In my quest to popularize the advancing science of comparative mythology and plasma physics as they relate to the Restored Gospel, it occurred to me that the popular “… for Dummies” series, relating to everything from auto repair to brain surgery, might be helpful. A nuts-and-bolts approach to prophetic interpretation that employed an analogy about learning to read might help others better understand my approach. The following is the result. – A.E.L.
While we’re definitely not dummies, we all previously thought that one needed a prophetic calling or a PhD in order to interpret prophecy.
But I have found that not to be the case. Anyone who has learned to read—dummies like me and you—can also learn to understand prophecy.
This is done by simply following the clues throughout history, like Hansel and Gretel followed the breadcrumb trail through the forest, tracing the images or metaphors of prophecy to their source in Earth’s ancient heavens. Then, moving forward in time from antiquity to the present, one can map out their use as the prophets consistently employed them in various epochs and in a variety of cultures.
So, reading prophecy is not all that difficult. It’s learning how to understand it that’s a bit hard. That’s because we’ve never been properly schooled in prophetic imagery, a skill once known to all the prophets that has been lost to us over the eons.
And even though Joseph Smith clearly learned that skill, properly employed it and sought to reinstate its imagery in the minds of Latter-day Saints as part of the Restoration, the membership failed to grasp his meaning. (See “The Keys To Prophecy, #1-#12" and “What Joseph Knew.”)
Yes, reading the imagery of prophecy is an acquired skill, just like riding a bike or reading. In fact, the best analogy for learning to read prophecy comes from your own experience as you first began to read.
Think back to when you couldn’t read, before you learned your ABCs. Do you recall what the printed letters on a page looked like? I can. It looked like so much meaningless gobbledygook. There was no way you or I could make sense of it no matter how long we stared at it. Flipping the pages was futile. Trying to find meaning in it was pointless.
Well, that pretty much describes the situation where prophecy is concerned. You can understand the words, but the message is strange gibberish. Try as you might to find meaning in it or make sense of it, you cannot. Instead, your head begins to hurt. Reading various prophecies only further complicates the matter. It all seems to deal in that same bizarre imagery. Even reading books on the subject by supposed ‘authorities’ on prophecy leaves you no closer to understanding the stuff. And there are whole chunks of prophecy that the 'experts' all seem to avoid. Soon you despair, thinking that making sense of prophecy is going to be nearly impossible.
To teach you how to read, the teacher first started with the alphabet and letter recognition. Each letter had a name—A was “aee,” B was “bee,” and so on. And you learned to recognize them and identify them by name. Once you mastered the alphabet, you took your first step toward reading. But you still could not read.
The same is true of prophecy. To understand it, your teacher must take you back to the basics—stars, planets and plasmas. Why stars, planets and plasmas? Well, that’s where the language of prophecy came from. Earth’s ancient heavens were once alive with planets (the ancients called them stars, not planets) and electrified, glowing, lifelike plasma phenomenon. These impressive elements riveted the attention of ancient peoples the world over and sparked an explosion of imagination and imagery in all cultures.
Just like the letters of the alphabet, what the ancients saw in those long ago skies became the building blocks of all religious tradition and culture.
As analyzed elsewhere (See "A New Heaven and a New Earth," “The Saturn Myths and the Restored Gospel,” “The Saturn Epic: In The Beginning,” “The Saturn Epic: Mythmaking,” "The Polar Configuration and Joseph Smith," “Prophets and Plasmas” and “The Electric Universe”), with a little effort you’ll discover the reasons for believing that Earth’s ancient skies were vastly different than our own today. You’ll learn of the objects and images our ancestors saw in the astronomical theater, and we’ll give names to those planets and plasmas. This will be the prophetic equivalent of learning your ABCs.
The next thing our reading teacher did was to show us that each letter had one or more sounds. That further complicated things, but we were told that it would all become clear if we just persevered. So, we went down the now familiar alphabet assigning sounds to each of them. We learned, for example, that the letter C could have an “sss” sound as in “see,” or a “kay” sound as in “cat.” This was further complication and confusion for our struggling young minds.
Unlike today, where planets are little more than bright, distant stars in the sky, these planets and plasmas were very close.They were overwhelming and imposing because they were close to the Earth. They actually appeared larger than the moon does today. Brilliantly lit, dynamic and magnificent in ancient skies, these planets and plasmas were reverenced as gods or primeval powers.
And ancient onlookers assigned distinctive characteristics or personalities to these nearby planets and plasmas, based on their appearance, movements and changes. They were considered gods, supernatural powers that ruled the heavens, their sole habitat. The “theater of the gods,” then, was the ancient firmament overhead. In the cultures of antiquity, these planets and plasmas became human-like or animal-like gods who acted out their epoch stories on that grandiose stage.
Their identities included names, though those names varied from culture to culture. Even within a single culture, the same astral object acquired numerous names as it moved and changed over time. To modern eyes, this riotous nomenclature of ancient gods offers only confusion. To the ancients it made perfect sense since each name identified a unique aspect of their planet or plasma gods.
But the identities and attributes of those gods were strikingly similar in every cultural tradition because the look and behavior of those planets and plasmas was consistently interpreted the same way from culture to culture. This was due to the fact that the appearance and actions of these gods or powers suggested the same characteristics, natures or personalities in the minds of the ancients the world over.
For this reason, the ancients wrote and spoke of them as if they were living beings or creatures, and they so illustrated them in their sacred art. For example, Saturn (the largest of the planets seen in earthly skies) was the “father god” or “creator,” Venus came to be seen as the original “queen of heaven” or “mother goddess” and Mars became her “son,” the “hero” and the “warrior,” among many other designations. And the plasmas that were seen stretching between the planets took on a large number of identities: a connecting sky pillar, celestial tree, world mountain, astral river and ladder, stairway or path to heaven. Such commonalities allow us to identify each of the primary actors by their role in Earth’s ancient heavens and the traditions of mankind, no matter what name they went by in the various ancient cultures.
Returning once again to our reading analogy, we recall that our teacher introduced the notion that stringing several letters together produced a readable word. To read it, we used the sounds we had learned for each letter, and we were encouraged to “sound out” the more difficult words phonetically. And so we began to haltingly read our first words. “Look, Jane. See Dick run. Run, Dick, run.”
This was a bit of a tricky process. Sounding out each letter and then stringing those sounds together didn’t always produce a recognizable word. We soon learned that there were more complex rules that governed the way some groups of letters sounded. The u-g-h in “laugh” or “tough” made an “fff” sound, even though when those three stood alone they said “Ugh!” Still more complexity to master.
The corollary in learning to read prophecy is the realization that prophetic interpretation assigned a number of roles or characteristics to each of the congregate powers in the sky. For example, Venus was not only the mother goddess, she later became Mars’ crown of light, the “hand” of god, the wife of Saturn and ultimately a raging, angry goddess. One plasma conduit, stretching between Mars and Venus, was described as a dragon, beast or monster because it writhed, undulated and twisted like a snake.
And the complexity of these cosmic forms only grows and multiplies as we survey the literature and traditions of ancient cultures. These original forms, prototypes or archetypes became the basis for nearly innumerable traditional and religious narratives, and their perceived behaviors became the stuff of sacred rituals in all ancient cultures.
Mastering the use of these archetypes by understanding their astral origins allows any reader to interpret them wherever they are found: in religious ritual, in narratives such as scripture, in hieroglyphics, monumental architecture, petroglyphs or sacred symbols.
In our reading analogy, we eventually discovered that words could be grouped into sentences to complete a thought. And several sentences comprised a paragraph, a tidy group of thoughts that, when grouped together, made a summary or conveyed a concept.
In prophecy, we learn that a few simple symbols can convey whole narratives. In some cases, only one ideogram or hieroglyph invokes whole paragraphs of text.
Conversely, we learn that scriptural or religious metaphors have symbolic equivalents. This was a two-headed coin. On one side we have the symbol, and on the other we have its metaphoric equivalent. This allowed the ancients, most of whom could neither read nor write, to depict, read or relate a whole story with just a few symbols or a single ritual.
In reading, with practice came proficiency. After years of work, we mastered reading sufficient to extract meaning from any text. We were finally readers.
So, too, with deciphering prophecy. With some dedicated time and effort, we can train ourselves to read prophecy as easily as we read the morning paper.
But that was not all there was to reading. We soon learned that there were other languages. Some even used ideograms instead of an alphabet. That is, just when we think we’ve mastered it all, we discover that there are new horizons to explore.
So it is with prophetic language. Once we master the basics—the archetypes—once we learn the imagery those basics gave rise to, we can “read” any prophetic metaphor or arcane symbol as easily as we read the letters on a written page.
Of course when we reach that level, we discover to our amazement that what we have learned is only the tip of the iceberg. We quickly find that the imagery or language of prophecy is also the key to the vision of all the prophets, not just prophecy per se. And that includes the teachings of the prophet Joseph Smith. We realize, too, that it is the key to temple symbolism and ritual, both in ancient cultures and in the modern church.
We should have guessed that learning to interpret prophecy, like learning to read, would ultimately reveal sweeping vistas of knowledge and understanding beyond anything we could have imagined at the outset of our quest.
I guess we’re not dummies after all.
©Anthony E. Larson, 2009
But I have found that not to be the case. Anyone who has learned to read—dummies like me and you—can also learn to understand prophecy.
This is done by simply following the clues throughout history, like Hansel and Gretel followed the breadcrumb trail through the forest, tracing the images or metaphors of prophecy to their source in Earth’s ancient heavens. Then, moving forward in time from antiquity to the present, one can map out their use as the prophets consistently employed them in various epochs and in a variety of cultures.
So, reading prophecy is not all that difficult. It’s learning how to understand it that’s a bit hard. That’s because we’ve never been properly schooled in prophetic imagery, a skill once known to all the prophets that has been lost to us over the eons.
And even though Joseph Smith clearly learned that skill, properly employed it and sought to reinstate its imagery in the minds of Latter-day Saints as part of the Restoration, the membership failed to grasp his meaning. (See “The Keys To Prophecy, #1-#12" and “What Joseph Knew.”)
Yes, reading the imagery of prophecy is an acquired skill, just like riding a bike or reading. In fact, the best analogy for learning to read prophecy comes from your own experience as you first began to read.
Think back to when you couldn’t read, before you learned your ABCs. Do you recall what the printed letters on a page looked like? I can. It looked like so much meaningless gobbledygook. There was no way you or I could make sense of it no matter how long we stared at it. Flipping the pages was futile. Trying to find meaning in it was pointless.
Well, that pretty much describes the situation where prophecy is concerned. You can understand the words, but the message is strange gibberish. Try as you might to find meaning in it or make sense of it, you cannot. Instead, your head begins to hurt. Reading various prophecies only further complicates the matter. It all seems to deal in that same bizarre imagery. Even reading books on the subject by supposed ‘authorities’ on prophecy leaves you no closer to understanding the stuff. And there are whole chunks of prophecy that the 'experts' all seem to avoid. Soon you despair, thinking that making sense of prophecy is going to be nearly impossible.
To teach you how to read, the teacher first started with the alphabet and letter recognition. Each letter had a name—A was “aee,” B was “bee,” and so on. And you learned to recognize them and identify them by name. Once you mastered the alphabet, you took your first step toward reading. But you still could not read.
The same is true of prophecy. To understand it, your teacher must take you back to the basics—stars, planets and plasmas. Why stars, planets and plasmas? Well, that’s where the language of prophecy came from. Earth’s ancient heavens were once alive with planets (the ancients called them stars, not planets) and electrified, glowing, lifelike plasma phenomenon. These impressive elements riveted the attention of ancient peoples the world over and sparked an explosion of imagination and imagery in all cultures.
Just like the letters of the alphabet, what the ancients saw in those long ago skies became the building blocks of all religious tradition and culture.
As analyzed elsewhere (See "A New Heaven and a New Earth," “The Saturn Myths and the Restored Gospel,” “The Saturn Epic: In The Beginning,” “The Saturn Epic: Mythmaking,” "The Polar Configuration and Joseph Smith," “Prophets and Plasmas” and “The Electric Universe”), with a little effort you’ll discover the reasons for believing that Earth’s ancient skies were vastly different than our own today. You’ll learn of the objects and images our ancestors saw in the astronomical theater, and we’ll give names to those planets and plasmas. This will be the prophetic equivalent of learning your ABCs.
The next thing our reading teacher did was to show us that each letter had one or more sounds. That further complicated things, but we were told that it would all become clear if we just persevered. So, we went down the now familiar alphabet assigning sounds to each of them. We learned, for example, that the letter C could have an “sss” sound as in “see,” or a “kay” sound as in “cat.” This was further complication and confusion for our struggling young minds.
Unlike today, where planets are little more than bright, distant stars in the sky, these planets and plasmas were very close.They were overwhelming and imposing because they were close to the Earth. They actually appeared larger than the moon does today. Brilliantly lit, dynamic and magnificent in ancient skies, these planets and plasmas were reverenced as gods or primeval powers.
And ancient onlookers assigned distinctive characteristics or personalities to these nearby planets and plasmas, based on their appearance, movements and changes. They were considered gods, supernatural powers that ruled the heavens, their sole habitat. The “theater of the gods,” then, was the ancient firmament overhead. In the cultures of antiquity, these planets and plasmas became human-like or animal-like gods who acted out their epoch stories on that grandiose stage.
Their identities included names, though those names varied from culture to culture. Even within a single culture, the same astral object acquired numerous names as it moved and changed over time. To modern eyes, this riotous nomenclature of ancient gods offers only confusion. To the ancients it made perfect sense since each name identified a unique aspect of their planet or plasma gods.
But the identities and attributes of those gods were strikingly similar in every cultural tradition because the look and behavior of those planets and plasmas was consistently interpreted the same way from culture to culture. This was due to the fact that the appearance and actions of these gods or powers suggested the same characteristics, natures or personalities in the minds of the ancients the world over.
For this reason, the ancients wrote and spoke of them as if they were living beings or creatures, and they so illustrated them in their sacred art. For example, Saturn (the largest of the planets seen in earthly skies) was the “father god” or “creator,” Venus came to be seen as the original “queen of heaven” or “mother goddess” and Mars became her “son,” the “hero” and the “warrior,” among many other designations. And the plasmas that were seen stretching between the planets took on a large number of identities: a connecting sky pillar, celestial tree, world mountain, astral river and ladder, stairway or path to heaven. Such commonalities allow us to identify each of the primary actors by their role in Earth’s ancient heavens and the traditions of mankind, no matter what name they went by in the various ancient cultures.
Returning once again to our reading analogy, we recall that our teacher introduced the notion that stringing several letters together produced a readable word. To read it, we used the sounds we had learned for each letter, and we were encouraged to “sound out” the more difficult words phonetically. And so we began to haltingly read our first words. “Look, Jane. See Dick run. Run, Dick, run.”
This was a bit of a tricky process. Sounding out each letter and then stringing those sounds together didn’t always produce a recognizable word. We soon learned that there were more complex rules that governed the way some groups of letters sounded. The u-g-h in “laugh” or “tough” made an “fff” sound, even though when those three stood alone they said “Ugh!” Still more complexity to master.
The corollary in learning to read prophecy is the realization that prophetic interpretation assigned a number of roles or characteristics to each of the congregate powers in the sky. For example, Venus was not only the mother goddess, she later became Mars’ crown of light, the “hand” of god, the wife of Saturn and ultimately a raging, angry goddess. One plasma conduit, stretching between Mars and Venus, was described as a dragon, beast or monster because it writhed, undulated and twisted like a snake.
And the complexity of these cosmic forms only grows and multiplies as we survey the literature and traditions of ancient cultures. These original forms, prototypes or archetypes became the basis for nearly innumerable traditional and religious narratives, and their perceived behaviors became the stuff of sacred rituals in all ancient cultures.
Mastering the use of these archetypes by understanding their astral origins allows any reader to interpret them wherever they are found: in religious ritual, in narratives such as scripture, in hieroglyphics, monumental architecture, petroglyphs or sacred symbols.
In our reading analogy, we eventually discovered that words could be grouped into sentences to complete a thought. And several sentences comprised a paragraph, a tidy group of thoughts that, when grouped together, made a summary or conveyed a concept.
In prophecy, we learn that a few simple symbols can convey whole narratives. In some cases, only one ideogram or hieroglyph invokes whole paragraphs of text.
Conversely, we learn that scriptural or religious metaphors have symbolic equivalents. This was a two-headed coin. On one side we have the symbol, and on the other we have its metaphoric equivalent. This allowed the ancients, most of whom could neither read nor write, to depict, read or relate a whole story with just a few symbols or a single ritual.
In reading, with practice came proficiency. After years of work, we mastered reading sufficient to extract meaning from any text. We were finally readers.
So, too, with deciphering prophecy. With some dedicated time and effort, we can train ourselves to read prophecy as easily as we read the morning paper.
But that was not all there was to reading. We soon learned that there were other languages. Some even used ideograms instead of an alphabet. That is, just when we think we’ve mastered it all, we discover that there are new horizons to explore.
So it is with prophetic language. Once we master the basics—the archetypes—once we learn the imagery those basics gave rise to, we can “read” any prophetic metaphor or arcane symbol as easily as we read the letters on a written page.
Of course when we reach that level, we discover to our amazement that what we have learned is only the tip of the iceberg. We quickly find that the imagery or language of prophecy is also the key to the vision of all the prophets, not just prophecy per se. And that includes the teachings of the prophet Joseph Smith. We realize, too, that it is the key to temple symbolism and ritual, both in ancient cultures and in the modern church.
We should have guessed that learning to interpret prophecy, like learning to read, would ultimately reveal sweeping vistas of knowledge and understanding beyond anything we could have imagined at the outset of our quest.
I guess we’re not dummies after all.
©Anthony E. Larson, 2009
13 comments:
Tony, this is a great article. And I love the idea of a book called, "Prophecy for Dummies." We could all benefit from such a book, especially LDS members who are quite unfamiliar with the keys to understanding prophecy, gospel symbolism, and ancient mythology.
The more I learn of these things, and of what Joseph Smith knew and understood through direct revelation, the more I realize that the entire foundation upon which Christianity is build is nothing more than a laundry list of badly flawed scriptural interpretations.
Once we understand the basics of the Electric Universe field of Cosmology, the Polar Configuration, and how amazing plasma displays in that planetary arrangement spawned the creation of stories and myths the world over, including forming the basis for the scriptures and all prophecy, it becomes clear that the LDS church restored by Joseph Smith was intentionally built to overlap the grossly inaccurate field of Christianity in order to provide a way for those members to progress in knowledge and understanding through the restored church.
Had Joseph Smith not done this, the new-age fanatical restored church would not have resembled any religion on the planet and would not have enjoyed the growth it has for the past 170 years or so. In fact, it may not have survived. Nevertheless, in doing so, with all his knowledge and understanding, Joseph was only able to enjoy limited success; and since his assassination, the church has fallen into a gross state of apostasy, not only sinking itself into the depths of utter darkness, but also binding down the membership by the chains of ignorance. What a sad and dreary outcome for those who haven’t the faith or curiosity to step outside their box and ask questions.
Many years ago, I prayed for more light and knowledge. I wanted to understand prophecy, the mysteries, the Gods, the many kingdoms throughout the great expanse, and where I fit in the scheme of things. I wanted to know who I was, what I was, why I was, where I was in my state of progression, and what it was all about. Now, after more than a decade of learning, I can honestly say that my wish has been granted. I now see the world with new eyes and new understanding. The mysteries that once clouded my mind with confusion and doubt are now clear as a blue sky. And all of this and more was made possible by a correct understanding of earth’s ancient past, Electric Universe Cosmology, and how all of this relates mythology and gospel symbolism. You cannot open locked doors without the proper keys. As such, you cannot unlock the mysteries of the scriptures and mythology without the keys to prophecy. Thank you Tony for providing us with the keys so we can open the doors of our progression.
Paul
As I consider this subject and its far reaching ability to open the eyes of the blind, shed light where darkness reigns, and tear down the steel curtains of mysteries the world over, I am moved to make the following observation about this issue. Make no mistake about it; this subject is the single most important issue that ever was or ever will be for people living on this planet. This knowledge represents the foundation upon which all other things that matter are built. The scriptures, ancient mythology, fairy tales, and religion are all based upon the Polar Configuration of planets and the magnificent astral plasma displays that filled mankind with awe and wonder. From this foundation, we can better understand the world around us, the Universe, the Gods, the many kingdoms or classes of planets, how electricity plays a role in everything, and what the plan of salvation is really all about. The following is just a short list of questions that are answered by having a correct understanding of earth’s ancient past and how scriptural symbolism and mythology are directly related to what mankind saw in the heavens:
• Why did people in the Patriarchal Age (Book of Genesis) appear to live so long?
• What was the cause of the great flood during the time of Noah?
• What was the cause of the fantastic events in the book of Exodus?
• What was the purpose of the Arc of the Covenant and how was it used?
• What was the cause of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah?
• What was the cause of the destruction in Israel at the Lord’s crucifixion?
• What caused the destruction in 3rd Nephi during the Lord’s crucifixion?
• What caused the event in Joshua’s long day?
• What is the Book of Revelation really all about?
• What did Joseph Smith say the grand sign of the 2nd coming would be?
• What does the Philo Dibble drawing show about the planet earth?
• Are we seeing the true signs of the Last Days around us now? If not, how will we recognize them?
• What is meant by the term "language of the prophets?"
• What does this perspective teach us about LDS temple symbolism and ritual?
• What do ancient myths and legends have to do with the scriptures?
• Where can we turn to learn the answer to most of the ancient mysteries?
• Where did the name of God come from?
• What can we decipher from the Egyptian texts that Joseph Smith acquired?
• Why did a prophet of God bother investigating the meaning of Egyptian texts?
• What and where is Kolob?
• Why are the visions of the ancient prophets so cryptic and difficult to understand?
• What does Cosmology have to do with my salvation or with the Restored Gospel?
• Why does God not make all this plain to us? Why all the mystery? Is he hiding something?
I cannot begin to express the profound feeling of enlightenment one gets from awakening from a long sleep, becoming aware of greater knowledge, and seeing things with new eyes. I sincerely hope that many of you have the courage to step outside your box while there is still time. When the grand sign arrives, spoken of by Joseph Smith, it will already be too late. The time to act is now. Learn what you can and prepare for your salvation and the awesome power of the Desolation of Abomination.
Paul
I have often been asked what it is like to go through a paradigm shift. Having spent more than 10 years studying the research of Anthony Larson and Dave Talbot, I have gone through numerous life changing events brought on by leaps of knowledge that altered my world view.
The Lord said that we must learn line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. I testify that this is exactly correct. We cannot know everything at once, no matter how much we want to. Believe me, I wish I could. But this i just not how it works.
Imagine, if you will, a very tall latter going straight up far beyond your ability to see the end thereof. As you begin to climb the latter, each step you take provides you with a slightly better view of the landscape and the world around you. When you were on the ground, you could see things close to you, but not much else. But as you climb up the latter, you begin to see more and more of the surrounding area. Hence you continue to get a much better understanding of the place where you were standing, the lakes in the distance, the mountain range far away, and as you get high enough, you even see the earth from space. From here, you see the earth as a large sphere floating in the blackness of space. Soon, as you climb higher, you see the moon. Eventually, you pass Mars and a number of other planets. And after a while you see that all the planets rotate around the Sun. If you continued to climb the latter, you would see that our solar system is just one of many star systems in a giant cluster of systems called a Galaxy. And after a great while, you would discover that our Galaxy is just one of many Galaxies that form a super-cluster. Imagine what you would learn if you continued onward?!
This is how it is when you study the great research from Anthony Larson and Dave Talbot. As you begin to learn, you experience a paradigm shift that causes a change in your world view. When this happens, you are able to see things more clearly and accurately. This newly acquired knowledge helps correct your previous flawed beliefs with factual data, allowing you to see the real world with new eyes. And as you continue to learn how things really are, your entire world view is reengineered for you allowing you to see the past, present, and future with good clarity.
The beauty behind all this is that the reengineering of your world view is an architectural masterpiece. Everything fits together nicely and makes perfect sense. Your natural tendency is to reject the truth and cling to your old flawed ideas, but if you have an open mind and are unafraid of challenging old ideas, the still small voice inside will guide you to the truth. It worked for me and it will work for you.
Today, my view of the world around us and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is vastly different than the view held by modern Christianity (including the LDS church). Joseph Smith could not teach the early members the more advanced doctrines because they were not ready. And what he did teach caused many of them to quake. If you are ready to correct and expand your world view, come climb the latter with me and enjoy the view. What you will learn will blow your mind and cause you to consider things you never even dreamed of. And this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Paul
Anthony...
...not sure if this is the best place to post this, but wanted to get your thoughts on Jupiter and the changes that have occurred recently (losing one of her stripes). See this article for more info:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1277734/Jupiter-loses-stripes-scientists-idea-why.html
To Anthony,
I very much enjoyed this post. It got me thinking about a particular scripture that comes to mind every time I read about these planetary and plasma phenomenon:
And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs... Gen. 1:14
Also this one:
And it shall come to pass that he that feareth me shall be looking forth for the great day of the Lord to come, even for the signs of the coming of the Son of Man. And they shall see signs and wonders, for they shall be shown forth in the heavens above... D&C 45:39-40
To Paul,
Did you really mean to say this? "Joseph was only able to enjoy limited success; and since his assassination, the church has fallen into a gross state of apostasy, not only sinking itself into the depths of utter darkness, but also binding down the membership by the chains of ignorance."
I find agreement with a lot that you said, but this one bit stuck out like a sore thumb. I believe these things that follow:
"I will give you a key that will never rust — if you will stay with the majority of the Twelve Apostles, and the records of the Church, you will never be led astray." ~Joseph Smith
If any man will do [the Father's] will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I [Jesus Christ] speak of myself. John 7: 17
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is as true now as it was the day it was restored on April 6, 1830. No general falling away, no general apostasy, no loss of Keys of the Holy Priesthood. The Quorum of the Twelve and the First Presidency are men of God just like all other true prophets before them. Unfortunately there are individuals who leave of their own choice and lose access to the blessings of the House of the Lord and continuing revelation to help keep us clean from the blood and sins of our generation.
Maybe I misunderstood what you meant, Paul. If so, I apologize for making a big to-do here. If not, and I really hope this isn't the way it is, all I can say is that you'll be much better off not speaking evil of the Lord's anointed servants come Judgment day.
I have to say, I have in the past thought and pondered a lot of the stuff mentioned on this blog. I came to it through IRAQ's blog The Wood Zone. In particular, I agree to the earth-as-parallel-to-man theories in general. It makes sense that as we were with God before, we leave, then we will return, so must the Earth. The Earth was created out of water as is the infant child, baptized through the Flood, and will be cleansed with fire as we are through the Holy Ghost. The Earth's physical location should follow a similar course, spiritually and physically.
On my mission I also realized that the Book of Mormon was a literal timeline for the Second Coming of the Savior and served as an analog for the unfolding of events in this country (USA).
But as for a point of constructive criticism, your constant treatment of the general LDS Church population as having been raised in some sort of Mushroom Farm reeks of intellectual elitism of the worst kind. I can hardly get through a single blog post without some deriding comment on how LDS people "don't get it", or "don't realize this". What's your sample size? A Ward Picnic? A High Priest Group? Many of the good upstanding LDS members I've spoken with *have* these sorts of ideas, but even as you have admitted in the past, are mainly unwilling to acknowledge some of these things in fear of sounding foolish or, more likely, have realized some ideas are specifically reserved against general consumption and for personal reflection (following the example of the General Authorities in General Conference) thus they do not want to cast pearls before swine.
Other than that, keep up the pondering!
When I said that the Church had fallen into a state of apostasy that is exactly what I meant. From your comments, it is clear that you are not ready to hear that; at least not yet. I would challenge you to question everything you think you know. In fact, we are warned in the Book of Mormon, in several places, NOT to put our faith in the arm of flesh. Do you remember reading that? If so, do you understand what it means? It means that you and you alone are responsible for your personal salvation. Nobody else will be held accountable for you. That means you cannot and must not put your faith in the arm of flesh, which is to say, put your faith in the leaders of the church, your family, your friends, your family lawyer, your congressman and senators, or anybody else. You must learn for yourself what is and what is not true. If you make the mistake of putting your faith in the arm of flesh, you will be damned. It is as simple as that. How do I know this? Because this is what the Lord said would happen.
The early LDS members, during the time of Joseph Smith, were more knowledgeable than we are today as a church. Certainly, they were regularly introduced to new information and new doctrines that we know little or nothing about. Yet, in light of this, Joseph Smith was compelled to say to the LDS:
“Brethren, if I were to tell you all I know of the Kingdom of God, I do know that you would rise up and kill me.” – Joseph Smith (by Parley P Pratt, Millennial Star 55:585)
Now, why do you think Joseph Smith would say that to LDS Priesthood members that were more knowledgeable that we are? You should read that quote over and over until it sinks in. The reason he said it is because the truth about the Kingdom of God was so incredibly alien to modern Christianity that they could not have handled it. Instead of seeing Joseph Smith as the Prophet that he was, they would have seen him as a madman, and would have sought to take his life. Do you doubt what I am saying? Well, here’s another quote that says or indicates the same thing:
“I have tried for a number of years to get the minds of the Saints prepared to receive the things of God; but we frequently see some of them, after suffering all that they have for the work of God, will fly to pieces like glass as soon as anything come that is contrary to their traditions: they cannot stand the fire at all. How many will be able to abide a celestial law, and go through and receive their exaltation, I am unable to say, as many are called, but few are chosen.” – Joseph Smith (HC 6:185)
Do you need more? Try this one:
“The Prophet said to me [Brigham Young] about sixteen years ago [at Kirtland], ‘if I was to show the Latter-day Saints all the revelations that the Lord has shown unto me, there is scarce a man that would stay with me, they could not bear it.’” – Brigham Young (Millennial Star 13:257)
And believe it or not, here’s another one:
“If the Church knew all the commandments, one-half they would condemn through prejudice and ignorance.” – Joseph Smith (HC 2:477)
And I have more too, but I don’t want to overwhelm you. Joseph Smith said many things that most LDS are quite unaware of. In fact, if most LDS were aware of the true life of Joseph Smith, they would probably resign their membership. Nevertheless, it is my solemn testimony that Joseph Smith was a true Prophet, Seer, and Revelator of God. This is not something that I believe; I know it for a fact.
I will give you a great secret, one that will allow you to open the hidden doors of wisdom and untold knowledge that you cannot now imagine. All you have to do is three things. Are you ready? All you have to do is “question” what you think you know, “desire” to know the truth, and actively “look” for it. You simply won’t believe it when it begins to happen. It is a slow process, but you will achieve your objective. It worked for me and it will for you too.
Good luck. :-)
Paul
Have you heard of Jerry Tennant, M.D.? His work is right on track with yours--I think you would be interested in it. Website is:
www.tennantinstitute.com
He talks about our physiology and how it is connected to voltage, etc. Very fascinating. I love your work!
Paul,
I agree with one thing you said and will take a piece of your advice and apply it judiciously. Namely, "In fact, we are warned in the Book of Mormon, in several places, NOT to put our faith in the arm of flesh."
Since you are flesh (and are teaching me to reject membership in God's only true and living Church) I will choose not to put any faith in a single thing that you write or say. Very pernicious reasoning you display here. I'm scared for you and those around you even more.
"O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. And they shall perish.
But to be learned is good if they hearken unto the counsels of God."
2 Nephi 9:28-29
<< I agree with one thing you said and will take a piece of your advice and apply it judiciously. Namely, "In fact, we are warned in the Book of Mormon, in several places, NOT to put our faith in the arm of flesh." >> -- Anonymous
Don't forget that it was Jesus Christ who warned us all. And if it was not important, he would not have wasted his time doing so.
<< Since you are flesh (and are teaching me to reject membership in God's only true and living Church) I will choose not to put any faith in a single thing that you write or say. Very pernicious reasoning you display here. I'm scared for you and those around you even more. >> -- Anonymous
Sarcasm does not become you and neither does hiding your rudeness and arrogance behind an anonymous login. Excessive pride in what you "think" you know has led you to despise and/or hate anyone who dares to question your "sacred" beliefs. At no time did I ask you to reject your membership in “God’s only true and living church,” as you so boldly proclaim, or to put your trust in me. Rather, I merely asked you to question what you think you know in order to open and prepare your mind to receive greater wisdom. But you would rather hide in the comfort zone of your little box and turn a blind eye to the vast knowledge that waits for you. Cast aside your prejudice and open your mind. Remember, Jesus warned us in the BoM to NOT put our faith in the arm of flesh. But he did NOT tell us to ignore them. Take what knowledge you can from people, validate it using Alma’s test of faith, put the pearls of wisdom in your bag for safe keeping, and move up the latter.
Folks, most LDS have become so dependent on church executive leadership that they have literally put their faith and their salvation in the arms of flesh, even though the Lord has warned us against doing so. Because of this, they have closed their minds to anything but the simple watered-down stories they learn in Sunday school. It is my testimony that by studying the keys to prophecy and gospel symbolism, as provided by Anthony Larson, your knowledge and understanding of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ will expand far beyond anything you can now imagine. And one day you will have much of the same knowledge that Joseph Smith possessed and it will be marvelous beyond measure for you to witness it.
For some reason I haven't run across this before. It's lovely. Thanks for coming to my blog so I could find this.
I appreciate your teaching the stuff about interpretation of scripture.
It's important that we know about how to interpret scripture. As I taught Institute, we had some lessons about Old Testament prophecies/stories and their language, how it is so full of metaphor, that one should peal its layers away like peeling an onion to find the juicy stuff inside.
(They were, BTW, from current Institute materials, so our curriculum isn't completely devoid of this stuff.)
Anyhow, I do agree that this kind of material is needed more. Too many of us are stuck in false literalism.
I forgot to mention, that gradual/precipitous are not mutually excluding views.
I realise the World/Universe is not a static "machine" but rather like a living organism.
Just like all complex organism experience constant death of cells (so they have to produce new cells all the time), and then finally their central mechanism somehow goes wrong and they die, which brings on a precipitous death of cells, our World/Universe is in my mind quite likely to experience something like that.
So I understand somewhat what Sun parching the Earth, then turning to blood (or I guess it was Moon turning to blood; not important) and stars falling from Heaven and then finally the Resurrected Lord comes back to Earth to reign.
His coming will somehow at least coincide with a new equilibrium, that will enable the Millennial bliss.
Although, I'm sure that all of our interpretations somehow are tainted by our prejudice...
Anthony,
Since this is your field of study, I wanted to get your take on this Comet(Some are calling it a planet), called Elenin. I have watched some pretty good youtube videos about it, as well as some pretty stupid ones. What do you think about it?
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