Reg Christensen lives in the Midwest with his wife, Carol. They have seven children and seventeen grandchildren. Reg has fulfilled a variety of callings in the Church and he and Carol have been blessed with many service opportunities as Pathway missionaries and service volunteers at the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies, to mention a few. While living in Jerusalem, they served in the Bethlehem branch, Carol as the Relief Society president and Reg as the branch president. His happy times come from being with family and friends, reading, writing, woodworking, leathercrafting, exploring nature, and blessing lives with his handyman skills. He has published several books, including Unlocking Isaiah: Lessons and Insights that Draw Us to the Savior.
Enter Reg…
Our Heavenly Parents are the ultimate scientists. Not only are They more intelligent than each of the most revered scientists of all the world, They are more intelligent than the combined intelligence of all scientists of all time.
They are omniscient.
Perpetual Question Marks
I have great respect and appreciation for the work of scientists. It is incredibly inspiring to look at the panorama of history and consider how our lives are blessed because of scientific research. But I am also sometimes amused by scientific research and at times wonder how much more advanced scientific theories would be if the architects of such theories had revealed truth from God as their beginning points rather than as their perpetual question marks.
For example, several decades ago in a cover story of a popular news magazine, after much presentation of their research, scientists declared that they were quite certain that we would, in the not-too-distant future and with our brilliance and sophistication, be able to determine if there is life on other planets. Just for fun, I checked again at the time of this writing and, sure enough, the same magazine is now predicting that perhaps within the next decade or two, we will discover if there are other planets like ours with life like ours.
“God has declared, And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose. . . . there are many worlds that have passed away. . . . And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man, but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them.” (Moses 1:33-35)
In the same chapter, God declares that His “purpose” of creating these worlds is to provide homes for mankind—for Their sons and daughters. The following description from modern revelation that proclaims the intelligence and grandeur of God has long been one of my favorite scriptures:
“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.
And again, verily I say unto you, 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 comprehend 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.
Unto what shall I liken these kingdoms, that ye may understand?
Behold, 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.” (Doctrine & Covenants 88:41-47)
Delivering Awe
There are many great scientists, of course, who are believers in God and His designs. Others, although not fully convinced of the reality of God, come close to belief in the divine in their thoughts and theories. In his book, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future In Space, the late Carl Sagan, who was often accused of being an atheist (and often denied such), helps us understand the grandeur of God and how some are inhibited by not recognizing His greatness:
“In some respects, science has far surpassed religion in delivering awe. How is it that hardly any major religion has looked at science and concluded, ‘This is better than we thought!’ ‘The Universe is much bigger than our prophets said—grander, more subtle, more elegant. God must be even greater than we dreamed’? Instead, they say, ‘No, no, no! My god is a little god and I want him to stay that way.’ A religion, old or new, that stressed the magnificence of the Universe as revealed by modern science might be able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe hardly tapped by the conventional faiths. Sooner or later, such a religion will emerge.”
Our Heavenly Father is not “a little god” but is a Great Big God. Our Heavenly Parents created all things for the blessing and joy of Their children and therefore know all principles and truth associated with Their creations. They stand willing to impart all truth to any of Their children who will honestly and humbly seek Them.
Eternal Truths
I am grateful for the truths I have learned through my study of Them and Their work.
I share what follows as a sampling, in the form of brief, summary statements, of what I have come to believe through my spiritual-life journey with the hope that these statements will offer you true direction in your life and be a springboard to inspire your further pondering and study:
- All truth is included in one great whole and our Heavenly Parents, in Their omniscience, know the total of all truth. In Their dealings with us, They are not as a scientist experimenting in a laboratory and guessing at outcomes. All true science and philosophy conform to God’s truth. There is no question or problem that They cannot help us with if we are willing to humble ourselves and place our complete trust and faith in Them.
- There is no conflict between pure science and undefiled religion but only between scientific theory and religious speculation, where both sides often miss the mark of doctrinal truth.
- Eternal truth is simple, clear, and understandable, whereas false science, false philosophy, or false worship come veiled in deep mystery and confusion. Through the power and influence of the Holy Ghost, we may discern between truth and falsehood in any field of study.
- The discovery and application of light and truth take us away from the dark influence of Satan and toward the glory and omniscience of God. “Light and truth forsake that evil one.” (D&C 93:37)
- The forces that impact the earth are not static. For example, the quantity and force of time, heat, and pressure studied and applied to matter in our present day may be different than in a past age or period of creation.
- Science is typically silent as to the question of why man was created. This question is central to true religion. Our Heavenly Parents, in providing us Their great plan of eternal happiness, employ and exceed all laws of science known to mortal man. Their plan is based on and operates within eternal, irrevocable divine law and purpose.
- Eternal truths are revealed directly by God to man as needed for Their plan and purposes.
- Eternal truths may also be discovered through scientific research.
- God communicates on a level commensurate with the understanding and abilities of the receiver. He does not speak up or down to anyone.
- Faith—the assurance of things unseen but true—is foundational to the discovery of truth. Whether our assurance of truth comes early or late in our course of study, our faith is what propels us forward to discovery of eternal truth.
- Repentance—the turning around from a bitter course to pursue a healing course, or the changing of one’s mind and heart—is an essential element of true study and research. As scientists and followers of Christ show humility and willingness to change their minds from a course of error, God blesses them by revealing to them more eternal truth.
- Revelation—divine disclosure from God—is more timely and more pure than is scientific research. For example, God revealed the ill effects of the use of tobacco and alcohol long before science seriously studied and concluded the same effects.
- God is a God of order and precision. Their eternal laws permeate and apply to all things in the universe.
- The fact that universal physical laws are evident in man and animal does not establish a relationship of ancestry between the two. A heart may circulate blood in basically the same manner in a human as in a monkey. In Their perfect and practical understanding, God used successful universal principles in both creations—but this does not make them cousins.
- The elements are eternal. All matter is indestructible and can only be transformed—never destroyed.
- To create means to organize. In creating the earth and all things therein, Our Heavenly Parents did not create from nothing—They organized existing, eternal matter.
- Man and woman—Adam and Eve, and thus their descendants—were directly created by our Heavenly Parents and are Their literal offspring. Their creation came after and apart from the creation of plant and animal life.
- Jesus Christ, under direction of God the Father, created all things—except man and woman.
- The power and influence of Christ—sometimes referred to as the Light of Christ—permeates all the universe and enlightens, governs, and influences all beings to the degree they give heed to it.
- As people heed the influence of the Light of Christ, they are led to further light and truth—even to the full receipt of the power of the Holy Ghost through baptism and confirmation and to an ultimate perfect understanding.
- Our Heavenly Parents sometime provide physical instruments to assist Their children in gaining truth (e.g., the Urim and Thummim in ancient and modern times) and inspire the creation of other instruments (e.g., Global Positioning Systems) to assist mankind in searching for truth. The more skilled and studied a person becomes in the use of such instruments, the less dependent he or she becomes on them. Studied, learned, and heeded truth becomes an eternal part of our very being.
- The full scope and extent of how the scientific theories of organic evolution and survival of the fittest apply to the creation and development of plant and animal life remains uncertain.
- We, and all people, are eternal beings carrying forth our individual and unique spirit and intelligence through our premortal, mortal, and postmortal existence.
- God’s revealed truth is not always in accord with current experimental data or what scientists may deem as scientific fact.
- The Fall of Adam and Eve launched mankind into our current state of mortality. This Fall could be viewed more as a state of progression and came about not by chance or accident but by righteous moral choice of our first parents.
- When our mortal bodies die, our spirits live on. Our spirits are a more refined state of matter than that of our physical bodies. Our resurrection at some point will reunite our spirit with an incorruptible physical body, thus forming our eternal soul.
- Energy is indestructible and can only be converted to another form.
- The material universe is controlled by eternal law. God works in accord with eternal law and truth. His miracles are simply applications of eternal laws not understood by man. If man could fully understand eternal law, he would fully understand miracles. Wendell Berry said, “Whoever really has considered the lilies of the field or the birds of the air and pondered the improbability of their existence in this warm world within the cold and empty stellar distances will hardly balk at the turning of water into wine— which was, after all, a very small miracle. We forget the greater and continuing miracle by which water (with soil and sunlight) is turned into grapes.”
- God would have us all be scientists, in a sense. He is not a God of mystery—He desires that we study all things and learn all truths. He aids and reveals such to us according to the humility and diligence we apply to the challenge of learning. He allows us to be tutored by our false conclusions and errors. The truth of all things will be revealed to us in due time.
- One of the ways God reveals His truth to man is through nature—He said, “all things are created and made to bear record of me.” (Moses 6:63) Composition, structure, and movements of rocks help tell the story of how and when landforms came to be. Processes and forces such as photosynthesis, soil erosion, evaporation and rainfall, gravitational force, the orbits and movements of planets, etc. teach us how our Heavenly Parents organized and designed nature to provide life and sustenance for Their creations. In Their creative processes, They use these natural forces to move and organize matter.
- Men and women have and exercise moral agency. Plants and animals do not. All people are accountable to God for how we use our moral agency.
- Animals grow and progress, live beyond their life on earth, and enjoy “eternal felicity” within their own species.
- The best scientific tool any scientist could employ is the guidance, power, and influence of the Holy Ghost.
