Former NASA engineer talks spiritual significance of her work, intersection of science and faith

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Courtesy of Michelle Amos

Michelle Amos didn’t aspire to a career at NASA. It wasn’t that she didn’t have big dreams; it’s just that her big dream was to work for IBM. But once she arrived on the campus of the Kennedy Space Center, she fell in love with its mission and never left—until she was called on a different kind of mission.

On this week’s episode of All In, Sister Amos, who now serves as a mission leader with her husband in the Louisiana Baton Rouge Mission, discusses the tremendous opportunities she had in more than 30 years as an engineer at NASA, why she believes NASA’s mission is aligned with Heavenly Father’s “work and glory,” and what led her to her Church service today. She also explains why her belief in science has confirmed her faith in God.

Listen to the full episode in the player below or by clicking here. You can also read a full transcript here.

The following excerpt has been edited for clarity.

Morgan Jones: Sister Amos, I love hearing you talk about this, because you’re clearly so passionate about it and I can almost feel it. What would you say is the religious significance or the spiritual significance of the work that is being done right now at NASA?

Michelle Amos: Wow, I've had some time to think about this. NASA’s mission is to discover new worlds—to explore the unknown and to create or innovate, to benefit human life on earth. To work for an organization that has such a high mission, a high calling—it's very relative to what we learn in Moses 1:33 where Heavenly Father says, “Worlds without end have I created, and I've created through my Only Begotten Son.” And He says, “For my own purpose have I done this.” And then He later goes on to say, I think in verse 39, “This is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”

So, we know through divine scripture everything Heavenly Father does is to benefit us—is to help us to become one with Him. And so NASA’s purpose is nearly the same, to benefit human life. And as Heavenly Father, through His Only Begotten, is creating worlds—we know through Genesis that He created the earth and the sun, and the moon, and the stars—but there’s so much more to our solar system. Did Christ create Mars, Jupiter, Saturn?

And so you have to believe [that He did], because He’s told us worlds without end. And so I relate that work [to what] we do in NASA to discover these planets, [and to give us] the pictures that we have, [and] the knowledge that we have now.

We know what the earth looks like because a NASA astronaut stood on the moon and took a picture of the earth. We know what the solar system looks like because NASA spacecraft have flown throughout the solar system and have taken beautiful pictures of Saturn…and we know that Jupiter’s huge compared to all the other planets, and we know all of this because of the work that NASA is doing. So we are in essence learning about the work that is the work and the glory.

Morgan Jones: It’s amazing.

Michelle Amos: It is amazing.

Morgan Jones: What a neat thing to be a part of. Sister Amos, one thing that I know is difficult for some people is striking a balance between science and religion. It seems like this is something that you have been able to do personally in your life. How would you say that you’ve been able to find that balance?

Michelle Amos: The balance is [that] our Heavenly Father is intelligent. The knowledge that we have on this earth is because [of] what He has shared with man. So there is no difference. The more you come to know God and Jesus Christ, the more you’re going to appreciate knowledge.

And so that light—Jesus says He is truth, He is light. And light clings to light. Knowledge clings to knowledge. Truth clings to truth. So what we’re looking for is truth. If the religion is true, and secular knowledge is true, they’re going to unite. They will support each other. So I don’t see a difference. I don’t think there’s a difference between knowledge and religion. I believe if you [have] found religion, and it is true religion, then it will support knowledge.

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