Most of the Christian world believes the afterlife is divided into two states: heaven and hell. It was revealed to Joseph Smith that there are more details to the afterlife than that. The Lord explained in section 76 that when Paul talked about resurrected bodies having glories as different as the Sun, the Moon and the Stars that this was in fact a model of the afterlife. So in the Church we now understand that rather than just heaven and hell, there is gradation in “heaven”. There is a telestial kingdom which matches the glory of the stars, a terrestrial kingdom that is likened to the glory of the moon, and a celestial kingdom that is likened to the glory of the sun. It is my opinion that just as the three-kingdom model shows more gradation than the heaven/hell model, that in reality the afterlife is a continuum of glory ranging from no light (outer darkness) to enough light to be likened to the sun at noonday (in Arizona no less). (more…)

In the comments of my recent post on other inhabited worlds the question of progression between kingdoms in the afterlife came up. D&C 76 teaches that in the afterlife all but the sons of perdition will eventually be assigned a kingdom of glory (segmented into three kingdoms: Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial). Some people believe there is a possibility of progression between these kingdoms in the eternities to come and others think the kingdom assignments are permanent. I am firmly in the progression camp. (more…)

As the second post in this purely speculative discussion on the innumerable inhabited worlds that, according to our scriptures, have already passed, I will discuss the question: Who were the inhabitants of all those other worlds? It is an easy assumption to make that humans inhabited those worlds (since God the Father was among them according to Joseph), but the unanswered question is who were they? I have heard two theories: (more…)

One of the most striking concepts revealed through the prophet Joseph Smith can be found in the first chapter of the Book of Moses.

33 And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten.
34 And the first man of all men have I called Adam, which is many.
35 But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you. For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them.

38 And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words. (Moses 1:33-35, 38)

These scriptures are most commonly read in the church to mean that before this earth was created there were innumerable other similar inhabited worlds that God created. In fact the header in this chapter reads: Many inhabited worlds seen. (more…)

Elder Hale just told an interesting story in the Saturday afternoon session of conference that I think says a lot about God’s methods of interacting with us. (more…)

I have concluded that today is the “most wonderful day of the year” in the Bloggernacle. Sure all those other more traditional holidays are great, but they tend to get people offline and spending time with their real families. But not April Fools day. Oh no, April Onest is the day we get to celebrate with our online friends and family. Why, it’s bigger than Decemberween!

M* got things kicked off with a new site design. T&S followed shortly thereafter announcing Steve was dead (to the ‘Nacle at least), reviewing some classic Seuss, restoring polygamy, and launching a karaoke feature. Not to be outdone, Ronan revealed that the Brethren asked him to change the name of his blog and that he had it on good authority that Sunday School will be disbanded this weekend.

In late breaking news, Kaimi just announced over at BCC that he actually hates women.

I’ll be keeping my eye on the pulse of the Bloggernacle for more festivities.

It was while reading Hugh Nibley that I first learned that the Greek word gnosis simply meant “knowledge”. Therefore the term Gnostic meant basically “knower” or a person who claimed to have secret knowledge. Among the ancient Gnostics were the various quacks and whatnot that claimed to have the secret knowledge that Jesus imparted to his apostles. After the apostles and priesthood were taken from the earth some Gnostics (so-called) had a field day with the seekers of truth. The reason I bring this up is because until a few years ago I still believed (as I suspect most church members still do) that there was some sort of inner circle in the church of those who had the gnosis — who jointly knew and understood the mysteries of God. I thought there was a sort of club that included lots of folks… temple presidencies, general authorities, religion professors and institute directors, and perhaps other leaders that knew the answers to all those unclear deep doctrinal questions I had. Not only did they know the answers in my mind, but that all agreed on those answers. Boy was I ever wrong! (more…)

In the comments following my recent Models of our Pre-Mortal Existence post some readers sensed that I was skeptical of the commonly held notions of what out pre-mortal life was like. Well, I am skeptical. I think the model as presented is not consistent with the whole of scripture or the teaching of Joseph Smith. (I just noticed that some of these things are being discussed over at Splendid Sun even as I post this.) It is not the ingredients I object to, but rather the interpretations of those ingredients and the way they are put together. First I’ll recap the model as I have heard it then I’ll explain why I think it is an inadequate and inaccurate model. Here is what I wrote in that post: (more…)

My recent post asserting that exhaustive foreknowledge is a faith crippling and pernicious doctrine spurred a teensy, tiny debate… The exchange has been a very interesting one. I’d summarize that debate, but that wouldn’t do it justice so you’ll have to check it out yourself. One of the challenges posed to me and those of like mind was: “Ok, if God doesn’t see the exact future just how does he pull off prophecy, let alone have assurance things will go his way?” If I wasn’t such a sucker for a challenge I would just say “God is just that smart. It may seem difficult, but at least it is not a paradox like trying to reconcile free agency and a fixed future”. But of course I am a sucker for a challenge so here is a model of how he might pull this off. This is a continuation of my earlier post called “How God could figure out the future without foreknowledge.” (more…)

We Mormons are very proud of the fact that knowledge of a pre-mortal existence has been restored to us. The fourth missionary discussion where this doctrine is used to be taught was often the favorite discussion because the idea of a pre-mortal life resonates with so many people. But what do we really know about the details of our lives before we arrived here? Next to nothing. We have some vague scriptural references to councils and wars, but the details are anything but clear. As a result the models the saints have come up with can vary dramatically. I’ll mention a few I’ve heard here, and you can add more in the comments. Here goes: (more…)

I have already discussed the idea of how absolute foreknowledge would actually be quite useless to God here, here, and here. Steve Hancock brought up the subject again recently over at Splendid Sun. Some people believe absolute foreknowledge and free agency are compatible but I don’t. In fact, I have become increasingly convinced that believing in a fixed future (which is required if God has absolute foreknowledge) is a pernicious and faith-crippling doctrine. (more…)