Proof, Evidence, and Testimony

Someone asked me if there were clear scientific evidence against my faith and belief how would I respond?

You cannot prove or disprove the existence of God let alone prove or disprove the Bible or the Book of Mormon. You would have to be God to prove to someone that God existed. And you likewise would have to be God to disprove that there was a God. Which creates an interesting paradox.

The only way to have a perfect knowledge of God's existence is to not only see His face, but to become like Him. Because after experiencing God you could always tell yourself that your mind and senses were playing tricks on you. You could only have proof if you actually became perfectly of one mind with God. Then you could say, as I know that I exist, I have a perfect knowledge that God exists, because, I am like Him, I am in Him, and He is in me, and I am one with Him. This is exactly the quality of proof Jesus Christ had of God's existence.

So, since we can't talk about proof and we can't talk about a perfect knowledge, we are forced to talk about evidence. But evidence can be in the eye of the beholder. I look at nature, and the organization of the heaven and the planets, and the beauty of this Earth and I think like Paul, "every house was built by some man, the builder of all things is God." However, some look at the very same date and only see The Big Bang and Darwin's evolution. It's the same data but used by both sides to support their belief.

Man's logic is fallible. We have theories and hypothesis which shift like that shifting sands of the desert and like chaff blown in a whirlwind. In science and medicine, the data we had first seemed to support one theory or treatment, the next day additional data points in the complete opposite direction.

That is why faith and the Holy Spirit is so important. The Holy Ghost will lead us into all truth. And while truth is logical. Not everything man considers logical is truth. Didn't God tell us "my ways are not thy ways, neither are my thoughts they thoughts." So, it is important to learn how to know the mind of God especially when it comes to reading God's word. Because God's word can only be understood by the spirit of prophecy. This is the highest form of knowing.

The spirit of prophecy should be the basis of all Christian testimony, faith, and belief. Didn't Moses teach, "would to God that all men were prophets and God would put His spirit on them." One of the most important thing we can learn as Christians is to recognize the influence of the Comforter which is the spirit of prophecy that Christ has left us. Christ has ascended to heaven and God is now manifest by the Holy Ghost. Will we reject the Holy Ghost like the Jew rejected Jesus?

In the OT, God was represented by prophets, and the people rejected and killed the prophets. Then in the NT, God was represented by the Son of God and His Apostles and the people rejected and killed Jesus Christ and the Apostles. Now, in the Last Days, God is represented by the Holy Ghost. We need to receive the Holy Ghost into our hearts and minds.

So, I would say that once a person has received the Holy Ghost and learned to recognize its influence, if there is data which man interprets to go against the spirit of prophecy, then you have to patiently wait on the Lord and not abandon your faith immediately, because in time additional data and understanding will ultimately turn the evidence in favor of your faith.