Sunday, October 16, 2011

INTELLIGENCE and FAITH


Intelligence and Faith from a Scientists View
   Intelligence Dictates Order
 and generates  power to do work


1. The second law of thermodynamics regarding entropy applies to chemical systems but it  also is a reflection of the of the universal nature of all matter, molecules, structures, living persons, societies and nations.  Accordingly we see that any system or person isolated from outside intelligence will become devoid of order without light and truth just as "this old house". --> MORE


2.  Intelligence is truth and organized light and can only originate or exist within a matrix having substance.
        From Webster:  "Intelligence is the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate ones environment", and thus to do work.  The use of intelligence to make decisions requires energy and can exist only in the body of a being that has life.  
Intelligence is the opposite of entropy (chaos) and is harmonious with order, virtue and with the capacity to direct and do work.  The light and truth thereof are obviously the opposite of evil, darkness - and significantly - of doubt. The source of intelligence is the creator of this earth, Jehovah.  It cannot originate in a vacuum nor from a substance void of life.

 3. The Role of intelligence in the Creation:  Just as any system without outside intelligence (light and truth) gravitates to a maximum of chaos, conversely, order increases under the direction of outside intelligence.
Since the worlds were created (organized) by God who directed intelligence into matter, then we can understand that matter can respond to intelligent direction of energy.  This becomes the basis for a definition of faith.  For man is made of matter and can also respond to intelligence. Thus,  faith is a function of intelligence delivered from its source - God.   Being inspired, Moses by faith in God, parted the Red sea. Being obedient to revelation, Joshua by faith in God parted the river Jordan. Being inspired, Nephi by faith in God obtained the brass plates. By faith in God’s command he built a ship and crossed the ocean to America. These exampes illustrate the connection between faith and intellilgent power as stated by the Savior to the Nephites. "If ye will have faith in me ye shall power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me." - Moroni 7:33.  So faith to move the waters and the creation of the earth  are both the result of intelligenct direction of power from God.
 4. Faith grows by receiving and relying upon the light and truth that comes from God. Faith, being a function of intelligence originating with God does not originate from man isolated from God.  Faith is the process and the means of acquiring truth and virtue from God such that our actions and attitudes conform to His truths and virtues.  The channel of acquiring truth is the Spirit of God.  By acting upon truth our faith is alive and we can  receive more truth, and our faith grows.
5. Faith is not blind and does not come through blindness.  That is, it does not come out of nothing. It does not and cannot originate within a person who is isolated from outside intelligence.  For any system left to itself without outside intelligent direction will gravitate to a maximum of chaos.
       Sir Roger Bacon said that knowledge is power.   The power of faith is increased by knowledge of God.  The correct use of knowledge is the power to create and to move mountains especially the mountains of sin.  Rejecting it lends to destruction and sin.  Therefore intelligence is the guiding force behind what can be the power of knowledge which is faith.  This is intelligence received and used. So faith may be defined as the possession and use of light and truth from its source, God. 
6. Rejection of truth causes doubt and destruction  which originates within a person that is isolated from outside intelligence because these are the opposite of faith and are the natural result of a system left to its self.  So we see the importance of receiving outside intelligence, without which we degenerate into ways and thoughts that destroy both ourselves and others.

7. Implanting faith.  Since faith originates with God, as explained below - and therefore it belongs to Him, - why, then did Jesus say to those healed, "thy faith hath made thee whole?  If it comes from God does it not belong to Him rather than being "thy faith"?
     That which comes from our neighbor, or books or the media opinion is just borrowed information.  We do not know of its truth.  But when truth or direction comes from the Holy Ghost - from God, rather than the whims of men, it is planted in our heart or spirit as a gift or endowment from God - the source of truth and will always agree with other truths from God such as the scriptures.  That truth is now yours.  By this process it becomes a living growing entity within you, in contrast to dead wood borrowed from another tree.  You are the primary, a first hand witness (having seen through the eyes or power of the holy ghost)  and you know the truth with a surety better than seeing with the natural eye.  That is a characteristic of an "implant" from the Holy Spirit.  You do not just believe.  This is one of the values of a witness from the Holy Ghost.  This was the faith of the early martyred saints. This was the faith of the Latter-day saints, martyred and driven from Kirtland Ohio, to Missouri, to Nauvoo Illinois, to the Salt Lake valley. It was the faith of the Willy and the Martin Handcart Pioneer companies. This was the faith of Joshua and his priests that crossed over the Jordan River, stopping it as they stepped into its waters. (Joshua 3:5-17) It can be our faith when received as a witness from the Holy Ghost to a vessel that desires and craves obedience, cleanliness and virtue.
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8. Recognizing the source of good things is another way of increasing faith. When we recognize the source we can and should then be grateful for the good in our lives and the good around us.  Feeling gratitude, we thereby are drawn closer to the source of the goodness for which we are grateful.  The awareness of the source of good or of the blessings in our lives then attaches our feelings to a pillar on the other side of the chasm of the unknown or the chasm of failure and sorrow.  So if we can recognized the hand of God around us then we will grow in feeling a closeness to God and therefore to light and truth.   We will grow in faith.  Thus we can have a bridge across the unknown leading to the known or to the rock on the opposite side of the chasm - the bedrock of revelation from God.  So gratitude becomes a source and an expression of faith.  And faith is a source of power.  We should be aware that if we are in error about the source of good in our lives, then our gratitude will be misplaced and lack substance being tied to error on the other side of the chasm. And so it is vital that we understand that all intelligence originates with Jesus the Christ.


9.  Faith is a source of true joy which joy comes as a result of ones nearness to God.  By doing what is  right or good we come closer to God and  that brings us more truth and to more faith.
         To isolate ones self from the source of truth  and light - from outside intelligence -  puts  one "without God in the world and contrary  to the nature of God and therefore in a state  contrary  to the nature of happiness". (Alma 41:11)     For "in Thy presence is fullness of joy. At Thy right hand are pleasures for evermore". (Psalms 16:11


10. Three Examples of faith. 

    
Faith to obey the prophet  brought the miracle in Sierra Leone
"A miracle came through obedience," Peter Evans, Deseret News - Church News, Jan. 1, 2011 & Choose to Obey 2 Sep. 2012 p. 16.  -------
Two years after the first convert baptisms in Sierra Leone in June 1988, members of the Church of Jesus Chrilst of Latter-day Saints, began meeting in their homes in the country's second-largest city. In August of 1990, a branch was organized in Bo.  Soon, three congregations were meeting in rented buildings in the city. Uniformly, members shared a great enthusiasm for the growth of the Church in their country.
       Five months later, in January 1991, the mission president in the city received a letter from Church President Ezra Taft Benson.
The prophet asked the Latter-day Saints in Bo to abandon their meetinghouses and to gather again in their homes to worship.  The news was very discouraging for the local Latter-day Saint leaders, who felt that the rented buildings  were an important milestone for the Church in Sierra Leone.  Members were also disappointed and unhappy about the request. Some wondered why a prophet in Utah cared about where they met. Others questioned whether or not the prophet understood their circumstances.
     But a core group of strong members made the decision to obey. They closed their chapel doors and began holding worship services in their homes.
In March 1991 —— just months after President Benson asked them to leave their rented meetinghouses —— civil war erupted in Sierra Leone.  In the midst of war, churches were frequently targeted by rebels; thousands lost their lives while worshipping God.
But Latter-day Saints in the country were safe from harm, obediently worshipping in their homes.  Mustafa Touray, the first branch president in the country, spoke of the miracle that came through obedience.
    "No member of the Church died in Bo during the war —— not one. The LDS Church was the only church that continued operating during the war in Bo —— the only one. Every other church closed its doors. It was too dangerous for the people to walk to church and too dangerous to sit and  worship.
"None of us (the Latter-day Saints) had any problem during the war. We worshipped through the whole war no matter how grave the situation was. Because we were obedient, our members received this great blessing"

Capsized-
Prayer brought a miracle on Cook inlet that saved our lives.
"As I looked out over the expanse of white-capped waves, I knew our lives were out of our hands. Only the Master of the seas could save us now". --Michael R. Johnson, ""Capsized!"" Ensign, Mar. 2001, 30

When Frank, an elderly friend in our ward, invited me and my two young sons on a day-long fishing trip on his 19-foot boat, I jumped at the chance. I’d been itching to take seven-year-old Trevor and nine-year-old Darion on a fishing adventure for halibut and salmon, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.
We left the boat dock in Kenai, Alaska, at 4:30 A.M. for a 100-mile trip across the pristine, frigid waters of Cook Inlet. The previous two days had been warm and beautiful, but the water of Cook Inlet remained just above freezing.
Around 8:45 A.M. the waters started to get a little rough, with four- to five-foot swells. We had covered about half the trip when the waves became even larger, so Frank and I decided to head west for shelter toward Chizick Island. We had gone west only 15 minutes when the engine suddenly sputtered and died. Seeing the oil light on, Frank filled the oil reservoir. The engine started but died again after 20 seconds. By now we were aware of the excessive water gathering on the deck of the boat. Frank tried the motor again, but now there was no response.
I knew then that we were in serious trouble. I gave Darion a bucket and told him to start bailing water. The boys were already wearing life preservers; I put mine on and threw another to Frank. Both boys started to cry for their mother. Frank called a mayday on the radio several times before he got a response. He said our location was five miles south of Chizick Island.
"Five miles to the east of the island!" I yelled, but it was too late. I saw Frank grab Trevor’s hand as the boat flipped over. In an instant, everything was cold and dark.  I looked up through turquoise water and saw the silhouette of the boat as heavy gear entangled in my life jacket pulled me downward. As I continued to sink, the pressure in my ears was painful and I became desperate for air. Somehow I managed to pull myself free and swim to the surface.
I was only 20 feet from the boat, but it took me two minutes to swim back against the current. I found Darion clinging to a trailing rope from the boat, screaming for me and Trevor as the waves pounded him. Frank had managed to climb the railing on the bow of the boat to the surface, but he had been hit on the head when the boat flipped and had lost hold of Trevor. I felt a horrid sinking feeling when he looked at me and said, "Trevor’s not up yet."
Desperate to find my son, I swam over to the hull and yelled for him, hoping he had come up on the other side. There was no answer.
I was reaching beneath the surface for the boat’’s railing, trying to pull myself under the boat to look for Trevor, when I felt a small hand against mine. I pulled my son’’s small body deeper to clear the railing, then pulled him up to the surface. I expected to see him lifeless, but to my amazement his eyes looked into mine and he didn’t even gasp for air. I felt an overwhelming feeling of thankfulness; I knew Trevor had been protected. He’d been sucked into the cabin as the boat capsized, then pulled the doors open and swam out. Unable to pull himself deep enough to clear the railing, he’’d been trapped against the deck until I freed him.
I told Trevor to hold onto my life preserver and not let go. I tried to hang on to the hull, but larger waves kept washing us away from the boat. Fearing we’d be lost at sea, I desperately struggled to get back to the boat each time a wave swept us away. I knew I could not keep this up for long.
I felt myself beginning to suffer from hypothermia. The boys were shivering uncontrollably. Frank suggested we put them up on the hull. He helped me pull the boys up. I realized I was losing muscle coordination when it took me four attempts to get my foot on the railing to pull myself up. The boys lay down on their stomachs and I lay on top of them, trying to keep them warm. Every third or fourth wave would splash over us, nearly knocking us off.
This was the first chance we’d had to speak and rest. We prayed and asked Father in Heaven for help. As I looked out over the ocean and saw the endless expanse of white-capped waves and gray skies, I knew our lives were out of our hands. Only the Master of the seas could save us now; we could only wait.
Soon we heard the sound of an airplane coming from the west. Filled with hope, I rose to wave. But the searchers did not see us and passed by. I felt some comfort knowing they were looking for us, but the rescuers would be looking in the wrong place since we had given the wrong location during our may day call.
I continued to pray in my heart, but the hull was slowly getting lower in the water. My sons had stopped crying and shivering now and were lying limply against the boat. I lifted Trevor’’s face. His lips were blue, his eyes glassy, and his skin colorless. He said he wanted to go to sleep. He seemed to be dying. Darion was in only slightly better condition. I saw that Frank’s lips were also turning blue. I, too, had stopped shivering and felt completely numb. I hugged my boys close, savoring my last moments with them. I pictured my wife and tried through my thoughts to send her a message that I loved her.
The next little while was all a blur, but somehow I slowly became conscious of a small black speck on the horizon. The speck continued to grow larger, and within minutes I saw a ship near our boat launch a small inflatable raft. Soon there were two men next to the hull helping us into the raft. Once again I felt an overwhelming feeling of thankfulness; the Lord had saved our lives.
The ship’s crew pulled us on board and placed us in warm beds while they treated us for hypothermia. Within two hours we were all nearly recovered.
Later, I spoke with the captain of the vessel in the pilot room. He informed me that quite a number of boats had responded to the mayday call, but everyone had gone south of the island to look for us. He said he was also heading south when he felt something tell him to head east. He even felt impressed to go to certain coordinates.
I am grateful for a Heavenly Father who hears our prayers. I am thankful for a God who inspires through a still, small voice and for a sea captain who listened
. And I am grateful for the lives of my children and for every day I have to spend with them and my wife. 

The Phone Switched Off, My mother-in-law told me that baptism for the dead was not Christ’s doctrine but rather something the Mormons had made up. But faith and prayer brought a miracle.   ----Seda Meliksetyan, Armenia    
  In March 1997, while living in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, my husband and I were baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As I studied the doctrines of the Church, many of my questions were answered. It was interesting to learn about the plan of salvation, including the practice of baptism for the dead. I was surprised to learn that we could be baptized for our deceased ancestors.
     A year after our baptism, the mission president invited us to prepare to go to the temple. As part of our preparation, we started doing family history research. One day as I was thinking about doing this work, the phone rang. It was my mother-in-law. I asked her if she would send me a list of the deceased ancestors on my husband’s side of the family. She was amazed and told me that baptism for the dead was not Christ’s doctrine but rather something the Mormons had made up. I wasn’t sure how to answer her because I wasn’t familiar with scriptural references that supported the doctrine.
      As I was thinking about how to respond, the phone switched off. I was unsure for a minute what had happened, but I hung up the phone and went to my bedroom. I took the New Testament into my hands, knelt to pray, and asked Heavenly Father to show me where I could find the answer.
At the end of my prayer, I opened the Bible. I felt as if someone had told me to read the 29th verse on the very page I had opened. I was in the 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians, which talks about the doctrine of baptism for the dead.
I was touched and surprised that Heavenly Father had answered my prayer at that very moment. It was a wonderful feeling.
      I was thinking deeply about this experience when suddenly the phone rang again. It was my mother-in-law, asking me why the phone had switched off. I told her I didn’t know but then asked her to open her Bible? and read 1 Corinthians 15:29.
A few days later a list of deceased relatives was on my table. My mother-in-law had read the scripture and now believed that the Savior, through the Apostle Paul, had taught the doctrine of baptism for the dead.
God has promised great blessings to those who do this redemptive work. I know this to be true.  ( See also Hebrews 11:37-40 and I Peter3:18-19;  4:6).


Was I Addicted?By Evelin Korndöörfer
Like many new converts, (to the gospel of Jesus Christ), I struggled to live the Word of Wisdom and the law of tithing. Tithing was for me the most difficult. How could I possibly take something away from the little that was just barely enough? The Lord helped me understand how I could do just that by teaching me a wonderful lesson.
As I began to pay tithing, I realized I would have to put my finances in order. I immediately began to budget my money better. I made a list of all my monthly expenses, starting with tithing. I compared the list to my monthly income. To my astonishment, there was enough to live on and even a small amount for savings. I was also surprised to see how much money I had previously spent on alcohol and coffee. The Lord blessed me financially and spiritually as I worked to live His law.
After I joined the Church in Germany, I had cried a little for the glass of wine I would miss at parties and also for my dearly loved cup of coffee. But it really didn’’t matter, I told myself, because I was not addicted. But four weeks after I banned alcohol and coffee from my life, I woke up with excruciating pains in my legs. I ignored them and went to work. But within two hours, my whole body ached and each movement hurt more and more. I went to a doctor. He gave me some pills, ordered 14 days of rest, and said with a laugh, "Drink a nice, strong cup of coffee when you get home. That can’t hurt you.""
I suddenly realized that my pains were withdrawal symptoms. My body was reacting to the loss of caffeine. How easy it would have been to follow my doctor’’s advice. How difficult it seemed in my weakened condition to listen to the Lord. Fortunately, the Lord strengthened me, and I did not give in to temptation. With His help, I overcame this condition and continued to obey the Word of Wisdom, which has been a blessing for me.
------- Evelin Korndöörfer is a member of the Mittweida Branch, Dresden Germany Stake.

                                                                                                                       

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Search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil. - Moroni 7:19