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"Why do you believe what you believe?" is a question I like to ask those who profess faith or belief in anything. This is not just a question I pose to those of religious faith, but to those who believe pretty much anything. After all, how do we really know anything? While this question of whether or not we really "know" something could have volumes written about it alone, I tend to direct my question more specifically to how an individual (specifically the individual to whom I am asking the question) knows what they know or believes what they believe. I'm not looking for the "right" or "perfect" answer, merely if there is an answer at all. I'm often surprised how many never really think this through because I consider it to be an essential element to my believing anything. So why is this important to me? It is everything to me. I feel to properly confess belief in anything I must understand why I believe it. For instance, if you were to ask me why I believe the earth is round, I wouldn't tell you it was from personal experience - rather it is that I believe my textbooks and those professors of knowledge who have told me so. I believe the images I have seen of the earth from space and that they are not forgeries nor misconstrued. If you asked me if I could prove the earth was round, I would not be able to do so - merely refer you to a perceived authority on the subject and let you make the decision of whether or not you believed them yourself. So you might say that I don't really "know" the earth is round and in a sense, you are absolutely correct. I don't "know" it at all. So would you say that I believe it blindly? No, that would not be correct, because my belief is based in reason - I believe that those who believe that the earth is round are telling the truth - you could say, I have "faith" in them. Wait, how can I be talking about faith on a purely scientific subject, isn't it reserved only for religious people? Absolutely not. I have faith that the people who tell me the earth is round are telling me the truth even though I don't have the evidence myself. I have faith because I do not know of myself - I have faith because I do know with complete certainty that they are not lying to me. So with this definition of faith, I could say that I have faith in pretty much everything. I have faith that when I rise from my chair and go to my bedroom tonight, that my bed will be as I left it. Do I have proof of this? Not from my current vantage point. My bed could indeed be missing and I would have no idea. I believe my bed is still there though I cannot say with certainty. Of course the question of the bed's existence is easy (without getting too metaphysical) as I could merely stand up and check if it is still there. The point is though, when I act on knowledge I don't immediately possess, I act with faith that what I believe is true. Sometimes we can be deceived by our faith. Our faith in people, for instance, can be misplaced. Our faith in our bodies can also let us down. When your faith is proven wrong - in other words, when you found out that what you believed and were acting upon was not indeed true, what do you do about it? I find it important to reevaluate why it was that I believed what I did, that way I can potentially prevent a similar error in judgment. This is why it is so very important to know why you believe what you believe. If you do not understand a belief's origins it essentially becomes tautological - an argument that by its very nature cannot have its inverse proven (basically a belief that is unprovable and impossible to disprove). While tautological arguments are not inherently bad nor immediately untrue, they can be difficult to combat when really trying to get at the basis for a belief to determine if that belief is valid or worth having. Some base their beliefs completely upon the results of their belief. This is effective and pragmatic, but doesn't necessary make for sound arguments. For instance, "I believe that drinking is wrong, therefore I don't drink. Because I don't drink, I avoid the ills associated with drinking, therefore it validates my belief that drinking is wrong." This is pragmatic, but not necessarily true (or logical). I find that often this is enough for a person's basis in belief and many are content to leave it at that. I personally feel that I must have more and in that am generally an incredibly skeptical person. That being said, I am also an incredibly religious person. Can a skeptic be religious? I say of course. A skeptic is someone who questions something, but even a skeptic who finds enough evidence to believe something can exercise faith in it. As such, I have enough evidence to convince me that my religious beliefs are worthwhile. So to come full circle - why do I believe what I believe? Using the reasoning I described above, it can be safely assumed that anything I believe in I have a reason for that is generally faith based. Even when I experience something myself, I must still exercise some faith that what I perceived to be real was indeed as I perceived it to be. This goes for everything: from faith that my bed is where I left it, faith that my car will take me all the way to school, faith that some great discovery will not turn modern neuroscience on its head and force me to change my major, and finally even faith that my religious beliefs are valid. Because so many of the other elements of faith are very intuitive to those reading this blog, I will focus the rest of this discussion on why I believe what I believe religiously and why am I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I believe that the man Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God, that he saw God and Jesus Christ, that they revealed to him that he should reform God's true and original church in these latter days. As such, I believe that what Joseph Smith said God told him to do, God did indeed tell him to do and it was for a wise purpose even if I do not fully understand it. I believe that the church he formed is God's true and living church upon the earth today and it will endure until Jesus Christ returns again. I believe that He, Jesus Christ is the head of this church and is guiding and directing its leaders today. I believe therefore that what the leaders of my church advise us to do is true, that it is from God directly for me to hear and that I will obey as if commanded by God Himself. But why do I believe these things? While I have had many positive experiences since having joined the church, it is my initial experiences in the end that have convinced me. I believe that after opening my heart to the idea that it could be true, and exercising faith to find out for myself if it was indeed true, that God Himself revealed to me that the church is true and that Joseph Smith was his prophet. He revealed it to me by a power I cannot completely describe, but one of such force that I am convinced totally that it was God who spoke to me, and that if I were to deny it, it would be as if denying that I am alive I am so convinced of it. I am convinced with such awesome force that this belief kept me from making many tempting mistakes and even lead me back from the brink of my own destruction despite every knowledgeable voice in the world telling me I was doomed. I will not describe the entirety of these events here in this post so as not to derail it. Suffice it to say, the experience further impressed upon me how complete my conversion was. I believe these things because I was humble, asked God, and was convinced with awesome power. Can I prove it to you? No. I know of myself, but my experiences were personal and very much my own, however I do believe that God is consistent and that He can reveal to you that which he has revealed to me should you seek it. So what is your basis of belief?