Is there a God?

I heard that someone recently said that faith is the belief in something for which there is no evidence. I don't believe that is correct. Belief in something with no evidence is just wishful thinking. Faith requires that there is evidence. I've heard people say that they do not believe in God because they cannot see him. Or, they say there is no evidence of a God. These are weak arguments because, I can assure you that my faith in God is based on evidence.

I find it interesting that many of these same people who do not believe in God have a lot of trust in the scientific method. Don't get me wrong, I also believe in the scientific method. In fact, I think a parallel to the scientific method can be used by every individual to also come to the knowledge that there is a God. Before I get into that, let's consider some recent science. The scientific method usually begins with someone making a hypothesis about how things may be. Then, the scientist forms experiments to find evidence that the hypothesis is correct. If the experiments give the expected results, the scientist concludes that the hypothesis was correct. Let's consider the Higg's particle. This is a tiny particle that scientists believe exists because it fits their current models. No one has ever seen such a particle, nor will anyone ever see such a particle. However, we have built very expensive, very large equipment to conduct experiments that will give evidence that such a particle exists. In fact, a group of scientists believe they have done just that. Here is a particle that cannot be seen, cannot be touched and yet most of the scientific community is convinced that it exists. Now they believe they even have evidence of it. At least a small group of scientists who conducted the experiments have the evidence. Everyone else just trusts that the information was obtained correctly and is accurate.

So, how does this relate to being able to know there is a God? We can follow a similar process. There are experiments that everyone can perform. In this case, it is even better than the experiments to find evidence of the Higg's particle because everyone has access to the tools needed to conduct these experiments rather than just a select few. Of course it takes effort and work on our part to get this evidence, just like it takes work to apply the scientific method for any other reason. If a scientist is not diligent in conducting the experiments and he fails to get results, that does not mean the hypothesis was wrong, just that the proper work was not done to verify it. 

Here are some simple steps to know that there is a God. First, learn about him. Read his words. This can best be done by reading scriptures. I highly recommend the New Testament or The Book of Mormon. Second, ponder on the scriptures that you read. Think about them and try to understand them. Third, try to live some of the principles you learn from reading the scriptures such as treating others as you would like to be treated. Fourth, prayer and ask God if he is there and ask Him to make Himself know to you. If you sincerely follow these steps, you will receive your own personal evidence that there is a God, that He love you and that you have a purpose here on earth. I have received this evidence for myself. My faith is not just wishful thinking, it is based on the evidence that I have received in my life that I cannot deny. 

One more parallel I think we can gain from the search for the Higg's particle. As I mentioned, only a few have access to the equipment to actually run the experiments. Everyone else relies on their word that the results are as they say. If so many are willing to rely on the word of a few on scientific matters, why can we not do the same when it pertains to God. In this case, unlike a particle no one has ever seen, there have been men that have seen God. Moses records in his writings that he spoke with God face-to face. In modern times, Joseph Smith testified that he saw God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Many others have seen angels and have testified of it. We have witnesses that there is a God. They have seen Him and heard His voice. That is much better than experimental evidence of a tiny particle of matter. But, don't take my word for it. As I mentioned early, the great thing about this experiment is that it is available to everyone, not just the few who have access to a super-collider.