Discourses of Brigham Young, p48
"The creations of God – the worlds that are and the worlds that have been, – who can grasp in the vision of his mind the truth that there never has been a time when there have not been worlds like this, and that there never will be a time when there will not be worlds organized and prepared for intelligent beings to dwell upon?"
B. H. Roberts, Comprehensive History of the Church, vol 2, Ch.63, pp 393-394
"It is these differences in intelligences that lead to order in the universe. Those more advanced governing, controlling, devising, organizing, forming societies, making governments, civilizations–all which shall tend to increase the glory and power and joy of all: 'Men are that they might have joy,' is a Book of Mormon passage. 'This is my work and my glory,' Joseph Smith represents God as saying, 'to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.' To this end Divine Intelligences bring into existence worlds and world systems, sustain and guide them through immense cycles of time, and through processes that lead from chaos to cosmos, from telestial to celestial, and when attaining a point beyond which they may not be exalted in their present forms, breaking those forms, disintegrating them, to bring them forth again to reach a grander cosmos–worlds without
number have thus passed away, by the word of God's power, and many now stand, innumerable unto man; and as one earth and its heavens shall pass away, so shall another come, and there is no end to this work, to this evolution, and this devolution. And so the eternal drama proceeds. Intelligences meanwhile standing indestructible amidst this organization and disorganization of worlds; this integrating and disintegrating of things. This movement is from lower to higher estates, from little to greater excellences; yet this without attaining to 'highest' or 'perfect,' because, to repeat, advancement in the infinite knows no ultimates. Meanwhile intelligences amid these changes, under the law of eternal progress, are ever increasing in power, glory, might, dominion, benevolence, charity, justice; and all else that can make for the increase of their power and glory. In which strivings and achievements eternal evil is always potentially, and sometimes actively, present. Indeed it makes necessary and possible, in fact, the very strivings and achievements, and is the 'foil on which good produces itself, and becomes known."
B.H. Roberts, Man's Relationship To Deity
"The Prophet Joseph Smith is credited with having said that our planet was made up of the fragments of a planet which previously existed; some mighty convulsions disrupted that creation and made it desolate. Both its animal and vegetable life forms were destroyed. And when those convulsions ceased, and the rent earth was again consolidated, and it became desirable to replenish it, the work was begun by making a mist to rise, that it might descend in gentle rain upon the barren earth, that it might again be fruitful. Then came one of the sons of God to the earth-Adam. A garden was planted in Eden and the man placed in it, and there the Lord brought to him every beast of the field
and every fowl of the air, and Adam gave names to them all. Afterwards was brought to Adam his wife, whom, since she was derived from man, he named woman; and she became his help-mate, his companion and the mother of his children. In this nothing is hinted at about man being made from the dust, and woman manufactured from a rib, a story which has been a cause of much perplexity to religious people, and a source of much impious merriment to reckless unbelievers. We are informed that the Lord God made every plant of the field before it was in the earth' and every herb before it grew on our planet. As vegetation was created or made to grow upon some older earth, and the seeds thereof or the plants themselves were brought to our earth and made to grow, so likewise man and his helpmate were brought from some other world to our own."
B.H. Roberts, The Truth The Way The Life, ch25
"'Creation' and God. As in the case of the time period of creation, so in the 'manner' of creation, we may not wholly accept either of the theories or any of the variations of them proposed. We start, of course, with God as the Creator of the earth and its heavens. They were created at his command, and by his power, and under the operation of laws of creation. All which, however, does not require us to believe that the creation of the earth and its heavens was made instantly, as by magic, or by any absolutely new process; nor
that the things 'created,' any more than the order, were new and for the first time
produced. Both the things created and the order of their production must have been many
times repeated in the multitudinous worlds of the universe, where creations in some
manner have if, as we have presented the case been going on eternally.
"There are older worlds than ours in existence, inhabited by myriads of forms of life,
vegetable and animal, such as live in the seas and fly in the air and roam over the plains
and through the forests; ... the superior intelligences of older worlds have mastered the
problems not only of interplanetary and intersolar system communication, but also of
interplanetary transportation, indeed universal communication and transportation
throughout the universe-then it is possible that some method of transportation may have
been employed in conveying life in varied forms from other worlds to ours."
fides quaerens intellectum
Enoch at Qumran
The Background
The Book of Enoch consists of 5 separate books that have been combined into one document: the Book of the Watchers (1-36), the Similtudes (Parables) of Enoch (37-71), the Astromonical Book (72-82), the Book of Dreams (83-90), and the Epistle of Enoch (91-107). including the Apocalypse of Weeks (93:1-10; 91:11-17). Aramaic fragments of all sections of the Book of Enoch except the Similtudes and the concluding discourse (108) have been found at Qumran. Four copies of the Astronomical Book were found (4Q208-211). Seven manuscripts contain fragments of the other sections of the Book of Enoch. 4QEna and 4QEnb (4Q201, 202) only contain fragments of the Book of the Watchers. 4QEnd and 4QEne (4Q205, 206) combine fragments of the Book of the Watchers, the Book of Dreams, and the end of the Epistle and the Book of Noah (104-107), 4QEnf (4Q207) contains a fragment of the Book of Dreams, and 4QEng (4Q212) consists of fragments of the Epistle. J.T. Milik reported that the Book of Giants takes the place of the Similtudes in the Qumran literature. There were two fragmentary copies of the Book of Giants found in cave 1 (1Q23-24), one from cave 2 (2Q26), and five from cave 4 (4Q203, 530-33). Milik argued that these five Enochic books which made up 1 Enoch for the Qumran community constituted an Enochic pentateuch that served as a counterpart of the Mosaic pentateuch. J.J. Collins argues, however, that there is no textual evidence that the Enochic corpus was conceived of as a pentateuch or correlated with the Mosaic Torah. He uses the Astronomical Book as evidence because this book was copied on a separate scroll and has been thought to have circulated independently of the other Enochic texts. Collins suggests that the order of the collection reflects the sequence of Enoch's supposed career as D. Dimant proposed.
The Texts
The earliest of the Enochic corpus found at Qumran is the Astronomical Book, which dates to the third century BCE and consists of insights and revelations Enoch passes on to his son Methuselah from the angel Uriel. The majority of the book contains information on the solar and lunar calendar systems and on the astronomical positions of the heavenly bodies. The book presents Uriel, whose name means 'light of God' or 'flame of God' as the teacher of the true calendar. He also is the leader of the angels who control the heavenly bodies in relation to the calendar. 1 En 82:1 mentions that all of the stars have their angelic guides and then continues with descriptions of each angel's appointed role over the stars and the seasons. Finally, Uriel allows Enoch to read "the book of the heavenly tablets," which contains "all the deeds of humanity and all the children of the flesh upon the earth for all the generations of the world." (1 En 81:1-3) This verse indicates that the course of human existence has been predetermined and recorded, thus showing a strong deterministic outlook. The chapter is distinct from the rest of the book because of its lack of cosmological interest and the way it presents itself as an early apocalypse. Several scholars have proposed that this chapter is a later work that has been incorporated into the book after the Book of Dreams was composed. Martinez points out that copies of these chapters were not found at Qumran, admitting that this could easily be explained by the accidents of transmission and by the poor condition in which the fragments are now known, but he suggests that this supports the belief that the original work did not contain this chapter and was later inserted.
The Book of the Watchers is the second oldest book in the Enochic corpus and the oldest apocalypse known providing chapter 81 of the Astronomical Book was a later insertion. The earliest of the Qumran texts date to the beginning to the middle of the second century BCE. This text appears to be a composite of stories and traditions written by a number of different people. 4QEna and 4QEnb seem to contain only this writing providing evidence that the text may have circulated independently of the other sections of the Book of Enoch. Chapters 1-5 serve as an introduction to the rest of the book, beginning with a distinction between the "chosen and righteous" and the "wicked and impious," and continuing with along eschatological paradigm concerned with the final judgment of the righteous and the wicked. Enoch serves as the prophet and foretells God's coming to judge. Mention is made to the Watchers, who are said to 'quiver' at the revelation of God (1 En 1:5). Chapters 2-5 present the coming judgment is a different manner, as in the wisdom literature. Reference is made both to those who choose to follow the law and to those who willingly choose a path of sin and wickedness, and as a result, Enoch pronounces curses on the wicked, but predicts a blessed state for the "chosen" where they will remain free from sin.
The second section major section is composed of chap 6-16 and presents stories about the descent and sin of the angels (6-11) and about Enoch's mediation of the Watchers' petition to God (12-16). There are two main stories about the descent of the angels: the first focuses around Shemihazah while the second focuses around Asa'el (The name Asa'el instead of Azaz'el comes from the earlier Aramaic fragments found at Qumran - 4QEnochb).
The story of Shemihazah includes several major elements. The Watchers look down from heaven and desire the daughters of men (6:1-8). They swear an oath to fulfill their desires and then descend, marry women, and defile themselves with women (7:1). While they are on earth, they teach women about charms, spells, root-cutting, and plants (7:1), and various other arts including astrology (8:3). The women then give birth to giants who consume all the human food supplies, and turn to cannibalism (7:2-5). The oppressed human survivors petition heaven for help against the giants, and their cries are heard by the angels who did not descend (8:4; cf 7:6). These angels present the situation to God (9:1-5,7-11), who consequently orders the giants to be slain (10:9-10) and the Watchers to be imprisoned beneath the hills until the day of judgments (10:11-12) when they will be imprisoned in the fiery abyss (10:13). The story involving Asa'el differs in several ways. Asa'el educates humankind of heavenly secrets that lead humankind to sin. These teachings include making weapons of war and preparing cosmetics, which enabled the women to seduce the angels (8:1-2). The angels then charge Asa'el before the Lord with crimes of revealing the heavenly secrets which mankind was not supposed to know (9:6). Raphael was then assigned to punish Asa'el by binding him hand and foot and throwing him into the darkness among the sharp and jagged rocks, where he would remain until the day of judgment when he would be hurled into the fire (10:4-5). The story then claims that "the whole earth has been corrupted by [Asa'el's] teachings of his (own) actions; and write upon him all sin." (10:8) . It was because of Asa'el's teachings that God sent the Flood to destroy the evil in the world (10:1-3) including even the souls of the giants (10:15), so that all evil will be wiped away from the face of the earth.
The cause of sin entering the world is different in each of these stories. In the Shemihazah story, sin enters the world through contamination by marriage between angels and humans and the procreation of giants, whereas in the Asa'el story, sin enters through his revealing of heavenly secrets. The Asa'el narrative also implies that the time before the angelic transgression was therefore free of evil.
Both of these stories can be compared to the Genesis story about the sons of God and the daughters of men (Gen 6:1-4) , but both have elaborated on the text. For example, while Genesis presents the intermixing of the angels and women and the offspring of their union in a neutral way, both 1 Enoch narratives present the interaction between angels and humans as the root of evil and violence. Later passages in Genesis 6 explain that the human heart is inclined towards evil, and that God sent the Flood to destroy the wickedness in the world without connecting humanity's sins to the transgressions of the Watchers, whereas the Enoch passages explain that evil entered the world through the angels.
It is significant that both distinct traditions in Enoch are allowed to stand in a certain degree of tension, and these elaborations of Genesis 6 have been interpreted as allegories to historical events. George Nickelsburg, for example, argues that the Shemihazah material is a reflection of the wars of the Diadochi, the Hellenistic princes who succeeded Alexander the Great and who thought of themselves as divine . An alternative view by D.W. Suter emphasizes the sexual sin of the Shemihazah material in relation to the Jewish priesthood. The Asa'el narrative could also be interpreted as a reflection of Hellenistic impact on Israel.
After the stories of the fall of the Watchers (chs. 6-11), Enoch is reintroduced again in ch. 12. Here, he serves as an intermediary between God and the fallen angels, and partially performs the jobs given to Raphael (the punishment of Asa'el in 10:4-6) and Michael (the punishment for Shemihazah and his colleagues in 10:11-13). Enoch also intercedes for the Watchers and reprimands them (13:4,6-10;14:1,3-7;15:2;16:2-4) - an element that demonstrates the role reversals between the Watchers and Enoch. It was the angels' duty to intercede for humankind (15:2), but they instead mislead humankind into corruption (15:2-16:4). On the contrary, Enoch, who should have received the benefits of angelic assistance, acted as the mediator for the Watchers.
Enoch also explains why the Watchers have been punished. He states that the angels had become contaminated when they united with humans because they were pure spirits (15:6-7) who did not need to procreate since they did not perish. The offspring of this union, the giants, were killed, however, their souls remained upon the earth to assault humans and produce evils (15:11). In this sense, God was able to eliminate most of the evil produced by the angels, but not all, hence evil can still be accounted for in the world.
fides quaerens intellectum
I found the following article (actually, a collection of apocryphal writings) to be very interesting and wanted to share it with you, my friends. It is no secret that I am LDS (member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) and this info has been compiled by an LDS individual, but I feel that everyone here will find it interesting and informative. Please don't feel like I am trying to force my beliefs on anyone, I simply love to share those things that I find interesting and/or perplexing. Enjoy:
Worlds Without Number
A Compilation from Ancient Documents and Modern Revelation
Compiled By Glen W. Chapman, 1996. Used by permission.
Edited by David Wills, 2002.)
Testimonies From Old and New Testament Period Apocryphal Writings
Old Testament Period Writings:
"And Satan said to Adam, 'I have no need to worship you, I will not worship an inferior being and younger being. I was your senior in the creation. Before you were made I was already made. It is rather your duty to worship me. The angels who are under me refuse to worship you also... Adam I was cast forth from my Glory because of thee, and behold I have caused thee to be expelled from the Garden Paradise. Because thou didst cause me to become a stranger in my home in heaven know thou that I shall never cease to contend against thee and all those who shall come after thee until all go down into my kingdom with me.'" – Combat of Adam and Eve, pp 14-15
"Enoch went to the Lord who taught him all about the creation and his works. He saw matter unorganized before the creation council in Heaven. He saw Satan aspire and get cast out to become the foundation of lower things, beyond which there is great darkness and nothing. And the Lord said 'And now Enoch all that I have explained to thee and all
thou has seen on Earth and all thou hast written in thy books. It is my wisdom that I have organized and made all these things and it was by my word that it was carried out,'
"...And every thing found in the world has been before and has passed before him and has been organized before him... All the creations of the world have existed in each generation before they came to this world. All the souls of the children of men have been before they came down to the world, formed, before him in Heaven in the very likeness that they have in this world... For all souls are prepared to eternity, before the formation of the world." – 2 Enoch 9
"Enoch answered the people saying, 'Before anything was and before the whole Creation took place, the Lord established the age of creation; and after that he made all of the creation both visible and invisible and after that he created man in his own image. He gave him eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart to think with and a mind to council. I
swear to you my children that before man was in the womb of his mother we were prepared, each individual and a place for each spirit that each should sojourn here in his proper time, that man might be tested in the balance." – 2 Enoch 17
"Hear Enoch... not to my angels have I told them rise, nor my endless realm, nor have they understood my creating which I tell thee today. There is born light from light. There came forth a great age, and showed all creation... I want to create another world... and there is
no council nor inheritor to My creations nor assistant. It was I alone who was my advisor: and it was my own word and it was carried out. My eye beheld it all. And now Enoch all that I have explained to thee and written in thy book. It is in My wisdom that I organized
and made all things..." – 2 Enoch 24:3-5
"Nor have they understood my creating which I tell thee today. There is born light from light, there came forth a great age and showed all creation... I want to create another world and there is no counselor nor inheritor to my creation. There are 18,000 worlds known only to God." – Secrets of Enoch 10
"The Lord said to the angel take a book from the deposit and give a pen to Enoch and explain to him and dictate the books to him, so the Angel taught Enoch all the works of Heaven and the earth and the sea and all elements and all time periods and commandments and instructions. So he wote the 360 books of creation." – 2 Enoch 10
"And now my children, I know all things... I have written of the extremities of heavens and what is in them. I have measured the movements of the Hosts. I have completed the counting of the stars a vast multitude. No man can conceive of their revolutions. The
angels themselves do not know their number. I have measured and described the Stars."
– 2 Enoch 13
"And the Angel said to Enoch sit down and write. All of the Spirits of men and those who have not yet been born yet, the places which have been prepared for them. All things
were prepared since before the foundation of the world." – 2 Enoch 9
"He calls them by name and they answer Him from eternity to eternity. As the Father of greatness is in the glorious worlds, so His Son rules among those cosmoses as the first Chief Lord of all the powers." – 1 Enoch 69
"and the earth and planets are but atoms in an infinity of like systems. There is an infinite hierarchy in the worlds ... There's an infinite hierarchy in the worlds" – Sefer Yetzirsh , I, 5, in Akiba ben Joseph
"God's creations are en sof, 'without end.'" – Mishanat ha-Zohar, vol 1, p 127
"This we have learned. Before the Holy One created this world, He had created other worlds and destroyed them" – Zohar III (Noah)
"In some worlds, reproduction is carried out differently from here... There are all sorts of creatures for if you go to any other world he will be the same, and yet he's the most individual of all." – Zohar
"The heavens are without number, and every one of the vaults is like an independent world which in turn contains 1,000 other worlds." – bin Gorion, vol 1, p 59
"God." (he hails God), "God! Thou who dost bring order into the confusion of the universe,
ever preparing and renewing worlds for the righteous." – Apocalypse of Abraham
"Be not afraid, for I am before the world was, a strong God who created even before the
light of the world, I am before the worlds, and a mighty God who created the light of the
world, I will show you the Aeons, and reveal to you that which is secret; and you shall see
great things never before beheld by you; for you have loved to seek me, and I have called
you my friend.... I will show you the Aeons which have been wrought by my word, and
firmly established, created and renewed." – Apocalypse of Abraham IX
"They have the same common source. They are the heralds of His thought, by His word
they communicate with each other. They know Him who made them because they are in
concord. They have a common ruler, a common Lord, so they are in concord with each
other, and they communicate with Him and through Him with each other, for the mouth of
the Most High has spoken to them. The worlds were made by His word and by the thought
of His heart, so they are all as one. There is no rivalry or competition among them, but
they are glorious in their firmaments and agree among themselves, fitting together like
the lashes of an eye. All rejoice in each other, each being more glorious and bright than
the other. There is a hierarchy of brightness,. the range going on forever. each more
glorious than the next...The worlds exchange wisdom with each other because they are
equally dependent upon the Most High...They are the heralds of his thoughts . By His
word, they communicate with each other. They knew Him who made them because they
were in converse, for the mouth of the Most High spake to them. The worlds are made by
his word and thoughts of His heart. So they are all as one... Thy seal is known, and all thy
creatures know it, and thy hosts possess it and the elect angels are clad with it ... Hence
one of the joys of existence is that the worlds constantly exchange with each other what
they have, each possessing something different and peculiar to itself. There is nothing
superfluous anywhere, which means that nothing is a mere duplication of something else."
– 12 Ode of Solomon
The Mandeans of Southern Mesopotamia (Israelites)
"Go down to that place where there is no occupied place, where there is no world, and
create for us another world after the fashion of the Sons of Salvation" – Mandaean
Sakinaa
"God started out by creating a topoa where His children could settle, there to recognize
and to serve Him as their Father."
"Adam, this is the place where you are going to live; your wife Eve will come and join you
here, and here your progeny will thrive."
"The Father taught me about the worlds. Of the Lord and the Glory that abides in them.
The Adam of Light treads upon the earth's trembling foundation which is laid in the midst
of the worlds."
"There is no rivalry or competition among them but they are glorious in their firmaments,
and there is agreement among thee, fitting together like the lashes to the eye. All rejoice
in each other. each being more glorious and bright than the other."
"No words can describe Thy power over all Thy worlds. The Father taught me about the
worlds of the Lord and the glory that abides therin. The atom of light treads upon the
earth's foundation that is laid in the midst of the worlds."
"When beings from different worlds meet, they exchange garments and treasures as an
identification a sign of mutual esteem. For 'the creation of endless worlds follows a single
pattern – that laid down by God the creator. The planets say, 'Come Lord of the gods,
Lord of the entire cosmos.' 'Come be our head, be the head of our whole world.'"
"In the millions of worlds that God has made for his sons every world is different from the
other and wonderful in its own radiance."
"Among ten thousand times ten thousand worlds you will find no two alike. Before this
world, there had already been a thousand thousand mysteries and a myriad of planets
each with their own mysteries or ordinances... He who has fulfilled all the ordinances and
has done good work cannot be held back. We are taught the principles of salvation , so
that we cannot be held back in this world. Those who receive certain teachings and carry
their instructions in this world cannot be held back in this world or the next" – Ginza
(Lidzbarski)
"Christ sounded sounded with a trump in the worlds far and near alike. He roused them all
alike, For He is the Saviour of the worlds. The worlds will come before Him in order and in
shining oath... Those who shut the doors against me will be held back in the abode of
darkness. Those that open the doors to me will advance in the place of light... Adam thou
shalt have progress onward." – Manichaean Psalm-Book
"He determines the number of stars and calls them each by name. Great is our Lord and
mighty in power; His understanding has no limit." – Psalms 147:4-5, NIV
New Testament Period Writings
"There is an appointed place for everything in the Cosmos. There is 'numeristics,' there is
a numbering of souls for each world and a dispensation is not completed until the
teleos-number (completed number) has been fulfilled for that dispensation. Every soul
stays in its appointed place until it has fulfilled the task for the topos, for that place... After
the plan of creation was accepted, it was communicated to all the other worlds, and they
approved and rejoiced... All other worlds look to the same God, also to the common Son.
"Other worlds cannot be described in terms of this one. Not only is there nothing common
between them, between other worlds and this world, they are as different from each
other as any of them is from us... There is a hierarchy among the many worlds. You can
visit the order below you, but not the levels or orders above you.
"There are mysteries so much greater than these that they make these look like a grain of
flour, just as the sun looks like a grain of flour from distant worlds.
"Everyone here on this earth descends, as it were, to the dregs (earth or dirt) and shares
a common substance with all living things... We are passed on from hand to hand, from
degree to degree!! Our example is Adam, who, having been established in Christ and God,
next established his son Seth in the second order which was to follow Him on up." – From
Pistis Sophia
"All the Cosmos follow the pattern of a single world (called the typos) , Ever since the
beginning this has been so. This pattern keeps the entire Physis (physical Universe) in a
state of joy and rejoicing... When we say 'light', we think of our kind of light. But that's
wrong... Marriage for example would be entirely different there from what marriage is
here; but we must designate eternal and heavenly marriage by the same name. Even
though the spirits may be eternal and thus equal in age, they differ in intelligence,
appearance and in other things. These differences are primary. They are as unbegotten as
the spirits themselves." – Sophia Christi
"Not only is there nothing common between them, between other worlds and this world,
they are different from each other as any of them is from us." – Codex 88
"There is no permanence in matter, which is always undergoing change, as worlds come
into existence and pass away. Everything else changes, but only progeny is eternal. Christ
rules in the second place, His rule exactly duplicating the Father's but over a more limited
number of cosmoses. If other stars are greater than our world, then it is necessary that
they contain life greater than ours, and greater peace, and greater justice, and greater
virtue than ours... "The spirits are equal in age, but different in power, intelligence, and
appearance. They have been so throughout all time." – Gospel of Philip
(124:iff) "and we are a special species, true man and son of man ... sons of the
Bridal-chamber (text damaged) in this world. (6ff) The mating in the next world is an
entirely different nature from this one; though we use earthly vocabulary in speaking of
them, (lOfl) there are other forms of union that transcend all description (naming). (17ff)
Indeed, it is not needful that they who have all these things know absolutely everything;
let them enjoy what they have. (23f) The teleio's (initiate) cannot he held back, (26) being
clothed in the garment of holy light; (3ff) even before he leaves this world." – Gospel of
Philip
"Only progeny is immortal, each mounting up from world to world acquiring ever more
treasure while progressing toward His perfection, which awaits them all. Worlds come and
go; only progeny (sonship) is eternal." – Gospel of Philip 123:6-13
"Creation is organization and God is ever bringing order into the universe and He is
progressively ever preparing and renewing worlds for the righteous... at the time of the
creation, the great thought came to the elements, united with them, spirit joining with
matter." – Papyrus Berolinensis 8502
"It is the perfect Father who produced the all, in whom the all is, in whom all are in need
always. Out of the one come the countless multitudes, but yet they remain in the One." All
the other worlds look to the same God as to a common sun... All the cosmoses follow the
pattern of a single world, which is called the type, the archetype. Ever since the beginning
this has been so, keeping the entire physis in the state of joy and rejoicing. The worlds
exchange wisdom with each other because they are equally dependent on the Most
High...All spaces were broken and confused at the time of transition from old worlds to
new... Thus the Word of the Father advances in the cosmos, being the fruit of His heart
and the expression of His will. Through the ordinances one makes progress in knowledge .
...When the flame engulfs substance to form a new unity, then obscurity becomes light,
death becomes life. And old jars are broken to become new...All spaces come forth from
the Father, but at first, they have neither form nor name. " – The Gospel of Truth
"This is not my opinion; this is what the elders used to teach,. There will be another world
after this one. And in the same way, there were other worlds before this one. We thus
share a common Nature with other worlds." – Origen
"God is the Father of all the worlds, He knows them; they keep their courses and
covenants with Him; He calls them by name, and they answer him from eternity to
eternity. As the Father of greatness is in the glorious world, so his Son rules among those
cosmoses as first chief Lord of all the powers " – 1 Clement
"To the Christians is promised endless worlds, endless cosmoses." – Justin Martyr, p 6
"I could write to you (Trallians) about the mysteries of the heavens, but I am afraid to do
so. It would do you harm. I am able to understand the orders of the heavens, the degrees
of angels, the variations among them, and the differences of dominions, of thrones and
powers, and the elevation of the Holy Ghost and the kingdom of the Lord, and the highest
of all rules of God over everywhere else. There is an infinity of hierarchy in the world.
You're not ready for it yet, and the Church is not going to have it." – Ignatius
"To be true and faithful, God gave the dominion over the arrangement of the universe to
the true and faithful. Their rule and their advancement go on forever and ever." – Father
Papias
"Each star existed for the sake of the whole to which it contributed its individuality. Each
had its particular part to play, and, thus, by being unique within itself, could make a
contribution of maximum value." – Plotins
"Christ came down from his vast rule and kingdoms and other worlds to save one percent
of those on this evil earth, and to enroll the human race in the heavenly register... If other
stars are greater than our world, then it is necessary that they contain life greater than
ours, and greater peace, and greater justice, and greater virtue than ours." – Methodius
in the eighteenth volume of the Patrologiae Graecae
"Where my Father is, it's entirely different from this world. There you will see lights that
are nobler than your kind of light. In the millions of worlds that God has made for his son,
every world is different from the others and wonderful in its own radiance. Hence, one of
the joys of existence is that the worlds constantly exchange with each other what they
have, each possessing something different and peculiar to itself. There is nothing
superfluous anywhere, which means that nothing is a mere duplication of something else...
We share a common substance with all living things, and from here on out we begin to
work our way up, step by step to a knowledge of all things, ever seeking for instruction
and carrying out the required ordinances that will lead us to more." – Epistle of the
Apostles
"In the limited confines of the flesh, which condition all our thinking, we can't possibly
grasp the nature of other existences or even begin to count the number of other worlds..
We mortals cant possibly count or reckon the heavens.. The Lord revealed all to me. He
who moved among the worlds. Not only are the countless but the have been going on
forever." – The First Apocalypse of James Nag Hammadi Codex, vol 3
"For the worlds exist, so that intelligent spirits might come and inhabit them. There are
many mansions degrees, and worlds, and they all have but one law. If you keep that law
you too can become a creator of worlds...Every kingdom requires space and will need
more, but by the law of plentitude, perfect economy, no space should be wasted and none
should be crowded " – Second Coptic Gnostic Work
"There are literally all kinds of strange beasts in other worlds that we can't imagine." –
Berlin Papyrus 8502
"At the time of the creation, the great thought came to the elements, united with them,
spirit joining with matter." – Papyrus Berolinensls 8502:2
"When this vitalizing principle touches matter, consciousness is expanded. The worlds of
darkness gathered and beheld His brightness. They breathed His fragrance and orbited
about Him and bowed anew and worshipped Him." – Acts of Thomas 108 (Hymn of the
Soul 93-99) in James, Apocryphal NT, pp 414-415
"There are many mansions, many regions, degrees, worlds, spaces and heavens, but all
have but one law. If you keep that law, you, too, can become creators of worlds." – The
Askew Manuscript
"The treasure or physical substance used by each spark must be taken from other
treasures, and before it can be used it must first be purified... The various elements must
be separated, cleansed, and reclassified for reuse, but we separate it out when we
reclassify it Every new creation, leaves behind the matter of its old ages (its old aeons).
From the beginning, the elements were purified by the holy, living bearers of light. And'
from the first context, they were mixed with the background material and have remained
so ever since" – Manuscript 96
The following from Schmidt & McDermot, Books of Jeu and the Untitled Text:
"There is a place from which all worlds take their origin and prototype : a place of
shadowless light and indescribable joy ... and there is a veil between the worlds. Above
the veil are the heavens. The Firmament is equipped with veils and gates that are
guarded, far removed from the world in which men dwell." – 1 Jeu 39
"In any world as a Yeu becomes a Father in a new world, the Fathers then appoint new
Yeu's (Jehovahs) for new worlds who in turn will become Fathers... Each Yeu has created
for its host ten thousand times ten thousand... The farther advanced one is, the faster one
moves forward... To them that have shall be given more." – 1 Jeu 48:8, 50:1-3
"When I lead you to the topos of those who have received their inheritance ... the Sun will
look like nothing but a tiny speck of cornmeal, because of the enormous distance, and
because the new world is so much greater. (These higher mysteries are not for the
unqualified, who are terrified of them; they go far beyond mortal comprehension)" – 2 Jeu
New Testament References
Hebrews 1:
1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by
the prophets,
2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by [his] Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all
things. by whom also he made the worlds:
3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that
things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Latter Day Scriptures
Doctrine and Covenants 76:
23 For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record
that he is the Only Begotten of the Father.
24 That 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...
39 For all the rest shall be brought forth by the resurrection of the dead, through the
triumph and the glory of the Lamb, who was slain, who was in the bosom of the Father
before the worlds were made...
112 And they shall be servants of the Most High; but where God and Christ dwell they
cannot come, worlds without end.
Doctrine and Covenants 93:
9 The light and the Redeemer of the world; the Spirit of truth, who came into the world,
because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men.
10 The worlds were made by him, men were made by him; all things were made by him,
and through him. and of him.
Moses 1:
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.
41 And in a day when the children of men shall esteem my words as naught and take
many of them from the book which thou shalt write, behold, I will raise up another like
unto thee; and they shall be had again among the children of men–among as many as
shall believe.
Abraham 3:
21 I dwell in the midst of them all; I now, therefore, have come down unto thee to declare
unto thee the works which my hands have made, wherein my wisdom excelleth them all,
for I rule in the heavens above, and in the earth beneath, in all wisdom and prudence,
over all the intelligences shine eyes have seen from the beginning; I came down in the
beginning in the midst of all the intelligences thou hast seen.
22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;
23 And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make ny rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thouwest chosen before thou west born.
24 And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who
were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these
materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell, and we will prove them
herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command
them;...
26 And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their
first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first
estate, and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads
for ever and ever.
History of The Church, vol 5, p254
"Come to me; here's the mysteries man hath not seen, Here's our Father in heaven, and
Mother, the Queen; Here are worlds that have been, and the worlds yet to be: Here's
eternity, endless; amen. Come to me." – Joseph Smith
History of The Church, vol 6, p305
"God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in
yonder heavens! That is the great secret. If the veil were rent today, and the great God
who holds this world in its orbit, and who upholds all worlds and all things by His power,
was to make himself visible,–I say, if you were to see him today, you would see him like a
man in form–like yourselves in all the person, image, and very form as a man; for Adam
was created in the very fashion, image and likeness of God, and received instruction from,
and walked, talked and conversed with Him, as one man talks and communes with
another." – Joseph Smith
History of The Church, vol 7, p331
"Come to me; here's the mystery that man hath not seen; Here's our Father in heaven,
and Mother the Queen, Here are worlds that have been. and the worlds yet to be, Here's
eternity – endless." – Joseph Smith
Discourses of Brigham Young, p20
"He presides over the worlds on worlds that illuminate this little planet, and millions on
millions of worlds that we cannot see; and yet he looks upon the minutest object of his
creations, not one of these creatures escapes his notice; and there is not one of them but
his wisdom and power has produced."
CONTINUED ON NEXT POST
fides quaerens intellectum
Edited by - daniel on 08 April 2002 09:36:37