we've seen where that leads people to...
9/11 comes to mind and so do dead children of parents who believed in romans 1:20 and proclaimed their children healed because yes god has made himself clearly understood and no one is without excuse ...even jesus said mark 16:16
"16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

yes it's so abundantly clear, isn't it.... ?

Yanni said:

If the Christian Bible has so many flaws, then how can anyone consider it to be an accurate text?

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That is one of the reasons there are so many churches in the world today. Originally, when the Bible was written in the Old Testament, there was one true church. The The Hebrew- Jewish religion. Throughout history God sent prophets to teach the Gospel and keep that gospel from becoming corrupted. It is a lot easier when you have a question about different passages in the scrlptures when you can simply ask the author, or (If the book of Moses is the book you have a question about, and you live in the Prophet Jeremiah's day, long after the time of Moses) you could ask the prophet Jeremiah, who held the Preisthood Keys to write scripture and give the proper interpetation of older scripture like the Book of Moses. God does not want us to live in confusion, which is the whole point of him calling prophets.
Unfortunately, people can be really stubborn at times and as we look at history, people have the opportunity to accept or reject the the Gospel as God has revealed it through his prophets. When people have listened and obeyed, the people prospered. When the people were wicked and stubborn and killed the prophets whom God sent, the people were usually destroyed until they decided to humble themselves again. Noah is a good example of this, Moses is a good example of this, Jeremiah is a good example of this.
Everytime there have been prophets on the earth it is called a dispensation and everytime the people reject and kill the prophets it is called an apostasy. In Jesus Christ's day, the people were in a state of apostasy, there was alot of I guess you could say different different kinds of Hebrew Jewish Churches in the day (The pharasees and the Sadjucies *sorry if I'm spelling them wrong*) and Jesus Christ the Son of God, came to personally set the record straight, end the confusion, and save the world. He did that, and a great many of the Jews were too stubborn and prideful to ever admit they were wrong or change their ways, so they crucified the Savior.
The Savior then completed his mission by dying and being resurrected 3 days later, making it possible for all of us that after we die one day we will all be resurrected also, our spirits will reunite with our bodies and our bodies will be made perfect and immortal, never to die again.
After Christ was resurrected he showed him self to His Apostles, (The men he called as prophets to continue teaching his Gospel around the world.)
When Christ came to the world he re-established the one true church and ordained (gave power to his Apostles, setting them apart from the rest of the world, and gave them authority to act in his name. This power/ authority is called the priesthood.). After Christ ascended into heaven, his apostles wrote the New Testament, and they went forth to preach the Gospel unto the world. Unfortunately, just as the people killed Christ, in time one by one they killed off the Apostles. At first when one Apostle died, they would call a new one to take his place, although after awhile they killed them all. Peter was crucified upside down, another was tied up and dragged through the streets until he died. I don't know the gursome details about every death, but eventually they all died and the people were once again left in a state of Apostasy and the one true church was no longer on the earth. The Bible itself is not a church, it is remaining evidence of a true church that once existed. This is why in the New Testament it speaks of Bishops, Priests, Teachers, and Deacons in the church, but it never once stated exactly what each of them do and how each office is different from the other. If the Bible were ever meant to be a church, it would of been a lot more detailed.
The world going into this state of Apostasy is why there are so many churches in the world today. There is a lot of confusion in the world today over the scriptures we have because the one true Church of Jesus Christ has been absent from the world for a long time, for there must be prophets and apostles. The many different Christian religions around the world today can be compared to the religions of the Pharisees and Sadjucies.

Do you understand? If you need some Biblical references, I can give you a bunch that will help. Just ask.

I believe a Restoration has taken place since then, and the One True Church that Jesus Christ established on the earth again today. A church with Prophets, Apostles, and all of the gifts, power, revelations, and blessings that the the Church of Christ had and enjoyed in Christs day.
I would love to tell you more about this Restoration, but I want to make sure that you understand everything I said so far. I don't want to leave you behind.

St Giordano Bruno said:

Go outside in a thunderstorm and kneel down and pray "God if you exist strike me dead with lightning, amen" If nothing happens then that would rule out at least one definition of God...

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The one who obeys your commands. :yes:

Yanni said:

This is the problem with texts being translated, in almost every area. Mistakes in translation are bound to happen. First of all, Baith is not a prefix in Hebrew. The letter is properly pronounced as "Beis." And it's not "Berosheit" (no such word), it's "Bereishis," which means "In the beginning." One of the reasons why the Jews have been able to retain their knowledge of the Torah and their traditions is because although we may translate the Torah into English for those who don't understand Hebrew, the majority of Jews who study the Torah know how to read the ancient text. Therefore, we still study the Torah in its original Hebrew. Actually, we cannot properly study the Torah in English, because one of the secrets of the Torah is that there are certain words used instead of others to indicate hidden meanings in the passages; they aren't just read at face value. The Torah codes (if they truly exist) can only work with the original Hebrew wording that God wrote. Even regarding the Christian Bible, it wouldn't make sense for you to properly understand the Bible if you don't anymore have the original language used in writing the Bible. The Torah that we have today is written the same way as the first Torah scroll that was written by Moses; that is part of how our traditions continue from generation to generation.

You're right about "replenish." The proper translation of the word "U'mil'u" is "to fill."

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According to my conversation with My "Christian Jew" friend, Hebrew today is not the same as Hebrew anciently, and there are different versions of Hebrew. Would you agree, or do I need to go and research it more fully?

Willamena said:

The one who obeys your commands. :yes:

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Lol, that's what came to my mind.

Why would a God even do that? I wouldn't stab someone who asked me to stab him or her. Does it mean I don't exist?

Yanni said:

This is the problem with texts being translated, in almost every area. Mistakes in translation are bound to happen. First of all, Baith is not a prefix in Hebrew. The letter is properly pronounced as "Beis." And it's not "Berosheit" (no such word), it's "Bereishis," which means "In the beginning."

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Who know that God was Ashkenazi ...

Yanni said:

The Torah that we have today is written the same way as the first Torah scroll that was written by Moses; that is part of how our traditions continue from generation to generation.

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That statement is unbelievably ignorant, Yanni.

yaddoe said:

According to my conversation with My "Christian Jew" friend, Hebrew today is not the same as Hebrew anciently, and there are different versions of Hebrew. Would you agree, or do I need to go and research it more fully?

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Yanni is simply spouting dogma. He clearly knows absolutely nothing about Hebrew or the transmission of Hebrew scripture.

yaddoe said:

According to my conversation with My "Christian Jew" friend, Hebrew today is not the same as Hebrew anciently, and there are different versions of Hebrew. Would you agree, or do I need to go and research it more fully?

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The Hebrew of back then and the Hebrew today is very similar; they basically follow the same grammatical rules and the Hebrew today is pretty much just a bunch of new Hebrew words that are necessary to describe things that only exist in the modern world. Because of that, we are able to understand the Hebrew of the Torah accurately, and it's not just because its Hebrew, but it's because that language has been spoken by Jews throughout the ages (although not too many because of our dispersion throughout the world) and we have an Oral Law that explains the Written Law (therefore, we do not have any problems or vague understandings of the Torah). The Christian Bible, to my understanding, does not have a concept of an Oral Law, especially since in Judaism, the Oral Law accompanied the entire Torah that God taught to Moses and subsequently to the entire Jewish People on Mount Sinai. The Oral Law, then, was God-given, from His own mouth, and not from Divine Inspiration, as the Christian Bible claims to have been written with.

Jayhawker Soule said:

Who know that God was Ashkenazi ...

That statement is unbelievably ignorant, Yanni.

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I didn't mean with the same characters and the same sequences; his Torah was written with Ksav Ivri, and today we write it with Ksav Ashuris. I am very well aware that it wasn't exactly the same. However, the words and the Sesumah's and the Pesucha's were derived from the way Moshe Rabbeinu wrote it. I am not ignorant. One of the Thirteen Principles of Faith of the Rambam (Maimonides) is that we must believe with perfect faith that the Torah we have now is the same one that was given to Moshe Rabbeinu.

Yanni said:

The Hebrew of back then and the Hebrew today is very similar; they basically follow the same grammatical rules and the Hebrew today is pretty much just a bunch of new Hebrew words that are necessary to describe things that only exist in the modern world. Because of that, we are able to understand the Hebrew of the Torah accurately, and it's not just because its Hebrew, but it's because that language has been spoken by Jews throughout the ages (although not too many because of our dispersion throughout the world) and we have an Oral Law that explains the Written Law (therefore, we do not have any problems or vague understandings of the Torah). The Christian Bible, to my understanding, does not have a concept of an Oral Law, especially since in Judaism, the Oral Law accompanied the entire Torah that God taught to Moses and subsequently to the entire Jewish People on Mount Sinai. The Oral Law, then, was God-given, from His own mouth, and not from Divine Inspiration, as the Christian Bible claims to have been written with.

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I guess I'll have to go do some more research on that. Thank you.

I'd still like to go and study it out some more anyway, the subject fascinates me, and studying it out further will only help me to be a better source in the future.

yaddoe said:

That is one of the reasons there are so many churches in the world today. Originally, when the Bible was written in the Old Testament, there was one true church. The The Hebrew- Jewish religion. Throughout history God sent prophets to teach the Gospel and keep that gospel from becoming corrupted. It is a lot easier when you have a question about different passages in the scrlptures when you can simply ask the author, or (If the book of Moses is the book you have a question about, and you live in the Prophet Jeremiah's day, long after the time of Moses) you could ask the prophet Jeremiah, who held the Preisthood Keys to write scripture and give the proper interpetation of older scripture like the Book of Moses. God does not want us to live in confusion, which is the whole point of him calling prophets.
Unfortunately, people can be really stubborn at times and as we look at history, people have the opportunity to accept or reject the the Gospel as God has revealed it through his prophets. When people have listened and obeyed, the people prospered. When the people were wicked and stubborn and killed the prophets whom God sent, the people were usually destroyed until they decided to humble themselves again. Noah is a good example of this, Moses is a good example of this, Jeremiah is a good example of this.
Everytime there have been prophets on the earth it is called a dispensation and everytime the people reject and kill the prophets it is called an apostasy. In Jesus Christ's day, the people were in a state of apostasy, there was alot of I guess you could say different different kinds of Hebrew Jewish Churches in the day (The pharasees and the Sadjucies *sorry if I'm spelling them wrong*) and Jesus Christ the Son of God, came to personally set the record straight, end the confusion, and save the world. He did that, and a great many of the Jews were too stubborn and prideful to ever admit they were wrong or change their ways, so they crucified the Savior.
The Savior then completed his mission by dying and being resurrected 3 days later, making it possible for all of us that after we die one day we will all be resurrected also, our spirits will reunite with our bodies and our bodies will be made perfect and immortal, never to die again.
After Christ was resurrected he showed him self to His Apostles, (The men he called as prophets to continue teaching his Gospel around the world.)
When Christ came to the world he re-established the one true church and ordained (gave power to his Apostles, setting them apart from the rest of the world, and gave them authority to act in his name. This power/ authority is called the priesthood.). After Christ ascended into heaven, his apostles wrote the New Testament, and they went forth to preach the Gospel unto the world. Unfortunately, just as the people killed Christ, in time one by one they killed off the Apostles. At first when one Apostle died, they would call a new one to take his place, although after awhile they killed them all. Peter was crucified upside down, another was tied up and dragged through the streets until he died. I don't know the gursome details about every death, but eventually they all died and the people were once again left in a state of Apostasy and the one true church was no longer on the earth. The Bible itself is not a church, it is remaining evidence of a true church that once existed. This is why in the New Testament it speaks of Bishops, Priests, Teachers, and Deacons in the church, but it never once stated exactly what each of them do and how each office is different from the other. If the Bible were ever meant to be a church, it would of been a lot more detailed.
The world going into this state of Apostasy is why there are so many churches in the world today. There is a lot of confusion in the world today over the scriptures we have because the one true Church of Jesus Christ has been absent from the world for a long time, for there must be prophets and apostles. The many different Christian religions around the world today can be compared to the religions of the Pharisees and Sadjucies.

Do you understand? If you need some Biblical references, I can give you a bunch that will help. Just ask.

I believe a Restoration has taken place since then, and the One True Church that Jesus Christ established on the earth again today. A church with Prophets, Apostles, and all of the gifts, power, revelations, and blessings that the the Church of Christ had and enjoyed in Christs day.
I would love to tell you more about this Restoration, but I want to make sure that you understand everything I said so far. I don't want to leave you behind.

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There are problems with everything you just said. Read this and it'll explain why: Why Don't Jews Believe In Jesus?. This short article explains a little about why everything you just said has no basis in Judaism, and since God promised in the Torah that He would never exchange His Torah or even have another one, the Christian Bible is absolutely false; and God's Word cannot change, as He Himself testifies that He is not a man that He should relent, nor the son of man that He should lie.

Yanni said:

I didn't mean with the same characters and the same sequences; his Torah was written with Ksav Ivri, and today we write it with Ksav Ashuris. I am very well aware that it wasn't exactly the same. However, the words and the Sesumah's and the Pesucha's were derived from the way Moshe Rabbeinu wrote it. I am not ignorant. One of the Thirteen Principles of Faith of the Rambam (Maimonides) is that we must believe with perfect faith that the Torah we have now is the same one that was given to Moshe Rabbeinu.

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Maimonides was wrong.

Jayhawker Soule said:

Maimonides was wrong.

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How dare you! Obviously you aren't a Torah observant Jew, because you can so easily alienate yourself from the traditions that have kept our people loyal to the Torah for centuries. Maimonides was greater than anybody living today, and someone with little knowledge of the secrets of the Torah (such as you) has no right to disparage one of the greatest Torah scholars of all time. Shame on you! In fact, anyone who doesn't believe in any one of the Thirteen Principles of Faith is considered an apikores (one who denies God) and is liable to the penalty of Kareis - separation from God in the Afterlife).

Yanni said:

Jayhawker Soule said:

Maimonides was wrong.

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How dare you!

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:biglaugh:

My testimony is not built on the fact that some book says this is so,
My testimony is built on prayer, and my experiences with the Holy Ghost.

I think you will find this intriguing...

"My Words Never Cease
In general conference last October, I said there were two principal reasons The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is accused, erroneously, of not being Christian. At that time I addressed one of those doctrinal issues—our scripturally based view of the Godhead. Today I would like to address the other major doctrine which characterizes our faith but which causes concern to some, namely the bold assertion that God continues to speak His word and reveal His truth, revelations which mandate an open canon of scripture.

Some Christians, in large measure because of their genuine love for the Bible, have declared that there can be no more authorized scripture beyond the Bible. In thus pronouncing the canon of revelation closed, our friends in some other faiths shut the door on divine expression that we in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hold dear: the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, and the ongoing guidance received by God’s anointed prophets and apostles. Imputing no ill will to those who take such a position, nevertheless we respectfully but resolutely reject such an unscriptural characterization of true Christianity.

One of the arguments often used in any defense of a closed canon is the New Testament passage recorded in Revelation 22:18: “For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of … this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book.” However, there is now overwhelming consensus among virtually all biblical scholars that this verse applies only to the book of Revelation, not the whole Bible. Those scholars of our day acknowledge a number of New Testament “books” that were almost certainly written after John’s revelation on the Isle of Patmos was received. Included in this category are at least the books of Jude, the three Epistles of John, and probably the entire Gospel of John itself. 1 Perhaps there are even more than these.

But there is a simpler answer as to why that passage in the final book of the current New Testament cannot apply to the whole Bible. That is because the whole Bible as we know it—one collection of texts bound in a single volume—did not exist when that verse was written. For centuries after John produced his writing, the individual books of the New Testament were in circulation singly or perhaps in combinations with a few other texts but almost never as a complete collection. Of the entire corpus of 5,366 known Greek New Testament manuscripts, only 35 contain the whole New Testament as we now know it, and 34 of those were compiled after A.D. 1000. 2

The fact of the matter is that virtually every prophet of the Old and New Testament has added scripture to that received by his predecessors. If the Old Testament words of Moses were sufficient, as some could have mistakenly thought them to be, 3 then why, for example, the subsequent prophecies of Isaiah or of Jeremiah, who follows him? To say nothing of Ezekiel and Daniel, of Joel, Amos, and all the rest. If one revelation to one prophet in one moment of time is sufficient for all time, what justifies these many others? What justifies them was made clear by Jehovah Himself when He said to Moses, “My works are without end, and … my words … never cease.” 4

One Protestant scholar has inquired tellingly into the erroneous doctrine of a closed canon. He writes: “On what biblical or historical grounds has the inspiration of God been limited to the written documents that the church now calls its Bible? … If the Spirit inspired only the written documents of the first century, does that mean that the same Spirit does not speak today in the church about matters that are of significant concern?” 5 We humbly ask those same questions.

Continuing revelation does not demean or discredit existing revelation. The Old Testament does not lose its value in our eyes when we are introduced to the New Testament, and the New Testament is only enhanced when we read the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. In considering the additional scripture accepted by Latter-day Saints, we might ask: Were those early Christians who for decades had access only to the primitive Gospel of Mark (generally considered the first of the New Testament Gospels to be written)—were they offended to receive the more detailed accounts set forth later by Matthew and Luke, to say nothing of the unprecedented passages and revelatory emphasis offered later yet by John? Surely they must have rejoiced that ever more convincing evidence of the divinity of Christ kept coming. And so do we rejoice.

Please do not misunderstand. We love and revere the Bible, as Elder M. Russell Ballard taught so clearly from this pulpit just one year ago. 6 The Bible is the word of God. It is always identified first in our canon, our “standard works.” Indeed, it was a divinely ordained encounter with the fifth verse of the first chapter of the book of James that led Joseph Smith to his vision of the Father and the Son, which gave birth to the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our time. But even then, Joseph knew the Bible alone could not be the answer to all the religious questions he and others like him had. As he said in his own words, the ministers of his community were contending—sometimes angrily—over their doctrines. “Priest [was] contending against priest, and convert [was contending] against convert … in a strife of words and a contest about opinions,” he said. About the only thing these contending religions had in common was, ironically, a belief in the Bible, but, as Joseph wrote, “the teachers of religion of the different sects understood the same passages of scripture so differently as to destroy all confidence in settling the question [regarding which church was true] by an appeal to the Bible.” 7 Clearly the Bible, so frequently described at that time as “common ground,” was nothing of the kind—unfortunately it was a battleground.

Thus one of the great purposes of continuing revelation through living prophets is to declare to the world through additional witnesses that the Bible is true. “This is written,” an ancient prophet said, speaking of the Book of Mormon, “for the intent that ye may believe that,” speaking of the Bible. 8 In one of the earliest revelations received by Joseph Smith, the Lord said, “Behold, I do not bring [the Book of Mormon forth] to destroy [the Bible] but to build it up.” 9

One other point needs to be made. Since it is clear that there were Christians long before there was a New Testament or even an accumulation of the sayings of Jesus, it cannot therefore be maintained that the Bible is what makes one a Christian. In the words of esteemed New Testament scholar N. T. Wright, “The risen Jesus, at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, does not say, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth is given to the books you are all going to write,’ but [rather] ‘All authority in heaven and on earth is given to me.’ ” 10 In other words, “Scripture itself points … away from itself and to the fact that final and true authority belongs to God himself.” 11 So the scriptures are not the ultimate source of knowledge for Latter-day Saints. They are manifestations of the ultimate source. The ultimate source of knowledge and authority for a Latter-day Saint is the living God. The communication of those gifts comes from God as living, vibrant, divine revelation. 12

This doctrine lies at the very heart of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and of our message to the world. It dramatizes the significance of a solemn assembly yesterday, in which we sustained Thomas S. Monson as a prophet, a seer, and a revelator. We believe in a God who is engaged in our lives, who is not silent, not absent, nor, as Elijah said of the god of the priests of Baal, is He “[on] a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be [awakened].” 13 In this Church, even our young Primary children recite, “We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.” 14

In declaring new scripture and continuing revelation, we pray we will never be arrogant or insensitive. But after a sacred vision in a now sacred grove answered in the affirmative the question “Does God exist?” what Joseph Smith and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints force us to face is the next interrogative, which necessarily follows: “Does He speak?” We bring the good news that He does and that He has. With a love and affection born of our Christianity, we invite all to inquire into the wonder of what God has said since biblical times and is saying even now.

In a sense Joseph Smith and his prophetic successors in this Church answer the challenge Ralph Waldo Emerson put to the students of the Harvard Divinity School 170 years ago this coming summer. To that group of the Protestant best and brightest, the great sage of Concord pled that they teach “that God is, not was; that He speaketh, not spake.” 15"

...

"I testify that the heavens are open. I testify that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God, that the Book of Mormon is truly another testament of Jesus Christ. I testify that Thomas S. Monson is God’s prophet, a modern apostle with the keys of the kingdom in his hands, a man upon whom I personally have seen the mantle fall. I testify that the presence of such authorized, prophetic voices and ongoing canonized revelations have been at the heart of the Christian message whenever the authorized ministry of Christ has been on the earth. I testify that such a ministry is on the earth again, and it is found in this, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In our heartfelt devotion to Jesus of Nazareth as the very Son of God, the Savior of the world, we invite all to examine what we have received of Him, to join with us, drinking deeply at the “well of water springing up into everlasting life,” 16 these constantly flowing reminders that God lives, that He loves us, and that He speaks. I express the deepest personal thanks that His works never end and His “words … never cease.” I bear witness of such divine loving attention and the recording of it, in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen."

This statement was was given by Elder Jeffery R. Holland of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles in April of 2008.