Miracles seem to be found throughout the scriptures. Who can forget the stories of the Red Sea dividing, or fire falling from heaven on Elijah's sacrifice? The healing of Naaman the Syrian and manna that fed the Israelites are also miraculous.
The New Testament is also filled with miracles, particularly those performed by Christ himself. He healed the blind, the deaf, the lame, and even brought the dead back to life.
The Book of Mormon also contains accounts of miracles. The Liahona that appeared seemingly from nowhere guided Lehi's family to the land of promise. The escape of Alma and those that had followed him from bondage only came when their captors miraculously slept soundly one day. The 2000 young warriors fighting under Helaman helped obtain victory without losing the lives of even one among them. Of course, Christ himself came and performed miracles as he had during his mortal life in Judea.
Mormons in theory believe that miracles still occur. In fact the Book of Mormon rhetorically denounces those that claim otherwise by asking "has the day of miracles ceased? Or have angels ceased to appear unto the children of men? Or has he withheld the power of the Holy Ghost from them? Or will he, so long as time shall last, or the earth shall stand, or there shall be one man upon the face thereof to be saved? Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these things have ceased wo be unto the children of men, for it is because of unbelief, and all is vain." (Moroni 7:35)
In practice however, there seems to be a trend of devaluing miracles. In a class I recently attended, there were a number of participants that commented to the effect of declaring that miracles are unimportant.
This is not limited to simply a recent class, I recall hearing many people over the past fifteen years within the Mormon church declare that because spiritual witnesses are superior to the witnessing of miraculous happenings, miracles are nice but unimportant.
It is true that spiritual evidence is of vital importance to Christianity. It is also true that many people who witnessed amazing miracles seemed unconvinced of the truths of the gospel or the teachings of God's prophets. Some of the same children of Israel that walked across the Red Sea on dry ground were found a short time later worshipping a golden calf. The same Kingdom that saw fire fall on Elijah's sacrifice and proclaimed "The LORD, he is the God!" did not take down the idols that were put up by Jeroboam the son of Nebat. In the Book of Mormon, Laman and Lemuel who were directly told by an angel that they were to return to Jerusalem and obtain the brass plates immediately doubted that they could prevail against Laban.
Given such examples, it is not difficult to understand why Mormons would put a low priority on miraculous happenings.
However understandable the conclusion may be, it is totally incorrect.
If miracles were so ineffective and never made any significant difference, then why are there so many examples of them recorded throughout the scriptures? Why would Jesus have spent so much time doing things that cannot yield permanent results?
The truth is that miracles can have a profound impact. Miracles show that God has power to do things that no one else can. Miracles fuel the hope that in the end, God really will make everything right.
Belittling miracles is belittling the power of God himself. His acts of power and mercy ought not be marginalized by those that have not seen or recognized miracles ought not assume they are unimportant.
While he may not perform miracles at the whim of every person that wishes to see one, or their purpose may not be to prove himself to those that doubt him, it is wrong to think that they are unimportant. It is also incorrect to believe they have ceased. He is capable of doing great things, and he does them regularly even if they are not always visible to everyone.
In the end, God's miracles will be visible to all. When he comes again, he will remove every disease and infirmity; he will heal every wound and take away every pain. All those that have died will live again. All those that have suffered will find relief. For his greatest miracle, he will save us all... and that is no small feat...
