I have had a handful of experiences in my life that I believe were truly miraculous and that testified to me of the existence of God. I have mentioned that a number of times online, and I have been asked more than once to share those experiences. Occasionally, in the right setting, I have shared one or more, but, generally, I have respectfully declined to do so.
I have absolutely no desire to share my experiences in order to be
dissected and analyzed to see if they can be proven to be objective
miracles - especially by someone who is coming into the conversation strongly
convinced that they aren't. I know what I have experienced, and I have
examined those experiences as analytically as I can and can find no way
to explain them logically (without factoring in the possibility of the
miraculous, which is not traditionally logical). However, I also am dead
certain that many people wouldn't accept them as incontrovertibly miraculous, including many people whom I count as good friends.
If someone doesn't believe in unexplainable
power of some sort that can be accessed by humans, particularly if he
has never experienced anything of that nature, I am fine with that. I
really am. As I've said here numerous times, at the most fundamental level, we only can
"know" (to any degree) what we have studied, witnessed and/or
experienced personally - and, even then, we can't know some of it
objectively. We certainly can't explain to others adequately enough for
them to believe if they can't see what we've seen. I also am fine with
that. I'm not looking for unanimity of experience or belief here or anywhere else online where I comment; I
are participating in communities of diverse people from whom I can
learn - particularly in ways that are not natural (that are "foreign")
to me. I'm looking for unique perspectives I would not be able to see naturally.
I have shared the example of Laman and Lemuel and why I
think they get a bit of a bum rap in the Book of Mormon. The example that
related to this post is when Nephi asked if they had inquired of the
Lord to see what Lehi saw - and they responded that the Lord didn't make
those things known to them. If Nephi (and Lehi) had been open to that
as a factual, honest, acceptable answer, we might have a different
narrative than we have - if they had understood that some people simply
don't have visions or hear voices or feel soul-burning impressions.
Those who have those experiences tend to discount or reject the idea
that others don't or can't have them, while those who don't or can't have them tend to
discount or reject the experiences of those who do have them.
I'd rather be open to both types of lives and "experience-orientations" as legitimate and valuable - as well as all points between those extremes.
The Scream
1 week ago
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