Language

Dear Readers,

Language is an interesting subject. Countless theories and speculation have come about this subject. Whether or not animals actually have a language from the calls of whales, to the chirps of birds. How much of it is an actual language and how much of it is instinct based upon sensory cues?

As I mentioned in my blog post about The Creation, I do believe that in the beginning, before the fall of Adam and Eve, that animals could speak. This would explain Eve's lack of shock as the serpent that Satan possessed spoke to her (Genesis 3:4, Moses 4:6-7). With the ancient understanding of this principle, we can also see why Balaam a prophet from Pethor was not surprised either when his ass (donkey) began to speak (Numbers 22:22-35) when the Lord opened its mouth.

Thus, it is not unreasonable to say that animals might have their own languages for they might simply be confounded with the fall like human language was with the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:4-9, Ether 1:33-37). With the confounding of tongues or languages at the tower of Babel, we have countless languages. I am not a linguist, though I do understand that many of the languages today have evolved from other languages. Like Portuguese from Spanish. English itself is a giant mix of Latin and Greek roots with some entire words stolen from other languages.

Then there are the non verbal behavioral communication between animals such as mating dances and the like. We too have non verbal languages like sign language. There are those, like the character Patrick Jane portrayed in The Mentalist who focus on body language. Facial expressions help to accent these languages, and with those have come the new evolution of emoji's.

Yet, as I talked about in my blog post about Light of Christ and the gift of the Holy Ghost, I recounted an experience I had with feeling the Holy Ghost when someone bore their testimony (witness of Christ) in American Sign Language. It was from that experience that I gained my own testimony of the universal language of the Spirit. The Spirit of God can communicate meanings, thoughts, and feelings directly from one individual to another.

However, if this powerful connection using the language of the Spirit were all that is necessary, why would we also have the gift of tongues and interpretation of tongues? Even from the beginning God gave Adam a language, a pure, unaltered, perfect language. "In the beginning God gave Adam a language that was pure, perfect, and undefiled. This Adamic language, now unknown, was far superior to any tongue which is presently extant... This first language spoken by mortals was either the celestial tongue of the Gods or such adaptation of it as was necessary to meet the limitations of mortality; and Adam and his posterity had power to speak, read, and write it." (Mormon Doctrine pg 15 Adamic Language)

"Deja Vu" scene from The Matrix

At very least this shows how important language and literacy is. Indeed, there is the theory that learning a new language changes the way an individual thinks. As with the word "deja vu" it is a purely French word that has no equal in the English language. The concept of deja vu is feeling like your are experiencing again, or reliving a moment. Creating and having a word for such a phenomena changes the way in which we are able to express that idea and that feeling. We are able to break it down and define it more and simply. This is why it is important to learn multiple languages, because often times, a word in one language will have slightly different connotations than another making it uniquely qualified to properly represent the message that someone is trying to get across.

Like with Spanish, all nouns are either male or female, even those for objects. This makes it more difficulty for native Spanish speakers to understand the concept of gender-less English words like "they", "them", or "it".

Now, briefly, I would like to point out that usually learning a language takes repetition, immersion, hard work and dedication. However, there are some exceptions, including the spiritual gift of tongues, and fictionally the Tamaranean kiss. I bring up the Tamaranean kiss simply because it was a fascinating concept from the DC comic book universe. When the Tamaranean Koriand'r (Starfire) came to earth, she kissed Robin (Batman's sidekick) and learned English, allowing her to communicate with the earthlings. Though pure, abstract magic exists within the DC universe, in my mind magic has always been a more spiritual science.

With the notion that maybe this could actually be possible, I have thought about how. I would imagine that some sort of electrical current could pass through the lips and map out the circuits from the brain to the mouth correlating thoughts and ideas to speech. This could be similar to a bio-electrical reading like the sensors that sharks have in their snouts helping them sense movement and animals nearby.

Though Starfire learned English in this manner, there were yet many cultural and understanding complications. Thus suggesting that with the speedy manner of learning some fundamentals of the language remained to be learned more manually.

A movie that created an interesting concept of spoken words was Pontypool. Pontypool is a Canadian "zombie" movie that I have found quite unique. It is a viral outbreak that makes people homicidal, however the dialogue pushes the notions that words themselves are infected, and only words from the English language. Though I like the outside-the-box thinking of the movie as a brain exercise, it inspired me to, like Starfire's language learning ability, think about how it could really happen.

In my mind, it would be an actual viral infection, however, everyone is infected already. The virus is simply dormant within the brain, likely nestled along a neural pathway associated with a word. From the movie, it seemed as though they were different words for different people, and they did not "infect" or rather activate with the use for everyone. With my manner of thinking, this would imply that the way in which the English language shapes the brain is the only corridors of neural activity that the virus attaches to.

The main word that we learn for sure is an infected word was "kill". The doctor talks about how it is only when the word is heard and understood that it activates, implying further that the neural connection expands to the auditory receptors as well. "Kill" itself as a spoken word, the vibrations of those sounds, cannot activate the virus without the continuing connection of the meaning behind the word.

Similarly, the individual who begins to activate begins repeating the word over and over. The doctor compared this to an auto-immune response. Saying the word allows the individual to hear it and comprehend it again, re-triggering the virus almost like they are trying to overheat that location with electrical energy. Much like a normal auto-immune response of swelling and heat.

Alas, and as further evidence of my hypothesis, the woman repeating the word "kill" did not infect the man with her using that word. This implies that any or certain words, certain mappings of neural connections, allow the virus to attach and it may not attach in the same location for each individual.

The cure was the cincher for my idea. With the woman repeating the word "kill" the man redirected the immune response. By disassociating the word slightly, it changed the neural pathway, allowing the virus to go dormant again before it fully activated. Grant Mazzy, the main character, tells Sydney Briar, the infected woman, that "kill means kiss". "K" being a strong, definitive sound, it triggered the same electrical pathway, but then derailed or detoured to a completely opposite meaning with "kiss".

Surprisingly, the notion of electrical pathways determining language and thought have been around for quite a while. With computers and their binary code coupled with Morse code for telegrams and emergency signals we see that circuits and space have a correlations with information.

Spoiler Alert!

As with the concept of languages being in different parts of the brain, Arrival took a turn with how learning languages changes the way one thinks.

In Arrival, the aliens brought their language, a very interestingly language, in which they need to know exactly what they were going to say before and after. They compare this to writing a sentence with both of your hands, one from the beginning of the sentence and the other from the end, and then meeting in the middle. The main suspense of the movie is caused with the communication of the idea of "weapon". For them, their language was the only weapon worth sharing because understanding it, being fluent in it, expands the human brain to be able to see through time. Similar to how Dr. Manhattan from the DC universe Watchmen timeline could only see his own direct future, this change only affects the individual, but they can then see their life as the sentence. From the beginning and the end, meeting in the present.

Remarkably, it is interesting how that language, that way of thinking allowed the aliens to anticipate a problem that would require the help of humans, and the humans must have this ability themselves in order to help. Like a continuing cycle for the betterment of life itself.

Yet, we must remember how important it was for God to teach Adam both a spoken language, and how to read and write. With the emphasis in Arrival with the written word, we have to acknowledge the remark-ability of symbols standing for words, sounds, and sentences. In Egyptian, the hieroglyphics represented sounds and yet the pictographs portrayed entire stories. Even in English, though we borrowed Roman lettering we also have braille, dots choreographed to stand for another symbol (a letter). Still, in Chinese, Japanese, and other oriental languages a symbol can represent an entire word, or part of a word.

Often times, cultures associate words with power and meaning. Like in the Chinese mythology Jiangshi (Chinese vampires) could be stopped with talismans. These talismans were originally based and predicated on sealed orders from a shogun or emperor (Chinese Talisman Demystified). Official documents like these became symbols in themselves of power and authority, like the wax seals of European kings on their important messages to troops or for diplomacy.

Episode 6 of a show called FreakyLinks took the idea of words having power one step further. In this episode entitled Subject: The Harbingers, there were inter-dimensional beings seeping through a barrier that we could call a veil. These beings were the Harbingers, and they would possess people, latching onto their backs and encouraging them to be angry and commit violence. However, the book about these creatures itself had power over them, to drive them out of this plane of existence. Much like the concept of a bible burning a vampire who touches it, the premise is that the words simply existing with their meaning has power.

In the church we learn that the scriptures have power and can recharge and even rejuvenate us and our spirits. Allowing us to truly "feast" upon the words of Christ (2 Nephi 32:3). There is even a certain power or special influence that comes from studying the scriptures from a physical book as opposed to simply reading them through electronics. This connection church leaders have acknowledge and is a part of the reason why they still push for people to have and study from an actual book.

Another movie that made an interesting metaphysical correlation between words and power was the 2001 remake of Thirteen Ghosts (Thir13en Ghosts). This movie used Latin words as seals or power to bind and prevent ghosts from passing through walls or floor.

Like irrefutable commandments that the spirits must obey. Even the summoning of the spirits to the center room was done with recorded spoken words commanding and demanding that the ghosts yield and obey.

In reality, the reason why I think that written word has so much more power than digital word is because of how elements and the light of truth work together. With words on a page, you have elements with their own spirits attached, all dedicated to being a substance that will either absorb light (the letters) or reflect light (the paper or material the words are printed on). That light, or lack thereof, portrays a message, the very word of God. Contrary, electronics emit light. Whatever source of florescence, whether light-bulbs or more high tech means, are only temporary. They lack that dedication, that solidarity of always testifying and revealing the truth written upon it. The same bulb that illuminates the name of Christ could deny Him the very next second.

Though that is simply speculation, there is another, less metaphysical theory that people have as to why it is better to study from an actual book. Our minds are designed to experience, not simply observe, and our eyes pick up the sides, the margins, and the location of the words on the page. With these other factors, studying from scriptures we can more easily find a scripture we liked because we vaguely remember where it was on a page. By limiting our field of view to a small screen, we are limiting the level of cementing a scripture or passage can have in our minds.

Summing up, language is fundamental in whatever form it takes, and does indeed have power. For it was by the power of God, His authority and honor (Doctrine and Covenants 29:36), that He was able to speak and the universe was created and organized (Genesis 1:3, John 1:1-3). What we say matters. How we think and what we think about matters. It is important that we gain as much education as we can, and ever reach towards truth, and God, and Christ.

Love,
Jacobugoth

Aliens

Dear Readers,

I feel like talking about the possibility of aliens. I remember talking to a potential investigator on my mission, while up in Glasgow, MT. He had a firm, eye witness testimony that aliens exist. Not exactly an abductee, but close. I remember thinking, this is awesome, he believes in aliens, and some people think we are aliens.

I also usually think of the Simpsons. There was a Halloween episode Treehouse of Horror IX in which Kang and Kodos knocked on the door, and Homer answers it, then says, "Oh great, Mormons."

But why is there this strange stereo-type? I think that it is because we have an understanding about the universe and science that allows it to completely coincide with religion, specifically Christianity.

So that is why I believe that people have this misunderstanding. But in a different sense, we are pretty much the only Christian religion that even has leeway to allow for aliens. Let me explain:

We know that God has created other worlds, for His own purposes (Moses 1:33). Most of them have life, in spheres, like planets or even stars (Doctrine and Covenants 93:30). So we know, for a fact, that there is life out there in the universe.

The same God that created us, His children, in His image, also created the animals big and small, not in His image. Indeed, other worlds, like the one that the dinosaurs inhabited (see my post on creation) had different animals upon its face. Even in Revelations 4:6-9 talks about four beasts praising God, Cross referenced with Doctrine and Covenants 77:2-4 we know that they are 4 literal beasts, though described with symbolism to describe the glory of the classes of beings, and that their spirits are also created in the image of their bodies, namely beasts. Again, cross referenced with the New Testament Student Manual 54 section commentary for Revelation 4-11 paragraph "Four Beasts" we learn that "the four beasts were four of the most noble animals that had filled the measure of their creation, and had been saved from other worlds, because they were perfect: they were like angels in their sphere. We are not told where they came from".

So God has indeed created beings in spirit and matter on other worlds, not in His own image, who have obtained various degrees of glory. Which means that there are indeed beings out there with human like intelligence, but do not look human. Just like how those animals in Revelations were able to talk and sing praises to God.

So, what keeps them from visiting earth? In Doctrine and Covenants 130:5-7 explains that angels or God's messengers only visit the sphere or earth to which they belong or have belonged. Thus the only celestial beings and possibly terrestrial that can visit our world are humans or animals from our world. Either in spirit or flesh. (Doctrine and Covenants 129) But what about those who inherit a telestial glory?

We know from the scriptures, but most easily explained in the Plan of Salvation Pamphlet "Where Will I Go After This Life? that  "those who continue in their sins and do not repent will receive a place in the telestial kingdom." For a more in depth study you can look at Doctrine and Covenants 88:21-24 and Doctrine and Covenants 76:81-89. These compared to Alma 34:34 of the Book of Mormon, we find that even in the Eternal world, after the resurrection, these wicked will be wicked still. Not abiding, or living by the laws of God. That is why they are no long permitted in His presence after the judgement.

So, for the Celestial and Terrestrial glorified beings, they have to obey God's commandments, but the Telestials, by the very cause of them receiving this glory, do not follow God's laws, therefore it is reasonable to assume that they break them.

Now for my almost purely hypothetical argument, what if some of these other creatures that God has created received a telestial glory. No pain, sickness or death, Though, unlike celestial or heavenly beings, they have to rely upon technology for transportation. Thus the UFO flying saucers.

This would also explain how they could be little gray people.

Now for some more fun speculation about why they would experiment on humans. They would be immortal, resurrected beings. Some of these experiments might be for the purpose of trying to find out why we die, why we are mortal.

We also know from Christ's own resurrection, that such beings can still eat (Luke 24:41-43) but there are no references as to whether or not they can defecate. This would explain the anal probes. They may be wondering what it is about our physiology that makes it so that we do not absorb all of the nutrition and other matter that we ingest.

Alas, because Christ was the "first fruits" of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:20) it is very unlikely that they would actually be telestial resurrected beings, yet they could still be some form of mortal beings.

Anyway, this explains how the common ideas of aliens could actually exist, in case they do turn out to be real, so that those saints who believe may not have their faith shaken. If you have any comments or refutations, please post them. I hope that you enjoyed this post.

Love,
Jacobugoth

Creation

Dear Readers,

I felt like sharing and bearing my testimony and knowledge of the creation of this world. Though I am not sure where to begin.

We know from Moses 3:5 that everything was made spiritually before it was physically created. Now, as far as I know, and have testimony of, God is the creator of spirits (Teachings:Joseph F. Smith 37), thus He created man as spirit first (Doctrine and Covenants 93:29), so also did He create the earth. It was indeed His plan after all, and it would also make sense that he would have something visual for us to see when He shared His plan with us to be sustained (not voting upon, but signifying our allegiance to).

As we know, Christ was the first to volunteer to be the Savior in God's plan , and that Satan volunteered second to be the Savior with his own plan (Isaiah 14:12-15). God, of course, chose Christ, and Satan with his 1/3 of all of the spiritual children of God, were cast out of heaven. (Revelations 12:4, Joseph Smith Translation Revelations 12:4)

Then in Abraham 3:22-24, Abraham was shown in a vision from God through the Urim and Thummim, that we were all intelligences which were organized, and that there was one, like unto God, who is Jesus Christ, who was then called Jehovah, and said "we will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;"

Now this "we" could be Jehovah and Michael, which is at least confirmed by the teachings of the temple, but I believe that we, ourselves, even all of the children of God who kept their first estate (sustained Christ and God's plan instead of Satan and his {Old Testament Gospel Doctrine Teacher's Manual Lesson 2}) worked and helped organize and build this world, all under the direction of God through Jehovah.

 As plainly described in Abraham 4:1, the earth was organized from actual materials, i.e. physical matter. Joseph Smith also added "The word create came from the [Hebrew] word baurau which does not mean to create out of nothing; it means to organize; the same as a man would organize materials and buil a ship. Hense, we infer that God had materials to organize the world our of chaos--chaotic matter" Some believe this was a nebula, in which gravity was introduced, which is indeed congruent with the teachings of the temple.

But mixed with the teachings in the institute manual about dinosaurs, we find that whatever original planet which hosted the dinosaurs was likely created from a nebula, but then pieces or even the entire thing recycled was then turned into that fundamental, void (Genesis 1:2) earth. Possibly, and this is my opinion based upon the truths that I know, that the initial gravity that condensed the nebula was likely this planet, that is why there is so many layers of dirt and stone upon the fossils of the dinosaurs. Thus there are the fossilized remnant of dinosaurs that date back millions of years which are also buried in the earth, and yet this was all done before the first day of God's 7 day creation. Also, should this be the case, it would also explain why the dinosaurs grew to such large heights. A smaller planet, indeed part of our own, would have a lighter gravity, thus the animals could physically grow larger. Kind of the same phenomenon as portrayed in James Cameron's Avatar.

Now we have the basic planet structure by this nebula birth and recycling, with the heavier, solid matter below, liquid in the middle, and the gasses on top. For there was darkness on this planet structure and the Spirit of God (Holy Ghost) went forth upon the face of the deep. (Genesis 1:2). I remember praying once to learn from God what that spirit was, whether it was all of us spiritual children of God, or the Holy Ghost. I bear witness that it was indeed the Spirit of God and that He was and is there watching over the tabernacle we call earth. He helped to build it, and though He will not receive a body until the end (The Restoration of Major Doctrines through Joseph Smith: The Godhead, Mankind, and the Creation) He is always there, helping us when we need help, and will also be there to welcome us when we depart from this life.

Now the first day, according to the reckoning of God, which is the same, if not close to the reckoning of time on the sphere called Kolob, is one thousand years as we know it now, on earth. (Abraham 3:4, 9, 2 Peter 3:8)This is also verified by God's own word, in Genesis 2:17 God says to Adam, "...for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Then in in Genesis 5:5 it says "And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died." Thus within that one day to the Father, Adam did indeed die. God does not sleep so there is no night. Anyway, this day begins with God saying "let there be light" and there was light, and the light was "good" (Genesis 1:3-4). Then God divided the light from the darkness. I have wondered about this. I have come to the conclusion that the light is from "God's face" or His glory and that He drew near to watch as His children continued to work, thus departing the darkness which was upon the face of the earth. Thus the light is good, and the first day was completed.

This first day also makes sense from any scientist's objective perspective. If you are about to run an experiment, first you want light to see what you are doing.

Day two, a firmament between the waters and the waters. (Genesis 1:6) Basically now that there was light, water began to evaporate from the heat of the light and rose into the atmosphere making clouds.

Day three. The waters below the firmament are gathered together and dry land is brought up or forth.(Genesis 1:9) This would be the birth of pangea, the first solid landmass. For it was in the days of Peleg that the land divided (Genesis 10:25) into the continents as we know them today. Then grass and plants spring forth upon the earth. (Genesis 1:11) Again from the practical perspective, you need plants to make oxygen for the eventual other forms of life, indeed for the eventual children of God and the purpose of the creation of the earth. The plants use this "light" from God to fuel this process of photosynthesis. Essentially, the earth was being terraformed. I would like to point out that the earth, though perfect with the vegetation, was not celestial, for it was a paradise like the earth will return to during the Millennium (Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual Section 38). Indeed it was a terrestrial planet.

Day four. God knows that He will have to leave, because of "the fall", so that we can be truly tested. Thus this "light" would be taken away, and that we need other forms of light. So God either created the stars, or allowed their light to reach us, and created the sun and moon for us. (Genesis 1:16) Now, I should mention that I know not whether the sun and moon were actually created or organized at this time, or if they were brought into their current orbits.

Day 5. God causes fish, then fowl, then whales. (Genesis 1:20-21)I like how the creatures of the ocean and waters are created first, as a testimony to me that just because they were created first, thus having older bones and remains, does not mean that one begot the next or evolution, but rather God is a God of order and has stages and levels of creation which we usually call a species.(dictionary.com species Biology. The major subdivision of a genus of subgenus, regarded as the basic category of biological classification, composed of related individuals that resemble one another, are able to breed among themselves, but are not able to breed with members of another species. [Breed meaning sexual intercourse that produces viable offspring that are not sterile]) 

Quick rant: I am annoyed by the scientific community because they do not adhere to their own definition. Probably for more publicity about discovering a new species, or to make them force the puzzle pieces together about evolution. Either way, it is bad science and bad classification. The coyote, wolf, and domestic dog are all prime examples to me of this phenomena. Different "breeds" of dog are still the same species, yet wolves, their ancient ancestors, are considered a different species. Yet they can indeed breed with domestic dogs, thus getting "part wolf". Yet those part wolf offspring can then continue to reproduce. Given, for some reason, it is rare for a wolf and a dog to breed, but so it is with coyotes. Now a wolf and a coyote are also considered different species under the strange, made up rule about them not normally breeding in the wild. But when they breed, they create what scientists call a hybrid. Yet again these hybrids can continue to breed and create viable offspring. For example, the Texas Chupacabra. This is indeed a real creature. It is the result of one of these coyote-wolf "hybrids" breeding with a "pure blood" coyote. Thus in all actuality, they are all the same species, dogs, wolves, and coyotes, and they should be objectively call breeds, or at least subspecies. 

The same thing happens with other species, for example rattle-snakes. The Timbur Rattle-snake and the Diamondback Rattle-snake are separated by distance and land, but they can still breed, but don't in the wild. Yet, these same scientists, in some cases like this, wisely call them subspecies. Pretty much, genetic variations of the same species, like breeds for cats and dogs, or races for humans. So, I hope that you can see, why it frustrates me so, when they claim there are so many species, or even new species, when they are not adhering to their own criteria. 

Again going with the flaws with evolution, and going back to the examples of canines. Even with will of the controlled breeding to get a Chiwawa and a Mastiff, though they are massively different in size, they could still breed and produce viable offspring. Given a female chiwawa bearing such an offspring would either need a C-section or die during birth, but a female Mastiff could easily bring forth a litter created from such a union. So, with all of man's efforts over the generations, we still have not truly observed the creation  of a new species, unless you count A-sexual organisms, but they are a whole different discussion. Lastly, I would like to point out that I am not fighting Darwin's notion of natural selection, I am just arguing that no matter how much natural selection or man's selection, a new species is not created. 

End of rant. 

So, God commanded that these fish, birds, and whales multiply. That was the end of the 5th day. (Genesis 1:22)

Day six. God created more and higher species, like cattle and things that creep upon the earth. God called them "good". (Genesis 1:24) There was not maliciousness, not fighting or contention. Literally, they were all herbivores, just like they will be during the millennium, "the lion shall eat straw like the ox."(Isaiah 11:6-8). Quickly, I would like to point out that felines are one of the few purely carnivorous animal families on earth. Even dogs and wolves will eat grass to help settle stomachs. 

Anyway, commanded them to multiply, and create more of their own kind. Again, the definition of a species. After God created these perfect animals, God created mankind. First with Adam, from the very dust of the earth (Genesis 2:7) with a celestial, perfect body (Journal if Discourses volume 1 pg 50), and then Eve, as part of Adam, taken from his rib (Genesis 2:21) in similitude of their being side by side, true, unified partners, of one flesh. I also find it fitting that Eve, or woman, was taken out of man, and then women have X chromosomes while men have an X and a Y. So quite symbolically, the X was reproduced and taken out of the XY man. Then God commanded His creations to multiply and replenish the earth. I also like the word "replenish" because it implies that the earth was once fully inhabited, thus again giving more credence to the dinosaur planet concept. 

Sadly though, I have learned that the rib being taken from Adam was purely symbolic. "The story of the rib, of course, is figurative." (The Blessings and Responsibilities of Womanhood, President Spencer W. Kimbal also The Eternal Family Teacher's Manual Lesson 7) Yet in this discovery I found this by Elder Russel M Nelson "From the rib of Adam, Eve was formed. Interesting to me is the fact that animals fashioned by our creator, such as dogs and cats, have thirteen pairs of ribs, but the human being has one less with only twelve." (Lessons from Eve)  

Thus ended the sixth day. The seventh day God "rested". (Genesis 2:2) I put rested in quotations because it is a basic misconception. As the Sabbath or 7th day is made for man to "rest", so it was for God. But what has God commanded us to do on the Sabbath, attend church, serve in our callings, study His word, ponder upon the things of God. All of these things are not resting, or as most people think of as sleeping or napping. On the contrary, most of these things take quite a bit of "work" and effort. So what is the true meaning of this "rest"? It is taking time out for the spiritual things, resting from matters of the flesh, or the temporary things, and focusing on those things that are most important, more crucial. Indeed, during this thousand of earth years in which God "rested", He focused on teaching Adam and Eve. Teaching them His gospel, teaching them truth, and imparting to them of knowledge. That is why it is so very fitting that this time period climaxed with Adam and Eve gaining the greatest, most progressive knowledge possible, by partaking of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Genesis 3:4) Quite a mouth full in more than one way. 

I feel that I should expound a little about about the nature of life in the Garden of Eden. During the course of writing this post, specifically Sunday July 26, 2015, I came across something that I did not know, and had not testimony of. Indeed it was perplexing to me, and I had little scriptural information to clarify it to me. So I prayed to know the truth. I had trouble receiving the answer, but finally through the means of writing things out, on paper, I received what I believe to be an answer. I know that the fall of Adam and Eve was necessary for them to procreate and to replenish the earth. And I know that in the celestial kingdom, after this life, celestial beings can too reproduce, so that the physical fall was not what was necessary for them to procreate, but rather a mental and spiritual fall. What I did not know was if the fall was necessary for animals to reproduce as well, or if they were already fulfilling God's first commandment while in the Garden of Eden. 

My answer, through prayer, was that they were indeed able to reproduce. The fall, and the curse upon the earth as a result, was for man's sake, not for the animals. The animals were, and will be redeemed. They, though celestialized, were able to reproduce more celestial beings. Their bodies have a nature for this, that was not caused by the fall. While for humans, we may claim it is our nature, but that nature is only a result of the fall. Flesh begets flesh, and spirit begets spirit. 

Another aspect I would like to touch on is that as a result of the fall, animal's brains are more limited. While in the garden animals could indeed speak. Satan does not, and will never have a body of his own, so he literally possessed a snake's body to speak to Eve. (Genesis 3:4, Moses 4:6-7 )

 It is known that demons and evil spirits can possess animal bodies, like when Jesus cast Legion into the herd of swine. (Mark 5:9-13). Also, why didn't Eve wonder why the snake was taking to her? We know from Numbers 22:27-31 that the Lord made the ass to speak, or rather weakened the veil so that the ass could speak for itself. Which means that at least the spirit of the ass is smart enough to be able to speak, even though its body, because of the fall, is not normally able to. 

I do believe that I have covered all that I have desire to cover in this post. I hope that you enjoyed this, and if you have any questions, comments, or references for or against what I have posted here, please leave them in the comments. Thank you. 

Love,

Jacobugoth