Home » The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints » LDS Deep Doctrine » Will there be other Saviors for other worlds? (Was the Savior Jesus Christ the only Savior there will ever be, or will there/have there been others?)
Will there be other Saviors for other worlds? [message #1006] |
Sun, 26 August 2012 20:41 |
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JulesGP
Messages: 357 Registered: May 2012 Location: Davis County, UT
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This thread was split from THIS thread where the discussion originated.
MES5464 wrote on Sun, 26 August 2012 12:05Jules,
This quote you gave seems to support my beliefs about the Holy Ghost.
Quote:The Holy Ghost is now in a state of probation which if he should perform in righteousness he may pass through the same or a similar course of things that the Son has." (Joseph Smith, The Words of Joseph Smith, p. 245; Sabbath address, 27 August 1843)
That is, the Holy Ghost is destand to be a Messiah someday.
Our Jesus Christ now, once served as the Holy Ghost for a previous generation. Having proven himself worthy in that calling the became the Messiah of our generation. And our Holy Ghost will serve as the Messian for the next generation to come after us.
Just my oppinon based on the feelings of the spirit.
Dragon, In past studies, I actually explored the possibility of what MES is saying myself. (If I'm understanding what he's saying - the possibility of some becoming Saviors in future earths of their own - as he believes the Holy Ghost may. I found suggestions of this when I studied "multiple mortal probations" and the doctrine of "eternal lives".) I have not developed any conclusions or a testimony of, or had the spirit witness any answers to me on any of these things. But I don't think it is offensive for someone to explore possibilities and state their current opinions and feelings - especially when we are all at different levels of understanding. Maybe MES could give us some references that support his theory, and you could offer the same for yours. I personally would be interested in seeing all sides because as I said, I have not come to any conclusions yet. At the same time, I believe there will be things we will not be able to fully understand in this lifetime unless/until the Savior Himself teaches us when we receive the Second Comforter. These may be some of those things.
I just don't want anyone to feel that they can't safely post possibilities and theories and explore via open and friendly discussion. I would feel bad if someone felt offended by my search for truth, and my lack of understanding (as it is) of all of the mysteries of the kingdom - when I had not intended on offending anyone. So I felt I needed to say something.
~Jules
[Updated on: Wed, 29 August 2012 21:46] Report message to a moderator
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Re: Identity of the Holy Ghost [message #1009 is a reply to message #1006] |
Sun, 26 August 2012 21:04 |
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Dragon
Messages: 499 Registered: June 2010 Location: Earth
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Resurrection by Robert J. Matthews Ensign April 1996We note particularly that Amulek says the spirit and the body will never be separated again. Resurrected beings cannot die again. They cannot be reincarnated. The question sometimes arises, Is Jesus the Savior of other worlds? The answer is yes. Did he suffer and die and become resurrected on those other worlds? The answer has to be no.
Ensign April 1976I don't want to delve into mysteries, and I realize that this may be a matter of speculation, but I would like to know, is Jesus the Creator and Redeemer of other worlds besides this one?
Robert G. Mouritsen, college curriculum writer, Church Education System
When we seek to better understand the life and ministry of the Son of God, we are not delving into the mysteries, nor is it a matter of speculation. The scriptures inform us that "this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17:3; italics added.) The Prophet Joseph Smith said of this passage that "if any man does not know ... he will realize that he has not eternal life; for there can be eternal life on no other principle." (Teachings, p. 344.) Searching to know God and Christ, to learn their will, and to submit thereto is the paramount quest of our religion. Of this, President Marion G. Romney has written: "All who have a true concept of Jesus Christ and who have received a witness by the spirit of his divinity ... see in all that he said and did confirmation of his universal Lordship, both as Creator and Redeemer." (Improvement Era, November 1968, p. 48.)
Jesus was the firstborn of the Father from the beginning. In a statement issued in 1916, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve said: "Among the spirit children of Elohim the firstborn was and is ... Jesus Christ to whom all others are juniors." (James R. Clark, ed., Messages of the First Presidency, Bookcraft, 1971, 5:33.) He was the birthright son, and he retained that birthright by his strict obedience. Through the aeons and ages of premortality, he advanced and progressed until, as Abraham described, he stood as one "like unto God." (Abr. 3:24.) "Our Savior was a God before he was born into this world," wrote President Joseph Fielding Smith, "and he brought with him that same status when he came here. He was as much a God when he was born into the world as he was before." (Doctrines of Salvation, 1:32.) In that premortal estate, Jesus was, under the Father, the Creator and Redeemer of the Father's worlds. Enoch had learned, "were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations." (Moses 7:30.) The Lord taught Moses: "Worlds without number have I created; ... and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten." (Moses 1:33.) Moses was not given an account of all these worlds, but he was told who their Creator was. Joseph Smith was told who their Savior was: "The Lord is God, and beside him there is no Savior. ... By him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God." (D&C 76:1, 24.) The Prophet clarified these passages in a poem that he published in 1843:
For the Lord he is God, and his life never ends,
And besides him there ne'er was a Saviour of men. ...
He's the Saviour, and only begotten of God--
By him, of him, and through him, the worlds were all made,
Even all that career in the heavens so broad,
Whose inhabitants, too, from the first to the last,
Are sav'd by the very same Saviour of ours;
And, of course, are begotten God's daughters and sons,
By the very same truths, and the very same pow'rs."
(Times and Seasons 4:8285.)
Elder Bruce R. McConkie has written a clear statement on the universal Lordship of Jesus: "Now our Lord's jurisdiction and power extend far beyond the limits of this one small earth on which we dwell. He is, under the Father, the Creator of worlds without number. (Moses 1:33.) And ... the atonement of Christ, being literally and truly infinite, applies to an infinite number of earths." Again, "Just as the creative and redemptive powers of Christ extend to the earth and all things thereon, as also to the infinite expanse of worlds in immensity, so the power of the resurrection is universal in scope. Man, the earth, and all life thereon will come forth in the resurrection. And the resurrection applies to and is going on in other worlds and other galaxies." (Mormon Doctrine, Bookcraft, 1966, pp. 65, 642.) President Marion G. Romney summarized the whole concept of Jesus' universal ministry in these words: "Jesus Christ, in the sense of being its Creator and Redeemer, is the Lord of the whole universe. Except for his mortal ministry accomplished on this earth, his service and relationship to other worlds and their inhabitants are the same as his service and relationship to this earth and its inhabitants. ... Implicit in the scriptures is the fact that the surest, if not the only, way to understand Jesus the Lord of the universe is to obtain an understanding of his relationship to this world and its inhabitants. ... I bear my own witness that these great testimonies to the fact that Jesus Christ is the Lord of the universe are true, that he is also our Savior, and that the gospel of Jesus Christ is universal--the only plan by which men ever have been or ever can be exalted." (Improvement Era, November 1968, pp. 4649.)
I have spent the last hour trying to figure out why I was offended. It is not like me, and I do not want to drive anyone from this forum who is an honest seeker of truth. All I can say is this issue touched on the nature of not only one member of the Godhead, but two. I understand it is vital to get these concepts correct. I know everyone progresses in knowledge by degrees. If I have created offense in my response, I apologize. I felt it was necessary to give a strong reply. No other words could properly convey what I was feeling and thinking. I know I can get a little confrontational on this forum, and I only regret my most confrontational post was in reply to a newer member.
- Dragon
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Re: Identity of the Holy Ghost [message #1017 is a reply to message #1012] |
Sun, 26 August 2012 22:32 |
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JulesGP
Messages: 357 Registered: May 2012 Location: Davis County, UT
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One statement that supports this theory (or at least opens many questionsn), is this:
Quote:"The Holy Ghost is now in a state of probation which if he should perform in righteousness he may pass through the same or a similar course of things that the Son has." (Joseph Smith, The Words of Joseph Smith, p. 245; Sabbath address, Nauvoo, 27 August 1843.)
~Jules
[Updated on: Sun, 26 August 2012 22:32] Report message to a moderator
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Re: Identity of the Holy Ghost [message #1029 is a reply to message #1023] |
Tue, 28 August 2012 00:08 |
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Dragon
Messages: 499 Registered: June 2010 Location: Earth
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Senior Member |
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Zephyr,
If the God we know is called God1, and He achieved Godhood under God2, who achieved godhood under God3, etc, how did the first one achieve godhood? How did any being attain to the rank of God before an atonement had been made? I cannot accept the answer that the number of Gods does not end. If that is so, then truly time has no meaning, and other possibilities are opened. For surely if mortal experience requires time, then there must have been at some point in history a time when no God existed, for every God was once as Man is now. Can you see the difficulty I have with wrapping the whole thing up in an infinity and calling it a holy mystery? That's too Catholic for me.
- Dragon
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Re: Identity of the Holy Ghost [message #1031 is a reply to message #1029] |
Tue, 28 August 2012 00:11 |
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JulesGP
Messages: 357 Registered: May 2012 Location: Davis County, UT
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Senior Member |
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Dragon wrote on Tue, 28 August 2012 00:08Zephyr,
If the God we know is called God1, and He achieved Godhood under God2, who achieved godhood under God3, etc, how did the first one achieve godhood? How did any being attain to the rank of God before an atonement had been made? I cannot accept the answer that the number of Gods does not end. If that is so, then truly time has no meaning, and other possibilities are opened. For surely if mortal experience requires time, then there must have been at some point in history a time when no God existed, for every God was once as Man is now. Can you see the difficulty I have with wrapping the whole thing up in an infinity and calling it a holy mystery? That's too Catholic for me.
My thought along this line, is - What if God1 is the god we worship, and you become God2, and Zephyr is God3, etc.... How did God1 become God1? How could he have always existed? Or did he just pop into existence one day? That is just as baffling to me as what you are struggling with.
~Jules
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Re: Identity of the Holy Ghost [message #1035 is a reply to message #1029] |
Tue, 28 August 2012 16:50 |
zephyr
Messages: 129 Registered: May 2012
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Senior Member |
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Dragon wrote on Tue, 28 August 2012 02:08Zephyr,
If the God we know is called God1, and He achieved Godhood under God2, who achieved godhood under God3, etc, how did the first one achieve godhood? How did any being attain to the rank of God before an atonement had been made? I cannot accept the answer that the number of Gods does not end. If that is so, then truly time has no meaning, and other possibilities are opened. For surely if mortal experience requires time, then there must have been at some point in history a time when no God existed, for every God was once as Man is now. Can you see the difficulty I have with wrapping the whole thing up in an infinity and calling it a holy mystery? That's too Catholic for me.
Why is it easier to comprehend something that never ends, than something that always was? We believe that we will be exalted, and that we will exalt our children, and they theirs for endless generations. Does that mean that there is an endless supply of intelligences who will become their children? How is this any different than believing in "God's above on another everlastingly"? The only difference I see is direction.
Will "God's and matter end"?
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Re: Identity of the Holy Ghost [message #1042 is a reply to message #1041] |
Wed, 29 August 2012 20:14 |
zephyr
Messages: 129 Registered: May 2012
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Senior Member |
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I researched this further and found the section of the 16 June 1844 sermon that Elder McConkie was most likely referring to. It was not a direct quote, but a conclusion:
Abraham's Reasoning
I learned a testimony concerning Abraham, and he reasoned concerning the God of heaven. "In order to do that," said he, "suppose we have two facts: that supposes another fact may exist--two men on the earth, one wiser than the other, would logically show that another who is wiser than the wisest may exist. Intelligences exist one above another, so that there is no end to them."
If Abraham reasoned thus--If Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and John discovered that God the Father of Jesus Christ had a Father, you may suppose that He had a Father also. Where was there ever a son without a father? And where was there ever a father without first being a son? Whenever did a tree or anything spring into existence without a progenitor? And everything comes in this way. Paul says that which is earthly is in the likeness of that which is heavenly, Hence if Jesus had a Father, can we not believe that He had a Father also? I despise the idea of being scared to death at such a doctrine, for the Bible is full of it.
I want you to pay particular attention to what I am saying. Jesus said that the Father wrought precisely in the same way as His Father had done before Him. As the Father had done before? He laid down His life, and took it up the same as His Father had done before. He did as He was sent, to lay down His life and take it up again; and then was committed unto Him the keys. I know it is good reasoning.
(Joseph Smith, Meeting in the Grove, east of the Temple, June 16, 1844)
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Re: Identity of the Holy Ghost [message #1047 is a reply to message #1042] |
Thu, 30 August 2012 18:33 |
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Dragon
Messages: 499 Registered: June 2010 Location: Earth
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Senior Member |
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How could it be any other way? The first answer is I believe it MUST be another way, because the way you are describing does not make sense to me. Truly, I have yet to find any understanding of things before the time Heavenly Father was a man. As I described this conundrum to my wife, I told her if I only had a piece of the knowledge, some little part of the big picture which I KNOW is true, then perhaps I could allow my mind to explore the possibilities relative to that nugget of knowledge. Today, I found my nugget.
Alma 37:12 And it may suffice if I only say they are preserved for a wise purpose, which purpose is known unto God; for he doth counsel in wisdom over all his works, and his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round.
1 Nephi 10:19 For he that diligently seeketh shall find; and the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto them, by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well in these times as in times of old, and as well in times of old as in times to come; wherefore, the course of the Lord is one eternal round.
Alma 7:20 I perceive that it has been made known unto you, by the testimony of his word, that he cannot walk in crooked paths; neither doth he vary from that which he hath said; neither hath he a shadow of turning from the right to the left, or from that which is right to that which is wrong; therefore, his course is one eternal round.
D&C 35:1 Listen to the voice of the Lord your God, even Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, whose course is one eternal round, the same today as yesterday, and forever.
D&C 3:2 For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round.
What does it mean to be one eternal round? It means everything that happens has happened before, in a slightly different way. This day we are in now is similar to a time from the past and a time in the future. The difference between those times is in who plays the roles and what level of progression each being has obtained. If I carry this thought forward into eternity, I see eternal progression. If I carry this thought backwards, it suggests to me there was a starting point. I cannot define that starting point, but it should exist based on my understanding of this nugget of knowledge.
- Dragon
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Re: Identity of the Holy Ghost [message #1214 is a reply to message #1039] |
Tue, 09 October 2012 00:27 |
Amonhi
Messages: 237 Registered: June 2010 Location: Las Vegas, NV.
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Dragon wrote on Tue, 28 August 2012 22:47Direction IS the difference. It is one thing to say there is an eternal posterity of Gods, where one generation after the next progresses to Godhood. We already have a mortal analogy. But if you run it backwards, there would be less and less Gods as you backward in time or on the posterity. In the same way, if we look backward on our family tree, eventually everyone on Earth is descended from Noah, or Adam if you choose to go back that far. Is there a first God? There was a first man. I have yet to see a credible quote stating Gods have always been.
The One God, or All God was the first and it created all things including our Father and his, forever. We become God by being One with it. It is discussed in another thread one this forum.
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Will there be other Saviors for other worlds? [message #1278 is a reply to message #1214] |
Sun, 21 October 2012 12:44 |
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JulesGP
Messages: 357 Registered: May 2012 Location: Davis County, UT
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Quote: "If he yields to temptation, we will give unto him the law of sacrifice, and we will provide a Savior for him, as we counseled in the beginning, that man may be brought forth by the power of the redemption and the resurrection, and come again into our presence, and with us partake of eternal life and exaltation. "
To me, this implies that the Savior that was provided for us in our sphere of creation, was just for us - because WE (OUR Adam...), yielded to temptation. It was part of an arrangement for US, and this means that the Atonement was not just a universal catch-all for the sins of anyone in the universe. It was specific to us US. So that would also imply, that in other creation spheres, there would be other Saviors provided for them if they needed one.
~Jules
[Updated on: Sun, 21 October 2012 13:03] Report message to a moderator
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Re: Identity of the Holy Ghost [message #1393 is a reply to message #1213] |
Wed, 07 November 2012 23:36 |
Kronos369
Messages: 7 Registered: August 2012 Location: Las Vegas
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Dragon wrote on Mon, 08 October 2012 15:30An interesting quote, to be sure. Especially when you consider that Science estimates the age of our sun as 5 billion years, and the age of the universe at 10 billion years. Now, in the science of Astrophysics, being off by a factor of 4 is still coming pretty close. Or, this is not the first eternity since the Big Bang.
Do you believe in the big bang dragon? Because that is what it sounds like to me. Sorry if I got you wrong. Those dates you listed are way off and are not to be trusted. fwiw, there was no big bang! The big bang goes against ALL the teachings of the Jesus Christ. If the truth be told, Einstein, Hawkins, Darwin, and Newton all got it all wrong and in a very big way. There is no such things as black holes, bending time and space, or big bang. Space is not empty. And Gravity doesn't rule the universe.
"Today's scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments, and they wander off through equation after equation, and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality." (or relation to the gospel) -- Nikola Telsa -- One of the greatest inventors & engineers of this last dispensation. A few of his inventions are- electricity, light bulbs, fluorescent lighting, radars, lasers, radio, television sets, robotics, spark plugs, X-Rays, the electric motor, the Tesla coil, alternating current (AC) electrical supply system that included a motor and transformer (that provides your light and electricity), and 3-phase electricity to name a few. Thus the name, "The man who lit the world."
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Re: Will there be other Saviors for other worlds? [message #1404 is a reply to message #1399] |
Thu, 08 November 2012 16:20 |
Kronos369
Messages: 7 Registered: August 2012 Location: Las Vegas
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Junior Member |
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JulesGP wrote on Thu, 08 November 2012 14:01Dragon wrote on Tue, 23 October 2012 08:00JulesGP,
Your implication hangs a lot of doctrinal weight upon a single word. There are many quotes listed above by those in authority to indicate the sacrifice of Jehovah was the one and only sacrifice ever needed on this world or any other. Can you provide quotes by those in authority who agree with and expound upon the implication you believe?
Are you saying that you believe the Savior Jesus Christ atoned for the sins of the worlds of other Gods, and those previous to when our God came to be? What I have read so far in this thread doesn't seem to support that position unequivocally. It seems to me that the atonement of our Savior would apply to THESE worlds in which the Savior has business with:
Quote: 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.
I think I follow you Jules! It goes along the same lines when Joseph Smith said.. "There are no angels who administer to this earth but who belong or have belonged to this earth."
It also goes along the lines that no man, nor prophet has ever been allowed in the flesh to see all gods creations. Only the creation of this earth and those who belong to it.
A major misconception about the The Pearl of Great price is that
Moses and Abraham were allowed to see many creations and many of Gods kingdoms. But this is just not so.
Here is the exchange between Moses and the Lord.
Moses 1;3 And God spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I am the Lord God Almighty, and Endless is my name; for I am without beginning of days or end of years; and is not this endless?
4 And, behold, thou art my son; wherefore look, and I will show thee the workmanship of mine hands; but not all, for my works are without end, and also my words, for they never cease.
5 Wherefore, no man can behold all my works, except he behold all my glory; and no man can behold all my glory, and afterwards remain in the flesh on the earth.
6 And I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; and thou art in the similitude of mine Only Begotten; and mine Only Begotten is and shall be the Savior, for he is full of grace and truth; but there is no God beside me, and all things are present with me, for I know them all.
(What's interesting here and will shortly be explained is when God says,"mine Only Begotten is and shall be the Savior" he is talking about the Savior of this world only and all those who belong to it. Not Other worlds. I guess he could be, but I am starting to believe it only pertains to this world)
7 And now, behold, this one thing I show unto thee, Moses, my son, for thou art in the world, and now I show it unto thee.
8 And it came to pass that Moses looked, and beheld the world upon which he was created; and Moses beheld the world and the ends thereof, and all the children of men which are, and which were created; of the same he greatly marveled and wondered.
We continue on latter in the account...
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.
36 And it came to pass that Moses spake unto the Lord, saying: Be merciful unto thy servant, O God, and tell me concerning this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, and also the heavens, and then thy servant will be content.
37 And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying: The heavens, they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine.
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.
39 For behold, this is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
40 And now, Moses, my son, I will speak unto thee concerning this earth upon which thou standest; and thou shalt write the things which I shall speak.
It is clear Moses was only shown those things, both heaven and earth that pertained to this earth only. This also brings up the next misconception but when taken into light of what Moses actually was allowed to see(this earth only) and that Abraham was only allowed to see the same thing, things start to become clear.
On another note, The book of Abraham is not some secret revelation by God or Joseph Smith or some hidden mystery. Joseph Smith was only telling us what the Egyptians themselves believed about these symbols. This is a fact!! When one understands this, then the images will start to come alive and bring clarity and understanding.
One example is figure 3 in the hypocephalus where Joseph wrote: "Is made to represent God, sitting upon his throne, clothed with power and authority, with a crown of eternal light upon his head."
These are the words Joseph chose to depict the Egyptian god Horus seated in his solar boat.
The words "made to represent" clearly indicates he is interpreting the meaning attributed to it by the Egyptians. The "who" that made these images - to represent things, were the Egyptians themselves. Not God or Joseph Smith. Can this phrase have any other interpretation?? No it can't. So Joseph Smith's interpretations are nothing more than descriptions of the symbols of the facsimiles. There is insurmountable evidence that also confirms this and also proves Joseph had the right interpretations.
Joseph Smith's interpretations are spot on. In fact, when one is familiar with the works of Anthony Larson, David Talbott and Dwardu Cardona, the works the Book of Abraham will come alive and finally make so much more sense. It will also increase ones testimony of Joseph Smith and bring much clarity of the imagery so often used by the prophets. Or in other words, the language of the prophets. Metaphors, sacred imagery, symbolism. (Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Joel, Isaiah, John the Revelator, the Savior, Joseph Smith ect..)
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