Finding Reality in a Fake World

Four years ago, I wrote a post about how worldly mirages can lead us away from the gospel path, the people we want to be and the lives we want to live. I quoted President Benson then, who said, "Without [Christ] we would be lost in a mirage of beliefs and worships, born in fear and darkness where the sensual and materialistic hold sway. We are far short of the goal he set for us, but we must never lose sight of it; nor must we forget that our great climb toward the light, toward perfection, would not be possible except for his teachings, his life, his death, and his resurrection" (April 1964).

Many years before I wrote my post, Elder Packer shared a parable that illustrates the same principle illuminated by President Benson. The parable was shared again by Elder Stephen Owen in a recent conference. He said Elder Packer told of a severe winter in Utah when deep snow had driven the deer very low into some of the valleys. Seeing that the deer were out of their natural habitat, some well-meaning agencies tried to respond by bringing in hay for the deer to eat. Unfortunately, many of the deer were later found dead. Those who handled the animals afterward said that their stomachs were full of hay, but they had starved to death. The deer had been fed, but they had not been nourished.

Considering this parable left me thinking again about how much in the world is not real. We make fake food (what Michael Pollan calls, "edible, food-like substances"), play fantasy sports and read fake news. There are drugs for fake highs and alcohol for induced relaxation. Many of us use social media to make pseudo-connections and act as fake experts.

Many people in the world have fake relationships, including "romantic" relationships that are the fantasized result of pornography, masturbation, online chats or one-night stands. We play electronic games that give us fake success as we pretend to be sports team managers, army snipers or home remodelers. We say this is virtual or simulated reality, but there isn't much reality in it at all.

Fake wrath is a thing now with angry mobs who are mad only because they've been told they are supposed to be. Fake victimhood is a thing too, especially when someone else has a turn doing something well. The news now reports fake disasters, fake emergencies and fake threats. There are fake religions, fake causes, fake truth and fake science. It's literally unbelievable.

In most cases, fake things are relatively simple to detect because they are hollow. They are positioned to appeal to the natural man or woman in each of us-- to prey on primal reactions and manipulate our thoughts and behavior-- offering little substance beyond sensual pleasure. Our physical instincts are powerful, which is why these temptations can be difficult to overcome even when we detect them.

Reality is the remedy for a fake world. Prophets have repeatedly plead with the saints to put down our devices, avoid pornography like an insidious disease, be slow to offense and abstain from drugs and alcohol. While the devil deals in deceptions, the Lord whispers simple truths to sober minds. 

The Prophet Jacob taught anciently: "The Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be; wherefore, these things are manifested unto us plainly, for the salvation of our souls" (Jacob 4:13).

Elder David A. Bednar added, "Obedience opens the door to the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. And the spiritual gifts and abilities activated by the power of the Holy Ghost enable us to avoid deception-- and to see, to feel, to know, to understand, and to remember things as they really are" (Things as They Really Are, May 2009).

There is nothing more real than our Creator, Redeemer and Advocate, Jesus Christ. He lives. He made all that is real. His Atonement is real and powerful. His gospel leads us down the path of truth to real happiness, real peace and real strength that we can enjoy in this life and after we die. He fulfills all of his promises; and with his help, each of us can discover what is real in our lives.

Our world is filled with mirages and misleading, though appealing, philosophies. Some would try to convince us that we can live our lives as if at a dessert buffet, gluttonously filling our hearts, minds and bodies with guilty pleasures and sweets that have no nutritional value. Choosing to follow the world will leave us in a hungover state of spiritual lethargy and darkness. We may gain information or entertainment for awhile, but we will be left with feelings of emptiness, loneliness, dissatisfaction, and of being unacceptable to God, to ourselves and to others. Our souls will slowly die of spiritual starvation.

As disciples of Christ, we must choose instead to follow our Savior, Jesus Christ. As we fill our lives with real things that are uplifting, true, faith-inspiring and good, the light of the gospel will illuminate what is real. "If your eye be single to my glory," the Lord taught, "your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things" (D&C 88:67).

We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul-- We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things (Articles of Faith 1:13).

We Believe

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost (AoF 1:1). They are three distinct personages. The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us (D&C 130:22).

God is the literal father of our spirits. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God (Romans 8:16). God so loved the world, his children, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression (AoF 1:2).

The Fall of Adam introduced two kinds of death or separation: Physical or temporal death is the separation of our spirits from our bodies; and spiritual death is when we are separated from God.

And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death, of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave. And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel (2 Nephi 9:11-12). For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive (1 Corinthians 15:22).

So we see that the effects of the Fall of Adam, both physical and spiritual death, are completely absorbed in Christ. For behold, the day cometh that all shall rise from the dead the stand before God, and be judged according to their works... And the death of Christ shall loose the bands of this temporal death, that all shall be raised from this temporal death. The spirit and the body shall be reunited again in its perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame, even as we now are at this time; and we shall be brought to stand before God, knowing even as we know now, and have a bright recollection of all our guilt. Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous (Alma 11:41-44, emphasis added).

But there is another Fall with which we should be concerned: our own. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel (AoF 1:3).

Jesus Christ taught: And no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end. Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day. Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel (3 Nephi 27:20).

We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost (AoF 1:4). God has restored his priesthood so that ordinances such as baptism and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost can be performed by proper authority.

When Christ was on the earth, he established his church. That church was not primarily about any sort of building or social or cultural gathering place. Rather, he established his doctrine, his ordinances and covenants (including baptism and the sacrament), and his authority. Because God is not the author of confusion, he created an organization through which these elements could be preserved, exercised and shared with the world. Members of that ancient church were called saints.

There is one body, and one Spirit... One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all... And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ... That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive (Ephesians 4:4-6, 11-14).

We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof (AoF 1:5). Further, we believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth (AoF 1:6).

Those who are called to serve in any capacity receive spiritual gifts to enhance their service and benefit the whole church. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth (AoF 1:7). For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will (1 Corinthians 12:7-11).

These principles are the foundation of our faith in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ, the author of our salvation. We know these things by their own words, for surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets (Amos 3:7).

From the beginning, God has called prophets to teach his doctrine, exercise his authority and perform the ordinances necessary to fulfill the covenants he has made with us. Throughout history, prophetic teachings have often been rejected and the people have fallen into a state of apostasy; but the Lord does not forget us. Because he loves us, his children, he will always call a new prophet to lead us back to him. Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Christ himself were all called of God to reestablish his doctrine, covenants, ordinances and priesthood authority on the earth.

Prophets have taught the people and recorded God's word in the Holy Scriptures. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God (AoF 1:8).

The heavens are not closed. God is the same yesterday, today and forever; and the way is prepared for all men from the foundation of the world, if it so be that they repent and come unto him. For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round (1 Nephi 10:18-19). We are also God's children and he continues to reveal his word through living prophets and to each of us through the Holy Ghost. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God (AoF 1:9).

James 1:5-6 reads: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. These verses inspired a prayer that led to the restoration of Christ's ancient church; and they can inspire your prayer to know if these things are true.

We invite everyone to read The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. It is the fruit of the restoration and the evidence of God's prophetic pattern in our day. Toward the end of the book is a promise: And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things (Moroni 10:4-5).

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the restored church of Christ on the earth today. Christ personally leads the Church through living prophets. The Church contains the fullness of Christ's doctrine, covenants and ordinances. It is the only church authorized by God to perform those ordinances for the benefit of mankind. Through those ordinances and the grace of God, we can be saved and sealed together with our families for time and eternity. This is what we believe; and we invite you to pray to know for yourself. If you pray with faith and real intent to act, as the scriptures direct, God will reveal the truth of it to your heart and mind by the power of the Holy Ghost.