CV75

Members
  • Posts

    1759
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    3

CV75 last won the day on January 29

CV75 had the most liked content!

Recent Profile Visitors

The recent visitors block is disabled and is not being shown to other users.

CV75's Achievements

  1. The ancients did not know that, and from their perspective, the sun is brighter than a star.
  2. The faithfulness and the focus on Christ may be but an infinitesimally small particle off, but the eternal effects of lacking, or ever so slightly misdirecting, that tiny particle are infinite and eternal. This doesn't render celestial glory impossible to attain, it just explains the vast difference between it and terrestrial glory. The more graduated spectrum between kingdoms suggests, given the language in D&C 76, that there is an increase in the faithfulness of the wicked approaching celestial glory or a decrease in the faithfulness of the righteous falling short of it. But the latter doesn't make sense given President Nelson's teachings on spiritual momentum. In other words, do the wicked progress in faith and yet remain wicked so as to never obtain righteousness? (No). Do the righteous take a misstep and revert to progressing as wicked people, having proven their inability to maintain righteousness? (No). The element missing from this model, I think, is grace. Grace saves anyone who is willing, and at the same time creates a great gulf for those who are not willing, for they simply have not received God's grace unto joy. From the parable of the mustard seed, the tiny seed is faith, it grows by grace, and finally exhibits attributes infinitely greater than a mature tree. If it did not grow by grace, it would grow but just into a tree. The difference is infinite. There are no partially celestial trees that accommodate birds but no nests, nests but no birds, fungi, moss or bugs instead of birds, etc.
  3. No, I think they are as infinitely distant in glory, as the brightest light of the fullest moon is infinitely (meaning indeterminately) less than the brightness of the sun from the perspective of the ancient, unaided human eye.
  4. I think the the explanation behind the simple imagery is given in D&C 76: that each kingdom is distinguished by its ministers; that is, by terrestrial agents, celestial agents, or the agents of fulness, who are the Father and the Son in the Church of the Firstborn (D&C 76:86,87, 20, 56, 94). The comparative imagery is made from the perspective of the ancients looking up from the earth. There are many stars of varying brightness, and the moon also varies according to phases and distance. A star may appear to approach the brightness of the moon, but the moon can never appear as bright as the sun because the fulness of the sun is infinitely greater than any other heavenly body. Unlike any other heavenly body, if you stare at the sun you will lose your sight, and some smattering of sight is infinitely more sight than none.
  5. Yes, in that they function as one God, the very Eternal Father of haven and earth. They do have separate roles (with the Holy Ghost), and Christ sometimes speaks by divine investiture of authority as well. I'm sure they have a broader council as well, depending on what they need to do.
  6. https://www.fairlatterdaysaints.org/answers/Question:_Is_there_a_cave_in_the_Hill_Cumorah_containing_the_Nephite_records%3F https://josephsmithfoundation.org/hill-cumorah-cave/ I haven't found a first hand account, but I haven't tried very hard, either. The 2nd and 3rd hand accounts refer to reports of a vision for the basis of this.
  7. I think it is used both ways simultaneously. "Metaphorically" because I do not understand the physical properties of this light, and "physically" because fundamentally everything is some kind of material (the immaterial does not exist).
  8. Not familiar with any of that...! And I hope I'm not doing it!
  9. I see God as all-powerful, which power comes from greater knowledge and love relative to our own, and in perfect balance. He is thus considerate of lesser beings and commits Himself to their obtaining a fulness of joy -- every kind of life in its sphere. Lesser beings can never rebel enough to take away what He has obtained, try as they might, and in trying find Him leveraging their efforts to His interests. By "sphere" I mean existence, or the extent to act (agency) and be acted upon (lack thereof). I do not understand how different forms of life came to have different spheres of existence, and why some things are purely acted upon, but it does seem to have something to do with the knowledge and love they possess (or lack thereof) and the balance therein, resulting in their level of self-comprehension (or none) and what becomes expressed in the spiritual and physical realms for us to perceive and interpret as space-time, forces, elements, microbes, plants, animals, people, etc. From our perspective, God has always existed, and from our perspective, we have always existed no matter when we began to perceive that we do. We may pass between many veils and estates, and not all of them are remembered, though we begin to see them as we become more like God.
  10. There are many hypotheticals and unknowns here (bolded). I would handle this by getting more facts to make an informed proposal to bring to the Lord. Exactly what are the Church's "practice" and "the church line"? What is the purpose of the practice and the line? (italicized) -- I would need a clear reference for this (CFR from you, if you have one). Then I would decide whether I am seeking a moral or ethical resolution (secular) or a spiritual resolution (personal revelation) and propose and pray accordingly.
  11. Of course, there is scripture and then there is the meaning and deeper meaning of the scripture. I don't believe the Lord holds His servants accountable for things they are not expected to believe, know or understand at the time of the mortal service, any more than He expected the brother of Jared to know whether He had flesh and blood. The brother of Jared was not expected to be correct in his knowledge and belief, and the scripture shows that the correct understanding is that the Lord would take upon Himself flesh and blood. "And he saith unto the Lord: I saw the finger of the Lord, and I feared lest he should smite me; for I knew not that the Lord had flesh and blood. And the Lord said unto him: Because of thy faith thou hast seen that I shall take upon me flesh and blood..." The Lord, because of his exceeding faith, clarified to him the difference between what he thought he saw (a living finger) and what he really saw (the future finger); the difference between the premortal Lord and the Lord in the tabernacle of His mortal ministry (verse 16).
  12. Yes, I think there are instances where others have been resurrected after the Restoration of the sealing keys and yet prior to the Second Coming.
  13. It seems to me that children of Adam and Eve were born, lived and died before Cain and Abel arrived on the scene, since Eve speaks of the joy of our redemption upon hearing the teachings of the angel and the witness of the Holy Ghost in Moses 5. She was likely not referring only to herself and her husband, and in knowing good and evil, had already witnessed death, not only of the sacrificed animals, but of some of their children. Abel could still have been placed as a ruler over his "elder brethren" as was Nephi, Joseph, etc. The idea of Cain never dying is interesting to me in that never dying amounts to never knowing the joy of redemption. At least the Three Nephites will someday "die" if only for a millisecond. If Elijah Able's temple work has been done, he could be exalted by now (why not?). And I can see him telling Cain in no uncertain terms, "Thanks alot for the bad rap!"
  14. You can Google Darius Gray for more details on his experience and reaction, and his collection of reactions from other Black members. But here's an intro: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darius_Gray
  15. Absolutely, which doesn't mean the dead one was a bad guy, just a prophet for his times whose views did not interrupt the kingdom moving forward in the least (and may have even averted unintended disaster!).