"The Terrible Questions"

The title of this writing is the title of a talk that Brother Hugh Nibley delivered in 1988 in Riverton, Utah. His remarks on that occasion are to be found today in the volume of his collected works entitled, Temple and Cosmos. Possibly what is written here will be of sufficient motivation that some will seek out this enlightening address.

The central figure in Brother Nibley’s discussion is First Clement, a young Roman, who would become “very probably the first of the apostolic Fathers” (342). He was literally almost driven insane by the “terrible questions” that swirled around in his mind, and to which he could not find answers. That was until he stumbled upon a missionary, a Jew, from the center of Christianity in that day preaching at a street meeting in Rome. Barnabas was that missionary. Barnabas’ personal witness of the divinity of the Lord caught Clement’s attention, and he wanted to know more. In time, Clement followed Barnabas to the Levant where he attended a Church conference and was introduced to Peter. The President of the High Priesthood himself answered Clement’s terrible questions.

So what are the “terrible questions”? Clement had more than just the three I will repeat here. In Clement’s words, they are: First, “whether there would be a life for me after death or whether I wouldn’t be anything at all afterward”? (343) Second, “I wondered . . . if I didn’t exist before I was born--pre-mortal existence”? (343) Third, “or if there won’t be any recollection of this life after death, and the boundlessness of time will consign everything to oblivion and silence, so that we not only will not exist, but also that which we were, will not be held in memory”? (344) Very simply, Clement wanted to know from whence we come?, why are we here on this earth?, and what awaits us when we die?

These are the “terrible questions” because with the exception of one church and one church only the theologians and philosophers of the world are at a loss to answer them in spite of these questions’ paramount importance and relevance. Thus for the vast majority of the world’s inhabitants, they find no proper answers to these questions, and so like the young Clement, they are left to live an existence fraught with mental and spiritual consternation. However, God in His mercy has made the answers to these questions available again to His children through revelations to His prophets living in this dispensation of the gospel who do and have presided over The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Now, who will recognize these important truths for what they are when they hear or read them? Those who are living their lives in such a manner that the Holy Ghost may touch their heart and bear witness to them of the truthfulness of these things. If this is not the case, these truths, the things of God, will appear foolish to them, and given their unbelief they will reject them. What should be disturbing is that this state of hard heartedness may come upon even those who at one time were numbered among the Saints of God. Membership in the true Church is not a guarantee against failure. A desire to remain close to the things of God coupled with daily prayer and regular scripture study are necessary to keep the temptations of the evil one at bay.

In the years immediately preceding the visitation of the resurrected Savior to His people living in the Americas, the Church itself was rent apart by the dissension among themselves. The cause of these troubles is reported as follows: “Now the cause of this iniquity of the people was this--Satan had great power, unto the stirring up of the people to do all manner of iniquity, and to the puffing them up with pride, tempting them to seek for power, and authority, and riches, and the vain things of the world” (3 Nephi 6:15).

“Perhaps the two most sought-after and well-rewarded badges of excellence in our culture are knowledge and wealth, but the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob warned us that ‘the wise, and the learned, and they that are rich, who are puffed up because of their learning, and their wisdom, and their riches--yea, they are they whom [Christ] despiseth; and save they shall cast these things away, and consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility, he will not open unto them’ (2 Nephi 9:42)” (Eugene England, “The Trouble with Excellence,” Why the Church is as True As the Gospel, 69-70).

It is quite understandable that those who lack an understanding of life’s purposes and its role in the eternal scope of God’s plan for His spirit children to be attracted to and be enamored with the things of this world namely, the accumulation of wealth, power, position, and secular learning. Now while these things are in and of themselves not evil, the natural tendency is for those who seek these things in abundance to be overtaken with pride. Therein is the evil. For the prideful heart is not one that is humble, and humility is a prerequisite to an understanding of the things of God.