Grasping the Concept of Eternity - A Discourse

We are immortal beings at heart. This life in a mortal, physical body is a mere dot in the vast universe which is our personal timeline, if you will. Be it a few minutes or a hundred years, this life will end. Mortality is important - vastly important - but it is a means, not an end in itself.

To believe in a God, a being who is all-powerful and all-knowing, is comforting. Believing that He created us out of nothing is rather unsettling, because if we were entirely his underlings from eternity to eternity, we could have no hope to progress like Him. He has even stated that "All that [He] hath shall be given unto [us]," according to the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood. How would we be able to receive all that He hath, which includes being co-eternal with all things, if we were not co-eternal with Him from the start?

Looking forward is a common pastime among humankind. It involves thinking about decisions made now, possibilities for the future, and perhaps at what life could be like after death, if one believes in such. It is comforting to believe that death is not the end, but also can be extremely nerve-wracking, depending on your perception of the afterlife. It makes one consider their whole being, and if they are doing anything of lasting value.

Looking backward, past our mortal history, is a less common pastime. Who or what were we before we existed as we are? Are we just creatures of some cosmic creation, or are we something more? What exactly is creation, anyway? The list of unanswered questions grows exponentially when we consider that birth was NOT our beginning, and such a belief solidifies the idea that death cannot be our ultimate end.

The prophet Joseph Smith once said, "Is it logical to say that the intelligence of spirits is immortal, and yet that it has a beginning? The intelligence of spirits had no beginning, neither will it have an end. That is good logic. That which has a beginning may have an end. There never was a time when there were not spirits."

If we take this concept as a possibility, and consider what it truly means to be eternal, we discover an idea that mortal minds simply cannot fully comprehend - perpetual existence, breaking supposed laws of physics as we understand them today. Entropy, enemy to eternity, is the target of this doctrine. If one is true, the other must needs be disproved to some extent. If something can exist eternally, it must not experience entropy, or else it has ways of counteracting entropy. If something experiences entropy as I understand it, however, then it physically cannot sustain itself eternally.

Then, there is the idea of eternal progression. Much like the universe is ever-expanding and yet not running out of energy (as of yet), so too is the intelligence of man's spirit. We are constantly learning, growing, absorbing new information and reacting to it, accepting or rejecting new ideas and opportunities that come our way. In this, the ideal is that we never stop learning, never stop growing, until we reach a point of omniscience, of perfect knowledge, where we - like God - can know and understand all things, from eternity to eternity.

This doctrine of omniscience also calls into question the idea of agency, and how much control we actually have in our own lives. I have not the time nor capacity to fully analyze this argument at this time, but I mention it because the power of choice is something we have always had, to some degree, and will always have forever. In the pre-mortal existence we had a choice to follow God's plan or rebel against it. In this life we are given effectively infinite choice, as we control our own bodies and, in this way, our own destiny.

I close with a reference to pagan belief. Some concept of eternity has always dominated the minds of mankind, and even those who do not fully understand God's ways have visualized something of eternity. The Celtic Knot, for instance, can be viewed as symbolic of eternity. One single thread, looping endlessly on its course, "one eternal round," just as God's course is said to be, never varying from its perfect path.

Of course, this is just one interpretation of the Celtic Knots. Since the originators of the design are not alive today we cannot ask them of their initial intent in creating these images, so we are left with our own ability to interpret them according to our culture and understanding.

I believe, however, that some semblance of Gospel truth exists in all things, no matter how twisted or broken it has become. I hope that all men, no matter their belief, can consider the concept of eternity, and how their lives may weave into an eternal tapestry, from unending to unending, if they accept God's wise plan of exaltation.

This document does not in any way represent the official views of the Church as a whole; it is merely the theories of my own study and personal revelation, written down in a manner suitable for presentation and future personal study.

Trials, Trust and God's Perfect Love.

       Is life perfect? No, it most certainly is not. Does that mean God doesn't love us? Some people assume so, but the answer is that God loves us more than we could ever conceive of. Everything that happens to us is to make us stronger, to help us to experience all life has to offer, and to teach us more about sorrow and joy, anger and love, pride and humility. Indeed, if we are to become exalted and inherit "all that the Father hath," we first need to understand it, and the ramifications of using and abusing said power. Eternity is a long time to learn, but God wants us to get a head start. Hence the need for trials in this earthly life.

So why do we have the trials we have? Why is everyone unique, and why do some people just outright suffer more than others? A simple way of explaining that is to say that God knows each of us on the most personal level we can think of, and He ultimately knows what is best for us on an eternal scale. He knows who we are, what we can become, and what lives we can touch while we are here.

A bit more lengthy way to explain this is that God believes in our ability to persevere and prevail. Why is this more lengthy to explain? Because so often people will profess a belief in God, a faith in Him, but will rarely have faith in themselves. I know I have often said myself, "I know God can do all things, but I just can't." It's a common problem; when faced with adversity, even if we have faith in God, we lose hope for ourselves, and consign ourselves to failure.

A few brief examples. There are some people in this life who struggle with crippling injuries or diseases, which could not possibly be attributed to any fault of their own. Why must they suffer perpetually, and watch their bodies deteriorate with nothing they can do? Why must their prayers "go unanswered," despite any amount of faith exercised? To this I must say, like Nephi, that "I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things." However, I do know that eternity is a far longer time than even a hundred years of suffering, and that God promises all of us, just as He did with Joseph Smith, that "if thou endure it well, God will exalt thee on high."

We do not know the hundreds of lives we touch every day merely with our example. These people who have suffered so much, for so long, are a shining beacon of faith and hope, despite constant trials and afflictions. God does love them, even if they are suffering now, because He knows that their suffering will be but for a small moment.

Another example, perhaps more common, are people who struggle with relationships. No matter what they do, no matter how much they pray, they cannot seem to "find the one." God leads them down the path they must walk, with them believing it will end in happiness, but it is marked with sorrow and broken hearts. So many lose faith in God after seeing their romantic, platonic and familial relationships shattered before them. Or, if not, they merely consign themselves to the belief that something is wrong with them, that they are unloveable, and that all future relationships will fail.

The truth is that God heareth all prayers, and answereth them in a manner He knows will provide for us in a way that we cannot comprehend. If we have lost faith in Him, we have lost our way. If we haven't, yet we still lose hope, perhaps we have lost faith in ourselves. We doubt the answers we receive. We do not understand that God believes in us. To truly believe in Him, we must believe that He knows that we are able to persevere through all affliction we face.

There are a myriad of trials one can face in this life, and no individual will go through life without facing at least a few of these. The important thing is to not lose hope, either in God or in ourselves. In God because He knows all things from an eternal perspective, and in ourselves because He loves us and trusts us to be able to handle all we are put through. Just as the strongest steel must be melted and folded over itself time and again until it cannot possibly be folded any more, so it is with our lives. To make us strong, God puts us through affliction and calamity, knowing that if we endure it well, we shall be worthy of exaltation in the highest degree.

I know that all things happen for a reason, and that reason is not always wickedness. I know that bad things happen to good people, because God wants to make us stronger. I know that God would never force things to happen His way, because agency is so important to Him that He let a third of all His spirit children walk away into everlasting punishment rather than force them to choose the right. I know that He guides us down the right paths, but it is our choice to accept and bear well the infirmities of our lives. In this I do solemnly bear witness, with Jesus Christ as my savior, Amen.

This document does not in any way represent the official views of the Church as a whole; it is merely the theories of my own study and personal revelation, written down in a manner suitable for presentation and future personal study.