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In this episode, I address whether you should believe in God. The answer is not as simple as most religious folks would have you believe.
Hello! And welcome to the Great Truths Podcast. My name is Gavin Howard, and well, this is the first episode.
I kind of have to set expectations because, you see, I’m probably going to say things in this podcast that are going to offend people. So if you are easily offended, I wouldn’t suggest listening to this podcast. But if you are willing to listen and learn, then by all means, listen to this podcast. And I will learn along with you.
I think that’s a good place to start because I am going to be saying things that are…controversial. And even though I don’t think they should be controversial, they are. They’re going to be unpopular. They are going to be against the grain, a lot of the things, anyway, and I think that my listeners need to be aware of this.
So, if you are easily offended, don’t listen to this podcast, unless you are willing to listen and be offended in order to live a better life because that is what I would like to do. This podcast is about finding the truths that make a good life, which I call the “great truths.” Basically, the truths that matter the most.
And we’re certainly not going to start off this podcast in an uncontroversial way because the question I would like to answer is: does God exist?
And well, obviously, I think He does; I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, usually colloquially known as “Mormons,” though I will not use that term besides saying that we are referred to that way.
So, I believe in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and I believe in certain scriptures, which I am going to use as scriptures even though they may not be widely accepted. But I am going to use them as scriptures, for such they are.
So, the first question I am going to answer is: does God exist? But I really am not going to answer that specific question. What I really am going to answer is: should you believe in God?
Now you may think that because I believe in God personally, that I think that everyone should believe in God. That is not the case. I do not think that everyone should believe in God.
Among the books of scripture that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have is The Doctrine and Covenants. In there are chapters called “sections,” and in Doctrine and Covenants 82:3 it says,
For of him unto whom much is given much is required; and he who sins against the greater light shall receive the greater condemnation.
– D&C 82:3
This is why people shouldn’t just believe in God because if people believe in God, God will give them more knowledge about Himself, and that greater light, if they decide to turn against it later, will turn to their greater condemnation.
So for everyone who is not willing to live like God would want us to live, I don’t suggest that you believe in God. As a result, you will probably go through life not as happy as you could have been because what God desires for us, first and foremost is for us to be happy, and He tells us how to be happy through His commandments. (This is a topic I will address in a later episode.)
But if people are not willing to live life like God would have us live, then they shouldn’t believe in God because if they do and then turn away, so much greater shall the condemnation be.
However, for those who are willing to believe in God and willing to live as He would want us to live, as He does want us to live, then might I suggest that you do an experiment?
For everything that I say in this podcast, and more specifically, everything said by the leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and in the scriptures, I would invite you to try an experiment, an experiment of living as God would have you live, and then see if that doesn’t improve your life.
One of our other books of scripture, The Book of Mormon, has a book inside called “Alma,” and in Alma 34:4, it says,
Yea, even that ye would have so much faith as even to plant the word in your hearts, that ye may try the experiment of its goodness.
In there, God is inviting us to try an experiment, to try whether His word will lead us to happiness.
Now, it is important that we remember that short-term happiness does come from things that God would probably not be happy with. What He is referring to is long-term, so this experiment has to be somewhat long. I mean, probably six months to a year, I think you should be able to see some sort of difference in your life, and it would only get better from there. But it does require a long-term commitment.
And that is why I don’t think everyone should believe in God, but only those who are willing to put the commitment in to learn and to keep on that path once they start.