As a young boy I enjoyed astronomy, spending hours observing the stars and planets with my modest telescope. What a thrill it was to admire the rings of Saturn and the moons of Jupiter with this tool that made the invisible miraculously visible to the eye. What an inspiration it was to explore the craters of the moon many decades before the advent of Apollo and the era of firsthand lunar discovery. From those early years I cultivated an appreciation of the scriptures about God’s majestic creation: “The earth rolls upon her wings, and the sun giveth his light by day, and the moon giveth her light by night, and the stars also give their light, as they roll upon their wings in their glory, in the midst of the power of God. Unto what shall I liken these kingdoms, that ye may understand? Behold, all these are kingdoms, and any man who hath seen any or the least of these hath seen God moving in his majesty and power” (D&C 88:45–47). Alma gave similar evidence in his persuasive response to the anti-Christ Korihor: “The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator” (Alma 30:44).
To elevate one’s sight above the distractions of daily routine and “see” God moving in His majesty is a gift from the Spirit. At the most basic level, a telescope is a simple “seeing” device that magnifies the view accorded through ordinary perception. There is, however, a spiritual telescope of vastly higher power that brings the divine into focus and magnifies the penetrating witness of our heavenly heritage. That inner process of seeing is activated through the Spirit when we respond prayerfully and submit humbly to the invitation to come unto Christ.
The Book of Mormon itself is such a spiritual telescope. It is a tool to “see” with clarity certain key factors of our spiritual landscape, including the magnanimous dealings of the Lord with our forebears in the past, the vital role of covenant fidelity in the present, the hope of the Atonement in the future, and—most importantly—the divinity of Jesus Christ, “the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations” (see Moroni’s title page). When Mormon looked back on the history of the Nephite nation just a few decades before the birth of the Savior, he observed the clash of epic forces among the people: pride and material obsession on the one hand and righteous and valiant obedience to the covenant promises on the other. The chronicle illuminates the ultimate supremacy of God’s plan over that of the evil one.
In a series of telling statements, Mormon shows how the truth of God’s immortal plan of salvation is made apparent through spiritual insight of the highest order: “Thus we may see that the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name. Yea, thus we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God. Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked—And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven… .” (Helaman 3:27–30).
The memorable phrase, “thus we see,” is echoed a few passages later when Mormon summarizes the painful insights of the Nephites who were forced through exquisite suffering to rekindle their spiritual light: “and they saw that they had been a stiffnecked people … (Helaman 4:21); “they saw that their laws had become corrupted …” (Helaman 4:22); “they saw that they had become weak …” (Helaman 4:24); “they saw that … except they should cleave unto the Lord their God they must unavoidably perish” (Helaman 4:25); “they saw that the strength of the Lamanites was as great as their strength, even man for man. And thus they had fallen into this great transgression; yea, they had become weak, because of their transgressions, in the space of not many years” (Helaman 4:26).
What a profound insight is proffered to anyone who desires to look through the spiritual lens of truth. By prayerfully studying the Book of Mormon, with real intent, with a sincere desire to know the truth, any individual can receive the blessing of spiritual insight whereby the Lord “will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things” (Moroni 10:4–5). Truly the miracle of sight in this sense is the core experience in fortifying and confirming one’s testimony of the truth. (Richard J. Allen)