There are so many fictional stories of power, that stories about true power are often lost in the shuffle. It seems that many fables and movies about magical power have made mankind skeptical when we hear accounts of people who have actual power. Jesus Christ performed a number of miracles in Judea – mainly designed to get residents to listen to His teachings. He demonstrated a wide range of power, converting water into wine, making fish and bread for multitudes, and then healing cripples and lepers. Then He demonstrated the ultimate power - power over death. You’d think everyone would be so desirous of the opportunity to overcome death that churches would be packed every Sunday.
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S3E8 – Finding Godly Power
By Scott R. Frazer
This is the podcast Science and Scriptures - Discerning Truth from Error, Season 3, Episode 8, or “Finding Godly Power.”
Hello everyone. This is Scott Frazer of the podcast Science and Scriptures. On Nov. 1, 1938, more than 40,000 people packed into the Pimlico Racecourse in Baltimore to watch a race between only two horses. Millions more fans, many of whom had never been to a racetrack in their lives, listened to the race on the radio. Seabiscuit, a bit of a misfit thoroughbred that was on a winning streak, was to run against War Admiral, a Triple Crown winner and the blue-blood son of the g reat racehorse Man o' War.
The race was off and Seabiscuit took the early lead. According to report, Seabiscuit’s jockey purposefully slowed his mount as they came out of the backstretch. It was important that Seabiscuit see his competition challenge him for the lead. The two horses were neck-and-neck through the final turn. They had both run their hearts out to get to this point of the race.If you were to pause a recording of the race, there would be no telling which horse would win.
If you’ve seen the movie Seabiscuit, you know that the misfit horse Seabiscuit was not the odds-on favorite – but he won the race anyway. The reason is undefinable. Seabiscuit had the power, (in this case, in the form of sheer speed) to win the race by three lengths, setting a racetrack record in the process. Odds-makers, who were supposed to have sorted through the win records, physical build, conditioning, and mental toughness of the two horses were shocked. Even Seabiscuit’s jockey was surprised.
Every horse race, every Olympic competition, most business deals, and many relationships come down to Power. Yet, we understand so little about this concept that we often don’t recognize who has it. Seabiscuit had greater power – or greater speed – than Man O’War, but the two had to race for figure that out. Sometimes power is good; other times it’s bad. For example, the Power Money is often bad, but the Power of Faith is good.
Like the horse race, it’s often difficult to know where true power lies. I found a short video of the following exchange between a teacher and a student that originated from the popular series Yellowstone. A male college student has just been extremely rude to his teacher, a pretty young lady. She asks him,
“Can you tell me the definition of Power?”
The college student doesn’t reply, so the teacher continues.
“It’s the ability to direct or influence another’s behavior or course of events. That’s what I have. I can remove you from this class and fail you or I can send you before the dean for violating student code of conduct. These are all things that can alter the course of your life. That’s power – and you don’t have any.”
Again, this student thought he had the power to be disrespectful to a teacher. He didn’t - and the teacher, like any good teacher, corrected him. Power is sometimes difficult to follow because it shifts. For example, a radical shift of power occurs over the first 18 years of everyone’s lives. The Terrible Twos are so named because toddlers want power to make their own decisions. Yet, good parents don’t allow this – because 2-year-olds make terrible decisions. They will barrel over the edge of a staircase without a thought.Yet, as children grow, they learn, and they continue to want more power over their lives. The battle gets especially trying when children become teenagers. Teenagers run away from home because they want power over their own lives.However, in the outside world, these youth often find that they don’t have the power to even provide themselves with basic needs like food and shelter. It’s a harsh lesson.
People will tell you that money is power – and it is. But it’s a limited power. It doesn’t help you find love or good friends. In fact, money can be a detriment to those goals.Countries vie with each other for power.When there is a disagreement over power between nations, they wage wars.
Men and women have been fascinated with power from days of old.You can see our desire for power unfold in the countless tales, fables, books, television series and movies that we have enjoyed for centuries. Heroes, by definition, have power to control their environment – something we all desire to do. Ulysses, Hercules, Robin Hood, and Aladdin are a few examples of characters of ancient days who had power. Today we have a host of superheroes (provided by Disney, Marvel, and DC Comics) such as Superman, Batman, Ironman, the Hulk, Black Panther, Wonder Woman – the list goes on and on.
This is actually my second podcast about power. In my first podcast, I recounted the plot of a Marvel movie featuring the superhero Thor. I find the concept of finding Power to be fascinating. Most would like discover some unknown power – like Superman, who got his power from being born on another planet. Or Spiderman, who got his power from a spider bite. Or the Fantastic Four, who were exposed to cosmic rays. The idea of coming upon unexpected power is the basis of many other stories. We’d all like to find a ring of power, or a Genie in a lamp, or a magic wand.
There are so many fictional stories of power, that stories about true power are often lost in the shuffle. It seems that many fables and movies about magical power have made mankind skeptical when we hear accounts of people who have actual power.
Jesus Christ performed a number of miracles in Judea – mainly designed to get residents to listen to His teachings. He demonstrated a wide range of power, converting water into wine, making fish and bread for multitudes, and then healing cripples and lepers. Then He demonstrated the ultimate power - power over death. Death is the only certainty of life that we fear. Death takes us away from our loved ones and the pleasantries of life. It puts us into a new, unknown reality. You’d think everyone would be so desirous of the opportunity to overcome death that churches would be packed every Sunday.
However, very few people seem to believe in the promise of life over death. Most people lump the promise of salvation with all the other fictional stories they’ve seen in the movies. Stories of the Roman gods and the Greek gods weren’t true. Why should the story of the Christian god be true? People today are skeptical of claims of power made by anyone.
Religions have claimed power for millennia. In Acts 19:13, we read of vagabond Jewish exorcists who thought they had the power to exorcise an evil spirit from a man. It didn’t work out well for them. In Acts 8, we read of a man named Simon who offers to buy the power to bestow the Holy Ghost from Peter. Peter rebukes Simon, but he may have been hasty in doing so. Simon appeared to be confused about the laying on of hands and its power. What was the Holy Ghost and why did it have such an effect on people? Simon may have just been inquiring about obtaining this priesthood power. Couldn’t he simply buy it?
Today, power within religion is still misunderstood. After the apostles passed away, churches collected relics of Jesus’s life and of His apostles. They believed these relics had power. Today we have faith healers and televangelists who make the same claims of having God’s power.
However, within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we also make claims to power. Power has always been associated with truth. This has been true since the time of Christ. When He was suffering on the cross, Roman soldiers mocked him, saying “If thou be the King of the Jews, save thyself.” One of the men hanging on a cross next to him said the same thing. Basically, their message was, “If you actually have power, let’s see it!”
Throughout the scriptures, church members are promised power.In D&C 50:35, we read,
“… and the kingdom is given you of the Father, and power to overcome all things which are not ordained of Him.”
In fact, we talk about power all the time, be it the power of the Priesthood, the power of Faith, or the power of Prayer.
Power and Faith
We are often taught in church that power depends on the faith of the people. In Moroni 7: 37, we read that “…it is by faith that miracles are wrought.” In Mormon 9:20 we read, “And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust.”
These two verses state that miracles are correlated with the faith and righteousness of the people. That’s true… but I don’t think it’s that simple. There’s much more to it.Here’s my reasoning.
The Children of Israel coming out of Egypt were not a faithful people. They whined and complained about their living conditions. They were such a faithless people, that the Lord made them wander in desert for forty years so the adult generation could die out. He sent fiery serpents into their midst to bite them. Yet, Moses demonstrated great power to the Egyptians to convince the Pharoah to release the Israelites. Moses parted the Red Sea for them to pass. God provided manna from heaven and water from rocks. Other miracles were wrought.
On the other hand, the early Saints of the Restoration really were a faithful people. They left their homes, not once, but several times to follow their church leaders. They left their homes in Nauvoo to head west into an unknown land of many dangers.Yet, Brigham Young did not part the Mississippi River, nor any of the other rivers the Saints had to cross. There was no manna from heaven. If miracles depend solely on the faithfulness of the people, then why did the children of Israel receive so many and the pioneers receive so few, or none at all?
The Rules of Earth Limit the Power of God
The rules of Earth limit the power of God. Therefore, blessings from God must be limited. “What?”, you may exclaim, “but God is all-powerful!”
Yes but no, He is not all-powerful - because He cannot break His own rules. It’s one of the downsides of being a righteous God. Let me explain. If God could bless all of His children who asked for a blessing, the world would be a greatly different place. Hospitals would stand empty, because no one would be sick. No one would go hungry, because everyone is rich. Everyone would be slim and attractive. Every prayer would be answered.
Yet, would Earth still be a world of faith? Well, no, of course not. If every prayer was answered, we would have daily proof that God exists. Faith would be totally unnecessary. The Earth would no longer be a proving ground, designed to try us and prove our faith and obedience. It would be a vacation world, with our every need met by a loving God who spoils His children.
Yet, if we didn’t have to learn to obey and be faithful, the whole mission for a mortal life would be undone.
“Well,” you may say, “we don’t have to go to that extreme. Maybe we could back off from our new model of a perfect earth. Some people will be allowed to get sick or die in accidents. Not every prayer will be answered. Some people will be hungry. Could faith be developed then?”
Or… maybe we could make the Earth so that only the prayers of the most righteous were answered. That seems fair, after all. The righteous and obedient should be the most blessed, shouldn’t they? The problem with that is that soon the statisticians of the Earth would notice, collect their data and and publish their findings. Headlines would read, “Prayers of Faithful Church Members are Answered!”. The subtitles would read, “Obey the 10 Commandments and Live Longer.” Or “God Lives, and we can prove it!”
Churches would be packed, everyone looking for a better and longer life. However, we still wouldn’t have a world of faith. People may attend church more – but only to gain their guaranteed blessings.
So, we must have a world of faith. Thus, God cannot bless only the righteous. Someone would notice – and we would lose the requirement of faith in our mortal lives.
In the days of Moses and even the days of Jesus Christ, miracles could be accomplished – yet they would not have changed the world much.Yes, Moses showed the Children of Israel miracles, but newspapers did not carry the report to anywhere outside of Egypt and the promised land. The Savior did miracles – but there was no video and to show those miracles to the world outside of Palestine. A few unlearned men wrote and gave their testimonies about the works of Jesus. We call this the New Testament. There are testimonies of Jesus’s miracles in the Book of Mormon as well. But it’s easy to dismiss those accounts as ancient fictional stories. They do not change the status of our world of faith.
Now let’s go forward in time to the days of Brigham Young. If President Young had publicly parted the Mississippi, photos would have made the front page of newspapers across the world.If manna from heaven had dropped in the path of the pioneers, newspapers would have shown photos of it as well.Even in the days of the pioneers, the Lord had to restrain himself from showing His power. The world absolutely MUST remain a world of faith.
Today of course if a miracle occurs, the chance of it being caught on tape and displayed to the world is quite high. Everyone has a cell phone that can record and post such a video in mere seconds. So…, I believe, all miracles must be quiet miracles and easy for others to deny. If you ever do see a flashy, awe-inspiriting miracle, you should worry. It will mean that the rules of Earth can now be broken – and the 2nd Coming must be very, very near at hand.
Let’s go back to our effort to back away from a perfect world to achieve a world of faith. We reach a point when only prayers that provide quiet, inconspicuous blessings may be answered. Most blessings will be spiritual instead of temporal. Nothing that proves God’s existence may be allowed to occur. We have backed away from a perfect world where all prayers are answered to our present world where answers to prayers must be subtle and, if you will, deniable. Godly power must be severely limited to meet the requirements of a world of Faith.
So, for now, God may not answer everyone’s prayers. He certainly must not answer only the prayers of the righteous. God must make it easy for people to live their lives with no concrete proof that God exists. They must find proof from a spiritual source, especially since we live in the days of the Holy Ghost. Which prayers must God ignore to maintain a world of faith? I don’t know. But I believe that God must ignore prayers that ask for obvious miracles. He must also ignore prayers which impinge upon the free agency of someone. So, there is more than one rule that restricts God’s use of power. Today, we have only skimmed the surface of those rules, but I hope I’ve given you something to think about.
Power is Additive
Before I close, I would like to discuss seeking Godly power, say for a sick child. It is at these times when Godly power becomes most important to us. First, you should know, Godly power seems to be additive.
In Matthew 17, the disciples are unable to cast a devil out of a child, so Jesus had to do it. He cast the evil spirit out “and the child was cured from that very hour”. The disciples pulled Jesus aside and asked, “Why could not we cast him out?” Jesus chastised them a bit for their lack of faith, but then He admitted, “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”
Please note that Jesus didn’t need to take time to pray and fast. He had enough power to cast the devil out immediately. So, He was essentially telling His apostles, “With the amount of power you hold, you would need to spend some time praying and fasting to rebuke that spirit.” From this I conclude that Godly power is additive. In this case, the Power of the priesthood of the Apostles + the Power of Prayer + the Power of Fasting = Enough Power to cast out this troublesome evil spirit.
So, if you have a sick child, you have four options to increase the power of your prayers.
Priesthood Blessings
Prayers by you, your family, your ward, and others
Fasting by you, your family, your ward, and others
Put the child’s name in the Temple Prayer Roll.
One note of caution in regards to Priesthood blessings. It would seem logical that President Russell M. Nelson would have the most priesthood power of any man on Earth. With this logic, over the years, many church members have appealed to the First Presidency for blessing of sick family members – and church leadership has repeatedly requested that members stop doing that. If Pres. Nelson had more power to heal than other worthy Melchizedek priesthood holders, I’m sure he would give blessings all day long. But it doesn’t work that way. Worthy Melchizedek priesthood holders all have the same power. Getting the prophet or your stake president to give your child a blessing instead of a father or those who minister to you will not result in a “better” blessing.
A second note of caution. Praying for hours at a time on your knees will not increase the power of your request. I know that we are often told about Enos of the Book of Mormon, who cried unto the Lord all day long. But Enos was praying for a remission of his sins – and it appears that Enos had a lot of repenting to do. Certainly, praying for hours while on your knees shows you are willing to sacrifice and endure leg pain – but that is not the type of sacrifice your Heavenly Father wants. Once you have prayed to your Heavenly Father, it doesn’t help to repeat that supplication time and again. It brings no more power to your prayer.
In conclusion, the power of priesthood blessings is not increased by getting a church leader to give it. The power of prayer is not increased by spending hours on your knees. The power of fasting is not increased by fasting longer than 24 hours. The power of your faith is not increased by tightly closing your eyes and willing it to be so. When praying for something you badly want, you can do all that you can do, but you can do no more. Nothing else will increase the power of your prayers. You must leave the rest in the hands of the Lord. God will bless you with as many blessings as He can, while still following the rules of Earth.
So, that is all I have to discuss today. Thank you for listening to my podcast. I understand the desperation parents go through to attain blessings for their families.I hope this podcast can assure people that God will do all He can for His children, but the mission of Earth life must take precedence. If you have friends who might benefit from this discussion, please share this episode with them. This is Scott Frazer from the podcast Science and Scriptures. Take care, have a good week, and may God bless.