INTRODUCTION TO THE THERMODYNAMICS & ETERNODYNAMICS OF DESIRE

MASTER TEACHERS vs. MASTER TEASERS

The question of desire is an interesting one. We have, in what is commonly presented as Christianity and Buddhism, two religions representing opposite ends of the spectrum, at least on the surface. The former tends in practice to focus on the directing of desire, while the latter aims more towards an elimination of desire.  But we can not gain a true under-standing from examining the surface of a thing. We see the plant that springs forth but we have no understanding unless we dig, delve to the roots. Even sticking to the words of the founders of these movements can only get us so far, because scriptures are at best the stalk of the plant or trunk of the tree. Usually they come to us via second-hand, third-hand, hundredth-hand sources. In both traditions we find master teachers. What distinguishes a master teacher from others who are called teachers? It is that the master teacher recognizes his or herself to be a student. All master teachers are students of the source. They remain always aware of their relationship to the divine source. They are not ashamed to be seen as “Teacher’s Pet”. These master teacher/students make it clear that all may enjoy the same relationship, but regardless of whether or not other students embrace this truth, the master teacher constantly and consciously cultivates a natural and intense desire towards God. Those who experience a thing directly are in fact the only students who learn anything. Those who never visit but only glean knowledge of the kingdom remotely, through reading what students-turned-teachers have written about it, will only think they know something.

So we are repeatedly invited by the master teachers to visit and know for ourselves the realms of which they have become representatives. There are at least 7 heavens about which humanity has collectively speculated and to which some individuals have been. The Buddhic realm is only one of the degrees of glory. It is like a white room a place to rest entirely from all, and I do mean all, the cares of this world. It is indeed high up on the ladder and a wonderful, even essential place to visit. But all of the heavens described by ascended masters are more like vacation S-P-O-T-S not permanent S-T-O-P-S. When any one of the Many Mansions in Our Father’s House is mistaken for a permanent stop, it becomes a prison and starts to bring about damnation.

Often there is a flaccid admittance of the need to keep moving, but it is only used as a carrot on a stick. In religion we hear a lot of talk about doing good deeds and earning our way into heaven. In politics the same rhetoric can be heard expressed in terms of forward thinking and progressive action. But when you step back and look at it, we are just subjecting ourselves to busywork. Rulers rarely see the need to labor in the same way they require their subjects to. Still, regardless of position in the pyramid, zombies everywhere feel the need to “look alive”. But the paid performers that we are, it is all an act with us. The reality of our situation is a rapid onset of rigor mortis from all the religious and intellectual rigor of our modern-day deathstyles. Whether sitting statically on our thrones or tirelessly laboring away on our treadmills, none of us are actually going anywhere.

In his book Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, marketing genius Seth Godin (whose last name is a subliminal reference to the God-in-man) says:

“The largest enemy of change and leadership isn’t a “no.” It’s a “not yet.” “Not yet” is the safest, easiest way to forestall change. “Not yet” gives the status quo a chance to regroup and put off the inevitable for a little while longer. Change almost never fails because it’s too early. It almost always fails because it’s too late.”

Branding life eternal as a goal to chase rather than the momentum of the moment that it really is, only postpones the return of Christ. And master teachers from Christ Jesus to Christ Krishna have taught that the teachers of religion fearfully keep Zion at bay through their dogma which is more teasing than teaching. If anyone doubts that Christ Jesus knew what He was talking about when He echoed Christ Isaiah and proclaimed woe to the teachers of the law, let him consider the walking contradiction that is organized religion.

In the last General Conference of the LDS Church, Dieter F. Uchtdorf said:

“Sometimes in life we become so focused on the finish line that we fail to find joy in the journey… Doesn’t it seem foolish to spoil sweet and joyful experiences because we are constantly anticipating the moment when they will end?”

It is a valid question – does anyone stop to smell the roses these days? But here is an equally valid question – if a group of people are truly on the path of happiness, why would they have to be told or reminded to be happy while on that path? One immediate benefit from taking sufficient time to smell the roses on the path of life is development of the spiritual olfactory. A strong sense of spirit smell does wonders for the Christian who is serious about developing that all-important gift of discernment spoken of in Christian scripture. When you nose, you knows. You can not only smell the roses, but also the bullsh*t. On the proverbial path of life there is a fine line between travel and travail. Sure, there is something eternal about sadness and pain just as there is about happiness and pleasure, but the key to these experiences is you and the key to you is awareness. This awareness is in-finite and that means it is the eternal spirit which is wont to reside in(the)finite.

We can become so fixed upon some distant destination that our sense of destiny turns to frustration and damnation, keeping us from fully ingesting, enjoying and learning the vital lessons of the here and now. When a belief system points always to, not merely “the future” but an elusive “afterlife” as the appropriate time and place for experiencing a fullness of joy, it is propagating a doctrine of damnation. False ideas of afterlife can be a fatal lie. If your religious tradition claims to offer eternal happiness, eternal marriage or any other aspect of eternal life but fails to produce results here and now, then there is nothing eternal about it. It will eventually fall and many along with it. Heaven is not obtainable in the afterlife because upon reaching that promised point on the horizon, what was sold to us as eternal marriage is revealed to be an eternal mirage. Alma 34:34 says: “That same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.” We can only ever affect change from in the moment. That is good news for eternal souls, but perceived as bad news by troublesome spirits who flee from us when we realize eternal life is happening today.

When “that day” comes it is suddenly transformed into “this day”. As soon as “one(1)day” becomes “to(2)day” as it inevitably does, leaders and followers alike are confounded and insulted. So a person or people who are always relegating the fulfillment of prophecy to some future date rather than letting it be true for them in their sphere of influence already, are always taken unawares, as by a thief in the night. They will find themselves unable to abide the day since they are wholly unaccustomed to experiencing eternity now and much less serenity now. Apocalypse Now is described in scripture as the “Great & Terrible Day”. Not many derive wisdom from this title which indicates that the usually unconsidered choice to unify these two polar opposites (Great and Terrible) is the key to the kingdom. Most prefer to have the choices made for them by a set of time honored traditions parading as eternal law. They vainly imagine that they may completely escape the sorrow while others perish. But remember, it was the “more righteous part” of the Nephites and Lamanites who were left “lamenting and howling” in the darkness for three consecutive days. The vain live and die by religious rules which advertise guarantees but only ever amount to a guarantease. But that’s what happens when you put your faith in the master teasers indstead of master teachers.

ETERNODYNAMICS

So we can see that the master teasers are too afraid and too conceited to make progress themselves or even allow others to do so. And I think we can all sense the importance of learning to operate from the present with faith enough to move. Forget about moving mountains at this point, we just need faith enough to get ourselves moving. We can only find Christ in the present moment; hence it is important not to “look beyond the mark.” But if standing our ground in the here and now is crucial to an unwavering demonstration of faith, then how does this vital movement come about out of seeming stillness?

Just as the present must be our base of operations, being in fact the only real time, location serves as a pivotal crux for simple spatial transportation and advanced teleportation. We never actually reach the future we instead pull it to us by incorporating ideas into the present. ‘Then’ always becomes ‘Now’ sooner or later. And ‘There’ can just as easily become ‘Here’, as we have demonstrated to ourselves various times in our lives by getting into a vehicle and, while essentially sitting in one place, driving our bodies from point A to point B. The writers of the timeless 80’s classic movie, Back to the Future, were giving an example of eternodynamic self-propulsion. When Marty dictates a note for the past version of his dad to read to the past version of his mom, the note contains a rather poetic description of how desire can propel us forward in faith along our chosen path. It says: “My destiny has brought me to you,” but the overly scientific Martin McFly Sr. reads it as: “My density has popped me to you.” Either expression is correct, we are simply speaking of the same phenomenon of motion in terms of spiritual and physical manifestation.

There is no place we can go without us being there. As they say, “Wherever you go, there you are.” It sounds silly, but it is in fact the most eloquent explanation of omnipresence. We laugh only because we doubt and doubt is inimical to faith. With the passage of time, and as a result of the perceived loss of childhood which Gertrude Stein experienced in Oakland California, she said of that place, “There is no there there.” This also sounds funny to our ears, but the same could be said of anywhere but ‘here’. In many ways we are all seeking the “there, there” of the comforter, to reconnect to beloved parents who we thought were lost to us since the Fall. This desire can either swelter in feelings of abandonment or it can activate swellings within the chest cavity (Alma 32:28) which end up unlocking to us the secrets of repentance, reconnection, time travel and ultimately resurrection. Stein’s writings were sometimes referred to as “stream of consciousness”. Since we and everything around us is created from a constant “stream of consciousness,” this term is helpful in making sense of what we might call eternodynamics.

Here + Now is a scientific formula that has been studied by Albert Einstein and many other famous scientists. Their experiments show us that Time + Space are connected and for their “discoveries,” they are looked upon as geniuses. But it should never be assumed that what is “discovered” in this time was never known in times past. Holy Scripture surely testifies to the forgetfulness of mankind. In other timespaces, such as pre-columbian meso-america, an innate understanding of this concept imbued the language with a reflection of the faithful relationship between time and space. Many words that we would classify as prepositions, adjectives or adverbs were united by one word which served to express both a spatial and temporal sense. So, for example, phrases that translate as “in front of” or “in the beginning” would be expressed by the same short phrase and often condensed into one simple word – similar to the English word, ‘before’. But whereas in times before, ‘before’ was regularly used to imply locality, these days we frequently hear the word when rushing to complete our business “before the deadline”. No one says, “Stand before me,” unless of course you are “The Law,” in which case you carefully use your language to address startled and confused citizens, commanding them to “appear before the court.” And in our backwards state, no one has the courage or common sense to realize that:

1) Nothing appears in this physical realm before it is conceived of on the emotional and mental planes.

2) Standing before a thing locates the causal power with you, not the thing, since ‘before’ stands at the beginning of time and dictates the end result.

The pre-fixed order of the universe can be seen at work in English prefixes ‘ante’ and ‘anti’. Even though they carry seemingly separate meanings, both trace their roots back to one common source – a Greek word meaning ‘before’ or ‘against’. Absolutely everyone is “anti-government” in some particular way or another. Republicans are against government doing certain things and Democrats are against it doing others. Neither party realizes that pushing against something only furthers it along. Each “opposing” side provides the potential energy the other needs in order to go kinetic. This is what makes the whole game of politricks so frenetic. So-called anarchists who struggle against the entire system, ignorantly perpetuate it with their own energy. To perturb something is to stimulate it, awaken it and give it the energy to grow. Only those who proclaim themselves ante-government pose a serious deterrent to the madness.

If we think about what we are doing and saying, we will note how fragmented our view of time and space has become. Looking to linguistics again, we will notice that older versions of English tended to demonstrate this principle more so than how it is spoken today. Reading ‘Biblical’/‘Shakespearean’ text we hear the phrase “at hand” being used to speak of temporal and/or spatial relationships. But even then, we do not consider the idea as a simultaneous expression of two intertwined aspects of one reality. In speaking of “non-tangible matters” we still use it in this way. But for some reason we feel the need to make a slight moderation/modernization and say ‘On hand’ when talking about “material things”. Deep in our subconscious we do recognize the eternal and unbreakable attachment that links time to space but for some reason we cannot seem to consciously acknowledge that; whether matter of the heart or physical matter, it is all matter and it all matters.

There is a quote that is attributed to graphic artist Katherine Gerardi which explains the dynamics between time and space very simply and very well.

“At first, I learned that the key word was, ‘Now’. And after embracing that, I feel that the key word is ‘Flow’, since if ‘Now’ is the only true place, then flow is the only true action – to be present and in harmony with Change.”

Flow is the perfect word to illustrate the movement which we seek. Time is flowing through us and infinite awareness funneled into our bodies creates operational spaces in accordance with our will power. Or, as Jay Kay, lead singer of Jamiroquai shrewdly sings out on the title track of one of the band’s chart-topping albums – “I know what we’re doin’ is travelin’ without movin’.”

So, what does desire have to do with all this? Well, the only thing that can overcome damnation is movement and the only thing that can spur true movement and ensure its continuation in this realm is desire. Desire is sometimes dissected into two principles of love and will in order to better understand the mechanics at work. We could use either ‘love’ or ‘will’ interchangeably to accurately describe the concept of ‘desire’ because at any given time and place both love and will are working together and manifesting as desire. Desire, then would sometimes seem to be synonymous with form, and other times with intangible qualities. The reason for this versatility is because, like the Son is a perfect blend of the Mother and the Father, pure desire is such a natural result of the combination of love and will, that it may move simultaneously in the direction of form and formlessness, thereby solidifying the bond between stern Father Time, who seems to wait for no man, and firm but malleable Mother Space who expands and contracts allowing passage to any and all brave souls. But remember that the Son of God was already present as a guiding magnetic force in the First Place. To employ the Back to the Future analogy once again; young Marty Jr. exists as the reason for Marty Sr. and Lorraine coming together prior to his physical birth.

WORKING WITH DESIRE

Now, just because desire forms a permanent connection between love and will does not mean that it is never subject to imbalance in its embodiment of these two principles. Alma’s monologue cautions:

“I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction.” (Alma 29:4)

Alma is talking metaphysics in these verses. He knows that feelings of discontentment with the here and now only freeze up our capabilities to perform great things. So he shifts from a wishful mindset to glorying in “that which the Lord hath commanded” him. He does not let his desire dwell too long on the future. Nor does he find fault with his desire as it switches course, passing right over the present and swinging in the direction of the past before finally regaining balance in the center. His desire sways from excessive expectation – “Oh that I were and angel!” (verse 1) to respectful remembrance – “I also remember the captivity of my fathers” (verse 11). But it eventually settles like a pendulum in the middle. Is it Alma’s will that harnesses his desire or his love that calms his desire in this instance? Or is it a case of his desire straddling the two extremes, bringing them together and planting his feet firmly? However we choose to explain it, there can be no doubt that his feisty yet focalized desire now gives Alma a sense of empowerment. He ends the chapter with a strong positive affirmation – “And may God grant that it may be done according to my words, even as I have spoken. Amen.” Yes, from traveling preacher to trumpet blowing angel, Alma the Younger was and is a true master metaphysician.

Alma obtained the desire of his heart and you and I may do the same. But most do not care enough to develop a conscious relationship with their Heavenly Parents so that the desires within them can take form. It requires patience and submissiveness. Alma the Elder was patient and did not try to force his son to repent of his wicked ways. Alma the Younger after seeing the angel was humbled and concentrated on the mission God set before him. All of this time and faith paid off, and now, Alma the Angel bursts forth – fully formed and ready for action!

When we find ourselves in dark or even restricting corners do we despair or do we trust the Holy Mother? We are only in her womb. We needn’t see it as a tomb. Kicking and pushing against the dark walls will not do anything but cause our desire to grow. The increase of desire alone is of no help to us, for a premature birth could mean a premature demise. We should be taking this vital time in the dark confines of the womb to allow this cocoon of love to nourish and strengthen our will for the day of our deliverance which is nigh. We don’t have to be mathematicians or know anything about square matrixes of numbers whose combined products can be interpreted as an absolute value representing an area, volume or limit that boxes us into a matrix within the matrix to comprehend that there is a fine line between determent and determinant.

This is where desire gets tricky – where it can get sticky – like semen building up and occasionally spilling out but only from an automatic, lazy and even rebellious overflow. Off-spring in any stage are eternally in need of guidance from the Father. It is true that the off-spring of the Father will reach a point where, filled with desire, they begin to move of their own volition. This is a good thing. It means they are ready. But without conscious guidance from the Father, that energy which builds up and springs-off will come to naught in wet ‘pipe dreams’ or even worse, grow languid and feeble. It is not necessarily a sin in the eyes of the Creator to masturbate, but failure to master fate through masterfully bated breath of life results in a less than immaculate ejaculate and can create problems. There is no such thing as a problem child since even a child who is problematic presents an opportunity for the Father to be glorified in perfection. As creators in training, it is not masturbation but misturbation that is a misuse of our desire. Desire that is misdirected or neglected never succeeds in creating a new life for us. If forced or underappreciated, desire will de-Sire bastard brain-children, aborted dreams or soulless apparitions which haunt their maker till they are at last reabsorbed by we who must bear responsibility for their fragmented phantasmal forms.

PROPER TOOLS FOR HANDLING DESIRE

When working with the highly volatile substance of desire it helps to use the right tools. Tools in the mundane mammon of Idumea are prized for their current value which fluctuates with the ups and downs of the market. But as a clever commercial campaign for a well known financial institution reminds us, we need to “Chase what matters.” From the perspective of eternodynamics there are things in both the spiritual and physical realms which are also cherished for their current value. But here the word ‘current’ refers not only to an up-to-date point in a time-line, but also and more especially to a thing’s ability to conduct current – as in flow of eternal energies. Such things as arms and legs, for example hold great current value for mankind and have for millennia now. This is why they charge us an arm and a leg to keep upgraded with the latest trick-nology – “tricked out” as those versed in modern slang might say. Indeed, but “tricked out” of what? – our birthright of free inner-g.  It’s really just a “new lamps for old” scam. When we come to understand the immense potential of our own limbs and appendages; even braided locks of hair as antennae, we begin to see how silly our psychological attachment to man-made gadgets and gizmos is. Truly it is Virtual Insanity that we are living in. As the lyrics of another Jamiroquai song testify, we “always seem to be governed by this love we have for useless twisting of our new technology.” The bible says we “worship the work of [our] own hands, that which [our] own fingers have made.” (Isaiah 2:8)

For many years scientists were puzzled by the fact that more heat could be generated from the Sun’s corona than from His surface, until finally they realized that the Son braids his locks and it is this braiding that combines for flares of spectacular Sampson-like strength and energy.

I-pods and I-phones are the I-Dols of our day. There is a trance-humanist agenda that is subtly but swiftly sweeping over the sleeping masses. “Accept no imitations,” we are told by the sons of Cain, travailing salesmen who employ double-speak as they sell us imitations. Trick-nology will never equal the majesty and grace of the human body. But if ‘I’ can be convinced that these gadgets and gizmos are-me, then I inadvertently give rise to an army of I-Robots designed to replace the human race. That is the grave danger of our precious I-Dolls. This is what we can expect if we forsake the Great I-Am which is a part of all of us, accepting instead these individually wrapped futures. The only way to avoid such a dark fate is to unwrap ourselves from the Individual Pods they have placed us in and connect with one another via true spiritual inner-g. Some people think that their undue trust in technology does not qualify as putting their trust in the arm of flesh, which is expressly forbidden in scripture. When Jeremiah and Nephi say “cursed is he who maketh flesh his arm” they are not condemning the use of the arm as a channel for divine energies. It is he who neglects this practice and resorts to so-called technological enhancement and brute force on whom the curse falls. It is not that your arm of flesh is not special; on the contrary you must begin to realize just how special it is as a vessel for the life-stream of the spirit so you can commune daily with the divine inner-g that The Creator offers to all liberally.

In today’s world there is much F.E.A.R. (False Evidence Appearing Real) and this can make it extremely tempting to focus on man-made forms for protection of ourselves and our loved ones. The enemy would much rather have us focused on political petitions which cleverly steer our “right to bear arms” away from bearing the Spirit of God like a burning fire through our God-given arms towards a frivolous and futile franticness about “firearms”, which are only a lesser power devised by man for use of force upon the earth in periods where faith in God has dwindled to a frightening degree. Men of God need to be more about the former (Power which stood before the foundations of the world let alone this great nation) than the latter (Latter-Day So-called Liberty movements). The Japanese word, “kara-te” literally means “empty hand, bare hand.” As we shift our attention from militias of men to the lessons of the Lord we will gain the confidence of the martial artist and find ourselves not merely in body but also in soul, holy and wholly “marshaled and disciplined for war” as per D&C 87:4.

MAKING CONNECTIONS

In light of the tendency we mortals have to focus on the physical laws by which we are bound, it is useful for us to take up a study of those laws, but only insomuch as we remain clear on the truth that, such physical facts are only reflections and refractions of spiritual principles. Just as the Ten Commandments were only fractioned bits of the whole and higher law that originally came down from the mountain top, only to be dashed to pieces because the people would not abide it; so is the divine law of love broken down into lesser laws, which when amassed by men, whether to a total of ten or forty-two, could never equal the emergent majesty of the universal code of life – pure, whole love. Thermodynamics is just a physical manifestation of eternodynamics. In the same way that thermodynamics concerns itself with measuring and predicting macroscopic energy displays from microscopic movements within systems, eternodynamics looks at the spiritual part of the process which pre-seeds even the quantity known as internal energy postulated in the first law of thermodynamics. In fact, the first law of thermodynamics is itself reliant upon what Ralph H. Fowler and co-author Edward A. Guggenheim coined as a “zeroeth law of thermodynamics” – stating that a kind of egalitarian Euclidian relationship between systems must exist.

If A and C are each in thermal equilibrium with B, A is also in equilibrium with C.

So, for example, as long as the members of the Godhead are understood to be three distinct thermodynamic systems, then reflexivity and symmetry are perfectly maintained among the group due to a common link of heat/desire which preserves a state unchanged through time. Eternodynamics, then, could be called the study of pre-existence, upon which all the physical sciences depend – starting with thermodynamics. They are two ends of one begending, as explained by the Lord in D&C 29:30-33.

30 But remember that all my judgments are not given unto men; (God is telling us that there is more than meets the eye and even more than can be detected by microscopes) and as the words have gone forth out of my mouth even so shall they be fulfilled, that the first shall be last, and that the last shall be first in all things whatsoever I have created by the word of my power, which is the power of my Spirit.

31 For by the power of my Spirit created I them; yea, all things both spiritual and temporal

32 First spiritual, secondly temporal, which is the beginning of my work; and again, first temporal, and secondly spiritual, which is the last of my work— (The science of thermodynamics follows a similar pattern from unseen to seen processes and also distinguishes transfers between closed systems as ‘work’)

33 Speaking unto you that you may naturally understand; but unto myself my works have no end, neither beginning; but it is given unto you that ye may understand, because ye have asked it of me and are agreed (Being “agreed” as it says here could also be expressed similarly to being in “equilibrium” as stated in the zeroeth law of thermodynamics).

So when we come across terms like hot or cold describing temperature of temporal things according to the second law of thermodynamics in our books of science, we would do well to remember that we are still speaking of the same eternal things we hear described with similar terms in religious records.

15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth

Revelation 3:15-16

Justin has given an excellent breakdown of these verses in his post Lukewarm=Good for Nothing.  He explains that both hot and cold serve valuable purposes in the eyes of the Lord. God is not saying that he wants an either or situation, but that His desires are that men and women everywhere learn to make their desires manifest in both hot and cold demonstrations, thereby becoming versatile servants in our common cause – Life Eternal – rather than jealous slaves in a common curse – Spiritual and Physical Death. Justin is careful to reference this scripture as coming from the Revelation or Apocalypse of Saint John. This calls to attention a subconscious correlation between the often quoted, seldom understood standard set forth here in Chapter 3 verses 15 through 16, and the same truth in the same chapter and verses but in the Gospel of John.

15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:15-16

For a firmer grasp on the commonality between these two expressions from writings under the name of John it might be helpful to take in the bookend verses for a little more context. Verse 14 in the third chapter of the Apocalypse of John addresses the subsequent verses to “the angel of the church of the Laodiceans” and references a higher spiritual authority for the claims of knowledge which follow. For more information on this higher spiritual authority listed simply as “the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God,” one may consult An Anarchical View of the Keys pt. 1, posted here, or dig deeper into ancient Egyptian gospels. But for expediency in our learning of thermodynamics as an extension of higher law from a spiritual plane of existence, it need only be duly noted that any temporal realities John is recounting are inextricably connected with the highest authority of Heaven. The connection is made possible through angelic beings possessing varying degrees of will-desire-love power, who ascend and descend along the ladder of Jacob’s dream. These angels of light are alternately seen as angles of light on the physical plane. Jacob’s Ladder has its physiological materialization in our DNA which coils like the serpent. This is why we find appropriate correspondence between verses 14 in chapter 3 of both the Apocalypse and the Gospel of John; where Jesus relates to Nicodemus the connection between the lifting up of Moses’ “serpent in the wilderness,” and the “Son of man”.

After establishing the connection between things temporal and things spiritual in the preceding verses, we can skip to the encapsulating information encrypted in verse 17 of each scripture set respectively.

Apocalypse of John:

17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

Gospel of John:
17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Both warn against the failure to understand the linkage between divine beings and their imperfect counterparts. These verses speak to the grave misunderstanding on the part of the world with regards to God’s divine mission as Jesus in the flesh. Seeing things with only the carnal eyes we are led to think that worldly riches buy us security and that the Son of man buys our souls from the Devil. But it is man alone, or his idea of man, alone and without a constant attachment to his maker, which creates the illusion of separateness. Your own spirit did not come to condemn your body any more than Jesus came to condemn the world. Both, Jesus and your inner Christ came to express love and bless with Eternal Life. Oscillation between the supposed extremes of hot and cold, up and down, left and right, as proposed by the Lord, can have the effect of a realized unity in the minds of His servants.

Even the First Epistle of John contains additional comparisons within verses 14-17 of its third chapter. And here we are given further insight into how the eternodynamics of will-desire-love power plays out in the sustenance of that which we call physical life. Just like in the other passages, these words start off with a declaration of knowledge obtained from the highest possible authority.

14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death (Amenta).

Verse 14 clearly illustrates that to love is to live. It also defines death in a way that we do not typically think of it. We say that death is only in effect once the spirit is utterly separated from the body, but we fail to recognize the spiritual, emotional and mental death or separation of body from spirit, earth from heaven, which we inflict almost everyday, every moment for years leading up to a disastrous result. A result which, seeking to excuse ourselves in sin, we say is inevitable. Is it, or could it be as mankind was once taught by Adam, Eve, Seth, Enoch and others in ancient times? Could it be that Joseph Smith Jr.’s mind was inspired with a restored version of ancient temple rites to communicate, if nothing else, one important message to we who sit in darkness? We are the dead and we will dwell in various levels of Amenta till we admit our self-hate which places a mental and physical block between us and Elohim and infects every aspect of our death cult-sure society. Remember the zeroeth law of thermodynamics posits that if A and C are each in thermal equilibrium with B, A is also in equilibrium with C. In other words, if you love God and your neighbor loves God then you must also love one another. If such is not the case, then you are scientifically proven to be out of thermal equilibrium with God.

15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

The trickle-down effect of the widely misunderstood condescension of God is here presented in terms of either love accepted and passed on or love rejected and passed up, also known as hate. Love is life, pure and simple, but at dangerously low levels we have not the courage to call it what it is. Our lifestyles are deathstyles. We are numbered among those who “love and make a lie,” (Rev. 22:15) meaning we devote the life-force with which God blesses us to a monstrous falsehood that requires endless and pointless labor to sustain even as it drains the people and the earth of all that is good.

Verse 17 of the third chapter of the First Epistle of John fits right in with verse 17 in the corresponding chapters of the Gospel as well as the Apocalypse of John. It is another blast in the face of the market mentality which keeps people from seeing, loving, knowing their brother and also from seeing, loving, knowing the Elder Brother of humanity and the Father who has sent Him.

17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

The Love of God shed forth in the hearts of man and through all creation is what makes us alive. Love is the mysterious Heavenly Mother, about whom those living in these last days wonder and the same Mother about whom those dying in these latter-days have forgotten.  She is the Mother of All Living. In the seen world she is our Mother/Matter. She surrounds us with her supportive embrace and is with us from womb to tomb. At the unseen levels of existence, or those not visible to the naked eye, She is the Electron, which is feminine and has a negative charge—not in the sense of being bad, or evil—but in the sense that it is a subatomic particle that is highly receptive to the kinetic energy with which it is inseminated by a Proton. Protons are subatomic particles with a positive, masculine charge, representative of the Heavenly Father. They project energy, especially during intercourse with Electrons to conceive the Neutron that binds them together. The Neutron is of course simultaneously symbolic of and symbolized by the Son of God. Sharing and in fact constituting a symbiotic relationship between the Holy Mother and Father, a Neutron is that desire which we spoke of as playing the central role in eternodynamics. In this way, eternodynamics and thermodynamics are one and the same thing, viewed from two different coexistent planes in the Plan.

When electrons have sexual intercourse with protons then it is more than possible for hard, dense, matter to transubstantiate into energy, which is simply matter in a highly aroused state. The natural catalyst behind the passionate fusing and acceleration of protons and electrons is love. Of course there are man-made technologies, such as the large hadron collider in Switzerland, that can artificially replicate this fusing process, but it’s just not the same as the real thing. This is because the natural law of cause and effect dictates that different causes bring forth different effects, even if the process of transformation proceeding from these different causes seem, at first glance, to be mirror reflections of one another.

In Moroni’s scathing indictment of modern LDS culture (Mormon 8:38) he accuses us of selling ourselves for “that which will canker”. Canker is really just an alternate spelling of cancer. We may be able to defend and justify the current state of the Church as “not fully ripened in iniquity quite yet” but Cancer rates are less open to theoretical conjecture. Do we fail to see the connection between our beliefs and our blights?  The Lord has not asked us to stand around waiting and debating about and until the precise moment of death of the Church or the society around us. That is the job of a coroner, which is a royal office of the state that originally entailed protecting the property of the crown but by the 17^th century had narrowed to the duty of determining the cause of death in cases not obviously natural. Institutional cancer is nothing new and biological cancer may be common at this time in history but neither is natural. Cancer cells proliferate throughout the body when the preconscious mind denies the reality of love. The cell governor overcompensates for this deficit within the soul by ordering cells to rapidly replicate—a process of multiplication that is motivated by love under natural circumstances. But because the reassuring influence of love is not present in this scenario, the cell governor is motivated by fear, which if left unaddressed, will ultimately lead to the forced decomposition of the human body. Passion without purpose is paralyzing, but a life lived without passion is fatal. Love and passion or desire—which is usually confused with hyper emotionalism—are the lost keys to an impeccable legacy.

Teachings on hell and the spirit world

The following is some of what I recently taught my wife and daughter about hell.  For the most part it is a re-hash of things I had learned previously, but it does contain a couple of new concepts (new to me, at least), so I’m putting it on this blog.

The spirit world is the Earth’s spirit

When we speak of the spirit world, we are not speaking of a different planet made of spirit matter, but of the spirit body of our planet Earth. Latter-day saints are taught that “the spirit world is here” because the Earth’s spirit is still attached to its physical body, just as mortal, human spirits are connected to their physical bodies. The Earth’s spirit body, like all spirit bodies, conforms to the configuration of the physical elements that make up its physical body.

How the physical world is configured

The Earth’s physical body (the physical world) is a hollow, spherical shell that has north and south polar openings. The shell has inner and outer surfaces which meet at these two openings. At the exact center of the hollow is another spherical object, which is also a hollow shell that has its own polar openings, but much smaller in diameter than the larger shell that surrounds it. The smaller shell discharges plasma in glow mode, like an inner sun.

In appearance, the Earth is constructed as “a tree yielding fruit, whose seed is in itself”. When the Earth is stacked with other planets, a plasma column connects the planets through their poles, creating a visual display that looks like a tree. The “seed” of this “tree” is the small hollow shell found at the exact center of the larger hollow sphere.

Men live and walk upon the outer surface of the larger shell. They also walk upon the inner surface. Gravity (the Earth’s spirit) pushes all matter towards a point between the two surfaces of the shell. (Everything in the Universe is a push; there is no such thing as a pull.) So, a man walking on the outside of the shell will be pushed inward towards the inner surface; and a man walking on the inner surface of the shell will be pushed outward towards the outer surface. To each of these men, gravity is pushing them “down” even though “down” is in opposite directions for them. Almost all of the physical matter of the Earth is found within the larger shell and this is where most of the gravity is concentrated.

Above each surface side (inner and outer) there is an atmosphere, in which man and other creatures can live and breath. The atmosphere extends upward only to a certain distance. Above that, we find the apparent vacuum of space. In the case of the outer surface, this vacuum is called by us “outer space,” but in the case of the inner surface, the vacuum of space above their heads, it being above the atmosphere, might be termed “inner space.”

The inner sun is held in the very center of the inner space vacuum by gravitation. It is pushed equally in all directions towards the outer shell and thus is held stationary (or fixed) in the center of the hollow of the larger shell. However, just as the outer shell rotates or spins, so does the inner shell, though at a different rate.

To men living on the inner surface of the outer shell, the inner sun appears to be roughly similar in size to how the outer Sun appears to the men living on the outer surface. The outer Sun is exceedingly large, hot and radiant, yet very distant, and so appears kind of small to people on the outside of Earth, whereas the inner sun is miniscule by comparison, but fairly close to the inner surface; and so the inner and outer Suns appear to approximate each other in size.

The inner sun is not as brilliant or as hot as the outer Sun, so that the inner surface of the Earth’s larger shell is not scorched with heat and radiation, but is bathed in amounts conducive to human life.

Limit of gravity field is apparent limit of spirit world

The spirit world proceeds outward beyond the confines of the physical world, just like every other spirit body. The extent of the Earth’s gravitational field is the apparent extent of its spirit body. In other words, once something leaves the confines of Earth’s gravitational field, it has apparently left the confines of the spirit world.

The same principle of spirit encompassing element applies to all spirit bodies connected to physical bodies. The spirit body of a man, for example, contains the physical body of the man within its confines, and extends some distance beyond the physical element. It is incorrect, then, to say that one’s spirit body is entirely within one’s physical body. The reverse is the true nature and pattern of the Universe. Every spirit body surrounds the physical body it is connected to, the spirit matter of the spirit body surrounding each particle of the elements that compose the physical body and moving it around with a push. This is one of the reasons why sometimes people can “sense” the presence of another person without their physical senses apparently being involved (because an outer edge of a person’s spirit has come into contact with an outer edge of some other person’s spirit), or why those who see people’s auras say that they extend beyond the physical body, or how two celestial objects can interact with each other at a distance, etc.

The spirit world is divided into two parts

Just as the physical world is divided into two parts, a large outer shell and a small inner shell, so the spirit world has two parts, spirit prison (otherwise known as hell) and paradise.

Where everything is located

Paradise is located where the inner sun is found. Spirit prison (or hell) is found in the depths of the larger, outer shell. To men walking on the outer surface of the larger shell, as well as on the inner surface, hell is found below them, or below their feet. Hell is also called the underworld because it is underneath the surface of the Earth (deep within the larger, outer shell).

Spirit world hell is patterned after universal outer darkness

Outer darkness is that area outside of the inner sphere of light known as the created Universe. The boundary between outer darkness and the inner sphere of light is a lake of fire and brimstone “which ascended up forever and ever.”

The hell of the spirit world is also called outer darkness because it lies in the larger, outer shell of the Earth. When men die, their spirits go to “that God who gave them life,” meaning that they go to the inner sun (a god-star), which is the location of spirit world paradise. The righteous among them are received into paradise (see the gates of righteousness below), while the unjust spirits are cast out into outer darkness (hell).

Spirit world hell is a place of darkness and powerlessness. Gravity in hell is different than that at the surface, it being either largely reduced or altogether canceled out. Hell is the abode of Satan and his angels and is their base of operations. From there they travel to the two opposing surfaces of the planet where mortal men are found and tempt them to break God’s commandments. The departed spirits of men found in hell are subject to the spirit of the devil, who keeps them miserable like himself.

Hell fire

Spirit world hell is also surrounded by fire and brimstone (magma) or what the scriptures call hell fire or God’s “fiery indignation.” All these terms are descriptions of real things, as well as states of mind and heart.

The gates of hell

The scriptures speak repeatedly of “the gates of hell.” These gates are openings found upon the Earth that lead down to the physical location of hell. They include certain volcanoes, as well as cave systems that seemingly go on and on, and also holes and cracks in the earth that appear to be bottomless pits. They are found in various locations around the planet and are often called by the local population by some name indicating hell, such as Mouth of Hell, etc. No one typically tries to go down these apertures and cavities due to dangerous conditions, such as noxious gases, magma flow, utter darkness, fearful noises (which sound like the screams of the damned souls in hell), etc.

The gates of righteousness

The scriptures also speak of “the gates of righteousness.” These gates are the polar openings found upon the two shells that compose the physical world, or four gates total. Paradise, which is located within the inner sun, cannot be seen by those living on the outside surface of the planet. One would need to enter either the north or south polar opening (gate of righteousness) to view the physical location of spirit world paradise (the inner sun). In the same way, in order to actually enter into spirit world paradise, one would need to go through either the north or south polar opening (gate of righteousness) of the inner sun so as to be on its inner surface, where paradise is found.

The gates of righteousness are, essentially, “narrow gates,” hidden from the view of most people, or unknown or disbelieved to exist by almost all men. Few men find them. The gates of hell, on the other hand, are well-known, documented and often wide gates.

The parable of the rich man and Lazarus

In Luke 16: 19-31 the Savior mentions “a great gulf fixed” between hell and “Abraham’s bosom” (the paradise of the inner sun). No one could pass from hell to paradise, nor from paradise to hell because of this gulf. The gulf is the space that exists between the inner sun and outer shell of Earth.

After Jesus’ death, He went to paradise and “organized his forces and appointed messengers, clothed with power and authority, and commissioned them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in darkness, even to all the spirits of men; and thus was the gospel preached to the dead.” (See D&C 138.)  These messengers required power to cross the “great gulf fixed.”

Scriptures are both spiritual and temporal

As the above shows, many of the scriptural terms that we take to have strictly figurative or symbolic meaning also have a literal or physical counterpart. Or, as Nephi told his brothers Laman and Lemuel, the prophets spoke of things both temporal and spiritual.

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The seeds of the powers of godliness

We are here on Earth in a temporal (mortal) existence to develop our faith as a principle of power by walking by faith. As an aid in that endeavor, we are offered the gifts of the Spirit.

Walking by sight

In our pre-mortal life, we walked by sight.  As we saw, so we did, imitating the beings around us, learning by copying what we saw others do.

Upon entering mortality as children, we bring this capacity to imitate others with us.  We imitate or emulate our parents, our brothers and sisters, our friends and associates, the celebrities of the day, etc.  Eventually we assimilate into whatever society we are born into.  Like the chameleon, we become what is around us.  A baby born in France, raised by French parents with French customs and language will soon feel and act like all other Frenchmen.  It is the same with every other culture.

While we resided in the heavens, we copied our perfect, heavenly Parents and their angels.  Here, we copy imperfect mortals.  Mortality, then, does not limit our ability to walk by sight.

Two principles of faith

The Lectures on Faith divide faith into two principles: one of action and one of power.

Regardless of which principle you use, all things are done by faith, though most everything in mortality is done by using faith as a principle of action.

Moving mountains

There are two ways of moving a mountain.  You can move it stone by stone with your hands, or by using shovels, bulldozers or other technologies, to force the elements that make up the mountain to move to another spot.  This would be faith as a principle of action.  Or, conversely, you can command the mountain to remove and it can obey you.  This would be faith as a principle of power.  The former uses coercion or force, wrestling with the elements to model them however you want them to be.  The latter uses agency.  The elements must voluntarily move themselves at your command.

Power faith is celestial

When we lived in the heavens, as all things were given agency, nothing that surrounded us there could be forced to do anything.  We could not even pick up a handful of heavenly dirt without its say-so.  Everything in heaven was accomplished “without compulsory means,” meaning that coercion, force, was (and still is) non-existent there.  In other words, we exercised faith only as a principle of power.  The elements around us obeyed us only insofar as they respected us and they respected us only insofar as we followed (imitated) the “grown-ups.”  There we learned to use faith as a principle of power by observing our heavenly Parents and the angels, for that is the only way that they operate.  They commanded the elements and were obeyed and so did we.

Action faith is earthly

Mortality is different. It is designed to allow faith to function under both principles.

Action faith is given to us a temporary crutch, as well as a test.  The elements that surround us here are commanded by God to allow us to push them around, regardless of our righteousness or lack thereof.  They voluntarily submit to His divine command and thus we can manipulate all the various earthly materials here.  If we desire it, we may never need to develop faith as a principle of power.  Mankind can survive on this planet (for a limited time, at least) solely on action faith.

Once we come here from heaven, we find ourselves in a fallen world.  Sin is rampant, both around us and in us.  Were the elements here operating like they did in heaven, everyone would immediately die.  We wouldn’t be able to even force air into our lungs, for the air would not allow itself to be forced into the lungs of a being it did not respect (a sinful being).  This would frustrate the design of God to prepare a world in which we could be tried and tested and in which would could develop faith as a principle of power.  So, as explained above, God commanded the elements that make up our temporal (mortal) existence to allow themselves to be pushed around by us, according to a specific set of laws that we term physics.

Imperfect memory is necessary for our test of power faith

If we had arrived here with our memory of pre-mortal life intact, we would remember how to use faith as a principle of power and would never sin, keeping our heavenly powers intact, as all things would continue to respect us and obey us.  But by the design of God, our memories are wiped clean and we become, as a result, unable to use faith as a principle of power (because we have forgotten how to).  The situation is okay, though, because we now can use faith as a principle of action, forcing the elements to sustain us.

Our limited memories serve another divine purpose.  As we cannot remember our past life in the heavens and we cannot see the future, plus the memory we have of our mortal lives is patchy at best, nothing is remembered perfectly and only bits and pieces remain in our minds to access at moments of recollection.  All of this is done so that we become blinded, so as not to instinctively walk by sight as we did in the heavens (and use power faith).  By limiting our memory (which is primarily a visual organ), we can only really see the present clearly.  The future is pitch black and the past is foggy.

Blindness required to walk by faith

In this state of blindness, we can be put on probation (tested) to see if we truly desire to use faith as a principle of power.  Whereas in the heavens we all learned to use faith as a principle of power, by walking by sight (because there was no other way to operate), here on Earth we can go our entire lives without ever using power faith, for action faith is available to us.  Thus, only those who truly desire to (re-)learn to use the heavenly powers will do so.  And so mortality becomes a test.

Additionally, mortality allows us to more fully develop our faith as a principle of power by walking by faith*.  There is no one to look at (imitate) to learn how to use the heavenly powers, nor can we access our memories to remember examples of how it is done.  When we walk by sight here we only learn to use faith as a principle of action, for this is the principle under which everyone here operates.  So, to use power faith we must walk by faith, or walk blindly, trusting in only the word of God and not the sight of Him.

(*Note: Although all things in heaven walk by sight, God walks both by sight and by faith.  In order for us to become like Him, then, mortality is given to us to develop this capacity.  I may have already explained this concept in the Faith of God series, but if not, I will, that is if I ever get around to finishing it.)

To re-iterate:

In the heavens we walked by sight, imitating the celestial beings we saw around us, copying what they did, and learned to use faith as a principle of power, for that is the only way that we saw them operate. We had no capacity to walk by faith, only by sight.

In mortality, we also walk by sight, imitating the fallen beings we see around us, copying what they do, and we thus learn to use faith as a principle of action, for that is the only way that fallen beings operate.  We are unable to exercise the power faith we previously had because we cannot remember (see) how to do it.

Being essentially blind, once we are presented with the word of God we are enabled to walk by faith and re-learn to use power faith.  Mortality is a test to see if we will choose to drop the crutch of action faith and start using power faith by walking by faith.

We must walk by faith

Mortality is the brief moment that God has given us to learn to walk by faith.  We are to walk by sight and use faith as a principle of action only until we are enabled to walk by faith.  Once we are presented with the word of God, we must let go of the crutch of action faith and re-enter the world of power faith.  We must stop walking by sight and start walking by faith.

If we do not learn to walk by faith and re-learn to use faith as a principle of power, we will be in for a whole lot of disappointment in the afterlife.  This is because the orders given by God to the elements that surround us in mortality (in which they allow themselves to be pushed around by us) only apply to mortality.  In the afterlife, the former rules (agency) apply and once again it will be impossible to force the elements to do anything against their wills.  In other words, in the afterlife faith as a principle of action no longer works.  If we haven’t re-learned how to use faith as a principle of power here on Earth, we will be powerless in the afterlife.

The best gifts develop power faith

To that end, that we might re-learn how to use faith as a principle of power and that we might learn to walk by faith, God has given us the best gifts of the Spirit.

The best gifts of the Spirit are the seeds of the powers of godliness.  When all of them are possessed in their fullness, one becomes omnipotent, able to do all things.  Here on Earth we are not expected to achieve every gift in its fullness, but we are expected to seek for them continually.

The gifts given to the LDS Gentile church

The LDS Gentile church of God has been given 14 best gifts, with one gift given to presiding elders to be able to discern the other gifts and weed out imposters.  They are obtained by asking God to receive them.  Once one of the gifts are received, faith can be more fully developed, for the gifts only operate on the principle of power.  As faith increases, and petitions for additional gifts are sent up to God, He grants more of them to the individual.  Eventually, following this pattern, all gifts may be obtained.

Gifts are paired

There are seven pairs of gifts.

1^st Pair – The gift of knowing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he was crucified for the sins of the world. The gift of believing on the words of those who have the gift of knowing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he was crucified for the sins of the world.

2^nd Pair – The gift of knowing the differences of administration according to the conditions among the children of men. The gift of knowing whether the diversities of operations are of God.

3^rd Pair – The gift of the word of wisdom. The gift of the word of knowledge.

4^th Pair – The gift of faith to be healed. The gift of faith to heal.

5^th Pair – The gift of the working of miracles. The gift to prophesy.

6^th Pair – The gift of the discerning of spirits. The gift to discern all best gifts.

7^th Pair – The gift to speak with tongues. The gift of the interpretation of tongues.

Gifts are designed to be used in a church (group) setting, for the benefit of all

Only one gift is typically given to an individual.  For this reason, God has placed us into groups, or congregations, or churches.  If you have 13 individuals, each with a separate gift of the Spirit, each member of the group receives benefit from the 12 other people who have the lacking gifts.  If their individual gifts are fairly well developed, you can place this group of 13 people in any location, in any situation, and they will have power to do all things which are expedient to the Lord.

For example, place them among a foreign group or tribe who speaks an unknown language and the ones who have the gifts of tongues and interpretation would allow the other 11 members to communicate with the foreign tribe.  Or, place them among sick people and the one with the faith to heal would heal them all.  Or, have them deliver a message to an area of sickness and pestilence, of a highly contagious plague.  Who would be sent?  The one with the gift to be healed.  Place them among an ignorant people with no books or learning materials, whatsoever.  What would they do?  They would have the ones with the gifts of the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge start teaching the people.  And if the 13 themselves have no access to learning, these two individuals would immediately begin teaching the others of the group.  Or, just place the 13 alone, without any means of survival whatsoever, would they survive?  Of course, they would.  The one with the gift to work miracles would assure that.  Put them among a lying tribe and the one who discerned spirits would discover the lies.  Try to surprise them and it wouldn’t work, for the one with the gift to prophesy would have already seen that coming.  And so on and so forth.

Thus we see that by placing us in a congregation or church, the Lord has allowed all members to receive benefit from all the gifts which they may not have yet obtained.  If we were just baptized and told to go home and worship God on our own, we would not receive any benefit from the gifts we lack, until we ourselves finally reached the point where we obtained all the best gifts.  Also, being around others, who possess gifts we do not possess ourselves, makes it easier for us to obtain them.  The same principle of learning by sight, or imitating others, works with the gifts, too.

Perfection of the saints

In fact, the only reason we are commanded to meet together is to perfect ourselves and the rest of the saints assembled through the manifestation of the gifts.  Everything done at church can be done in a home (family) setting if the priesthood is found in the home.  But to obtain benefit from gifts we do not possess, we must assemble with others who possess gifts we lack.  Said Paul:

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.  Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.  Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.  And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.  And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.  But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.

For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: but all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.  For the body is not one member, but many.  If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?  And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?  If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?  But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.  And if they were all one member, where were the body?  But now are they many members, yet but one body.  And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.  Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary: and those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.  For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: that there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.  And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.  Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.

And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.  Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?  Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?  But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.  (1 Cor. 12)

Paul also said:

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; but speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4: 11-16)

Order of the gifts in the church

The church in Paul’s day had an order to the best gifts:

And God hath set some in the church,

first apostles (gift of knowing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God),

secondarily prophets (gift to prophesy),

thirdly teachers (gift of the word of wisdom and gift of the word of knowledge),

after that miracles (gift of the working of miracles),

then gifts of healings (gift of faith to be healed and gift of faith to heal),

helps (gift of believing, gift of differences of administration, gift of diversities of operations, gift of discerning of spirits),

governments (gift of discerning of gifts),

diversities of tongues (gift of tongues, gift of interpretation). (1 Corinthians 12: 28)

Another of Paul’s lists can also be assigned gifts:

And he gave some, apostles (gift of knowing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God);

and some, prophets (gift to prophesy);

and some, evangelists (gift of tongues, gift of interpretation);

and some, pastors (gift of discerning of gifts)

and teachers (gift of the word of wisdom and gift of the word of knowledge);  (Ephesians 4: 11)

We see from these lists that church callings are to come according to the gifts a person has.  This is why the gift to discern the best gifts, which is given to the bishop and to the presiding elders, is so important.

Modern view of the best gifts

Modern LDS (the Gentile Mormons) typically avoid the best gifts.  It is unusual to find anyone prophesying or publishing revelations or performing miracles or speaking in tongues or raising the dead or instantly healing people, etc.

When LDS speak of the gifts that they have, they’ll perhaps mention piano playing as a gift from God, or being a good doctor or surgeon, or being a good athlete, or being a nice person, etc.  A certain percentage of Gentile Mormons believe that manifestations of the best gifts routinely happen, but are just never spoken of, since they are “too sacred.”  Stories of gift manifestations are usually hearsay.

“Someone once told me that when he was on his mission, he met a man whose companion had healed someone by…”, etc.

Another percentage of Gentile Mormons have downgraded the best gifts to fit into more acceptable administrations.  So, for example, the gift of tongues becomes going to the MTC for two months and learning the language.  Or, the gift of healing becomes going to medical school and becoming a doctor or surgeon.  Or, the gift to prophesy becomes gaining the title of President of the Church and being called “the prophet.”  In like manner, the word of wisdom and the word of knowledge are delegated to those who have enough money to study at a university.   And the working of miracles becomes the “happening of miracles” and every little unexpected thing becomes a “miracle.”  Etc.

None of the best gifts work this way.  You cannot use faith as a principle of action to activate a best gift.  They only work by faith as a principle of power.  To illustrate, let’s examine the gift of the word of knowledge.

The gift of the word of knowledge

And again, verily I say unto you, to some is given, by the Spirit of God, the word of wisdom.  To another is given the word of knowledge, that all may be taught to be wise and to have knowledge.  (D&C 46: 17-18; the gift of the word of knowledge is in bold type.)

Ammon possessed the word of knowledge

The Book of Mormon contains an example of the gift of the word of knowledge in action:

And it came to pass that when they had established a church in that land, that king Lamoni desired that Ammon should go with him to the land of Nephi, that he might show him unto his father.

And the voice of the Lord came to Ammon, saying:

Thou shalt not go up to the land of Nephi, for behold, the king will seek thy life; but thou shalt go to the land of Middoni; for behold, thy brother Aaron, and also Muloki and Ammah are in prison.

Now it came to pass that when Ammon had heard this, he said unto Lamoni:

Behold, my brother and brethren are in prison at Middoni, and I go that I may deliver them.

Now Lamoni said unto Ammon:

I know, in the strength of the Lord thou canst do all things. But behold, I will go with thee to the land of Middoni; for the king of the land of Middoni, whose name is Antiomno, is a friend unto me; therefore I go to the land of Middoni, that I may flatter the king of the land, and he will cast thy brethren out of prison.

Now Lamoni said unto him:

Who told thee that thy brethren were in prison?

And Ammon said unto him:

No one hath told me, save it be God; and he said unto me—

Go and deliver thy brethren, for they are in prison in the land of Middoni.  (Alma 20:1-5)

Ammon had knowledge that his brethren were, at that moment, in prison.  No one but God gave him this knowledge.  He then communicated the information to others, namely Lamoni.  This wasn’t knowledge of a spiritual thing, but of a physical fact that could be verified: Aaron, Muloki and Ammah were in prison at that very moment.  So, this was knowledge of something physically happening in the present.  It didn’t deal at all with anything pertaining to the future.  Nevertheless, no one but God told Ammon this fact, so, although it was knowledge of a physical thing that could be verified with one’s own two eyes, it was communicated via spiritual means.  This is, essentially, what the gift of the word of knowledge is all about.

The Savior mentioned the word of knowledge

Another example from the Book of Mormon comes from the Savior’s visit. Speaking to the Nephites, he said:

And I command you that ye shall write these sayings after I am gone, that if it so be that my people at Jerusalem, they who have seen me and been with me in my ministry, do not ask the Father in my name, that they may receive a knowledge of you by the Holy Ghost, and also of the other tribes whom they know not of, that these sayings which ye shall write shall be kept and shall be manifested unto the Gentiles, that through the fulness of the Gentiles, the remnant of their seed, who shall be scattered forth upon the face of the earth because of their unbelief, may be brought in, or may be brought to a knowledge of me, their Redeemer. (3 Ne. 16: 4; the gift of the word of knowledge is in bold type.)

Contrasted with the gift to prophesy

Notice how the gift of the word of knowledge contrasts with the gift to prophesy.  Again, an example from the Book of Mormon:

And it came to pass in the eleventh year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, on the fifth day of the second month, there having been much peace in the land of Zarahemla, there having been no wars nor contentions for a certain number of years, even until the fifth day of the second month in the eleventh year, there was a cry of war heard throughout the land.  For behold, the armies of the Lamanites had come in upon the wilderness side, into the borders of the land, even into the city of Ammonihah, and began to slay the people and destroy the city.

And now it came to pass, before the Nephites could raise a sufficient army to drive them out of the land, they had destroyed the people who were in the city of Ammonihah, and also some around the borders of Noah, and taken others captive into the wilderness.

Now it came to pass that the Nephites were desirous to obtain those who had been carried away captive into the wilderness.  Therefore, he that had been appointed chief captain over the armies of the Nephites, (and his name was Zoram, and he had two sons, Lehi and Aha)—now Zoram and his two sons, knowing that Alma was high priest over the church, and having heard that he had the spirit of prophecy, therefore they went unto him and desired of him to know whither the Lord would that they should go into the wilderness in search of their brethren, who had been taken captive by the Lamanites.

And it came to pass that Alma inquired of the Lord concerning the matter. And Alma returned and said unto them:

Behold, the Lamanites will cross the river Sidon in the south wilderness, away up beyond the borders of the land of Manti. And behold there shall ye meet them, on the east of the river Sidon, and there the Lord will deliver unto thee thy brethren who have been taken captive by the Lamanites.  (Alma 16: 1-6)

In this case, Alma the younger had the spirit of prophecy, in other words, he had the gift to prophesy, and so he inquired of the Lord and received a prophecy of the future.  The “Lamanites will cross the river Sidon” (a prediction of the future), “there ye shall meet them” (another prediction of the future), “the Lord will deliver unto thee thy brethren” (a third prediction of the future).

Similar gifts

Prophecy does not deal with knowledge of things present and past, it deals with things pertaining to futurity: what will or shall happen.  On the other hand, the gift of the word of knowledge deals only with what has happened (the past) and what is happening (the present).  Both gifts, though, come through the manifestation of the Spirit.  Or as Ammon put it, “no one hath told me, save it be God.”

So, prophecy and the word of knowledge are almost the same gift, except for this one division: facts revealed of the present or past correspond to the word of knowledge, whereas words pertaining to the future correspond to prophecy.

All best gifts obtained by faith, not by study

All gifts of the Spirit are obtained by faith.  The healing gifts are called “faith to heal” and “faith to be healed” (see D&C 46: 19-20), but all the gifts could be worded the same way.  In other words, faith to speak the word of wisdom, faith to speak the word of knowledge, faith to prophesy, faith to work miracles, faith to speak in tongues, faith to interpret tonges, etc.  Without faith, none of these gifts are obtainable.

And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.  (D&C 88: 118)

The above scripture speaks of wisdom and learning (knowledge).  Wisdom and knowledge are two gifts of the Spirit, but the only way to obtain them directly from the Spirit is by having faith.  However, because not everyone has faith to speak the word of wisdom and faith to speak the word of knowledge, we are instructed to seek words of wisdom and learning out of the best books and teachers by study.  Wisdom and knowledge obtained by studying the best books and teachers should not be confused with the gift of faith to speak the word of wisdom and the gift of faith to speak the word of knowledge.  These gifts come by faith, not by study.

Nevertheless, the Lord is saying in this verse that those who do not possess the gifts of wisdom and knowledge, can still obtain wisdom and knowledge through those who possess these gifts.  In other words, the two gifts of wisdom and knowledge are for the express purpose “that all may be taught to be wise and to have knowledge.”  Those who possess these two gifts of the Spirit are to be the teachers that “teach one another words of wisdom” and “learning.”  They are to be the ones who write “the best books” in which are found “words of wisdom” and “learning.”  Their wisdom and knowledge does not come to these teachers through study, but by faith, directly from the Spirit, for they are spiritual gifts.

Confusion of the gifts

Modern LDS often confuse the obtaining of knowledge or wisdom through study and life experience as gifts of the Spirit.  If we find a man who is possessed of great knowledge or wisdom, and who seems to be a God-fearing righteous man, we are apt to believe he possesses the gift of the word of wisdom or knowledge.  He may or may not possess those gifts.  It all depends how he obtained his wisdom and knowledge.  If it was through studying at a university and life experience, then he doesn’t possess the gifts.  If it is through the revelations of the Spirit, (“no one hath told me, save it be God”), then he possesses these gifts.

How the best gifts work

“No one hath told me, save it be God” is the standard to determine whether a best gift is operating or not.  Regardless of the gift, for it to be a legitimate operation it must be by faith as a principle of power, meaning that if you speak words of wisdom, you must have gotten those words from God and no one else; if you speak words of knowledge, you must not have learned it from anyone but God; if you heal the sick, the healing power must not have been learned at medical school but must have come solely from God; if you work miracles, it must be a work done by you (such as Jesus turning water into wine) and not mere happenstance; if you prophesy, it must not be an educated guess based upon others’ speculations or statistics, but must be a prophecy you received solely from God; if you speak in foreign or unknown tongues, it must not have been learned through study; etc.

Let’s say that I prophesy that during this month of September (2010) that there is going to be a massively destructive earthquake in California that will turn the financial markets upside down.  Let’s say that I am the only one saying this and that I am claiming that no one has told me this, save it be God.  Let’s say that others believe me and then they also go around saying that in September there will be a great quake in California, as if it were their own prophecy. Then, along comes some date in September and lo and behold, a moment magnitude 9.0 quake strikes, sinking California’s economy and plunging the nation’s finances into the worst mess ever seen.  In which of the individuals would the gift to prophesy have been manifested?  In me or in the others who parroted my words?

The answer is only in me. Since I received the prophecy from no one, save God, the gift was manifested in me only.  The others benefited and repeated the same message, as if it came to them directly, but they didn’t have the gift.  Just because you repeat a real prophecy doesn’t make you a prophet.

In the same manner, just because some obtain words of wisdom and knowledge (through study and schooling) or ability to heal people (through study and learning) or language learning ability (through study) doesn’t mean they are possessors of these best gifts.

Some personal experience

I have had some limited experience with the various gifts. In the vast majority of the manifestations, if not all of them, I have been left totally perplexed. To the rational mind, it all appears insane.

For example, I once received a prophecy whose fulfillment was a distinct possibility. Then conditions changed and it became totally impossible for its fulfillment. But, I was sure that as crazy as it sounded, it would come to pass. So I simply waited for the conditions to change. Eleven years later conditions miraculously did change and the prophecy was fulfilled every whit.

On another occasion, I was praying for guidance on what to do and a manifestation of the word of wisdom occurred (the only time that has ever happened to me). I was told what would be the wisest course of action to take but it was the absolute craziest thing I had ever heard. But I knew this was from the Spirit and so I did it. In hindsight, I see that it really was a word of wisdom.

On yet another occasion, I remember, I was at work when the Spirit came upon me and told me that a friend of mine was in great danger. Who gave me this knowledge? “No one, save God.” As soon as I was able to, I made the phone call to my friend and sure enough, the Spirit was right.

Each manifestation I’ve received over the years has caused my logical, rational mind to protest. Yet, I have continued to ignore it. In fact, as time goes on, the revelations, prophecies and manifestations seem to be getting even more illogical and bizarre, at least to my rational mind. So, based upon my own experience, I don’t believe that we should expect to rationally understand the manifestations that may come. After all, the natural man cannot comprehend the things of God. In other words, it doesn’t really matter what the manifestation is, the only really important thing is that the manifestation comes from God.

Gifts are unscientific

Recently I commented on a blog by posting a link to The Split-Brain Model of the Gospel post. The blog’s owner replied,

“I will allow the link, but please note that I do NOT accept the proposed model therein as either good science or good theology.

A significant problem with “split-brain” popularizations is one of going far beyond the data into the realm of wild speculation. Readers of such popularizations should beware.”

The reply is interesting because it beautifully shows the reaction of the logical, rational, intellectual left-brain-mind to something written from the right-brain-heart (my post). I especially enjoyed reading that the model was considered unscientific.

Gifts are intended to engender and develop faith

Taking the gift of the word of knowledge again as an example, we should understand that even this gift, which appears to be based upon science (after all, it is knowledge, right?), is primarily designed to develop faith, not impart knowledge. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Let me explain.

Knowledge communicated by the Spirit through this gift is fact, not fiction, nevertheless, it is information that may not be readily verifiable.

For example, when Lehi stated, “I know that Jerusalem is destroyed,” this was the gift of the word of knowledge working in him. It was a fact. Jerusalem was destroyed at that time. This could be verified with one’s own two eyes if one could visit Jerusalem and see it for oneself. However, the Nephites could not visit Jerusalem, so they could only take Lehi’s words on faith.

Ammon’s word to Lamoni also were verifiable fact, but Lamoni could not verify them at that moment, so they had to be taken on faith.

So, the word of knowledge is a gift that imparts knowledge of present and past things that cannot immediately be verified using secular means, to the end that the listeners can develop their faith. The knowledge imparted is not of eye-witness accounts, but is a revelation from the Spirit.  The only way to immediately verify it is by another witness of the Spirit.

To illustrate, let’s say a group of 200 people are congregated and a man stands up and says that there is an army of 50,000 men in Cuba making preparations to attack Florida. Who told him this? “No one,” says he, “save it be God.” The man is not an eye-witness. The knowledge is received through spiritual means. Can it be verified? Sure, if one could be transported to Cuba. But as one can’t, it must be taken on faith.

Now let’s say that 5 other people in the group stand up and say that the Spirit has just told them the same thing. Does this add to the credibility of the first man? Not really, as none of them are eye-witnesses. There is nothing scientific about this. Yet, this is how the gift of the word of knowledge functions. It is designed to engender faith, not mere knowledge. Is this good science? Nope. Is this good theology? Yep.

Now let’s say 6 other people stand up, having just come from Cuba and they state they are eye-witnesses and can corroborate that indeed, Cuba is getting ready to invade Florida. Is this good science? Perhaps, if the witnesses are reliable. Is this good theology? Not really.

Don’t avoid the best gifts

I’ll be the first to admit that the best gifts take some getting used to, like an acquired taste. But again, we shouldn’t have an expectation that the things of God are going to be like the things of men.

The current trend in the church is to mainstream our image. As a result, I largely see LDS avoiding the best gifts. But this is a dangerous mistake, one which will lead to widespread deception among the membership.

The gifts are to avoid deception

The Lord said, “that ye may not be deceived seek ye earnestly the best gifts” (D&C 46: 8). Any man or woman who possesses one of these gifts and actively uses them will be protected from the deceptions of the day, whether they be “doctrines of devils, or commandments of men; for some are of men, and others of devils” (D&C 46: 7).

Nephi prophesied that the Gentile churches “which are built up, and not unto the Lord” will “deny the power of God, the Holy One of Israel; and they say unto the people: Hearken unto us, and hear ye our precept; for behold there is no God today, for the Lord and the Redeemer hath done his work, and he hath given his power unto men; behold, hearken ye unto my precept; if they shall say there is a miracle wrought by the hand of the Lord, believe it not; for this day he is not a God of miracles; he hath done his work.”  (See 2 Nephi 28: 3, 5-6.)

Sound familiar? We are well on our way to fulfilling this prophecy, as LDS blindly follow their leaders, trusting that the leading brethren will not deceive them and relying upon their mortal guidance, without earnestly seeking and manifesting the gifts.

The gifts are no more

Among the majority membership, most of the best gifts are no longer manifested. The first two gifts are still among us: knowing Jesus Christ is the Son of God and believing that He is. But the rest of them are all but gone. At church, where the gifts are supposed to be manifested for the benefit of the congregation, no one prophesies, no one knows the diversities of operations, no one knows the differences of administration, no one teaches words of wisdom and words of knowledge, no one heals, no one is healed, no one works miracles, no one discerns spirits, no one speaks in tongues, no one interprets tongues, and none of the leadership discerns the gifts, for there are hardly any gifts manifesting which need discerning.

We have replaced a reliance upon the gifts with a reliance upon our leaders (the Brethren), setting up the fulfillment of Nephi’s prophecy. Instead of going to church and being spiritually uplifted and edified by participating in the manifestations of these gifts, we are lulled into a deep slumber and security. Our meetings are largely spiritually dead. The Holy Ghost has all but left the LDS Gentiles.

But two gifts left

The day that the last two remaining gifts are taken away from us will be the day when no one will join this church anymore. People currently join the church because the Holy Ghost manifests that the message is true. But the day fast approaches when the Holy Ghost will stop manifesting even that. When that occurs, the church (or churches, as it will be), will need to change their proselytizing methods. No more will it be, “ask God if these things are not true” but “come unto me, and for your money you shall be forgiven of your sins” and other wicked enticements to enter the church.

At that point, the wo pronounced by Moroni to the Gentiles will come to pass:

And now I speak unto all the ends of the earth—that if the day cometh that the power and gifts of God shall be done away among you, it shall be because of unbelief. And wo be unto the children of men if this be the case; for there shall be none that doeth good among you, no not one. For if there be one among you that doeth good, he shall work by the power and gifts of God. And wo unto them who shall do these things away and die, for they die in their sins, and they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God; and I speak it according to the words of Christ; and I lie not. (Moroni 10: 24-26)

The return of the gifts

The good news is that although at some point the gifts will be lost to the Gentiles, He will send more messengers who will be manifesting these same gifts. Unless you, yourself, as an individual, have developed one or more of these best gifts, and have come to recognize the manifestation of the gifts that you do not have—by being around people who have them (a congregation)—you will, like the majority member, be deceived into rejecting the new messengers sent from heaven. You cannot recognize bona fide best gifts of the Spirit unless you have experience in them. We must all then become familiar with these gifts, lest we perish at their re-appearance.

The future use of the best gifts

There is a great work to be done in the future, using these seeds of power, before the advent of the Lord. Everything mentioned in the scriptures that was done by them will be done again, with additional, new uses. Everything done before is but a precursor to what lies ahead.

To give an example, we are told that the Nephites had power to move mountains, that the brother of Jared moved mount Zerin (sounds similar to Zion, doesn’t it?), that the Savior told his disciples that if they had faith as a grain of mustard seed, they could move mountains.

Why all this mentioning of moving mountains by power faith? What is so important about it? Why do we need to learn this power? The obvious answer is that at some point in the future, prior to the Second Coming, mountains will need to be moved to fulfill the prophecies. Previously on this continent, the Nephites (and the brother of Jared) moved mountains. It may be that those mountains will have to be removed (or moved back) to their original locations at a future time.

There will not be the time nor the means to accomplish this using action faith, so we must learn to plant and engender and develop these seeds of the powers of godliness that the Lord’s plans may be fulfilled through us. If we do not develop these gifts, someone else will and it will be he or she who fulfills the prophecies, while we are cut off from the privileges we might have had.

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