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Home » The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints » Current Church Doctrine » Knowledge enough to sin (When do we know enough to be accountable to knowledge?)
Re: Knowledge enough to sin [message #335 is a reply to message #329] Fri, 06 May 2011 13:13 Go to previous messageGo to previous message
Seeker is currently offline  Seeker
Messages: 244
Registered: June 2010
Location: Las Vegas
Senior Member
This is a very interesting question, especially when you use the reference you gave in Alma as a starting point.

I have heard that when missionaries teach, investigators become accountable. This seems to mean that knowledge is gained by hearing the testimony of others.

I have also heard it said that if you have a testimony of the prophet or the church and you hear the prophet say it then you know God said it and it is right/wrong. Again this implies that knowledge is gained by hearing the testimony of others.

But here you show the prophet Alma telling the people that just because he said it doesn't make it true or mean they have knowledge. He even said,
Quote:
"Now, as I said concerning faith--that it was not a perfect knowledge--even so it is with my words. Ye cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than faith is a perfect knowledge.

But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words." Amla 32:26-27


He is telling us that even though he is a prophet speaking to us, we cannot know the surety of his words at first, unto perfection. Then he asks them to experiment on his words to see if they are right or not. Then he tells them how to conduct the experiment and says that if the words are good the we will say, "it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me." Alma 32:28

But it still isn't knowledge as Alma tells us:

Quote:
"Now behold, would not this increase your faith? I say unto you, Yea; nevertheless it hath not grown up to a perfect knowledge. " Alma 32:29


Then he says it continues to grow until it sprouts and produces its fruit after its own likeness. (Like all fruit does.) When it produces its fruit you finally know what kind of seed it was that you planted.

Quote:
"And now, behold, are ye sure that this is a good seed? I say unto you, Yea; for every seed bringeth forth unto its own likeness.

Therefore, if a seed groweth it is good, but if it groweth not, behold it is not good, therefore it is cast away." Alma 32:31-32


Some seeds are obvious like corn, but some seeds are like the wheat and the tares which can't be easily distinguished until they have matured. But you have to plant it and care for it until it produces the results to really know whether it is good or bad.

So, if someone says something to you, (gives you a seed), you don't really have knowledge until you plant the seed and it sprouts and you see what it is for yourself.


~ Seeker
 
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