The THERMODYNAMICS & ETERNODYNAMICS of DESIRE – CONTINUED


HEATING UP – COOLING DOWN

Convection creates flow of blessings for those with strong conviction, not about the institutions of this world, but strong conviction in eternodynamic principles. This is done through interplay of hot and cold principles in the house of spirit as well as in this temporal realm. In the post, Lukewarm=Good for Nothing, Justin touches on the symbolic and scientific significance of hot and cold water. He points out that:

Hot water” would have been the kind of underground spring waters heated by geothermal radiation, and were used for medicinal purposes.  Because geothermal-heated water can hold more dissolved solids, “hot water” was prized for its high mineral content and the temperature was therapeutic for soaking aches and pains.

So how exactly are hot springs formed? As rain falls on mountain peaks, it percolates into the porous sedimentary rocks. As it descends through the rock, it picks up a variety of materials, everything from radium to sulphur. Also, as it moves further beneath the surface, it heats up from the primal heat of the Earth. Eventually it encounters a large crack or thrust fault. As water descends behind it, it forces the now heated water to ascend along the fault-line to surface as a hot or warm spring.

Now it is important to understand the connection between hot springs and offspring. The connection between geothermal and eternal principles is seen in the physical phenomenon of heat and its spiritual antecedent, desire. As mentioned earlier, offspring in any stage are eternally in need of guidance from the Father. It is true that the off-spring of the Father (spermatozoa) will reach a point where, filled with the fire of desire, they begin to move of their own volition. This is a good thing. It means they are becoming aware of the agency or free will which is in them. But without conscious guidance from the Father, that energy which might build up and spring-off will never succeed in creating a new life or making us a new creature in Christ.

Just as rain falls from the symbolic heaven above our heads onto mountain tops and percolates through layer upon layer deep into the subterranean levels then creeps back up, so it goes with the procreative powers in man. The Jewish Sages taught that, “a drop exudes from the brain and develops into semen.” (Kehillas Yaakov by Erech Holada) Modern critics may say that although the pituitary gland, located at the base of the brain, does emit a hormone which signals and regulates the production of semen, still, that hormone does not actually become semen itself.

In my opinion, this is merely a case of semantics. Scriptural vernacular may not always be as exact as science would prefer it to be, but science can be very ignorant of the workings of the spirit. Information obtained through the Spirit can never be expressed fully with the limitations of human language, but scientific facts can be expressed with some degree of exactness. This is only because while science is severely limited to speaking only of one thing in one particular context, the words of spiritual revelation are eternal. Thus they speak of endlessly vast concepts wrapped in endless layers of meaning unable to be extracted accept by reading while open to the same Spirit in which the revelation was originally transmitted, received and recorded.

One such additional layer of meaning in regards to the Jewish Sages’ commentary on sperm production having a beginning in the brain, would be the fact that, during early stages of embryonic ontogenesis, the cells that become the substrate for testicular tissue begin their journey in the mostly undifferentiated embryonic mass from a location that later differentiates into brain tissue. These brain-region cells migrate through the embryonic mass, much like salmon make their way through a river, until they finally localize in what will develop into testicular tissue.

Ontogenesis

Ontogenesis

And this is only one begending of an ongoing begetting process of the Creator, the downward fall in a cycle observable from rainclouds and rivers, mountaintops and hot springs to brains and testes, adults and fetuses. Speaking of the upward part of that same cycle, Indian scholar, M. N. Dvivedi, says:

“It is a well-known physiological law that the semen has great connection with the intellect, and we might add the spirituality of man….in the many commentaries on yoga the purpose and process are veiled in quasi-scientific mythology. The ‘power’ is said to creep silently like a serpent from the lowest chakram to the highest: that is, from the testes to the brain.”

This evaporation and condensation is a map of the cyclic journey of Christ, the anointed, “He that ascended up on high, as also He descended below all things, in that he

comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth,” as stated in D&C 88:6. If Christ is in and through all things, it stands to reason that, in and through the prostate secretions, He would protect and nourish the sperm. Similarly to the warm waters of natural springs, the fluid from the prostate is endowed with a rich supply of minerals and chemicals like calcium, zinc, citric acid and albumin and these give the semen its milky appearance. Pre-ejaculate, also called Jism, prepares the way for the Chrism of prostate fluid and prostate specific antigens as Jesus set the stage for the second coming of Christ. The consecrated oil used on occasion by LDS men for the anointing of the sick and afflicted is another form of chrism through which the Light of Christ may manifest. It is often carried on the person in chrismatories aptly attached to key chains in a man’s pocket or worn about the belt.

But surely only one labeled as an “apostate” could see Christ in his prostate. This author also sees Christ in the Only Begotten who, out of many millions of sperm cells, is the One who fertilizes the egg. Geneticists also see the Light of Christ in the spermatozoa, although they might not recognize what they are looking at as Christ’s presence. Under the microscope they observe halos around the head of the sperm cells.

Sperm Halos

Sperm Halos

Healthy spermatozoa show larger halo around the sperm head while DNA fragmented spermatozoa have smaller halo or no halo around them.

A latter-day gentile with his competitive way of viewing life is likely to perceive the mass production of sperm cells in male humans as an evolutionary imperative due to sperm competition. Perhaps modern man, whether gentile or of the scattered House of Israel is so scattered in his own soul that his “little guys” are competing, even amongst themselves. The war in Heaven rages on as long as sibling considers sibling a rival against whom they must come with a viral and contentious attack of viciously jealous little expulsory Egyptian charioteers. In the end, all competitors will all be washed away and drowned in the depths.

Competition/contention is of the Devil. This type of mentality and behavior is common among insects, spiders, and reptilians, but the spiritually evolved man who fully plays a part in the gathering of the tribes on a spiritual, physiological, and literal level as per article #10 in the 13 Articles of the LDS Faith, will adopt a more Zion-like attitude of oneness with his brethren. Then unto him will be made known the greater mysteries of God – for example that unfathomably profound mystery of partible paternity, a mystery at least partially grasped by many Amazonian societies such as the Araweté, Mehinaku, Tapirapé, Xoceleng, and Wari’. There is much more to making a baby than meets the eye – especially the lustful eye of flesh.

In outer nature hot springs represent the inner nature principle of desire directed by will through love. The middle ground between these spiritual and physical processes is the union of man and woman according to God’s will and pleasure. Both processes support an abundance of life even long before they reach the “surface”. Anaerobic bacteria living deep beneath the Earth’s crust account for the “rotten egg” smell at many hotsprings. Our desires, be they more carnal or more spiritual, are also fostering life on a microscopic level, whether we know it or not. Once the springs or desires surface, they create a mini ecosystem with a micro-climate which is significantly warmer than surrounding areas. The warm water allows an abundance of bacteria and algae, amphibians and reptiles, plants and even tropical fish to flourish in what would otherwise be a cold and harsh mountainous environment. Nothing can nurture our outer nature like the proper cultivation of internal desire through the joyful joining of man and woman. Scientific experiments carried out by Cleve Baxter, Marcel Vogel and others in modern times have only confirmed what was anciently demonstrated by Krishna and his consort Radha in a bower or grove which did suddenly spring up around them whilst they made love as related in the Gita Govinda. When the Elohim tell Adam and Eve to “multiply and replenish the earth,” and to “dress this garden, take good care of it, be happy and have joy therein,” they are not so much speaking of separate tasks but of one eternal commandment whereby the gods link man, woman and “all manner of fruits, flowers, and vegetation” in an energetically balanced Eden.

An Illustration from the Gita Govinda- Krishna and Radha in a Bower or Grove which suddenly springs up around them as they make love.

An Illustration from the Gita Govinda- Krishna and Radha in a Bower or Grove which suddenly springs up around them as they make love.

It is interesting to note that the governments of this world seem to have a keen interest in snatching up land with hot springs. Once a consecrated land for the free enjoyment of all God’s children, Canada’s first national park was coveted and confiscated for its geothermal qualities as was the very first national park in the world, Yellowstone. The much sought after yellow stonesulfur, or we could say soul-fire – features in many governmental land-grabs, and it is also present in what people have interpreted as hell. Hot water that comes in contact with sulfur and then experiences a rather rapid ascent with no time or space for oxidation will result in that pungent rotten egg odor common at many natural spring sites. While we may find this unpleasant, most would call soaking in the soothing waters of a hot spring a healthy and not a hellish experience.

How do we define Hell? Is it not a place of damnation? Damned water must be quick to find an outlet and continue its flow or become stagnant. This is why when God makes good on his promise to spew the lukewarm out of his mouth; it is not a rejection but a rescue from their stagnant state. Like the mighty geyser in Yellowstone Park, Old Faithful, God is converting the ‘not so faithful’ into a powerful force for good; whether by plunging to the depths, or rising to the heights. Movement is the key. The Almighty is, just that, almighty. He rules the rollercoaster of highs and lows, brings our souls intact through heavens and hells, and baptizes them by water and by fire.

BEING IN HOT WATER – GETTING COLD FEET

Being in “hot water” with God is nothing to fear. When flame and flood coincide it is, after all, the prelude to rebirth. Between Jesus and his crazy cousin John, we get the idea that we are to be baptized by water and by fire. Many debate whether this is one and the same baptism or can only be accomplished separately. The answer, as usual, is simply and boldly – both. That which appears to be done separately is in truth stemming from a place where it is all simultaneously combined; only our stubbornly rebellious mind’s fail to see this. Thermodynamically, mixing of such dissimilar conditions seems impossible but nothing is impossible in the eternodynamics of God’s master plan. Even a close examination of physical reality can reveal the inner workings of things to any observer who simply chooses to be aware of and open to the Holy Spirit. But what must we do in order to feel, have and maintain that Holy Spirit? We can not remain idle with a case of “cold feet” rather we must let the cold spur us to motion. In the Father’s fool-proof plan,

it is only a man’s fear of living in sin that is counted against him as in-sin-cerity. Sincere desire transforms weaknesses into strengths, but trying to avoid the appearance of evil on our exterior or resisting what we think of as evil, only sends us running from our own shadows like groundhogs that prolong their winter of suffering. If we would embrace the shadow as the nourishing substance of our cocoon we would find ourselves that much quicker breaking into the bright springtime of Zion and a thousand years of peace.

There is only one way to learn, and there is only one thing to learn – that there is only one thing, not this thing and that thing. Too much heat will consume us and too much cold will render us frozen, both forms of damnation. But interestingly we will find that the two combine for cool and collected everlasting burnings in which our spirit-bodies along with their resurrected counterparts are perfectly suited to dwell and thrive. (see King Follet Discourse) It is possible to train our physical bodies so that they may join our spirits as one in paradise. This was part of the idea behind the Native American sweat lodges where men would sweat out toxins and then immerse themselves in cold streams immediately afterwards. We must engage our desire/passion constantly with a combination of love and will, hot and cold. We are expected to always keep it moving through a subtle but firm series of covenantal course corrections. Classic lyrics from the artist formerly known as Prince give us a vivid description of how imbalance can cause the Dove of the Holy Spirit to be grieved.

Dream if you can a courtyard
An ocean of violets in bloom
Animals strike curious poses
They feel the heat
The heat between me and you

How can you just leave me standing?
Alone in a world that’s so cold? (So cold)
Maybe I’m just too demanding
Maybe I’m just like my father too bold
Maybe you’re just like my mother
She’s never satisfied (She’s never satisfied)
Why do we scream at each other?
This is what it sounds like
When doves cry

The Artist Formerly Known as Prince – When Doves Cry

Alma provides us with some steadfast pointers for harnessing the Holy Spirit.

Use boldness, but not overbearance; and also see that ye bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love; see that ye refrain from idleness.  – Alma 38:12

Speaking of bridling and not idling the passions, in Walter Charleton’s Natural History of the Passions (1674) we read:

“Nothing can divorce me from the common opinion which holds that she [the rational or divine soul as distinguished from the corporeal soul] is created immediately by God, and infused into the body of human embryon, as soon as that is organized, formed and prepared to receive her….These motions or acts being thus traduced from the superior to the inferior soul and thence derived first to the brain and imagination, then to the heart, produce therein and so in the blood, the various motions that constitute such passions as we observe in ourselves, when we are most ardently urged to acts of devotion and piety, toward the supreme Being. Whence it is doubtless that Divine Love, detestation of sin, repentance, hope of salvation, fear of increasing Divine Justice and most if not all other acts or passions of devotion are commonly ascribed to the heart.” (p.78)

Charleton’s unwavering belief regarding the perfect placement of God’s will into the minds and hearts of men (in that particular order) is corroborated and further expounded by section 8 verse 2 of D&C, wherein the Lord says:

“Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.”

Again and again in the Book of Mormon we find this same correlation between desires, mind and the heart. Not only this, but we are also told that, beyond this initial outpouring of the Lord’s spirit at the moment of conception, it is possible to be periodically renewed and experience a mighty change of heart. In the Book of Mormon we are shown how the relationship between the heart and mind of God and of man are extended, through desire, into the realm of personal and collective experience with reality. Throughout the record, things so small and so simple as righteous desires of the heart are even fundamentally fused to grand occurrences like angelic visitations.

“And it came to pass that when Ammon arose he also administered unto them, and also did all the servants of Lamoni; and they did all declare unto the people the selfsame thing—that their hearts had been changed; that they had no more desire to do evil.

And behold, many did declare unto the people that they had seen angels and had conversed with them; and thus they had told them things of God, and of his righteousness.”

Alma 19:33-34

Mormon temple ritual is rife with Kabalistic principles dressed in Christian fashion. It instructs initiates in a way that is so plain it seems simultaneously cryptic. Many of the ceremonies deal with angelic visitations and are not meant to be confusing but rather to open our understanding of this topic. True understanding of the physical can grant us understanding of the spiritual and visa versa. The state of a person’s soul determines what they can access and what they are able to perceive. An individual’s awareness can either expand or limit their ability to connect with particular energies.

The human intellect likes to rely on “mechanisms” to extend perceptual limits, check impulsive imaginations, and reveal nature’s causal structure within the myriad of “forms.” There was even a slight obsession with ‘tools’ and ‘instruments’ on the part of Joseph Smith and others during the founding years of the Church. Magic tools like the Urim and Thummin and seer stones have been downplayed and in some cases almost completely covered up or overlooked till recent times. Oliver Cowdery was apparently in possession of a rod which he used for purposes of divination. It is referenced in original versions of the Doctrine and Covenants and was even said to be used in attempting translation and for receiving revelation. For all the Church’s following along with societal norms toward trends which harness the powers of belief to serve the ends of civilization but not so much the purposes of the Lord, it did not stop them from utilizing a growing number of replacement technologies to the point where the LDS Church is lauded as one of the most tech-savvy churches today.

Satan’s subtle shift has damn near stripped natural objects of all their mysterious god-given properties. Bedazzled by the devil-opment of unnatural devices, the masses have fallen out of love with their Creator, and as Hegel predicted, the intellect has succeeded in cognizing “what is intuited as a mere thing, reducing the sacred grove to mere timber.” But what is sadder still is that the natural rod or shepherd’s staff of the Governing Meridian starting at a person’s upper lip and running over the head and down the spinal cord has been hugely ignored or dismissed, not accepted as the priceless tool that God intended it to be for not only Moses or Aaron, but all of God’s people.

Governing Vessel or Meridian - The Shepherd's Crook or Staff

Governing Vessel or Meridian – The Shepherd’s Crook or Staff

We shouldn’t attribute the Original Power Source to hand-held devices any more so than to the hands which hold them. But if we understand them as symbols they can then become for us, vessels of the Lord, extensions of something far greater. For this reason the Mormon Temple Endowment dialogue focuses the mind on angelic visitations and conversing with Higher Powers while the nonverbal aspects of the ritual focus the participants on physical body awareness. The storyline and the words of the officiators carry the body of saints through the session, but the movement and flow of the thing truly turns on the axis of voluntary involvement on the part of the flesh.

BY WATER AND BY FIRE ARE HEAVEN AND EARTH BROUGHT INTO HARMONY

Charleton said that the Ruach Qodesh/Holy Spirit is “infused into the body of human embryon, as soon as that is organized, formed and prepared to receive her.” The Good News of the Gospel proclaims that the Condescension of God is not just a one-time process. Why would we want to regulate the eternal works of God to a beginning, middle, and end? Returning to the personal revelations of Walter Charleton which he doposited in Natural History of the Passions, we read:

“When in the Genital matter, swarms of active, and spiritous, chiefly sulphurous particles, predisposed to animation, have met with a less number of saline particles in a convenient focus, being as it were kindled, sometimes by another soul (as in all viviparous animals), viz., of the generant, sometimes by their own rapid motion they conceive life, or break forth into a kind of flame, which thenceforth continues to burn so long as it is constantly fed with sulphureous fewel from within, and nitrous from without….The corporeal soul, while as a flame burning within her organical body she on every side difuseth heat and light, is herself, subject to serious tremblings, noddings, eclipses, inequalities and disorderly commotions, as all flame is observed to be”

The prophet Joseph had been on a personal quest to try and reign in those inconsistencies associated with the Holy Flame of the Gods in the shaky hands of mortal man ever since that pivotal moment when the words of James 1:6 powerfully entered his heart.

Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.”

Kabbalah provides a clean and systematic context for grasping this delicate balance between the fiery aspects of faith and the no less emotional but more compassionate or conforming watery properties of a complete faith. In Kabbalah, Aleph (א) represents Air – the breath of life – and it plays a role in tenderly and majestically leading both of these other two sides of faith. But if God’s powerful windpipes so much as whisper they will provoke powerful reactions. When the Air of Spirit meets with a body dominated by the Spiritual Waters there will be some choppy seas for the individual pilot of that soul. No need to fear, since the disciple is always welcome to awake the sleeping Jesus on-board and calm the waves. Kabbalah teaches that all the archetypes are in the vital body, the superior part of the physical body. However the Higher Powers often lie dormant in the hull of one’s ship.

The founder of Mormonism was inspired of God to conceptualize, for a target audience of latter-day gentiles, this kabbalistic concept of Creator endowing His creation, His children, with the same powers He possesses.  The Man Adam in the Telestial World receives all the mysteries, all the archetypes of the Word of God in potentiality. After the Fall, Adam desires to reconnect, so he constructs and altar and with arms raised utters the phrase “Pay Lay Ale” (Hebrew פה לאל – Mouth to God). In Kabbalah, A-D-A-M (Aleph- Daleth-Aleph-Mem) receives the desired divine assistance through the letter Daleth (ד) in the middle of his name. This is done via the central column of the Tree of Life diagram and is echoed in form by the mouth on the head of the speaker situated between right and left arms which reach high and then pull down in imitation of Adam at the altar of an LDS Temple.

Full System-Kabbalah-Chakra-Sacramentscopy

Full System-Kabbalah-Chakra-Sacramentscopy

That central column is marked on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life by the letter Shin (ש) which represents the Spirit of God like a fire burning. In his shincere supplication, Adam also takes in heavenly influence through the right column marked by Aleph (א), the Spirit of God like a rushing wind, and through the left column marked with Mem (מ), signifying the Spirit of God like many mighty waters. These three are called the three mother letters: Aleph, Shin, and Mem, which are related with Father, Son, and Holy Ghost or Air, Fire, and Water. The condescension of God pro-seeds from formless to ever denser forms, finally settling in Malkuth (The Kingdom of God encompassing Earth). In the Christian tradition we see the same principles at work kick-starting the apostles’ ministry on the day of Pentecost with the sound of a rushing wind, the appearance of cloven tongues of fire, and all of this followed by baptismal waters for the believers.

The principles in Kabbalah have been in no way monopolized by Jewish mysticism. Nor are they unique to Mormonism. God speaks to all men in their own tongue. The Lamanite tradition, though every bit as subject to perversion over the centuries as any other tradition, preserved a deep understanding of the principles we are examining here. Water and Fire were known to them as Atl and Tlachinolli. Atl-Tlachinolli could be translated as ‘burning water’. But when written or spoken together these words took on a whole new metaphorical meaning according to a phenomenon within many Mesoamerican languages known as difrasismo. Atl-Tlachinolli

Atl-Tlachinolli - by Water and by Fire

Atl-Tlachinolli – by Water and by Fire

meant ‘Sacred War’ which when comprehended from a mystical standpoint means the struggle for harmony within and amongst God’s children. It signified the blood and eventually came to be used by the Aztec elites to conquer neighboring tribes and control the masses through perpetual warfare.

This knowledge did not come merely by way of Nephite dissenters, the priests of Amulon and others who were, during particular periods, placed as teachers among certain segments of the Lamanite population. The word ‘Atl’ itself indicates a much more ancient origin for this wisdom purveyed by a civilization brought by the hand of God away from Atlantis in boats at the time of the Great Cataclysm. Laman and Lemuel were not in the habit of inquiring to know the mind of the Lord and so they did not receive or value what knowledge was had among their original people. Despising their brother Nephi for what seemed to them a “know-it-all” mentality, and unwilling to even ask the Lord to make such things known to them personally, they joined and mixed their seed with pre-existing cultures who they found living here when they arrived in the promised land.

These people were dark-skinned (hence the perceived curse as documented by prejudiced Nephite scribes), and the center of their previously established and rapidly spreading culture was located where their forefathers had landed – on the thick neck of land known today as the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. That thick neck of land is mirrored by the narrow neck of land in the area where the Nephites were inspired to finally settle. Both of these now fallen empires clashed in the Mississippi River Valley.

As is the case around the globe, sacred eternal truths still stare at us through the stone ruins of fallen societies and testify to the deadly consequences suffered by past nations who rebelliously sought to stir up a spiritual evil far deeper than civil war, by severing the naturally reflecting forms of the physical and spiritual regions of God’s Kingdom. Artifacts examined in the Spirit (as the Golden Plates were and the Book of Mormon may be) will reveal that, when we speak of “fallen” empires we must realize that the “falling apart” which occurred was only the result of a rift between Spiriphysico Principles of Unified Opposition in all things – things like Light and Truth, Fire and Water, Hot and Cold. These truths were known by the founders of the Lehi-Nephi colony as well as the Olmec and Mexica groups later classified by the compilers of the Book of Mormon as simply, “The Lamanites.”

I look at my environment

And wonder where the fire went

What happened to everything we used to be?

I hear so many cry for help

Searching outside of themselves

Now I know that his strength is within me

And deep in my heart

The answer, it was in me

And I made up my

To define my own destiny

Lauryn Hill – The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill

TEMPERATURE AND ENTROPY – ONLY A MATTER OF TIME

As the earth and her people raise their spiritual vibration to a feverish pitch, the enemies of Zion struggle to maintain a stranglehold on Christ’s followers. They are taking measures to combat what they label “global warming” or “climate change” and demand that we do the same. But the prophets among us understand that these things are part of Earth’s glorious destiny. A sound understanding of eternodynamics allows us to see that destiny, like destination is already and always present. The true followers of Christ and the global elite class which ridicules them from within their great and spacious buildings – both groups know that this is the place.

The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand and our beautiful and faithful planet is destined to rise in glory. It is a matter of eternity. Postponing the fulfillment of prophesy for people positioned and trained to never roam beyond the plantation of the third dimension is the most that the wicked can manage. If they can keep us stuck in the vicious cycle set in motion by the fore-bitten fruit, they can prevent us from re-discovering our divine nature. But that is only for the time-being. An eternal being enjoys a much different relationship with reality, free from the vicious karmic cycle.

That cycle is one based entirely on the con-cept of time. In the day that Adam and Eve eat of the fruit they will surely die. Was God proved a liar, or at best extremely exaggerative in His warning to our first parents just because they did not drop dead within 24 hours of partaking from the tree of knowledge of good and evil? No, it was just a matter of time. This is why I say that states of perfection are naturally occurring as a matter of eternity, while dis-ease, death and the devil are all a matter of time.

 Heat cannot be separated from fire, or beauty from the eternalDante Alighieri.

Temperature is a word that comes from similar roots as words like tempo or temporal. In many languages the word for weather and time are the same. This illustrates the connection that exists between thermodynamics and eternodynamics by pointing out a relationship between temperature and the phenomenon of time. It has been said that there is no such thing as dark, only a lack of light. Technology has not given us flashdarks which can cast a shadow shaft into a lighted area the way a flashlight casts a beam of light into darkness. It is therefore assumed that only light is real as it alone can disperse darkness and not the other way around. It has been said that to speak of cold as an energy is not correct, that it should be seen in terms of extremely low levels of heat. But since it is measured in terms of negative degrees the connection between heat and cold can be confusing.

The same is true of the false dichotomy between good and evil. However, no one working within the false dichotomy of religion and science will dare admit this. We feel more comfortable with constants, but whether scientific or theological, the only thing that seems consistent is the periodic challenges to our thinking which require us to change our so called ‘constants’. Could it be that spirit is that constant which we seek? We will never have it if we insist on splitting everything in two, labeling one side superior or at least more real than the other. Joseph Smith described spirit as matter that is merely more refined. That would make matter spirit, just less refined.

Commenting on the nature of heat, observing its effect on something like boiling water, Sir Francis Bacon wrote in The New Organon (1620):

“Heat is a motion; expansive, restrained, and acting in its strife upon the smaller particles of bodies. But the expansion is thus modified; while it expands all ways, it has at the same time an inclination upward. And the struggle in the particles is modified also; it is not sluggish, but hurried and with violence.”

Elsewhere he wrote:

“As in nature, things move violently to their place, and calmly in their place, so virtue in ambition is violent, in authority settled and calm.” – Of Great Place (1561-1626) – Francis Bacon

One is reminded of the heated debate known as the War in Heaven. Lucifer is the ambitious one, desiring to exalt himself above the other stars of the heaven and even above the throne of The Most High. Lucifer is also the violent one while God the Father and Jesus Christ are more calm and collected. Both Jesus and Lucifer and their respective teams – Christ and Satan – could be accurately described as beings of spirit, beings of light even, and if spirit and light then certainly heat was a part of their beings as well.

Can heat be harmful as well as helpful? Of course it can, then why not cold? Where is this locus of evil so that we may draw it out and separate it forever more from the forces of good? According to the Judeo-Christian narrative, that is precisely what we are attempting to do during this War in Heaven by casting Lucifer and the angels that followed him out. But if war is violence and violence is bad then how can Heaven be a place of perfection or completion?  The Mormon variation of the narrative provides some essential details but also raises more questions about the nature of Earth-life and earth as an element for constructing physical bodies for enjoying what is called the second estate.

But before reaching this earthly estate there is light and heat and presumably air, for light as form or flame burns at its outside in contact with air, and there is no combustion within the flame which is not mixed with air. And prior to making land-fall our physical forms must take a maiden voyage through water. Sounds like a good method for cooling down hot heads which have recently been engaged in a gaseous conflict of whirling hot air. But throughout all these stages of the soul’s transformation there is heat.

Heat can be a catalyst and an aid in evolution, or it can be a mechanism for tight luciferian control. The super-organism of a honeybee hive maintains an average temperature of around 32-35°C (90-95°F), a few degrees lower than that of a human being. Until recently “heater bees”, bees whose specialized behavior serves to regulate hive temperature, were thought to be fanning and spreading heat generated from young pupae incubating in cells near the hive’s center.

But a few years ago scientists discovered that the heater bees were responsible for generating the heat themselves by decoupling their wings so that the muscles that are normally used to move the wings run at full power, enabling their bodies to reach temperatures much higher than other bees in the hive. These heater bees not only manage to not cook themselves while regulating the overall temperature of the hive but by varying the temperature of developing pupae within a particular section of cells, they are able to actually determine what kind of role those pupae will later fulfill in the hive. The adult heater bees are like university professors in Masonic caps and gowns literally administering “degrees” to the future generations and thereby overseeing the division of labor. Those kept at 35°C turn into the intelligent forager bees that leave the nest in search of nectar and pollen. Those kept at 34°C emerge as “house keeper” bees, conducting chores such as feeding the larvae and cleaning the nest.

To heat is to eat. With the linguistic curiosity of h-prothesis, where speakers of Irish or Jamaican dialects of English tend to add an ‘h’ sound to words beginning with a vowel – “eat” would be pronounced identically to “heat”. The word Ramadan describes an Islamic time of fasting from sunrise till sunset and it comes from the Arabic root ramida or ar-ramad, which means scorching heat or dryness. The Hebrew noun  (lehem), meaning bread, features at the end of the town of New Testament fame – Bethlehem (House of Bread). But lehem has a much broader sense of food in general and is used in the Bible to describe sources of sustenance ranging from the mysterious manna to honey.

This is the same word that is used in a more figurative sense in a phrase like “the bread of wickedness” (Proverbs 4:17), or when Jesus refers to himself as the “Bread of Life” (John 6:35). It is even used to denote the target of a conquest (Numbers 14:9), and this makes perfect sense when we realize that it comes from the verb  (laham) – to eat, to devour, to use as food. As a verb root  (laham) can mean to do battle, to fight. This is why we see it pop up in the noun  (milhama) – battle, war – used to describe YHWH as a man of war. Continuing the correlation between feasting and battle, Psalm 23:5 says: You prepare a banquet for me while my enemies watch. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows.

Sir Francis Bacon seemed to be on to something when he associated heat with violence. And bacon from the slaughterhouse to the frying pan aside, even a raw vegan diet breaks lehem (food) down via the action of laham (eating). Speaking of “breaking down”, the semitic triliteral root,  (LHM – laham) literally breaks down to  (the preposition that usually translates into the English words – to, at), and  (heat), which is the name given to one of Noah’s supposedly cursed sons. So, ‘To Heat’ is literally ‘To Eat’.

We can use heat either wisely or foolishly, for nurturing or for destruction. You can have cold air, icy water and frozen tundra, but you can not have a frigid fire. When a human life-form chooses to repeatedly misuse the eternal flame of love/life, it will die the spiritual death. Its spirit body looses the privilege of Prometheus’ Fire and its physical body is eventually left completely cold.

The physical body is composed of cells which are counted less guilty as they were only children not properly loved by the spirit steward who was placed as their parent. Thus these cells decompose at a slower rate, gradually relinquishing their portion of spirit as they are mercifully returned to Mother Earth or are quickly caught up in purifying flames after the Master Intelligence has revoked the tainted soul’s right to his or her Second Estate. This process is accepted as natural and indeed it is a natural consequence of every Icarus who, detesting the blessing of the flesh, flies foolishly and haughtily at the hot Sun only to scorch his brash wings and fall.

The Sanskrit word – निर्वाण nirvana, literally means “extinction, blowing out“. What does one do upon reaching Nirvana (The Highest Degree within the Celestial Kingdom)? Well, according to Buddha himself, when one has ascended the ladder of enlightenment to the highest Nirvana, he does so only to look back down on mankind below and, upon beholding their suffering, immediately descend again to help his brethren. This may sound crazy, this up and down, but it is more than likely just our selfishness through which we view it that is crazy.

Maybe Mormons do not necessarily understand this concept but Mormon scripture states that Jesus ascended up on high, and also descended below all things. All things are created from energy and energy moves in waves which form both peaks and troughs. When one finds oneself at a peak, the thrill continues on the big dip of the roller-coaster called life. If one should find one’s self stalling and wallowing on the low end, eating with swine from the trough then it is time to come home, like the prodigal son. It is time to turn up the temperature and rise up the thermometer like Mercury with healing in His wings.

Entropy means turning inward (En Trope). It’s just what happens when expending and expanding energy feels restricted, says, “enough is enough”, then decides to turn itself around and take a huge inhalation for the benefit of all. Just as the exhalation of the Gods put the breath of life into man in his beginning, the inhalation of the Gods can really knock the wind out of man. When they inhale we exhale. Remember, Nirvana literally means “blowing out”. If we are not in harmony with God that exhalation could be our last breath unto extinction, hence the imperative notion of becoming one with the Father as Jesus emphasized. If we are all “hot air” the consequences of our “puffed uphaughtiness may be much more literal than we care to admit.

Scripture tells us in fairly descriptive terms that the Holy Spirit withdraws when offended. When a man is offended he typically starts a fight with the offender. But when the Holy Spirit is offended it does not engage, but rather steps back, takes a deep breath, and disengages from the beautiful strife of life. To strive does not merely mean to aspire but also to lock into a struggle. Worldly aspiration and out of sync respiration lead to expiration on our parts if we think we can prevail without a real wrestle with the Lord as Jacob did. Mormon canon repeatedly reminds us that the Spirit of the Lord will not always “strive with man” (2Nephi 26:11, Gen 6:3, Moses 8:17, D&C 1:33, Ether 2:15) Anyone who has witnessed a dying or dead corpse knows that when the Holy Spirit feels that it’s warm breath is being wasted on a cold heart it leaves the entire body to that coldness, taking its primordial heat home to the hearth in the bosom or heart of God.

Life is meant to be a house warming party that goes on and on for many days. Genesis 6:3 and Moses 8:17 say that house/body warming party can go on for up to 120 days, so why are we ending the party so early these days? Who has set these house rules and ordinances over our heads which supposedly obligate us to chase the Spirit out of the Temple by a certain hour? Who says the Holy Ghost goes to bed at midnight? Have our Holy Temples of the Lord been perverted into B.Y.U. dorms and housing? An enemy hath done this. Alien forces may scare us into asthmatic attacks which threaten our peace to destroy. But we can look to the touching climatic scenes of M. Knight Shyamalan’s masterpiece, Signs, and see a Father who holds the Son in His arms while telling Him:

“Don’t be afraid. We’ll slow this down together. Feel my chest. Feel it moving in and out. Breathe like me. Breathe like me. Come on. Stay with me. I know it hurts. Be strong baby. It’ll pass. It’ll pass. The fear is feeding him. Don’t be afraid of what’s happening. Believe it’s going to pass. Believe it. Just wait. Don’t be afraid. The air is coming. Believe. We don’t have to be afraid. It’s about to pass. Here it comes. Don’t be afraid. Here comes the air. Don’t be afraid. Feel my chest. Breathe with me. Together. The air is going in our lungs. Together. We’re the same. We’re the same.”

Individuals, tribes, nations, and empires are all equally susceptible to entropy. But the self-same air currents that threaten to sweep us off the face of the earth (Ether 2) if we refuse to repent will save us from ourselves with a breath of fresh air if we accept it with new lungs.

Just because the law of entropy may be applied to an object does not mean that object should be discarded as unworthy of our desire. Just because the law of entropy can be applied to an object does not mean that it must be applied, at least not in the way that our feeble grasp of thermodynamics and even more limited understanding of eternodynamics dictates. The point of existence is always to not get stuck but to remain free – free to enjoy EVERYTHING. There is no existence without enjoyment; there is no en-joy-ment without en-join-ment, and there can be no enjoinment without desire.

We should certainly avoid getting hung up on the flesh and other forms which are subject to entropy. And we should certainly let our desire be towards formless attributes of God such as love, joy and peace. But if those formless attributes are real and can be said to exist, even though they can not be fully explained or experienced empirically, if these are indeed the essence of God, then we should pause and think – how is it that we know or sense this? Is it not because the formless itself has eternally burning desire towards the form, far beyond that which we developing life-forms can muster?

We love, because he first loved us. – 1 John 4:19

The Baptism of Fire


The following is my current understanding of the baptism of fire.

One baptism in three parts

The gospel of Jesus Christ has one, tripartite baptism consisting of the baptism of water, the baptism of fire and the baptism of the Holy Ghost. The purpose of baptism is to witness that there exists a covenant between God and the man being baptized. Unless all three witnesses have occurred, the covenant between him and God is not binding.

The doctrine of re-baptism applies equally to all three

Anyone who enters into an agreement with another is free to witness or affirm the fact of the agreement by attestation for as many times as desired. There is no law of man or God against this. In fact, under the law of God, we are to “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places” that we may be in, even until death. So, the principle of witnessing and re-witnessing is a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The manner in which man witnesses of his covenant to serve God is through water baptism. This means that in order to re-witness his covenant, he must be re-baptized. Therefore, he may receive the baptism of water whenever and as many times as he desires and must, per his covenant, be ever ready to be re-baptized at all times and in all places, to re-attest of the validity of his covenant. This is the doctrine or principle of re-baptism and it applies equally to both water, fire and Holy Ghost baptisms.

Order: fire and Spirit, then water, then fire and Spirit, etc.

Re-baptism being a principle of the gospel, the order in which these baptisms are received is not all that important. The only necessary thing is that each one is received, for these are really three parts of one baptism. Nevertheless, the scriptural, ideal order is first the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost (see D&C 20: 37), followed by the baptism of water, followed by another baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and thereafter, any part may be repeated multiple times throughout one’s life.

Another thing that the gospel states is that after a baptism of water, the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost is supposed to follow on its heels, either right after coming out of the water, or right after confirmation by the laying on of hands.

To demonstrate these principles, Joseph Smith received a baptism of fire during the First Vision, then a baptism of fire during each of Moroni’s visits and during the visit of John the Baptist, then a water baptism by the hand of Oliver Cowdery, followed by a baptism of the Holy Ghost after he came out of the water. Later he received other baptisms of fire with the visits of Peter, James, John, Moses, Elijah, etc. He also received another water baptism after the church was legally organized, etc.

Simultaneity

A baptism of fire is always accompanied with a baptism of the Holy Ghost, but a person may be baptized with the Holy Ghost without an accompanying baptism of fire. This is why the baptism of fire is always called the baptism (singular) of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and not the baptisms (plural) of fire and of the Holy Ghost. These two parts of the tripartite baptism occur simultaneously as a single baptismal event whenever there is a baptism of fire.

Jesus alone performs the baptism of fire

Unlike the baptism of water, which can be performed by the hand of a mortal man under priesthood power and authority, the baptism of fire is reserved for Deity alone to accomplish and is based upon the state of a man’s heart and his faith in Him. (See 3 Ne. 12: 1-2; 3 Ne. 9: 20; Matt. 3: 11; Luke 3: 16; JST Mark 1: 6; JST John 1: 28.)

Confirmation is not the baptism of fire

The scriptures say that elders are “to confirm those who are baptized into the church, by the laying of of hands for the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost.” This is the ordinance of confirmation. Laying hands on someone’s head for the baptism of fire does not baptize anyone with fire. Only the Lord can do that.

When the scriptures say that this ordinance is “for” the baptism of fire, it is using that word “for” to mean “indicating the end with reference to which anything is, acts, serves or is done.” Specifically, the word “for” in that sentence means “as a preparation for” or “with the object of.” So, elders lay hands as a preparation for the baptism of fire, or they lay hands with the object of the baptism of fire.

The ordinance of confirmation, then, is a preparatory ordinance, which precedes an actual baptism of fire. This ordinance is called confirmation because it is intended to confirm the believers’ faith, both that of the one being confirmed and that of those doing the confirming. This is because true priesthood is “inseparably connected with the powers of heaven,” so when true priesthood is exercised as an ordinance of the gospel, there will be a corresponding manifestation of heavenly power. So, after the ordinance of confirmation, there is supposed to be a baptism of fire that occurs, showing that the covenant of the newly baptized person is accepted of God, as well as the priesthood of the one who is doing the confirming.

Binding and accepted covenants

The baptism of fire serves to witness to the new member, to the priesthood holder(s) confirming, and to the church that is present, that the covenant that the man has entered into with his God, witnessed by his water baptism, is accepted by God and is now in force. In other words, that it is binding, both upon the man and his God.

To put another way, water baptism is man’s way of witnessing to God that he has entered into a covenant to serve Him, whereas fire baptism is God’s way of witnessing to man that He has accepted that covenantal relationship.

(Jesus said, “Whoso believeth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record (witness) of me, for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost.” See 3 Ne. 11: 35.)

Plasma is the medium

To serve as a witness to all these people, the baptism of fire must be a visual sign. The medium used is not the fire of a gas stove or match, but discharging plasma in appearance as fire. Depending upon where one is located in relation to the plasma display, it may look like the flame of fire, like a palpable or living light, like lightning, or just as immense glory or brightness.

Specifically, the baptism of fire consists of twin plasma filaments, rapidly rotating around a central axis, creating a plasma tube or sheath, or plasma column, in other words, a cylindrical shape around the person being baptized. When viewed from the outside, it appears to be “a pillar of fire.” When viewed from within the tube, the fire aspects may or may not be discerned, but its bright light or glory is apparent. Thus we have the various accounts of Joseph Smith’s First Vision, which was a baptism of fire, using the words “fire,” “flame,” “light,” “brightness” and “glory” to describe the discharging plasma he was witnessing.

Sometimes the twin filaments themselves can be discerned, and so we get a description of “cloven tongues of fire,” meaning twin tongues (or filaments) of plasma flame. Other descriptions are of fire “encircling” the persons being baptized, showing that the filaments rotate around the person.

All of these scriptural accounts are describing the same plasma manifestation observed from different spatial perspectives, and so accounts vary. But even with everything before a person, sometimes details can still be missed, as in 1 Ne. 15: 27.

Other aspects

Fire baptism is by complete, or cellular, immersion. Plasma both surrounds and enters the man, so that he becomes “filled with fire.” The fire can be seen and felt. To the one immersed in it, it initially feels like he is burning to death, in an incomprehensibly complete and rapid manner, as every part of the body seems to have caught on fire. Great fear instantly comes upon the man as he fully believes he is about to die. But in the next instant his mind realizes that death has not occurred, that there is no pain and that there is no apparent cellular damage or harm. The fear leaves just as suddenly as it comes, only to be replaced with a feeling of awe and gratitude as the mind realizes that this same destroying fire, which should have instantly atomized the body, is somehow keeping the body protected from its own destructive power.

The divine plasma has the effect of cleansing the heart of man, purifying it of all dross (sinful desires), so that he no longer desires to sin, but instead abhors it. In this swept clean condition, the Holy Ghost then unexpectedly and suddenly enters the man and causes the individual bits of his soul to shout for joy, because of the presence of Deity.

Fire baptism allows other heavenly manifestations to occur

The baptism of fire purifies a person’s heart and Jesus said that all the pure in heart shall see God. So, whenever a person receives a baptism of fire, chances are real good that they will also see either an angel, vision or God Himself. At the very least some revelation or prophecy will occur along with the baptism of fire, or some other manifestation of one of the gifts of the Spirit.

Fire remits sin

Whenever a person receives a baptism of fire, his sins are automatically remitted. In other words, he becomes justified, or guiltless, before the Lord. Nephi said, “For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.”

Fire brings forth a new tongue

Nephi also said that when a man receives the baptism of fire he then can speak with a new tongue, even the tongue of angels, and that “angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ.”

There are only two, definitive, scriptural examples

There are plenty of scriptural verses that mention the doctrine of baptism of fire, but there are only two accounts in our current standard works in which it is definitively stated that actual baptisms of fire occurred. Of those two accounts, only one applies to us in the latter days. They are:

Adam’s baptism of fire
After Adam was baptized by the Spirit of the Lord, as recorded in Moses 6: 64-68, he heard a voice saying, “Thou art baptized with fire, and with the Holy Ghost.” Nevertheless, there is no mention of any manifestation of fire in the account. Although quite interesting, this experience was, apparently, Adam specific and is not the template for the baptism of fire among the modern masses.

The Lamanites’ baptism of fire
When the Nephite missionaries Nephi and Lehi preached among the Lamanites and were imprisoned, about 300 souls received a baptism of fire, as recorded in Hel. 5: 20-49. This is the scriptural template of a baptism of fire for all mankind. We know this because the voice of Jesus Christ said so:

And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not. (3 Ne. 9: 20)

So, the Lord categorically states in the above scripture that the experience of the 300 souls was a baptism of fire. Additionally, He states that all baptisms of fire that He performs will be “even as the Lamanites… were baptized with fire.” The Lamanites’ baptism of fire, then, is the standard, the rule, and NOT the exception. It is the event that the Lord points to for us to determine whether a baptism of fire has occurred.

(The word “even” in the phrase “even as the Lamanites” means “in or to such (indicated) degree or kind.”)

What the baptism of fire consists of

Based upon the Lamanites’ experience, there are six characteristics of any baptism of fire. They are:

1. Fire encircling an individual, forming a cylindrical shape, such as a column or “pillar of fire” or plasma tube. This would be twin Birkeland currents (plasma cables or filaments) rotating rapidly around a central axis, in appearance like a fire tornado. This is the visual sign to all those witnessing the baptism.

2. The presence and ministration of angels.

3. Justification, meaning a remission of sins.

4. Purification, by fire entering the heart.

5. Sanctification, by becoming filled with (baptized in) the Holy Ghost.

6. Speaking with a new tongue (the tongue of angels, meaning speaking by the power of the Holy Ghost.)

Two more scriptural examples

Using the six characteristics above, we find two more scriptural examples of baptisms of fire which exactly match that of the Lamanites, although the text does not specifically say that they were fire baptisms. They are:

The Nephite little children’s baptism of fire
Jesus baptized little children with fire, as recorded in 3 Ne. 17: 21-25 and as witnessed by 2500 people. These children were encircled by fire, had angels minister to them and spoke in new tongues (see 3 Ne. 26: 14, 16.) Also, we know that they were justified, purified and sanctified, for they were little children and all little children are alive in Christ.

The 12 disciples’ baptism of fire
The fire baptism of these men is recorded in 3 Ne. 19: 11-15. They were encircled about by fire, filled with fire, had angels minister to them and prayed by the power of the Holy Ghost. From the text it is clear that they were justified, purified and sanctified.

Other intimated baptisms of fire

Joseph Smith’s baptisms of fire
As mentioned above, each of Joseph’s angelic ministrations was attended by a baptism of fire (plasma), including the First Vision.

For example, one First Vision account says, “A pillar of fire appeared above my head; which presently rested down upon me, and filled me with un-speakable joy. A personage appeared in the midst of this pillar of flame, which was spread all around and yet nothing consumed…I saw many angels in this vision.”

Another First Vision account says, “while in [the] attitude of calling upon the Lord [in the 16th* year of my age] a pillar of {fire} lightabove the brightness of the Sun at noon day come down fromabove and rested upon me and I was filld with the Spirit of God”. In this account Joseph couldn’t decide whether what he saw was fire or light. He finally decided on light and crossed out fire. The reason for his confusion was that he was witnessing discharging plasma.

I believe that it is reasonable to conclude that the plasma nature of the angel Moroni’s visit (see The plasma aspects of the First Vision and Moroni’s visit) was typical of all angelic ministrations to Joseph, and thus all such events in his life were likely baptisms of fire.

Moses’ vision of God
In Moses chapter 1 it says that “the glory of God was upon Moses.” That sounds to me like a plasma event and that he received a baptism of fire.

Lehi’s pillar of fire
1 Ne. 1: 6 mentions Lehi seeing a pillar of fire. It is obviously a super-duper abridgment of all that occurred, but it sounds like a baptism of fire.

Nephi’s visit from the Lord
Nephi mentions in 1 Ne. 2: 16 that he was visited by the Lord. He doesn’t elaborate but my guess is that this was Nephi’s first baptism of fire. Jesus states in 3 Ne. 11: 35 that when the Father visits people, He visits them with fire and with the Holy Ghost.

Cloven tongues on day of Pentecost
As recorded in Acts chapter 2, there appeared “cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.” They were filled with the Spirit, spoke other tongues and spoke by the power of the Holy Ghost. It’s not an exact match of the Lamanite experience (angels are missing), but pretty darn close.

Gentile cloven tongues
In Acts 11: 15 we read Peter’s words about how the Gentiles also received the Holy Ghost. He said, “And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.” That, to me, seems to be saying that the Holy Ghost fell on the Gentiles in the same way that the Holy Ghost fell on the Jews, namely, with accompanying manifestation of cloven tongues like as of fire. This could explain the astonishment of the Jews who witnessed the manifestation of tongues among the Gentiles. (See Acts 10: 44-47.)

Downgrading the baptism of fire

Now, when you compare the scriptural accounts of the baptism of fire to our modern, LDS definitions, it becomes obvious that we have downgraded the sudden, rapid changes effectuated by the marvelous, visual, power displays of the real deal to something gradual, drawn out, imperceptible and nondescript. For example:

While one definition of this expression (the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost) refers to a cleansing by the Holy Spirit as if by fire, still the scriptures and the writings of the prophets indicate there is something more.

The new convert who has accepted the gift of the Holy Ghost with the right spirit will experience not only a cleansing but a feeling that will give him a new heart and make of him a new person. Sometimes this is immediate, and sometimes it happens over a period of time.

The scriptures, and even our church history, record miraculous instances when visible flames encircled the humble followers of Christ—literal manifestations of fire and the Holy Ghost—but more often this fire works quietly and unseen in the hearts of those who have received the gift of the Holy Ghost.

The witness, the change, the cleansing that comes gradually is no less powerful to the person with the right heart, and he or she is impelled to action whether the experience was a sudden, miraculous manifestation or the quiet workings of the Spirit.

(Fire and the Holy Ghost, Loren C. Dunn, Ensign, June 1995)

We have taken away the majesty of the Father’s witness and replaced it with something that goes entirely against nature. Nature is cyclic, cycling between periods of rest and periods of activity. All things work on this principle, including spiritual things. Baptism (all three parts) are designed to be moments of spiritual intensity. You cannot perform a baptism of water over a period of time, or gradually, quietly and unseen. No, you are outside of the water (which can be visually discerned), then you are immersed, and then you come out of the water. There is nothing gradual about it. A single water baptism cannot be performed over days and years. In like manner, the baptism of fire is a punctuated, spiritually intense event.

No one’s spirituality is designed to grow gradually. Gradual spiritual growth is the same as no spiritual growth. There is no such animal as gradual spiritual growth. You either have intense spiritual experiences from time to time or you are spiritually dying. This is why we are commanded to come together often, to intensify the Spirit so as to be capable of growing spiritually.

Joseph Smith’s life was meant to be an example to us. He had multiple, very intense spiritual experiences. It began with a baptism of fire, it continued with more baptisms of fire and it ended in a volley of gun fire. John Taylor said that Joseph lived for glory, died for glory and glory is his eternal reward. Glory = plasma = the baptism of fire. Joseph did, indeed, live for those fire baptism experiences. He had a lot of them, he saw a lot of angels and who knows how many visions, and he wanted to have more of the same. And he tried ceaselessly to get the saints to experience what he was experiencing. So did Moses and all true prophets.

You are either immersed in plasma or you are not. You are either in an intensity phase or in a rest phase of the cycle. There is no such thing as non-cyclic gradualness. If you think you are growing spiritually for the past ten years without any intense spiritual experiences, you are kidding yourself. It means that you have been in a spiritual rest phase of the cycle during this time. No one can remain at spiritual rest for any extended period of time before spirituality begins to decay. It is an impossibility. So, the LDS concept of a gradual, life-long, imperceptible baptism of fire is patently false and leads to spiritual death.

Everyone will receive a baptism of fire

It is not a question of if, but when and how. If a man humbles himself before the Lord and enters into a covenant to serve Him, he’ll receive a baptism of fire in this life, one that will purify and justify him. But there are other baptisms of fire that can be received. For example, one is the baptism of fire that the earth and all those that do wickedly upon her will receive at the Second Coming. Another is the baptism of fire that occurs when the sons of perdition are immersed in the lake of fire and brimstone. One way or another, we are all eventually going to have to go through some type of baptismal fire.

And they knew it not

In closing, let me address one other thing. Jesus said that the Lamanites “were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.” Some have taken that to mean that the Lamanites experienced a change upon their hearts which they did not perceive, because it happened gradually, over time. In other words, that the Lord meant that there was no great manifestation during the Lamanites’ fire and Holy Ghost baptism. And also that the Lord was not referring to the 300 Lamanites who were in prison with Nephi and Lehi, but was referring instead to other Lamanite converts.

This is an incorrect interpretation.

The real meaning of the Lord’s words is that the Lamanites (the 300 souls in that prison) had a magnificent, visual baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, but did not know what it was. That is all that the Lord meant by what He said.

Any time someone experiences a baptism of fire without first being taught about it, they go through the experience without knowing what it is. Joseph’s First Vision fire baptism was performed on him while he was still a boy totally ignorant of such a thing as a baptism of fire. In my own life, I remember that the first time that I had a baptism of fire (prior to my water baptism) I was blown away and didn’t know what it was. The missionaries that had taught me the gospel had not explained this doctrine, so it came as a complete surprise to me and it was only years later, as I studied and learned more of the gospel on my own, that I was able to determine what the hell it was. Prior to that time, it was always an anomaly to me and when talking to others about the various spiritual experiences I had had over the years, I would always set it apart by saying something like, “The second time the Holy Ghost manifested itself to me was quite different than the other times. It was, well, a really big manifestation with a lot of power and I thought I was going to die, or I did die and came back to life. I’m not really sure what happened. All I know is I was consumed in fire but somehow survived unharmed.” Such were my ignorant descriptions. But of course it was a different manifestation than the others. It was a baptism of fire, for crying out loud! But I knew it not.

And in the same manner, neither did the Lamanites.

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