“Faith is the substance of things hoped for,” Hebrews 11:1 reads, “the evidence of things not seen.” Hmm. Faith is the evidence of things not seen. Does this mean faith is the evidence we have of things not seen? Could we say it this way? Faith is the level of confidence we feel toward a truth claim or proposed reality which we have not seen, based on the degree of evidence we have accumulated of its truthfulness and existence. Hmm. Maybe. If so, is this why the Lord’s prescription in D&C 88:118 for those who “have not faith,” is for them to seek learning? Is he suggesting that by diligently studying wisdom from the best books, we will find evidences of the unseen that will enlarge our faith? In this episode of Church History Matters, Scott and Casey explore this very idea of evidence-based faith seeking as a way to understand each of the thinking skills and mental frameworks we’ve explored throughout this series. Could it be that, for some of us, at least, the best way to strengthen our faith is to gather evidences of the unseen by combining good thinking skills with a study of great source material? Quite possibly. But, as today’s discussion will make plain, there is also a deep need to add to this approach a few crucial attributes as well.
This is the eighth episode of our 10-part podcast series on Good Thinking. For a full transcript of this episode, as well as show notes and additional resources, visit our website at doctrineandcovenantscentral.o...
You can also subscribe to our podcast via Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and other platforms, and follow us on popular social media platforms. Visit linktr.ee/churchhistorymatters to connect with us.
Originally published December 19, 2023
DISCLAIMER: While we try very hard to be historically and doctrinally accurate in what we say on this podcast, please remember that all views expressed in this and every episode are our views alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Scripture Central or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.