“What Is This
Thing That Men Call Death?” – LDS Teachings about the Spirit World: “Enveloped
in Flaming Fire:--Attributes and Abilities of the Spirit Body (by Brent L. Top)
The Apocrypha principle from
D&C 91: There are many things that are true, many things that are not true
that are interpolations. Read with
the Spirit and to obtain benefit from it.
“enveloped in flaming fire”
symbolic of God’s power.
Those departed from us are
not far from us.
D&C 77:2 Spiritual beings in the likeness of
that which is temporal, and temporal like spiritual. Systems of spiritual world like here, here like there.
Specifics
The spirit of man in the
likeness of his person (D&C 77:2)
We think spirits looks like our bodies. This isn’t true.
Genetics determines physical appearance. Spirits have a different
appearance, like our Heavenly Father and mother.
Our spirits recognize other
spirits.
Tabernacles become deformed
by accident, but this doesn’t deform the spirit. (Orson Pratt)
We’re part genetics, part
our ourselves, part department store.
The body is the clothing of
the spirit. (first presidency)
(Glove analogy)
Take the spirit from the
body, and the body is lifeless.
Experience of feeling the
departure at the death of father.
Something is missing, and it’s more than just life. It doesn’t seem like it is really them.
A hospice worker. Did lots of study. Elizabeth Cooper
Ross.
Someone dying was surprised
she still had hands and a feet and a form.
The quadriplegics were no
longer paralyzed outside their body. Wheelchair patients were able to stand and
dance.
We can’t understand after-life
without understanding pre-mortality and spirit birth.
We gain a spirit body from
heavenly parents.
Immanuel Swedenborg wrote a
book about experiences of spirits.
Many people believe spirits
to be minds without form, like gases containing something living. They think
they can’t sense without organs.
Top insists spirits are
completely people in form.
Swedenborg published that in
1852. We take that info for granted.
Alma 40:12 – Righteous
spirits received into paradise a state of rest, peace, where they rest from
trouble, care, and sorrow.
Spirit is free from
difficulties, fatigue, troubles, sickness, etc.
The state between death and
resurrection. The spirit continues to live after the body dies. “What do we know about interaction
between pre-mortal and post-mortal spirits?” We know NOTHING about this. Top is comfortable with the idea of interaction between the
two. (his personal opinion)
Alma doesn’t tell us some
things. But we tend to make charts and Powerpoints and lists about things the
scriptures don’t teach.
The scriptures just say they
are in a “state” of being.
Spirits enjoy life, glory,
intelligence. Have the father to speak to us, we enjoy the society of the just
and pure until the resurrection. (Brigham Young JD 14:231)
Why can’t we confine the
evil ones and confine them in spirit prison?
Answer: Why can’t you have
prison where righteous and wicked mingle together? Certain places are free from pollution of the wicked. The separation isn’t necessarily
the place but the state of being of the spirit.
Enhanced capacities of
spirit body
--Travel/movement! Brigham Young JD 14:231 Spirits move like lightning, think and
you’re there. Think of a time, and
you’re there to see it spiritually.
God has revealed some little things with regard to his movements and
power. When we pass into the spirit world, we will possess a measure of this
power.
--When the veil is no more,
then time will be no more.
Time whispers to us that we
are strangers here.
--Communication! How do spirits communicate with
each other? They might have a more
refined system of communicating ideas.
(JD 3:100) Orson Pratt
Heart-to-heart, mind-to-mind, spirit-to-spirit.
Emanuel Swedenborg – speech
so full of wisdom, word full of meaning, things men can’t grasp or verbalize.
Inexpressible that the ear or eye couldn’t see or hear.
--Telepathy? (Careful with your thoughts)
--Learning! Learning without fatigue. Learning
easier, 1000X faster, (JD 8:10) Brigham Young.
We shall learn many more
things there, more than five senses.
Orson Pratt speculated God
would give us new senses, maybe many more. See things we couldn’t see before. Telescope of the spirit to see farther and learn more.
Mind is strengthened in
proportion to the knowledge imparted to bear it.
Learning and remembering so
we don’t forget. The spirit can
remember much better without the imperfection of the body.
--Sociality! Familiar, conversation, naturalness,
more friends, rejoicing to see friends. What is more desirable than meeting all our families,
knowing each other, and the experiences we have? What is there in any religion superior to that? (Joseph F. smith)
little children die and are
mature spirits in the spirit world.
“They are only absent for a
moment, we shall soon meet again. It will be an eternity of felicity.” (Joseph
Smith)
“Wading through
Much Tribulation: Powerful Principles from the Book of Mormon for Dealing with
Trials: Jaredite Ocean Voyage—Parallels of Our Earthly Voyage (by C. Robert
Line)
[We came in the middle of this class]
Isaac as a type of Christ
Joseph was a type of
Christ
--Favored son of the father
--Prophesied to be ruler
--Rejected by brothers
--Falsely accused
--Sold into hands of
gentiles
--Sold for silver, price of
a slave
--Judah made the sale (Judas)
--Plan backfires, a blessing
in disguise
--Mission to save Israel
starting age 30
--Raised to exalted station
--Provided bread for Israel
The promised and another
promised land comparing to the latter-days
1950 National Geographic
article on the comparison.
Jaredite ocean voyage
parallel to our earthly voyage. (Ether 6)
1 Nephi 4 Nephi trying to
get the plates, led by the spirit.
D&C 133:42 Christ will come wearing red, symbol of
the atonement, treading the winefat. He became sin for us. He had the Spirit
withdraw from him for our sins.
Compares Christ to Laban. Laban
had to die so that a nation would not dwindle in unbelief. (sort of a
left-handed type)
Jaredite Voyage
Ether 2 – receiving
revelation. Problems: can’t steer, no air, no light. Solution: Lord will steer so don’t worry. Here’s
instructions for getting air. What do you want to get light, because it can’t
be ___? These are different ways
of receiving revelations.
Solutions can come a piece
at a time without the end in sight.
Ether 6
We have two lights. Light of
Christ and light of the holy ghost.
Prepared all manner of food
– we had to be prepared pre-mortally before going off into our bodies.
The whole house of Israel
was inclined toward spiritual things.
God caused the winds to blow
toward the promised land – Trials blow us toward
the promised land. (Impression: Pray for our trials to bring us
closer to God)
No pain we suffer is wasted.
It ministers to our education to development of our character. (Orson F.
Whitney, Improvement Era, Mar 1966, 211)
When trials are not a
consequence of disobedience, then they are evidence that the Lord feels you are
prepared to grow more. So he gives experience that stimulates growth,
understanding, and compassion. Ask
better questions.
The 11 moves of Joseph
Smith’s family made before they got to Palmyra. They were the things that brought them closer to where they
needed to be. It looked by one failure after another, but from the larger view,
they were all progress.
Jaredites buried in the
depths of the sea. But no water could hurt them because their vessels were
tight like a dish. – We can’t always control outward influences and
temptations, but we can control our responses to them. We are to be in the
world, but not of the world.
1 Ne 15:16-27 Lehi’s mind was swallowed up in other
things and didn’t behold the filthiness of the water.
The wind did never cease to
blow toward the promised land. – we will always have trials in our life. The
sharp side-by-side contrast of sweet and bitter is essential until the end of
mortality. Blessings may be
quickly followed by needed spiritual stretching. This prevents us from
forgetting others in deep need.
We can have trials ourselves
or in bearing others’ burdens. Why
not help others?
Jaredites sang praises to
the lord all the day long, not ceasing. – People who are always happy and
praising God are a blessing.
Your religion isn’t just
part of Sunday. It’s 7 days a week and 365 days a year.
Story of a SLC police
officer undercover detective. He was also a high counselor. He had to go
undercover as a gang member. He came home at night and infiltrate gangs during
the day. He had temp tatoos. He
went for a year with the gang. The
toughest thing was an incident with a son of stake president who was having a
gang party at the stake president’s house. Raucous party. The detective saw the young man standing
between a picture of the temple and the prophet; detective got so mad he almost
blew his cover right there. He went up to the young man and asked him, “Isn’t
that your prophet right there? Didn’t he say something about this stuff?” The
young man said, “Both the prophet and gang-banging are two different things and
they are both important to me.” (Very sad how religion was not affecting the young
man’s everyday life.)
Jaredites had light
continually , whether above or under the water. – True happiness is not a
function of our circumstances, but a function of how much light we have in
ourselves.
A happy person is a person
with a certain set of attitudes.
Jaredites humbled themselves
and cried with joy because of the multitude of his tender mercies
Out of 70,000 people, only
3000 pioneers when west in handcarts.
While we have stories of
handcart pioneers who were faithful, there were also handcart pioneers who were
broken down by their trials and afflictions.
Story of a pioneer family
with eleven children who lost the mom and dad and about six siblings. The
oldest 18-year-old son was so devastated by the loss of all those family he
left the pioneer company and went back east. His younger siblings were taken in by other families and
continued west.
We must see the tender
mercies in midst of the trials.
Pearls from the Pearl of Great Price: As it was in
the Days of Noah, Zion and the second coming From Moses 7:28-69, 8:1-30 (by Larry W. Barkdull)
God Weeps when he sees the
residue of the people (Moses 7:28-39)
Similar to the Allegory of
the Olive Tree as God is distraught by how corrupted things have become.
How is it God can weep?
“I have them their
knowledge, agency, commandments to love me and each other” They hate me and
they hate each other.
When God foresaw the
suffering that would inevitably follow this self-willed, rebellious course of
sin, he wept. (Marion D. Hanks)
Among all the workmanship of
mine hands there has not been so great wickedness as among thy brethren. (Moses
7:36) God can see it all inside
and out, and nothing has been worse.
The last days are equally
wicked. “But as it was in the days of Noah, so it shall be also at the coming
of the Son of Man” (JST Matt. V41)
Wickedness once localized is
now out in the open, and even accorded legal protection.
The fate of these people:
Their sins shall be upon the heads of their fathers, Satan shall be their
father, misery shall be their doom, the whole heavens shall weep over
them. Shouldn’t the heavens weep,
seeing these shall suffer? These
shall perish in the flood, I will shut them up in a prepared prison. (Moses
7:37-38)
In our day, they will be
burned up,
but Jesus suffers for
them.. And as much they will
repent, and until then, they shall be in torment.
The Rest of the Story in
D&C 138 28-34
Joseph F. Smith saw Jesus
didn’t go in person to the wicked, but organized His forces and appointed
messengers to teach to the captives.
This was the gospel preached to those who 1) died in their sins 2)
without a knowledge of the truth 3) in transgression having rejected the prophets
in order to qualify themselves that they might be judged according to men in
the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
Enoch wept
He had capacity to feel as
deeply as God feels. He sees as God sees, views the destruction of the world.
Refuses to be comforted when he sees the flood come.
Conditions that define
ancient and modern times:
--Lack of affection
--Vengeance, wide-spread
violence
--Every man lifted up in
imagination of thoughts being only wicked continually
--Widespread corruption
. Attempts to change things from
original purpose
--Easily offended, betrayal,
hatred, deception
--Wars and rumors of wars
--Denial of God
--False Christs, prophets,
churches, secret combinations, great pollutions, murders, thievery, widespread
sexual sinning, every form of abomination, denial of accountability
--Scoffing at God and true
religion, follow the lusts of the heart, denial of sings of times.
The Lord comforts Enoch
The Solutions: Noah, Jesus,
Zion
Enoch sees Noah would be
saved by the Lord’s destroying the wicked and preserving the righteous.
Enoch’s distress over the
death of his brethren brings forth the promise of a Savior. The blood of the
Righteous (Christ) would be shed that all they that mourn may be sanctified and
have eternal life?
When? In the meridian of
time, in the days of wickedness and vengeance.
Enoch received some
relief
Because of Jesus’s
atonement, Enoch and his family could receive eternal life and live forever in
the society of Zion. He wants to
preserve it.
The Lord and Enoch are not
the only ones who mourn.
Enoch heard the earth mourn
in weariness and pain because of the wickedness and filthiness on her face,
wondering when she would rest and be cleansed.
Enoch’s Prayer
Enoch prayed for the Lord to
have compassion on the earth. Also asks for the earth to never have a flood
again.
The Lord promised to call on
the children of Noah and not flood the earth again.
The everlasting Covenant is
given as an act of compassion by the Father and the Son.
Promised: 1) No more
universal destruction by water, 2) All children offered the everlasting
covenant, 3) Enoch’s seed would always be found on the earth. (Moses 7:51-52) Could be Noah’s seed
too…
When the Son of Man comes in
the flesh, shall the earth rest?
Answer is delayed, but he’s
shown more stuff.
Again the question, “When
shall the earth rest?”
The question changes “Wilt
thou come again upon the earth?”
The Lord says “I will come
in the last days in the days of wickedness and vengeance to fulfill the oath I
have made unto you concerning the children of Noah (all offered the everlasting
covenant)
The earth shall rest, but
before then, the heavens shall be darkened, the veil of darkness shall cover
the earth, the heavens shall shake, and also the earth, and great tribulations
shall be among the children of men, but my people will I preserve (Moses
7:60-61)
Process of giving rest to
the earth 1)Break the grip of wickedness with the restoration, angels, Book of Mormon,
coming forth of Zion. (Moses 7:62) Righteousness and truth will sweep the
earth like a flood to gather the elect out to the Holy City the Lord will
prepare.. (Moses 7:62)
Another Flood.
The Book of Mormon is the
instrument of God designed to sweep the earth as with a flood to gather out
God’s elect.
Men and angels are to be
coworkers.
Zion is to be prepared for
the elect to be gathered from the four quarters of the earth, to be established
an holy city.
D&C 45 Talks about Zion.
Place of safety, peace,
refuge. The wicked won’t come to it.
Everyone who won’t fight will flee there. The wicked will be scared to
fight Zion.
Enoch and Zion is
Translated. God received it to
himself and people said “Zion is fled”
Zion will Return – A
reunion.
Enoch’s Zion and modern Zion
will joyously greet.
Rainbow is an everlasting
covenant that Zion will come down again.
(JST Genesis 9:21-23)
When thy posterity shall
embrace the truth and look upward, then Zion looks downward and all the heavens
shall shake with gladness, and the earth shall tremble with joy.
Zion and Enoch finally
rest!!
