God Moving in His Majesty and Power

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Galen of Pergamon (AD c. 129–c. 200/c. 216):

“There are human organs, the knowledge of which is of greater interest for the philosopher than for the physician. The reason for that is twofold: it is either for the knowledge itself, or to show that the creative power of nature has made every part of the body perfect.”¹

Moses Maimonides (c. 1135-1204):

“If you consider the divine actions – I mean to say the natural actions – the deity's wily graciousness and wisdom, as shown in the creation of living beings, in the gradation of the motions of the limbs, and the proximity of some of the latter to others, will through them [i.e., through the above-mentioned actions] become clear to you.”²

Elder Russell M. Nelson:

“Anyone who studies the workings of the human body has surely 'seen God moving in his majesty and power.'^*”³

This quote by Elder Russell M. Nelson, an apostle, teaches us that “the workings of the human body” testify of God, the creator of all mankind and of everything around us.

In the Book of Mormon it reads: “[A]ll things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.” (Alma II.⁴, in: BM, Alma 30:44.⁵)

Whenever I contemplate the nature, and whenever I look up to the stars, I am amazed by its order and am overwhelmed by the spirit of god, testifying to me that there is a Creator of all of that and that he is mindful of us. Truly, “[t]he heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.” (Psalm 19:1.⁶)

Back at the time when I was still going to High School, there was a day when I felt the spirit quite strongly. My last class on that day was the biology class. While looking up to the sunny sky, that had even the moon visible, and on my way home I was thinking on what I had learned in that biology class. It hit me in this moment. I felt the spirit quite strongly and I instantly knew that there is a God who created everything on the surface of the earth and also everything in the sky. The tree next to me, the barking dog in the distance, all the other animals, all the plants, all the people around me, all the friends and family in my life, the air, the blue ocean, the sky, the sun, the moon, the stars and everything else beneath and in the vastness of the sky – everything was created by a God, who loves all his works. We are all creatures of God. There was no doubt in that moment, just understanding, light and that certainty which comes in these moments of revelation.

God said to Adam: “And behold, all things have their likeness, and all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me.” (PGP, Mose 6:63.⁷) And that is what I witnessed in that special moment.

I understood, that “all these are kingdoms, and any man who hath seen any or the least of these hath seen God moving in his majesty and power.” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:47.) God can be found in the macrocosm and in the microcosm.

I think, that is what Job meant when he said: “⁷But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee: ⁸Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. ⁹Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this? ¹⁰In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.” (Job 12:7-10.)

I simply want to add my humble testimony, that God is the Creator of us all and of everything around us. We only have to go to the creature and listen. Then we will know for sure, that “the hand of the Lord hath wrought this” (Job 12:9) all, and that he is the sustainer of all the creation (Job 12:10).

(Video: Mormon Message: God's Greatest Creation.⁸)

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1Galen: De Anatomicis Administrationibus 2, 2, II 286 f. K. Cited in: Gross, Karl: Galens teleologische Betrachtung der menschlichen Hand in de usu partium. In: Sudhoffs Archiv, Bd. 58, H. 1 (1974), p. 13-24, p. 13. Translation of the German cited text by Rocky.

2Moses Maimonides: The Guide of the Perplexed (Vol. II), translated with notes by Schlomo Pines, Chicago/London 1963, Book III, 32, p. 525.

 

*Doctrine and Covenants 88:47 “Behold, all these are kingdoms, and any man who hath seen any or the least of these hath seen God moving in his majesty and power.”

(The Doctrine and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Containing Revelations Given to Joseph Smith, the Prophet with Some Additions by His Successors in the Presidency of the Church, 2^nd ed., 2013 Salt Lake City: IRI. https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament?lang=eng, 2013-11-08.)

3Elder Russell B. Nelson: Thanks Be to God. In: General Conference of the Church if Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, April 2012. http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/thanks-be-to-god, 2013-11-08, 10:00.

4Alma, who was the son of Alma, the first and chief judge over the people of Nephi, and also the high priest over the Church.

5The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Ed.): The Book of Mormon. An Account Written by the Hand of Mormon upon Plates. Taken from the Plates of Nephi, Translated by Joseph Smith, Jun., 2^nd ed., 2013 Salt Lake City: IRI. https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm?lang=eng, 2013-11-08.

6The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Ed.): The Holy Bible. Containing the Old and New Testaments. Translated out of the Original Tongues: and with the Former Translations Diligently Compared and Revised, by His Majesty’s Special Command. Authorized King James Version With Explanatory Notes and Cross References to the Standard Works of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2^nd ed., 2013 Salt Lake City: IRI. https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bible?lang=eng, 2013-11-08. All other bible verses were taken from the same source on the same day.

7The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Ed.): The Pearl of Great Price. A Selection from the Revelations, Translations, and Narrations of Joseph Smith, first Prophet, Seer, and Revelator to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2^nd ed., 2013 Salt Lake City: IRI. https://www.lds.org/scriptures/pgp?lang=eng, 2013-11-08.

8Video: Mormon Message: God's Greatest Creation. Veröffentlicht 2013. http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/mormon-messages/mormon-messages-2013?lang=eng, 2013-11-09.