Belief to Knowledge

by Autumn Dickson

This week, we are left with the final testimony given in The Book of Mormon. Moroni testifies of The Book of Mormon, spiritual gifts, and Christ’s ability to perfect us. Moroni also speaks about revelation. He talks about how to know whether The Book of Mormon is true (as well as the truth of all things), and he also speaks about the role of the Holy Ghost in this process.

Moroni 10:7 And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever.

The word “know” can be a heavy one in our religion. What does it mean to truly know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? What does it mean to truly know that He sacrificed Himself for us? What does it mean to truly know Him?

We often use this word, “know.” I don’t think there’s anything wrong with using it; I don’t think that needs to be changed. On the flip side, I’m also grateful for the conversations that have opened up about the importance of belief. Distinguishing between belief and true knowledge has been a nuance that has both comforted and enlightened me. It has comforted me in the sense that belief feels more sufficient than it previously did. It has enlightened me in the sense that I recognize the eventual goal of “true knowledge,” and the Lord has been able to teach me the process of attaining it by utilizing belief.

Today I want to talk a little bit about the importance of belief, and I want to talk about the process of true knowledge.

The place of belief

When we talk about true knowledge, I’m talking about the point where you don’t have belief any longer. It has completely given way to knowledge and you don’t have to believe in something you can’t see because you know. When we talk about knowledge in this manner, it can often feel like belief is “lesser.” Our goal is to reach the point where we don’t need faith any longer, almost like the stage of belief was always meant to be overcome.

The belief stage (in comparison to the knowledge stage) is not something to be overcome. Yes, we are working towards a true knowledge of Christ. However, the goal of the belief stage is not simply to overcome. There are lessons and strengthening exercises that can only be acquired when we are still in that belief stage.

There is a reason Heavenly Father sent us down to earth with a veil placed over our eyes. He was wise enough to know that there were characteristics we could only develop in this manner. If I truly saw the Lord, would I be following and trusting Him or would I be seeking out a selfish, personal reward? Would I be developing that relationship with Christ or would I just be doing the logical thing so that I wouldn’t be miserable for eternity? Requiring a belief stage enables us to dig deeper within ourselves and grow to be like Christ, rather than simply trying to gain a reward. It forces us to go through the process of experimenting, and as we experiment, we change and become like Him and develop the innate desire to actually be like Him.

Let me try explaining it in this manner.

Let’s pretend that Heavenly Father sent me to earth without the veil. I get here, I know what’s on the other side, so I do what I’m told because it would be ridiculous to do anything else. I’m just trying to make sure I’m not miserable for eternity. There isn’t anything really required of me. It doesn’t force me to actually go through the process of figuring things out. I can “succeed” by going through the motions.

But He did send me with a veil. And because He did, the process looks different. If I want to learn whether the truth is here and whether there is a Heavenly Father who loves me, I have to experiment. As I experiment, I still don’t fully know whether I’m on the right path. However, I do start to learn that I innately want to live my life in this manner. I learn that focusing on others frees me. I learn that being honest helps me avoid a lot of cringey feelings. I learn that relationships should be prioritized because they bring happiness. I change according to what I’m learning during my experiment.

Part of Heavenly Father’s character is knowledge of the reality of eternity. He follows these laws of His own accord, not because He wants to gain a reward, but because He knows that it’s the true path to eternal happiness. He asks us to follow Jesus Christ, not as the goal in and of itself. He asks us to follow Jesus Christ so that we can learn for ourselves. He wants us to innately know and feel the nature of good and evil. Experimenting allows us to focus on whether the path is truly making us happy beings. It allows us to learn for ourselves.

The belief stage is critical to exaltation.

We don’t need to be ashamed of being in the stage where we have faith, where we believe rather than know. It’s an important stage. Do not simply seek to get through this part to the knowledge part. Appreciate the belief stage because it is a necessary step in your progression.

How we actually achieve knowledge

Now that was a bit of a tangent off of the verse that I wanted to talk about for today, but I felt it was an important tangent. Appreciating the belief stage sufficiently and understanding Heavenly Father’s tools accurately can help us on the path to knowledge. Let’s look at that verse from Moroni again.

“Ye may know that He is.” We can know. The veil doesn’t need to last our entire lives. And yes, I am talking about being redeemed from the fall and being brought back into His presence. It’s an exciting notion, and it’s a notion I’ve been fascinated with since before my mission. That being said, there are some powerful and humbling lessons that I’ve received on this journey of learning about the process of knowing.

The first lesson is found in the very next phrase in Moroni’s verse. “By the power of the Holy Ghost.” A true knowledge does not stem from seeing the Lord. Laman and Lemuel saw an angel, and it didn’t do anything for them! They were physically shaken by the Lord and the effects on their hearts were minimal. There were plenty of people who saw the Lord and still didn’t know.

True knowledge of the Savior can only be acquired through the Holy Ghost.

And this is precisely why it’s so important to appreciate the belief stage. A desire to overcome the belief stage is often a sign of misunderstandings about how true knowledge of the Savior is acquired.

Sometimes we think the process goes like this: I build up my faith sufficiently over time until I’m finally good enough that the Lord lets me see Him and then I know He is real. My belief stage is over and replaced with knowledge.

The process actually goes like this: We build up faith and utilize faith to grow sufficiently; we go through that process of learning about the nature of good and evil for ourselves. We appreciate faith, and it helps us appreciate the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is the messenger by which we acquire true knowledge. Seeing the Savior is a beautiful experience (at least I assume it is), but it’s not necessarily part of the process of acquiring a true knowledge of Him.

You CAN know the Lord; you can also have an absolute knowledge of Him without seeing Him. True knowledge of the Savior comes from the Holy Ghost. Being brought back into His presence is a separate experience. I’m sure they can happen at the same time, but they are distinct experiences. Knowledge of spiritual things is transmitted through the Holy Ghost.

When I say that a desire to “overcome” the belief stage implies a misunderstanding of the process of acquiring true knowledge, it’s because a desire to overcome often disallows the process of embracing faith. Embracing faith is necessary to appreciating the Holy Ghost, and it is the Holy Ghost that helps us acquire knowledge.

Let me explain it concretely. If I’m trying to overcome the stage where my kids are little, I’m often focused on surviving and getting through it. Don’t get me wrong; sometimes surviving is necessary. What I’m trying to illustrate is the fact that if I’m surviving, I’m usually not embracing or appreciating.

If I’m thinking, “Man, I just want to know. I don’t want to have to wait and believe,” then I’m going to miss out on internalizing messages from the Holy Ghost that will actually bring the knowledge. If you’re constantly trying to have big, crazy experiences that you erroneously assume will give you knowledge, then you’re not actually going to be able to acquire that knowledge. It only comes through the Holy Ghost!

When you understand that true knowledge comes from the Holy Ghost, you cherish the small whisperings. You collect them. You embrace the strengthening exercises when you have to follow the Lord without knowing. You experiment and go through the process of learning the nature of good and evil for yourself.

And as you work through these strengthening exercises and as you innately understand the nature of good and evil, you finally become ready for true knowledge. You don’t need faith anymore because you have gleaned all that you can glean from faith.

In summary

Elder Hales taught, “Our faith prepares us to be in the presence of the Lord.” In summary faith enables us to be prepared because of two reasons.

1) It pushes us through the process of experimenting and innately learning the nature of good and evil, a characteristic that is necessary to develop if we want to be like Heavenly Father.

2) It pushes us to lay hold of our experiences with the Holy Ghost. Because the Holy Ghost is the true avenue of acquiring knowledge, we need to appreciate those small experiences and collect them.

Moroni talks about truth often throughout this chapter. He talks about how we can know the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon through the Holy Ghost, and he also teaches us that we can know the truth about all things by embracing the Holy Ghost.

I am grateful that Heavenly Father was wise enough to require a belief stage. I’m grateful that the experiences He pulls me through are so nuanced and perfect for me to learn from. I’m grateful that He knows how to bring about the immortality and eternal life of me, and I’m grateful He sent His Son to pay for my learning experience.

 

 

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award.

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