Parallel: All Things are Governed by Law - Part 2

There is a traditional belief in Christianity that God is "all powerful" or omnipotent. According to this belief, God can speak, and instantly his words are obeyed. The common belief in Christianity that God created the cosmos out of nothing is based on this belief. However, Latter-day Saints do not believe that God can instantly create things out of nothing.

In Part 1 of this post, I established the fact that the cosmos was organized in an orderly way, and that an influence from Jesus Christ is the "law by which all things are governed". I commented that this is a religious way of saying that the Cosmos is governed by natural laws. In Mormon Belief: Eternal Elements I presented the belief that God created or organized the cosmos out of existing, eternal elements. The use of eternal elements implies that God used eternal laws to organize the elements. At least within Christianity, this belief that God followed natural laws in His creative work is, I believe, a belief that is unique to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In this post, I discuss the relationship between God, Himself, and the natural laws that govern our existence. To better understand how God used natural laws in his creations, we need to answer the question, What would happen if God went against or disobeyed natural laws?

The Book of Mormon answers that question. The prophet Alma perceived that his son, Corianton, had questions about his religious beliefs, and Alma answered the questions. One of the questions concerned the mercy and justice of God. Alma explained that Adam and Eve left the Garden and lived in mortality. He further explained that our mortal life is a probationary state, a time for us to prepare to return to God. Alma explained that mankind (and womankind) has committed sins, and because of the justice of God must pay the penalty of sin, which is to be separated from God. Then he made the following remarkable statement.

Therefore, according to justice, the plan of redemption could not be brought about, only on conditions of repentance of men in this probationary state, yea, this preparatory state; for except it were for these conditions, mercy could not take effect except it should destroy the work of justice. Now the work of justice could not be destroyed; if so, God would cease to be God. (Alma 42:11)

That is, if mercy provided by Jesus Christ were to overrule the justice of God, God would cease to be God! In verses 22 and 25, Alma repeated that mercy cannot "rob" justice, and if that were to happen, God would cease to be God. This means that justice is an eternal law that God must follow, and mercy is also an eternal law that God must follow, and the two laws must both be obeyed. This is the basis of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, that Christ suffered for our sins, thus satisfying justice, and provided the mercy that we need to enable our return to God. And, this explains why, in our pre-earth life, that God did not, could not, accept the plan of Lucifer to force us all to be obedient to God. Lucifer's plan would have violated both the laws of justice and mercy, and God would have ceased to be God. We can only speculate on what would have happened after that.

The Book of Mormon establishes the fact that God can not violate the laws of justice and mercy, and this implies that God cannot violate any of the laws that involve His creative works. This means that all of the laws of nature that are being discovered by scientists are eternal laws that govern the cosmos, and that God obeys those laws in His work. In Part 1 of this post I discussed that the laws of the cosmos come from Jesus Christ. This does not mean that Christ originated those laws. It means that Christ used those laws in his creation of the cosmos under the direction of his Father.

I've brought out that God can not go against the natural laws of the cosmos. He can, of course, bring into play higher laws that might overshadow lower laws. A simple example of such hierarchies of natural laws is the law of gravity vs. the law of aerodynamic lift. An unorganized weight of several tons can not "fly" through the air. It just "sits" on the ground like the lump of matter that it is. However, if that matter if formed into particular shapes and given sufficient thrust, it can move through the air. The law of gravity is still in effect, but the law of "lift" has overshadowed gravity and causes the matter to leave the ground and fly. I believe that God's performing of miracles is such a use of higher laws to overrule lower laws.

I'm grateful that God follows natural laws and that those laws are absolute in their existence and influence. Were it not for this, our universe would be chaotic and inconsistent, and we would be unable to advance in our spiritual and scientific lives. We would always hiding in our houses, caves, or where ever, not knowing what would happen next.

Parallel: Mutiple Universes - Part 4

In the past three parts of this Parallel, I've discussed "states of existence" as a parallel to the scientific concept of multiple universes. In this, the final part of this Parallel, I'm discussing a state of existence that is a closer parallel to a multiple universe, because it concerns the final state of the earth.

In Mormon Belief: The Earth will Become a Celestial World I explained that the final destination of this earth is to become a celestial home for those of God's children who inherit that degree of glory. The concept behind this is that the Lord creates worlds with his long range goal in mind: eternal homes for his children. This mortal state of existence that we are in now is a temporary state to provide a home for us as we experience mortality as part of our eternal progression.

In Mormon Belief: Other Worlds I explained that the Lord has created "worlds without number"as homes for his children. I am not saying that all of those worlds will become celestial, but the verses from Section 88 do tell us that this world will become celestial. Section 76 of the Doctrine & Covenants says there will be three kingdoms for God's children: Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial. I assume that the "worlds without number" will become the final homes for persons in all three kingdoms. As a side note, there is no reason to believe that all of the worlds created by God are inhabitable. Since God does his work via natural laws, I would expect that most of the worlds created would not be inhabitable.

I explained in Mormon Belief: Two Creations of the Earth that there were two creations of the earth, one spiritual in Heaven and one mortal. This means our earth has already experienced one change of state.

This view of the earth changing state from a spirit state to a mortal state to a celestial (no death) state is quite different from the scientific view of the earth. We should not expect our scientists to have a view that is different from the view they currently have, because the domain of their research is the mortal world. They have no way of getting information from other states. They currently have no instruments that can detect energy from spirit matter or resurrected matter.

Parallel: Mutiple Universes - Part 2

In Part 1 of this Parallel, I discussed theories from science about multiple universes. Then, from the religious viewpoint, a different universe or state of existence was introduced, one that we call Heaven. In this post, I discuss information from the scriptures about two additional states of existence. This information allows me to conclude that the scriptures teach there are three basic states of existence, the second state being our mortal world that we live in and that is studied by scientists.

Before we look at the three states of existence, let us look in a general way at matter, the "stuff" of which bodies are made. In my post on Mormon Belief: Spirit is Matter, I quoted from D&C 131:7 that

There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes.

It isn't clear exactly what Joseph Smith meant in that verse, but one thing is clear: spirit matter is different from the physical matter in our universe. It is different, being "more fine or pure", and it is different in that it can only be discerned or viewed by "purer eyes". I will give my interpretation of those phrases. I believe that spirit matter is matter, in that it has mass and is controlled by natural laws, but I believe those laws are different than the laws that govern our mortal world. How are those laws different? I don't know. Because spirit matter can only be discerned by purer eyes, I believe that scientific investigations, as we currently conduct them, can not detect energy that is given off by the spirit matter.

Let us get a better understanding of spirit matter. In my post on Mormon Belief: Spirit is Matter, I discussed the experience of the Brother of Jared in which he saw the spirit body of Jesus, before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Jesus' spirit body looked like a physical body except it wasn't flesh and bone. Clearly, Jesus as Jehovah, was in a different state of existence, another universe, than the Brother of Jared.

Next, let us look at an example of the third state of existence, resurrected matter. After his resurrection, Jesus appeared with his resurrected body to the apostles in the upper room. He didn't walk in through a door. Nor did he climb in through a window. He just appeared in the midst of them. He showed them his hands and feet, and he ate food to demonstrate that his resurrected body was real. Resurrected bodies are also matter, but the matter is different than spirit matter and different than mortal matter. Resurrected matter is glorified and perfect. It is not subject to disease, injury, or death.

The resurrection is not just a transformation of a mortal body to a resurrected body, since, in general, mortal bodies that are dead will have decomposed or been destroyed in some other way such that the atoms are scattered and have been used in the creation of other mortal bodies of plants and animals. The resurrection is, I believe, the recreation of a new body from resurrected matter but using the plan (DNA?) of the old body.

As evidence that resurrected bodies are different from mortal bodies, we have the story all ready related from Luke of the resurrected Christ appearing to his apostles without entering through a door or window; he just appeared in the room. In a similar fashion, when Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith in his bedroom, he (Moroni) "suddenly appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor." And, the climax of all of Joseph's visions was the First Vision in the grove, where the Father and the Son stood before Joseph "standing above me in the air".

As I write this, there are spirit personages, mortal people, and resurrected personages existing in their own state of existence or universe. For the most part, these universes exist without a lot of physical contact with the mortal universe, but there may be times when spirit personages or resurrected personages appear in vision to mortal people. Of course, a lot of spiritual contact occurs via prayer and the promptings of the Holy Ghost.

Parallel: The Earth was Created From Existing Matter

I explained in Mormon Belief: Eternal Elements that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that God used existing matter in creating the earth. That teaching is a parallel to the scientific theory of the Big Bang. According to Wikipedia,

The Big Bang is the cosmological model of the universe whose primary assertion is that the universe has expanded into its current state from a primordial condition of enormous density and temperature.

If the Big Bang Theory is correct, the Cosmos began with matter of enormous, perhaps infinite, density and energy. Another description of the Big Bang describes the beginning of creation as finite matter that is compressed into an infinite density.

Mormon Belief: Earth Created from Existing Materials

Some time in the mid 1830s to early 1840s, the Book of Abraham was recorded by Joseph Smith. That book made a statement that was startling at that time, a statement that was in direct contradiction to the common Christian religious dogma of that era. The Book of Abraham said the earth was made from existing materials or matter instead of from nothing.

And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell; (The Pearl of Great Price, Abraham 3:24)

Considering the time-period when the Book of Abraham was recorded, that statement about God creating the earth from existing matter is really remarkable.

Mormon Belief: Eternal Elements

Doctrine and Covenants (D&C) Section 93, verse 33 states

For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy;

In telling us that the elements are eternal, the Lord has given one of the great laws of science: the elements have always existed. They may change form or be converted to energy, but they have always existed and will always exist.