From six founding members in 1830 to nearly 17.9 million today: members, temples, stakes, congregations and missionaries, year by year.
gatheredin.one · Updated November 2026 · Figures as of December 31, 2025 unless noted
Note: These charts are an interim version. They will be rebuilt as live, dynamic charts driven by an updated LDS membership statistics dataset, with more history and more detail.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized on April 6, 1830, in upstate New York with six members. It took 117 years, until 1947, to pass one million. Today the Church reports more members, temples and stakes than ever before. How fast it is growing, though, has changed a lot over time. The charts below follow that story using the Church’s own annual statistical reports and long-running historical tables.
17,887,212
Total members (end of 2025)
211
Operating temples (204 in operation plus 7 in renovation)
3,695
Stakes, plus 488 districts
32,046
Wards and branches
451
Missions
385,490
Convert baptisms in 2025
Membership: from 280 to almost 18 million
Total membership at year end, 1830–2025. Sources: membership history table (Wikipedia, drawn from the Church Almanac and annual statistical reports); 2025 statistical report.
Membership grew slowly through the 1800s, as the Saints moved west and gathered converts from Britain and Scandinavia. Growth sped up after World War II. The Church passed 2 million in 1963, 5 million in 1982, 10 million in 1997 and 15 million in 2013. It added 377,431 members in 2025, its largest one-year gain since 1999, to reach 17,887,212.
The growth rate: fast, then steady
Year-over-year change in total membership, 1900–2025, calculated from the yearly membership totals.
Total membership keeps rising, but the percentage growth has slowed for decades. Annual growth often ran 4–6% through the 1980s, and 1989 hit 8.7%. It slid to about 2% in the 2000s and fell to 0.6% in 2020, when the pandemic paused missionary work and many baptisms. Since then it has recovered every year, from 1.47% in 2024 to 2.16% in 2025. Researchers at Mormonr point out that members, stakes and wards have all been growing at roughly 1.5% a year in recent decades. Most of that growth comes from convert baptisms rather than children born into the Church.
Temples dot the earth
Temples in operation, 1970–2025. 1970–2015 from the LDS membership statistics spreadsheet; 2016–2025 from Church statistical reports; 2022 from Church News (175 dedicated temples). Counting rules changed over the years: the 2023 figure includes four temples under renovation, and the 2025 report lists 204 in operation plus 7 in renovation.
In 1970 the Church had 13 temples. Expansion was gradual until 1998, when smaller temples that could be built faster and closer to members were announced. The count jumped from 68 at the end of 1999 to 102 a year later. Temple building has sped up again in the 2020s. The Church dedicated 16 temples in 2024 alone. At the end of 2025 it reported 204 temples in operation, 7 in renovation and 172 announced or under construction.
Stakes and congregations
Stakes (left axis; by decade 1900–1960, yearly from 1970) and wards and branches (right axis; yearly from 1970). Sources: LDS membership statistics spreadsheet through 2015; Church statistical reports 2016–2025.
A stake is a group of wards and branches, roughly like a diocese, and organizing one usually means the Church is well established in an area. There were 43 stakes in 1900, 537 in 1970 and 3,695 at the end of 2025. The 3,000th stake was organized in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in December 2012, and the 3,500th came about nine years later. Congregations rose from under 7,000 in 1970 to 32,046 today. Since about 2000, though, stakes and congregations have grown more slowly than total membership. Analysts see that gap as a sign of how hard it is to keep new members active.
Missionaries and missions
Full-time (teaching) missionaries, 1977–2025 (bars) and number of missions where reported (line: 1999 and 2013–2025). Sources: LDS membership statistics spreadsheet through 2015; Church statistical reports 2016–2024; 2025 from the Newsroom “Facts and Statistics” page (78,596, as of Dec. 31, 2025).
The missionary force has gone through two big swings. In 2012 the minimum age was lowered to 18 for young men and 19 for young women. The surge pushed the full-time force from about 59,000 to more than 83,000 in 2013 and 85,147 in 2014. COVID-19 then cut numbers to 51,819 in 2020. Since then the force has rebuilt steadily, to 74,127 in 2024 and 78,596 at the end of 2025. The Church formed 36 new missions in 2024, the most in any year since 2013, and now has 451.
Where new members come from
Convert baptisms and new children of record, 1970–2025. Sources: LDS membership statistics spreadsheet through 2015; Church statistical reports 2016–2025.
New members come in two ways: converts who are baptized, and children of members who are recorded when they are blessed. Converts have outnumbered children of record every year since 1976. Convert baptisms peaked around 1990 at about 330,000, fell to 125,930 in the pandemic year, and then rebounded sharply. 2024 was the strongest year since 1997, and 2025 reached 385,490, the highest total in this data set. Children of record tell a different story. They have drifted down from about 124,000 in 1982 to about 92,000 a year now, as Latter-day Saint birth rates have fallen.
Baptisms per missionary
Convert baptisms divided by full-time missionaries, 1977–2025. 1977–2015 from the LDS membership statistics spreadsheet; later years calculated from the statistical reports (2025 uses the year-end missionary count from the Newsroom facts page).
A rough measure of missionary success is how many converts are baptized for each full-time missionary. It peaked at about 8 per missionary in 1989. It dropped to about 3.4 after the 2013 age-change surge, when many more missionaries were serving but baptisms did not rise to match. The ratio has climbed since 2020, reaching 4.16 in 2024 and about 4.9 in 2025.
A worldwide church
Approximate share of Church membership by region, about 1989–1990, as summarized by sociologist Tim B. Heaton (BYU Religious Studies Center, 1998). Europe (4–5%) and the South Pacific (3–4%) are shown at the low end of the ranges he gave. Current regional figures will be added in the dynamic version.
In 1930 half of all Latter-day Saints lived in Utah, and 90% lived in the United States. Even in 1960, nine in ten members were American. That changed quickly. By 1989 South America held 16% of members and Mexico and Central America 11%, with Asia close behind. Between 1987 and 1989, more than 60% of new members came from Latin America. The Church now reports more members living outside the United States than inside it, and many of the stakes and districts organized in recent years are in Africa.
Activity and retention
Self-reported church attendance among U.S. adults who identify as Latter-day Saints, 2025 Pew Research data as summarized by Mormonr. “Less often / other” is the remainder.
Records count everyone baptized or blessed. They do not show who attends. A 2025 Pew study found that 69% of self-identified U.S. Latter-day Saints attend church weekly, among the highest rates of any U.S. faith. Retention from childhood into adulthood is about 50% in the U.S., down from about 82% in the 1980s, which mirrors a broad decline in religious affiliation. Worldwide activity is harder to measure. An unofficial almanac estimate from 2011 put it near 30%. Outside estimates of how many new converts stay active range from 20% to 50%, depending on country and timeframe.
Charts are drawn as inline SVG straight from the data tables, so they need no scripts or plugins. Hover a bar or point to see its value. Definitions and counting methods in the Church’s reports have changed over time, so small year-to-year shifts can reflect reporting changes rather than real growth or decline.
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When Brigham Young and architect Truman O. Angell laid out the blueprints for the Salt Lake Temple in the mid-19th century, they were not merely designing a house of worship; they were engaged in a radical act of bilical architectural and theological translation.
Central to Latter-day Saint (LDS) theology is the doctrine of Restoration—the belief that ancient order, priesthood authority, and sacred rites have been restored to the earth in the modern era. Nowhere is this principle more explicitly materialized than in the comparison between the biblical Temple of Solomon and the Salt Lake Temple.
While Solomon’s temple operated on a lateral, one-story axis moving west from the outer court to the Holy of Holies, the Salt Lake Temple takes that exact ritual trajectory and transposes it vertically into a multi-story design. By stacking these sacred spaces, Latter-day Saints created an architectural climb that mirrors both ancient Israelite temple worship and the progressive spiritual ascension of the Christian soul.
Floor 1: The Outer Court Transposed — Washing, Anointing, and Baptism
To understand the lower level of the Salt Lake Temple, one must first step into the Outer Court of Solomon’s Temple. Anciently, the outer precinct was defined by purification, sacrifice, and preparatory consecration before a priest could enter the sacred structure itself.
Salt Lake Temple (Vertical): [ Top Floor ] Assembly Hall (Church of the Firstborn) ▲ [ Floor 3 ] Celestial Room & Holy of Holies (Split Sacred Center) ▲ [ Floor 2 ] Initiatory & Endowment Rooms (The Holy Place) ▲ [ Floor 1 ] Baptistry & Washings (Solomon’s Outer Court / Brazen Sea)
In Solomon’s court stood two prominent features: the Altar of Burnt Offering and the Brazen Sea—a massive bronze basin resting on the backs of twelve oxen, accompanied by ten smaller mobile lavers (1 Kings 7:23–26). Here, Levite priests underwent ritual washings to cleanse away physical and ritual impurity, followed by consecrated anointings with sacred oil to sanctify them for divine service.
In the basement level of the Salt Lake Temple, this ancient outer court finds its direct modern counterpart:
The Baptistry and the Twelve Oxen: Just like Solomon’s Brazen Sea, the Salt Lake Temple baptistry centers around a large baptismal font supported by twelve cast-iron or bronze oxen, representing the twelve tribes of Israel. However, the ordinance has evolved: where Solomon’s basin was used for the physical washing of living priests, the LDS font is used for vicarious baptisms for the dead—extending salvation retroactively to ancestors.
Initiatory Rites (Washings and Anointings): Adjoining the lower level are sacred spaces dedicated to “Initiatory” ordinances. Scholars like Dr. Hugh Nibley have extensively documented how these modern Latter-day Saint ordinances directly reflect ancient Near Eastern and early Jewish royal/priestly initiations. In ancient Israel, Aaron and his sons were washed with water, anointed with consecrated olive oil, and clothed in holy garments (Exodus 40:12–15). In the Salt Lake Temple, LDS patrons undergo symbolic washings and anointings, followed by the bestowal of the temple garment, setting them apart as “priests and priestesses” ready to ascend to higher instruction.
Confirmations & Sacramental Substitutes: Rather than animal sacrifice, the modern LDS temple substitutes the “sacrifice of a broken heart and a contrite spirit,” accompanied by the confirmation and bestowment of the Holy Ghost—the spiritual culmination of the lower-floor rites.
Floor 2: The Holy Place — The Endowment, Symbols, and the Veil
Ascending from the lower level to the middle floors, the patron leaves the “outer court” and steps into the equivalent of Solomon’s Holy Place (Hekhal). Anciently, this was an elongated hall accessible only to ordained priests. It contained three main sacred implements:
The Shewbread Table: Representing the covenant, sustenance, and the twelve tribes.
The Menorah: The seven-branched golden lampstand symbolizing divine light, wisdom, and the presence of the Shekinah.
The Altar of Incense: Positioned directly in front of the inner veil, where sweet-smelling smoke ascended daily, representing the prayers of the saints rising to God (Psalm 141:2).
Hugh Nibley’s extensive comparative research into ancient Jewish liturgy, apocryphal literature, and the Egyptian Book of the Dead highlights that the Holy Place was fundamentally a space of preparatory instruction, covenant-making, and symbolic ascent. The priest entered this room to perform precise, prescribed gestures and prayers before approaching the veil that separated humanity from the throne of God.
In the Salt Lake Temple, these ancient implements and rites are transposed into the multi-stage Endowment ceremony:
Instruction and Progression: Patrons move through progressive creation and instruction rooms (Creation, Garden, World, and Terrestrial Rooms). This journey parallels the light of the Menorah, guiding the initiate through increasing levels of spiritual illumination.
Covenants and Prayer: The Shewbread and the Altar of Incense are mirrored in the modern LDS temple altar. Here, patrons make solemn covenants of obedience, consecration, and purity. Around these altars, patrons join in circle prayers—a practice Nibley frequently compared to ancient Christian and early Jewish prayer circles (apocryphal Acts of John)—offering up collective prayers right before the veil.
The Veil of the Temple: At the conclusion of the instruction in the Terrestrial Room, patrons arrive at a physical veil. Just as the ancient Israelite priest had to pass the Altar of Incense and demonstrate ritual readiness at the woven veil of Solomon’s temple, the Latter-day Saint patron approaches the veil to demonstrate their knowledge of sacred tokens, names, and covenants before being admitted into the divine presence.
Floor 3: The Holy of Holies — Split into the Celestial Room and the LDS Holy of Holies
In Solomon’s Temple, the Holy of Holies (Kodesh HaKodashim) was a perfect cube, dark and silent, housing the Ark of the Covenant topped by the Mercy Seat. It represented the literal throne room of Yahweh. It was strictly off-limits to everyone except the High Priest, who entered only once a year on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) through the veil.
The Salt Lake Temple makes a profound theological shift: it splits the functions of Solomon’s Holy of Holies into two distinct spaces.
Solomon’s Holy of Holies (Single Space) ├── Entered only by High Priest (Yom Kippur) └── Housed Ark of the Covenant & Relics │ ▼ Transposed & Split Salt Lake Temple Upper Level (Dual Spaces) ├── 1. The Celestial Room (Open to ALL endowed patrons) │ └── Signals Christ opened the veil for all faithful saints. └── 2. The LDS Holy of Holies (Restricted to Church President/High Priests) └── Houses sacred altar; traditional site of modern sacred relics.
1. The Celestial Room: Heaven Opened to All
The primary space patrons enter after crossing the veil is the Celestial Room. Unlike Solomon’s dark, restricted inner sanctuary, the Celestial Room is brilliantly lit, beautifully appointed with chandeliers, mirrors, and fine furnishings, symbolizing the celestial kingdom of God.
By allowing all worthy Latter-day Saints who have made temple covenants to enter this room, LDS theology illustrates a core New Testament doctrine: through the atonement of Jesus Christ, the veil of the temple was rent in twain (Matthew 27:51). The divine presence is no longer restricted to a single solitary High Priest; heaven has been opened to every obedient follower who enters into the covenant. Here, patrons also perform eternal sealings (marriages), linking families forever in God’s presence.
2. The LDS Holy of Holies: Preserving the High Priestly Sanctuary
While the Celestial Room democratizes the divine presence, the Salt Lake Temple preserves the ancient high-priestly sanctuary through a dedicated Holy of Holies—a small, highly inner room adjoining the Celestial Room.
The Sacred Altar: At the center of the LDS Holy of Holies sits an altar, corresponding directly to the Mercy Seat above the Ark of the Covenant. This room is reserved for the President of the Church (the presiding High Priest) and higher priesthood ordinances (such as the Second Anointing).
The Repository of Sacred Relics: In Solomon’s day, the Ark of the Covenant contained Israel’s most sacred physical relics: the stone tablets of the Law, Aaron’s rod that budded, and a pot of manna (Hebrews 9:4). Latter-day Saint tradition and lore hold that the LDS Holy of Holies serves a similar repository function—housing key relics of the Restoration, such as the original manuscript of the Book of Mormon, early revelations, or sacred artifacts preserved from the Prophet Joseph Smith.
The Top Floor: The Assembly Hall and the New Testament “Church of the Firstborn”
If the first three levels of the Salt Lake Temple transpose and refine the Old Testament pattern of Solomon’s Temple, the upper-most floor adds an entirely new dimension drawn directly from New Testament theology.
Taking up the entire top floor of the Salt Lake Temple is the grand Priesthood Assembly Hall, complete with tiered pulpits at both the east and west ends representing the Melchizedek and Aaronic priesthoods.
──────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ PRIESTHOOD ASSEMBLY HALL │ │ (Top Floor – Mount Zion / Heavenly City)│ └──────────────────────────────────────────┘ ▲ │ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ SOLOMON’S TEMPLE (OT) │ │ │ Outer Court ──► Holy Place ──► Holy of │───────────┘ │ (Veil) Holies │ (Extends OT Pattern into NT Eschatology)
This room represents the “General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn” described in Hebrews 12:22–23:
“But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn…”
In early Latter-day Saint theology, the “Church of the Firstborn” represents the exalted body of saints in heaven who have received the fullness of priesthood blessings. By building a grand assembly hall atop the temple, the architecture makes a powerful physical statement: the ultimate destination of the saint’s spiritual path is not merely individual entrance into the Celestial Room, but communal gatherers in the heavenly city.
The lower floors guide the individual step-by-step from the world (Outer Court), through instruction and covenants (Holy Place), to individual reconciliation with God (Holy of Holies). The top floor brings that redeemed individual into the collective council of the Priesthood—bringing the heavenly church down to earth, where God’s servants assemble to govern, instruct, and prepare the world for the Second Coming of Christ.
Conclusion
The Salt Lake Temple is a masterwork of comparative theology written in stone, wood, and glass. By taking the lateral, linear layout of Solomon’s ancient temple and folding it upward into a vertical structure, the early Latter-day Saints created a visual and physical allegory of spiritual ascent.
From the baptismal oxen in the basement to the veil in the middle floors, the split Holy of Holies, and the heavenly Assembly Hall at its peak, the Salt Lake Temple bridges the Old and New Testaments—translating ancient Levite rituals into modern Christian restorationism.
Direct Correspondences: Solomon’s Temple vs. Salt Lake City Temple
Dimension / Aspect
Solomon’s Temple (Ancient Israel)
Salt Lake City Temple (LDS)
Spatial Axis
Lateral / Horizontal (Westward progression across one level)
Vertical / Multi-Story (Ascension upward across multiple floors)
Lower Precinct / Floor 1
The Outer Court
The Basement / Baptistry Level
Water Vessel
The Brazen Sea (resting on 12 bronze oxen)
The Baptismal Font (resting on 12 oxen)
Purification Rites
Washing of Levite priests; animal sacrifices
Baptisms for the dead; Initiatory Washings & Anointings
Spiritual Focus
Cleansing of physical and ritual impurity
Cleansing from sin, personal consecration, ancestor redemption
Middle Section / Floor 2
The Holy Place (Hekhal)
The Endowment / Instruction Rooms
Sacred Implements
Menorah (Light), Shewbread (Covenants), Altar of Incense (Prayer)
The heavenly council of Saints brought to earth; priesthood governance
https://gatheredin.one/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/slc-solomons-temple-comparison-new.png10241536Lancehttps://gatheredin.one/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/newest-logo-all-together-bell-arrows.pngLance2026-09-24 08:36:272026-10-01 12:35:39From Jerusalem to Salt Lake: How the Salt Lake Temple Transposes Solomon’s Layout into a Vertical Restoration
“For out of Zion the law shall go forth, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem” (Isa 2:3)
The following concept came to me in a strong dream. That I was to preach this at some point, of how the LORD will use Islam in the Latter-days. The Book of Mormon IS FOR ISLAM–just as it is for the seed of the Lamanites in America, it foreshadows their destiny.
The Lion and the Lamb: The Book of Mormon as a Typology for the Modern Clash of Civilizations — Islam vs. Christianity
The Book of Mormon identifies itself primarily as a record written for the “Lamanites,” a remnant of the House of Israel, to be brought forth in the latter days. However, scholars and theologians of the faith have long noted that its narratives serve as “types” or “shadows”—prophetic blueprints for the challenges facing the global House of Israel before the Second Coming. When examining the geopolitical and spiritual landscape of the 21st century, a compelling parallel emerges: the millennia-long struggle between the Nephites and Lamanites serves as a divine foreshadowing of the modern tension between the Christian West and the Islamic world.
The Nephites and Lamanites: A Mirror of Modernity
In this typological framework, the Nephites represent the Christian tradition—a people who were given the “plain and precious” truths of the Gospel, built a civilization based on those covenants, but who often fell into the traps of materialism, pride, and spiritual apathy. Conversely, the Lamanites mirror the historical and spiritual trajectory of Islam. Both groups are descendants of Abrahamic lineages (the Lamanites through Lehi/Joseph; Islam largely through Ishmael) who felt dispossessed of their birthright and spent centuries in a state of perceived grievance against their “brethren.”
The Book of Mormon explicitly states that the Lord uses the Lamanites as a “scourge” to keep the Nephites in remembrance of their God. As recorded in 2 Nephi 5:25:
“And the Lord God said unto me: They shall be a scourge unto thy seed, to stir them up in remembrance of me; and inasmuch as they will not remember me, and hearken unto my words, they shall scourge them even unto destruction.” (2 Nephi 5:25)
This mirrors the contemporary view that the rise of global Islamic movements acts as a catalyst for a secularized Christian world to re-evaluate its own faith and moral foundations. When the Nephites turned from their covenants, the Lamanites were the instrument of their awakening.
The “Lion Among the Sheep”: A Shared Prophecy
One of the most striking links is the Book of Mormon’s repeated citation of Micah’s prophecy regarding the House of Israel in the last days. In both 3 Nephi 20:16 and 3 Nephi 21:12, Jesus Christ quotes the Old Testament, stating that the remnant of Jacob shall be:
15 And I say unto you, that if the Gentiles do not repent after the blessing which they shall receive, after they have scattered my people— 16 Then shall ye, who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, go forth among them; and ye shall be in the midst of them who shall be many; and ye shall be among them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, and as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he goeth through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. 17 Thy hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.
12 And my people who are a remnant of Jacob shall be among the Gentiles, yea, in the midst of them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he go through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. 13 Their hand shall be lifted up upon their adversaries, and all their enemies shall be cut off. (3 Nephi 21:12)
While this has traditionally been applied to the indigenous peoples of the Americas (the seed of Lehi) reclaiming their land, a global application suggests it also refers to the “Seed of Abraham” in the Old World. Today, the seed of Abraham is predominantly concentrated in Islamic nations. This “Lion” imagery suggests a period of intense, irresistible power where a once-subjugated people rise to prominence, acting as a force of judgment upon a Gentile world that has rejected its spiritual heritage.
The Book of Mormon suggests this is not mere random conflict, but a calculated divine stirring. Just as the Lamanites were “driven” to battle by their circumstances and God’s permissive will to humble the Nephites, the geopolitical shifts in the Middle East and the Islamic diaspora in the West can be seen as the “Lion” beginning to tread down the complacency of a post-Christian world.
From Scourge to Sanctification: The Great Conversion
The most hopeful element of this typology lies in the eventual spiritual reversal. The Book of Mormon is not a story of the perpetual wickedness of the Lamanites; rather, it is a story of their ultimate redemption. In several key instances, such as the mission of the sons of Mosiah or the era of Helaman, the Lamanites became more righteous than the Nephites.
“And it came to pass that when the sixty and first year of the reign of the judges had ended… the Lamanites had become, the more part of them, a righteous people, insomuch that their righteousness did exceed that of the Nephites, because of their firmness and their steadiness in the faith.” (Hel 6:1)
This serves as a profound prophecy for the future of Islam. The Book of Mormon suggests that the very traits that make a people a formidable “scourge”—their “steadiness,” their refusal to compromise their identity, and their zeal—become their greatest strengths when they eventually embrace the fullness of the Gospel.
Just as the Lord “remembered” the Lamanites and restored them to their knowledge of their forefathers, the latter-day work involves a similar “remembering” of the Islamic world. The conflict described in the Book of Mormon suggests that the end-times friction between “Nephite-like” Christianity and “Lamanite-like” Islam will not end in mutual destruction, but in a massive spiritual harvest where the “Lion” finally finds peace with the “Lamb,” and the remnants of Abraham’s seed unite under a single Shepherd.
So even though the Book of Mormon specifically prophecies that it will the the Latin (and particularly indigenous Latin people in concert with the Saints or righteous remnant of the gentiles) who are given North America after the fall of the Great Gentile Nation (USA), in a broader sense it will be Islam and converted Muslims in concert with the remnant of Jews in Israel who are given Europe after the fall of the Gentiles on that continent.
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19 The weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh— 20 But that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world; (D&C 1:19–20)
And again, verily I say unto you, I would that ye should always remember, and always retain in your minds what those gifts are, that are given unto the church… For to some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby… to some is given the working of miracles; and to others it is given to prophesy… (D&C 46:10–22)
8 Wherefore, I will that all men shall repent, for all are under sin, except those which I have reserved unto myself, holy men that ye know not of. (D&C 49:8)
A. They are two prophets that are to be raised up to the Jewish nation in the last days, at the time of the restoration, and to prophesy to the Jews after they are gathered and have built the city of Jerusalem in the land of their fathers. (D&C 77:15)
In Mormonism, we sometimes forget our prophetic roots and confuse the concept of the prophetic leading high priest (of which there is only one per priesthood sect – D&C 107), and a prophet (of which there can be many). Mormonism was not just started by Joseph Smith, but by a whole group of individuals with a prophetic or mystical worldview. Scores of people who regularly saw visions and believed in prophetic ability. To be a prophet or prophetess in Mormonism was not a privilege reserved for the Pope or people of the scriptures, but a right that came with faith and good works. It was a body of people who believed they received revelation from heaven in order to start religious movements which could stand as the cornerstones of upcoming philosophical thought for the new age.
Through the years, the Mormon movement continues to be a ‘house of the prophets’. Not just with leaders who believe themselves capabable of revelation from heaven, but by scores of visionaries who have been raised under the faith. Sometimes these visionaries, mystics and prophets have stayed within the faith… and sometimes they have broken off to form their own sects. But regardless, they are a continuation of an ancient tradition of people who believe themselves moved upon by divinity to change the course of the world.
Prophets of the Second Great Awakening
Many LDS people don’t realize that Joseph Smith’s first vision experience was not entirely unique. Many individuals both in recent and ancient times have had experiences with what they believe are angels and deity. Many of the worlds largest religions are the result of such experiences. Many smaller faiths within the mysticism movement have a long history of having and analyzing these types of experiences (see this article for a discussion on this).
“Theophany” (θεοφάνεια/theophaneia) is the word coined by the ancient Greeks to describe the appearance of a deity to a human. This term has been used to refer to appearances of the gods in the ancient Greek and Near Eastern religions. While the Iliad is the earliest source for descriptions of theophanies in the Classical tradition/era (and they occur throughout Greek mythology), probably the earliest historically dated description of a theophany is in the Epic of Gilgamesh. Similar experiences have continued throughout recorded history.
In the Book of Oahspe the idea is proposed that true prophets RARELY come as isolated instances; because they are the product of powerful heavenly forces which send THOUSANDS of influencers to all parts of the world simultaneously to affect human events. Indeed, this is supposedly one of the ways people can know whether a movement/inspiration is sourced in the higher more powerful heavens, or just by random un-exalted spirit beings. Because it will show up an inspirational movements among multiple cultures simultaneously. This is relevent in Mormonism, as the Joseph Smith was but one grand player, in many ‘prophets’ of the Second Great Awakening. The following is a list of theophanies, ordered by their relevance to Mormonism.
Joseph Smith Jr
Joseph Smith (December 23, 1805 – June 27, 1844), was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he had attracted tens of thousands of followers and founded a religion that continues to the present with millions of global adherents.
Smith was born in Sharon, Vermont. By 1817, he had moved with his family to western New York, the site of intense religious revivalism during the Second Great Awakening. Smith said he experienced a series of visions, including one in 1820 during which he saw “two personages” (whom he eventually described as God the Father and Jesus Christ), and another in 1823 in which an angel directed him to a buried book of golden plates inscribed with a Judeo-Christian history of an ancient American civilization. In 1830, Smith published what he said was an English translation of these plates called the Book of Mormon. The same year he organized the Church of Christ, calling it a restoration of the early Christian church. Members of the church were later called “Latter Day Saints” or “Mormons”, and Smith announced a revelation in 1838 which renamed the church as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Taiping Heavenly King (太平天王)
Hong Xiuquan (Jan 1814 – June 1864), was a Hakka Chinese prophet/leader of the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing Dynasty, establishing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Peace over varying portions of southern China.
In 1837, Hong reported being visited by two figures, an old, paternal figure and an elder brother-figure who he later described as God the Father and Jesus Christ. In the vision the old man [Father] complained to Hong about men worshiping demons rather than him. In a second vision, Hong saw Confucius being punished for his faithlessness, after which he repented. In another dream, Hong dreamt of angels carrying him to heaven, where he met the elder-brother figure [Jesus] wearing a black dragon robe with a long golden beard who gave him a sword and a magic seal, and told him to purge China of its demons. Much like Joseph Smith in America, started a church which he called ‘the heavenly kingdom’ and instituted polygamy as well as a form of ‘consecration’ or communism. Hong’s religion or ideology was broken up when his rebellion was destroyed by Chinese imperial forces in the Taiping Rebellion, and his followers put to death. (Deaths from the Rebellion are estimated at between 20-70 million). Without the the foundation of individual freedom and independence which the United States environment gave Joseph Smith’s movement, Hong’s promotion of consecration ended up being more extreme than that of the Latter-day Saint movement. His legacy lived on, and became a major basis for the later popularity of the Communist revolutions of China.
The Báb, given name, Sayyed ʿAli Muhammad Shirāzi
The Báb, whose birth name was Sayyed ʿAli Muhammad Shirāzi (October 20, 1819 – July 9, 1850) was the founder of Bábism, and one of three central figures of the Bahá’í Faith (~8 million adherents). He was a merchant from Shiraz in Qajar Iran who, at the age of twenty-four (on the evening of May 22, 1844), claimed to be an inspired interpreter of the Qur’an within the Shaykhi school of Twelver Shi’ism. In a series of several stages, he first introduced himself as the Báb (meaning “Gate” or “Door”) to the Promised Twelver Mahdi or al-Qá’im, then the Mahdi himself, then the Prophet of a New Age, and finally, as the essence of God and his being.
Bahá’ís claim that the Báb was also the spiritual return of Elijah and John the Baptist, that he was the saoshyant referred to in Zoroastrianism,[3] and that he was the forerunner of their own religion. Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Bahá’í Faith, was a follower of the Báb and claimed to be the fulfillment of his promise that God would send another messenger. In 1850, at the age of thirty, the Báb was shot by a firing squad in Tabriz.
Mirzā Ghulām Ahmad مرزا غلام احمد
Mirzā Ghulām Ahmad (13 February 1835 – 26 May 1908) was an Indian religious leader and the founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement in Islam (~20 million adherents). He claimed to have been divinely appointed as the promised Mahdi, in the likeness of Jesus (mathīl-iʿIsā),[1][2] in fulfillment of Islam’s eschatological prophecies, as well as the Mujaddid (centennial reviver) of the 14th Islamic century.
When he was just over forty years of age, his father died and around that time he believed that God began to communicate with him. He claimed countless dreams and visions from God. In 1889, he took a pledge of allegiance from forty of his supporters at Ludhiana and formed a community of followers upon what he claimed was divine instruction, stipulating ten conditions of initiation. Ghulam Ahmad was a prolific author and wrote more than ninety books on various religious, theological and moral subjects between the publication of the first volume of Barahin-i-Ahmadiyya (The Proofs of Islam, his first major work) in 1880 and his death in May 1908. In addition to the claim of being God’s Messenger and “god or one with God” Mirza wrote, of one particular theophany as follows,
“I saw God Almighty personified as a human being in a vision. He put His arm round my neck and said [Punjabi]: If you will be devoted to Me, the whole world will be yours.” (from Tadhkirah, page 609, page 571 in the hardcopy)
By the time of his death, he had gathered an estimated 400,000 followers, especially within the United Provinces, the Punjab and Sindh and had built a dynamic religious organisation with an executive body and its own printing press. After his death he was succeeded by his close companion Hakīm Noor-ud-Dīn who assumed the title of Khalīfatul Masīh (successor of the Mahdi).
—–finish this sometime——
Prophets of the Catholic Reformation
Martin Luther John Calvin
Prophets of the Jewish Awakening
Jachanan Ben Kathryn
https://gatheredin.one/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Prophet_header-e1610735743750.jpg4051200Lancehttps://gatheredin.one/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/newest-logo-all-together-bell-arrows.pngLance2021-01-15 11:23:102021-01-19 13:24:34House of the Prophets
This is mostly a rough draft of my thoughts on modesty and advice for my daughters. Things I hope they’ll remember as they navigate this difficult issue.
1. THERE ARE NO ABSOLUTES in dress standards. In the 1800s LDS and Christian women had a FAR different standard of modesty than today. In fact, even today, LDS and Christian saints in some parts of the world are expected to dress differently and cover more or less of themselves than in other parts of the world. And I get that the unequal expectations on girls and women in dress standards seems unfair. But there’s actually a really good reason for it that I hope you can come to understand by reading this and talking to me.
2. DRESS IS A FORM OF COMMUNICATION. The way you dress says something, just as if you wore a sign on your shirt or forehead. Just like a gang tatoo, it can ‘mark‘ which group you belong to. The problem is that WHAT IT COMMUNICATES IS OFTEN AMBIGUOUS. If you walk down the street in a miniskirt and stickers on your nipples, many guys are going to think you are TRYING to communicate something like “I’m sexually available, please make advances on me”. In fact they are going to think that anytime you push the envelope of what is socially “acceptable”. And the things that men think about you are NOT ENTIRELY YOUR RESPONSIBILITY, (although if you strongly push the envelope of accepted norms you can’t be surprised when guys think you’re attempted to communicate corresponding levels of sexual availability to them!) But it is something your going to have to deal with—so be smart about it. If a boy gets a tattoo on his forehead that says something provocative like DTF, he’s sending a message. And whether he meant to communicate “Dare To Fly” or “Down To F#&%” might not matter as much as what OTHERS THINK HE’S TRYING TO COMMUNICATE. So he’s going to have to deal with that in the work place, and social arena and all parts of his life. This is no different with your clothing. Understand what different types of apparel communicate to men and other girls and make sure that’s the message you want to send.
When people say ‘you are not responsible for what boys thing’, they are partly right but partly VERY wrong. When a boy wears cowboy boots and a hat or drives a big truck, or a sports car or covers his face in tatoos. Or if he wears womens clothes or biker gang clothes, HE IS HEAVILY JUDGED BY WOMEN. Are what they think of him, his reponsibility? In many cases yes. If he’s looking for a mate, or running for office, or trying to build a reputation in the community, he is ABSOLUTELY responsible for dressing in a way to communicate his goals in the way he presents himself. And so are women.
What you wear to church or school or the swimming pool communicates something different to all the people who look at you. (Just like the type of house you live in or car you drive or bumper stickers & shirt slogans you sport). Become savvy to what you are communicating by your apparel and take responsibility for it. But at the same time you are only responsible to a certain extent–and that extent is dictated by society as a whole NOT BY SOME FRINGE ASPECT of society. Some will tell you that “you are NOT responsible for other people’s thoughts”. Others will tell you “You ARE LARGELY responsible for other people’s thoughts”. Both of these are extreme stances of a complex situation. The truth is, society at large makes the rules for what’s “normal” and you as a youth must learn what is “normal” or mainstream and then decide whether you want to push the envelope of those norms or be conservative in keeping those norms. I hope you’ll consult with me to get a feel for what’s mainstream in our social circle and be sure that you are communicating intelligently within those bounds.
But I hope you internalize this ONE takeaway. Boys are biologically programmed to interpret the way you push the envelope of dress standards to equate with your sexual availability. Just like a courting bird that ruffles her feathers or a cat in heat that walks past potential sex partners with their tail in the air, when you expose more of your body than is normal for the situation, boys will see it as an invitation to hit on you and explore your sexual availability. Be ready for it. And be firm in helping them know your intentions. If you dress provocatively… don’t be surprised when you largely attracted guys you want to sexually use you and then throw you away!
3. CLOTHING SHOULD PRIMARILY BE A TOOL. A BODY SHOULD NOT. Use clothing wisely, use it selflessly. It can keep you warm or cool you off. But you can also use clothing to gain power over others. You can use your body to gain power over others. You can use it as an object just as you would use other objects which equate to power. Power in social status, Power in sexuality, Power in relationships. Attractive bodies can be powerful. And you can use that power selfishly or unselfishly. I hope you try and use the way you dress to polarize toward selflessness. The more selfless you are, the easier your relationships are going to be to maintain.
Try to use your body, and the clothes you display it in, to serve others (within limits). Relationships that are based on power plays have a greater change of ending poorly and painfully. You need to realize how many people out there USE OTHERS BODIES to explore and validate their own power and social status. In other words, if they see a really ‘attractive’ person, they will try and get that person to like them (or have sex with them) in order to prove to themselves and others that they are ‘equal or better’ than that person. They often do this subconsciously. You will do it subconsciously. Once we get someone to like/love us, we prove to ourselves and others that we are ‘equal or better’ than them. If there is no other component to bind a couple together, once that goal has been ‘proven’, the relationship falls apart.
Don’t allow yourself to ever be used by selfish people. Don’t let people take advantage of you. Don’t do it yourself to others. When you are selfless in a non-equal or non-reciprocating relationship, no-one wins. When you date for power no-one wins. Pandering to a man’s selfishness simply makes him more selfish. If people see you doing this to men, they will rightly call you a slut or gold-digger. Take that feedback constructively but dont listen to haters who just want to hate. Try to be selfless, and if you give your body in a selfless way to please someone else be sure it is building an equal relationship of give and take reciprocity.
4. REALIZE AGE YOU LIVE IN, and that a lot of what you are going to learn about “modesty” in our culture or at church is remnants of social mores dating from a less civilized time when women lived in constant fear of being raped, stalked or seduced by sexual predators. (Or stolen away by the king or people of higher class, power and estate. And these are still issues in many parts of the world.) Other rules and social mores were created from a desire of other women to level the playing field so socially ‘attractive’ women don’t get all the attention. Standards were created to encourage attractive women to cover themselves so as to not make less “attractive” women jealous (by whatever cultural standard of beauty). In some cases women used shame as a way to deter other women from luring away their men. (such as an older woman calling a young attractive, sexily dressed co-worker of her husband’s a whore or slut and shaming her into dressing more “modestly”.)
You didn’t create these social customs, you don’t need to feel bound by them or responsible for them. But you should understand the psychology behind why they exist and navigate the ‘cultural modesty’ issue with selflessness and an intelligence that is aware of the why’s and how’s behind our social and religious mores. If you ever feel tempted to shame someone because of their body, be sure to understand the fears or biases which are causing you to do it. Body shaming isn’t very productive. Don’t do it to yourself or others.
5. UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MALE & FEAMALE SEX DRIVES. If you get on Tinder or online dating sights you’ll notice right off the bat that a huge percentage of women’s profiles say something like “no one night stands” or “not DTF” or LTR only. On the other hand essentially NO men’s profiles say this. Why? Because much like a monkey or dog, men are programmed to desire sex with almost any eligible partner. Even if they aren’t really physically, emotionally, socially or spiritually matched with that person they still desire sex with them. This is very different than the typical female who expects physical, emotional, social & spiritual compatibility before sex. This mismatch primal desires VERY often leads to a mismatch in expectations and hurt feelings. The female thinks if he’s willing to have sex with her, he must feel the same way she does about him! NOTHING COULD BE MORE WRONG! Typically, until a man is older or has an innate strong spirituality, his sexual desire is based on hormones and visual/chemical triggers. The male sex drive can be INCREDIBLY strong, and once aroused he will say/be/do many completely uncharacteristic things in order to follow that animal programming to its natural end of sex (and much of this is actually subconscious).
If you want to avoid the heartbreak that comes from believing a man is physically, emotionally, socially or spiritually matched and bonded with you, only to find out after the sexual chemicals subside that he is not, then you must go to extensive lengths to assure those physical, emotional, social and spiritual compatibilities before the hope of sex causes him to alter his behavior. You also need to realize that the hope of ‘sexual security’ and being ‘valued and cherished’ tend to be the primal drivers in the female sexual drive, and can induce the same short term changes in rational behavior in you, as his drive for sex or an attractive partner induce in him.
It is ESSENTIAL to a happy, lasting relationship that you realize early the characteristics which lead to lasting relationships and pursue THEM, instead of simply perusing your/his sexual triggers as a basis for relationships. I hope after putting some thought into what I’ve explained above you also see the danger of getting a boy to ‘like you’ by wearing clothing which consistently evokes his sex drive as a means of encouraging him to pursue you.
6. FEEL GREAT ABOUT YOUR BODY. No matter what stage of life or shape you are in, feel awesome about your body, AND DON’T LET ANYONE MAKE YOU FEEL BAD ABOUT IT. If they do, avoid them. If you need to wear ‘modest’ clothes or even a burka to feel good about yourself, go for it. If you need to go naked to free yourself to feel good about yourself… go for it. Don’t shame others. Don’t shame yourself. But be smart. Be confident. Be considerate. Be kind to yourself and others. Think of the effects of your dress on other girls as well as guys, but if that responsibility brings you pain, then you likely need to readjust your thinking. Nothing should make you feel crappy about your body. (But at the same time, realize myself and pretty much all of us do for much of our life, so it’s pretty damn normal.)
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Outline of points covered in the article
-The Book of Abraham (especially Facsimile #3) present the Egyptian Cosmology that Hebrew/Israeli Cosmology, with its prophetic timeline or ‘Times & Seasons’ is based on.
-This cosmology is clarified by Zoroastrian writings & a few key channeled texts.
-The truth & validity of the Egyptian/Israeli cosmology is proven by the very units we use. The mile, foot, inch and 490 year precession relationship. (490×49=24,010)
.
Facsimile 3 and the Cosmology or Times and Seasons of Ancient Egypt & Israel
The Cosmology of the ancients was built upon the earth 24,000 year precession cycle.
This might be a little hard to believe at first, but follow along and I’ll show exactly how the Israelite ancient prophetic calendar was based on the earth’s Procession cycle. I’ll also show through both LDS scripture and some of the more sophisticated modern channeled material (such as Oahspe & the Law of One), that Joseph Smith’s amazing translation of Facsimile 3 was either based on some interesting ancient text Joseph had a hold of, or else some type of valid revelation, as it matches astonishingly well with ancient Zoroastrian texts as well as other modern channeled material.
Both LDS scripture and some of the more sophisticated modern channeled material (such as Oahspe & the Law of One), show that the first step apparently taken by higher beings in educating mystics/prophets was to teach them a general idea of cosmology or the lunar cycle to earths orbit in the Galaxy and its relationship to the ability to prophesy. This was apparently among the first concepts shown to Moses (Moses 1:4,33–38), Abraham (Abr 3:2–21), Enoch (Moses 7), the Brother of Jared (Ether 3:25) and others. Joseph Smith purports to have introduced a very basic version of this revealed cosmology in the Pearl of Great Price (see facsimile 2). In ‘Facsimile 2‘ in the Pearl of Great Price Joseph Smith suggests the the Egyptians believed there to be a physical and spiritual hierarchical order to the universe where stars/planets gravitationally and energetically rule over the evolution of other stars/planets and the higher dimensional rulers of those systems rule over the inhabitants of the governed bodies as well. Abraham states in Smith’s Pearl of Great Price that he,
2 …saw the stars, that they were very great, and that one of them was nearest unto the throne of God; and there were many great ones which were near unto it; 3 And the Lord said unto me: These are the governing ones; and the name of the great one is Kolob, because it is near unto me, for I am the Lord thy God: I have set this one to govern all those which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest. (Abr 3:2–21)
In the notes written by Joseph Smith for the hypocephalus (facsimile 2) we get more detail, which we’ll see in a moment are astonishingly accurate, and quite similar to Zoroastrian texts we have dating from as early as 1000 BC (see excerpts from The Bundahišn & Philo below). The relevant parts of this egyptian cosmology read,
Fig. 1. Kolob [sirius or Pleiades], signifying the first creation, nearest to the celestial [sun/sgt A duality], or the residence of God [in our quadrant]. First in government, the last pertaining to the measurement of time. Fig. 2. Stands next to Kolob [its binary twin], called by the Egyptians Oliblish, which is the next grand governing creation near to the celestial or the place where God resides; …which is equal with Kolob in its revolution and in its measuring of time. Fig. 5. Is called in Egyptian Enish-go-on-dosh; said by the Egyptians to be the Sun, …the governing power, which governs fifteen other fixed planets or stars [planets & moons], as also Floeese or [earth’s] Moon, the Earth and the Sun in their annual revolutions. This planet receives its power through the medium of Kli-flos-is-es, or Hah-ko-kau-beam, the stars [gods] represented by numbers 22 and 23, receiving light from the revolutions of Kolob. (see Book of Abraham, facsimile 2)
At first glance these descriptions (without my bracketed interpolations) might seem nonsensical even if we assume they are to a true ancient cosmology, as they are a bit hard to understand. However, after reading a bit more detail from Joseph Smith’s notes which he recorded in his unpublished ‘Alphabet of the Egyptian Language’ and then comparing what we read to ancient Zoroastrian Cosmology found in The Bundahišn then it becomes quite clear the Joseph Smith’s translation might be quite accurate. From Joseph’s personal notes on the papyrus we read,
Comparison of the earth’s orbit around the sun with its 12 months, to the Solar system orbit around the center of the galaxy with its 12 zodiac constilations. (note the ‘fixed stars’ are not actually in these locations, but its how one might picture it when projecting the annual calendar onto the prophetic galactic/precession calendar)
“Oliblish, Enish-go-on-dosh, and Kaii-ven-rash, are the three grand central powers [of the Galactic Core] that govern all the other creations, which have been sought out by the most aged of all the fathers, since the beginning of the creation, by means of the Urim and Thummim: The names of the other twelve of the fixed stars [zodiac constellations] are: Kolob, Limdi, Zip, Vusel, Venisti, Waine, Wayoh-ox-oan, oansli, Shible, Shineflis, flis, os. The Egyptian names of the fifteen moving planets [& moons in our solar system] are: Oanisis, Flosisis, floese, Abbesels, Eleash, Subble, Slundlo, Carroam, Crashmakraw, obblesisim, Izinsbah, missel [,etc].
“Kli flosisis signifies Kolob [Sirius or Pleiades] in its motion, which is swifter than the rest of the twelve fixed stars; going before, being first in motion, being delegated to have power over others to regulate others in their time” (J.S. Alphabet of the Egyptian Language)
As mentioned above, my interpolations come from the rather clear concepts taught in the Zoroastrian Bundahišn given below. This text is thought to date to at least 1000 BCE, even though transcriptions of the text are much newer. The concepts of assigning important Zodiac signs to gods, is of course attested by hundreds of ancient art pieces and written works. The concept of assigning symbolic prophetic time periods to these stars or ‘gods’ is attested not just in the Zoroastrian works, but also the writings of well known Greek and Roman historians such as Philo quoting Theopompus in the De Iside et Osiride, from the 4th c. B.C.
1 Ohrmazd fashioned the lights and set them between the sky and the earth: the “fixed” stars [constellations] and the wandering stars [planets], then the moon, and last the sun. 2 This is how: First, he fashioned the firmament and set the “fixed” stars in it, foremost among them the twelve signs of the Zodiac called Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. These are further divided and reckoned in twenty-seven lunar mansions that are called Padēwar [27.21 days of the draconic lunar month]. 5 He appointed four generals over those stars, one for each of the four directions, and he appointed a single general over these four… 6 As it says: “Sirius is the general of the east, Deneb is the general of the south, Vega is the general of the west, and Ursa Major is the general of the north.” Polaris, which they call “the stake in the center of the sky,” is the supreme general [nearest to the celestial, or the residence of God]. The star Pārand, the star Mazdā-dād, and others of this kind are also district commanders… 11 He fixed other, unmixable (unmoving) stars above these… He appointed the Glory of the good Mazdā-worshiping dēn as general over them… 14 He appointed the sun and moon as captains of the mixable and unmixable stars; that is, they are all bound to the sun and moon. 15 Above the sun he fashioned the place of the Amahraspands, which are fastened to the endless light, the throne of Ohrmazd… 16 Again, a period of six thousand years elapsed before the Adversary came: three thousand years in a [positive polarity] spiritual state and three thousand years in a [negative polarity] material state. Those six thousand years were from Aries to Virgo, each constellation ruling one thousand years. Cosmic history is thus divided into four periods of three thousand years each. [On the chronolology of arabs of twelve thousand years] (From The Bundahišn, The Zoroastrian Book of Creation. (Domenico Thrope Translation, Oxford Press).
From this Zoroastrian cosmology explaining the way the ancient priests split up earth’s Precession cycle of 24,000 years (first cut in two half’s of 12,000 years, and then cut in quarters or seasons of 3,000 years) its not hard to see that they were attempting to make a mental map or calendar of the Galactic orbit which followed the same pattern as their annual calendars. With twelve ‘fixed stars’ or main stars within the Zodiac which stay more or less stationary from year to year. As opposed to the 7 or 15 ‘fixed starts’ or planets and moons of our solar system which move daily in relation to the fixed backdrop of the zodiac. The 12 fixed zodiacs mirrored the months of a year, as did each precession period, which when divided by the 28 days of the month equaled about 1000 years or a ‘day of the Lord’. Likewise they saw Polaris or the central star of the Zodiac representing the very center of the Galaxy itself, and used it to represent a central God or General with two counselors according with the visible clusters of stars seen on the flanks of Sagitarius A or the center of the Milky Way. Its also easy to see that ‘Kolob’ which was “going before, being first in motion” is obviously some star which because of its closeness to earth appears to “go before” or move faster than the other fixed constellations. And was to those of past the constellation ‘nearest to’ or between the earth and God’s throne at the center of the galaxy/zodiac. As the only star of the few close-by candidates such as Alpha Centauri, Barnard’s Star, Pleiades and Sirius that we know had supreme significance to the Egyptians, and was in fact sometimes referred to as one of the ‘fixed stars’ is Sirius. Plus, Sirius as the ‘dog star’, sounds a whole lot like the Hebrew word for dog, “כֶּלֶב” (which is pronounced “keh’-leb”). Pleiades on the other hand was incredibly significant to the Hebrews and appears three times in the bible in Job 9:9, Job 38:31 and Amos 5:8. It is also one of the nearest major star systems to earth and stands at the head of the constellation of Taurus–which would have been the ‘leading’ or head constellation of the earth’s precession at the time of Abraham around 2000 BC. The significance of both stars is also mentioned in modern channeled texts such as the Law of One and Oahspe as indeed housing higher dimensional lifeforms which do indeed help to govern our planet (keep reading for Oahspe’s detailed description of this). A very similiar cosmology is also found in Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri’s book The Holy Science, said to be based on ancient commentary on the Hindu Yuga cycles from the Upanishads.
The sun also has another motion by which it revolves round a grand center called Vishnu-Naabhi which is the seat of the creative power Brahma, the universal magnetism. Brahma regulates Dharma the mental virtues of the internal world. When the sun in its revolution round its dual come to the place nearest to this grand center the seat of Brahma (an event which takes place when the autumnal equinox comes to the first point of [the precessional constellation of] Aries) Dharma the mental virtue becomes so much developed that man can easily comprehend all, even the mysteries of Spirit. (Swami Giri, The Holy Science)
Add another little section here with description talking about how there seem to be TWO different star configurations being explained in the quotes above. One having to do with the fixed stars, and one having to do with the galactic center itself. [read through and try and sort it out]. I think its likely important as the two’ binary pairs that ‘stand next to kolob’ and have periods of 1000 years = one day or 1000 years for a cubit (which we can calculate since we know Egyptians considered 1 cubit=1 or 2 sec on earth), really sound a lot like the two largest S-stars. See the following chart, as well as illustrations at the ‘orbiting stars’ section of Sagittarius Wikipedia article.
Body Name
Orbital Period (Years)
Mass (M.)
Diameter (Miles)
Diameter (% of Sun)
Max Velocity (% of c)
d Rotation (/cubit?)
S-1
~166.0
~20
~11,250,000
1,300%
~0.50% c
1,811.5 Years
S14 (S0-16)
~38.0
~15
~8,650,000
1,000%
~3.90% c
1,392.8 Years
S2 (S0-2)
16.05
~14
~6,317,000
730% (7x)
~2.56% c
1,017.1 Years
S29
91.0
~12
~5,625,000
650%
~2.30% c
905.7 Years
The Sun
N/A
1.0
864,337
100%
N/A
139.2 Years
Our solar system orbit in the Galaxy as a macrocosm to earth’s orbit around the Sun–with associated calendar divisions. A Solar year with 12 months, 52 weeks & 365 days, matched with Oahspe’s ancient ‘Galactic year’ composed of 12 zodiacs, 32 ‘cubes’ and 1500 ‘arcs or dan’has’
So although Joseph’s cosmological model from the Book of Abraham may at first seem a bit far-fetched, it in fact has more witnesses to its general validity in both ancient cosmology and that of the 1880 channeled work of John Newbrough’s we are about to explore. Just a few decades after Joseph Smith, Newbrough who also claimed to be visited by angels who dictates hundreds of pages of ‘restored ancient scripture’ independently wrote a cohesive and highly illustrated cosmology consisting of our solar system orbiting through our Milky Way galaxy in a circuit, in his book Oahspe, A Sacred History of the Higher and Lower Heavens on the Earth he lays out a cosmology which seems to compliment or complete that given to Joseph Smith only a few decades earlier. Concerning how the star systems of our galaxy ‘give light’ or govern each other, he writes,
1. First, the earth plieth in a circuit around the sun, which circuit is divided into four arcs called spring, summer, autumn and winter. 2. Second, the sun, with his family, plieth in a large circuit [around the center of the galaxy], which is divided into one thousand five hundred arcs, the distance of which for each arc is about three thousand years or one [harvest] cycle. 3. During a cycle, the earth and her heavens fall in the spiritual regions of hundreds of etherean worlds, where dwell Jehovah’s high-raised angels, whose Chiefs have to do with the management of worlds. 4. During the time of a cycle, the earth is therefore under the control and management of such of Jehovah’s angels for the resurrection of man of the earth. (Oahspe 9/1.1)
Illustration showing how a double interference energy & gravity wave pattern radiating out from the center of the Milky Way creates the Galactic ‘arms’ and causes periods of Solar instability.
Like Joseph Smith’s work, Newbrough’s work suggests that as our Solar System orbits the Galactic core, we pass by higher-dimensional “etherean” worlds or “governing” systems which are inhabited by higher beings who subtly govern the inhabitants of world who pass within their domains. Newbrough’s works contain hundreds of pages which detail the histories, philosophies and tactics of these extra-dimensional beings. He explains in detail how these beings taught the prophets of the ancient Zoroastrians, Egyptians, Babylonians and Chinese about not just the earth’s orbit and precession cycle, but about a 3000 year disaster cycle integrated into the Solar orbit. The picture he painted is surprisingly similar to Joseph Smith’s and many ancient religious myths which integrate religion into the movement of our solar system’s as it orbits around the milky-way galaxy. Just as a single rotation around the sun can be separated into 4 seasons, 12 months, 52 weeks and 365 days; so also did the ancients try to give names to the corresponding orbital periods of the solar system moving in the Galaxy. An example is given below
1. And [God or governing planetary Lord] shalt dwell in thy kingdom seven years and sixty days, and the time shall be called the first dawn of dan, and the next succeeding shall be called the second dawn of dan, and so on, as long as the earth bringeth forth. 2. And the time from one dawn of dan to another shall be called one dan’ha; and four dan’ha shall be called one square, because this is the sum of one density, which is twelve thousand of the earth’s years. And twelve squares shall be called one cube, which is the first dividend of the third [dimension of] space, in which there is no variation in the vortex [magnetic field] of the earth. And four cubes shall be called one sum, because the magnitude thereof embraceth one equal of the Great Serpent. (Oahspe 07/2.6)
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The Zodiac, Precession of the Equinoxes & their Effect on Earth Both Newbrough’s and Smith’s works seem to make the claim that in ancient times, higher beings came to earth and taught men a general understanding of astronomy & astrophysics and their relationship to galactic rule. The idea of a “great celestial serpent” is found in many ancient cultures and generally seems to describe the Galactic Orbit of our Solar System following a sinusoidal or possibly helical pattern as it dips above and below the galactic equatorial plane. These motions relate to Earth’s precession of the equinoxes as well as the precession or axial wobbling of our sun. (The sun wobbles and travels in a slight helical pattern because of the gravitational effects of Jupiter and the other large planets; seen from the side this orbital path would look like a stretched spring or partially coiled flying serpent.) These ‘serpent’-like movements so fully explained in Oahspe (written in 1870’s) have also been proven by modern astronomy, as can be seen in illustrations in the following figure.
Established scientific model for our solar system’s orbit in the Galaxy from astronomy.com
What makes Oahspe, the Law of One and Joseph Smith’s mystic works unique is the picture they paint of how these well understood astronomical phenomena affect the earth and its inhabitants. Their works agree, first in suggesting that just as the earth experience’s periodic “conjunctions” with other larger planets in its orbit around the sun, our solar system also experiences conjunctions with far larger star clusters as it orbits the galactic core. These star clusters not only subtly affect our solar system gravitationally and electromagnetically, they also rule us spiritually as they contain “gods”, archangels or unified planetary consciousnesses who “have to do with the management of worlds” (Oahspe 9/1.3). This gives a bit more insight to Joseph Smiths hypocephalus where “god”, who is associated with a celestial body (throne) is said to rule earth from/by the fixed star known in a certain Egyptian dialect transliterated as ‘Kolob’. This idea of course, is not limited to Mormonism, Star Trek and other science fiction but exists in some form in the astrology of many ancient cultures. The following is another excerpt from Oahspe which gives a more detailed account of earth’s galactic orbit and how it relates to “heavenly” government.
04/7.2. And Jehovah caused the earth, and the family of the sun to travel in an orbit, the circuit of which requires of them four million seven hundred thousand years [4,700,000]. And He placed in the line of the orbit, at distances of [approximately] three thousand years, etherean [celestial] lights, at which places, as the earth passes through, angels from the second heaven come into its corporeal presence [non-thermal galactic filaments]. As ambassadors they come, in companies of hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands, and these are called the etherean [celestial] hosts of the Most High. 04/7.3. They come not as single individuals; nor do they come for a single individual mortal. 04/7.4. And Jehovah gave this sign to man on earth; which is to say: In the beginning of the light of dan’ha, the spirits of the newly dead shall have power to take upon themselves the semblance of corporeal bodies, and appear and talk face to face with mortals. Every three thousand years Jehovah gave this sign on earth, so that those, who learned the powers and capacities of such familiar spirits, could bear testimony regarding the origin of man on earth. || Jehovah said: And when it shall come to pass in any of the times of dan’ha that these signs manifest, man shall know that the hosts of the Most High come soon after. Let him who will become wise, enumerate the great lights of My serpent, for in such times I set aside things that are old, and establish My chosen anew. || 04/7.5. In the time of the earth, when man was brought forth from mortal to immortal life, the earth passed beyond se’mu [interstellar organic debris]. The angels of heaven remained with corporeal man, but not in the semblance of mortals, but as spirits; and by virtue of their presence, strove to make man wise and upright before Jehovah. Upon the earth the number of such angels was millions. To these angels Jehovah spoke: 04/7.6. Behold the work you have taken in hand! It was commanded to you all, to partake of all the fruits of the earth except of the fruit of the tree of life, which is of the knowledge of the earth and heaven, lest you lose your inheritance in etherea. 04/7.7. Behold, you now have sons and daughters on the earth; by your love to them you have become bound spirits of the lower heaven. Until you redeem them in wisdom and power even to the sixth generation, you shall not rise again and inherit My emancipated heavens. 04/7.8. To which end you shall be co workers with one another in system and order. In My name you shall become an organic body and known as the heaven of the earth, or lower heaven, which shall travel with the earth. 04/7.9. And I will allot to you a Chief, who is wise in experience in founding heavenly kingdoms; and he shall appoint from among you, officers, messengers, ashars, asaphs, and es’enaurs [angel leadership positions], and you shall be numbered and apportioned to your labor and places, like in My other lower heavens on other worlds. 04/7.10. He who is Chief shall be called God of this heaven and the earth, which are now bestowed to his making. 04/7.11. And God shall have a Council and throne within his heavenly city; and the place shall be called Hored, because it is the first kingdom of God in this firmament. 04/7.12. And God shall rule on his throne, for it is his; and his Council shall rule with him; in My name they shall have dominion over angels and mortals belonging to the earth. 04/7.13. And God shall appoint Chiefs under him who shall go down and dwell on the earth with mortals; and the labor of these Chiefs shall be with mortals for their resurrection. And these Chiefs shall be called Lords, for they are Gods of land, which is the lowest rank of My commissioned Gods. 04/7.14. And God and his Lords shall have dominion from two hundred years to a thousand or more years; but never more than three thousand years [a Dan]. According to the regions of dan (light) into which I bring the earth, so shall the terms be for the office of My Gods and My Lords. 04/7.15. And God and his Lords shall raise up officers to be their successors; these officers shall be appointed and crowned in My name by God and his Lords. 04/7.16. At the termination of the dominion of My God and his Lords, they shall in these, My bound heavens, gather together all those angels who have been prepared in wisdom and strength for resurrection to My etherean [celestial] kingdoms. And these angels shall be called Brides and Bridegrooms to Jehovah, for they are Mine and in My service. 04/7.17. And in the time of dan I will send down ships from etherea to God, his Lords and the Brides and Bridegrooms; by My etherean [celestial] Gods and Goddesses, these ships shall descend to these heavens to receive God, his Lords and the Brides and Bridegrooms, and carry them up to the exalted regions I have prepared for them. 04/7.18. All those who ascend shall be called a Harvest to Me, through My God and Lords. And the time of My Harvests shall be according to each dan, which is two hundred years, four hundred years, six hundred years, and five hundred years; and these shall be called My lesser cycles, because they are the times of the tables of prophecy which I give to My servants. 04/7.19. But at no other times, nor in any other way, shall My Harvests ascend to My emancipated worlds in etherea. For each and every dan’ha I have created seven dans [7 x 490 = 3430 years this dan’ha], and to each dan given six generations of mortals.
Uncontacted primitive tribes like this one currently living in Brazilian rainforest help us to consider how our world might also be just like these groups which are totally unaware of the advanced civilizations which dwell around and above them. Just as international laws are being drafted to protect the self-determination of these groups, it is logical to consider that higher dimensional groups are also constrained by law in the manners they are allowed to subtly influence human culture, through the imaginations, thoughts and visions of our cultural icons. (see Zoo Hypothesis & Fermi Paradox –this documentary for details)
Oahspe as well as other channeled texts also detail the spacecraft and dimension shifting technology which these higher beings use in covertly guiding and governing the affairs of earth. The Law of One, a more modern cosmological work channeled by Don Elkin, goes into great detail to explain the rules of non-intervention these beings are bound by, in order to preserve man’s rights to self-determination. These texts also explain the way in which communication and travel between the various dimensions is bound by laws of physics relating to the earth’s 11 year solar cycle and the position of our solar system within its Galactic orbit.
Additionally, Oahspe and the Law of One suggest that as the earth travels through differing energetic densities of the galaxy, it affects the consciousness and intelligence of mankind in general. This concept linking energy or light in the galaxy with intelligence and consciousness is also taught in Mormonism in the Doctrine and Covenants.
7 Which truth shineth. This is the light of Christ. As also he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made…. 11 And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings; 12 Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space— 13 The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things. (D&C 88:11–13)
Oahspe and the Law of One go into far more detail on the specifics of how the intensity of cosmic energy affects human consciousness and behavior. It suggests that most ages of enlightenment as well as ages of apostasy and intellectual darkness are caused by the amount of intergalactic energy reaching our solar system.
38/7.6. The prophets of old divided time into cycles of three thousand years, with slight variations. And they found that at the beginning of these periods of time, a certain impulse came upon the people, causing them to try to be better and wiser—even as the same feeling is manifesting itself this day in many nations. 38/7.7. The scale then rises for four hundred years, more or less; and, after that, wars and epidemics come upon the people. They then begin to decline, especially in virtue and peace, but the general intelligence suffers little for about another six or seven hundred years. After which time, they destroy their libraries and records, and reduce themselves to ignorance and vice. Then a darkness follows of one thousand or more years, with slight intermissions. And after that, for six hundred years the corporeal senses [intellect] begin to ascend. Self conceit comes upon them; they think they are the beginning of wisdom on earth. Then comes another cycle of light. Angels descend from the unseen worlds. New revelations crop up in every quarter. Inspiration comes upon mortals, and they go to the opposite extreme, becoming superstitious and obedient to unseen influences. 38/7.8. Such, then, is the general character and behavior of man during a cycle (dan’ha cycle). And he rises and falls in all these particulars as regularly as the tides of the ocean. 38/7.9. These revelations are chiefly made so that man can begin to comprehend these things, and learn to classify them so as to rise in wisdom and virtue, and thus overcome these epidemic seasons of cycles. 38/7.10. As previously shown, there are positive and negative forces continually going to and escaping from the earth. Without these no creature could live on the earth. The negative imparts to man his corporeal growth, as well as his corporeal desires, passions, and so on. 38/7.11. According to the quantity and quality of the corpor solutions in the firmament and their precipitations to the earth, so will man be affected and inclined to manifest. These influences are easily discernible by some persons. As one is depressed by a dull day; another inclined to drunkenness and fighting. A bright day inspires man with energy… (Oahspe 38/7.6-11, Cosmogony)
[add a law of one quote here illustrating the same point. That the “logos” (law of one terminology for a governing celestial body) dictates progression of consciousness on earth ]
The following illustrations from Oahspe, visually depict the theorized “arcs” or regions of reinforcing or cancelling galactic energy patterns described in the preceding verses.
Much of the Christian idea of “harvest” (Rev 14:15) comes from this same concept of Galactic “Times & Seasons”. Suggesting that higher beings in our galaxy seek to help people on earth progress in the same way that a gardener tends his garden. There are cosmically induced “winters” where the earth travels through un-energetic or thick nebulous regions of galactic dust which inhibit earth from receiving much of the higher wavelengths of energy on the electromagnetic spectrum (God’s spirit in religious terms), which mankind’s body and spirit rely on for intelligence and connectivity with each other and the rest of creation. These beings plant the “seeds” of civilization in the autumn (such as Moses to Christ), clear the weeds during winter (such as the dark ages), pour down inspiration during spring (such as the renaissance to present) and gather the fruit during summer (coming millennium). The higher off-planet beings who aid the earth transmit most orally communicated information first to the upper realms of earth’s spirit world where it filters down through multiple realms of that dimension before passing on to our dimension in the material world (see D&C 76:86–88).
18/6.21. Is a summer on the earth not half a time? And the winter half a time? And the two, one full time? So also I created for atmospherea [the spirit dimension] a dan (cycle) of four hundred years, and a half time of two hundred years. And in seven times and one half time I created one dan’ha. 18/6.22. For thousands of years I sent My Gods to teach these things, so that My angels could know the times of My resurrections. Does a farmer not have knowledge of the resurrection of spring, when I cover the earth over with new growing things, which I raise up out of the earth? How much more knowledge should My angels have of My spring times, in atmospherea [earth’s spirit world], when My archangels come to gather in My harvests of emancipated souls?
There are several other cosmic influence dictated by our position in the galaxy, explained in Oahspe’s cosmology which we dont have time to cover in this article. These include the 11 year solar cycle affecting the ability to travel and communicate through space. There are many activities which can occur only with the collapse of the sun’s magnetic field during solar max (get refs). These cycles as well as regions of nebula and gas clouds also affect man’s ability in the spirit world to raise or be resurrected between realms or kingdoms (refs). The realms or kingdoms of the spirit world are also raised or lowered depending on these galactic conditions (get refs).
[Talk about how Saros Cycles/Eclipses and other cycles factor into ancient prophesy and timeliens. Add a few paragraphs here showing how the highly fragmented hindu, buddhist and mayan cosmological belief systems and calendars each sought to literally or figuratively describe the “arcs” or discs of the solar system’s orbit through the galaxy. Name specifically a few of the most popular. End with a chart showing how they fit with Christian Harvest cycles, Mormon cosmology ideas and how Oahspe contains the most detailed and believable framework for tying them all together with modern scientific/astronomical observations.]Timeline summarizing the historical correlations or types between the times of Israel and the times of the Gentiles. Redraw this to show correlations better.
[Go through and rewrite this. Remake first image to show how the pattern of each dispensation fits with the cosmology. Especially understanding how dictatorships & monarchies are established during times of low energy… and then transition to democracies as we raise in cosmological “glory” (dictated by our location in the universes energy fields). Add more about the gospel pattern from times of Israel to times of gentiles, etc)
Oahspe further details in its cosmology that the ‘times’ of earth’s heavens are apparently tied to our outer ionosphere and electromagnetic fields. And that the rotation of these regions is slower than that of the surface of the earth. Thus mathimatical calculations were done by the ancients to correlate the time on earth versus the time in heaven.
1. That man might find still further evidence of the earth’s wark belts (magnetosphere), I created the nearest one with different densities, so that not every year on earth would be alike as to heat and cold. And in certain cycles of Dan I condense the first wark belts so that the sun seemeth to mortals as if in eclipse. For it is upon this belt that My cycles of dan’ha give either light or darkness to mortals spiritually. 2. Let man compute My times for his own profit; I created the first wark to gain in rotation faster than the earth, one year for every eleven. So that when the wark hath made twelve of its own years, the earth shall have completed eleven years.
So Oahspe here shows the relationship between the well known number of 11 seen in earth’s Solar Cycles and the religious usage of the number 12. The scientifically well known phenomena of Solar Maximum occurring roughly every 11 years with 3 Solar Max or sunspot cycles occurring every 33 years—is supposedly equivalent to 12 years or 36 years in heaven. Which in turn is somehow associated with ‘resurrections’ or movements of spirits and consciousness bound within earth’s ionosphere to more energetic levels of the magnetic field.
The Magic Square
Other popular texts in ancient mysticism such as the Gospel of the Holy Twelve support Oahspe’s views in the way they talk of the magic square of 1.1 In that text, Christ has his disciples stand in the formation of the magic square after assigning them all a number and name. And although there were originally 12 apostles, one of them “who should be counted one of them by man, but was not of them” (GHT 68:18, 76:13, Acts 1:17). Note that the columns and rows add up to 671, which doubled is only one week more than the number 1335 given us in Dan. 12:12 and seems to have some Biblical mystical significance. Oahspe also reminds us of the relationship between the number 11/33 and the prophetic base prophecy.
10/14.4. Accordingly, every thirty three years after that, there was one migration of a group from the Lord’s first resurrection … In accordance with that, the light of dan fell on two hundred years, four hundred years, five hundred years, six hundred years and one thousand years, which became the base of prophecy for each cycle from that time forward, for a long period.
2.And he placed the sun in the midst and made lines thence to the stars, with explanations of the powers of the seasons on all the living. 3.And he gave the times of Jehovah, the four hundred years of the ancients, and the halftimes of dan, the base [number] of prophecy; the variations of thirty-three years; the times of eleven; and the seven and a half times of the vortices [orbits/frequencies] of the stars, so that the seasons might be foretold, and famines averted on the earth. (Oahspe: Book of Osiris 12:2-3))
Oahspe also talks about how in Israel, as in other cultures, there were two calendars and numeric systems used. As would be expected from the aforementioned verse, the earthly base number for one popular calendar was 11 (according with the Solar Cycle), but another calendar was patterned after the heavenly base number of 12. Accounting for this, early Egypt used a calendar with 11 months for earthly secular things, but the Jews and other groups used a calendar of 12 months for spiritual things. Our current society has adopted the 12 month “spiritual base number” for our calendar, even though the eleven month calendar would be exact.
3.God said: My people shall reckon their times according to the place and the people where they dwell. And they did this. Hence, even the tribes of Israel had two calendars of time, the long and the short. 4. To events of [earthly] prophecy there was also another calendar, called the ode, signifying sky-time, or heavenly times. One ode was equivalent to eleven long years; three odes, one spell, signifying a generation; eleven spells one Tuff. Thothma, the learned man and builder of the great pyramid, had said: As a diameter is to a circle, and as a circle is to a diameter, so are the rules of the seasons of the earth. For the heat or the cold, or the drouth or the wet, no matter,the sum of one eleven years is equivalent to the sum of another eleven years. One spell is equivalent to the next eleventh spell. And one cycle matcheth every eleventh cycle. Whoever will apply these rules to the earth shall truly prophesy as to drouth and famine and pestilence, save wherein man contraveneth by draining or irrigation. And if he apply himself to find the light and the darkness of the earth, these rules are sufficient. For as there are three hundred and sixty-three years in one tuff, so are there three hundred and sixty-three days in one year, besides the two days and a quarter when the sun standeth still on the north and south lines.
There’s a lot of information packed into that verse. First we see the reasoning for a “long and short” count calendar or numbering system. This is relevant, as archaeologist have found this to be common in many ancient civilizations (especially Mesoamerica), but sometimes we forget how easy mixups in these differing calendar systems can distort the dates we find in ancient histories, tablets and even the Bible. Secondly we see one of Egypt’s calendar’s as it was dualistically used with the Egyptian Great Year. It is defined as 1 ode = 11 years, 3 odes = 1 spell, and 11 spells = 1 tuff which is 363 days or years. Perhaps it easier to see the relationship between these great cycles if we diagram them;
1 Ode = Week (with 11 days per week) 1 Spell = Month (with 3 weeks per month) 1 Tuff = Year (with 11 months per year)
This gives us 363 days per year with 2.25 intercalary days placed at the winter and summer solstice.
Still to Finish- Under Construction…
So to get a better understanding of all these numbers, let’s back up a bit and look at some of the scriptures we have which present the riddles.
1. Jehovah said: Let a sign be given to the inhabitants of the earth that they may comprehend dan’ha in the firmament of heaven. For even as I bequeathed to the earth a time for creating the living, and a time for angels to come and partake of the first fruits of mortality and immortality, so shall man at certain times and season receive testimony from My hosts in heaven. 2. And Jehovah caused the earth, and the family of the sun to travel in an orbit, the circuit of which requireth of them four million seven hundred thousand years. And he placed in the line of the orbit, at distances of three thousand years, spiritual (etherean) lights, the which places, as the earth passeth through, angels from the second heaven come into its earthly (corporeal) presence. As embassadors they come, in companies of hundreds and thousands and tens of thousands, and these are called the spiritual (etherean) hosts of the Most High. 3. Not as single individuals come they; not for a single individual mortal come they. And Jehovah gave this sign to man on earth; which is to say: In the beginning of the light of dan’ha, the spirits of the newly dead shall have power to take upon themselves the semblance of earthly (corporeal) bodies, and appear and talk face to face with mortals. Every three thousand years gave Jehovah this sign on earth, that those who learned the powers and capacities of such familiar spirits, might bear testimony in regard to the origin of man on earth. 4. Jehovah said: And when it shall come to pass in any of the times of dan’ha that these signs are manifest, man shall know that the hosts of the Most High come soon after. Let him who will become wise, enumerate the great lights of My serpent, for in such times I set aside things that are old, and establish My chosen anew. 14. And God and his Lords shall have dominion from two hundred years to a thousand or more years; but never more than three thousand years. According to the regions of dan (light) into which I bring the earth, so shall be the terms of the office of My Gods and My Lords. 15. And God and his Lords shall raise up officers to be their successors; by him and them shall they be appointed and crowned in My name. 16. At the termination of the dominion of My God and his Lords they shall gather together in these, My bound heavens, all such angels as have been prepared in wisdom and strength for resurrection to My spiritual (etherean) kingdoms. And these angels shall be called Brides and Bridegrooms to Jehovah, for they are Mine and in My service. And to God and his Lords, with the Brides and Bridegrooms, will I send down from etherea ships in the time of dan; by My spiritual (etherean) Gods and Goddesses shall the ships descend to these heavens, and receive God and His Lords with the Brides and Bridegrooms, and carry them up to the exalted regions I have prepared for them. 17. And all such as ascend shall be called a Harvest unto Me, through My God and Lords. And the time of My Harvests shall be according to each dan, which is two hundred years, four hundred years, six hundred years, and five hundred years; and these shall be called My lesser cycles because they are the times of the tables of prophecy which I give unto My servants.
[The above verses in Oahspe are a bit misleading. It paints a picture that the lights of dan are floating out in space at set locations like the spokes of a wheel, perfectly set every 3000 years time/distance in the great circle of the solar systems orbit. This is not likely, elsewhere in Oahspe it is more specific showing that these etherean “lights” are actually celestial bodies or could even be called etherean worlds which resemble comets to earth from afar. Most likely these etherean worlds/celestial bodies are also orbiting the sun like the planets (but far more eccentric and obliquely), and come back into the inner solar system with a period of ~3000 years. Thus the time of Melchizedek, Christ and Messiah are times of the “coming of the Lord”. And event which Joseph Smith taught many will say “is a comet”. To the righteous he comes with 10,000 of his angels to translate the righteous and take them away to his heavenly kingdom. To the wicked he is the destroying angel, because all who are left behind are left with the destruction this object causes to the corporeal earth and its heavens.]
6 generation= 1 dan, 7 or 7.5 dans= 1 dan’ha, 1 dan’ha = ~3000 yrs (give or take), a generation can span between 33 yrs (for a 200 yr dan) and 100 yrs (for a 600 yr dan), and a dan’ha can span between 1400 yrs (for a 200 yr dan) and 4200 yrs (for a 600 yr dan). I think it is quite possible that the length of the current Dan can be computed by the Sun’s mean polarity cycle. At present the length of the Solar Cycle is ~11 years (see wiki article for explanation of our sun’s polarity reversals). As you may have noted from many references already mentioned, it seems that 11 years as a solar “week” and 33 years as a solar “month” is a recurring theme in oahspe.
10/14.3 …Thirty three years were allotted to these Lords’ kingdoms for a resurrection, because thirty three is the division of dan corresponding to one hundred dans to each cycle. (oahspe x.x)
9 The Rakima watches in silence; patiently it sits, waiting for the day of the Destroyer. It will come in a hundred generations, as is written in the Great Vault. (SCL 33:9)
One hundred generations had passed since the overwhelming deluge and ten generations since The Destroyer last appeared. Once man lived for less than two score years, now his years were three score and ten (GLN 6:30)
-First cycle is a dispensation (of Dan). It is an intra-planetary cycle. It is the smallest major cycle and occurs multiple times per Dan. It is created by a celestial bodies ascending and descending within our own planetary vortex. (Elijah, Joseph Smith, Etc, each 200-600 years.) -Second cycle is the destroyer (of Dan’ha). It is an extra-planetary cycle. It is the planet X/etherean world/celestial bodies, which brings great destruction to the wicked but salvation and resurrection to the righteous. (Enoch, Melchizedek, Christ, Messiah, Etc, each ~2400-3800 years.) -Third cycle is the destruction/recreation cycle. It is a solar cycle. It occurred at the flood/creation. It is caused by something interacting with our Sun, and not just a light of Dan or celestial bodies or etherean world. (Adam, Noah, End of word, each 7000-XXXX years.)
Dan’Ha Lengths Given in Oahspe
-Kosman to Moses/Capella = 3,400 years -Moses to Abraham/Brahma = 2,400 years -Abraham to Melchizedek = 3,100 years -Melchizedek to Osiris = 3,300 years -Osiris to Thor = 3,200 years -Thor to Apollo = 2,800 years) -Apollo to Sue = 3,200 years -Sue to Aph = 3,600 years
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Understanding The Jewish Jubilee in the 70 Weeks Prophesy
The Jewish Jubilee was a festival of alignment. It symbolized God’s judgement, justice and mercy as it was designed to celebrate the alignment of the heavens (primarily the sun) with the primarily lunar (moonth-based) calendar given to Moses by their God. A Jewish Jubilee Year was once every 49 lunar years and celebrated the alignment of the Jubilee cycle (49 years), and the Sabbatical Cycle (7 years), with an even more important Solar ‘Great Year’ cycle equaling 49×10 and 7×70 (or 490 years). And 49 Great Years equals the full precessional cycle (490×49=24,010)
It’s important to realize how the Jewish Jubilee was astronomically based, being a drawn out version of the Metonic cycle presently used to align the modern Jewish lunar Calendar to the sun by adding 7 ‘leap-months’ to the Calendar each 19 years. (Usually 1 each 2 or 3 years). You see, the Jewish Calendar seeks to keep each month actually aligned with the moon’s lunar cycles. So instead of having 30/31 days each month like ours, they have 29/30 days which average to the 29.5 lunar days per month each year. (A lunar cycle is 29.53 days long or 7.3 days per phase: full, waxing, new, waning). This makes the Jewish year 354 days long instead of 365, and in need of ‘leap-months’ every few years to align with the sun instead of just a ‘leap-day’ every 4 years like ours.
With the ancient Jubilee however, I believe that instead of adding 7 months each 19 years as they currently do, they were brilliantly instructed to add 18 months (or 1.5 years) every 49 years instead. (Think delayed gratification.) The 1.4 years being intercalated time and a Sabbath time of rest and release. It did NOT begin every 49 solar years, but every 49 lunar ‘years‘, (which are 12×29.5306 days long which is 47.5 solar years). A full lunar Jubilee cycle therefore began on day 17,346 (or 49yrs of 12m x 29.5d). That would put it 531.55 days behind the true solar 49 year period of 17,896.87 days at the beginning of the Jubilee. So to catch up the sacred calendar to the solar one, they would need to add 531 days or 18 months each 49 lunar years. This would align with the true year within 0.55 days, which means an extra day would also need to be added every other Jubilee in addition to the 18 months.
Table of ‘Metonic Cycle’ like intervals where whole months can be added to bring lunar cycle into sync with solar cycle. With the Jubilee, we add 1.5 lunar years every 49 lunar years; which equals 49 solar years (short .55 days)
So then if one wants to track the captivity of Israel for not keeping the Sabbath as Daniel did (because the Jubilee was considered a Sabbath). We take those 18 months accrued each Jubilee of 49 lunar/47.5 solar years and carry them to a Great Year (of 490 years) which is 180 months or 15 years each 490 lunar/475 solar years. So then 15 solar years of each 490 solar years should be a captivity for not keeping the sacred Jubilees, IN ADDITION to the captivity Moses/Jeramiah decreed for not keeping the regular sabbatical years (1 every 7 years) which equal 70 in a 490 year period. So in all, the captivity is not just 70 years, but 70+15 or 85 years each 490 year cycle.
Daniel and Israel’s elite had already been in captivity for 15 years from 606 BC to 589 BC between the first and second Babylonian destructions of Jerusalem when he prophesied. So he knew 70 years were left.
The 1290 & 1335 days
So how does the 42 months or 1260 days or 3.5 years or “time, times and an half” of Daniel & Revelations fit into this? How about the 1290 & 1335 days?
25 He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time. (Daniel 7:25) 6 “How long will it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled?” 7 “It will be for a time, times and half a time. When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed.” 11 From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. 12 Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days (Daniel 12:11–12)
2 “But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. 3 And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” (Rev 11:2–3)
The significance of these numbers is almost certainly that they constitute roughly the difference between the tropical month and sidereal month over a span of about 49-50 years (one Jubilee).
days/month
x12
x47.5 yr
x49 yr
x50 yr
Tropical Lunar Month
27.321582 days
327.86
–
–
–
Synodic/faze Lunar Month
29.530588 days
354.37
–
–
–
Difference between the two
26.5 days
318 d
1258.90
1298.66
1325.16
Tropical vs Synodic Month Table
The sidereal month is the time needed for the Moon to return to the same place against the background of the stars, and is 27.321661 days (i.e., 27 days 7 hours 43 minutes 12 seconds). The tropical month is the time needed for the moon to return to the same place against the backdrop of the sun, and is 27.321582 days (i.e., 27 days 7 hours 43 minutes 5 seconds), only 7 seconds shorter than the sidereal month. The draconic, or nodical, month of 27.212220 days (i.e., 27 days 5 hours 5 minutes 35.8 seconds) is the time between the Moon’s passages through the same node, or intersection of its orbit with the ecliptic, the apparent pathway of the Sun. (not as important)
As seen in the ‘Tropical vs Synodic Month Table‘ above, the difference between Tropical Months and Synodic/faze Months over a 49 year period is ~1290 days (1298.657). Coincidence? The difference between the two in 50 years is 1325 days (1325.16). Coincidence? The difference between the two in 47.5 years (a Jubilee before we add the 18 intercalary months/1.5 years = 1258 days (1258.91). Coincidence? So again, that’s 1258 vs. 1260, 1298 vs. 1290, and 1325 vs. 1335 days. Off by only 2-10 days. And if we simplify the offset between the lunar tropical & Sideral years to 26.5 days, all the differences become even closer (1.25, 8.5, 10 days different from the 1260,1290,1325).
So does it not seem that the significance of the above verses is saying that the punishment of Israel during the Times of the Gentiles (Time, Times & half Time) is somehow equal to the time between Tropical and Synodic Months? Doesn’t it seem that Israel had multiple calendars?! One Solar. One with twelve 29.5 day months (like they use now), And ANOTHER that tracked the Tropical Moonth (perhaps with thirteen months of 27 days each? Note that 13×27.3=354.9 almost exactly the Synodic Moonth Year)
To recap. There is 26.5 days difference per year between Tropical & Synodic months. That difference could easily be made up by adding a 13th tropical month each year. But if we track that difference over 47.5,49 & 50 years, it becomes ~1260,1290,1325 days.
Now… what if we track that out to 490 years instead of 49 years? We just times by 10 making 12600,12900,13250 days. Which in years is 34.5,35.3,36.3 years. Are these significant? They are all about half of 70, which could certainly be something… since Daniel’s vision seems to suggest ‘In the midst of the week/hedomad, the sacrifice will cease, and most Christendom believe this “week or hebdomad” is a period of seven… but this logic seems to suggest it’s a “week or hebdomad” of 70 years. And the ‘midst’ is 34.5,35.3,36.3 years! (which is right when Christ died, and Pentecost ended and such)
Note, these would be important because they “should” equate to the amount of time needed for the moon phases to return to the same spot in the sky against the backdrop of the stars? Since this is what the difference between Tropical and Synodic months is measuring? Right? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eclipse_cycle#Periodicity This helps prophesy eclipses.. since they happen EVERY 54.093 years in the same region. Check to see if a special one happens around every 490 years. (54.093×9=486.8). So basically 3.5 years (or 1260 days) before 490 there is an eclipse!
THAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF THOSE NUMBERS! IT’S ECLIPSES ON THE GREAT YEAR (Try it on Stelarium)
DOES THIS HAVE ANY BEARING ON MESOAMERICAN 13 MONTH CYCLES? (13X20=260 x73=52yrs). I think it has to do with Venus somehow. So then there’s 3 calendars All sink with the Solar 1. Synodic Month (12 months + Jubilee 18 months to catch up) 2. Tropical Month (13 months keeps in sink with Synodic Calendar above) 3. Venus Month. (this is the only one preserved, since it was Egyptian/Austronesian it wasn’t eradicated w/Nephites)
Put it all together..
24 “Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.
25 “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. 26 After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. 27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him
From Command to restore to Anointed one = 7*62 or 68 sevens (483 yrs)
After the 62 sevens, Anointed put to death.
Confirm covenant for 1 seven. (70 yr period)
In middle it, sacrifice ends, abomination set up, end comes as a flood (34.5,35.3,36.3 years)
SUMMARY OF CELESTIAL TIME KEEPING: Day started: At sundown when 3 first stars are visible (evening and then morning [and then day] are the [first] day) Daily Sacrifices were offered: The daily sacrifices consisted of two burnt offerings: one lamb … in the morning [9:00 AM], the other lamb … in the evening [3:00 PM] (Numbers 28:4,8). This last phrase, in the evening, is literally ‘between the evenings’ or twilight. Evening one would be for the next day, since day starts at sundown. Festival Sacrifices were offered:Numbers 28:23 suggests they were presented immediately after the morning sacrifice. Passover Sacrifices were offered: initially slain “in the evening” or twilight (cf. Numbers 9:3. Leviticus 23:5) until the temple was built and then offered at approximately 3:00 P.M
Note: Some Rabbis considered twilight to be when the sun sets until the appearance of three stars, this is where the symbol of a crescent with one, two or three stars in the crescent began.
Month Started: The END of the new moon (when the tiniest crescent appeared. (Rosh Chodesh) Full Moon falls in center of month. Year Ended: Either after 12 lunations (354 days) or 13 lunations
The Jewish Calendar as a Cipher to Celestial Cycles
It appears that the Jewish Calendar was created as a sort of type, key or microcosm of larger scale celestial cycles. The 490 year cycle for instance is undoubtedly based on a well understood Venus transit cycle. A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and earth thus becoming visible as a black dot against the solar disk. Much like a solar eclipse of the moon, these transits last several hours and generally occur in a pattern of ‘pairs’ that repeat every 243 years with a pair of transits eight years apart in December (Gregorian calendar) followed by a gap of 121.5 years, then another pair eight years apart in June, followed by another gap, of 105.5 years.
This Venus ‘Great Year’ is notable itself for being a macrocosm for Venus’s 263 day “yearly” orbit as an evening and morning star. It’s called this because Venus spends exactly 265 days as a morning star (brightly preceding the sun’s rise each morning), then it seems dead, disappearing for 8 days below the horizon, before appearing/resurrecting again as an evening star (trailing the setting sun each night) before catching the sun and spending ~46 days hidden in its light. This gives us 4 important ‘sacred’ numbers. 265, 8, 265 & 46 (=584 days).
Some of these numbers are quite similar to those of it’s great year of 243 years and 8 years. And the number 8 fits nicely with the number 7 which is universally used to trace the phases of the moon. (The moon has 4 fazes of 7 days each ‘moonth’ and if we create a festival which lasts from Sunday to Sunday it equals 8 days). Furthermore, Venus transits or crosses between the earth and the sun 5 times every 8 years. In 52 years (the number of weeks per year), it crosses 32.5 times. And if we’d rather use whole numbers we just double that to track it’s 65 (13×5) transits every 104 years. Which if we times by 5 yet again (104×5) gives us 520 years. (and note that 8×5 = 40, they clearly counted by 5s!)
So why are these numbers important? Likely because the most important parts of any good calendar are tracking the tracking the solar year, and telling you when to plant & harvest by tracking the Spring & Fall equinoxes. (with moon cycles thrown in). Well it just so happens that if we want to include a 7/8 week festival (tracking the moon) twice a year with the equinoxes. Then the 8 day & 8 year Venus cycles are a GREAT thing to throw in to help us know where we are in a cycle. (Because Venus is probably the most visible star in the sky after the sun & moon!). So it makes sense to start our calendar where Venus’ 8 DAY cycle matches with our spring equinox as well as our 8 year Venus transit. And how often does this happen?! finish this…
[The match is in using the 243 year Venus transit as a macrocosm of the Jewish year. The two 8 year periods of transits matching with the two 8 day festivals of Israel. So 121.5yrs / 8yrs / 105.5yrs / 8yrs is roughly equal to = 177d / 8 day / 153d / 8 day. And note that tons of past transits match almost perfectly with my 490 year cycles. See Nasa’s list here. 243×2=486]
List of Micro/Macrocosms (see here) -8 day festivals, twice a year. = Venus transit -Festival of weeks = Jubilee -49 year Jubilee =
Note: Because of their peculiar nature, fixed stars have also been a subject of fascination in magic, astrology, and the occult. Notably, The Magus by Francis Barrett – a book historians have confirmed was accessible to the Smith family – contains a chapter discussing fixed stars, including Sirius. Other well-known occultists, such as Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, identified 15 fixed stars, the same number Kolob is associated with in some interpretations.
Now, here’s where it gets even more interesting Sirius isn’t a single star but a binary system consisting of Sirius A, a bright main-sequence star, and Sirius B, a faint white dwarf. The existence of Sirius B wasn’t even theorized until a few months after Smith’s death and wasn’t directly observed until 1862.
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https://gatheredin.one/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Milky_Way_Illustratoiin1.png8771629Lancehttps://gatheredin.one/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/newest-logo-all-together-bell-arrows.pngLance2017-01-13 09:10:552026-04-20 16:42:01The Cosmology or Times and Seasons (& Biblical ‘Weeks’ Prophetic Calendar)
The hallmark of religious fundamentalism is promoting a worldview that does not accord with reality. In fundamentalist religions, things that don’t matter much, get blown out of proportion and things that cause social collapse, war and anarchy are dismissed as inconsequential. For Christians, the Jewish religion at the time of Christ is a classic example. Jewish leaders executed the pacifist Christ because he dare heal on the Sabbath and declare himself Messiah, and yet allowed the insurgent Barnabas (and many like him) go free. The country was teetering on the brink of rebellion, anarchy and war, and yet the religious fundamentalist leaders were more concerned about the minutia of the Mosaic law, than the things that were truly destroying their society.
In Mormonism, we too have some history of fundamentalism—particularly in regard to sexual matters. Marion G. Romney’s conference talk of “better dead clean, than alive unclean” is a great example of this. In the talk this LDS Apostles tells the story of his father’s harsh words as he left on his mission, that he’d rather see his son come home in a coffin, than to be sent home for sexual impropriety. For most modern Christians this idea is of course, morally repugnant, and entirely contrary to Christ’s merciful example with the harlot (John 8:1–11). Instead it is completely in line with the world-view of the evil pharisees who brought the woman to Jesus in the first place.
Spencer W. Kimball’s Miracle of Forgiveness has some similar examples of this language and mindset. (Things condemned by Modern LDS therapists, and quoted as being “regretful” to Kimball himself later in life. see here, here and here.)
Few intelligent sociologists or therapists will dispute that there are destructive sexual practices which have the ability to rip at the fabric of a healthy society. But what I am talking about are the past LDS practices of blowing fornication (which is defined as sex between two unmarried consenting adults or minors) or other minor sexual practices way out of proportion by equating them with violence and murder. Its this same type of unjust comparison that causes many Islamic cultures (and ancient cultures) to use violence against women as a “punishment” for sexual impropriety. LDS views of fornication may stem primarily from our interpretation of a statement made in the Book of Mormon. In the Book of Alma, Alma the younger (who was a bit of a rebel himself in his youth) councils and censures his son Corianton for his “forsaking of his ministry” in order to make a trip to the harlot Isabel. In response to this action, Alma tells his son.
5 Know ye not, my son, that these things are an abomination in the sight of the Lord; yea, most abominable above all sins save it be the shedding of innocent blood or denying the Holy Ghost?
6 For behold, if ye deny the Holy Ghost when it once has had place in you, and ye know that ye deny it, behold, this is a sin which is unpardonable; yea, and whosoever murdereth against the light and knowledge of God, it is not easy for him to obtain forgiveness; yea, I say unto you, my son, that it is not easy for him to obtain a forgiveness.
7 And now, my son, I would to God that ye had not been guilty of so great a crime. I would not dwell upon your crimes, to harrow up your soul, if it were not for your good. (Alma 39:5–7)
The traditional interpretation of this verse has been that the prophet Alma is teaching his son that pre-marital fornication, or sex out of wedlock, is the worst sin possible with the exception of murder and “denying the Holy Ghost”.
The idea that polygamy (with its often scores of wives AND concubines) can be sanctioned by God. But that simply unwed fornication (even if it’s between in-love, consenting adults) — is worse than torturing someone, physically assaulting someone, stealing or destroying someone’s property, blasphemy, or any of the 10 commandments except murder and being a son of Perdition (denying the Holy Ghost) is against scripture and most rational individual’s consciences.
There’s a high probability that something else is going on this this story. There’s almost certainly something we as Mormons have culturally failed to grasp in this scripture, and by not addressing and reforming this false concept, we run the risk of damaging people’s testimonies when those members finally realize how contrary to conscience and scripture the idea that ‘fornication is next to murder’ is.
The New Testament is unequivocal in declaring fornication a sin (1 Cor 5), but gives little clue to its ranking among other sins — and gives no letter of the law commandments against it. Fornication has a high likelihood of causing emotional pain, unwanted pregnancy, and selfishness so its no surprise that it would be labeled sin. But the Mosaic law interestingly, does not even specifically declare most fornication as a punishable sin (although it was undoubtedly condemned). FORNICATION WAS NOT EVEN ONE OF THE 10 COMMANDMENTS–ONLY ADULTERY WAS. In fact it’s debatable what fornication’s exact place in the right and wrongs of the Mosaic law was. The mosaic law attached the death penalty to nearly EVERY aspect of adultery. And ALL cases of fornication which involve a married individual or “forcing” (rape). As well as temple prostitution (a common old world form of sex trafficking). However, there is no evidence of a physical penalty being addressed to fornication in the Mosaic law AT ALL, except when the woman…
1- Is still part of her father’s house and lies about her virginity, defaming her father’s honor (Deut 22:13–20)
2- Is the daughter of a temple priest. (Lev. 21:9) This may just be talking about making the daughter a temple whore or prostitute (19:29)
3- Becomes a paid prostitute (Duet 23:18).
In typical cases of fornication, the consequence was that the Man had to marry the virgin he slept with. But if she, or her father wouldn’t have it, then the man had to pay a bride-price or tax to the father. (Exodus 22:16–17, Deut 22:22–29)
[Before the Mosaic law, it seems the Middle-Eastern religious customs were often similar to modern back-woods Pakistan and other unequal patriarchal societies. Fornication was more or less culturally/religiously acceptable for men, BUT NOT FOR WOMEN. As illustrated in the story of Judah’s sex with Tamar in Gen. 38. Judah commands Tamar to be put to death when she is accused of being a temple prostitute… until he finds out HE is the father of her child, which causes him to marry her instead of killing her. The Mosaic law undoubtedly incorporated many of these (often unjust) cultural traditions (ie. Numbers 5:11–31), but strangely seems to deliberately avoid penalties for simple fornication.]
From available Old Testament and traditional evidence it seems most likely that in the case of Corianton, either
1- Corianton was married, and was committing adultery.
2- Isabel was a temple prostitute, and Corianton was indulging in an all too common idolatrous temple rite involving (often gratuitous) sexual acts. (Temple prostitutes were an ancient form of sex trafficking and were often lured into the prostitution at a young age, and often engaged in group sex acts). Because Isabel is called a “harlot”, this is the most likely scenario.
The Doctrine and Covenants instructs fornication is to be dealt with on an equal level with stealing, lying, etc.. (D&C 42:74–93). And the new Testament classifies it with sins such as being a hypocrite, greedy or rejecting the law of consecration. So although fornication is unquestionably condemned in scripture, it seems obvious that this B.O.M. scripture has caused the gravity of this sin to be GREATLY overrated.
And since I know how the Mormon mind works concerning anyone who dares question our shady overzealous beliefs on extramarital sex…..
No, this author has never fornicated. 😉
–
Some interesting references on Fornication & Temple Prostitution
https://gatheredin.one/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/banner-1.png500700Lancehttps://gatheredin.one/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/newest-logo-all-together-bell-arrows.pngLance2016-08-12 12:02:162021-02-06 11:47:17The Sin Next To Murder
54 Now I do not say this to destroy my [existing] church, but I say this to build up my church;
55 Therefore, whosoever belongeth to my church need not fear, for such shall inherit the kingdom of heaven. (D&C 10:54–55)
8 Therefore, thus saith the Lord unto you [Joseph], with whom the priesthood hath continued through the lineage of your fathers—
9 For ye are lawful heirs, according to the flesh, and have been hid from the world with Christ in God—
10 Therefore your life and the priesthood have remained, and must needs remain through you and your lineage until the restoration of all things spoken by the mouths of all the holy prophets since the world began. (D&C 86:8–10)
In this article I hope to unravel some of the contradiction found in many versions of the LDS “Great Apostasy” doctrine, adopted from the popular protestant views by early church leaders during Joseph Smith’s time. Instead of ‘great’ or universal apostasy, LDS scriptures actually teach a unique blend of dispensationalist/covenant theology which means that instead of a complete loss of priesthood or rejection of God’s favor on, and covenant with, his church (from 33 AD-1820 AD); only Israel and the Jewish-Christian Church with its distinct promises & functions was in fact rejected & destroyed in the centuries after Christ. God’s covenant with the Gentiles remained intact through the Catholic & Protestant churches until the end of their dispensation which was signaled by the prophetic & restorative role of Joseph Smith. Which role was to restore ISRAEL and the Jewish-Christian Church with its distinct promises & functions.
In other words, despite their incredible wickedness, God allowed Israel to be his ‘church‘, Messenger or archetype of how heaven operates to the world for a full 2000 years from Abraham to Christ. After Christ, only Israel fell into apostasy (was rejected by God) as the gospel and job of being Jehovah’s church or archetype passed to the Gentiles and Catholic Church. Joseph Smith’s ‘restoration’ heralds the message that the priesthood and truth is about to be taken from the gentiles (as they apostatize/are rejected) and given back to gathered Israel (Middle Eastern & Latin peoples w/LDS & Jews at head). In the end, the renewal of the covenant and religious priesthood keys, is part of a repeated pattern wherein the God of Israel or the “heavenly church” takes turns establishing new covenants and symbolic systems with each of the world’s peoples at assorted key times and seasons of human history. (And has nothing to do with truth, priesthood, the gospel or church being taken completely from the earth.)
The complete or total ‘Great Apostasy’ doctrine adapted by many early LDS leaders was a mixture of misunderstood LDS scripture with the concepts conceived by 16th century reformers like Martin Luther, John Calvin, Thomas Cranmer, John Thomas, John Knox, and Cotton Mather. It was a necessary pillar in the protestant idea of the universal priesthood of all believers, and was used to justify the protestant view of salvation without need for Catholic priesthood or apostolic succession. For early Mormon’s the doctrine was minunderstandingly seen as an effective backdrop to show a need for priesthood restoration and exclusivity claims. (Thinking the priesthood restoration to Joseph Smith was because it had been taken from the earth, instead of the truth, which is that just like at Moses, only the Higher Priesthood was lost, and the lower was only taken from Israel–and was being restored to a new people & dispensation) However, I hope to show how adopting the protestant apostacy doctrine as we did has caused us to misinterpret our modern scripture/revelations as well as the bible, and actually weaken the LDS position. It causes many to lose faith in the WEAK, illogical, contradictory and inconsistent ‘God’ that this doctrine requires. As an example I offer the following logical contradictions and inconsistencies that are caused by mixing the idea of Protestant Universal Apostasy with LDS theology.
Why would divinity reject the religious priesthood (or keys) of the Gentile Medieval Church for their possible small succession breaches and doctrinal corruptions, when he supposedly continued to honor the priesthood of ancient Israel despite their enormous repeated succession crises, repeated disobedience, doctrinal corruptions with neighboring false religions, idol worship (including the temple promotion of the Asherah sex cults and the sacrifice of their children to Baal), as well as killing of the prophets and even their national destruction and captivity in Babylon?
If God’s priesthood and ordinances are so important, why did God wait nearly 2000 years to restore them after they were supposedly lost? If God’s church plays such a huge role in salvation, why has it always had such a minimal (or non existent) role in human affairs (according to the great apostacy model)? Why couldn’t God select a few people to go 2000 miles into middle of uninhabited Asia and reestablish his Church like he did with the early LDS Saints? If we think the devil would have destroyed any attempts, then doesn’t that make God weaker than the devil? Couldn’t He have preserved the church with his “matchless power” as He did over and over with the tiny (and usually wicked) nation of Judah? (Or as we suppose He did with early Mormonism.)
Why would God have ancient prophets prophesy that the gospel & kingdom would be taken from the Jews and given to the Gentiles, and later command the apostles to preach his gospel to the ends of the earth— just to let that kingdom completely fail within a few hundred years? Didn’t he say to Peter “thou art Peter, and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it” (Matt 16:16–19). So why did the gates of Hell prevail within a few hundred years? Especially when history shows there were so many scattered groups of good (priesthood authorized) people doing their best to live this newly formed Christian faith throughout the history of the Gentile church.
Suggesting that the Catholic/Orthodox Church, which is by many standards the largest and most influential, globally civilizing church that the world has ever known, was completely rejected by God because of its numerous issues and evils (or in fact is the Church of the Devil as some have suggested)—requires the logical thinker to draw the same conclusions about the ancient Israelite religion, and also modern Mormonism when presented with the repeated episodes of internal conflict, church endorsed brutality, succession crises and doctrinal corruptions that each of these organizations have experienced.
LDS scripture suggests that God “restored” gospel knowledge and a new priesthood covenant to many different dispensations throughout the scriptural history (such as Abraham, Moses, Nephi and the Jaredites). None of these restorations were the result of universal apostasy. In each of these cases OTHER priesthood holders and ‘branches’ of the church existed simultaneously. What evidence is there that Joseph Smith’s case was any different?
Why does close examination of the most prominent scriptures which have been used to support a universal apostasy, show that they make little sense in such a context?
I believe these issues come from a misunderstanding of covenant theology & dispensationalism, and a fundamentalist interpretation of restorationism, history and scripture. Instead of seeing Biblical prophets as religious archetypes and messengers of a heavenly church, and seeing the Israelite and Christian priesthood covenants as divinely created symbols or shadows of what heaven is planning for the whole of society; fundamentalist interpretations get caught up in narrow-minded and overly-literal scriptural interpretations that end up destroying faith in god and dividing groups and distorting the heavenly system they are supposedly meant to display to the world.
As a beginning proof of divinity’s guiding hand in both the history of Israel and the European Gentile Church (which includes protestant Christianity), I offer this comparison of the unbelievable symbolism, historical typology, and repeated patterns displayed in the histories of Israel and the Gentile Church. In this article I will attempt to show those patterns as proof of heaven’s influence on human affairs, as well as taking another look at the scriptures used to uphold the misunderstood doctrine of universal apostasy. (This historical dualism concept comes from the recently “revealed” Jewish revelation, The Book of Ben Kathryn — and is suggested to be the key to unraveling Daniel’s 70 weeks prophesy concerning the Restoration of Israel and end of the Times of the Gentiles)
Timeline summarizing the historical correlations or types between the times of Israel and the times of the Gentiles. Note the similarities in the upper timeline (spanning from Abraham to Christ), and the lower timeline (spanning from Christ to present). The following section will show how each “age” or “time” followed a divinely guided blueprint in order to create a group capable of having the largest possible impact on human evolution and history.
14 And again, I will give unto you a pattern in all things, that ye may not be deceived (D&C 52:14)
The Divine Pattern of Western Civilization & Global Advancement
People tend to find meaning and patterns in the strangest things. Apophenia, which is the human tendency to perceive meaningful patterns within random data, is something I’m all too aware of. But as I’ve studied religious history over the last decade or so I have been amazed by the striking patterns and types that I myself (and thousands of others) have seen between the biblical narrative of Israel’s history and the Gentile Christian Dispensation. In my opinion, self fulfilling prophesy seems a far stretch to account for all the correlations. To begin with, as shown in the above diagram, both dispensations were started by a “King of Righteousness” known as a “Son of God” (Melchizedek vs. Christ). Both involved an early period of 12 closely related tribalistic factions. Both tribal groups were brought into special position and growth within a major southern global empire, only to later be enslaved by the arrangement (Joseph of Egypt vs Constantine of Rome). Both were freed from that arrangement about the same time that a spirit of legal codification swept the region. (The Mosaic code, and others matching with Justinian’s code, Sharia law and the host of legal codes which swept through the Germanic nations almost exactly 2000 years later.)
Both of these periods of codification (legal codes which strongly shaped the future of civilization) were accompanied by a type of imperial Holy War to help bring those legal codes to a larger populous. Joshua and Hammurabi’s conquest of the Holy Land and Mesopotamia corresponding to Belisarius’ and Muhammad’s conquest of the Mediterranean & Middle East (where Belisarius expanded the rising Christian Byzantine Empire to double its size). Just as Joshua’s conquest occurred nearly the same time as Babylon’s first major burst of expansionism, Belisuarius’ campaigns match very closely with the rapid growth of early Islam. The rise of Islam from Judaic & Christian roots in the 6th and 7th centuries AD, matching the raise of proto-Indo-Aryan religion out of Babylonian and Egyptian traditions 2000 years earlier. This indo-Aryan religion would go on to spread into Rome, Greece, Persia and India and was the base for the pantheons of Vedic/Hindu, Zoroastrian, Akkadian and Greek religions.
Each of these dispensations went through a centrally defining period of religious imperialism, where the religious leader began to anoint the emperor (Samuel anointing Saul in the case of Israel and Pope Leo II anointing Charlemagne in the case of the Gentile Church/Holy Roman Empire). Both of these religious empires shortly thereafter experienced a major schism. The division of the kingdom of Judah & Israel in the dispensation of Israel, and the Great East-West Schism which split the Roman & Eastern Orthodox Church. And not too long after that, both dispensations faced a radical destruction of their power and authority. Israel’s ‘Babylonian Captivity’ matching with the 70 year Avignon Papacy, called the ‘Babylonian Captivity of the popes’ by many. In both cases this destruction of power created a dissatisfaction with authoritarian/priesthood abuse and gave rise to a spirit of protestant or sectarianism. Ezra’s reforms matching those of Luther, where scripture was rewritten, translated and recanonized–accompanying fundamental shift in the way authority was viewed. In both cases this pluralistic religious sectarianism (called ‘Second Temple Sectarianism’ in Israel, or ‘schools’ by Josephus) seemed to accompany a similar spirit in the regional political arena where democracy and republics began to replace monarchies.
Also during this period, each dispensation went through a matching colonial phase where people from the region began to colonize the entire world. Although 15th-20th century European expansionism and colonialism is well known, fewer are aware of the massive Phoenician, Greek, Roman and Jewish colonial efforts which took place 2000 years earlier. Apart from the well known colonies of the Mediterranean, Britain, Scandinavia, Crimea, India and central Asian (Scythian) colonies, Mormon theology proposes that at least three distinct and influential colonies to non-eurasian continents or “isles of the sea” (2 Ne 10:21, Jacob 5) existed—suggesting that the Israel/Gentile Church pattern or analog may be even stronger than modern archaeology is willing to currently accept.
In my article Parallels between the Times of Israel and the Times of the Gentiles, I detail many additional types, patterns and parallels many of which are inevitably a product of confirmation bias, but given as a whole the correspondence is not easily dismissed. Indeed LDS and other restorationism scriptures are replete with allusions to the parallelism between dispensational ages. (see Ether 13:2–12, JS-Matt 1:32–33, 3Ne 8, 2 Ne 21:1, D&C 113:3, Deut 8:15, Acts 3:22, 3Ne 21:8–11, D&C 103:16, etc) By comparing the dispensation of Israel with the dispensation of the Gentiles, we can see how a Universal Apostasy in either of these dispensations makes little sense given scriptural and historical accounts. I think these strong parallels and the doctrinal contradictions which they help clear up are a solid reason to take another look at the scriptures which we use to support the old protestant Great Apostasy doctrine promoted in modern LDS theology. I propose that just like throughout the Dispensation of Israel, priesthood continued in the Catholic Church throughout the Dispensation of the Gentiles. However, much like the forerunner John the Baptist, Joseph Smith was one of many restorationism mystics who felt “called” to announce the End of the Gentile Dispensation and its coming fall (its fullness), and the restoration of the Lord’s covenant to Israel.
https://gatheredin.one/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/protestant-great-apostacy.jpg10501890Lancehttps://gatheredin.one/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/newest-logo-all-together-bell-arrows.pngLance2016-04-27 23:11:392026-10-21 19:14:08Redefining the LDS View of the “Great Apostasy”
Evil is DESIGNED into religion. Once you understand why this is, religion becomes far less confusing.
As someone whose had a kundalini/burning heart experience and visionary experiences of what I believe are angelic teachers I find the idea of good-hearted people leaving religion because they see darkness, evil and falsity in it, incredibly unfortunate. (Even if understandable–since hey, I’ve been there too.) I’m convinced if ANY of these people would simply read a few of the foundational channeled texts showcased on this site such as Oahspe, The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus Christ or the Kolbrin they would be less likely to leave, and more sympathetic and tolerant to the evil that’s designed into religion.
Without archetypal ‘power’, which is often perceived as evil, religion has little ability to combat true evil in a society.
First off though. I hope this article doesn’t come across as patronizing. I don’t want to talk down to anyone as if my truth should be your truth, or like my perspective is more valid than yours. And I’m not here to verbally strong-arm anyone into staying in, or leaving Mormonism. But I do want to share with you my unique pluralistic perspective in hopes that it might be helpful to you or someone you know who might be struggling with certain aspects of the LDS Church or religion in general.
Like many out there, adulthood and the internet has brought me unimagined insight into Mormonism’s faith inspiring story and its often seemingly insurmountable issues. But perhaps more uniquely than many practicing Mormons, it’s also helped me to study much of the the world’s prominent religious works; inspiring me to realize the amazing ways that a universalist view is supported by Mormon scripture. I’m attempting to show with this site how Jewish, Christian and LDS scripture & ritual may have been intelligently designed to purposefully begin believers on a path of egocentric belief, binary thinking & fundamentalism, in order to bring them onto more nuanced beliefs respecting universal love and religious pluralism. Transforming them, as Paul in the New Testament puts it, from a “slave” of lower religion, to a “joint-heir” of the ‘gods’ themselves. (Gal 4:5–7, Rom 7, Rom 8:17, see details in my articles Is the LDS church True, and My Testimony of the LDS Church.)
My interesting spiritual experiences may also make my perspective unique to you. From the baptism of fire or burning heart, to visions and dreams of ministering beings or seeing spirits. I’ve not only had profound metaphysical experiences, but I’ve carefully analysed and written about them from both a faithful religious perspective as well as from an agnostic scientific perspective. (I’ve tried to explain these experiences as frankly as possible in one of my articles.) I’ve scoured countless religious canons, near-death experiences and channeled works to find a worldview that best harmonizes my subjective supernatural experiences with both Mormonism’s and those of countless others coming from various cultures. In addition to Joseph Smith’s visions of Deity, I’ve studied the incredibly similar subjective theophany experiences and revealed scripture of contemporary (1830’s) modern ‘prophets’ like Siyyid Shírází (Founder of Bahá’í Faith; 8 million adherents), Mirzā Ghulām Ahmad (Aḥmadiyya Muslims; 20 million adherents), Hong Xiuquan (prophetic icon of Chinese millennialism), Debendranath Tagore (founder of hindu unitarianism Brahmo Samaj) and others. I hope that the perspective and worldview that I attempt to share in this and my following articles might help you as they’ve helped me to find a space in the Mormon tradition that is objectively aware of both its divine destiny and beauty, as well as its contradictions and humanistic aspects while still remaining a believing active participant of the faith and its culture—even if like me you come to see its exclusive truth claims as a common example of mistaking intelligently designed symbols, shadows, types and archetypes for the unexplainable & unknowable realities they are meant to symbolize (see Col 2:16-19, Heb 10:1).
Perspective is Everything. The differences in human perspective can make the same truths take completely different shapes and memes depending on the way we look at them.
The Power of Perspective & Empathy
As I get older, I’m continually amazed at the difference perspective makes. The angle you approach a topic from, or the biases you are culturally conditioned with can mean the difference between seeing an old ugly hag or a beautiful young maiden in all the things of life (to borrow from William Hill’s famous illusion shown above). Like many youth raised in a religion, when I was young all I could see was beauty in my religious culture, doctrines and history. The untimely death of my father just before my mission prodded me to seek solace in Mormonism almost as if it were a parent to me. Like a beautiful new bride, the church and its doctrines were my model of truth and perfection. But as I got older and continued really dedicating myself to knowing the truths of religion and the afterworld — and began carefully comparing the Church’s teachings to its own history & scriptures, or to that of other religions and their holy literature, I came to see a dark side I never anticipated. Instead of just seeing the LDS church’s teachings as the pinnacle of divine truth and right-living, I came to see a more human, conflicting, contradicting and egotistical side of the church (see here for examples).
Perhaps coming to see the “shadow side” of my religion shouldn’t have come as a surprise in my life. As opposed to my literal marriage, which I fully expected would be a challenge as the infatuation glasses slowly came off—I never suspected that close scrutiny of my religion might reveal a combination of truth mixed with well meaning pretense. As the shiny ‘correlation’ clothes and the ‘hidden-history’ makeup have come off, I’ve had to make a decision of loyalty and focus. Do I choose to focus on this newly discovered ugliness to the point that I forget the divine beauty I once was in love with? Do I divorce or leave this “bride of Christ” because she made herself out to be far more divine than human? Or do I recognize her mixture of falsity and divinity as a reflection of the same conditions in my own nature, and use it as a tool for social, spiritual and personal improvement?
Through my faith journey I’ve striven for the goal to see all people, religions and concepts from an eye of unconditional love and universal understanding. I’ve been lucky enough to have dreams and visions to show me unique new ways to see how my cultural beliefs fit into the larger picture of faith and human spirituality. Maybe my experiences were my imagination—but either way, I’d like to share with you some of the concepts I’ve learned. I hope I can show how the pluralistic beliefs of powerful thinkers like Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell, James Fowler or even contemporary authors like Richard Rohr or Reza Aslan (interviewed by Oprah in the hour long special posted at the end of this article) can fit within the Mormon scriptural narrative. And how the Mormon scriptural narrative might be intelligently designed to fit into the global human drama. Like them, I’m trying to speak from a perspective of one who is fully aware of both the positive and the negative fruit in all religion but has overcome the true/false trap, consciously choosing to find beauty, meaning and utility in the whole of it.
The Church’s Pattern of Progression in its Historical Context
As we come to understand how culturally influenced, partial and flawed our human religions are, I think that more than anything else it’s important to come to see them as the dynamically changing and evolving social structures that they are. Like living stones in a rising temple of humanity that has, is and will go through the same Fowler’s Stages of Faith and progression as the rest of us. Although impossible to prove or disprove, the Christian and LDS scriptures (as well as many other holy texts in other cultures) seem to present the idea that a combination of deceased ancestors, higher dimensional beings, a collective unconsciousness or even our future selves are somehow involved in starting religions and then intermittently working on them through the different times & seasons like a gardener. In the cold and darkness of early spring the imaginations and subconscious of charismatic (but often egotistical) dreamers and visionaries are used to plant revolutionary religious seeds according to the pre-existing soil type or culture. Religious mystics like those I mentioned earlier will have powerful visions and channel thousands of pages of sophisticated religious literature. (ie. see here) As the creators step back to watch and see which new religious branches or sects do best they often allow rigid garden cages or strict rules and mores to be emplaced in order to hold the ‘plant’ while its young. They seem to often allow (or possibly encourage?) fanatical egotism, rampant falsity and violent struggle in the early stages to build a cohesive culture and sustainable base of cohesive believers. Eventually, they come again in early summer to remove unsuccessful starts as well as the stakes and cages on the ‘plants’ that have evolved past them and can stand on their own. Then when fully grown they use those diverse organizations to unify cultures and influence politics according to their aims. And lastly, they come to harvest the souls & new seeds before the winter comes to bring death and dissolution to the spent ‘plant’ religion or culture. (see Scattering and Gathering of Israel)
Uncontacted primitive tribes like this one currently living in Brazilian rainforest help us to consider how our world might also be just like these groups which are totally unaware of the advanced civilizations which dwell around and above them. Just as international laws of limited or no contact are being drafted to protect the self-determination of these groups, it is logical to consider that higher dimensional groups are also highly constrained by laws in the manners they are allowed to subtly influence human culture, through the imaginations, thoughts and visions of our cultural icons. (see Zoo Hypothesis & Fermi Paradox–see this documentary for details)
Choosing a Positive Focus Amid Negativity
It seems to be true that like early Judaism, and aspects of Catholicism, Islam and many churches before us, Mormonism currently sees itself as God’s highest and most-true, final revelation. It has a unique view of history which often puts itself squarely in the center of almost everything. Many in the church see being a faithful adherent as dependent upon a “testimony” that they are members of the only true church with the only true priesthood in the earth’s final dispensation with the only means of receiving ordinances absolutely necessary for salvation in the highest heavens. Some perceive that our church is fully in charge of single-handedly saving the entire world through our vicarious ordinances. Some view salvation as dependent upon faith in the nearly demigod status and teachings of current or founding prophets. A few see every human advancement (like democracy, airplanes and the internet) as specifically given by God to mankind JUST to help Mormonism be spread throughout the world. The almost narcissistic exclusivism inherent in these beliefs, when compared to similar beliefs in religions like radical Islam — and combined with overwhelming historical proof of our fallibility on topics like early polygamy, blacks and the priesthood, myth in scripture, or ‘prophetic’ errancy combined with the numerous historical and doctrinal contradictions like those addressed in the popular CES letter, may upset many members to the point where they want to abandon belief in divinity or the church.
Before I had really studied out the opposing arguments, I was once absolutely convinced that my powerful spiritual experiences validated the above LDS truth claims, and I can empathize with those who still feel that way. On the other hand, if my words on LDS narcissism explains part of the negativity you perceive, let me just say I get you too, and can truly empathize with you–even though I hope to show you a way to stay a positive, loving participant in the faith by showing how Mormonism might have been designed to fill a more humble role within a larger divine universalist perspective. My existing paradigms and faith were seriously challenged and entirely rebuilt, when my own spiritual experiences and research on history and other religions helped me see how complex, contradictory and difficult some of our exclusivist beliefs and traditions were to defend. (Given we simply use different words to say essentially the same things as so many others religions which we call false—and our testimonies are based on the same logic and emotional/spiritual confirmations. Watch this video for example.) My experiences growing up in the church were so positive and full of overwhelming spiritual confirmation that I never quite understood friends and family members who left. But when my desire to empathize with those I loved caused me to study enough to really see the ‘ugly old woman’ of contradiction in the same doctrines which had once given my life beauty and purpose I fully understood why many people I know would leave or feel forced out. But my advice for those just beginning this process, echoes the advice given to me in my own dark night of the soulas well as that given in Christian Scripture. That “Christ” (as an archetype of unconditional or universal love – not as a religious idol) is divinely designed to show the way to a joyful escape from the binary paradox or true/false paradigmin fundamentalist religion.
Allow me to unpack what I mean by that.
By seeing that Christian and LDS core scripture and temple ritual may be divinely written to show the progression of Israel and mankind from an essentially false, egocentric, overly-literal fundamentalist outward religion to a more true, unteachable, archetypal loving inward religion one can peacefully make that transition in their own worldview—and have a confidence that there is indeed an unseen divine working behind the scenes to guide evolution in an upward direction. All religion’s radically change over their lifespans, and I believe Christian scripture is designed not only to show you that cyclical progression—but to help you determine where you and your denomination are in that cycle. So if you’re ahead of the group in your love and awareness of contradiction and falsity; the most effective solution may be to follow Jesus’ lead of being patient and thoughtful with those who might be behind the curve. And just as there is wisdom in the idea of being a saving light in the darkness, or the salt of the earth—there is also wisdom in the idea of being a Mormon who sees through the fundamentalism and cultural mythos and yet still humbly participates in the underlying divine community in order to save or help others by your example of selflessness. Realize that like the Chinese yin and yang seeks to symbolize — that bad, falsity, egocentrism and negativity are an inseparable part of humanity’s good, truth, selflessness and positivity. Because of the binary nature of human perspective, they cannot meaningfully exist apart from each-other. Every individual, human religion, political entity or scientific organization has a healthy mixture of both across its lifespan. Realize that there might be intelligent reasons why most of the world’s largest and most influential organizations have been led by strict, narrow-minded, egocentric and sometimes even blindly fanatical individuals and power structures in the early stages of their development. As much as I hate to be machiavellian, It seems all too clear to me that without power (which tends to be dogmatic and inherently egocentric), the good one has to offer in the world is often largely irrelevant. It seems obvious to me that the good people of this world (and we might suppose divine beings in the next world), use these inherent attributes of human nature to both build influential people and organizations and turn them toward the light.
All organization go through different stages in their lifecycle. The Judeo christian canon seems to paint a historically based metaphorical story of life stages and archetypes. Early group archetypes selfishly focus on increasing the power & purity of the group through legalism, absolutism and fundamentalism (typified by orthodox Judaism and the Mosaic law). Later the group reaches an inflection point or transformation to selflessness through mercy and universal love (typified by Christ’s sacrifice & Pauline Christianity). Finally the unified view gained from their various experiences give them the wisdom to guide future generations from beyond the grave (symbolized by Resurrection eschatology. (see Redefining the LDS/Protestant view of the Great Apostasy)
The Two Churches & Double Harvest
Most people fail to realize that the Wheat & the Tares (who are the church of god & the church of the devil) spoken of by Christ and within Mormonism and Christian Scripture were to exist not just in the world, but within Christ’s Church itself! (see D&C 86:1–7, D&C 88:94) In scripture we are taught that both were to grow together until the Harvest, when both would be harvested to their own place (hell vs eternal life). They needed to grown together, not just because they are hard to tell apart & separate, but also because they need each other to accelerate their growth. The fundamental character trait of the wheat or God’s sheep/followers is overflowing love & wisdom. And what better way to learn a wise love of all, then to exist side-by-side with earth’s most difficult people to love? (the tares) On the flip side, the fundamental trait of the tares or church of the devil is control or power that abrogates free-will. And how can the tares be turned to salvation without learning to turn their craft of domination and control into righteous dominion that orders without in any way abrogating free-will? By closely pairing the wheat & tears together in the church, God and his angels give human souls an opportunity to accelerate or turbo-boost their progression in learning the to differentiate the light and dark and more importantly harmonize the good and evil into ONE.
This concept of salvation of ALL of god’s children is symbolized in the ying & yang and star of David where unity or oneness is created from the earthly & godly, dark & light. By allowing many tares, bent on control and unrighteous domination to rule earthly religion (which includes the Levites or Priesthood of Israel & God’s church), God creates an incredible opportunity to save as many those on the path to damnation into salvation. And because organization within the bounds of free-will is such an important aspect of salvation, god can teach both the wheat and would-be tares how keep the principles of control within the bounds of righteousness and bring salvation to even those strongly on the path to damnation. Christ epitomized this arrangement by calling Judas as his apostle even though he fully understood Judas would betray him to be crucified. Even at the last supper Christ sincerely encourages Judas to enact his plan (which was to underhandedly force Christ to stand before the Sanhedrin & announce his Messiahship and then take political control–a plan which backfires). So also, within the church Christ has paired the wheat and the tares essentially creating two churches in one, in order to accelerate everyone’s growth and save as many as possible.
The Inevitable Idolatry of Organized Religion
As I’ve moved from the fundamentalist orthodoxy of my youth to perhaps more nuanced rational beliefs, one of the most impressive testimony builders in my view of Mormonism & Christianity has been how (like most global religions) the revealed aspects of the religion seemed to be intelligently designed to allow for opposing perspectives of interpretation. Like brilliant poetry, musical lyrics or literature which purposely use ambiguity to allow their works to mean different things to different people. It seems each generation is purposely given the opportunity to reinterpret the same scripture, and use them for good or bad, pride or humility, power, love or wisdom. And what’s more, LDS revelations seem to have hidden clues to the religion’s own inevitable falsities or lower aspects within its own doctrinal narrative (especially within its temple rituals)! As one Judaic example of this— the beginning of the Biblical narrative essentially starts with Moses coming down from the Mount with a law from God, commanding above all other things not to put human-imagined gods before the ONE incomprehensible universal god of creation who just freed these ignorant slaves. This God tells them not to kill or be unfair and especially not to make or worship human-conceived gods, religious systems or idols (and especially not to do it in the name of God!).
And what happens when Moses comes down from the heavenly Mount? His brother Aaron is already making the people an Egyptian golden calf-god to worship! So in a strange display of irony, we are told that this divine deity representing the One True Universal Reality or I AM makes that same idol-creating man and his posterity, Israel’s religious priesthood who are put in charge of executing opponents, and building and officiating in a temple and religious system that history has shown was in many respects uncannily similar to the one they just left. One which (like almost every major religion since) then goes on a rampage of supposed benevolent genocide conquering desired territory in the name of the national God (see Ex 32:19-29!).
Volumes could (and have) been written on the paradoxical irony of the amazing biblical account. An account of a universal God who is in so many ways the exact opposite of every religious system and deity of the time, within the framework of a people and priesthood who in more ways than not, behave exactly the same as every selfish and egocentric religious and political system in history. So I ask myself what might wise humans or divine beings be trying to teach us with the story of how Jewish priesthood originated? Somewhat secular books like free-masonry’s Morals and Dogma by Robert Pike lay out the conclusion of many of the most wise and influential minds of the post-medieval period. While angelically revealed books like Oahspe share a surprisingly similar message from a divine perspective. A message that I believe is clearly and cleverly hidden within eastern religions like Taoism, the LDS endowment, the writings of Paul and all Christian scripture.
Every religion is a temple that (even if founded on divine foundations) is largely built by human hands which creates an idol or image of God that by the very fallibility of man must inevitably be carved from a limited and biased human perspective. Whether you believe a prophet or scripture is divine or not should not change the inescapable truth that all men intentionally or accidentally create idols of God by projecting or mirroring their cultural biases and paradigms onto God/the divine (even in their revelations and visions of the metaphysical realms)! But part of what makes religious participation so divine is the way that simply participating in these traditions helps to unify huge groups of people, creating culture and paving the way for nation-building, democracy and global unity. Religion is a key component in driving philosophical and political thought as adherents learn to find and ‘prize the good’ by learning to differentiate the human from the divine through the trial and error of darkness. It is the practice hall or schoolmaster for political thought. The thinkers who have effectively worked their way through the gambit of these religious paradoxes rule the world and heavens, and the befuddled religious faith of today becomes the more perfect cultures, gods and political realities of tomorrow.
Timeline summarizing the scriptural types, pattern or repeat of history between the times of Israel and the times of the Gentiles. The two segments of the four thousand year history are placed one on top the other to better illustrate the repeated events. Within this historical allegory are countless other types, shadows, historical allegories and teaching tools reportedly created by higher divine beings to manifest their influence on the current age of human history. See Parallels between the Times of Israel and Times of the Gentiles. Note the progression of the religious systems from dogmatic authoritarianism to more pluralistic democracy.
Keeping the Faith & Staying Mormon.
I want to offer the reader an unpressured bias to reconsider the importance of faith despite the contradictions or paradoxes you may have found. In my experience of spending a few years on Mormonthink, Reddit and other assorted webpages and facebook groups I found that although the thoughtful negativity found in those places may have helped to deconstruct the idols of cultural understanding that my mainstream Mormon upbringing may have carved in my mind— it didn’t give me many constructive ideas on how to improve myself, my culture or my spiritual understanding. It definitely didn’t bring me any profound visions of my own. I found that re-reading core LDS scripture in completely new ways and thoughtful esoteric literature such as featured on this site, did a much better job of giving me spiritual insight and heavenly visions that completely reconstructed my Mormon faith and religious views. What did bring me happiness was learning to see past the cultural bias, symbols, metaphors, memes, myths, rules and carved idols of our man-made aspects of religion— into the hidden universal truths, purposes, wisdom and communion of divine spirituality. Finding ways to steer the culture into more constructive paths instead of merely abandoning it or trying to tear it down. (see needed reformation in the church)
I believe Mormonism is built upon some pretty amazing divine religious metaphors. I’ve found it has within its scriptural theology the language and symbols to begin to reconcile some of the world’s most difficult opposing religious ideas. Issues such as polytheism versus monotheism; visionary experience versus hallucination; resurrection versus reincarnation; legalism versus antinomianism, priesthood versus protestantism, heavenly revelation versus human thought, religious infallibility versus pastoral errancy, and Christian exclusivism vs universalism. And reconciling each of these paradoxes has essential political applications to help societies prosper. Today, the church may ostracize you for challenging their one-sided views of these complex ideas. But I encourage you to follow Christ into the true baptismal grave of standing for whats right even when your religious leaders wish you were dead. In fact your debate, even if it means excommunication, is essential to the eternal progression and power of the group. I believe Christ’s central lesson was that constructive change usually comes from humble activists (even if they’re excommunicated), more than separatists and that all earthly religion is divinely designed to be continually transmuted by “Christ’s” followers (the loving martyrs) from selfishness to selflessness. I made a decision sometime ago that I would not throw away any of my relationships simply because I saw the yin when everybody else only seemed to be blindly aware of the yang. (Even if sharing my personal perspectives and truths occasionally causes conflict.) Although perhaps more people are leaving Mormonism today over the issues I cover on this site, than has ever occured in it’s history, I offer you the unpressured bias that staying with open eyes is possible and worth it—and I hope my articles give you some scripturally-based language to share perspectives differing from the often fundamentalist mainstream. I hope I can illicit your help and friendship as a new generation of Mormons begins to take the reigns of the church and steer it ever closer into line with what the subtle whispers of Spirit constantly direct for it and all mankind.
Its important to realize that the groups we immerse ourselves in, have immense implications. Although I’m asking readers to take what I’m about to say on faith, I hope you’ll believe that religious adherents (especially Mormons and Jews) have a level of psychic connection that most simply don’t understand. Some authors have referred to this connection as a “social-memory-complex”. In essence, the rituals and practices that Mormons participate in create a subconscious connection to a pool of shared intelligence which can be accessed by the entire group. This can have both advantages and disadvantages. Many of the phenomena that adept members often mistake as “being in tune with the Spirit” actually has to do with individual’s abilities to access that shared subconscious pool of information. It also has implications on the subjective afterlife state as well and the transmigration of the soul. There is a reason why Jews have been such powerful inventors and philosophers over the last 4 millennia. Although Mormonism has some repenting and purging to do, I assure you that staying close to the group (even if not an active participant–until after their cleansing) will have rich rewards to those able to draw from both the physical and metaphysical energy, intelligence & resources of the group consciousness.
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I hope these articles I’ve written can help you look at LDS and Christian scripture from a new perspective that reconciles many of the issues you may have discovered.
Article 1. Re-examining what LDS scriptures say about the ‘Only True Church’ doctrine.
Article 2. A Doctrinal Look at The Universal Priesthood of God & Its Relationship to LDS exclusive truth claims.
Article 3. Re-examining the LDS adoption of the protestant fundamentalist view of the “Great Apostasy”.
Article 4. Clearing up Misunderstandings in the LDS View of the Afterlife (The 3 Degrees of Glory and their support for religious pluralism)
(Note: I’m not a big fan of Oprah or any person or system that doesn’t teach exaltation through Christ, but the universalism message of this video is a good launch point for this article. Also if the below video does not display, open it in a new window here)
https://gatheredin.one/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/stay-mormon2.jpg3071400Lancehttps://gatheredin.one/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/newest-logo-all-together-bell-arrows.pngLance2016-04-18 15:51:212025-08-12 10:47:09Why Stay LDS (with tips for challenging, and handling challenges to your faith)
Guys… I’m not sure if your adolescence will be anything like mine. I know there’s a lot of different ways to guide your life that are all unique and beautiful in there own way. I hope at very least I can give you a feeling of being loved and valued as you grow up. And I also hope I can impart some life-learned wisdom to give you a head start on your journey.
I know when I was an adolescent, I was very confused about love. It made little sense to me. I heard one thing from movies and the media, another thing from my friends and another thing from church—and none of them made a lot of sense. I really didn’t believe much in love growing up… I saw it as a farse, or set of nearly random emotions that only the simple-minded fell pray to. I’ve always been very thoughtful and analytical, and at very least I understood at a fairly young age that the “love” I wanted in order to make my future marriage work needed to be stronger than the sorrow-filled “love” that made my parent’s marriage an ill-ending disaster. Love, to me, was a commitment. You loved by staying with and being committed to someone. I understood that there was a huge difference between love as a verb and love as a feeling or noun–but because of my lack of understanding I think I shut my heart and actions down to some extent in a misguided effort to avoid pain. In retrospect I wish I would have gotten involved in a lot more foolish flings. Put myself out there enough to have a broken heart a few times. And had fun making out and being more sexual. I hope that my advice will help you find the right balance and harmony to make your love life a happy one.
What is Love
Love is not the same as romance, although that is an aspect of it. It is definitely not synonymous with sexuality. It is not simply a friendship or family bond, although that gets closer to the meat of it. It is not simply a feeling, nor are there different unrelated types of love (Eros, Agape, Phileao, Storge). All descriptions of it are mired in arguments of semantics or opinions of definitions. So I’d like to start by laying a scientific framework I read about in a book called ‘The Law of One’. It’s probably the most powerful framework I’ve come across in respect to the idea of love.
As I’ve searched through a lot of religious and philosophical material to find the best cohesive, scientifically viable definition for love,— Fractal Theory combined with the Chakra philosophy make the most sense. I’ll try and quickly summarize them as a foundation for a discussion on how to have a beautiful love-filled life.
In short, fractal theory or the law of relative relationships teaches that everything in the universe evolves or is created to follow a similar pattern wherein the small is relatively a copy of the large. In particular it means that you can learn about yourself by studying the planet, or the solar system or the atom. Plato called this microcosm and macrocosm, but some form of this framework of parallelism exists in every global religion.
The fractal
The reason why this matters is because using this framework we can compare Love (n.) to Cosmic Energy. By Cosmic Energy, I mean the energy in the cosmos that all matter is made of. Thus just as everything in the universe is made of energy… all things are made of love. This is why God is often called ‘love’. Additionally we can compare and define Loving (v.) as the focus and use of that energy. Every “living” sphere in the galaxy lives because it has created a system of absorbing and giving cosmic energy or love, and the same is true for you. The Chinese called this cosmic energy Chi. The Hindus called it Prana. The Christians call it God’s Spirit, and Mormonism sometimes equates it with Spirit and sometimes with priesthood. Jesus and all the great pillars of humanity come to symbolize it and show its possible uses. Regardless of what we call it, in your adolescence you will decide on a delicate balance of receiving and giving that same energy or love. It will be your focus and use of love or your energy that makes you who you are, determines your joy, your happiness and your eternal identity. You can decide whether to be a sun, or a black hole, a thriving planet or a near-dead rock, a rogue asteroid or a communal pillar of the Galaxy. You can decide to focus your energy or love on yourself or others—or to shut it down and not love much at all.
Here’s a few points concerning love that I hope you can understand and remember.
-With the act of loving (giving or receiving energy & attention), comes emotion. Do not confuse the emotions of love, with love, loving or being in love. But realize that the emotions of love are a measuring stick to let you know how much–and what types–of love you are giving and receiving. Think of it in regards to physics. When a system gains energy it creates heat. When it looses energy, it manifests cold. The same goes for your body. When you gain energy, you will experience emotional ‘heat’. That heat can be interpreted as passion, anger, sexual attraction, excitement or other types of love. When you lose more energy than you are gaining you will experience emotional ‘cold’. That cold can manifest as loneliness, depression, indifference, hate or certain types of love.
-Sometimes the most rewarding relationships… are the hardest ones. The ones where you feel the least feelings of love, but are challenged to be loving and giving in new and different ways.
-The increased feelings of the emotions of love that come with new relationships do not mean you love that person more than your existing relationships.
A Short Overview of the Chakra System
The ancient Hindus came up with an amazingly effective system of describing how the human body uses love, energy or “spirit” to affect our emotions, actions and personality. In this system, each individual finds a unique balance of dispersing their energy to 7 bodily energy centers which each have unique functions. Comparing this system to the modern understanding of biology, many have noticed that these ancient centers seem to correlate with the way in which our nervous system disperses its energy to the endocrine glands–which are in charge of translating the nerves energy signals to chemical hormones which in turn govern the bodies feelings and emotions.
The hormonal balance which dictates your emotions of happiness are said to be the result of a combination of your own decisions, the decisions of your ancestors (as passed through DNA), and the configuration your spirit brought with you from your pre-mortal existence (past lives). Each energy center or endocrine gland controls specific hormones which govern your biology and emotions such as testosterone/estrogen (which govern sexuality and physical size), epinephrine/adrenaline (which govern your anxieties, fears & risk taking proclivities), pancreatic polypeptides like glucose/insulin (which govern your energy levels) , serotonin/melatonin (which help govern joy/depression and chronobiology) and many, many more. (For more information see my more detailed article on chakras/endocrine glands).
Knowing exactly what these hormones are and what they do, is not as important as understanding that your emotions are a result of the “directions” your brain sends to your endocrine glands to tell them what balance of hormones to stick in your blood stream. In other words it is important to understand that your thoughts and behaviors have a direct influence on your joys, feelings of love and emotions. At the same time, it is important to realize that many of these things are controlled subconsciously, and just like taking control of the usually subconsciously controlled speed of your heartbeat— can take great meditation, intelligence and practice. This is one important function of religion and spirituality. With religion, great masters have sought to institute ways of life which bring balance; and systems of ritual which allow you to take conscious control of otherwise subconscious biological processes. Whether it be singing in church or in your car, taking the sacrament or doing yoga and meditative breathing, or going to the temple or losing yourself in nature I hope you will learn to intelligently use the tools you have been given to manage your energy or love pathways which regulate your chemical balances and thus your emotional and spiritual well being. I pray you will not be tempted to synthetically regulate your hormonal system with drugs or tobacco—since all of the euphoric feelings drugs will give you can be gotten naturally—without the devastating addiction and toxic side effects.
Bonding
Other than regulating your own chemical balances, the most important thing you will do with love in your life is bonding. The same is true for any planet or atom.
The internal energy configuration of these bodies dictates what they will be attracted to and what they can or will bond to. Oil will not mix with water and inert gasses will not bond to much of anything. On the other hand, what Florine wants, Florine gets.
periodic table of the elements showing the electron shells of each element.
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