How do you know God exist?

[Gatsby]

As a former member of the church. I would love to know how you know God exist? I used to be an active member but I realized that I only believed in God and was a member of the church because my parents were. Now that I think for myself and have chosen to find out for myself if wether God exists or not. I would be very much interested in hearing or reading about your thoughts. How did you find out God was real?

I am studying the scriptures and I hope I have a vision like the one Joseph Smith had because I would really like to know if all this is true. I would like to know if God really exists and since this church, is a really great church and plus, it has a modern-day prophet and it's not a paid ministry. I think I can find the answers here.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[pam]

Don't expect a vision like the one Joseph Smith had.

[bytor2112]

Don't expect a vision like the one Joseph Smith had.

Why not?

[pam]

Because if that's what it takes to know God exists and it doesn't happen does that mean God doesn't exists?

How many people do you know that have had that same kind of vision? I'm just saying don't expect it.

[nzorient]

In saying that if you did see God, are you willing to fill some big shoes He will probably place in front of you?

Laman and Lemuel had the privilege of seeing Angels (enough for me) but because of their own stubbornness they still did not want to believe.

Grab a bowl of a humble heart, open mind, faith the size of a mustard seed and patience. Mix until consistant. Somehow you will just know it's Him. From experience, he customizes to your individual needs.

[tubaloth]

Follow the path the God is guiding you one. Pretty much keep the commandments, try to apply the things you learn in the Book of Mormon.

Then it comes down to desire. You have to want to know, and you have to be willing to obey. God is going to push you to the limit to see if you REALLY want to know. That what he did with me, and it wasn't a vision.

[Gatsby]

Because if that's what it takes to know God exists and it doesn't happen does that mean God doesn't exists?

How many people do you know that have had that same kind of vision? I'm just saying don't expect it.

I don't expect a vision. I just hope for one. It's not the same thing. Even though I'm not active I heard that having some kind of vision is possible.

I'm not suggesting that God is a clown and I expect him to do some kind of magic tricks for me.

[HEthePrimate]

I believe in God because he revealed himself to me. I did not see him in person, but I received a spiritual confirmation (and at a most unlikely, surprising time, to boot!). For many, many years I did not know for sure, but chose to believe. But it was finally revealed to me.

Peace,

HEP

[Gatsby]

LDS.org - New Era Article - I Wanted Proof

I realized that much of what I had been taught as fact was not. This changed my perspective on everything in my life. I no longer saw teachers as sources of truth. I began to question all that I had been taught and had believed in. I wanted everything to be proven to me.

I began to question whether an absolute truth could exist. Yet I knew that certain things must exist. My lack of ability to comprehend God caused me to question his existence. I would say to myself, “God exists and his laws are absolute.” Then I would quickly think of something else to avoid questioning God’s existence.

Yet as I learned more, I tried to understand and explain God. Although I disliked my thinking, I could not deny what I felt. I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to believe in that which I had always believed. My life was becoming depressing and insecure.

As the desire for stability and truth grew in my life, this great desire caused me to turn to the scriptures. It was then that I found a new meaning in Moroni 10:4 [Moro. 10:4]:

“And when ye shall receive these things, I 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.”

These were words of hope and comfort to me. I began to read the Book of Mormon with a new purpose. The writings of the prophets found a new place in my heart. I read with the desire to learn and know.

I longed for the comfort, purpose, and perspective that the gospel had always given to my life. Each night before I read, I would pray with a great desire to know the truth. I felt that the scriptures were true, but I wanted to know. When I read, I often found scriptures that gave me inspiration on how to live my life better. Many tears were shed as I felt the power and truth of the Book of Mormon.

I began to regard prayer more seriously. My relationship with my Father in Heaven became much closer. I prayed to him with a new enthusiasm. I desired to know if he was there. I prayed for a remission of my sins. I prayed for forgiveness because of my lack of faith.

After reading the Book of Mormon, I knelt in prayer. I had a great desire to know of its truth. I hoped it was true, knowing what joy this would bring me. That night I prayed for hours desiring to know. The following nights I continued in my prayers and began to wonder if I would receive a witness.

My determination in waiting for a witness was a trial of my faith. After many days I came to the realization that I knew the Book of Mormon was true. It came not as a sign or a voice. I knew because in the center of my being I could not deny that it was true. I also knew that God existed and that he is my Heavenly Father, that Jesus Christ is the only begotten son of God.

This came to me, not as new knowledge, but as a peaceful remembrance of that which I already knew. I did not need a further witness. I had always known the truth. My pride in my own knowledge had caused me to forget my testimony.

[Gatsby]

LDS.org - New Era Article - Discovering God

When I was almost 18, I flew to a small town called Soldotna, Alaska, to work for the summer. This was my first experience living away from home. My parents had arranged for me to work for and live with their good friends the Wrights, who owned the local grocery store. I hoped to earn enough money for college. I also hoped to return home with an answer to a question that repeatedly entered my mind: Is there really a God?

I needed to obtain an answer for myself. So I resolved to pray every night and ask God if He was real. Somehow I felt that if God existed, He would answer my prayer. If I never received an answer, then I would know He didn’t exist. Simple, I thought.

At the Wrights’ home, I shared a bedroom with their daughter Lisa. She was home from Brigham Young University for the summer and worked at the grocery store with me. I admired Lisa from the start. She was beautiful, intelligent, confident, and enthusiastic about life. That summer we spent nearly every hour of every day together.

I loved listening to Lisa tell me about college life. Her life sounded fun and very independent. Lisa had her life organized and balanced, with the right priorities firmly in place.

My admiration for Lisa grew as I observed her reading the scriptures daily and praying each morning and night. I wanted to ask Lisa how she had obtained her faith in God but felt ashamed of my lack of faith. I remember lying in bed, wondering what Lisa talked to God about in her prayers.

Every night I knelt by my bed and said a quick prayer, asking God if He was there. Yet I didn’t feel anything special or spiritual. I did not hear a voice. I felt the same after my prayers as I did before them. This nightly routine went on for two months. Discouraged, I found my doubts in God increasing.

One night, when I was feeling deeply homesick, tears welled in my eyes. I desperately wanted to be near my family, friends, and familiar surroundings. Aching to talk to someone who knew and loved me, I knelt in prayer. “God, I really need You right now,” I began. For the next several minutes, I released my true feelings to my Father in Heaven. I told Him everything. I talked with Him as though I believed He was there.

A warmth wrapped around me. I began to feel as though Heavenly Father had come down and taken me in His arms. I was no longer alone. Love and peace embraced me. I knew there was a God.

I wondered why receiving an answer to my prayer took more than two months. Jeremiah 29:13 gave me the answer: “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

I finally received an answer to my prayer after I dug deep into my heart. I placed faith in God’s existence. I searched high into the heavens with my words and tears.

My life has changed because of that one night. I served a mission and married in the temple. My faith in God’s existence continues to increase.

I often think back to that summer in Alaska. Without Lisa’s example, I might not have persevered through those months of praying. I might have quit and never discovered the love of my Heavenly Father. I will forever be grateful to Lisa and her example. She helped me come to know God and feel His love for me.

[Justice]

You might try the Hymnbook, also. There are some powerful songs. If you sing them throughout the day you will burn within. They teach us simple truths as well.

1. Thy Spirit, Lord, has stirred our souls,

And by its inward shining glow

We see anew our sacred goals

And feel thy nearness here below.

No burning bush near Sinai

Could show thy presence, Lord, more nigh.

2. “Did not our hearts within us burn?”

We know the Spirit’s fire is here.

It makes our souls for service yearn;

It makes the path of duty clear.

Lord, may it prompt us, day by day,

In all we do, in all we say.

Gatsby, there is no possible way other than "God lives." If you give it deep and meaningful meditation it becomes clear.

The witness first came to me that God lives. Later, the witness came that He said Jesus Christ is His Only Begotten Son. Then as you study and practice Christ's teachings, it becomes clear that He lives also.

These truths are made clear by the way we feel when we do what He asks: when we attend Church, when we give service to someone in need, when we read our scriptures, when we pray, etc. Don't overlook those peaceful, calming feelings of the Holy Ghost. The world does not have the power to offer that kind of peace.

Edited July 30, 2009 by Justice

[Gatsby]

You might try the Hymnbook, also. There are some powerful songs. If you sing them throughout the day you will burn within. They teach us simple truths as well.

1. Thy Spirit, Lord, has stirred our souls,

And by its inward shining glow

We see anew our sacred goals

And feel thy nearness here below.

No burning bush near Sinai

Could show thy presence, Lord, more nigh.

2. “Did not our hearts within us burn?”

We know the Spirit’s fire is here.

It makes our souls for service yearn;

It makes the path of duty clear.

Lord, may it prompt us, day by day,

In all we do, in all we say.

Gatsby, there is no possible way other than "God lives." If you give it deep and meaningful meditation it becomes clear.

The witness first came to me that God lives. Later, the witness came that He said Jesus Christ is His Only Begotten Son. Then as you study and practice Christ's teachings, it becomes clear that He lives also.

These truths are made clear by the way we feel when we do what He asks: when we attend Church, when we give service to someone in need, when we read our scriptures, when we pray, etc. Don't overlook those peaceful, calming feelings of the Holy Ghost. The world does not have the power to offer that kind of peace.

Thank you!

[Gatsby]

LDS.org - Ensign Article - The Gospel and the Scientific View: How Earth Came to Be

Our discussions will begin with a definition of science. Many of us think of it as a list of subjects like chemistry, geology, physics, and so forth. To most scientists, however, science is primarily a method for seeking the truth, not the subjects studied by that method.

Most of us have learned the three-step method: (1) imagine models of how something might be; (2) predict what you could observe if the models were true; and (3) check what actually occurs either through experiments or other methods. When the predictions of the model match the experimental evidence, then we have a law or theory that is successful and is considered “true”—not true in an absolute sense, but as an explanation that will work until other observations emerge that are inconsistent with the model, or until a new theory comes along which better explains the same phenomenon.

[Elgama]

I would suggest keeping a prayer journal - note down the prayers you say and read back every so often. Often I find prayers I have uttered and forgotten have been answered and I haven;t noticed only when I read back do I see God in my life

[ViolinGirl]

When I was a teenager, I asked a friend of mine (who was making plans to be a minister) how he knew for sure God existed. We were on the boardwalk at the time and he said to me:

"Look around. Look at the ocean, at the waves--how the tides come and go, at the birds, at the sand, at the sky...and tell me God DOESN'T exist. Do you think all those beautiful things just 'appeared' out of nowhere? No. Someone made them."

I've never forgotten his answer and I hope it gives you something to meditate on.

[Gatsby]

I would suggest keeping a prayer journal - note down the prayers you say and read back every so often. Often I find prayers I have uttered and forgotten have been answered and I haven;t noticed only when I read back do I see God in my life

That sounds like a great idea, never thought of that before, thanks.

[James_Fryman]

For me personally all I have to do is look back at my life and I see gods hand in it. My mom went through two divorces yet Im not emotionally effected by them. While I was being born they lost my pulse twice I think and the umbilical cord was in 8 knots and wraped around my neck leaving a small deformaty on my right ear, my mom also lost her life in that but were still here. Ive been called the grace child because I usually come out of bad situations unharmed. Ive been lost twice and prayor has gotten me out of both of those occasions, my knee slammed through a glass door once yet I didnt have a scratch on me, Ive hit my head on a metal pole and all I got from that was 5 stitches (and as a joke me and my friends say I dented the pole as well) there are some other stuff that I dont remember but I pretty much a walking mirical, one that keeps geting into bad situations but a mirical none the less, theres know way that I shouldnt be as fit and emotionally healthy as I am now without God helping me one way or another.

[havejoy]

Gatsby, I was the opposite of you. I was raised as an athiest, maybe an agnostic on some days. When I was in college studying the light and dark reactions of photosynthesis I came to a point where I thought something that complicated in a stupid leaf just might not have been a random consequence of nature. A leaf. That's what started my search.

[bmy-]

I for one hope God exists. If he exists I think he appreciates the world around us just as we do.. and it would not shock me to learn that he also wonders who created such a beautiful universe.

Edited August 1, 2009 by bmy-
clarification for pam

[Snow]

Why not?

Why? Seriously?

Of the over 1,000,000,000 people that have ever lived, how many have had an experience like Joseph Smith?

The chances that Bigfoot will win the Bermuda Triangle Power Lotto are better than that.

[pam]

I for one hope God exists. I think he appreciates the world around us just as we do.. and it would not shock me to learn that he also wonders who created such a beautiful universe.

Why would he wonder who created it? Did He not create it?

Isn't your statement a bit contradictory? You hope God exists and then you say you think he appreciates...How can you say think someone appreciates something if you aren't even sure they exist?

Edited July 31, 2009 by pam

[prospectmom]

For me I know God exists... not by being taught , scriptures, church it is a knowing beyond words, I have felt this way for as long as I can remember and because of that feeling I have no doubts about it. I can not prove it nor do I feel the need to it is good enough for me to know........ Everything I learn, read and am taught only support my knowing.....

[Misshalfway]

D&C 93:1

" Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass the every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am."

Go ahead and seek this Jesus and hope. There is much truth to place your hope in. But you will learn that there is a process to things.

[lost87]

I don't know that He does exist. I choose to believe that He does exist because it makes me happy. There is no joy in living if their is no hope of life after death..and that's only possible if God is there.

[Misshalfway]

Well said, 87. This one isn't a question that can be answered with scientific proof. This is one that I answer in my heart or in the core of my spirit. I just have a knowing inside of me. I think it has been there since I was born. I don't remember a time when I didn't know there was a God and that He was my father and that I was his literal child. Reading it in scripture is like a no brainer.