Bruce R. McConkie, Promised Messiah: The First Coming
of Christ, 374-376. Chapter 21
All Things Bear Record of Christ: "All Things Denote
There Is a God"
An all-wise Creator has structured all the creations of
his hands in such a
way, not only to call attention to himself as the Maker,
Preserver, and
Upholder of all things, but to bear record of the nature
and kind of Being
he is. The mere fact that all things are, that fact
standing alone, establishes that there is a Supreme
Being; and the orderliness and system which prevails in
the universe is a sufficient witness that the Creator is
almighty, knows all things, and has made man, his
crowning creature, as the natural heir of all his
goodness.
Thus David acclaims, "The heavens declare the glory of
God; and the
firmament sheweth his handywork." In the sidereal
heavens, in the broad
expanse of the universe, in all the orbs that roll in
their assigned spheres, in the heavens above and the
earth beneath, is seen the hand of God. The sun rises in
the morning; lilies bloom in the fields; wheat whitens
for the harvest; birds soar in the firmament above and
fish swim in the waters beneath-all nature operating in
harmony with the laws of Nature's God all things denote
(nay, prove!) there is a God.
"Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night
sheweth knowledge."
Whose speech? Whose knowledge? Though the voice of the
Creator be stilled,
yet the voice of his creations declare his divinity. The
heavens and the earth declare his glory. His voice is
heard in the rolling thunder; his words are read in the
vivid lightning; his speech is recorded in the lilac's
bloom. "There is no speech nor language, where their
voice"-the voice of all created things-"is not heard.
Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their
words to the ends of the world." None but fools say, "We
have not heard the voice of Deity," for that voice is
everywhere. If men fail to live that law which enables
them to see the divine face and converse with their
Creator in plain words, at least they are obligated to
hear the voice of Nature, which is also the voice of
God.
This concept was taught to Joseph Smith by "him who
sitteth upon the throne
and governeth and executeth all things." Speaking of
himself, the Divine
Teacher averred: "He comprehendeth all things, and all
things are before
him, and all things are round about him; and he is above
all things, and in
all things, and is through all things, and is round
about all things; and
all things are by him, and of him, even God, forever and
ever."
Continuing to speak of himself, Christ the Creator says:
"He hath given a
law unto all things, by which they move in their times
and their seasons;
And their courses are fixed, even the courses of the
heavens and the earth,
which comprehended the earth and all the planets. And
they give light to
each other in their times and in their seasons, in their
minutes, in their
hours, in their days, in their weeks, in their months,
in their years-all
these are one year with God, but not with man. The earth
rolls upon her
wings, and the sun giveth his light by day, and the moon
giveth her light by
night, and the stars also give their light, as they roll
upon their wings in
their glory, in the midst of the power of God."
Then comes the question: "Unto what shall I liken these
kingdoms, that ye
may understand?" There follows a parable which teaches
that he will visit
"every kingdom"-and the inhabitants thereof-"in its
hour, and in its time,
and in its season." But our immediate concern is the
divine announcement:
"All these are kingdoms, and any man who hath seen any
or the least of these
hath seen God moving in his majesty and power. I say
unto you, he hath seen
him; nevertheless, he who came unto his own was not
comprehended." It is
then said that in a future day the faithful shall
"comprehend even God," as
pertaining to which time it is written: "Then shall ye
know that ye have
seen me." ( <http://gospelink.com/library/goto-scrip?ref=dc/88/40>
D&C
88:40-62.)
In these sayings we find reinforcement of two great
verities: (1) All men
have seen God, in preexistence, for they lived and dwelt
with him before
ever the foundations of this earth were laid, a fact
which all will remember
at a future time; and (2) God is seen in the heavens
above and the earth
beneath, whose voices combine to declare his glory and
goodness.
In a dramatic confrontation, Korihor (an intellectual
without faith!) defied
Alma and derided what he called "the foolish ordinances
and performances" of
the gospel. He accused the church leaders of keeping the
saints in bondage,
"that ye may glut yourselves with the labors of their
hands." His thesis was
that no man could know there was a God, or a fall of
man, or that Christ
would come to redeem his people. In reply, Alma
testified, "there is a God,
and . . . Christ shall come." There is, of course, no
way to argue with a
testimony. Then Alma said: "And now what evidence have
ye that there is no
God, or that Christ cometh not? I say unto you that ye
have none, save it be
your word only. But, behold, I have all things as a
testimony that these
things are true; and ye also have all things as a
testimony unto you that
they are true. . . . The scriptures are laid before
thee, yea, and all
things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and
all things that are
upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also
all the planets
which move in their regular form do witness that there
is a Supreme
Creator." Thereafter, because he demanded a sign,
Korihor was struck dumb,
confessed he had been deceived by the devil, and
suffered an ignominious
death. (Alma 30).
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