Have you ever thought that more people would believe in God if He performed more obvious miracles?
But scriptures show that even when people see amazing miracles, they sometimes still refuse to believe. For example, this week we read about the prophet Nephi proving that he was called by God. Despite having no earthly way of knowing about it, Nephi told everyone:
- That their chief judge had been murdered,
- Who the killer was, and
- What he would say when confronted!
Everything happened exactly as Nephi said it would. But did the people believe he was a prophet? Well, a few were. But for the most part, no!
“Notwithstanding that great miracle which Nephi had done … they did harden their hearts and did not hearken unto the words of the Lord” (Helaman 10:13).
Miracles can plant a seed of faith or strengthen an already growing testimony. But they can also be ignored or dismissed as coincidences or magic tricks. True, lasting conversion comes from the quiet, steady voice of the Holy Ghost.
Even Alma the Younger (who saw an angel!) said that he fasted and prayed to know the truth. (See Alma 5:45–46).