How We Know Truth
Epistemology & Testimony
Spiritual witness, reason, evidence, testimony, and the limits of certainty in religious knowledge.
Completed responses
6 claims
Open the claim as it is normally framed, use the short answer when time is tight, and move into the full case when the conversation deserves it.
Can fallible prophets still have divine authority?
A prophet is not a person who never sins, misjudges, or needs correction. The biblical record treats calling and infallibility as different things, so the right questions concern authority, revelation, correction, and fruit.
Is there evidence for God’s existence?
Belief in God is not a claim that can be settled by pointing to one laboratory result. Latter-day Saints can appeal to several lines of evidence together: why anything exists, the order of the universe, moral experience, consciousness, scripture, and personal encounter with God.
Can spiritual experiences provide reliable evidence?
Latter-day Saints weigh a spiritual witness alongside scripture, history, and what happens as they live the gospel. If only a yes counts when you pray, the test is circular. Take silence and contrary impressions seriously, and ask what each experience actually supports.
Did Paul H. Dunn tell false stories, and what does that mean for spiritual testimony?
Yes. Dunn served in World War II and briefly played minor-league baseball. He told a false account of Harold Brown dying in his arms and exaggerated other stories. He apologized in 1991 and acknowledged censure. A strong reaction to a story can be sincere while the conclusion that it proves a historical detail is mistaken.
Does spiritual value establish the Book of Mormon’s ancient origin?
Spiritual benefit alone does not prove ancient origin. The Book of Mormon makes both historical and religious claims. I believe its ancient-record claim and weigh spiritual confirmation alongside historical evidence. A claim that God confirmed its origin deserves examination as a claim of revelation; it should not be reduced to simply finding a book inspiring.
How can faith combine spiritual experience, reason, and testimony?
A spiritual impression is not the whole Latter-day Saint case, and authority is not a trump card. Confidence grows when spiritual intuition, sense experience, reason, trustworthy authority, and lived fruit converge. When they conflict, confidence should go down and the claim should be tested again.