To: President Russell M. Nelson, prophet, seer, and revelator of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

From: Mormon Mouse

Re: Which Part is God’s Part?

Dear President Nelson,

In working through a so called “faith crisis” over the last eight years, I often found myself asking “which part is God’s part?” There seem to be so many different faith-promoting stories and teachings in The Church where all of the physical work and materials and everything is provided by mortals and the natural world and it is unclear what if anything was actually provided by God and the supernatural world, other than perhaps a subjective feeling or belief that something was provided. This seems to conflict with the scriptures, where God is depicted as regularly acting, intervening, and providing in the natural world.

Take baptisms for the dead, for example. If I remember right, The Church has this unique and special ordinance because of a single verse in The New Testament and the teachings and revelations of Joseph Smith.

But, how can God be all-powerful if he needs his children in The Church in the mortal world to do the work of salvation for his children in the immortal world over which he himself presumably would have direct and perfect control and stewardship? If God is not able to do his own work in his own world with his own resources, if he needs us and our natural world, and if we have free agency and can tell him no, then wouldn’t God be subservient to us and our natural world in some way? How does the creator of intelligent, free-agent children have all power if he needs their cooperation in order to do what he wants?

Priesthood blessings are another example. If a faithful sick person receives a blessing of healing from a righteous priesthood holder and then they receive medical treatment, and then they recover, which part is God’s part? And if you removed the faith, the priesthood blessing, and belief in God from that scenario, but you kept the sick person and the medical treatment, wouldn’t the sick person still recover?

I am not trying to be difficult or be like one of those Book of Mormon Antichrists or anything like that. I am sincerely interested in your thoughts on this matter and will give careful and polite consideration to any answers you might be kind enough to provide to the five questions in this letter.

Sincerely,

Mormon Mouse