Cars Resurrection

Dear Readers,

I was watching the Cars movies, and afterwords had some interesting thoughts while in the shower. In a way, this Pixar world that was created gives a somewhat interesting and also horrifying insight into our lives here in mortality.

Lightning McQueen being trained by Cruz Ramirez in Cars 3

It is fairly obvious that the Cars are living automobiles or machines, but what I did not realize until watching the third movie is that they cannot see inside themselves. As most of us know, vehicles have speedometers so that as a driver, we can keep track of how fast we are going, usually because of speed limits. However, there is surprising emphasis in Cars 3 of Cruz Ramirez (McQueen's trainer) having to keep up with him in-order to scan his speed. This means that Lightning McQueen was unable to see the speedometer inside of himself, much like how a human needs a pedometer to keep track of the number of steps they take.

With this realization, I began thinking that if a car from our world was moved into this Cars Pixar world, it would be dead. No life in it like the other cars. Yet, if a human were to be there as well and drive the car, it would be a dead car, able to move. Essentially, this would make humans a parasite that reanimates a car's corpse.

This got me thinking of the Chevron with Techron commercials from years ago. In this world, living cars and people get along, in a true symbiotic relationship.

Looking at things from a more spiritual perspective, it is like a human is the spirit of the car, while the car itself is the body. While in mortality, our spirits drive around our bodies, making them seem alive. One day the driver will leave, and the car will be dead. While the Chevron with Techron world could be compared more to those who are transfigured like John the Beloved (Doctrine and Covenants 7). Loosely, they are alive as immortals, but will one day be changed in the twinkling of an eye, a transition equal to death, from this state into true immortality (3 Nephi 28:8). The fully living cars in Cars 1-3 are those who have the spirit and the body inseparably connected like a resurrected car/person.

Lizzie next to a memorial of her husband Stanley from Cars

Though, in this Pixar world, it is not a true comparison, for these cars still pass away. With Lizzie missing her husband Stanley, and others succumbing to rust as a disease, it is clear that though it could be compared with the resurrection it is far from the perfect state it would actually be.

Anyway, these were my interesting thoughts about Cars and the Gospel. I hope that you enjoyed them!

Love,
Jacobugoth

Thoughts about Christ

Dear Readers,

Again, in my institute class, we had another lesson about the nature of Christ and why He had to be the way He was in order to be our Savior. Of course, this got me thinking and speculating again. To explain my thoughts, I think I will begin with referring to my Adam, Eve, and Lilith post.

In that post I talked about a quote from Brigham Young "One thing has remained a mystery in this kingdom up to this day. It is in regard to the character of the well-beloved Son of God, upon which subject the Elder of Israel have conflicting views... The question has been, and is often, asked, who it was that begat the Son of the Virgin Mary... Now, remember from this time forth, and forever, that Jesus Christ was not begotten by the Holy Ghost." (Journal of Discourses v1 pg 50-51). Thus we see that in the portions I quoted earlier in my other post, he was clearly comparing Adam's birth to Christ's. Also, since Jesus was not born of the Spirit of God or the Holy Ghost, Jesus was literally the offspring of an immortal Father and a mortal mother, the Virgin Mary.

Now, there may be many people and members of the church that might think that this means that God the Father had sexual intercourse with the betrothed Mary. However, I will declare unequivocally and irrevocably that God will not break His own commandments. My God is not an adulterer or a fornicator. Yet clearly Mary was not His wife. Therefore, I am lead to believe that the Father's divine genetics were infused into one of Mary's ovum. The genes could have easily been in the form of sperm, thus we would call this artificial insemination. Ironically, the television show of Jane the Virgin may have some enlightenment on this subject of how Mary the mother of Jesus could be a virgin who conceived the Son of God.

Nevertheless, we must remember why this was necessary. Christ had to be half-mortal half-immortal. Without those attributes, He could not suffer the eternal pains of all of our sins and yet live, for any mortal would either perish or faint before the full measure of the price could be paid (Doctrine and Covenants 19:18).

Nor could He die and raise himself from the dead, for if He were mortal, He would die just like us and like our bodies, remain in the earth, and if He was immortal, He could not die and bring to pass the resurrection for Himself or the rest of us. These two crucial and encompassing points of the atonement required the Messiah, Jesus Christ, the child of a true Immortal and a very mortal mother.

Now, with these things in mind, I became intrigued with the realization I had concerning Ectoplasm in immortal beings. What would a demigod hybrid have flowing through His body? Just blood like a mortal? Christ bled from every pore in the garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:44) and bled as he was beaten, scourged, crucified, and notably when His side was pierced (John 19:34). So He most certainly had blood, but did He have spirit in His veins too? Spirit which is too fine or pure to be seen with our natural eyes (Doctrine and Covenants 131:7).

Though He could die, Christ could not be killed, He would have to give up His life and relinquish His body, at least for a time. If He could not be killed, it implies that His spirit was connected to His body in a stronger way, like possibly flowing through His body. Maybe within even every cell of His earthly tabernacle.

In my Light of Christ post, I speculated about why Christ's resurrected "perfect" body still had scars. Maybe His scars were from parts of His spirit He had given us so that we could have the light of Christ in us. Though, what has satisfied my in query was the notion that Christ's atonement made Him suffer body and spirit, thus when He was nailed on the cross, the nails pierced His body and His spirit, scaring both.

The idea that maybe He had this spiritual connection to His body all along now makes me wonder if this was the reason why the scripture was written that angels would bear Christ up least He dash His foot against a stone (Psalms 91:11-12, Matthew 4:6), because maybe any damage His body received during mortality would forever scar His spiritual body and therefore resurrected immortal body as well.

This would also mean that the tokens, which we are taught about in the temple, were the signs of Christ that needed to be upon His body, His immortal body. Literally, like a lamb to the slaughter, He could have been spared from physical pain, or at least scaring incisions, until the end of His life. This would also explain why none of His bones would be permitted to be broken, because those breaks would forever disfigure His bones.

Alas, this is all fun to speculate, but when all is said and done, all that has been revealed about Christ's upbringing is that he grew from grace to grace (Luke 2:52, John 1:16, Doctrine and Covenants 93:12-14), and that His childhood is not talked about because of sacred reverence much like how we treat our Mother in Heaven.

Because of the silence and the holding of peace that is given to this subject, a friend gave me a different view. When I expressed these ideas I was having to him, he asked whether or not I thought that Jesus got splinters, or accidentally cut Himself while He was a carpenter working with His father Joseph. I don't know, it could go either way with the fallen world of mortality, or the subtle protection from harm that Joseph and Mary might have taken for granted, much like David Dunn (Bruce Willis' character in Unbreakable) who never realized his impervious powers until the Glassman blew up a train and David survived without a scratch. It is very likely that we can take health for granted, and Joseph and Mary could have taken Christ's the same way.

However, to compensate for the possibility for a normal childhood, what if His spirit was not merged with His body until He was at the mount of transfiguration (Matthew 17:2)? What if Christ's transfiguration was a activation of some of His Father's dormant genes inside of Him, preparing Him to suffer body and spirit during the atonement. Using a rough estimation, the transfiguration took place about halfway through Christ's three year mission (Harmony of the Gospels) which would mean that Christ would have been in this semi-immortal, yet vulnerable state for about a year and a half.

Ultimately, in either case, acknowledging both could be wrong, I consign that these are simply cool ideas and thoughts that I was having about Christ. Thoughts that I figured were worth sharing. I hope that they get you thinking, and might even inspire you in some new terrains of thought. Feel free to leave any comments, concerns, or ideas that you have below.

Love,
Jacobugoth

Reincarnation

Dear Readers,

I felt impressed that I needed to write a post about my beliefs and understand of reincarnation. From what i understand, reincarnation is the spirit of an individual being born into a different body after the body dies, and the nature of the new body, whether human, animal, or other, is the result of that individual's choices in this life. Thwn, with a new kife and a new body, the cycle starts again.

I remember, on my mission, that I was teaching and wonderful woman and her husband about the Plan of Salvation. The Plan of Salvation, also called the Plan of Happiness, is God's plan for us to return to Him. Various steps, points, or principles of this plan include: pre-mortal life, the creation of the world, Adam and Eve and their fall from grace, our earth life, the Atonement of Jesus Christ, death, the spirit world: including paradise and prison, resurrection judgement and immortality, and finally the three degrees of glory: Celestial, terrestrial, and telestial.

I do not recall at which point the sister made her comment, but she roughly said, "What is your church's standing on reincarnation?" This question took me by surprise, I had only been on my mission for about 12 months, and never before had anyone asked about reincarnation. So, my companion and I took a quick breather, and the Spirit instructed me to ask her a question, "Are you asking because this is a belief you have?" She confirmed that it was. Then I asked, "Do you believe in reincarnation because of experiences you have had?"

She then proceeded to tell me about how she had always had a love of mountains, and has memories of being on mountains she has never been to before. She also has memories of a woman dressed in red, in the West, like a bordello harlot.

I had no idea what to say. I have not had any experiences myself like that. The only similarity is that I always loved monsters and creatures. From as far as my parents and I can remember, even to the present day, I still love monsters. This did not help me answer her initial question, but it allowed the Holy Ghost to work through me and testify to all of us in the room of a truth. In our pre-mortal life, not all of us having been born at the same time, come to the earth to be born at different times. After the creation of the world, what do our spirits do while waiting to be born in the flesh? Do they just sit there and do nothing, or do they accumulate intelligence? Not just learning from God, but what about likes and dislikes?

This is what the Spirit testified to us, that our very spirits have personalities, that her spirit likely either helped with the creation of mountains, or at least visited them in her pre-mortal life. This is where she gained her love for them and their beauty, and God saw fit to allow some of those pre-mortal memories to seep through the veil.

As for the harlot in red, she could have been an ancestor in the flesh, which this sister's spirit visited, either for support or just to learn what trials she might face in mortality. Another possibility, is that the harlot's spirit was a dear friend of her's in the pre-mortal life, and that she was looking out for her friend.

These answers satisfied her inquiry and helped her understand that though reincarnation is false doctrine, it does not mean that the reasons the doctrine was created are not true.

This answer helped me in a later situation. It was roughly 6 months later. My companion and I were teaching a less active member and his non member, investigating housemate. Again, we were teaching the Plan of Salvation, and the member mentioned how the cycle then repeats for reincarnation. First, we tried to emphasize that the kingdoms, or degrees of glory, are a final place estate after the resurrection. Then, again perceiving that there was a reason behind his belief, I asked him if he has had experiences that have lead him to believe in reincarnation. He said yes, then I said that from what I have come to understand, memories of past events that have never happened to us in this life, are memories we got to keep from our pre-mortal lives, as we went for learning and growing. I was surprised at how quickly he agreed with me, because he said, I understand now, I felt the Spirit tell me that what you said is true. All the while, the investigator had been actually on the missionaries' side, not having a belief in reincarnation.

My main point is, that the doctrine or belief of reincarnation was derived and developed because of these memories that religious leaders could not understand or explain in any other way. Since the truth has been restored through Joseph Smith and modern revelation, we can see clearly now, and have acceptance, and even appreciation for these memories, or personality traits.

Having said that, I would like to address the growing disillusionment, or clarity behind the doctrine of reincarnation.

I enjoy many shows, including Avatar: the Last Airbender. In this cartoon, Aang, the Avatar, is a "reincarnation" of Avatars from the past. He, being able to communicate through the spirit world, is able to talk to his past selves. Something I found intriguing was that they were each individuals. They had their own personality, their own morals and values, and most importantly, their own lives lived. This leads me to believe that part of this doctrine it is not spirits that are reincarnated into bodies, from one life to a next, but rather, some power choosing or following a life. In the case of this show, it is like the Avatar power is born again, or more accurately, given, to an individual in each generation, after the current Avatar passes on. Then this power acts like a tie or bond between the different spirits who had used that power while in mortality, keeping them close.

I have speculated/compared the very bending powers in the Avatar show, to the priesthood. Having some authority that allows one to command the very elements to obey. Then there is the mantle of the priesthood, with the keys to the administrations thereof, which are passed down from Prophet of God to Prophet of God. This reminds me of what it means to be the Avatar. Are not the Prophets of old tied to those who have lead us in these latter days? Did they not hold the same power? Is not that a bond that connects them through space and time? Evidence of this would be the example of shortly after Joseph Smith's death, the members of the church did not know who the next Prophet should be, so they had members of the 12 Apostles speak. When President Brigham Young stood up and spoke, he spoke with Joseph Smith's voice and appearance. How could this be, unless the Prophet Joseph Smith's spirit had been with Brigham Young?

The idea of a power or influence bonding with someone else what recently re-emphasized to me while watching Naruto Shippuden. There were two brothers who fought and caused a great war. Their ideas and traits were "reincarnated" at least twice. One brother having his power come from friends, the other from inherit power within himself. Their powers, preserved in what the show calls chakra, which is essentially spirit energy and energy from the body being molded together, latches on to individuals who possess those same traits. Somewhat influencing the individual to nurture and focus on those traits.

This pointed out to me that it is not the same spirit, just in a new body, but residual effects or powers from the past being used again.

Lastly, in the X-files tv series, Maulder runs into a lady with multiple personality disorder, who "turns out" to just retain memories and personalities of past incarnations. Maulder has one as well who had been very close to one of hers. Then the show taught that these spirits group together with other spirits they are familiar or close with.

This reminded me of some episodes of Charmed that were very similar. However, with the knowledge of reincarnation being false, how would this kind of behavior be explained. For me, it was the key in the X-files philosophy, that the spirits group around those they are familiar with. What if those "past selves" are just spirits who have attached themselves, like the chakra from Naruto, to an individual. Thus, reliving vicariously through that individual, those things that were meaningful or profound to them. Two spirits in love choose two passionate lovers to be reciprocals of their love. Two brothers fighting choose two brothers, or close friends, and re-experience their hate.

After writing that, I cannot help but make the comparison to Sam and Dean Winchester from Supernatural. They are two brothers who do not get along a lot of the time. One follows their father blindly, and the other rebels. This was used as an explanation/example of Michael the Archangel and Lucifer the Son of the Morning. Their Father was God, and Lucifer rebelled. They, in this show, as spirit/graceful beings wanted to possess Sam and Dean's bodies to reenact their fight on earth and perform the battle of Armageddon. Thus again, beings or powers choosing people of like character or circumstance to be vessels for them.

To reiterate for the last time, there are three possibilities as to why reincarnation is a false doctrine. First, and having been testified of on two occasions by the Holy Ghost, is that some of us have memories from our pre-mortal life. Second, mostly my own reasoning using the truth I know and the depictions presented me, that reincarnation is power of the past, almost like priesthood power, Third, again my own speculation, that spirits of the past haunt, posses, or just tag along with us during mortality.

The only time that "reincarnation" would be truth, as defined as a spirit receiving a new body after death that may be different from the old and comes as a result of one's choices in this life, would be with the resurrection. For there are bodies celestial, terrestrial, and telestial, all differing in glory because of the judgment (Doctrine and Covenants 76). Then, and only then, does it meet the criteria, but it does not cycle through again.

As for me, and what I truly believe, and not just speculate or theorize, is that in most cases, these experiences are memories of the pre-mortal life. Unless I have a reason to gain further light and knowledge beyond this, I rest.

I hope that you have enjoyed this post, and feel free to comment any ideas or understanding you have on this subject. For or against what I have talked about. Even if you believe in reincarnation and just want to bear your testimony of it, feel free to do so.

Love,
Jacobugoth

Facebook Request 3: The Glory of God is Intelligence

Dear Readers,

Because it has been requested on Facebook, by my wonderful Step-Mother Laina, I am please to post about The Glory of God is Intelligence.

This is a very deep subject of the gospel and I will endeavor to try explain it in such a way as those who read this may understand. It was John Taylor who said, "It is true intelligence for a man to take a subject which is mysterious and great in itself and to unfold and simplify it so that a child could understand it." (Journal of Discourses v 5 pg 260)

First of all, what is "intelligence"? Usually we think of how smart we are, whether book smarts from schooling, or "street smarts" or common sense from practical life experience. This is where, I feel, that worldly doctrine and confused intelligence with knowledge and wisdom. The clearest example that I know is with the saying, "Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put a tomato in a fruit salad." I would argue and these are just aspects of intelligence, but not really what it is, or what it means to be intelligent.


God defines "intelligence" in Doctrine and Covenants 93:29-30 "... Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be. 30. All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also, otherwise there is no existence." Intelligence is the light of truth. Not only that, but intelligence is sentient, alive, conscious, "to act for itself". I believe it was Socrates who said "Cogito, Egro Sum", "I think, therefore I am". Intelligence is the ability to think, not just something in our brains, but literally life in the most basic of all its forms.

Some people may say, "Where is the proof of that?". Well I say, let is try and experiment. As will all truth, you can experiment upon it and get an answer, if you are open to receive it. It was explained to me like this... (WARNING don't try until you finish reading the instructions, because the first one is close your eyes, and it is hard to read with your eyes closed.) INSTRUCTIONS {Close you eyes, and find your little "I Am". Wiggle your toes, is that above or below "you". What about your chest, your breathing, is that above or below you? Now touch your chin. What about your ears, are the above, below, or to the sides? Continue for your nose, eyes, back and top of your head, even your forehead.}Your little "I Am" is inside of your head. Inside of your brain.

So, with my limited knowledge about human anatomy, I would like to point out that it is not a coincidence that your little "I Am" or intelligence is about where the main nerve group is in the brain. Sorry, I do not know what it is called, yet it is my theory that either that part of the brain, or the brain matter itself is what communicates with our spirit. Thus it would make sense to me that our "I Am" would be located right there. Also, if while doing the experiment, you ran you finger down you forehead, you would find that right between your eyes is in front of "you". This, I wonder, is why so many people think of the "third eye" though that is traditionally located in the middle of the forehead.

Here is something fun, not only is intelligence life, but it is visibly seen as light. Like to old sayings about the light going out in your eyes. Though, it is not just any light, like sunlight or from a light bulb, it is the light of truth. Truth, not lies, not falsehoods, but truth is literally alive.

I like the subtle theme from "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" that truth is strength. Which makes me wonder, if we are told to "feast upon the words of Christ" (2 Nephi 32:3) because the truth sets us free and is a kind of food for our spirits, what if that is more literal than we give it credit for. I mean God's light of truth fills the "immensity of space"  and gives "life to all things" (Doctrine and Covenants 88:12-13), what if, like sunlight is ultimately what feeds our physical bodies through the food chain, if God's light, if intelligence, is what feeds our spiritual bodies.

Again, something else fun, the scriptures say that we can gain intelligence, by gaining truth. In Daniel 11:30 Daniel sees a vision of several kings and of one he said "...so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant." Basically, that king will try to convince those who did "forsake the holy covenant" and show them the error of their ways with truth. Then in the Testimony of the Prophet Joseph Smith which can be found in the beginning of the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith said "... Accordingly, as I had been commanded, I went at the end of each year, and at each time I found the same messenger there, and receive instruction and intelligence from him at each of our interviews..."

When we learn truth, I mean really learn, almost absorb it, then we gain and increase in intelligence. Doctrine and Covenants 88:40 "For intelligence cleaveth unto intelligence; wisdom receiveth wisdom; truth embraceth truth; virtue loveth virtue; light cleaveth unto light;..." This is why some people love learning, and if you are taught truth, and taught it correctly, then it is good, you enjoy it. The very truth itself "cleaveth" or holds to, leans upon more truth, building like a snowball rolling down a hill, which sadly, living in Arizona, I have not actually seen.

Then God gives us a kind of promise in Doctrine and Covenants 130:18 "Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection." As we learn truth, whether knowledge or wisdom, that remains with us in the next life. Literally growing our life.

So if this is what "intelligence" is, where did it come from? Doctrine and Covenants 93:29 explains it quite well. "29. Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be." Yes I know I have used this scripture already, but it is a good one. Light of truth, or intelligence, cannot be created or made. You cannot create a false truth, nor can you create that intelligence that is life.

Now some may argue, but we create life all of the time, through procreation. That is not entirely true. To explain this, I will now talk about what intelligence does. We know that it acts, but what does it do?

 Abraham 3:21-23 "21. I dwell in the midst of them all; I now, therefore, have come down unto thee to declare unto thee the works which my hands have made, wherein my wisdom excelleth them all, for I rule in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath, in all wisdom and prudence, over all the intelligences thine eyes have seen from the beginning; I came down in the beginning in the midst of all the intelligences thou has seen. 22. Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; 23. And God saw these souls they they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou was born."

I would like to point out some key words here, especially in verse 23. "Souls" in Doctrine and Covenants 88:15 "And the spirit and the body are the soul of man.". Abraham was shown the pre-mortal life, before we received bodies, and yet God "saw these souls". He saw their potential and what they were meant to be and become, "for [H]e stood among those that were spirits". Now what are "spirits"?


Doctrine and Covenants 131:7-8 "7. There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes; 8. We cannot see it; but when our bodies are purified we shall see that it is all matter." So, essentially, our spirits are bodies for our intelligence.

Here comes that deep doctrine I was talking about. In Journal of Discourses volume 7 page 2-3 Brigham Young, the second Prophet of this dispensation, said "If people understood true philosophy—eternal philosophy, they would understand that there is an eternity of matter. Astronomers estimate that there is between us and the nearest fixed star matter enough from which to organize millions of earths like this. There is an eternity of matter, and it is all acted upon and filled with a portion of divinity. Matter is to exist; it cannot be annihilated. Eternity is without bounds, and is filled with matter; and there is no such place as empty space. And matter is capacitated to receive intelligence. If we could so understand true philosophy as to understand our own creation, and what it is for - what design and intent the Supreme Ruler had in organizing matter and bringing it forth in the capacity that I behold you here today, we could comprehend that matter cannot be destroyed-that it is subject to organization and disorganization; and could understand that matter can be organized and brought forth into intelligence, and to possess more intelligence, and to continue to increase in that intelligence; and could learn those principles that organized matter into animals, vegetables, and into intelligent beings; and could discern the Divinity acting, operating, and diffusing principles into matter to produce intelligent beings, and to exalt them-to what? Happiness. will nothing short of that fully satisfy the spirits implanted within us? No.
You can daily observe the operations of the spirits of men in the streets of this city. There you can now see the world exhibited as it is. You can see people hurrying from the east to the west, from the west to the east, from the north to the south, and from the south to the north. Have they any object in view? Ask the traveler whether he has; ask the bystander whether there is an object in his mind. Whether I stand or walk, whether I labor or rest, lie down or rise up, in all my acts in life there is an object. I have something in view, you have something in view, and so has the whole human family, as also all intelligence of every grade."

So, firstly matter is "capacitated" or has the capacity or ability to receive or store intelligence, and the deepest, most motivating aspect of these intelligences is the need to be happy. That is what all life seeks, to be happy. Now, from what we have learned thus far, spirit is matter, and that matter can hold intelligence, but the physical elements are also matter, and also have spirit matter with them. That is why (see Creation post) God formed all things spiritually before they were physically there. 

God has created, or organized all things, but why so many different ones. Firstly Abraham 3:19 "And the Lord said unto me: These two facts do exist, that there are two spirits, one being more intelligent than the other; there shall be another more intelligent than they; I am the Lord thy God, I am more intelligent than they all."Therefore some intelligences are more intelligent than others, and God knew which ones were most like Him, thus created them in His image, and others He placed in different lesser orders, stages, or spheres.

2 Nephi 2:14 "And now, my sons, I speak unto you these things for your profit and learning; for there is a God, and he hath created all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and things to be acted upon." This is what we might call God science. God speaks to the spirit, to the intelligence of the the elements, those things which are made to be acted upon, and because He is God, their creator, their liberator, and so they listen and obey. For it is taught in the temple that when the earth was being created physically, it was waited upon to see if it would obey.

Also, 2 Esdras 6:41 of the Old Testament Apocrypha "41.Upon the second day thou madest the spirit of the firmament, and commandedst it to part asunder, and to make a division betwixt the waters, that the one part might go up, and the other remain beneath." 

Even so, that is how miracles are performed, whether Moses calling forth the plagues upon Egypt, or Jesus healing all manner of sicknesses, walking on water, or turning water into wine. Even when healings and other miracles are performed today, it is by God's power, or His authority, his Priesthood that such things are done. By His say so, and that is because of His honor. In Doctrine and Covenants 29:36 we read that the main reason why Lucifer fell was because he wanted God's power, or in other words, he wanted the honor and glory for himself, for performing the atonement. 

So, God's power, is His honor, but why is honor power? Because God always keeps His promises, and He has promised that as long as we obey Him, we will be saved, or in other words, resurrected with a perfect body, and that our bodies, spirits, and intelligences will no longer be subject to separation. This is not only true for us, His children, but also for the animals, for the trees, even the earth itself. 10th article of faith, "...that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisical glory." Even in Doctrine and Covenants 88:19-20, 130:9 it says that the earth will be crowned with glory, and become immortal.

Doctrine and Covenants 93;33 "For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fullness of joy;" This is why the earth and all of the animals obey God, because He has promised a "fullness of joy", and He keeps His promises. This is why God has said, "...this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."(Moses 1:39) because God's glory, God's power, God's honor, all comes from our happiness, and we can only be truly happy if we receive eternal life!

I hope that you learned from and understood this post about why the Glory of God is Intelligence.(Doctrine and Covenants 93:36) If you have any questions or comments, please post them. I really want to know what you think, and if I was able to explain this doctrine accurately. For personal research, I was introduced to this doctrine by listening to a talk by W. Cleon Skousen "Meaning of the Atonement". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHan3Y8BxGs

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