Really a Question of Faith

Many times I have thought to myself "I am so glad I live after the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I feel it would be so much harder to believe in something that hadn't happened yet." I've been thinking a little more about that lately, and had some interesting realizations.

For one thing, I realized that there is no amount of physical evidence (be that a written record, or visiting Jerusalem or anything else) that can PROVE that Christ lived, died and rose from the dead. In that sense, the written or oral accounts of Christ and his role as Savior compiled before he lived on this earth, while he lived on this earth or after he was resurrected are not really that different. Accepting those accounts is a  matter of faith. I can feel a confirmation of truth in my heart through the Holy Ghost just as easily as someone who lived hundreds of years before Christ was born could.

As I was reading from the Book of Mormon during my commute earlier this week, I came across a wonderful passage of scripture that expounds on this idea. There is a group of people who have recently been converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ and struggled to repent of all their sins and fully turn their lives over to God. They are about to be attacked by their enemies, and turn to their king to know what they should do. Here is part of what the king tells his people:

10 And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son.

11 And now behold, my brethren, since it has been all that we could do (as we were the most lost of all mankind) to repent of all our sins and the many murders which we have committed, and to get God to take them away from our hearts, for it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God that he would take away our stain—

12 Now, my best beloved brethren, since God hath taken away our stains, and our swords have become bright, then let us stain our swords no more with the blood of our brethren.

13 Behold, I say unto you, Nay, let us retain our swords that they be not stained with the blood of our brethren; for perhaps, if we should stain our swords again they can no more be washed bright through the blood of the Son of our great God, which shall be shed for the atonement of our sins.

14 And the great God has had mercy on us, and made these things known unto us that we might not perish; yea, and he has made these things known unto us beforehand, because he loveth our souls as well as he loveth our children; therefore, in his mercy he doth visit us by his angels, that the plan of salvation might be made known unto us as well as unto future generations.

Alma 24:10-14

These verses reveal a deep commitment to the complete lifestyle change these individuals undertook. Their commitment was so deep that they would rather die than ever kill another human being. Verse 14 was especially striking to me - this king had complete faith that Christ would come to earth and perform the atonement. He knew that Christ's sacrifice would open the door to eternal life, contingent upon the choices of the individual and their willingness to repent. He also praises God for "[making] these things known to us beforehand, because he loveth our souls as well as he loveth our children."

There it is - one of the bedrocks of my faith - God loves ALL His children, yesterday, today and forever. He will make, and always has made, truth known to those that seek it. For all mankind in all generations of time, the question is whether we will exercise faith and seek that knowledge.