7 Things we don’t comprehend
Image by NASA
“Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom, and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.”
Mosiah 4:9
As King Benjamin (an Native American king) gave his farewell address to his people, he said that “man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend.” Here King Benjamin stressed the importance of believing in God and trusting Him.
While people may create theories about what they think is true, God knows what’s true. Those who trust in God, will benefit from partnering with the most intelligent being in the Universe.
Recently there’s been a trend of secularization- many Americans are trusting in the theories of man, more than in the teachings of God. With this trust in the theories of men, some people are attempting to justify their unrighteous behavior. Because of their sins, many find themselves depressed, angry and unhappy. Those who learn to trust in God experience peace and happiness.
While ultimately one must learn to follow God in complete faith, there are many intellectual reasons to trust in God. One of those reasons is simply that there’s so much that we do not comprehend.
7 Things we don’t comprehend
1) Black holes
- What we know: A black hole sucks up light and mass.
- What we don’t know: The composition of a black hole, what happens inside a black hole, how black holes form.
- What some people think we know: Black holes form when a star (more than five times the size of the sun) runs out of energy, resulting in a supernova explosion where the core of the star collapses into an infinitely dense mass.
2) Dinosaurs
- What we know: There are dinosaur fossils from different time periods.
- What we don’t know: How old the fossils are (carbon-dating is variant), how dinosaurs became extinct.
- What some people think we know: Dinosaurs first existed 230 million years ago. dinosaurs were killed 65 million years ago- by an asteroid and/or volcanic eruptions that blocked the sun with dust and killed plants, and subsequently dinosaurs.
3) Bird navigation
- What we know: Birds have an amazing ability to migrate 1,000s of miles without getting lost.
- What we don’t know: How birds can navigate long distances over the ocean.
- What some people think we know: Birds navigate using their sight, smell and iron-rich beaks to sense the magnetic field of the earth. They may also navigate based on the light-chemical reactions their eyes have with the magnetic field of the Earth.
4) Placebo effect
- What we know: People react differently when they think they are being treated. The effects are greater for subjective symptoms such as pain, and less for objective symptoms such as blood pressure.
- What we don’t know: How exactly the placebo effect happens.
- What some people think we know: Placebo treatments alter a patient’s hormones and brain chemicals (opioids). The placebo effect is caused because of activation of several parts of the brain, including the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, spinal cord and brain stem.
5) Spiritual promptings
- What we know: We can receive revelation from God that tells us truth our physical senses cannot.
- What we don’t know: How exactly the Spirit interacts with our body to reveal truth to us.
- What some people think we know: That the spirit doesn’t exist, or that the promptings we receive are only biological instincts we are born with.
6) The brain
7) Electron behavior
- What we know: Electrons fired through two slits behave like particles when observed, and wave-particles when not observed.
- What we don’t know: Why electrons seem to behave differently when they are observed/measured.
- What some people think we know: Electrons are both waves and particles. Quantum physics can account for the electrons behavior.
“Sixty years ago I knew everything; now I know nothing; education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.”
- Will Durant
Personal Notes: The more I study, the more I realize just how little we understand. Often formal education teaches us to rely on the theories of men. I think it’s important to realize scientific theories are just theories. They are only constructs through which to make sense of our observations. If at any time a teaching of God conflicts with a theory of man, we can rest assured that it’s the latter that’s mistaken.
I really like this article. I think that the more we know, the more we realize how much we still do not know. This kind of humility shows true intelligence.
I especially like the last sentence that says when scientific theories conflict with teachings on God, we can know that God is always in right. I believe that God wants us to search and explore the world that he has given to us to discover things for ourselves, but we can’t neglect talking to the Master Creator himself.
I agree- God is always right- the more we learn, the more we discover how little we know. Though I’ve went to college for several years, studying for several hours/day, I still don’t know much, and much of what I know are only theories of men to help make sense of our experiences. I realize that just as scientific theories have been proved wrong in the past- in the future many current scientific theories will be proven wrong or changed.