With the progression of artificial intelligence, I’ve been learning more about the ways in which kids are figuring out how to cheat in school.
One example I noticed just this week involved a student bragging about how he manipulated ChatGPT to produce an essay for one of his classes in a way that resulted in 0% AI detection if checked with an AI filter.
Most alarming was the complete lack of shame and complete lack of pride in personal achievement.
When it comes to our journey through mortality, which is in essence a test where each of us make decisions that show how and where we want to spend eternity, there is no such cheating possible. We will end up according to what we have become, and we will not be able to fool God.
The test of mortality is hard. Each of us will face unique circumstances that make faith and obedience challenging. And though we may not understand completely why a specific challenge is required, we know that those challenges are necessary.
Ryan Comer, Standard-Examiner
“And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;” (Abraham 3:25)
But a loving God does not leave us on our own – completely devoid of help.
Intro to President Oaks’ talk
At the April general conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency of the church, highlighted a number of “divine helps” that God has provided for us to give us the best chance possible to return to him.
“By far, God’s strongest mortal help was His provision of a Savior, Jesus Christ, who would suffer to pay the price and provide forgiveness for repented sins,” President Oaks said. “That merciful and glorious Atonement explains why faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel. His Atonement ‘bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead’ (Alma 42:23), and it ‘atone[s] for the sins of the world’ (Alma 34:8), erasing all of our repented sins and giving our Savior power to succor us in our mortal infirmities.”
Additionally, President Oaks highlighted four other divine helps:
- Light and Spirit of Christ
- Commandments, ordinances and covenants
- Manifestations of the Holy Ghost
- The Gift of the Holy Ghost
“Please don’t hold me to my number of four, because these helps are overlapping,” President Oaks said. “Moreover, there are other merciful protections in addition to these.”
Light and Spirit of Christ
Regarding the Light and Spirit of Christ, President Oaks explained:
“In his great teaching in the book of Moroni, Moroni quotes his father that ‘the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil’ (Moroni 7:16). We read this same teaching in modern revelations:
“‘And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit’ (Doctrine and Covenants 84:46).
“Again: ‘For my Spirit is sent forth into the world to enlighten the humble and contrite, and to the condemnation of the ungodly’ (Doctrine and Covenants 136:33).
“President Joseph Fielding Smith explained these scriptures: ‘The Lord has not left men (when they are born into this world) helpless, groping to find the light and truth, but every man … is born with the right to receive the guidance, the instruction, the counsel of the Spirit of Christ, or Light of Truth.’”
In a May 2001 article on the church’s website, Daniel K. Judd, noted to be an associate professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University, said “perhaps the most personal and the most important” of the Spirit of Christ’s dimensions “is expressed as our conscience.” He went on to highlight a humbling personal experience that demonstrated the Spirit of Christ in his own life.
“My wife had asked if I would rock our baby Rachel to sleep,” he said. “I knew I should, but I really wanted to watch the football game. I quickly settled on a compromise: I could take the baby into my room, watch the football game on the portable television, and rock her to sleep at the same time. A real win-win situation! I would miss the color screen, but what a small price to pay for being a good dad!
“The problem came after about two minutes of watching the game. Rachel began to fuss. The thought came to my mind that if I turned the television off, walked with her, and sang to her, she might be soothed. I knew it was the right thing to do, but did I do it? No, I spent the next 30 minutes struggling to watch the game and rock Rachel, all the while resenting the fact that I couldn’t do what I wanted to!
“One of the characteristics of those of us who go against the light and knowledge we have is that we attempt to justify our actions. These justifications come in the form of thoughts, feelings, and in some cases physical symptoms. In Proverbs we read, ‘The way of a fool is right in his own eyes’ (Prov. 12:15). In my experience with my daughter Rachel, my self-justifications were: (1) I’ve been working with difficult situations all day, so I need some time to myself; (2) My wife is much better suited to deal with babies than I am, and she should be doing this; (3) My wife doesn’t appreciate all I do, so it’s really unfair she would have me do this; and (4) I’m so tired; I need to sit down and relax.
“We often think of ‘sin’ as being something grievous like murder, adultery, or some other form of gross immorality. Although these actions are among the most serious of sins, the scriptures teach that any time we know ‘to do good, and [do] it not, … it is sin’ (James 4:17). While it is a little uncomfortable to admit, when I didn’t get up and walk with my child, I went against that which I knew was right, and that, in a word, is sin.”
I think we can all relate to that feeling Daniel had where he seemed to intuitively know what the right thing to do was. And I think we would all say, if we’re being honest, that we know what the feeling is like when we do or say something that we know we shouldn’t have.
Commandments, ordinances and covenants
Speaking of commandments, ordinances and covenants, President Oaks said:
“Commandments define the path our Heavenly Father has marked out for us to progress toward eternal life. People who imagine commandments as the way God decides who to punish fail to understand this purpose of God’s loving plan of happiness. On that path, we can gradually achieve the needed relationship with our Savior and qualify for an increase of His power to help us on our way to the destination He desires for all of us. Our Heavenly Father desires all of His children to return to the celestial kingdom, where God and our Savior reside, and to have the kind of life of those who reside in that celestial glory.
“Ordinances and covenants are part of the law that defines the path to eternal life. Ordinances, and the sacred covenants we make with God through them, are required steps and essential guardrails along that path. I like to think of the role of covenants as demonstrating that under God’s plan, His highest blessings are given to those who promise in advance to keep certain commandments and who keep those promises.”
In all of this, the emphasis is on helping us make it through mortality in a way that we can return to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. Following commandments helps us to have the necessary relationship with Christ and an increase of his power on the path toward eternal life, while ordinances and covenants are essential steps and guardrails on that path.
Commandments, ordinances and covenants aren’t means by which we earn salvation; they are the means by which we show how much we want salvation. And the more we show how much we want salvation, the more we qualify for God’s help in our lives, because God wants nothing more than for us to want to return to him.
Manifestations of the Holy Ghost
Continued President Oaks:
“Other God-given helps for making right choices are the manifestations of the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is the third member of the Godhead. His function, defined in scripture, is to testify of the Father and the Son, to teach us, to bring all things to our remembrance, and to guide us into all truth. The scriptures include many descriptions of the manifestations of the Holy Ghost, such as a spiritual witness in response to an inquiry about the truth of the Book of Mormon. A manifestation is not to be confused with the gift of the Holy Ghost, which is conferred following baptism.”
The gift of the Holy Ghost
He then spoke of the gift of the Holy Ghost, saying:
“The importance of this gift is evident in the fact that it is formally conferred after repentance and baptism by water, ‘and then [the scriptures explain] cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost’ (2 Nephi 31:17). Persons who have this remission of sins–and then regularly renew their cleansing by daily repentance and living according to the covenants they make through the ordinance of the sacrament–qualify for the promise that the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of the Lord, ‘may always … be with them’ (Doctrine and Covenants 20:77).
“Thus, President Joseph F. Smith taught that the Holy Ghost will ‘enlighten the minds of the people with regard to the things of God, to convince them at the time of their conversion of their having done the will of the Father, and to be in them an abiding testimony as a companion through life, acting as the sure and safe guide into all truth and filling them day by day with joy and gladness, with a disposition to do good to all men, to suffer wrong rather than to do wrong, to be kind and merciful, long suffering and charitable. All who possess this inestimable gift, this pearl of great price, have a continual thirst after righteousness. Without the aid of the Holy Spirit,’ President Smith concluded, ‘no mortal can walk in the straight and narrow way.’”
I don’t have many memories of my baptism and reception of the gift of the Holy Ghost. But one thing that I do recall is the feeling of peace and warmth that I had afterward. I didn’t recognize those feelings as the Holy Ghost at the time, but as I got older and became acutely aware of how the Holy Ghost felt, I remembered the feelings I had after I was baptized and received the Holy Ghost and knew that they were from the Holy Ghost.
I don’t think I had any idea when I was baptized and received the Holy Ghost that it would be followed by a confirmation from the Holy Ghost that I had “done the will of the Father,” and yet I have a clear, unmistakable witness that it happened.
I have further felt confirmation of President Smith’s promise as I have noticed myself having “a continual thirst after righteousness” in my life. That doesn’t mean I always succeed, because I certainly don’t, but I’m always thirsting after righteousness and trying to think of ways where I can be better and do better. I loathe the thought of accepting weakness as if I’m powerless to do anything about it.
Unprepared for the Savior
After sharing these divine helps, President Oaks lamented those who “remain unprepared for their appointed meeting with our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ.” He mentioned the parable of the 10 virgins, which suggests only half will be prepared to meet him.
He went on to highlight examples of what it looks like to be unprepared and said “humility and trust in the Lord are the remedies” in such situations.
“As the Book of Mormon teaches, the Lord ‘doth bless and prosper those who put their trust in him’ (Helaman 12:1),” President Oaks said. “Trusting in the Lord is a particular need for all who wrongly measure the commandments of God and the teachings of His prophets against the latest findings and wisdom of man.”
Conclusion
Artificial intelligence may help people avoid the work of school and achieve the optimal result, but it won’t help us avoid the spiritual work necessary on earth that will allow us to be prepared to meet God and be desirous to live eternally with him.
But thankfully, we have someone who is even more powerful than AI: God himself. He has given us the divine helps we need to be successful on our journey.
Contact Ryan Comer at rcomer@standard.net.