Human Evolution: What For?

I have recently been listening to a very interesting university-level course entitled “The Darwinian Revolution” published by The Teaching Company with Frederick Gregory, lecturer.

As Professor Gregory emphasizes, the concepts of evolution certainly did not originate with Darwin, but had been proposed for at least 100 years before Darwin’s “Origin of Species” was published in 1859.  It is fascinating how the many thoughtful scientists and philosophers, all over Europe and in other parts of the world, for decades read each other’s work, criticized it, and wrote their own rebuttals and proposed their own explanations of how things really happened.  It was impossible for any two authors to totally agree with each other’s explanations.

The most sensitive topic among these theories was, even in Darwin’s day, the question of human evolution.  Had humans evolved through processes of “natural selection” similar to the animal and plant species?  Darwin did not bring up the topic of human evolution in his ‘Origin” but others edged around it carefully knowing the enormous resistance they would encounter with such a declaration.

In the midst of all this speculation and theorizing I was suddenly impressed that Joseph Smith had given a complete and incontrovertible answer to the entire question of human evolution in one simple revelatory sentence.  “The Father has a body of flesh and bones, as tangible as man’s; the Son also . . .” (D&C 130:22).

This simply stated truth, supported by Joseph’s visits from The Father and The Son on at least two occasions, puts to rest the entire issue.   Our tangible bodies of flesh and bones are used to clarify our understanding of The Father’s tangible body of flesh and bones.  Our is in the image of His.

But how old is The Father’s body?  We cannot conceive of its age.  His body surely existed for many eons of time before this earth was even thought of.  We are told that our earth is patterned after countless previous earths, all created by the same God who surely had his body, in a perfected state, before all of those creations (Moses 1:33-35).

That being so, there would have been no need for any progressive development of a physical human body in conjunction with the creation and population of this earth.  There doesn’t seem to be any need for human evolution.  Human bodies had been perfected long before this time and it would have been a simple matter for The Father to produce more of them, in the likeness and image of His (Moses 2:26-27).

And if human bodies had been perfected long before this planet was thought of, it is reasonable to suppose, although we probably can’t be sure, that all the animal and plant bodies were likewise perfectly developed, perhaps on some of those other worlds, long before our world was conceived.

Eternity - Time or Space

Eternity  -   Time or Space?

Since time is measured only unto man (Alma 40:8), and in the next realm time will be no more (Sec 84:100), it follows that there should be no references to time or duration in speaking about the realms of gods or the world of spirits.  The scriptures use the word “Eternity” often, although not always, in a context where it sounds more like a place than a time.  The uses of the word in some of the ordinances of the temple also fit well as references to space rather than time.  Following are a few examples.

"And verily I say unto you, that the conditions of this law are these: All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations, that are not made and entered into and sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise, of him who is anointed, both as well for time and for all eternity," D&C 132:7

In this passage “eternity” is contrasted with “time”, where “time” is referring to the period of mortality.  “Eternity”, therefore, could refer to a place where time is not measured, in other words, where there is no time, so it is not an indication of duration but of space.

"Thus saith the Lord your God, even Jesus Christ, the Great I Am, Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the same which looked upon the wide expanse of eternity, and all the seraphic hosts of heaven, before the world was made"; D&C 38:1

To “look upon a wide expanse” gives the distinct impression that one is looking at a place, not a time.  I suppose it could be interpreted as a duration of time, but the expression is easier to understand if it refers to a space.

"Therefore, eternity was our covering and our rock and our salvation, as we journeyed from Haran by the way of Jershon, to come to the land of Canaan." Abraham 2:16

Here Abraham seems to be referring to the heavenly canopy as their “covering” as they traveled.  This again refers more plainly to a space than to a duration of time.

"And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along. The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours."
 D&C 78:18

The “riches of eternity” could refer again to some wealth belonging to a period of time, but the expression is equally, if not more, appropriate to the wealth of a certain place, and we know that the Lord is referring to the next estate, or heavenly condition, hence heaven is equated with eternity and we think of heaven as a place not a time.

"For I know that God is not a partial God, neither a changeable being; but he is unchangeable from all eternity to all eternity." Moroni 8:18

We meet with the “from-to” expression referring to eternity often in scripture, and again, it can apply equally well to a length of time or a length of space.  Given the other instances that are mentioned here, there seems to be more weight on the reference to a measure of space rather than time.

"And he spake plainly unto them, that he had been deceived by the power of the devil. And he spake of hell, and of eternity, and of eternal punishment". Jacob 7:18

Jacob recounts here the confessions of Sherem, and he includes “eternity” in a list with “hell”.  Hell we usually think of as a place, and in this case it sounds like Sherem was afraid of the place, and he may have been referring to eternity as the place where hell is found.  We know that the term “eternal” is an adjective used to refer to something possessed by God or administered by him, such as eternal life or eternal punishment, and not an expression of time (D&C 19:11).  We don’t know if Jacob would have been thinking of this definition.
 
"Hearken ye to these words. Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Treasure these things up in your hearts, and let the solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds".   D&C 43:34

The term “solemnities” sounds like profound truths or doctrines, which could certainly pertain to a place, particularly to the place where God dwells. 

"This was not long desired before it was realized. The Lord, who is rich in mercy, and ever willing to answer the consistent prayer of the humble, after we had called upon Him in a fervent manner, aside from the abodes of men, condescended to manifest to us His will. On a sudden, as from the midst of eternity, the voice of the Redeemer spake peace to us, while the veil was parted and the angel of God came down clothed with glory, and delivered the anxiously looked for message,"  JS-History 1
 
Oliver Cowdery, describing the visit of John the Baptist, uses the term “eternity” to refer to the place from which the voice of The Lord was heard.  It is difficult to think of this instance of the word as a reference to time, as we usually think of voices coming out of places, not times.  This is a beautiful example of the “place” interpretation of the word “eternity”.

"And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed."   Alma 34:33

Alma exhorts the poor Zoramites to “prepare for eternity”.  I can easily interpret this reference to eternity as a destination to which we will all be going. 
 
"And verily in this thing ye have done wisely, for it is required of the Lord, at the hand of every steward, to render an account of his stewardship, both in time and in eternity."  D&C 72:3

Here again, we have “eternity” contrasted with “time”, where time refers to mortality, or our present condition where time is carefully measured, and “eternity” refers to the next estate where we are told time is not measured.  If time does not exist there, it follows that we should think of it as a place not a duration of time.

"For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."  Isaiah 57:15

In this clear example the prophet equates “eternity” with “the high and holy place” where God dwells.  The “place” interpretation is very strong.

    6. He looks! and ten thousands
    Of angels rejoice,
    And myriads wait for his word;
    He speaks! and eternity,
    Filled with his voice,
    Re-echoes the praise of the Lord.
Hymn No. 6, Hymns of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

In this Church Hymn, Redeemer of Israel, the Lord’s infinite influence is praised.  His voice fills eternity, which echoes in praise.  This reference to eternity sounds more like an expansive place than a period of time.

    3. Oh, give me thy sweet Spirit still,
    The peace that comes alone from thee,
    The faith to walk the lonely road
    That leads to thine eternity.
Hymn No. 135, Hymns of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Verse three of My Redeemer Lives, with text by Gordon B. Hinckley, is a petition to the Lord for faith to reach the promised destination, eternity.  Again, we usually think of destinations as places rather than durations of time. 

Does it really matter whether we interpret “Eternity” as a place or as a duration of time?  Perhaps not, but it leads into the interesting study of the relationship between space and time.  Einstein, in his treatise on “Special Relativity”, explains that space and time are intimately related and dependent upon one another.  We see that the scriptures tend to support this thesis.  How often do we read in the scriptures of “a space of time”?  We meet with this expression often.  So, in our reading, when we come across these terms, we should recognize that our first interpretation may not be the only, or the correct one.  There is much that we do not understand about conditions in the next estate.  It will be exciting to arrive there and learn more about these interesting issues.

Harry Potter and the Underground Lake

Ten years ago when our family was enthusiastically following the "Harry Potter" series by J. K. Rowling, I was impressed. along with many other fans, with the Christian parallels built into the overall "Potter" tale.  In 2009 I wrote this little discussion of the striking similarities between Dumbledor's suffering and death on the night of his visit with Harry to the underground lake and Christ's suffering and death as recorded in the New Testament.  Here it is.

Thoughts from "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"

The Underground Lake

Written Aug 2009

Rowling, a student of the scriptures, does a masterful job of weaving thoughts and episodes from the life of Christ  into her stories to give them a familiar ring and to help the reader remember the Savior and see applications of principles of the Gospel in the lives of her characters.  One clear example of this is found in the adventure of Dumbledore and Harry on the night of their visit to the underground lake where they seek one of the hidden horcruxes.  This night also turns out to be the night of Dumbledore's death.

Here are seven connections between Rowling's story of that evening and events from the life of the Savior.

1.         In the course of Dumbledore's evening he goes from visiting a subterranean lake to landing on the Astronomy Tower, the highest point on Hogwart's Castle, where he also dies.  In this Dumbledore follows the course of Christ who went from the lower parts of the earth, through his death on the cross, to a place far above all.  Paul describes Christ's dramatic change of elevation in his letter to the Ephesians:

Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 

(Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

                                                                                    Eph 4: 8-10

There are two possible meanings to Christ's going below all things.  One is that he made himself more humble than any man has by accepting humiliation and suffering while he was actually a God.  He assures the Prophet Joseph that   . . . if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.

The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?  D&C 122:7-8.

The second sense in which the Savior descended below all is in his descending into the spirit world of the dead, if that place can be thought of as below all things.  After this visit to the lower parts of the earth he ascends, by way of His death, to the throne of the Father to be exalted.  This seems to be the meaning addressed in Paul's message to the Ephesians.

2.         Dumbledore follows Christ in having to drain the Bitter Cup to the very bottom - a feat that immediately strikes us as more than humanly possible.  This is a clear reference to Christ's suffering being likened to a cup that He must drink.   There is no alternative; the cup must be drunk.  No other person or action can accomplish the atonement for mankind.  Christ's 1^st person testimony in D&C 19 is the clearest reference to the cup. 

Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.                                        D&C 19:18-19

Matthew also records Jesus' reference to His suffering as a cup to be drunk.

But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able.

                                                                                    Matt 20:22

And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

                                                                                    Matt 26:39

Interestingly, when we commit sin we are said to be filling the Cup of Our Iniquity.  The cup that Jesus had to drink!

Mine indignation is soon to be poured out without measure upon all nations; and this will I do when the cup of their iniquity is full.   D&C 101:11

If we are not repentant we may have to drink our own bitter cup, one which we have filled through our transgressions.  This, in fact, was Dumbledore's experience as he drained the cup 12 times.

The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: Rev. 14:10

3.         Harry is to Dumbledore like the angel who attends Christ in Gethsemane, comforting him, helping him through the agony.  Luke is the only gospel writer who mentions the presence of the angel at Gethsemane.

Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.

                                                                                    Luke 22:42-43

Without Harry's help Dumbledore could not have finished emptying the basin.  Christ may not have been as dependent on his angelic visitor for completion of His suffering, but we suppose that the angel was a help to him.

4.         Ron, Hermione, and Ginny are left behind as Peter, James, and John were left at the gate of Gethsemane. 

Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.

And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.

Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

                                                                                    Matt 26:36-38

In the text Peter, James and John were charged only to watch, wait and to stay awake. They may have also been expected to guard the gate and watch for the enemies of the Savior who Jesus knew would be coming.  In a sort of parallel charge Ron, Hermione and Ginny were instructed to watch Draco and Snape and to alert the castle if any Death Eaters showed up.  They were even given Harry's Felix Felicis potion to keep them safe in their dangerous watch.

5.         We learn later in "Hallows" that, in drinking the cup, Dumbledore experiences the suffering of remorse for his own mis-deeds; his succumbing to the temptations of power and fame that brought about the death of his sister, Ariana.  Christ's suffering, of course, was caused by our mis-deeds, not his, but the concept of suffering for sin is clear in Dumbledore's anguished cries while drinking the potion, and we are duly warned that if we are not careful we may have to drink the cup of our own iniquities.

6.         Following the drinking of the "Bitter Cup" Dumbledore is attacked by an evil army of Inferi which, even after his suffering, he is still able to defeat.  This evil army reminds us of the Jewish elders and rulers who, together with a veritable army of temple guards and Roman soldiers, confront Jesus immediately following the completion of His suffering in the garden.  The similarity between the two experiences ends there as Jesus allows himself to be taken by the illegal midnight guards while Dumbledore defeats and escapes from the bewitched Horcrux guards.

7.         Upon returning to his home, Hogwarts, Dumbledore is killed by one of his best friends, Severus Snape. He knew his death was coming and he knew who would do it.  He was prepared for it.  His death came about as a result of his trying to save his friends by disarming Horcruxes.  Christ, upon returning to his city, Jerusalem, also was killed by his friends, at least those who should have been his friends as he referred to them through the Old Testament prophet Zecharias.

And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.

                                                                                    Zech 13:6

Christ's death came about because he was trying to save his friends, the whole human family, from captivity with Satan.  Christ knew his death was coming and he was prepared for it.  And just as Dumbledore's death marked the beginning of the end of Voldemort, Christ's death dealt a binding blow to Satan as now all mankind had a way prepared whereby they could return to the presence of their Heavenly Father.

It is well to note that Dumbledore does not represent Christ in the story, but his experiences remind us of and point our attention to the experiences of Christ in enabling our salvation.  What Dumbledore does to help Harry become capable of defeating Voldemort reminds us of what Christ does to make us capable of defeating Satan.  Dumbledore has to die so that Harry can become perfected.  This story is taken out of The Great Story of the Plan of Salvation.

Teaching As The Savior Taught - Patternism

Teaching As The Savior Taught: A Less-Obvious Pattern

In Hugh Nibley’s work, ‘Temple And Cosmos”, he refers to what he considers a relatively modern technique of historical analysis called “patternism.”¹  The idea is that anciently-accepted practices, particularly in this instance practices connected with the uses of temples, are found to be repeated in patterns throughout history.  The ancient teachings are seen to be the basis for modern thought and practice.

There are many interesting non-temple examples of this.  Consider the case of Gideon’s army of 300 men facing the 10,000 (+) of the Midianites. ² This is repeated in the account of the 300 Spartan warriors facing the 10,000 (+) Persians at the battle of Thermopylae,³  and in Tolkein’s hopeless setting of the battle of Helm’s Deep where Rohan’s 300 farmers and farriers take on the 10,000(+) host of Isengard.⁴

The case of parallel occurrences that has recently struck me as an example of patternism starts with the ministry of the Savior to his apostles in Palestine following his resurrection.  In Acts we read that Jesus “shewed himself alive (to his apostles) after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:”⁵  This brief reference to Jesus’ spending forty days with the apostles in undisclosed instruction “pertaining to the kingdom of God” has baffled Bible scholars for centuries.  What could have been the topics of instruction?  Does this verse refer to a literal period of time or is to be understood only metaphorically?  Surely it is not possible that some actual teachings were imparted that have since been lost to the church. 

Quoting from Hugh Nibley again, this time from his work entitled, “Evangeliium quadraginta dierum: The Forty-Day Mission of Christ”;  “The theme of the forty days has always been a disturbing one.  For many scholars the possibility of such an event as that indicated in Acts 1:3 is not even to be discussed, for others such things are tolerable only as myths, while some are frank enough to admit that they simply don’t like the story.”⁶ 

While in today’s accepted cannon there is no reference to the topics of the forty-day teachings, there are certain apocryphal sources discovered largely in the last 150 years that make reference to this new-testament event.  Nibley explains that the apocryphal texts start by answering the most likely questions asked by the apostle’s to the resurrected Lord: “Where did you go and what did you see?”⁷  The records describe Christ’s visit to the spirits of the dead,⁸ his preaching to them,⁹ their receiving of the ordinance of baptism,¹⁰ and subsequent progression upwards to realms of glory, eventually returning to the eternal home where they had existed before coming to earth.¹¹

This process is described as part of a plan laid down at the creation of the world.¹²  The plan includes a series of rites and ordinances including baptism,¹³ washing and anointing,¹⁴ receiving a sacred garment,¹⁵ a sacral meal,¹⁶ and in the cases of some couples, a marriage ceremony.¹⁷  In the records referred to all of these forty-day rites are related to the temple.¹⁸

The exact number of forty days may refer to a less-fixed period of time.  The number ‘forty’ is frequently met with in sacred history as, for example, Elijah fasting for forty days (1 Kings 19:8) the Israelites wandering for 40 years (Exodus 16:35, Numbers 14:33), Moses’ fasting on Mt. Sinai for 40 days (Deut. 9:9), and Christ’s forty-day fast following his baptism (Matt. 4:2), among others.  If these durations were not all exactly forty units in length they probably refer to periods of approximately that number.

This brings us to the parallel events that took place during the final few weeks or months of Joseph Smith’s mortal life.  As Jesus spent the final weeks of his close association with his selected apostles before ascending to perhaps other assignments and duties, teaching them the things of the kingdom of God, specifically the details of the Plan of Salvation for the living and the dead, centered around the ordinances of the temple, just so, Joseph spent the final months before his martyrdom in close association with his selected apostles teaching them these same doctrines, rites, and ordinances related to the plan of salvation and the temple.

In an article by Ronald K. Esplin published in 1981¹⁹ professor Esplin explains that at the death of Joseph Smith a critical factor in the outcome of the succession in the leadership of the church was the instruction and keys given to the apostles, at least to nine of them, by Joseph Smith, authorizing them to administer the sacred ordinances of the soon-to-be-completed Nauvoo Temple.  None of the contenders for the leadership of the church who opposed Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve had received this sacred instruction or these advanced priesthood keys, specifically the keys to administer the sealing power.

Prof. Esplin wrote; “During his final months Joseph Smith completed the introduction of all temple ordinances, the implementation of new institutional patterns, and the preparation of the Twelve to administer these things in his absence.”²⁰   Sometime during the last week of March, 1844, Joseph met with the Twelve to transfer the leadership of the church to them.  “I roll the burthen and responsibility of leading this church off from my shoulders on to yours.  Now, round up your shoulders and stand under it like men; for the Lord is going to let me rest a while.”²¹ At that same meeting of March 1844, just three months before the martyrdom, Joseph conferred “the keys of the sealing power” on Brigham Young, who was president of the Quorum of the Twelve. The prophet taught them that this was the “last key”, the “most sacred of all,” and that it pertained “exclusively to the first presidency.”²²

So here is a pattern.  In completing his introduction of the Dispensation of the Meridian of Time the Savior, in his instruction to his apostles during his final weeks with them, gave them the higher keys and ordinances of salvation for both the living and the dead.  Likewise, in completing the introduction of the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times, Joseph Smith, during his final weeks with them, gave his apostles those same keys and ordinances.  This pattern may have been repeated in previous dispensations, but because the teachings are sacred and not made known to the general public, they are not included in commonly-accepted surviving records. 

We may not see this pattern repeated again as the dispensation launched by Joseph Smith is destined to be the final dispensation, from which there will be no total apostasy and no loss of sacred things.  These teachings should not only survive but perhaps be added to in the future as all things are gathered together in anticipation of the Savior’s return.

References:

1.     Nibley, Hugh. Temple and Cosmos, Ed. by Don E. Norton, Deseret Book, 1992, p 25.

2.     Judges 7:7  The number 10,000 is not expressly mentioned but is elsewhere used to represent any number beyond count, as expressed in verse 12.  The great war at Cumorah is an example of the use of the number 10,000 to represent a very large army but not necessarily an exact count.

3.     Herodotus.  There were actually perhaps 700 men arrayed on the side of Greece, but the 300 Spartans receive the most notoriety.

4.     Tolkein, J.R.R., Lord of The Rings, The Two Towers.  Ballantine Books, 1954. p 172.  In his book Tolkein allows 1000 men of Rohan arrayed against tens of thousands of Isengard.  In the movie version (New Line Cinema, 2004) Legolas offers an actual count:  300 against 10,000, apparently in deference to the pattern mentioned.

5.     Acts 1:3

6.     Nibley, Hugh.  Evangeliium quadraginta dierum: The Forty-Day Mission of Christ.  First published in Vigiliae christianae 20, 1966.  Most recently published in When The Lights Went Out, FARMS, 2001, p 49-50.  See internal refs. 1, 2, &3.

7.     Ibid. p 55.

8.     Ibid. p 55 see internal ref. 63.

9.     Ibid. p 55 see internal ref. 64.

10.  Ibid. p 55 see internal ref. 65.

11.  Ibid. p 55 see internal ref. 67.

12.  Ibid. p 56 see internal ref. 71.

13.  Ibid. p 56 see internal ref. 76.

14.  Ibid. p 56 see internal ref. 77.

15.  Ibid. p 56 see internal ref. 78.

16.  Ibid. p 57 see internal ref. 79.

17.  Ibid. p 57 see internal ref. 80.

18.  Ibid. p 57 see internal ref. 82.

19.  Esplin, Ronald K. Joseph, Brigham and the Twelve: A succession of Continuity.  BYU Studies 21. No. 3 (1981).

20.  Ibid. p 10.

21.  Ibid. p 14-15 see internal ref. 66.

22.  Ibid. p 15 see internal ref. 68.

Intelligence, An Explanation Based on Agency

Intelligence, An Explanation Based On Agency

A central part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that in this life we are presented with choices. The most important choices are those involving some form of opposition.   That is where we must choose between one alternative that would be in accordance with the teachings and example of Christ and another that would be contrary to those teachings.  If we consistently chose to follow Christ’s policies he promises, through the power of his atonement and his grace, to bring us back into the presence of the Father.   If we, on the other hand, consistently choose the alternatives that disregard Christ’s program, we become subject to an adversary who from the beginning has been allowed to draw us away from Christ and into his own control.   There is a punishment reserved for those who allow themselves to fall under the power of this adversary.

The liberty given us to make these choices according to our own individual will is called “agency”.  Agency was at the foundation of God’s plan for us from the beginning.  Without it we could not choose for ourselves and, as Lehi taught, our creation would have been “for a thing of naught, wherefore there would have been no purpose in the end of ‘our’ creation” (2 Ne 2:11).

This issue of freedom to choose, or agency, raises an interesting doctrinal question.  The basic LDS belief regarding our existence is that we are the literal offspring of God The Father; that He is the father of our spirits and that we lived with Him as spirit children from some time immemorial until we chose to come to Earth, accept a new “fallen” state, and begin to take responsibility for our choices; that is until we chose to participate in “the fall”.  We consider our existence, then, to consist of two parts; a physical body received through biological reproduction from our first parents, Adam and Eve, and a much older spirit, that is a literal son or daughter of our heavenly parents.

The traditional doctrine of creation among many Christians today teaches that our first parents, Adam and Eve, were created by The Father totally from the dust of the earth, which itself had been created ‘ex nihilo’ by God, life also being breathed into their bodies by God himself.  The result of this line of thinking is that all the family of Adam, all of us, are 100 percent the result of God’s creative work; that He is totally responsible for our existence. 

Here is where I start to see a problem.  If God is totally responsible for every aspect of our existence, then where is agency?  How can we do anything based totally on our own wills?  Is it our fault if we choose poorly?  Can God create us out of nothing and then make us totally independent of his creative process?  I can’t see how that would be possible.  He might create us and then give us freedom to choose for ourselves, but we can only make choices based on some set of internal values and an internal algorithm for choosing.    That algorithm and those values had to be put into us at the time of our creation.  How else could we acquire them?  How can we be punished or rewarded for our choices and actions if there is no aspect of our existence, including our reasoning abilities, that is not somehow derived from our creation?

If you mix up cake batter a little bit carelessly and put it in the oven and it comes out bad, do you punish the cake?  No, you throw it out and start over until your creation comes out just the way you want it.  Just so, if one of God’s child creations goes bad, and it was truly created out of total nothingness, as some profess, shouldn’t he merely cast it back into the oblivion from which he created it and try again? 

No, there must be something else going on here.  There must be some aspect of our existence that is independent of God and that he is not responsible for; something that predates even our existence with him as his spirit children.  If not, the concept of agency and freedom to truly make independent, personal decisions just doesn’t work.  It is a contradiction to think that God can create a thing ‘out of whole cloth’ as they say, and then endow it with abilities totally independent of that creation.   This sounds like the fairy tale of Pinocchio.

Restoration scripture and the teachings of Joseph Smith give us insight into this issue and a solution to the contradiction with the introduction of the concept of “intelligence”.  Here is a solution that requires no vivid imagination and no great stretching of logic.  It appeals to our reasoning as a simple and logical explanation. 

Joseph received a revelation in 1833 wherein the Lord explained a concept pertinent to this issue of agency and of our being independent of God in this important way.  Christ states twice that our spirits are co-eternal with God.  In verse 23 of Section 93 he states; “Ye were also in the beginning with the Father;” . . . , and in verse 29; “Man was also in the beginning with God.  Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be.”  Referring then to the “light of truth” , or intelligence, which is within each of us, he says; “All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence.  Behold, here is the agency of man, . . .” (Sec 93:23, 29-31) (Italics added for emphasis).  Thus we see that something about us is independent of God and can act for itself and that this is the basis for our agency.  Without this there is no existence, or as Lehi said, “no purpose in the end of our creation”.

Joseph Smith also taught: “The mind or the intelligence which man possesses is co-equal (co-eternal) with God himself.”  And later in the same discourse: “The intelligence of spirits had no beginning, neither will it have an end.”  And again: “Intelligence is eternal and exists upon a self-existent principle.  It is a spirit from age to age, and there is no creation about it.”  Summarizing, Joseph commented: “This is good doctrine.  It tastes good.  I can taste the principles of eternal life, and so can you” (TPJS 353-355).

This concept, revealed to us by Jesus Christ through the prophet Joseph Smith, eliminates the contradiction between agency and human ex-nihilo creation, by eliminating the latter.  There is a part of us that is totally independent of God’s creation.  It is called intelligence.  We are, then, not two-part beings but three-part.  Our physical bodies are inhabited by a spirit that is a child of our heavenly parents, and that spirit is quickened by an intelligence which had no creation but has existed forever and cannot be destroyed.  Thus we can exercise our own judgement, our own agency, in making moral choices in this life.  God encourages us to follow Christ’s program which leads to salvation (for both the living and the dead).  Satan persuades us to disregard Christ’s way and to follow error and evil. 

It is up to us.  Our intelligence is totally independent of all coercive influence.  God cannot coerce.  Neither can Satan. This is good news.  It does taste good!  Through Christ we can receive joy in this life and eternal reward.  When we do it will be because we (our intelligences) have disciplined our minds to follow Christ’s teachings and to keep covenants and commandments received from him.  All the family of Adam will have the opportunity to accept Christ’s way, but that is another topic.  Let us use our agency to bring happiness to ourselves and to others, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.