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First I think it's important to define what I mean by a 'miracle'.
I'm thinking more walking on water, rather than the recovery of car keys.

'A true miracle is an event in the external (physical) world brought about by divine means (God) without any other discernible means of explanation. It is an occurrence that is above nature and above man. It shows the intervention of a power that is not limited by the laws either of matter or of mind, a power interrupting the fixed laws which govern their movements, a supernatural power.'

I got that definition off the internet, it seems a pretty good one.

Now let's have a look at some of the miracle 'highlights' talked about in the Bible.

The confusion of languages at the Tower of Babel
Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
Lot's wife turned into a pillar of salt
The burning bush that doesn't end up burnt
Aaron's rod turning into a serpent
Dividing of the red sea
Manna from heaven
Water from rocks
Balaam and his talking donkey
The Jordan divided
The walls of Jericho
Samson's strength and then lack of it
Being smitten for looking into the ark
Hands being withered
People being raised from the dead
Elijah's feathered 'meals on wheels'
Elijah and his stairway to heaven
Multiplication of the widows oil
An iron axe head made to swim
Whole armies smitten by blindness
Elisha's bones reviving the dead
Daniel in the lions den
Jonah and his whale

etc, etc, etc, etc, etc....

Where'd they go?
Why did miracles stop happening?
Why did they only happen in Biblical times?

jon wrote:First I think it's important to define what I mean by a 'miracle'.
I'm thinking more walking on water, rather than the recovery of car keys.

'A true miracle is an event in the external (physical) world brought about by divine means (God) without any other discernible means of explanation. It is an occurrence that is above nature and above man. It shows the intervention of a power that is not limited by the laws either of matter or of mind, a power interrupting the fixed laws which govern their movements, a supernatural power.'

I got that definition off the internet, it seems a pretty good one.

Now let's have a look at some of the miracle 'highlights' talked about in the Bible.

The confusion of languages at the Tower of Babel
Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
Lot's wife turned into a pillar of salt
The burning bush that doesn't end up burnt
Aaron's rod turning into a serpent
Dividing of the red sea
Manna from heaven
Water from rocks
Balaam and his talking donkey
The Jordan divided
The walls of Jericho
Samson's strength and then lack of it
Being smitten for looking into the ark
Hands being withered
People being raised from the dead
Elijah's feathered 'meals on wheels'
Elijah and his stairway to heaven
Multiplication of the widows oil
An iron axe head made to swim
Whole armies smitten by blindness
Elisha's bones reviving the dead
Daniel in the lions den
Jonah and his whale

etc, etc, etc, etc, etc....

Where'd they go?
Why did miracles stop happening?
Why did they only happen in Biblical times?

I'm going to be a party pooper and state the obvious: they never stopped because there were no miracles back then, either. Those scriptures, when written, were describing events well after the fact (or, in the case of Exodus, events that never happened at all), and the miracles were inserted as faith-promoting fluff. Miracles have always happened "in the past." No one has ever encountered an actual miracle. Only old stories of miracles.

Perhaps we don't see events as miracles anymore. And we don't write about them for future generations. We had a pretty awesome miracle here about 10 years ago, but since it involved only a few hundred people and it took place in a little backwater town in the middle of nowhere, it will never be preserved, except in the hearts of those who witnessed it.

I think that's one of the saddest things about the stories in GC and the stories in the scriptures. Members tend to think the GC/scripture stories are better somehow than their own stories. So our personal stories are not used to teach our children; instead we use someone else's stories and they aren't connected to our children at all.

I've noticed a decrease in the number of miracles, and years ago came up with a program to help stop the downward trend. I've heard very positive feedback from those who have tried it:

Cinepro’s Six-Step Plan for Living the Miraculous Life™

Often times in Church, we discuss miracles. Some have expressed disappointment about a lack of miracles in their lives, when others seem to be doubly blessed in this regard. I therefore offer everyone this easy, six step program to increase the incidence of miracles in your life. As you find more and more miracles in your life, remember to share these experiences with fellow Church members, that they may be strengthened as well.

The six-step program is as follows:

1) Learn as little as possible about statistics and probability.

2) Learn as little as possible about the natural causes of things. Don’t study pathology, epidemiology, physics, engineering, history, or any other field that may promote a scientific, skeptical, or natural world-view. If you don’t know about physics, who’s to say cannonballs don’t float on the wings of angels?

3 ) Whenever you encounter something unusual and for which the cause isn’t clear, make up an explanation that fits your religious worldview (right-wing) and supports your particular view of God and His doings.

4) Search for secondhand (or thirdhand, fourth-hand, fifth-hand etc.) accounts of miracles that support your right-wing. Take them at face value, and use them to support your belief without question. Assume that all accounts that appear to describe “miracles” in religious literature are accurately and literally reported, if they support your right-wing. If they don’t support your right-wing, ignore or doubt them.

5) If someone does something that is unusual and of mysterious origin, and they offer an explanation that supports your right-wing, take it at face value. There’s no harm in trusting someone who means well.

6) As you find an increase in miracles in your life, find others who share your right-wing and share your experience with them. Publish your story in magazines and websites that cater to such people. Remember, they wouldn’t publish it if it weren’t true. When you share the story, be sure to speak slowly, with a low voice. Stare at the person or audience. Try and muster a tear, but don’t sob uncontrollably.

If you can decrease your ability to understand and explain things, and increase your ability to ascribe a religious and/or supernatural origin to these same events, you’re on your way to increasing the frequency of the occurrence of miracles in your life.

Millions of people have followed my program with success, with satisfied customers in every dispensation and every continent. Try it today!

Watch this set of 5 minutes videos. It will answer you questions about miracles, and more. The video 'Agenticity' will specifically answer you questions about miracles.

H.

Informational Influence
Insufficient Justification
Confirmation Bias
Misinformation Effect
Compliance Techniques
Hallucination
Projection
Need for Closure
Agenticity

Miracle stops happening as soon as the miracle is accomplished. If Jesus raising from the dead is a miracle. Then that miracle ended as He rose. If Joseph having a vision of God and the Son, then that miracle ended at the moment the vision ended.

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Hasa Diga Eebowai wrote:

stemelbow wrote:Miracle stops happening as soon as the miracle is accomplished. If Jesus raising from the dead is a miracle. Then that miracle ended as He rose. If Joseph having a vision of God and the Son, then that miracle ended at the moment the vision ended.

That's when the "miracle" stops happening, according to your opinion, but when did the "miracles" as a collective phenomena stop happening? Are the reasons given in the Book of Mormon the reason? and if so is the current condition of the LDS Church an evidence of apostasy?

Thanks,

Hasa Diga Eebowai

It's stems way of having fun and avoiding the question at the same time. :)

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"Samson's strength and then lack of it"

So, is Tiger Woods' golf slump a miracle?