Theory of God

          Of LDS Christianity

The Logic and Physics

Theory of God by the Logic of the Scriptures  © | Privacy Policy

A note about the author: I am a believing member of LDS. I hold a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Natural Science and am familiar with methods of logic and science. This website is dedicated to my grandchildren. Initially written to explain why I am a member, the site grew as I saw the links of logic and phrasing in the LDS scriptures adding credibility to LDS doctrine. I have never been inside a Temple nor seen any Temple ceremonies or ordinances.

Overview and assumptions:

 (These are my opinions from scriptural study: not necessarily church doctrine )   6/1/2023

My goals differ from those of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Mine are to determine the logic, order and implications inherent in the LDS scriptures (My house is a house of order not of confusion: D&C 132:8). The Church's goals are to create a self-sustaining gospel society to construct and support the temples so that required earthly ordinances may be performed. Our gospel also provides rules for a happy life and salvation. By far, temple work is more important since it provides salvation for all the world -- not just members of the LDS church. Apparently, a society composed of beings under the Curse of Eden (John 4:2) is needed to construct, maintain, and use the temples throughout the Millenium.

We develop a scenario consistent with a literal interpretation of scriptures from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) that is applicable to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Our assumptions are:
1) God The Father wants as much good for His children that they can bear.
2) Satan and its seed exist as conscious spiritual beings with free will. -- not as manifestations of the human mind.
3) The LDS scriptures and concepts of a preexistence, heavenly kingdoms, resurrection, millennium, sexism, and racism are correct and can be examined as if they were a scientifically accurate description of this world and universe.

4) The religious concepts of the translators actually affect their translation of the Bible. In Genesis 4:7, God’s conversation with Cain: the first two translations treat sin as a person; the second two as human weaknesses to be overcome.
LDS translation: If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
KJV: If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
NCB: But if you do what is wrong, sin is crouching at your door. It seeks to dominate you, but you can overcome it.” But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
NIV: But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

LDS believe that God’s curse on Adam, Eve and Satan actually occurred. Therefore Satan and his seed (sin) are sentient spirits. That assumption affects our concept of heaven and explains why a Lamb of God is necessary. Therefore, our analysis shall assume the KJV and LDS scriptures are correct.

On the Physicality of spirits:

Can a spirit directly interact with matter? The short answer is no. This is clearly shown in the Grand Keys of D&C 129 and specifically 129: 2, 8. In 1 Nephi 4:10,11 Nephi had to do physically what the spirit could not do on his own—even to prevent a nation from perishing in unbelief. There are many examples. Discernment between unembodied and embodied spirits is impossible without this key. That is why Jesus told the apostles to handle him (“a spirit hath not flesh and bones” Luke 24:39) and Thomas to feel His wounds (John 20: 27). However, spirits have immense physic power over humans if they choose to exert it. The examples made in “Doctrine and Covenants 129:8 and the Reality of Satan’s Physicality,” Religious Educator 8, no. 1 (2007): by Alonzo L. Gaskill all depend on the physic control of a human by a spirit. There is never an example of a chair being thrown across the room by itself. Blindness, lack of speech, swollen tongue. deafness, bodies thrown across the room, even marks on the skin (as in shingles) language shifts (as in Tower of Babel) can be caused by physic interference or rewiring of the brain circuitry. If spirits cannot interact with matter, they have none of our five senses: sight, touch, hearing, smell, and taste. They cast no shadow and have no reflection. They are parasites to the host spirit/body they inhabit. If they see, it is through the eyes of their host. The host spirit rules over the parasites that inhabit them (Moses 5:23). There could be more than one spirit per body (Mark5:9).

One of the other lessons of D&C 129 is the Satan is not allowed to exactly duplicate a righteous spirit—there must be a tell. Satan and his seed are counterfeit and cannot exactly mimic all the features of the good. He can deceive as when he said “one soul shall not be lost” (Moses 4:1) instead of “not one soul shall be lost”. Many followed him thinking they would be safe. Many of these spirits are not evil—just deceived, but the sin was forever theirs. Satan cannot lie. Even when Satan told an apparent lie (Moses 1-19), Moses could tell the difference.

Incidentally, the difference in these quotes is an example of the difference between equality and equity. Equality implies equal opportunity whereas equity implies equal outcomes. When the father reorganized spirit matter to form individual infant spirits in the preextance, His perfection would require that they were all created the with the same potential so that they could mature in their own fashion. At the end of this maturation they would be fully conscious and differentiated according to their individual progression. For example, there would be a Lucifer and there would be a Jesus – beings as far as possible on opposite extremes. The former would be equality: the latter is equity. With all of the mature spirits being equal, there would remain Lucifer as head and the glory would be his, because by whatever means necessary, he prevented actions (sins) that would preclude these spirits from redemption — a return to the Father as in “I shall redeem them all”.

Celestial laws are strict: no trace of deception is allowed (D&C 129:7). Even The Father is bound by His word (Moses 4:30). According to the Law of Vicarious atonement, removal of the curse must be done by an innocent, independent, free agent acting without compulsion. Jesus, who was anointed to this task in the Grand Council and recognized by John as the Lamb of God (John 1:1), freely fulfilled this terrible task even as The Father forsook Him. Another scriptural example of vicarious curse removal is in Alma 53:15–23.

Why did The Father curse Adam with a curse that He could not remove Himself? (To remove the curse Himself would violate the no deception requirement). Possibly He wished to place Adam, a sinless spirit being, into a temporary mortal state, free from Celestial constraints, so that judgments could be made on him and his descendants. Every mortal must prove their worth unfettered by the constraints of Celestial law. Then, they can be judged and returned to their appropriate positions in the kingdoms of immortality by the Atonement and earthly temple ordinances joining the resurrected body to its spirit. These rites must be performed by mortals with and by the authority of Priesthood power. Even Jesus could not participate (John 4:2). Furthermore, it appears that all choices made in the spirit world must be validated by actions taken in this earthly life or, for most of the world, by temple work in earthly temples (e.g., baptism, marriage, endowments). Incidentally, the curse on Eve is a blemish on Jesus preventing Him from being the functioning Lamb of God until the blemish is cleansed by John’s baptism. Until then, Jesus appeared to Satan no differently than billions of other beings on Earth. This prevented Satan from killing Jesus in His youth (but he tried with Herod). Once Jesus was baptized, He was visible to Satan. By then, Jesus was fully prepared to meet Satan face to face as His did in the wilderness. Thus, Eve’s curse protected Jesus until He was ready..

On the structure of Heaven

LDS doctrine is clear that there are three degrees of glory, (Telestial, Terrestrial, and Celestial). The latter is further subdivided into three sections: the highest is Exultation and requires marriage in temples and spirit children. We also learn that no advancement from kingdom to kingdom is possible and that the resurrected being is given a body appropriate to his kingdom. Further, all resurrections are completed at the end of the millennium. I suggest the following order for heaven which can never change after Jesus presents it to The Father:

Telestial Kingdom: These are they whom the Lord Jesus cannot forgive. They are Telestial resurrected beings which also provide physical housing for the many deceived spirits that followed Satan in his rebellion at the Grand Councils. Where else would Satan and his seed be if not together with Cain and other sinners? Surely, they cannot be allowed to roam the universe after the end of the millennium. Examples of multiple spirits in a single body abound (e.g., my name is Legion Mark 5:9). They are consigned to the spirit prison together with Satan’s seed during the millennium and released when resurrected as Telestial bodies. All spirits will be housed in bodies at the end of the resurrections and before presentation to the Father. Satan’s work is to make conditions on Earth so miserable as to encourage sin. Besides a general satisfaction with the misery of condemned souls, Satan obtains more bodies to spread his seed spirits to ease the crowding. Please note the translations of Genesis 4:7 presented above.
Terrestrial Kingdom: These are they whom the Lord does not condemn but choose not to abide by the laws of the Celestial Kingdom. They chose not to be baptized. They have no responsibilities and limited glory. (God forces no one into Heaven).
Celestial Kingdom: These are they who accept baptism, the cleansing blood of the Lamb, and the duties of the Celestial Kingdom. Level 1: These are they who choose to remain unmarried through the millennium. (God forces no one into eternal marriage). Level 2: These are they who choose to marry but have no children. (God forces no one to have children). Level 3: These are they who choose to marry and have spirit children and achieve Exultation which is eternal life – perhaps because their children will preserve their legacy.