Presidential Predictions: Sometimes it is fun to speculate - especially about politics.
Just a reminder, this site is not affiliated in any way with the LDS church. It is a record of the views of an LDS member using his own free agency.
The choice was made 11/06/12:
In a democracy, the people get what they want. Eventually they get what they deserve.
Interestingly enough, the populations all of the nations of the world except Israel agreed with the US choice of Barack Obama.
Presidential Prediction 8/21/11
A wild extrapolation of the Theory of God predicts Romney/Bachman will be on the 2012 national ticket. Strictly speaking, all that is required is that Romney (or a holder of the Priesthood of Abaham) be on the ticket. However, since this a watershed election and a definitive exercise of Free Agency of the American Electorate (the proxy for the world for good), it is difficult to imagine that Romney would not head the ticket. Assuming that, Perry would not take second place and a Perry/Bachman ticket would be too evangelical and conservative. Romney is considered a moderate and does not emphasize his religion as Perry does. Bachman (or Rubio etc.) would be a second place sop to the TEA Party. In four years (2016), Romney will have given up and America's military and character will have been ruined by four more years of Obama's entitlement society. Huntsman (also a Mormon) is perceived as a Democrat in disguise and cannot be nominated.
So why do we need the Priesthood on the ticket? Some of the working hypotheses of the Theory of God (TOG) are:
1. This life is a continuing test of the Free Agency of the each of us (the Children of God = COG). We must choose either Christ's way vs. Satan's way. We choose between:
o Free Agency vs. compulsion.
o Capitalism (tempered by the Golden Rule) vs. Communism, socialism, NAZIism, etc.,
o Charity vs. welfare,
o [11/1/11] Restored Christianity vs. Islam **
o Equal opportunities vs. equal results,
o Individual responsibility and results vs. -- cradle to grave Nanny State,
o Red State vs. Blue State philosophy.
o Freedom of Speech vs. Political Correctness (aka Control).
You get the idea.
2. Satan first proposed the idea for universal salvation to God the Father in the Pre-existence, then to Jesus after His baptism, and now to us, the US voters. We are Satan’s last chance.
3. Just as “God Lives”, Satan is alive and well. He influences us by irrational emotion but cannot interfere with our free agency himself. However, his earthly agents can and do - mostly unwittingly. Jesus has the same limits and influence but for good. Wars happen because of Satan's influence. He views us as food and lives off of the suffering he causes.* The existence of America and the good it does are due to Jesus' influence.
4. If we choose Satan, the result will be a Islamic, socialist, gray, controlled, bureaucratic (like Russia or Saudi Arabia) world with just enough pleasure to ensure that COG continue to propagate. Israel will be isolated, surrounded and attacked. LDS Temples will be eliminated. The end will be either Armageddon or a failed world.
5. If we choose Jesus, we will enter into a capitalist paradise. Jesus may or may not come soon or may let us run on producing happy COG. TOG guesses he will not come if he wins since this would destroy the Free Agency of the COG.
6. The Bible predicts Satan wins because it predicts Armageddon.
* This scenario was the basis for a Star Trek episode and is the basis of the toast in C.S.Lewis' Screwtape Letters.
** [11/1/1] (In the Dark Ages,Christians were as merciless as the Muslims). [11/11/11] For our purposes, Christianity are the churches tracing their authority from Peter through the popes or early spinoffs; Reformed Christianity are the Christian sects tracing their authority through Luther; Restored Christianity are those sects tracing their authority through the plates and Priesthood restored to Joseph Smith (LDS sects).
[11/1/11] See the book "Why are Jews Liberal?" by Norman Podhoretz
Please disregard the next 2 lines. As this is a journal, I dislike to erase even stupid entries.
Or we could all be destroyed in the next two months by Elenin et al. See the attached link.
http://www.adamite.com/?page_id=2055I do not mean to say that the reelection of Obama will lead to immediate Armageddon. The world has not yet progressed to that stage. As examples, Iran is not yet a nuclear power, Islam has not yet conquered Europe, and the Arab "spring" of democracy has not yet turned (from the western viewpoint) to an Arab Winter of Sharia Law, America has not yet irreversibly entered the debt spiral nor given up its power as an "exceptional country". The mark of the beast (internet connectivity) is not yet on our head and hands. These events will take perhaps ~20 more years to occur. (See "America Alone" and "After America - Armageddon" by Mark Steyn.
Given the hypotheses of this blog (that Satan is active and influencing us - as he did Hitler etc.), I postulate from observation that a reelected Obama would not hinder nor delay this defeat of western culture (since, he will say, it does not affect us directly). Romney with his belief that we are an exceptional nation and are only entitled to what we work for will delay the defeat for at least 10 years and possibly allow for a revitalization of Christianity and a society more amenable to free agency. If we elect Romney, Armageddon with the eventual dissolution of the society of the west to which we are accustomed may still come, but it will be delayed. In any event, it will be an exercise of our free will for free will and may affect something.
[11/2/11] I have no idea of how the Priesthood (the authority to act for God) will be used in the presidency.*** However since, by a strange coincidence, it is available and since the country is in such danger, I have gone out on a limb to make this prediction. If the hypothesis of this paper is correct, God will find a way to use it. I do not expect any channeling to the prophets. I certainly hope this blog does not appear in any anti-Romney ads.
[11/2/11] Since this page has turned political, I must disclose that ever since I voted for Jimmy Carter, I am a Republican for what are, in my view, completely logical reasons. (I may even vote for Romney.) For example, I have long felt that negotiations with the North Koreans and the Iranians has been an obvious and ridiculous waste of precious time - time used by them as a delaying tactic to allow time to obtain nuclear weapons. In an interview with Hannity, former Sec. of State Rice was asked about her willingness to negotiate with these rouge ("Axis of Evil") nations. She compared their intransigence to the Southern United States (Birmington) of her youth and thought that, as the US reformed, so might the Iranians. Anyone that can compare the US on the '50s (a bigoted society in a democratic country that wanted to do the right thing) and present day Iran (a theocratic dictatorship that wants to destroy Israel for religious reasons and is on the cusp of a wave of Islamic {anti - Jewish} religious fervor), is completely naive. Dick Chaney was completely correct when he called her and Powell idealistic fools or words to that effect. Predictably, the Left calls Chaney "evil".
Also predictably, without some changes in western policies, Israel will be nearly or completely annihilated in 10 to 20 years. The world will then spend the next 50 years asking themselves "How did this happen?" and building memorials. This prediction is as clear as one that a Jewish grandfather might have made about Hitler circa 1933. The west did nothing then and they are doing nothing now. Instead, they justified and tolerated Hitler at that time much as we are justifying and tolerating radical Islam today (See the tolerance for Hamas, anti-Jewish sentiment, and the various forms of terrorism today.).
I do not mean to say that Muslims (or non LDS persons) are damned. In fact, this theory maintains that all of us are Children of God and all of us have an equal right to the kingdom of God whether Christian or Buddhist or whatever. In fact, most common religions are good because they teach respect for some type of Supreme Being and for each other. The paper does (objectively, I hope) observe, that Islam is particularly susceptible for highjacking by a radical few and is therefore possibly being used by Satan for his ends in the present day. As stated in the Home Page hypothesis, Satan's desires are to annihilate the Chosen Race (Jews) and eliminate the LDS temples. He is using religion to do it. The idealism and naivety of Ms. Rice (and the anti-war Left) against observed facts and history is further evidence that Satan influences rational thought in small but powerful ways so as to paralyze rational responses to the danger.
Exciting Times,-- TOG --
*** 2/6/12: Perhaps, the blessings to the US could come in two areas:
1) Blessings from supporting Israel during these perilous times: "I will bless those that bless thee...etc," referring to Israel; and,
2) Blessings due to apparent good luck such as happened to Egypt via Joseph (of the coat of many colors) after he was sold into slavery by his brothers. He became a Viceroy and saved Egypt from 7 lean (famine) years due to inspired wisdom. (His brothers do not seem like a nice lot; even so, this despicable act did not seem to negate the lord's blessing given to Judah and the rest.)
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Letters To Mrs. J
Dear Mrs. J, 2/24/12
Thank you for sending me this link to Greg's video. I presume that this forms a part of your belief system and that you are submitting this for discussion.
Parts of this video present points consistent with hypotheses in the Theory of God:
That we are part of something greater (the family of God the Father);
That we are here for a purpose (to gain a body and be tested so that we will know that God is just);
That God is eternal (Christian tradition states He is eternal);
That there is a single principle of peace (that God is love and there is no hatred in Heaven);
That we are all connected (as we are all children of God);
That all humanity believes in God (So stated in the Home Page).
I do quibble that science is only 400 years old; that there is a 40,000 year old Egyptian calender; that God is Eternal can be spelled out with the genetic code letters, C G A T; that people can influence others by feeling peace (I am aware of experiments at SRI that seemed fail - but if they were, in fact, successful, they certainly have not been properly applied in the Middle East).
I submit that there is no mention of the possible power of an outside Evil influence on man (Satan?) to explain the evil in the world; no mention of a battle between Good and Evil; or Armageddon; no mention of an afterlife where our consciousness lives on and the family is preserved. So what if God is eternal; What about us? This does seem to to be a dead end faith offering little comfort.
In an effort to find more about the 7.8 Hz "Heartbeat of the Earth", I uncovered this Link. As a scientist, I can state that the Earth will not reverse its rotation so that the Sun rises in the West. That page alone robbed Mr. Braden of much of his credibility.
Thanks for your interest,
TOG
P.S. 2/25/12: I don't want to be too negative about miracles since they occur in the Bible. However, reversal of the rotation of the earth is an Extinction Event by orders of magnitude because of heating, inertia and gravity. Reversal of the magnetic field of the earth has evidently been observed and since it is due to changes in electrical currents rather than mass motion, could happen. If it did, compasses would invert so that the sun would rise in the west. This is quite a different event and a scientist should make that distinction when he announces the impending event.
The following is an ongoing correspondence relating to a comment to TOG made by Mrs.J after visiting this site. Letters are arranged from last (top) to first (bottom). After 1/27/12, you are visitor #
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Dear TOG, 2/7/12
I have forwarded you something I find very interesting. Hope you enjoy it.
Dear R.
Yes, I'm wondering if at least part of this is what Ramtha is teaching. I've always believed that WE create our own reality.
I guess L. & A. would tell us if that's true. That's what they study there in Y., and they've proved at least part of it in their daily lives, if not all of it. Thanks so much for sending this.
Mrs. J
Forwarded Message from R.:
A geo-scientist and cultural explorer, Gregg Braden speaks quite eloquently about this time.
If you have a half hour to give a listen, I found this to be very intriguing. Even if we do not have certain codes written into our DNA, his reference to our consciousness being able to create our reality strikes a chord with me. That parallels quantum physics where quarks can only be seen if you look for them...R.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GicOsOY6oO8
Dear Mrs. J, 1/19/12
The belief in SOMETHING is a comfort near the end of life and when times get tough. I agree that the Theory of Evolution keeps many from religion because they believe in "Settled Sceince". Well, so do I, within limits. But, as a scientist, I also understand the assumptions and limitations of the scientific method. When I discovered that the LDS missionaries believed in a literal Adam and Eve, that was to be a deal breaker ending our discussions. I got four library books on ancient history. Surely, a coherent tale of ancient days would show that LDS theology was false. As it happened (luck?), the first book I read was by Immanuel Velikovsky and the issue was a 600 year error in the timeline of the pharaohs. At that time, I did not know that Immanuel Velikovsky is considered to be a crank by many. The book created enough doubt in the ancient history narrative that I could not use evolution as grounds for terminating our discussions. The need (I was young and depressed about the futility of life) for SOMETHING - any religion that was historical and logical - won out over "Unsettled Science". I took a leap of faith into baptism. But I never have had the faith I see in many people of many religions. I remain a scientist but my religion teaches that Adam and Eve are real people, not metaphors. How can evolution and Christian/LDS teachings be reconciled? That reconciliation is what I am attempting to do with this metaphysics paper/web site, Theory of God.
I will discuss this in more detail if you wish. But for now, let me outline the assumptions, arguments and observations I will make (some of these are mentioned in the home page). (Some of this is my speculation - not necessarily LDS doctrine.)
We are the Children of God. We are qualitatively different from animals and other forms of life. Adam was the first man.
This life is a test of how we use our Free Agency as we interact with each other. The earth is the stage for this test. Matter is eternal and not what it seems to us (e.g. possibly more dimensions).
There are hidden and subtle spiritual influences in a battle for our support (i.e., Jesus and Satan).
For the Free Agency test to be unbiased, we must be given a plausible story of how we got here. That story is evolution, placed in the rocks and strata when the earth was created.
The earth may be as old as they say, ~4 billion years. The 7000 to 8000 year timeline religion allows starts at the expulsion of Adam from Eden. Then, the earth changed from Terrestrial (Lion and lamb coexist - no food required) to Telestial (predator and prey; parasite and host - food required).**
The interface between the story (that placed in rocks) and actual history is where Free Agency manifests itself. Since the story was made by God, the interface into actual history will be seamless. I speculate that this transition is somewhere between the Stone Age , Antiquity, and the start of cities (about when agriculture, language and civilization begins and quickly spreads).
Supporting observations:
Human behavior is irrational and seems to be influenced by outside forces. We seem to be headed to an Armageddon.
Jews are always and irrationally persecuted by the world as if to satisfy some external plan. Their distant relatives, the Arabs, seem to have a special place in that plan.
In a the space of a mere 8,000 years mankind can destroy the earth - a godlike achievement.
All humans babies are essentially equal and interchangeable across cultures. There are no groups of slightly subhuman humans as predicted by gradual evolution. Furthermore, from earliest written evidence, past and present humans also seem interchangeable. Are we to believe that a race of people as clever as we are wandered in the wilderness for the entire stone age until they mutated 8,000 years ago into the clever humans we are? Was that mutation the Creation?All of this proves nothing - nor, by hypothesis, can it. Doubt must remain.
A few other comments about science and religion.
Science does not deny the possibility of the Resurrection - contrary to statements by religious people. Resurrection may be an undiscovered property of matter.
Since science assumes that nature has no Free Agency, science can not discuss the possibility of a Free Agent creator until the evidence becomes overwhelming (which cannot not happen until Armageddon by the Free Agency test hypothesis).
Scientific observations are repeatable but inferences from them are constrained to existing theory. Since scientific theory cannot contain the concept of a Free Agent - especially one that can manipulate scientific data and has a motive to do so - a Free agent creator is not ever in the universe of possible theories. For a current example of "Settled Science", see the Global Warming controversy and the pressure to conform data and conclusions to a particular narrative.
Some of the "scientific" creation theories you can see on TV (e.g., Discover channel; The Multiverse Theory) are more unbelievable than anything in the Bible (e.g., resurrection; Adam and Eve).
Science is a weak rod upon which to base certainty for atheism. According to current science, only 4% of the universe is observable. String Theory, which attempts to remove the contradictions between General Relativity (a theory for the very large) and Quantum Physics (for the very small) proposes that matter actually may have 11 dimensions - 7 of these unobservable. To science, the origin of the universe is unknown; the universe is unending; etc. I believe we shall eventually understand these issues. When we do, there is a possibility we will then also understand where God lives.In summary, our doubt is our shield. But "the Devil made me do it" is no defense.
- TOG -
P.S. I am still interested in the lure of other religions.
** The Eden Paradise of Christian lore invokes the picture of a (presumably well fed) Lion and Lamb lying together without fear. The resurrected (Terrestrial) body is made of "flesh and bones" whereas our earthly (Telestial) bodies are of "flesh and blood". Blood serves to provide energy (food) to our cells from digested prey. Perhaps resurrected cells somehow tap into a another source of energy such as Vacuum Energy or Dark Energy and thus have no need for blood This energy, and the associated Dark Matter are concepts in physics required to explain recently observed features of our universe.
Christian lore also says we will all be changed "in a twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet'. Perhaps this happens when our bodies are changed from this (Telestial) universe to a (Terrestrial) parallel universe. Note that our spirits are unchanged; only the bodies they inhabit are different. These concepts are similar to the underlying scenarios in the movies "Avatar" and "Matrix" in which a spirit from one world inhabits a body from another. The resurrection of Christian lore could be simply a change of avatars, dimensions, or universes.
I do not suggest that I know what is the operative metaphysics (notwithstanding the above observations) in this world. I only suggest that rejection of religion on the grounds that religion contradicts current "settled" science is unwarranted. You have not read enough science, nor fiction, nor watched enough TV series like "Fringe".
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Dear TOG, 1/12/12
Since I firmly believe in evolution, that sort of means to me that any God theory was made up by much later generations of homo sapiens. Guess they really needed to believe in SOMETHING.
We leave tomorrow for a tour, but "talk" to you later.
Mrs. J
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Dear Mrs. J, Jan 10, 2012,
Thank you for reading the paper. It was not my intent to convert - just to discuss. I am curious about the lure of other religions.
The paper is a belief system in so far as is required to set up the internal logic. A theory needs structure so that reference to observations make sense. And, a theory about God needs some historical references. It is not something you can make up alone.
For example: The Golden Rule. The logic is:
1 If we are eternal and social beings, we shall all meet again.
2 A resurrected body is mentioned in much of Christian lore
3 This body wiil be without defects either physical or mental. In particular, memory will be perfect.
4 So we will meet and socialize with those that we met with on this earth.
5 Therefore, it is best not to screw our fellow man if we don't want eternal shame and guilt in the hereafter. QED
The scientific assumption that Jesus and Satan are influencing mankind for good or evil allows understanding of various world events. That assumption has never been pursued by science. And at the end, I do make a few predictions.
Simpleton never. Uninterested perhaps.
Thanks again,
- TOG -
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Dear TOG, January 07, 2012
I certainly wish you well with your belief system. It is not mine.
Perhaps mine is simply, "Do unto others....." , and even when believing some of
the Buddhist doctrines, which mostly hark back to "Do unto others...." I still try to keep it simple.
So call me a simpleton - that's OK.
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Dear Mrs. J, Dec 6, 2011
As we discussed at the meeting, please visit the web site: www.theoryofgod.ws: or .org, .net .mobi, .biz;
- TOG -
Answers to Questions (Written 12/2011)
Here, I wish to address some answers by the Prophet, Joseph Smith, affecting the assumptions made by the hypothesis of this paper. I think he was tired of answering the same questions over and over and wanted to place his thoughts or record once and for all. My comments are in red.
The Prophet's Answer to Sundry Questions:
"I answered the questions which were frequently asked me, while on my last journey but one from Kirtland to Missouri, as printed in the Elders' Journal, Vol. 1, Number 2, pages 28 and 29 as follows:
First-- "Do you believe in the Bible?"
If we do, we are the only people under heaven that does, for there are none of the religious sects of the day that do.
Second--"Wherein do you differ from other sects?"
In that we believe the Bible, and that all other sects profess to believe their interpretations of the Bible, and their creeds.
(Remember, This is my personal opinion)
I find the Bible to be confused and somewhat incoherent. To explain this, one of my hypotheses is that Satan has added tares to the wheat of the Bible.
One example of these tares that I have used is: in the Bible, various persons will burn in an everlasting fire. I find it difficult to believe that a loving god would subject any of His children to such torture. Perhaps, I am wrong and God is not the loving person I imagine Him to be. If so, I should stop writing because the Theory of this paper is obviously flawed. Instead, I have taken this hellfire to be a tare or at least allegorical. It may be is the pain of the sinner when he sees the results of his free agency choices and sees how he has squandered and lost his own potential. In other words, he sees what he might have been. It is not the continuous roasting of his flesh.
Third-- "Will everybody be damned, but Mormons?"
Yes, and a great portion of them, unless they repent, and work righteousness.
This quote is often used against the LDS. While I have no authority to amend the Prophet's words, I can at least explain a few things. Clearly we believe that Peter, Paul and all the worthy common people of the past are not damned. Also, clearly, they are not Mormons so a direct application of that sentence is unwarranted.
The Mormons have built a network of Temples wherein they perform baptisms for the dead. This ordinance is open to everyone that has ever lived and is done without questioning their worthiness and done without ever considering them to be Mormons thereafter.
Joseph Smith did believe that his church held the only priesthood authority restored to the earth by God to perform a baptism valid in the sight of God. Since that ordinance is a requirement to enter the kingdom of God and is only performed on a living person if he (or she) is Mormon, his answer is correct according to his belief and the belief of present day Mormons. I think he could have phrased his answer better but, obviously, he was having a bad day.
The key thing to remember is that it is the Priesthood that is important - not just the act of immersion or the name of the church. According to LDS beliefs, that Priesthood has been restored to the earth and is held only by the Mormons at this time. Mormons have no desire to be the gatekeepers of heaven and freely offer their services when requested.
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