Can We Know God?

Funny thing, the day after I blogged about how we can't even know if our thoughts are our own thoughts, I listened to a Conference talk about how we can come to know God. Part of me is still semi-existentialist about whether or not we can really know anything, and the other part of me is thinking about faith. As far as I know, God has only physically revealed Himself to a relatively small number of people, which, among other things, has led to many people doubting His existence. Of course, God could reveal Himself to everyone and make the reality of His existence obvious to everyone. But He doesn't. God usually only shows Himself in subtle ways, and usually only to those who ask Him to and who probably already believe in Him. For the most part, God requires us to have faith.

I think that part of the reason God doesn't offer the world proof of His existence is so this can be a real test for us. Will we follow the impressions of our hearts, or will we rely solely on what we can see and hear? If we knew all about God and the Plan of Salvation, and the rewards for righteousness (really knew them, not having to take them on faith), then this life wouldn't be as much of a test of character as it would be a test of patience and determination. A greedy person may act generous, if he knew there was something in it for him. If such a man knew about the rich blessings of eternity, he might be generous with his earthly goods out of a greedy desire for eternal rewards. If this life is supposed to test our character, it's important for us not to really know what all is at stake here.

Then, why would God allow some of us to come to know Him? If religious knowledge might skew the test, why take the risk of letting some of us learn of His existence? Why tell us that there's even a test at all? Wouldn't it be a better test of character to have us all do whatever we felt like doing, without the risk or hope of consequences influencing our decisions? I'm sure that God knows better than I do, and I'm sure that He did what's best for everyone, but this just doesn't make much sense to me right now.

I had intended this blog post to be about faith. I wanted to blog about whether or not faith could count as knowledge and whether it could be as sure, or even more sure, than knowledge. Unfortunately, I went off on a tangent, and now I, once again, have more questions than answers. I look forward to having God explain this all to me at some point. In the meantime, I'm going to have a lot of questions, which, come to think of it, might actually be the point.

What if God doesn't just want us to know things? What if He wants us to learn things by figuring them out? If a child asks you how some bugs are able to stand on water, and you tell them, they'll have learned a few things about surface tension, but if you tell them to figure it out themselves, and they do, they'll have learned how to learn. The same may be true of spiritual matters. Perhaps God gave us enough information to ask meaningful questions, hoping that we would learn how to ask questions and find answers. Perhaps God gives us just enough evidence of His existence for us to know that it's a possibility, but little enough evidence to leave room for some doubt, hoping that we would study and ponder and reason and learn.

Then, I have to wonder, what is the endpoint of this learning? Are we meant to discover the truth ourselves? Are we meant to stay somewhere between doubt and faith, never quite reaching certainty, just so the learning process can continue indefinitely? If so, what's the point? Is there some eternal benefit to learning how to learn?

Of course there is.

Even if we spent a lifetime learning the mysteries of the universe from God Himself, it would probably take us longer than our natural lives to grasp it all. Therefore, learning must continue in the afterlife. And if we are to learn throughout our eternal lifetimes, we must first learn how to learn. That may be the reason God is reluctant to let us learn anything for certain during this mortal life. As long as there's something we don't know, there is a reason to try to learn it, giving us a compelling reason to practice learning. Once we've gained enough experience in learning, we'll be good enough at learning for us to be able to learn everything God wants to teach us. In the meantime, there have to be things we don't know, because they give us reasons to learn how to learn.

This finally brings me back to the question in the title: Can we know God? In this life, no, I don't think so. The existence and nature of God are such important pieces of information that many people are eager to try to learn them by any way we can. Those questions create an intense desire to learn how to learn. They are too valuable as questions for God to let us just find or be given the answers. On the other hand, I think that it is possible for us to learn a few things about God, even in this life, and I am certain that God wants us to learn all about Him eventually. Those who seek Him will eventually come to know God. In the meantime, those who seek the answers to life's most important questions will first find out how to learn.