Spiritual DNA?

[Anddenex]

I tried Doctrines of Salvation (1-3) and The Way to Perfection.  No joy.

 

Ya, that is where I remember reading it and couldn't find it either...no joy.  

[zil]

Ya, that is where I remember reading it and couldn't find it either...no joy.  

 

Don't you hate it when words you know were there just get up and walk away!  It's very rude.  They should at least leave a "be back in 10 minutes" sign, or something... :)

[james12]

Here is a statement that roles around in my head from time to time in relation to this topic. I comes from Theodore M. Burton in General Conference many years ago. He referred to the following scripture, "Therefore, thus saith the Lord unto you, with whom the priesthood hath continued through the lineage of your fathers - for ye are lawful heirs, according to the flesh, and have been hid from the world with Christ in God" (D&C 86:8-9). Then made this point: 

"oh," I can hear some of you say, "there must be something wrong with that statement, for I am the only member of my family who has joined the church. How could I receive the priesthood from my parents?" In this scripture the Lord was not talking about your priesthood line of authority. He was talking about your inherited right to receive and use priesthood power. ...This means we receive a right to priesthood blessings from our blood ancestry. ("Salvation for the Dead: A Missionary Activity" Ensign May 1975)

 
In relation to this, on one occasion Brigham Young said:

“You have heard Joseph say that the people did not know him; he had his eyes on … blood-relations. … His descent from Joseph that was sold into Egypt was direct, and the blood was pure in him. … He had the sole right and lawful power, as he was the legal heir to the blood that has been on the earth and has come down through a pure lineage. The union of various ancestors kept that blood pure. There is a great deal the people do not understand, and many of the Latter-day Saints have to learn all about it.” (Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, July 1920, 107, see also Robert L. Millet, "The Ancient Covenant Restored" Ensign Mar 1998)

I've wondered about the above statements. Not particularly as it relates to males receiving the priesthood, but rather, me exercising and using priesthood and my blood relations. Is the interpretation of D&C 86:8-9 correct? If not, how should we interpret it? Is Brigham Young's statement wrong? 

[zil]

"This means we receive a right to priesthood blessings from our blood ancestry"

 

Not to burst anyone's bubble, but we're all descended from Adam, so technically....  Or you could point to Noah...  I'm perfectly OK with other truths, just pointing out the obvious way in which anyone has a blood-relation with priesthood authority.

 

I've heard various things about Joseph Smith's blood ancestry.  Since I have no documentation or anything, I'll not bother to repeat them, but I'm OK with any / all / none of them being true.

 

I would note that descendancy does not require that spiritual gifts be tied to DNA, but that the scriptures make it perfectly clear descendancy has a big impact on our lives (somewhat obvious, just from thinking about it).  ("descendancy" is also not in Firefox's dictionary, even when spelled correctly.)

 

Somewhere, either Joseph Smith (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith) or Brigham Young (Discourses of Brigham Young) said words which make it seem that the Holy Ghost has a different impact on those of Israelite blood than gentile blood, and that when a person is adopted into the house of Israel, their blood is changed.  Now if that's true, I expect it's changed in some way that doesn't show up on medical tests, or there would have been a paper on some convert who happened to have blood work done before and after, and the doctors were perplexed by the difference. :)

 

There are mysteries, to be sure (even if these aren't among them, but are only misunderstandings or rumors).

[SpiritDragon]

My initial reaction to my Aunt's idea was based on:

 

1) my memory from a biology class that DNA is used to construct an organism.  For example, my eye, hair, and skin colors are dictated by DNA.  My gender and height are dictated by DNA.  Embryo-me processes the encoding of my DNA to generate those cells needed to output what's in their plan (all that stuff that makes the physical me, me).  Conscious me gets no say in the matter.

 

2) the following from Gospel Principles, chapter 41: "All spirits are in adult form. They were adults before their mortal existence, and they are in adult form after death, even if they die as infants or children (see Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith [1998], 131–32)."  ...which I had learned eons ago (couldn't remember where or when and had to use google to help me find it).

 

Now, given those two things, the idea of "spiritual DNA as the instructions for building a spirit" seems rather improbable to me (since it apparently isn't built as an embryo that grows into a mature organism, but starts out as an adult).  Further, per Joseph Smith, spirits are eternal in nature, so this seems to negate the need for continual reproduction of cells (to replace those that die off - unless you're mortal, why would your cells die?).  However, I fully acknowledge that I have no clue what the mechanics are for creating or maintaining a spirit being, so maybe there is something akin to DNA.  Personally, I suspect some other mechanism which works in some other way.  But that's just my gut feeling.

 

That leaves the altering of physical DNA to incorporate spiritual attributes of the kind described in Alma 13 (that part is crucial, because this piece was central to and the source of my Aunt's theory).  Those attributes include things like faith, repentance, obedience, good works, use of agency to choose good, etc. on the good side; and on the bad side, things like hardheartedness, blindness, rejecting the Spirit.

 

Now remember, I get no conscious say in at least some things we know DNA is responsible for (see list above).  To me, this means that I have no agency in relation to (at least those things dictated by) DNA (e.g. I cannot use my agency to alter my eye color).  Therefore, if my DNA were "encoded with faith", where is my agency to choose whether or not to be faithful?

 

That said, I believe that these things live in our intelligence.  That if in the pre-mortal world I developed great faith, or obedience, or whatever, it is as much a part of my spirit and intelligence before mortality as it is a part of me during mortality - that I don't remember how my spirit developed these things (what I did / thought) does not negate the chance that my spirit is still benefiting from pre-mortal mastery.  But I believe these are behaviors and choices, not instructions or even preferences in my DNA.

 

Further, we know that all of God's children have the option, through their agency, of becoming like him.  In order for this to happen, all of us must have the potential to do every good thing, to become perfect (otherwise, the option is a lie, and God doesn't lie).  Now if my DNA says I have exceeding faith, but that I'm a little low on charity; whereas someone else has some other combination of DNA-encoded spiritual attributes, how do we reconcile this DNA-encoding with our scripturally-documented potential to become like God - perfect in every attribute.

 

Given all that, I can't even see DNA as defining that I have the potential, if things work out right in mortality and I choose well, to have exceeding faith - because everyone would have to have that same genetic potential, thus making it non-unique to me, thus ruining the idea that it is unique to me because of my spiritual attributes developed pre-mortally.

 

Finally, as noted above, we really have no clue, so I suppose anything is possible, but neither idea seems rational to me.  On the other hand, memory, habit, skill, discipline, and all other behaviors and attributes developed through agency and living in the mind as a consequence of those things, seems perfectly rational, and compatible with the doctrines of the gospel as I understand them...

 

(If you made it this far, thank you!  Here's two thumbs up and a bunch of balloons for you: )

 

Whew!

 

This had me thinking of the idea of epigenetics and nutrigenomics (how we can use agency to some extent to govern DNA).

 

Jane Doe touched on this briefly with some of her statements such as how Vitamin D can affect height for instance. Essentially these concepts cover how certain genetic markers don't predetermine nearly as much as was previously thought because through certain experiences and environmental factors genes can be turned on or off. For instance Dean Ornish (link here) was involved in a pilot study showing that a healthy diet based mainly on plants can change the expression of several (4-500) genes away from developing Cancer of the prostate. Other studies have shown that increased attention and love as a child can change not only self-confidence, but actually again change the way genes are expressed and how the brain develops.

 

Could it be possible that living the gospel is the secret to optimizing spiritual(and physical) genetic expression toward perfection?

[zil]

Whew!

 

This had me thinking of the idea of epigenetics and nutrigenomics (how we can use agency to some extent to govern DNA).

 

Jane Doe touched on this briefly with some of her statements such as how Vitamin D can affect height for instance. Essentially these concepts cover how certain genetic markers don't predetermine nearly as much as was previously thought because through certain experiences and environmental factors genes can be turned on or off. For instance Dean Ornish (link here) was involved in a pilot study showing that a healthy diet based mainly on plants can change the expression of several (4-500) genes away from developing Cancer of the prostate. Other studies have shown that increased attention and love as a child can change not only self-confidence, but actually again change the way genes are expressed and how the brain develops.

 

Could it be possible that living the gospel is the secret to optimizing spiritual(and physical) genetic expression toward perfection?

 

Well make me go ponder, why don't you!? :)  These are very interesting thoughts.  This way of saying it, that behavior choices impact how / which genes are expressed, makes sense to me, and I can see how one could tie it back to spiritual traits.

 

I still have a hard time with the idea that I got a special "extra faith" gene and someone else got a special "extra charity" gene, just because of our behavior in pre-mortality - we both need the potential to grow into all faith and all charity, so I'm thinking we all have to have those genes (if there even are such genes).

 

But I think I could accept the idea that based on my behavior in pre-mortality, I came with some "spiritual genes" turned on and others off; and depending on my behavior here, they stay on or go off or come on (greatly simplifying here, in case you can't tell).

 

Shall we apply for a government grant now to study spiritual DNA?   Or should we reformat our thread into a paper and try to get published first?   

[Guest]

Spiritual DNA: What exactly would the definition be?  Zil's aunt may have simply meant that we have some spiritually inherited divine characteristics.  I have no problem believing this.  Zil indicated that it was a spiritual building block in much the same way as physical DNA is for our physical bodies. I don't necessarily take the parallels that far.  But I'm open to the idea.

 

In biology, genetic material is a resource.  They are the blueprint for building some proteins.  Without them, amino acids can still be built, but they are random.  As such, they may be useless or harmful or less commonly useful.  The proteins that are built from our genes are those that through natural selection have been shown to be of some sort of use for survival.  Some were only useful for earlier life-forms. Now, they are dormant for one reason or another.  

 

Sometimes it is because we have compensating characteristics which tend to give us advantages that they don't have.  Sometimes it is because they would actually cause a disadvantage given the remaining human characteristics.  For instance, wings offer the ability to fly. But that would mean we would be less intelligent, have weaker bodies and softer skeletons.  And we'd have a tough time making tools.

 

Inheritance: Whatever our inherited characteristics and by whatever method, they are only part of the picture.  Many characteristics are pretty hard to change -- my eye color will never change due to any casual experiences.  It would take something on the order of a surgical procedure.  My skin may lighten or darken with exposure to the sun.  My weight, oh boy!  My height will not change either, barring cutting my leg bones and...

 

Where we have the most flexibility is those areas where the inherited characteristics are a potential.  I have been given a divine inheritance which I can lose.  And many do.  It is the parable of the talents.

 

A person is born with the potential to be as good a piano player as Billy Joel.  But they invest their time into other pursuits.  So, they will never become as good as Billy Joel.

 

Conversely, a person is born with virtually no musical potential really wants to play the piano.  They try and try.  Practice and practice.  But they are partially tone deaf and have no sense of rhythm.  It takes years to develop the basic traits that some seem to have naturally.  Then still more years to understand musical principles that are so easy for others.  They will never reach the level of Billy Joel.

 

And there are most people who are in between.

 

For any given trait, spiritual or physical, there are people at every level.  Our environment and our choices drive the changes.  If left alone, many traits will have a pretty obvious outcome and will not really change from their current status.

[zil]

Spiritual DNA: What exactly would the definition be?  Zil's aunt may have simply meant that we have some spiritually inherited divine characteristics.  I have no problem believing this.  Zil indicated that it was a spiritual building block in much the same way as physical DNA is for our physical bodies. I don't necessarily take the parallels that far.  But I'm open to the idea.

 

Thanks for chiming in, Carb.

 

My aunt definitely meant more than spiritually inherited divine characteristics - she meant our performance in the pre-mortal world impacted either "spiritual DNA" (which carries over into mortality) or physical DNA so that our spiritual attributes developed pre-mortally are expressed in that physical DNA (as opposed to being expressed strictly in our minds / choices).

 

One thing we all seem to agree on is that our choices impact our spiritual progress (duh), regardless of whatever DNA may or may not be present.  This for me is the big issue - I tend to react negatively to anything which might claim to override agency when it comes to how we choose to behave.  (Faith is a choice. Virtue is a choice. Charity is a choice. Etc.  If faith is easier because you've got good faith genes, OK, but it's still a choice.  But if someone claims one only has faith because one was blessed / rewarded with the faith gene; or one doesn't have charity because one wasn't blessed with the charity gene, my hackles start going up.)

[Vort]

One thing we all seem to agree on is that our choices impact our spiritual progress (duh), regardless of whatever DNA may or may not be present.  This for me is the big issue - I tend to react negatively to anything which might claim to override agency when it comes to how we choose to behave.  (Faith is a choice. Virtue is a choice. Charity is a choice. Etc.  If faith is easier because you've got good faith genes, OK, but it's still a choice.  But if someone claims one only has faith because one was blessed / rewarded with the faith gene; or one doesn't have charity because one wasn't blessed with the charity gene, my hackles start going up.)

 

Not to keep beating the same drum, but again, I don't see the problem.

 

Let's assume there is a "charity gene". If you have it, you tend to be more charitable. Let us also assume that those who exercised great charity in their premortal state(s) are born with this gene as a result of their premortal actions. (The mechanism for that is unimportant.)

 

What is the problem? Those who have developed their charity are blessed with -- charity. Sounds perfectly reasonable to me. Those not so blessed may be people who never developed the trait of charity to a high degree. But they can still do so now, in this life. They are not prohibited. Perhaps their path is more difficult to developing that trait, but so what? We believe that we endure the consequences of our choices, for good or for ill. In our hypothetical situation, those with the "charity gene" are not being given an unfair leg up. They are being given exactly what they worked for in that premortal age. What could be more just?

[Guest]

My aunt definitely meant more than spiritually inherited divine characteristics - she meant our performance in the pre-mortal world impacted either "spiritual DNA" (which carries over into mortality) or physical DNA so that our spiritual attributes developed pre-mortally are expressed in that physical DNA (as opposed to being expressed strictly in our minds / choices).

 

That description, I am inclined to disbelieve.  This would imply that there is something about DNA that links the previously and independently existing spirit to the physical body.  Is that the link?  While not impossible, my gut says no.

[zil]

That description, I am inclined to disbelieve.  This would imply that there is something about DNA that links the previously and independently existing spirit to the physical body.  Is that the link?  While not impossible, my gut says no.

That's exactly what my gut said too. :)

[Capitalist_Oinker]

I feel quite sure that our premortal activities most certainly did and do influence our mortal lives...

 

I very much agree with Vort here. 

Just as our mortal activities will most certainly influence our post mortal lives, our premortal activities "did and do influence our mortal lives". 

My patriarchal blessing states: "because of your valiant service in premortal life, you have acquired the gift of faith"...

Obviously then, I would disagree with Jane's claim that pre-mortal actions don’t "directly influence our situation in this life in any categorical way our mortal minds can understand."

[SpiritDragon]

 

I very much agree with Vort here. 

Just as our mortal activities will most certainly influence our post mortal lives, our premortal activities "did and do influence our mortal lives". 

My patriarchal blessing states: "because of your valiant service in premortal life, you have acquired the gift of faith"...

Obviously then, I would disagree with Jane's claim that pre-mortal actions don’t "directly influence our situation in this life in any categorical way our mortal minds can understand."

 

The most obvious example being those who kept the first estate and those who didn't. Those who did get to go on to the second estate, while those who didn't had a very different outcome.

[JanetfromFlorida]

On 1/3/2016 at 0:08 PM, zil said:

Over the holidays, my aunt was trying to describe to me an idea which she said she developed while reading Alma 13, especially verses 3-12 (which speaks about foreordination, among other things).  Unfortunately, I don't think I fully understood what she was trying to say, but I thought I'd throw it out there to see what people think.

Her idea was that either (it was unclear to me which of these she believed, or whether it was both):

* One has spiritual DNA...

and/or

* One's mortal DNA is directly influenced by how one behaved in pre-mortality...

...such that spiritual gifts or attributes (e.g. exceeding faith), are coded into our DNA (perhaps not as a guarantee, but definitely as a possibility or even probability - again, it was unclear to me what she believed to be the extent of the influence of this "spiritual DNA").

Rather than write my thoughts now (lest I sway your opinion), I'd appreciate your thoughts.  (And if we happen to have a biologist in the room, I'd love to know your thoughts!)

Speaking of Spiritual DNA...

There is a spiritual gift that many of my family have in common---which would suggest a DNA connection in dealing with our spiritual abilities.  Me, a sister, a niece, a cousin, two of my children, a grandchild, a grandmother and a great-grandmother (on different sides of the family) all have this same spiritual ability.  

The spiritual gift is the Discerning of Spirits as also other abilities include visions, dreams, and the interpretations of dreams.  The veil was thin since early childhood and continued to be so into adulthood.  The ability to discern the spirits of those who have not yet been born, the spirit of a living person, the spirits of the departed (both good spirits in paradise and spirits in prison), evil spirits, and diver angels.  It would seem that all of us inherited this DNA to experience this particular spiritual ability for some reason, one in which we know not.

But obviously this spiritual ability was given to fulfill a particular foreordained mission here on earth.  My great-grandmother was successful in using this ability to accomplish Genealogy in her time....which mission is dealing with the salvation of those who are dead.  This ability helped to bridge the gap between mortality and immortality and allowed her to accomplish a mission to the Spirit World while yet living in mortality.  

Edited August 4, 2017 by JanetfromFlorida
Entered more info

[CV75]

On 1/3/2016 at 0:08 PM, zil said:

Over the holidays, my aunt was trying to describe to me an idea which she said she developed while reading Alma 13, especially verses 3-12 (which speaks about foreordination, among other things).  Unfortunately, I don't think I fully understood what she was trying to say, but I thought I'd throw it out there to see what people think.

Her idea was that either (it was unclear to me which of these she believed, or whether it was both):

* One has spiritual DNA...

and/or

* One's mortal DNA is directly influenced by how one behaved in pre-mortality...

...such that spiritual gifts or attributes (e.g. exceeding faith), are coded into our DNA (perhaps not as a guarantee, but definitely as a possibility or even probability - again, it was unclear to me what she believed to be the extent of the influence of this "spiritual DNA").

Rather than write my thoughts now (lest I sway your opinion), I'd appreciate your thoughts.  (And if we happen to have a biologist in the room, I'd love to know your thoughts!)

I believe spirit (with our attendant characteristics and gifts developed in the pre-mortal world; "Man is spirit...") and element become separably connected in mortality (D&C 93:33). I see DNA as the element with which the spirit is connected to express our will and agency, our gender and other characteristics essential to our eternal identity and purpose.

I think the mechanism for connection has to allow a full-grown spirit to coordinate with the DNA at the most fundamental germinal stage. I do not see that as a function of the spirit's DNA but of some kind of ordinance performed under the direction of God. The spirit literally becomes subject to the flesh for a significant period of time, which may explain the lack of accountability for fetuses, infants and young children.

Inasmuch as spirit is a kind of matter (I've heard the term "spirit element" used), it is not a foregone conclusion that the children of God come about through a corresponding genetic mechanism. Where we are co-eternal, our origins may be more crystaline (as in urim and thummim and the sea of glass; e.g. as our mortal frames are of the dust of the earth, our spirit frames are of the "sanctified, immortal, and eternal" world or globe of God -- D&C 77:1, Revelation 130:7). Where God is described as a personage of "flesh and bone," the biology involved in the continuation of the seeds and the organization of eternal increase would exclude any genes for blood and probably other strictly mortal attributes.

Edited August 4, 2017 by CV75

[CV75]

On 1/3/2016 at 6:49 PM, Jane_Doe said:

The second: God deals with us individually, not categorically.  And for mortal men to postalize that one group of people born X means they were Y pre-existence is an extremely dangerous road.

I think there are two principles at play here: the “one blood” mentioned in Acts 17:26-27 and the foreordination mentioned in Alma 13.

We are all of one blood—the inherited characteristics from Adam and Eve. We are all foreordained for exaltation if we choose it.

That God placed in us in appointed family lines (our most recent common ancestor being Noah) at various times and places, under various circumstances and conditions (“the bounds of [our] habitation”), through the mechanism of Adam’s genes, is an indicator that genetics say nothing of our premortal standing but instead of our best opportunity to “seek the Lord, if haply [we] might feel after him, and find him.” This of course is coordinated with the Lord’s overall plan for the earth’s temporal existence, and how each of His children play our parts, and when, from the very beginning.

The Book of Mormon warns us of assuming too much about lineage (1 Nephi 17:34-35, “Do ye suppose that our fathers would have been more choice than they if they had been righteous? I say unto you, Nay. Behold, the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one; he that is righteous is favored of God.”).

Our foreordination to come to the earth through certain lineages, as explained above, has nothing to do with spiritual genetics directing mortal genetics. Both fall under God’s purview.

I think God deals with us categorically only in that He blesses those who keep His covenants. The kingdom on earth is established for that purpose, and to bring those who are not in the fold into it. He invites all to come into the fold regardless of genetic history.

[Snigmorder]

On 1/3/2016 at 6:53 PM, Anddenex said:

As nothing is revealed pertaining to how exalted beings will have spiritual offspring, I would assume as we begin naturally we began spiritually, as all things were spiritual before they were natural and patterned after the spiritual.  It will be great when this is revealed.

You are correct. It was confirmed in section 132 and confirmed by Joseph Smith that spirits are generated by sexual union.

 

[JanetfromFlorida]

1 hour ago, CV75 said:

I think there are two principles at play here: the “one blood” mentioned in Acts 17:26-27 and the foreordination mentioned in Alma 13.

 

We are all of one blood—the inherited characteristics from Adam and Eve. We are all foreordained for exaltation if we choose it.

 

That God placed in us in appointed family lines (our most recent common ancestor being Noah) at various times and places, under various circumstances and conditions (“the bounds of [our] habitation”), through the mechanism of Adam’s genes, is an indicator that genetics say nothing of our premortal standing but instead of our best opportunity to “seek the Lord, if haply [we] might feel after him, and find him.” This of course is coordinated with the Lord’s overall plan for the earth’s temporal existence, and how each of His children play our parts, and when, from the very beginning.

 

The Book of Mormon warns us of assuming too much about lineage (1 Nephi 17:34-35, “Do ye suppose that our fathers would have been more choice than they if they had been righteous? I say unto you, Nay. Behold, the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one; he that is righteous is favored of God.”).

 

Our foreordination to come to the earth through certain lineages, as explained above, has nothing to do with spiritual genetics directing mortal genetics. Both fall under God’s purview.

I think God deals with us categorically only in that He blesses those who keep His covenants. The kingdom on earth is established for that purpose, and to bring those who are not in the fold into it. He invites all to come into the fold regardless of genetic history.

The spiritual and emotional heritage [DNA] of the ancestors is also handed down.  The experiences, attitudes, strengths, weaknesses, and beliefs of the ancestors are handed down to the children....even when those children did not know those individuals (showing that this heritage was not just a matter of nurture or environment).  I have had the same beliefs, attitudes, experiences, strengths, and weaknesses of ancestors (who I did not know) and did not know where those experiences and attitudes came from.  Those things have caused me to have the same stumbling blocks (and abilities) that they did.  It was as though I inherited something that they could not overcome in their generation and so it was handed down to me to overcome it.  We know that the sins of the parents are visited upon the third and fourth generations....who end up doing the same things...as a matter of generational patterns.  It would also make sense that the righteous acts of the parents are also visited upon the generations as well (by nurture, environment, as well as imprinted DNA upon their very natures).  

I know that many of my strengths (as well as weaknesses) came from the things that my ancestors experienced in their lives.

We have all seen some families who struggle more at overcoming the natural man and then there are others who don't struggle so much in those areas.  When you intermarry those two together....you get a combination of those who take after one family or the other.  And yet there are families who get a child that struggles more than everyone else does...suggesting that, that child needed to be sent to a stable family (the environment) and be nurtured for their spiritual development.

 

Edited August 4, 2017 by JanetfromFlorida

[CV75]

1 hour ago, JanetfromFlorida said:

The spiritual and emotional heritage [DNA] of the ancestors is also handed down.  The experiences, attitudes, strengths, weaknesses, and beliefs of the ancestors are handed down to the children....even when those children did not know those individuals (showing that this heritage was not just a matter of nurture or environment).  I have had the same beliefs, attitudes, experiences, strengths, and weaknesses of ancestors (who I did not know) and did not know where those experiences and attitudes came from.  Those things have caused me to have the same stumbling blocks (and abilities) that they did.  It was as though I inherited something that they could not overcome in their generation and so it was handed down to me to overcome it.  We know that the sins of the parents are visited upon the third and fourth generations....who end up doing the same things...as a matter of generational patterns.  It would also make sense that the righteous acts of the parents are also visited upon the generations as well (by nurture, environment, as well as imprinted DNA upon their very natures).  

I know that many of my strengths (as well as weaknesses) came from the things that my ancestors experienced in their lives.

We have all seen some families who struggle more at overcoming the natural man and then there are others who don't struggle so much in those areas.  When you intermarry those two together....you get a combination of those who take after one family or the other.  And yet there are families who get a child that struggles more than everyone else does...suggesting that, that child needed to be sent to a stable family (the environment) and be nurtured for their spiritual development.

Yes, we pass those things down, sometimes even genetically as the things we do in interacting with our environment and the things we take into our bodies sometimes alter our genes (for better or worse).