Sunday, November 1, 2009

To Be Tested or Proven
by Joseph Warren Grammer

It’s a common belief in the LDS Church, and in some other faiths, that we are sent to this earth to work out our salvation and be tested. We must work out our salvation. Nevertheless, I have come to believe that we didn’t come here to be tested. We were already tested before we came to this earth. We are here only to be proven.

I realize that the concept of being proven, instead of tested, flies in the face of the conventional beliefs of a lot of people. However, it’s based upon a personal experience which I alone received.

Can or Will—Could or Would
The word “test” means to see if one CAN perform, like, “show me you can.” The word “prove,” on the other hand, means to see if one WILL perform, like, “show me you will; I already know you can.”

God knows we CAN perform—that was demonstrated in the pre-earth life—but we need to know if we WILL perform. It’s a matter of decision through agency, not a matter of capability. We all can do what God asks us to do, as Nephi points out (1 Ne. 3:7), but WILL we do what He asks us to do?

We passed the test in our first estate and showed we were capable, much like graduating from college. As graduates, we need to see if we WILL exercise and use the talents and knowledge afforded. The sheer act of graduating shows we CAN. Now, we have to prove to ourselves, and to God, that we WILL be faithful to that with which we have been endowed.

I believe a good example can be found with father Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac. With this great patriarch, it was not a test of COULD he do it, but rather, WOULD he do it. Abraham was not tested, he was proven, and of course, proven faithful.

To Be Proven Was from the Beginning
In that great council in Heaven, before we came to earth, Abraham was found among the faithful who were to be rulers. As we read the account, we find that the Lord said to him, “Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.” (Abr. 3:23.) Abraham was not told that he would be tested, he was only told that he was among the faithful and was chosen before he was born. This sounds like Abraham was already tested before he was found worthy to be chosen. We read in verses 24-25 that there was one like unto God who said, “And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.” It does not say that we were to be tested; it says we were to be proven.

In 1833 the Prophet Joseph Smith received a revelation from the Lord in relation to the sufferings of the saints in Missouri, in which the Lord said, “Therefore, be not afraid of your enemies, for I have decreed in my heart, saith the Lord, that I will prove you in all things, whether you will abide in my covenant, even unto death, that you may be found worthy.” (D&C 98:14.)

Here we are told that the saints were to be proven. This is not unlike the suffering that early Israel went through in the wilderness when they murmured for the want of bread. At that time Jehovah proclaimed, “... Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.” (Ex. 16:4.)

From the foregoing we read that we are to be proven to see if we will do all things God shall command, whether we will walk in His law or not, and to see if we will be found worthy. Brigham Young once stated: “... God never bestows upon His people, or upon an individual, superior blessings without a severe trial to prove them, to prove that individual, or that people, to see whether they will keep their covenants with Him and keep in remembrance what He has shown them.” (JD, 3:205.)

Elder Neal A. Maxwell spoke on this subject in an article found in The Ensign entitled, “A More Determined Discipleship.” In this article he wrote: “The truth about foreordination also helps us to taste of the deep wisdom of Alma, when he said we ought to be content with things that God hath allotted to each of us (see Al. 29:3-4). If, indeed, the things allotted to each of us have been divinely customized according to our ability and capacity, then for us to seek to wrench ourselves free of our schooling circumstances could be to tear ourselves away from carefully matched opportunities. To rant and to rail could be to go against divine wisdom, wisdom in which we may once have concurred before we came here. God knew beforehand each of our coefficients for coping and contributing.” (The Ensign, February 1979, p.73.)

There are many other references that could be cited, but that’s a prerogative for the interested to exercise. All we have to do is look in the Topical Guide, found in the back of the LDS edition of the Holy Bible, and we can find many references to the word “prove.”

The Difference Between Prove and Test
As we consider the subject, we could ask a very exacting question: Is this a gospel principle or a Church teaching? One might also ask: If it’s true that we are here to be proven, then why does there seem to be a gospel principle centered around the concept that we have to come to the earth to be tested? And how did the concept of being tested come about? That last question may be a difficult one to answer, if it’s important for it to be answered at all.

Webster’s 1806 dictionary, the one in common use during the early days of the Church, states that “prove” means “to try, experience, to make certain by evidence, put to the test.” A 1996 Random House Webster’s College Dictionary says that prove means “1. To establish the truth, genuineness, or validity of,... 2. to give demonstration of; cause to be shown as specified: Events have proved me right. 3. to subject to a test, experiment, or analysis to determine quality, characteristics, etc.... 4. to show [oneself] to have the character or ability expected, esp. through one’s actions.”

As can be seen, there is not much difference between the 1806 dictionary and definition number 3 of the 1996 dictionary. However, number one, two, and four of the 1996 dictionary have a little broader meaning that could allude to the principle we are discussing. They could be correlated with part of the 1806 dictionary that states the definition as, “experience, to make certain by evidence.” Abraham, for example, certainly did establish genuineness, demonstrated the events that proved him right before God, and showed himself to have the “character or ability expected ... through [his] actions.” He did “make certain by evidence,” though personally, I believe it was no test.

It’s interesting that, in the Topical Guide to the LDS scriptures, under the heading of “Test,” there is found NO such word as test. Instead of the word test, under that heading are found such words as, prove, tried, tribulation or trial, but not “test.” If one goes to a computerized scriptural library of the LDS standard works, they will also find NO reference to the word “test” in any of the four standard works.

Though the usage of the term, “to be tested,” goes back to the early days of the Church, it may have been first used only in a semantical way. Some may feel that’s all we are talking about here—semantics. Nevertheless, I submit that there is a far more important concept than commonly meets the eye. And as discussed earlier, the concept could have eternal consequences.

Changing the Emphasis
We can also look at the word test in another way. A test often has a negative connotation, implying a challenge which can often set one up for failure. Not knowing if one can measure up or not can sometimes allow doubts to enter the mind, resulting in negative consequences.

To prove something, on the other hand, implies an existing condition that only needs verification. The existing condition here is the knowledge that one CAN, not that one must, do something. The knowledge of existence can be positive, allowing positive expectation, and resulting in positive conclusions.

The Savior said, “... he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” (Matt. 10:39.) The only way to truly find ourselves is to totally lose our lives in Jesus. The abandonment of ourselves to Jesus Christ brings the Spirit of God, which is a well of living water that springs up new and fresh. We lose our lives for His sake by optimistically proving ourselves in His cause, not by struggling with unpredictable tests.

The concept of being proven, instead of tested, could put a new perspective on the Lord’s statement, as found in Matthew 5:48. There He said, “Be ye therefore perfect ...” Many say that we are not perfect, or that we cannot become perfect, at least in this life. He did not say I will test you to see if you CAN become perfect, He simply said, BE perfect. He knows we CAN. The question is, WILL WE? The possibility is that we can become perfect because we have been commanded to become such. But perfect in what? He did not command us in Matthew 5:48 to be perfect in all things, but only in loving our neighbours and enemies. With a careful reading of that scripture, we can see that is what He was speaking about at the time.

If we feel that this commandment is not possible, and that it’s a test, then we can blame God for not endowing us with the necessary attributes if we fail the test. However, this is not a test of skill. It’s a challenge of obedience; for we have already been endowed with all the attributes to become perfect. The question is, Will we use them? Are we willing to submit? Are we willing to humble ourselves? “Blessed are the meek,” we are taught (Matt. 5:5; 3 Ne. 12:5). The humble and submissive are simply asked to DO, not take tests to see IF they can do.

To obey or not to obey, that is the question, as Shakespeare might have put it. When life is a test, we can always make various excuses for not complying. We have no excuse, though, because we all have the capability. There is only the will of man.

To say, “Oh, I’m not perfect,” is acceptable to human pride and laziness, but it’s an unconscious criticism and blasphemy before God. It literally means that you defy God to make you perfect. The, I am much too weak and hopeless attitude is also a blatant display of false humility to satisfy the puny belief systems of man. It’s easy for man to accept that idea. But God doesn’t buy it. He knows our capabilities, or He would not command and expect our obedience in the first place. Why are we not perfect, and where is the fulness? It’s either that we do not want it, or that we do not believe God can make it happen; it’s not that we don’t have the attributes. Again the question is: Are we willing to submit at all cost? (Matt. 19:16-22.) Elder Maxwell had more to add to this subject when he said,

“When, in situations of stress, we wonder if there is any more in us to give, we can be comforted to know that God, who knows our capacities perfectly, placed us here to succeed. No one was foreordained to fail or to be wicked.
“When we have been weighed and found wanting, let us remember that we were measured before and were found equal to our tasks; and therefore, let us continue but with a more determined discipleship.
“When we feel overwhelmed, let us recall the assurance that God will not over program us; he will not press upon us more than we can bear (see D&C 50:40).
“The doctrine of foreordination is, therefore, not a doctrine of repose; it is a doctrine for the second-milers; it can draw out of us the last full measure of devotion.
“It is a doctrine of perspiration — not aspiration. Moreover, it discourages aspiring, lest we covet ... It is a doctrine for the deep believer and will only bring scorn from the skeptic.” (The Ensign, February 1979, p.73.)

The faithful disciple of Christ has no self-interest, self-sufficiency or pride; they have been completely erased from him. He knows that it’s the Lord who provides all that is necessary to be as God requires him to be. The trusting disciple realizes that it is God who engineers circumstances. Consequently, there is no test. He only PROVES that he is worthy of God’s eternal blessings.

Trust In Christ
One must remember that it’s not so much what we believe as it is how we perform in relation to that belief. In the Church, which is made up of and run by fallible mortals, there have always been differences of opinion, even among the Quorum of the Twelve. A quick glance at Church history points to this fact.

To God, differences have never been issues. However, how we respond to those differences does concern Him. When one is anchored in Christ and willing to give Him all through consecration, as with a true disciple of Christ, then that disciple is not so hampered by differences of opinion. He throws his whole trust upon the Lord, knowing that through His grace all things will eventually be manifested and made perfect in and through Jesus Christ.

Thus, it is up to us to decide what we personally choose to accept and believe, and how we choose to perform before the Lord. We must be careful, though, that we do not become as the Pharisees, holding to each little letter of the law, teaching, and tradition which make the body dead in Christ. Jesus is to be our rock and foundation. From Him comes all inspiration, and in Him abides all light and truth. He deserves all of our devotion as we, even recklessly, lose our lives in Him and abandon the earthly because of our love for Him.

Life is not a test. We have been endowed with all of the necessary attributes to return to the Father and receive of His fulness. The question is: Will we sincerely covenant in the waters of baptism with the purpose of using those attributes?