Seeing isn't Believing
Believing is seeing.
We have heard our Prophet say it at his first conference as President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
“Our Savior and Redeemer, Jesus Christ, will perform some of His mightiest works between now and when He comes again. We will see miraculous indications that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, preside over this Church in majesty and glory. But in coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost” (April 2018 Conference).
Throughout my 47 years since my conversion to the Church, I have heard similar things taught by our prophets. It’s not in the Lord’s program for any of his chosen prophets to lead us astray. If we follow the prophet, we will find a path to safety and salvation.
But what happens if we can’t tell if we’re following the living Prophet?
What do I mean by this? The day has come when it is possible for your own eyes to deceive you. So-called “deep-fake” videos can now be produced by artificial intelligence (AI) systems that are almost indistinguishable from reality.
Elder Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles stated:
“Elder Gong acknowledged that some people will weaponize AI tools. Of particular concern are deepfakes, the fictitious or malicious use of someone’s name, image, and likeness. These are most likely to happen to people — such as Church leaders — who have a recognizable face and voice, a significant amount of video and audio in the public domain, and known and motivated antagonists.
“Elder Gong said reliance on the Holy Spirit, wisdom and trusted sources can help inoculate against deepfakes.”
Enemies of the Church will very likely try to create false, but authentic-looking content, to deceive potential converts and even members of the Church.
I can’t say for sure how it will be fulfilled, or if AI plays any part in the deceptions John warned about in Revelation chapter 13, but he wrote that the second “beast” in the end times…
13 …doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live (Revelation 13:13-14).
It would be possible to use AI and the instantly-available flow of information on the Internet to show a person seemingly doing miracles, and have it look very authentic. How would people in the world, in the churches of Christendom, and even the true Church react to such miracles? Would they believe this is a person with divine power?
Other churches have no experience with prophets. Their creeds have denied for centuries that there could be any new prophets and apostles. Some of them might reject such manifestations, but many might be deceived. Even members of the Church could be fooled. Jesus said in Matthew 24,
“23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
In the Book of Mormon, Nephi warned…
“…for there should not any come, save it should be a false Messiah which should deceive the people; for there is save one Messiah spoken of by the prophets, and that Messiah is he who should be rejected of the Jews” (2 Nephi 23-24).
So imagine in the deepening tribulations of the last days, civil unrest, political instability, and wars lead to some kind of event where a person is represented as a new savior, a peacemaker, or a king who has power to end the fighting, violence, and disorder. This is not too far-fetched when you consider Project Blue Beam. This was an international plan dreamed up by the globalists to finalize steps toward a new world order. Their plan involved stoking up international and civil wars to cause global instability. They would use the military and advanced technologies to deceive the world in to seeing something “spiritual.” One version of this involves showing all the nations the historical or cultural deity of their region. Buddhists would see Buddha, Muslims would see Muhammad, Christians would see Jesus. Then this holographic vision would morph into a new image, a new god for the new age. A “false messiah which should deceive the people.”
This being would then be shown to have become a human, with great power to do signs, wonders, and miracles. AI would be used to create convincing miracles, like calling down fire from heaven. The new messiah would bring peace, but only upon the surrender of all national sovereignty and personal liberty. War-weary souls would gladly give up their rights so they might live in safety. This false messiah would become a autocratic, world monarch.
Now, imagine Latter-day saints, who have learned to follow the Holy Ghost. They know the Spirit’s voice. Although they see with their eyes, the Spirit whispers to their hearts, “No. This is wrong.” Imagine the pressure and persecutions that may come if they don’t bow down to this false messiah, even when other Christians and even some Church members do? Would this be a situation where even the “very elect” could be deceived?
Do you see now why “…[I]t will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost[?]” You might see deep-fake video of the Prophet or some of the Apostles today, saying things that would deceive even the faithful. The only sure safety is for us to know the voice of the Holy Ghost for ourselves and to follow that sure Guide.
During his ministry, Joseph Smith made three different statements that would serve as a key to not being led astray. Doing these things will provide a margin of safety, along with heeding the Spirit’s voice.
Follow the living prophet. It’s not in God’s plan to have the Prophet lead us astray.
Stay with the majority of the Twelve Apostles. Apostasy and strife could rend the Church in the last days, but the majority of the Twelve will remain true to the Lord and the Church.
Stay with the records of the Church. The Lord won’t permit the membership records and genealogy work to fall into the hands of any unauthorized people. The true Church will maintain its records.
If we do these things and train ourselves to pray and listen to the voice of the Holy Ghost, we will be able to rely on it when other sources may be compromised. Seeing isn’t necessarily believing, but believing is seeing.
