Tuesday, October 21, 2008

WONDERFUL WONDERS by Adam Yankee

There are wonders all around us. In fact every time you look in a mirror, you’re seeing something outright astounding. We take far too many things for granted in our lives that when we have those moments to stop and actually look around us and really think about what we are seeing, it can overwhelm us. God has provided us with all of these wonders so that we can know of his divinity and love for us.

Every time I look into the night sky I am completely in awe. I mean to think that we are all living on a rock floating in space is just amazing, and that there are countless other objects and phenomenon’s going on out there that to us look like bits of light. Many wonders have happened and will happen that take place in the heavens. Helaman 16:6 “And behold this is not all, there shall be many signs and wonders in heaven.”1 The Star that signaled the birth of our Savior is a perfect example of a sign and wonder that was given to inspire God’s children and to confirm that this newborn child was the son of God. God also uses wonders in the heavens to warn and counsel us. In fact the second coming is filled with many events that are very amazing. In Joel 2:30 is states “And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.”2 I think that when the moon turns red and fire falls from the heavens, that is going to be a wonder to behold albeit a bit disturbing.

Many people seem to think that science and God can’t mix. I’m not sure why that is because in my eyes God is science, in other words he is the smartest scientist that there ever will be. To support my claim, Dallin H. Oaks once said “But these wonders are explainable by physical laws understood by some mortals. All of these are fulfillments of the Lord’s modern promise to “show miracles, signs, and wonders, unto all those who believe on my name.”3 To go back to a couple examples from before, many people have already seen a red moon before. I live in a small town in southern Oregon, maybe five years ago there were some really bad fires sweeping across a lot of the forest, and I mean LOTS of fires!!! Well the smoke from those fires filled the air and caused the moon to appear very distinctly red. Another instance when it turns red is when there is a lunar eclipse and just enough sunlight can come around the earth and the moon reflects the reddish glow. These are completely understandable scientific explanations, and yet why is it that if the scriptures say that God will have these wonders in heaven happen to be a sign for something, it means it has to be a work of magic or something we mortals can’t comprehend. Henceforth this must mean he doesn’t exist. God has infinite knowledge in the subject, we should get past the idea that if we can’t understand something yet then it must not be true and instead work with a more determined zeal to learn more and try to understand.

We ourselves are wonders, how can we not be, God created us in his image. Gordon B. Hinckley once asked “Have you ever contemplated the wonders of yourself, the eyes with which you see, the ears with which you hear, the voice with which you speak?”4 I mean really, think about everything that we are, how could we just be accidents, and how can we just end when we die. If you’ve ever had the opportunity to learn about the human brain, then you know that we can’t possibly begin to understand how it makes us…..well us. Sure we can understand what functions certain areas of the brain control, and how things we do and learn effect what parts, but ultimately we just don’t know scientifically what makes a person an individual. We are a wonder.

To sum everything up, there are wonders all around us, in the heavens, on the Earth, in the cities, from the most unlikely of places. We live in an age now where there are wonders more abundant then ever. Even in the eyes of a prophet like Gordon B. Hinckley, “I think of the wonders of the age in which we live, this greatest of all ages in the history of mankind,”5 is proof enough to testify of what a miraculous time we live in and the wonders we can behold.

[1] Book of Mormon. Helaman 16:6
[2] Bible, Old Testament. Joel 2:30
[3] “Miracles” Dallin H. Oaks, Ensign June 2001
[4] “A Conversation with Single Adults” Gordon B. Hinckley, Liahona November 1997
[5] “I Believe” Gordon B. Hinckley, New Era September 1996

9 comments:

Amanda S. said...

I like your topic, Adam! Great choice. And I like how you talk about how we ourselves are wonders. Perhaps the easiest one to forget.

Lindsay Kendrick said...

This was so touching in a surprising way! I love how you point out "little" wonders that we tend to forget about, even though they're not little in significance. Wonderful job

Unknown said...

nice work, I like how you find miracles and wonders in the everyday. Great topic and you expressed it well.

Mr. Sam said...

I've always believed in science and the gospel meshing. Thank you for your post.

Sarah Stephenson said...

We are wonderful creations - and we don't really stop to look at ourselves and process how incredibly amazing we really are. God is an amazing creator that is for sure. I really enjoyed your personal experiences with wonders and signs. Make sure to check your punctuation and have a few long sentences in there that could be divided up between thoughts. Overall - WONDERful!
Thanks...

Malallory said...

I'm a big fan of science and especially eclipses myself! I really enjoyed your blog; I love seeing the miracles all around us. Good job!!!

Ashlee Johnson said...

Great blog Adam! I loved the paragraph about God and science, that was very touching and inspiring.

KK said...

Great job, Adam! I agree wonders are all around for us to enjoy and all we have to do is look and ponder the wonders God has given to us. I also love looking at the sky; we should go star gazing sometime! haha
Thanks for your insights and testimony

Amy Mann said...

Adam, I really liked how you expressed you felt like God was the smartest scientist. Also, how we, His creations, "are wonder". It helped me to appreciate life more. Thank you.