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Theory of God
The Logic and Physics
Abraham's Blessings 9/20/2016
Now, I examine the blessings and covenants between God and Abraham's descendants to find how the Genesis curses were removed. Jacob, after being renamed Israel, divided God's blessing on Abraham into multiple blessings for his twelve sons. Judah was given the Blessing of Kings dealing with the genetic line to Jesus. Joseph received the greater Birthright Blessing.
The destiny of those blessed seems to be determined by their heritage and genealogy, not by character, actions or even the order of their birth. While those persons blessed were not evil, they were not particularly good either. Judah, for example, sold his brother, Joseph, into slavery and had a roadside affair with Tamar. Subterfuge was permitted as long as the correct blessing was placed on the correct head. Consider how Jacob tricked Esau, Rebecca tricked the blind Issac, and how Joseph tried to switch the younger Ephraim and the firstborn Manasseh before the blind Israel.
If God is not arbitrary and capricious, we must assume that these blessed were chosen before they were born seemingly independent of their actions on earth –in other words, plans were made and duties assigned in a Preexistence. Thus, the Preexistence is a logical necessity for a religion based on Genesis.
Requirements for the two blessings are very different. The genetic line to Jesus from Abraham through David had to remain unblemished without a link to the curse on Adam and Eve or Cain, or any connection to Egypt. Jesus' matriarchal line is traceable back to Shem and Laban at least from Judah. In contrast, the line of Joseph allows the adoption of new members.
For example, both Judah and Joseph married forbidden Egyptian women but with very different results. Judah's sons, Er and Onan, by his Egyptian wife, Aliyath, died so that Judah's line continued through Tamar, granddaughter of Shem [Jasher 45:23], who produced twin sons, Zarah and Pharez. Joseph's Egyptian sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, were adopted by Israel symbolizing that everyone is included in the Salvation by adoption. These sons were even given the name Israel.
When you read biblical prophesies, if you do not remember that the Jews and Israel are a separate people with separate missions, you become hopelessly confused. Judah's descendents are of the southern tribes, Jews, well known, reviled and persecuted throughout history. These now form the State of Israel and remain almost universally despised. Joseph's descendents are of the northern kingdom. They are the lost tribes called Israel in the Bible and are unknown – even to themselves. They are running “under the RADAR”.
Israel's (Jacob's) blessings are also prophesies in which names indicate nations. Ephraim is England and Manasseh is America. While Judah has the blessing of Kings, Ephraim has the greater blessing of the Birthright. God said: [Jeremiah 31:9] “...I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.”
Queen Elizabeth is descended from Judah and Israel fulfilling bible prophesy [2 Samuel 7:12-16]. [See also Judah's Sceptre and Joseph's Birthright by Allen and other related commentaries.] All Irish, Scottish and English kings were crowned on the Stone of Destiny – possibly Jacob's Pillow which came to England via Ireland and Scotland. Joseph Smith's DNA is Irish – possibly Irish royalty. Speculating, as a major prophet, his genealogy may be traceable to Abraham and Terah through both male and female lines of Judah and Joseph. Genealogy is important in the scriptures and in the lines of the Priesthood. Concern with the woman's line of ancestry may have to do with the genetics of mtDNA. Such properties may carry over into the resurrection.
Biblical prophecies come true. God said to Abraham in Gen 22:16-18, "By Myself I have sworn [another example of an irreversible oath], because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son [Abraham's first son was Ishmael who was born before His covenant with Abraham], ... “thy seed shall possess the gates of his enemies. And in thy seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice." The gates of the enemies we possess are our sea power. England and America rule the seas. Nearly alone, England and America defeated Hitler, Tojo, Stalin, and other atheist dictators. Thus, Abraham's blessings have already been given to all nations. Through England, (Ephraim), and Joseph Smith, the world's population will be baptized during the Millennium. None of this would have been possible without the assistance of America, (Manasseh), and establishment of the LDS Church in a then unexplored land.
What are Satan's plans? Satan is a spirit without a body. He desires to be worshiped, and his methods are deception and compulsion. We know he wishes to inflict pain and suffering on mankind and to influence their existence so as to make good choices difficult. Since Baptisms and other ordinances cannot be not performed in Heaven, they must be done by living LDS in Temples during the Millennium. (Why else is a Millennium necessary?) Even Jesus did not perform baptisms because He was not of this world [John 4:2]. Satan will try to prevent these ordinances.
Using descendants of Ishmael, who also of Abraham, he will start his own religion. The doctrine will appear to encourage peace but its deeper theology will contain an agenda of compulsion and murder. With this religious doctrine, his followers, will attempt to close and destroy LDS Temples to prevent the salvation of the Just, marriages, family sealing and other ordinances. Our nations, our faith, and the LDS temples are Satan's enemy. We should expect to be attacked. Even now, his religion calls Israel “The Little Satan” and America “The Great Satan” to inspire hatred of his followers against us. Because of major differences between LDS and other Christian theologies such as trinitarianism and that God is pure spirit, it is unlikely that our fellow Christians will support us. Currently, they will not accept our baptisms.
Summary
1) The Blessings of the Birthright have already been felt worldwide. But the greatest blessings will occur during the Millennium because of the ordinances that the children of Joseph through Ephraim and Manasseh will perform on every soul that has ever lived.
2) The Genealogy of Joseph Smith is traceable back to Ephraim via Ireland. His DNA may be traced to Irish royalty. The Stone of Destiny or Stone of Scone may be the Shepherd Stone or Jacob's Pillow.
Theory of God I: Rev 1: The Curse Delivered To Ward 12/11/2016
Years ago, I joined the LDS church while in physics graduate school. Physics is the study of matter and energy and the fundamental laws of nature of the universe and our creation. Physicists are naturally skeptics. We experiment, collect data, and suggest theories to explain what we see. Scriptures contain lots of data and possible explanations. While our theories must make logical sense, they need not be correct. They form a framework for discussion. It is written in D&C 132: 8 “Behold, mine house is a house of order, saith the Lord God, and not a house of confusion." So also is the House of Physics.
If scriptures are God's word, they should contain purposeful, logically related stories. God wants to tell us something. He wants us to do something. His important messages to us should be tamper proof, redundant, and error resistant. Many authors have contributed to scriptural literature over many years. Therefore scriptures which show a coherent intelligent design are evidence of God's existence.
When I joined this church, I believed that, if God existed, He would be loving, kind and just. Christian Scriptures told me that Baptism for the Dead is required for the salvation of all of his children – not just the few who were alive and heard the Christian missionaries. I joined in spite of my knowledge and respect for the Theory of Evolution and even after the missionaries told me that Adam and Eve were real people with identities, children, genealogies, and that they had actually spoken to God. They were not just symbols or fables. If Eden and other Scriptural stories are literally true, we can learn about God, His laws, and the laws He obeys from what God and his children say and do. In this talk, I interpret the scriptures literally and examine their implications and purposes. This is what happens when a physicist ponders the scriptures literally.
If Adam and Eve are real entities, then so is Satan. He is not just the symbolic inner struggle with our demons that will vanish with our death. Satan is an independent spirit with a mind, goals, and methods. His work is apparent in world events. There are many examples. Sometimes, at home watching the news, when I see a particularly evil story, I cry out “Satan” to the amusement of my family.
Let me digress here and tell you what Satan’s goals might be. If Baptism for the Dead is required to enter heaven, Satan will attempt to destroy the LDS temples – the gateway to heaven for those who have already died. If our environment influences our choices, Satan will attempt to make our life miserable to foster pain and unjust choices. If you are then judged by God to be Unjust, you will end up in the Telestial Kingdom where Satan may have continued influence [Moses 5:23]. If the Garden of Eden is real, then so is the Curse of God on Adam and Eve disclosed in both Genesis and in Moses in the Pearl of Great Price (PGP). If Abraham and Sarah are real, so are his blessings on his children, their families, the stories of their peoples, and the modern day implications in which Ephraim is linked to England and Manasseh is linked to America.
The earthly part of the Story of the Plan of Salvation begins in Genesis and Moses. The two scriptures are similar but Moses is the most complete and edifying. Written there are God the Father's three, irrevocable curses made after Adam and Eve's Fall in Eden. These curses are the basis of all of Christianity and set requirements for the Jesus' Sacrifice and LDS Baptism for the Dead. God cursed Lucifer, Eve, and Adam as follows: According to my missionaries, our microphones were there.
[Moses 4: 20. Compare Genesis 3:14] “And I, the Lord God, said unto the serpent (for Satan spake by the mouth of the serpent): Because thou hast done this thou shalt be cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life; And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her seed; and he shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”
Who or what are Satan's seed? We are not talking about baby snakes here. The serpent's seed are those that followed Lucifer in the Grand Council to come to earth without bodies. The woman's seed are those that followed Jesus to come to earth with their free agency to be tested and obtain physical bodies. With this curse in Genesis, our brother Lucifer becomes Satan. He and his seed are forever put out of God's society. The bruising is the ongoing battle between Good lead by Jesus and Evil lead by Satan. Eve and her seed become their lawful prey. The dust Satan shall eat all the days of his life are those of us who succumb to his power for as God said later to Adam, [M 4: 25. G 3:19] “for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return”. If you believe Satan is forever, this condition is forever. Since spirits cannot affect matter and have only telepathic power [D&C 129], they can only influence our emotions and feast as parasites on our misery and despair. People that enjoy inflicting pain could be evidence of Satan's influence. Perhaps it is also Satan's influence that cause people to act irrationally, to be filled with hatred, and to try destroy our society. The Bible speaks of demonic possession. We see in the news today demonic indoctrination. Because we have been granted free agency, spirits have no physical power over us unless we invite them in by our actions or our willingness to be indoctrinated.
[Moses 4:22. Genesis 3:16] “Unto the woman, I, the Lord God, said: I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception. In sorrow thou shalt bring forth children, and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.” (Note that this phrasing is similar to the condemnation of Cain in Genesis 4:7 but is different in Moses 5:23.) Satan is subordinate to Cain.
Eve and her descendents (that's us) are now forever blemished by Father's curse. Considering that Eve started the whole process of the Fall and forced Adam to violate a command with his Priesthood, she merited very few words. Why? She spoke for herself without authority. Adam could have refused the fruit and effectively divorced Eve but he also chose the path to obtain a knowledge of good and evil to join her in mortality. He did this while behind the veil and without asking God's advice. He made this first choice on earth using his free agency. He sealed the choice we had all made in the Preexistence. It seem to be a rule that covenants made on earth must be affirmed in the spirit world and vice versa. This is not surprising since spiritual and physical matter are different forms of the same thing [D&C 131:7].
Continuing, in Moses 4: 23-25. [Compare Genesis 3:17-19] “And unto Adam, I, the Lord God, said: Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the fruit of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying—Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed shall be the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. [24] Thorns also, and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. [25] By the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, until thou shalt return unto the ground—for thou shalt surely die.”
With that, our world changed. We became mortal. Father forced us from the Paradise of physical and spiritual innocence into Satan's world of pain, sorrow and temptation. Satan said it well: “..Your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”. Since “to be as gods knowing good and evil” is not a sin, the Fall by itself was not a sin but it opened our eyes to good and evil so that now we became capable of sin [John 9:39-41]. Sin is the intentional, eyes wide open, malicious violation by one person of another person's free agency, a violation of God's promise of free agency made in the Preexistence. Since no sin can exist in The Father's house, our home in the Preexistence, we are born sinless. We are not born equal since we keep our identities, attitudes and legacy from the Preexistence.
Then, Father sealed his curse on us, saying: [Moses 30] “For as I, the Lord God, liveth, even so my words cannot return void, for as they go forth out of my mouth they must be fulfilled.”
With this, the curse was placed beyond the power of even God Himself to remove. God swearing an irrevocable oath on his own person is not unique. In Gen 22:16-18 after the sacrifice of Isaac halted by an angel, God said to Abraham before blessing him. "By Myself I have sworn”. In D&C 129, ii says God cannot deceive. It is a law of heaven that such oaths are irrevocable. We can answer the question Jason Demetry asked from this pulpit 3 years ago – “Can God Forgive Satan?” No, He cannot.
This irrevocable Curse prevents our return to God. We are dead forever. One might think that God could manifest Himself in another form and act to revoke His Curse Himself, but that action would make any oath of God meaningless. If the Curse is to be modified, action by an independent entity is required. The Father and Son cannot be the same person manifest in a different form. The Son, to be an independent entity, must exercise His own Free Agency independently of The Father. The oath in Moses 4:30 is not in Genesis 3 for good reason. It disallows the Trinitarian doctrine.
That independent entity, selected in the Preexistence as the “Only Begotten”, is Jesus. Alma 53 illustrates a very similar situation: a group of Lamanites took an oath never to take up arms again. When they were attacked at a later time, their 2,000 sons, the Stripling Warriors, who had not taken the earlier oath, stepped forward to fight on their behalf. The Lamanites did not need to violate their oath to survive. In this case, the Stripling Warrior fighting for us on behalf of Our Father is Jesus. Except for one thing: the Striplings knew that if they fought well, they might survive; Jesus knew he had to die. Jesus' sacrifice was the independent action required to remove the curse. Since it was a demonstration of His free agency, Jesus had to be aware of the consequences of His actions and actively pursue them but he could not deceive. Scriptures tell us the Romans did not want to crucify Him but since He put up no defense, they were left with no choice. Jesus became the Lamb of God on earth as he was in heaven.
At the Grand Council in the Preexistence, we all knew that when our eyes were opened by Adam's action, we would fall below the standards required to reenter the Celestial Kingdom. Atonement for our sins by the Mosaic Law of sacrifice was one of the duties of the Only Begotten. Fulfillment of His role as the Lamb of God and our salvation depended completely on the free agency of Jesus.
Why did we need Jesus to remove the Curse? We know we must be spotless to reenter the Celestial Kingdom. The Justice of the Law of Moses – an eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth – applies here. But that Law, outlined in our scriptures, also allows that the demands of Justice for our transgressions may be satisfied by the sacrifice of an independent entity in our place. The highest sacrifice requires a firstborn without blemish. As descendants of Adam and Eve, we ourselves cannot satisfy this condition because we are cursed. But, Jesus is not of Adam. As the Only Begotten, His Father is God the Father. He is not related to Cain. Jesus is the spiritual and physical firstborn of the Father.
His only remaining blemish is His connection with the curse on Eve through Mary, His mother. Hence, Jesus must be “born again” or “born of water” or baptized to become the Lamb of God. Jesus seems aware of this requirement for in Luke 12:50 we read: “But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am straitened (i.e., constrained) \ till it be accomplished!” This passage could be read to mean that only after His baptism does Jesus have the qualifications to complete His mission of atonement as the Lamb. However, since Jesus had already been baptized in Luke 3, scholars usually interpret this “baptism” to mean the suffering of His Atonement. But what if the passage is out of order because of Satan's influence on the Scriptures? As I have said, Satan's motive would be to minimize the importance of baptism in order to minimize the number of souls entering into Heaven. Satan's plan has been progressing for years. The rise of terrorism, chaos in the middle East, advance of political correctness, government influence on church doctrine via civil rights and tax codes, and other factors that will contribute to the eventual attack on our temples are evidence of this.
Why is the act of immersion in water so important? Is the water itself magical or metaphysical? Since agency is fundamental to this theory, perhaps we should focus on the importance of the agency of each individual rather than the nature of any specific act. In Jesus' Sacrifice, a specific action in this physical world by His independent entity was required to remove the curse on Adam. Similarly, a specific action by us in this physical world is required to confirm our choice in the Preexisrtence. God selected immersion because it is easily done and is symbolic of a rebirth breaking the link to Eve. But perhaps the important part in both situations is that the selected act (whatever it is – it could have been a trip to Mecca or a bath in the Ganges River) must be done by an independent entity. For the God of our scriptures, the symbolic act commanded is baptism. The independent entity is the person to be saved. Even though the act selected may be symbolic, it must be done correctly and with God's authority. If the House of God is to be a house of order, everyone, living or dead, must obey the same commandment in the same way to enter the Kingdom of Heaven AKA the Celestial Kingdom.
The scriptures say: [Moses 6:60] “For by the water ye keep the commandment, by the Spirit ye are justified, by the blood ye are sanctified.” By baptism, you satisfy the law to be born again – the first step in the remission of sins and entrance into the Celestial Kingdom. Justification by the Spirit is the second step. Logically, this is God's judgment in the spirit world prior to one's resurrection – i.e., the separation of the Just from the Unjust. It could also include the covenant of acceptance of the rules of the Celestial Kingdom by each spirit. What rules? We are told that it is contrary to the order of heaven for a just man made perfect to deceive. After you are justified, the sanctification of Jesus’ atonement washes your sins away. Only Jesus, being without blemish, could atone for our sins. Jesus need atone only for those choosing baptism so as to enter the Celestial Kingdom. The unbaptized cannot enter the Celestial Kingdom. Without water, they are without the Law [D&C 76:72].
In the Celestial Kingdom, as in any society, there will be a Law – I have postulated the Mosaic Law. We will be responsible for our own actions. We are not told of any further Atonement. Jesus said: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” ]Mat 5:17-18]. Celestial Law may be difficult to keep. The Church of Later-Day Saints is a house of order. LDS hierarchy is set and apparent. We are trained to obey. There are those Just souls who may not wish to live forever under such constraints. Since God will force no man to Heaven, i.e., the Celestial Kingdom, these souls can refuse baptism and choose to remain in the Terrestrial Kingdom. Children, being sinless and unaccountable, will not enter the Telestial Kingdom. They may choose either the Celestial or Terrestrial Kingdom. Since they have yet to choose and baptism is not required for the Terrestrial Kingdom, temple baptism for these innocents at this time would be redundant and unnecessary. Instead, they are sealed to their family so that their family may raise them as children in the Millennium.
We know that spirit and physical matter are two aspects of the same thing. We know that in this mortal world these aspects are separated and that ordinances may be done here that cannot be done when they are reunited after the Millennium ends. The Aaronic Priesthood has authority over the Sacrifice and the Baptism. These ordinances are required to enter the Celestial Kingdom. The Melchizedek Priesthood has authority over Marriage, Sealing, endowments, etc. These ordinances are required to organize the Celestial Kingdom. We see that choices of free agency made in the spirit world must be confirmed in this world and that choices made here apply in the spirit world. We know that after the spirit and physical aspects of matter are joined together (after the individual's resurrection), the opportunity to change them in major ways vanishes. For example, there is no advance in body type of your resurrection so your progression is limited to the kingdom you are resurrected into. That would be the equivalent of reincarnation. These appear to be fundamental laws of Heaven.
Scriptures tell us that after the Fall: [Moses 4:27] “Unto Adam, and also unto his wife, did I, the Lord God, make coats of skins, and clothed them. [29] Therefore I, the Lord God, will send him forth from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken;” Thus, Father sent us into the world with love clothed and with seeds to till the ground. He gave us intelligence, language, tools, and livestock. He gave us the blessing of the womb and prosperity. Since we were now behind the veil, God gave us knowledge of the sacrifice and of baptism required for salvation [Moses 5:5-10. 6:58-66]. In the 1000 years to Noah, we developed metal and music skills [Gen 4:20-22]. After the Flood, with our language confounded at Babel, we dispersed in the time of Peleg to start the Bronze Age.
Summary
1) The scriptures give a logical explanation for the requirement of Jesus' virgin birth and the requirement for His and our baptisms. The scriptures are necessary for us to understand and accomplish what is required of us – not just to praise and glorify God.
2) Jesus' virgin birth, baptism, genealogy, and positions as spirit firstborn and Only Begotten were required by the Law of Moses for Jesus' sacrificial role as the firstborn, unblemished Lamb of God.
3) The Preexistence is a logical requirement from Genesis.
4) If Trinitarianism teaches that the Father, Son, and Spirit have a single agency, it would be a false doctrine for LDS.
5) Baptism for the Dead is a required ordinance to enter the Celestial Kingdom. Baptism is a free agency choice given to everyone to accept or reject. Unaccountable children are listed among the Just as they are sinless. The unbaptized Just are without the Law and remain in the Terrestrial Kingdom.
6) Baptism, correctly done by the proper authority, is both a physical and a symbolic requirement. Only the LDS Church as Church of the Firstborn claims and has the authority to perform this ordinance in their temples just as only the descendents of Aaron had the authority to officiate in their early temples.
7) Everything promised or covenanted for in the Spirit World both before and after our life on earth must be reconfirmed on earth in person or by temple ordinance during the millennium before the spirit and physical bodies are recombined in their final form by their resurrection.
8) A 1000 year Millennium era is allotted to complete all these ordinances. The living and resurrected will exist together and have different functions. Only the living (descended from Adam and Eve) can do temple ordinances. Only the LDS Church has a purpose for the Millennium.
9) After the Millennium, the dual existence of mortal and resurrected beings end. Body types are fixed. Without new ordinances to marry and to form families, the order of Celestial Society is established.
10) Our free agency together with knowledge of good and evil allow us to choose our place in heaven.