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Join Date: Nov 2008
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Science of Sanctification
Moderator: The title should read "Science of Sanctification" not "Scient of Sanctification"
Audience: First, members of the LDS faith. Second, anyone who's interested.
Chapter 1 of a book I am writing.
I'd love some feedback.
Chapter 1 - By Small Means
As I stated in the Introduction, this book is about the science of sanctification. Some might think it odd to refer to "the science of" sanctification. They might be hesitant to "peek behind the curtain" and reveal how God is doing what He is doing. That it might be some form of sacrilege to pick-apart the process of God making us over in His image.
I am of the opinion that there is a scientific, or natural, physical explanation for the sanctification process. I believe Father in Heaven wants us to understand this process we are going through, because to understand it is to understand Him and the kind of life He lives. We are His work and glory. Is it too far of a stretch to imagine that He might want us to take as much joy in the process as He does? How He does what He does is one of the "mysteries" of God! How can we become like God if we don't understand Him? I also feel that understanding God's power increases my awe of Him. It does not diminish it!
"And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full." Alma 12:10
Although this book attempts to describe the process, what it does not do is attempt to reveal, to the mind and heart, the full depth and meaning as only God is able to. Only the Holy Ghost can do that. Until then, these will only be words. That is how it should be.
To understand the process, we need to begin with a foundation. We'll begin with Christ's own words about the sanctification process, and see what clues He leaves for us to identify and research:
"Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise. And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls." - Alma 37: 6-7
Notice these references to the word small:
"small and simple things"
"small means"
"very small means"
See how the Lord is repeating the word small over and over? When we encounter "peculiar" phrasing like this in scripture, repeated over and over again, more often than not it is the Lord trying to get us to "wake-up" and take notice of what is being said. If we too casual about our reading of this verse, we might come away from our study thinking "the Lord is saying He does things gradually, utilizing small and simple means to accomplish His purposes." While this observation certainly is the case, careful pondering can often reveal much much more.
So what else might the Lord be talking about when He references "small and simple things"? If we look to the physical world around us, some of the "smallest things" would be those things which all matter is made of. We call these things atoms. They are so tiny that you cannot see them without the aid of a very powerful microscope. They themselves consist of smaller entities; protons, neutrons and electrons. Protons and neutrons are made up of even smaller particles called quarks. What are quarks made of? Right now we don't know. The tools of science are gradually being improved. Scienctists may yet find even small particles than quarks one day.
If you re-read the verses above from Alma in this context, there would seem to be a definite link between the Lord being able to control matter and the Lord accomplishing His "great and eternal purposes." One does not happen without the other. In other words, there would be no salvation possible without involving the atoms that constitute our bodies and spirits. To bring this concept home, just think about the resurrection and exaltation of man. There are billions of bodies that have turned to dust long ago. How will those bodies be reassembled? That process hinges upon God's power over the elements, does it not?
Consider the following quotes:
"There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes; We cannot see it; but when our bodies are purified we shall see that it is all matter. " D&C 131:7-8
"The Gods organized the earth of materials at hand, over which they had control and power. This truth is absolute. A million educated folk might speculate and determine in their minds that the earth came into being by chance. The truth remains. The earth was made by the Gods as was the watch by the watchmaker. Opinions do not change that." (1)
Think of it. God has the ability to command these particles! These same particles that form our spirits and physical bodies and which comprise the substance of the universe around us.
Notice this phrase found in the second quote (above): "over which they had control and power" (referring to these particles).
This control and power over the elements is demonstrated over and over again in scripture. In fact, the Lord takes great pains to point out to us that He has this power:
"Who shall say that it was not a miracle that by his word the heaven and the earth should be; and by the power of his word man was created of the dust of the earth; and by the power of his word have miracles been wrought?"
Mormon 9:17 (emphasis added)
In Abr. 4: 10, 12, 21, 25 we also find references to this power:
10 And the Gods pronounced the dry land, Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, pronounced they, Great Waters; and the Gods saw that they were obeyed.
• • •
12 And the Gods organized the earth to bring forth grass from its own seed, and the herb to bring forth herb from its own seed, yielding seed after his kind; and the earth to bring forth the tree from its own seed, yielding fruit, whose seed could only bring forth the same in itself, after his kind; and the Gods saw that they were obeyed.
• • •
21 And the Gods prepared the waters that they might bring forth great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters were to bring forth abundantly after their kind; and every winged fowl after their kind. And the Gods saw that they would be obeyed, and that their plan was good.
• • •
25 And the Gods organized the earth to bring forth the beasts after their kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after its kind; and the Gods saw they would obey.
Remember what I said earlier about peculiar phrasing that is repeated over and over again? These passages represent the Lord trying to teach us something very special about Himself. In other words, He wants us to understand how He does what He does. He wants to share that power with us, bit by bit.
Notice the wording in Abraham 4:10: "And the Gods pronounced the dry land, Earth;"
What an odd way of describing the creation; "pronouncing" something into existence! Most of us are used to physical labor of some sort. God pronounces, or speaks, and it happens! The elements obey His word. He probably does not even have to speak. He just thinks it. Perhaps this is why He places so much emphasis on us guarding our thoughts and being careful with our words when we speak to others. In some future eternity, we will be like Him. Our thoughts will bring things to pass. Such power must not be wielded until we are prepared.
But what enables the elements to obey God? God speaks and it happens, but who or what was God speaking to when He organized this earth, or parted the Red Sea or turned water into wine? Have you ever wondered about that? If you carefully read those verses from the Book of Abraham again, you will see that the elements almost seem to have a choice:
and the Gods saw they would obey.
The Gods saw "they" would obey? We should pause here for a moment and ask the obvious question: Who is "they"? If "they" did not have any choice, why would the Gods have needed to "wait and see" if they would be obeyed? If the elements are just...stuff...It would just happen, right? Dust seems pretty mindless to me. There would be no waiting around for the dust to obey. I can go out to my back yard and dig a hole in the ground without waiting to see if the dirt will cooperate.
As we will see in just a moment, the very fabric of all existence does have a choice. In fact, all of existence depends upon having choice. Without choice there would be chaos...nothingness...no existence.
W. Cleon Skousen once proposed that the key to God's power is found in the relationship between intelligence and element. Element is the atom and the particles that comprise it. Intelligence is that which has choice. It was the intelligences that the God(s) were speaking to in Abraham 4. The God(s) were waiting to see if the intelligences would obey.
On his deathbed, Lehi alluded to this relationship:
13 And if ye shall say there is no law, ye shall also say there is no sin. If ye shall say there is no sin, ye shall also say there is no righteousness. And if there be no righteousness there be no happiness. And if there be no righteousness nor happiness there be no punishment nor misery. And if these things are not there is no God. And if there is no God we are not, neither the earth; for there could have been no creation of things, neither to act nor to be acted upon; wherefore, all things must have vanished away.
14 And now, my sons, I speak unto you these things for your profit and learning; for there is a God, and he hath created all things, both the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are, both things to act and things to be acted upon.
16 Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other.
2 Nephi 2:13-14, 16 (emphasis added)
Here we have the same phrase repeated twice:
"...neither to act nor to be acted upon..."
"...both things to act and things to be acted upon..."
The scriptures do not talk about the relationship between intelligence and element with great regularity. You have dig a little bit to find the verses, but they are there. One such passage is D&C 93:29-30.
29 Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be.
30 All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence.
Let's list the concepts that are brought forth from these 2 verses:
1) We have existed for as long as God has. Both God as well as ourselves are classified as intelligences. Intelligences cannot be created or made. The difference between God and ourselves is that God has reached His exaltation, while we are still seeking to obtain it.
2) We are independent entities, free to act for ourselves. Were it not structured this way, the universe would not exist. We could not exist without choice.
In and of itself, dirt has no ability to obey. It is just element. It is just dirt. But if you attach intelligence to it, now you can accomplish something. You can talk to that intelligence and it will obey. It drags the element it is attached to along with it.
Element, alone = no capacity to obey.
Element + Intelligence = capacity to obey.
So if we apply this concept to the miracles of God we arrive at this conclusion:
Water alone = no capacity to obey.
Water + Intelligence = can turn into wine (or any other substance God chooses)
An analogy that demonstrates this relationship is the difference between the locomotive and the box cars it pulls along behind it. Without the engine, the box cars cannot move. But once you attach the engine to the cars, they can be moved. So if we extend this analogy to our current hypothesis, the engine would be the intelligences, the box cars would be the elements.
In pre-mortal councils, Lucifer tried to usurp God's power. God describes his power in an unusual way:
D&C 29:36
And it came to pass that Adam, being tempted of the devil—for, behold, the devil was before Adam, for he rebelled against me, saying, Give me thine honor, which is my power; and also a third part of the hosts of heaven turned he away from me because of their agency;
Give me thine honor
(which is my power)
I interpret this to mean that Lucifer asked for God's honor, meaning, His honor that he has with the intelligences of the universe. The intelligences that are the foundation of our existence. They obey God because they respect and honor Him. They do this because God obeys eternal law. His obedience has placed Him in a position of honor and respect with these intelligences.
This honor that God has among the intelligences of the universe is why miracles are possible. This is why agency plays such a crucial role in the Plan of Salvation. Eternal law dictates that we must chose exaltation (through willing obedience) or damnation (through willing disobedience). It cannot be forced upon us.
Moses 4: 1, 17
1 And I, the Lord God, spake unto Moses, saying: That Satan, whom thou hast commanded in the name of mine Only Begotten, is the same which was from the beginning, and he came before me, saying—Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor.
I am not sure why Satan would have proposed such a thing. He must have understood that nothing can be compelled to obey, atleast, not if you want growth and learning to take place. It is in willingly obeying God that we are able to experience sanctification. Sanctification comes in no other way.
Eternal law works both ways. We know that not all things organized by God choose to honor Him. A full third of the hosts of heaven decided to follow their own course, to follow the alternate plan outlined by Lucifer. As a necessary and unavoidable consequence of that decision, they were cast out from the presence of God and their progression was damned for all eternity. Not because the Father does not love them, but because He must honor our agency! Eventually these disobedient spirits will face total dissolution. They will be cast out into outer darkness and will return to their native element (2). While we are free to choose our course and to act according to our will, that is true. But, we are not free from the consequences of those acts.
This universe is a universe of cause and effect. Those who obey are exalted through the merits of Christ and receive a Kingdom of Glory. Those who disobey are not. They are exposed to the full weight of Justice. It has to function this way. No use trying to change it. We can accept it, reject it, or even try to ignore it, but none of that does away with the reality of it!!
So, God commands the intelligences of the universe. Those intelliegences can attach themselves to elements. Because they are attached to the elements, miracles become possible, such as turning water into wine or the creation (organization) of the Earth we live on. We are organized intelligences. It stands to reason that if God can turn water into wine, then He can perform similar miracles with us as well. Understanding that this is true is important to our understanding of the process of our own sanctification. We'll spend a lot more time on this relationship in the next chapter.
FOOTNOTES:
1. First Presidency Message: Absolute Truth
2. D.H. Wells, Jounal of Discourses, 5:42.
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