When Alma is teaching the Zoramites in Alma 32, he provides one of the most compelling and visual descriptions of coming to know gospel truth. He headlines his description with the invitation to “awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words” (Alma 32:27). Use of the word “experiment” in this verse (along with two other instances in the chapter) has led many to take what Alma is proposing here to be formulaic in a scientific fashion. Scientifically, with an experiment designed to test a hypothesis, there’s exclusive dependence on observation and reason. This would be an incomplete approach to finding gospel truth, as it’s missing a key catalytic ingredient: faith! As Alma says after calling this an experiment, “Exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words” (Alma 32:27).
This would be terrible science. To begin a scientific experiment when you’ve already decided to believe in a particular outcome violates the nature of the scientific process. A hypothesis may postulate what’s expected, but it must be tested with absolute openness to whatever the result may be. In other words, it’s observation and reason without faith.
Elder Dale G. Renlund taught that discovering gospel truth requires the collective function of observation, reason, and faith:
“Brothers and sisters, we blunder if we equate this experiment [in Alma 32] to the scientific method, even though it uses observation and reasoning. A scientific experiment carefully seeks to minimize—or, preferably, eliminate—inclinations toward a particular outcome. Skepticism is a treasured attribute when using the scientific method and is necessary to interpret the results correctly.
“The experiment encouraged by Alma was different; a favorable outcome depended on an inclination to believe. …
“Alma recommended that his listeners abandon skepticism and encouraged an inclination to believe. He even counseled against approaching the experiment neutrally so that they didn’t accidentally ‘cast [the seed] out by [their] unbelief.’ …
“When we start with an inclination to believe, observation leads to faith. As faith grows, reason facilitates the transformation of faith into revelatory knowledge, and revelatory knowledge produces added faith.”
He went on to explain that the seed Alma instructed the Zoramites to plant in their hearts was the Son of God, that they “begin to believe … he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection” (Alma 33:22). This truth, the reality of the Savior Jesus Christ and His Atonement, is the very core of all gospel truth—the glue that holds all others together.
Step One: Believe
… This fundamental step in finding gospel truth [differs] from that of the scientific process. Another example of this (to add to that of Alma’s sermon to the Zoramites in Alma 32) is found in the oft-quoted promise at the end of the Book of Mormon:
“And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.” (Moroni 10:4; emphasis added)
Why is the word “not” present in this invitation? Why wouldn’t we ask if the Book of Mormon is true—isn’t that what we’re seeking to determine? I thought about this often on my mission, particularly as I witnessed so many people tell me they’d tried to follow the process and didn’t receive an answer. Of course, I cannot unpack all the reasons why that conclusion was reached, as each person had their own distinct circumstances and background. However, there’s one key ingredient that was potentially missing: faith.
The promise found in Moroni 10, which is shared with virtually anyone that missionaries give a Book of Mormon to, is often interpreted as scientifically formulaic:
Read + Ponder + Ask God = Manifestation of truth
While this contains some true principles, the simplicity of their combination could be misleading. Don’t get me wrong, some may look at this and say, “That’s what I did, and I received a witness of the truth from the Holy Ghost!” That’s terrific, but we needn’t panic if it wasn’t our experience. For some who run this “experiment,” the result is negative or, at best, null. A probable reason for this is taught by the same prophet who wrote this promise, Moroni:
“But he that believeth these things which I have spoken, him will I visit with the manifestations of my Spirit, and he shall know and bear record. For because of my Spirit he shall know that these things are true; for it persuadeth men to do good.” (Ether 4:11; emphasis added)
It is the absence of choosing to believe that often leaves so many reactions incomplete when they seek to follow the initial formula above. You may think I could just rewrite the formula with a “+ believe it is true” on the left-hand side; but I will not. I’ve decidedly moved away from being too formulaic when it comes to receiving personal witnesses of gospel truth. Following the suggested steps is always encouraged, but the most important element doesn’t fit neatly or isn’t sufficiently weighted in a simple formula: complete dependence on God and belief in Him.
Discover divine truth
More articles for you:
▶ What the Hebrew idea of truth teaches us about Christ
▶ How to study the scriptures like a missionary
▶ 4 signs of the Second Coming that will fill you with hope
