Think outside our box

     When we enter the world as infants, one of the first new awarenesses we achieve is that our mother is a separate being from us. Day by day, we continue to become aware of sights, sounds, smells, and feelings around us then gain the ability to identify them. Our perception of what exists or is "real" changes constantly. As a 2 year old, we have no concept of the existence of Australia, unless of course we live there. That doesn't mean Australia isn't real. It just means we aren't aware of it.
     Do you remember a kid insulting another kid's mother or sister or something important to that kid then the kid reacting with real anger? Say the insulter calls the kid's sister "fat" and the sister really is fat but the insultee doesn't like it being said. Sometimes the insultee beats on the insulter to force him or her to retract the insult. "Say it isn't true!" Does taking it back make it not true? (The real issue here of course is who has the power and that it's not nice to insult.)
     Throughout the history of our planet, people have claimed to "know" things as true and sometimes later the "truth" changes. To what degree do we identify "truth"? Here in Nauvoo there is a community yard waste burn pile less than a block away from our apartment. There are times when it's difficult for me to determine if it's actually burning because I smell it so often. Maybe there are residual particulates in the air, or furnishings, or even my sinuses. I could swear I smell smoke even at times when there is nothing actually burning. My ears ring constantly. There isn't really an alarm going off somewhere, non-stop. It's just something in my aural senses which causes the sensation of a constant high pitched hum. Is it real? Does the fact that no-one else can hear it make it not real?
     There are/were witnesses that claimed a man named Jesus Christ lived, died on the cross, then arose alive again. Are the stories from them simply myths? Did he actually live but not do miracles or come alive again? Many people, even young children, have experienced "near death" (called so because they were actually in clinical terms dead but only temporarily) and later told very similar stories of light, loving people, even relatives who have been dead for awhile. They aren't identical stories because the people who had the experiences aren't identical. But there are many striking similarities, enough to cause several research studies. Can our physical brain tissue manage to cause a similar experience for so many diverse people? So what do we do with these stories?
     I would urge anyone who wants to know if God is real or Jesus Christ is real, to learn all you can about them- not only from atheists or doubters but also get the side from believers. Then ask in a prayer for yourself to know if God is real. Ask what He would have you know and do. But only do that if you intend to truly act on it. It's called praying with real intent. If you let Him know that you will accept Him as your God, obey Him as your superior, then without guile or cynicism, pray to know if He's real. He'll let you know. From then on it's a matter of day by day learning how to be more like Him as you obey Him and overcome your own weaknesses/doubts/pride. I really wish I could shout this from the mountaintops so everyone could hear me. I just hope someone reads this and tries it for themselves.