So, now we have attempted, although it be an attempt severely wanting, to realize the vastness in the creation of the universe. The truth is, not even our most brilliant scientists know how large, "the heavens" (Gen. 1:1) are. I am confident we can agree, however, it would be a long walk to the moon. Let's move on to a part of the creation that we haven't discussed...the creation of man.
Through multiple revelations and translations, for example, came a description of a universe far, far exceeding the astrophysics of the 1830s, a cosmos containing “worlds without number” and advising us further that the “inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters [of] God” (Moses 1:33; D&C 76:24).Anciently, the vastness of Abraham’s eventual posterity was compared to the sand of the sea, a staggering promise (see Gen. 22:17).
I brought this from the previous chapter, in order to point something out, that you may have missed. After "worlds without number" was mentioned, it goes on to imply that all of these worlds are also inhabited by the sons and daughters of God. Yes, you understood me correctly. All of these other worlds, that can't be numbered, are inhabited by the children of "The Almighty". But, wouldn't that make sense? In all of the unmeasured heavens that God has created, the galaxies, planets, suns and stars, it would be a little silly to make all of that space for the children of God, on this little earth. I heard it said in the movie, "First Contact", starring Jodi Foster. Her father said, "For us to be the only people in the universe would be an awful lot of wasted space". I don't think I could have said it better. So, we have just cast some serious doubt as to this planet, earth, being the only planet, in all of God's heavens, that He has placed His children, to live.
If you will notice, in the title of this chapter, it says 'the origins of man'. No, that's not a mistake. Origins is the correct word. Thus far, we have discussed the natural, or physical or mortal, creation of the heavens, the earth and man. I would also venture to suggest to you that this is the second creation, as well. That's right, God created the heavens, the earth and man spiritually, before He created them physically. There are several references to this fact, in the christian scriptures, which I choose to use, because I am a Christian, but I am only going to give you two.
"Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?" Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (Job 38:1-7) God is referring Job back to the creation. I want to refer you to the last part, 'sons of God shouted for joy'. This would suggest that spirits existed before the physical creation of the heavens and the earth.
"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5) There are some things I would like to call your attention to, right now. 1. God knew Jeremiah before He formed him in the womb. This is pretty straight forward and applies to all of us, as well. We existed before the second creation. This is where our value as a physical person begins to come to light. 2. I sanctified thee. To be sanctified is "To be pardoned from punishment for sin and declared guiltless. A person is justified by the Savior’s grace through faith in him. This faith is shown by repentance and obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel. Jesus Christ’s atonement enables mankind to repent and be justified or pardoned from punishment they otherwise would receive." (Old Testament Bible Dictionary) These are the conditions we must meet, in order for us to realize our full potential, not as a man, but as a 'Child of God' and heir to all of His creations. Here is what really brings it all home, if we ever doubt our worth. 3. I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Now, we all cannot be prophets to the nations, but we can be prophets over the things God has given us responsibility for. Our family, job, service to God or anything else He may put in our charge. This strongly suggests that we were called, before we were born, to serve a specific mission on this earth, if we live the commandments, as He has given them to us and if we accept the call.
Before you read any further, in this book, I would like you to stop and reflect on the things you have just read. Do not take them at face value. Pray for the spirit to testify the truthfulness of these words to you. "The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man, availeth much." (James 5:16)
Monday, June 14, 2010
How Did This World Come To Be?
During the course of this book, my goal is to help you realize: 1. Your innate relationship with God; 2. The power you have and can have to achieve anything you desire; and 3. What the secrets are, to harness this power. In fact, when you find out how easy it is, you will probably ask yourself why you haven't found this before. To do this, I need to establish one concept, and that is, "How did we come to be."
OK, so let's begin with that well known scripture, "In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth." (Gen. 1:1) And, as the story goes, God also created the lights, which is the sun, moon and stars. He created all plant life, animal life, marine life and the birds of the air. You probably say, "Yeah, I know that God created the Heavens and the Earth. So, what's new?" First, let's just explore this phrase, to see what all it involves.
"God created the Heavens...". Let's address this, for a moment. We may know the heavens as our solar system, which consists of our sun, this earth and the other eight planets ( I'd rather not give up on Pluto, I don't care what the scientists, say.) Did you know it takes over four days for man to fly to the moon? Did you know it took the Mars' spacecraft over three months, to travel from earth to Mars? It takes several years for our spacecraft to leave our solar system and there is only one star in our solar system...the sun.
We hear space scientists refer to distance in terms of 'light years'. That would be the 'speed of light', 286,000 miles per second. So, a light year consists of the distance covered, traveling at 286,000 miles per second, for one year. And these scientists speak about traveling many, many light years to the next galaxy, thousands of light years to the next star. And to the end of the Universe? Our scientists don't even know where the end of the Universe is.
We know there are millions, no, billions upon billions of stars in the universe, that we can identify. How many more stars are in the parts of the Universe that we can't see? Through multiple revelations and translations, for example, came a description of a universe far, far exceeding the astrophysics of the 1830s, a cosmos containing “worlds without number” and advising us further that the “inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters [of] God” (Moses 1:33; D&C 76:24).
Anciently, the vastness of Abraham’s eventual posterity was compared to the sand of the sea, a staggering promise (see Gen. 22:17). The Restoration’s revelations and translations accommodate a vast universe; thus it is no surprise to us that scientists’ latest estimate of the number of stars in the universe is approximately 70 sextillion—“more stars in the sky,” scientists say, “than there are grains of sand in every beach and desert on Earth” (Allison M. Heinrichs, “The Stellar Census: 70 Sextillion,” Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2003; see also Carl Sagan, Cosmos [1980], 196). Let's just say that we cannot comprehend the vastness of God's creation, with the human mind's eye. Let's move on, because we could never come up with a feasible answer to the amount of space God created in our Universe, let alone all of the other Universes He created besides this one. Now, isn't that pretty amazing? And all of this was done for the benefit of man.
OK, so let's begin with that well known scripture, "In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth." (Gen. 1:1) And, as the story goes, God also created the lights, which is the sun, moon and stars. He created all plant life, animal life, marine life and the birds of the air. You probably say, "Yeah, I know that God created the Heavens and the Earth. So, what's new?" First, let's just explore this phrase, to see what all it involves.
"God created the Heavens...". Let's address this, for a moment. We may know the heavens as our solar system, which consists of our sun, this earth and the other eight planets ( I'd rather not give up on Pluto, I don't care what the scientists, say.) Did you know it takes over four days for man to fly to the moon? Did you know it took the Mars' spacecraft over three months, to travel from earth to Mars? It takes several years for our spacecraft to leave our solar system and there is only one star in our solar system...the sun.
We hear space scientists refer to distance in terms of 'light years'. That would be the 'speed of light', 286,000 miles per second. So, a light year consists of the distance covered, traveling at 286,000 miles per second, for one year. And these scientists speak about traveling many, many light years to the next galaxy, thousands of light years to the next star. And to the end of the Universe? Our scientists don't even know where the end of the Universe is.
We know there are millions, no, billions upon billions of stars in the universe, that we can identify. How many more stars are in the parts of the Universe that we can't see? Through multiple revelations and translations, for example, came a description of a universe far, far exceeding the astrophysics of the 1830s, a cosmos containing “worlds without number” and advising us further that the “inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters [of] God” (Moses 1:33; D&C 76:24).
Anciently, the vastness of Abraham’s eventual posterity was compared to the sand of the sea, a staggering promise (see Gen. 22:17). The Restoration’s revelations and translations accommodate a vast universe; thus it is no surprise to us that scientists’ latest estimate of the number of stars in the universe is approximately 70 sextillion—“more stars in the sky,” scientists say, “than there are grains of sand in every beach and desert on Earth” (Allison M. Heinrichs, “The Stellar Census: 70 Sextillion,” Los Angeles Times, 26 July 2003; see also Carl Sagan, Cosmos [1980], 196). Let's just say that we cannot comprehend the vastness of God's creation, with the human mind's eye. Let's move on, because we could never come up with a feasible answer to the amount of space God created in our Universe, let alone all of the other Universes He created besides this one. Now, isn't that pretty amazing? And all of this was done for the benefit of man.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Breaking Away
While I'm researching and writing my first chapter for my book, I thought I would just share with you a quick victory, in my life, that came only by the good graces of God.
Since 2005, my children have placed, upon me, the blame and responsibility for the dissolving of our family. For a while, I thought it was my fault, that my actions, alone, caused the destruction of my family. I did everything possible to make things better and get the family to reunite. But, all of the apologies I made, all of the sacrifices I made, all of the counseling I went to, all of the sleep I lost and all of the tears I cried were not enough to bring us back together again. I searched and I searched for anything else I could possibly do to make things right, but could find none. While I was blaming myself, along with all of the other people that were blaming me, for the disintegration of my family, my mind was suddenly cleared and my spiritual eyes were opened when God told me that I have done everything I could possibly do and everything I should do to get this family back together. He said the responsibility was not with me, anymore, that it lies with the family members who turned away from my wife and myself. He said they are the ones who need to forgive, now. They are the ones who need to put this situation behind them, forget it and move on. And he said that is what I should do, also. He said I should put it all behind me, forget it and move on, because as long as I was living in the past, I could not serve and help Him, in the future. And, I have done that. My children still don’t speak to me, I don’t even get the recognition of existence. But that is ok because it is their choice, not mine, to keep the family broken up. I cannot make their decisions for them. All I can do is make the best of the decisions they make. And the best I can do is to move on, do what I am supposed to do and leave the family situation in God’s hands. And that is what I’ve done…and believe it or not, I am happy with the decision I made. When I doubted, He reassured me, when I erred, He forgave me, when I cried He comforted me and when I fell He lifted me up. I am exactly where God wants me to be at this point if my life. Ever learning, ever loving Him, ever looking to Him for strength and direction. Praise God!
Since 2005, my children have placed, upon me, the blame and responsibility for the dissolving of our family. For a while, I thought it was my fault, that my actions, alone, caused the destruction of my family. I did everything possible to make things better and get the family to reunite. But, all of the apologies I made, all of the sacrifices I made, all of the counseling I went to, all of the sleep I lost and all of the tears I cried were not enough to bring us back together again. I searched and I searched for anything else I could possibly do to make things right, but could find none. While I was blaming myself, along with all of the other people that were blaming me, for the disintegration of my family, my mind was suddenly cleared and my spiritual eyes were opened when God told me that I have done everything I could possibly do and everything I should do to get this family back together. He said the responsibility was not with me, anymore, that it lies with the family members who turned away from my wife and myself. He said they are the ones who need to forgive, now. They are the ones who need to put this situation behind them, forget it and move on. And he said that is what I should do, also. He said I should put it all behind me, forget it and move on, because as long as I was living in the past, I could not serve and help Him, in the future. And, I have done that. My children still don’t speak to me, I don’t even get the recognition of existence. But that is ok because it is their choice, not mine, to keep the family broken up. I cannot make their decisions for them. All I can do is make the best of the decisions they make. And the best I can do is to move on, do what I am supposed to do and leave the family situation in God’s hands. And that is what I’ve done…and believe it or not, I am happy with the decision I made. When I doubted, He reassured me, when I erred, He forgave me, when I cried He comforted me and when I fell He lifted me up. I am exactly where God wants me to be at this point if my life. Ever learning, ever loving Him, ever looking to Him for strength and direction. Praise God!
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