Multiple Mortal Probations Part II

Multiple Mortal Probations Part II

An important page from "Book of Revelations" by Wilford Woodruff

Disclaimer: The following article is not official doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but is the sole work of the author. As with all truth, please pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you as you read, and pray afterwards to confirm the personalized message of the Holy Spirit to you.

Introduction

The centerpiece of this article will be the writings of Wilford Woodruff who adjudicates the writings of the first article I wrote on Mulitple Mortal Probations. If you would like to skip to the meat of this article, then scroll down to the section titled, "Wilford Woodruff - Adjudicator" 

When I wrote the first article in this series regarding Multiple Mortal Probations, I honestly expected it to be the least controversial. Some form of multiple mortalities seemed like such an obvious conclusion to me to at the very least entertain without losing one's cool. How absolutely wrong I was!

As I do with most of my articles, I posted a link to the first MMP article in my favorite LDS discussion site: ldsfreedomforum.com Again, I honestly thought I'd get a few comments - maybe 1-2 pages of low-key discussion, and that would have been that. Instead, this particular forum thread, titled simply, "Multiple Mortal Probations Article" reached 23 pages of heated, contentious debate until the forum owner locked the thread.

Several forum posters descended into the most vile, vitriolic behavior that included personal attacks, attacks against my personal worthiness, and attacks against my family. Now, I'm not claiming to be completely innocent as I did indeed feed the trolls (have a look yourself at the linked forum thread above,) however I was careful to cite behaviors rather than stoop to personal attacks. I don't want to overly emphasize the "why" behind this behavior, but I do want to address the "why" briefly. 

There are many people who naturally treat the gospel like a smorgasbord, picking and choosing what they find personally delicious and rejecting the Brussels sprouts. This of course is not a phenomena alone among members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but among all religious believers. As we stand in the darkness, we naturally gravitate to those answers to the universe's questions that are the most appealing. The idea we have to "do this all over again" is very unappealing to many.

However, this behavior alone is not why folks reject even considering MMP. 

Alma 32:39 Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof.

In that forum thread linked above, I tried to reason with my brothers and sisters using simple logic. Those who reject any good seed without ever planting it will never be able to taste of its fruit. MMP is a seed that produces delicious fruit. Yet, those who stop receiving and those who stop seeking further light and knowledge begin to lose what they had!

2 Nephi 28:30 For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken away even that which they have.

Sadly, this process doesn't end with just losing knowledge. 

Alma 12:10 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.


11 And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell.

As I struggled with the level of venemosity leveled at me throughout the 23-page forum thread, the Lord led me to Alma 12:10-11 to help me understand what was happening. Before reading Alma 12, I couldn't fully understand why these folks would not only be angry at someone who merely believes MMP is a true principle but also descend to deceptive tactics and personal attacks. Holy cow! Alma 12:10-11 is the answer. Whether the adversary laid his chains by the process laid out in Alma 12 or by some other means, the fruits of contention, insults, personal attacks, and deception are all of the devil.

That said, let's transition to a lighter note! The good news is when you are on the right path, the opposition comes. When I write and find no opposition, that's when I wonder if I have gotten something wrong! Why would MMP be so important for the adversary oppose? Unless ... unless MMP is important to the revelations of the end times. 


Why MMP Isn't Spelled Out

If you even skim through the ldsfreedomforum.com article linked in the introduction, it's not hard to see why MMP isn't spelled out. Many Latter-day Saints just don't like the idea of MMP being true. You'll see comments like, "You mean I have to do this again?" or, "rinse, and repeat" or, "It's like Groundhog Day" - The problem is, all of these knee-jerk reactions are discarding the seed without even so much as a serious consideration (see Alma 32:39 in prior section.)

Then, the quotes, scriptures, and easy-to-follow logic train (as established in my first article on MMP) are just cast aside because, hey, I personally don't like the idea of MMP being true. 

Another fallacy laid out against MMP is that MMP somehow mocks the Atonement of Jesus Christ because if we just live again, what was the point? The Atonement must have been meaningless then, right? The problem with this logic is we know that eternal progression occurs after this life. Whether it occurs in a resurrected body or a physical body, we cannot progress without the Atonement of Jesus Christ. In order to see which applies to us in the future, we need look no further than the present world. Is there any evidence of souls here who were ransomed by another Christ in a prior world so they could move on to the next step in eternal progression?

John 17:4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.
5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.
6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

Jesus is praying specifically for the Apostles here and says to the Father, "thine they were." How were the Apostles the Father's? How did the Father give them to Jesus Christ? Were they the Father's because he created them spiritually? Or were they the Father's because he ransomed them in a prior round? Bear in mind the temple endowment where Lucifer tells Adam this new world is patterned after the old one they came from. Adam traversed from one world to the next. Why?

To progress. Progression is the point. This process is addressed in my series on The Seven Levels of Mankind. The temple endowment lays out a process of eternal progression - progressing from one covenant to the next. Robes change shoulders. Shoes are removed and put on again (think about what that symbolizes,) and each covenant has a promised reward. However, these rewards are not explicitly spelled out which is very curious. 

There's another side of the equation that also only represents half--fortunately in this instance, the "rewards" half is the representation. 

In the Book of Revelation, there are seven promises of overcoming detailed in chapters 2 and 3 in the messages from the Lord to the angels of the seven churches. There are no promises or covenants given--only the rewards. This encryption is on purpose! They rewards and promises must be sought out, studied, understood, and aligned. There is no, "rinse and repeat." This is a progression system.

The five laws given in the temple align to the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh promises of overcoming respectively. The first and second promised rewards of overcoming is salvation from physical death and salvation from spiritual death. Though I recommend reading all of my "seven levels" articles, this article contains graphics that maps these laws to these promised rewards.

So why might the Lord not fully reveal MMP, spelling it out clearly in the scriptures and in His own teachings? Well, we know the Savior encodes many of His teachings in parables on purpose! He intends for some to understand, and He intends some to misunderstand, or at the very least, He intends for some to have a lesser understanding.

Matthew 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

But, why does He do this? Why does He not give all His mysteries at the onset? Let's have a look again at 2 Nephi 28:

Isaiah 28:10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

Some truths are foundational to other truths. If one does not understand the orders and classes of mankind, where they are in their eternal progression, and the sequential covenants made, then one cannot comprehend the purpose behind more than one mortality.

So why isn't MMP spelled out? Of course the initiate would not be ready for such information! Come and be baptized. Imagine explaining MMP to an investigator:

"By the way, the baptism symbolizes death, burial, and resurrection. It may also be a symbol of the multiple lives we take on for each covenant in eternal progression. See, we are anointed to become priests and kings in our holy temple, but though we are not priests and kings yet, we will become such in worlds just like this one just as there are priests and kings in our world. You see, we can become just like God, but it's a process. See, we will always have our agency. God is an agent. He became perfect just as we can by.." *HEAD EXPLOSION SOUND*

Of course the initiate would consider "multiple lives" to mean multiple chances to get "it" right. Of course we must understand "it" before we can even begin to consider the "why" behind Multiple Mortal Probations. The person contemplating baptism is not ready to consider the idea of MMP, for a misunderstanding of MMP could certainly lead the investigator to conclude, "I'll get baptized next time."

As Samuel the Lamanite taught, this life is indeed the time to prepare to meet God before it is everlastingly too late. Each probation has eternal consequences, and our choices can lead to life or to destruction. However, the prophets have never taught at any time that eternal progression beyond this life takes place in one body and that there would be no more mortal probations.

To find evidence of milk before meat, take a long ponderous look at the christian gentiles. There is such a vast diverse array of beliefs throughout Christianity, and the biggest mystery is the nature of God himself. Many Christian sects argue this principle versus that in their ignorance. It's principle A! No, it's principle B! As is often the case with two principles that seemingly contradict, it's not A or B but A and B. It's not faith or works - it's faith and works. It's not the Father and Jesus are separate or they're one, they're separate and they're one.

Such is the case with MMP. It's not that the resurrection is final or MMP, it's both. There is a final resurrection, and there is MMP. Else, why would Joseph Smith teach, "you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all gods have done before you, namely, by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power.?"

When Amulek teaches regarding the resurrection, he teaches that once the resurrection occurs, our bodies and spirits will never again be divided, and that this happens before judgement:

Alma 11:44 Now, this restoration shall come to all, both old and young, both bond and free, both male and female, both the wicked and the righteous; and even there shall not so much as a hair of their heads be lost; but every thing shall be restored to its perfect frame, as it is now, or in the body, and shall be brought and be arraigned before the bar of Christ the Son, and God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, which is one Eternal God, to be judged according to their works, whether they be good or whether they be evil.
45 Now, behold, I have spoken unto you concerning the death of the mortal body, and also concerning the resurrection of the mortal body. I say unto you that this mortal body is raised to an immortal body, that is from death, even from the first death unto life, that they can die no more; their spirits uniting with their bodies, never to be divided; thus the whole becoming spiritual and immortal, that they can no more see corruption.

How can this resurrection happen first before the judgement takes place if there are celestial, terrestrial, and telestial bodies as we learn from Paul and in the Doctrine and Covenants? Again, it's not one or the other. It's both. How can resurrection and MMP coexist though?

First, consider what Joseph Smith said. Those on the path of godhood must do what all gods before have done - go from exaltation to exaltation until you you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings. Doesn't that sound like there is a process whereupon we attain glory and that at some point we will need to attain enough glory to even be able to dwell in the presence of the gods who have come before? Is there one resurrection in this process as we go from exaltation to exaltation, or from one eternal round to the next? As we go from "grace to grace," who is the only being who ever presents the saving power of grace in any eternal round? Do we receive a resurrected body before moving on to the next round? Do we lay down that body? Or is there some other mechanism in place we don't understand - that has yet to be revealed?


The Adam-God Teaching

I mentioned in the first MMP article that the temple is essentially "Adam and Eve School." The men stand up as though they are Adam and awaken. Is this pointing to the future or the past? Both? As I mentioned above, the adversary is vehemently opposed to the truth of MMP coming to light? Why? To give further evidence of this opposition, consider the text that comprises what has become the "Adam-God Theory." This theory is attributed to portions of what is essentially a long paragraph of content, and general authorities have been dissecting (and some outright dismissing) this "theory" for years.  

To see the adversary's hand in this "theory," look no further than those online who call this theory, "The Adam-God Doctrine." Embraced by fundamentalists, the Adam-God Doctrine has become the primary excuse of dissenting from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and has become the primary justification of sin in continuing the practice of the polygamy. Is it any wonder that the Adam-God teaching (as I will call it) has been used by the adversary to mask this critically important teaching by the prophet Brigham Young to shed some light on eternal progression. Here is the full teaching, whereas many (especially the Adam-God doctrine-ites) will just pull out portions:

Now hear it, O inhabitants of the earth, Jew and Gentile, Saint and sinner! When our father Adam came into the garden of Eden, he came into it with a celestial body, and brought Eve, one of his wives, with him. He helped to make and organize this world. He is Michael, the Archangel, the Ancient of Days! about whom holy men have written and spoken—He is our Father and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do. Every man upon the earth, professing Christians or non-professing, must hear it, and will know it sooner or later. They came here, organized the raw material, and arranged in their order the herbs of the field, the trees, the apple, the peach, the plum, the pear, and every other fruit that is desirable and good for man; the seed was brought from another sphere, and planted in this earth. The thistle, the thorn, the brier, and the obnoxious weed did not appear until after the earth was cursed. When Adam and Eve had eaten of the forbidden fruit, their bodies became mortal from its effects, and therefore their offspring were mortal. When the Virgin Mary conceived the child Jesus, the Father had begotten him in his own likeness. He was not begotten by the Holy Ghost. And who is the Father? He is the first of the human family; and when he took a tabernacle, it was begotten by his Father in heaven, after the same manner as the tabernacles of Cain, Abel, and the rest of the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve; from the fruits of the earth, the first earthly tabernacles were originated by the Father, and so on in succession. I could tell you much more about this; but were I to tell you the whole truth, blasphemy would be nothing to it, in the estimation of the superstitious and overrighteous of mankind. However, I have told you the truth as far as I have gone. I have heard men preach upon the divinity of Christ, and exhaust all the wisdom they possessed. All Scripturalists, and approved theologians who were considered exemplary for piety and education, have undertaken to expound on this subject, in every age of the Christian era; and after they have done all, they are obliged to conclude by exclaiming “great is the mystery of godliness,” and tell nothing. ~ Brigham Young JD 1:51

Let's work through the bolded, italicized text backwards. Brigham Young is cutting his teaching short because of the fact that some mysteries are meant to be left mysterious for all the reasons listed in the prior section. Next, notice how Adam and Even became mortal - what would have happened had they never taken the fruit? And, finally, notice how Adam came into the garden with a celestial body and brought one of his wives - someone he had already been married to! Do you see how this simple statement alone is an evidence of MMP?  Don't we need to be married in the flesh in the temple? Adam was married to Eve before they entered the Garden of Eden. This isn't, "Oh well Brigham Young was confused." This is truth.

And, how did he get his celestial body? I don't necessarily mean the mechanics of how it was created but how does anyone attain a celestial body? Remember, Joseph Smith taught there is one path to Godhood. Brigham Young's teaching continues, and you won't see many fundamentalists quote this text as it destroys their idea of Adam somehow being superior to Jesus (they have to make Jehovah someone else for this to work:)

It is true that the earth was organized by three distinct characters, namely, Eloheim, Yahovah, and Michael, these three forming a quorum, as in all heavenly bodies, and in organizing element, perfectly represented in the Deity, as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. ~ Brigham Young JD 1:51

So Elohim, Jehovah, and Michael / Adam represent Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Now, there's a lot more to be said about how Michael fits into this trio and about how men become Gods, but that is an article for another day. Suffice it to say, that Brigham Young is clearly teaching us about who Adam is, who he is to us, and the scope of dominion under him. Let's return to one of the most important questions to illustrate MMP. Had Adam never partaken of the fruit, would he have remained in the Garden of Eden forever? Think on what Eve says to convince Adam to partake in the temple endowment - that he would remain forever, a lone man in the Garden of Eden. Now, here's the next question: Is there any difference between Adam's forever state in a celestial body and ours upon resurrection?

2 Nephi 2:22 And now, behold, if Adam had not transgressed he would not have fallen, but he would have remained in the garden of Eden. And all things which were created must have remained in the same state in which they were after they were created; and they must have remained forever, and had no end.

So, no. Now here's the next question: Is it just Adam and Eve who go through this process for a new world, or are there many souls who go through this process? Is Adam the only one who makes the choice to leave his state of permanence in order to "gain knowledge?" See where I am going here? Think again on how every endowed male stands up with Adam and awakens into a new body with him. Now, think on how many men have done this without ever considering this act may indeed signify we all (and by we all I mean Ephraim) stood with Adam as indicated in Abraham 3. "We will go down for there is space there." Go down from where? What if we didn't go down? Was there a process whereupon folks left a state of permanence by choice to attain the next line or precept in their eternal progression? See what I mean? 

So, when the prophets teach our spirit and body will never be divided again, is that the same "never" condition (or forever condition) Adam's body was subject to until he chose to fall?


Wilford Woodruff - Adjudicator

In the prior article, I laid out a simple logic train. Here it is again in it's simplistic entirety. Remember, this is a logic train:

Railcar 1: God Was Once a Man
Railcar 2: We May Become Gods
Railcar 3: God Was Once a Savior
Railcar 4: We May Become Saviors
Railcar 5: God Was Once a Holy Ghost

Railcar 6: We May Become Holy Ghosts

These simple facts are all laid out and supported by quotes from Joseph Smith and by scripture. However, each railcar was laid out by simple logic, and there was no quote that tied it all together for us neatly. Now there is. By "now" I mean I personally discovered a quote in a discussion forum shared by someone else who was linking to a blog article written by yet another member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

This particular quote comes from a book titled, "The Book of Revelations," written by Wilford Woodruff. Here is an explanation of this book from the blog article written above by W.V. Smith - professor of Mathematics at BYU.

In the summer of 1839, Wilford Woodruff began copying into a small volume some of Joseph Smith’s revelations regarding the duties of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and Smith’s instructions for their upcoming mission to Europe. ~ W.V. Smith

The following entry was made in 1841 after Wilford Woodruff attended on of Joseph Smith's lyceums, or public lectures geared toward adult eductation:

Joseph the Seer taught the following principle that the God & father of our Lord Jesus Christ was once the same as the Son or Holy Ghost but having redeemed a world he had a son Jesus Christ who redeemed this earth the same as his father had a world which made them equal & the Holy Ghost would to the same when in his turn & so would all the Saints who inherited a Celestial glory so their would be Gods many & Lords many their were many mansions even 12 from the abode of Devils to the Celestial glory. ~ Wilford Woodruff, Book of Revelations.

Before any sort of cognitive dissonance settles in, please refer to the following images from josephsmithpapers.org The quote begins at the bottom of the page and continues on to the next.

The quote ends on the next page, so I guess that was enough said! That statement, if accurate, certainly cements the MMP logic train. There is one path to Godhood - the same path all Gods who have come before have taken, and the same path we must all take if we are to become Gods. Jesus is on that path. The Holy Ghost is on that path and will go on to experience a same or similar course as the Son should he overcome his probation. This is the same path the saints must take. 

Imagine reading this quote from my perspective, where I was personally about as certain as I could be of this truth without having read this quote before - where I endured personal attacks, insults, attacks on my family all because of my understanding of this truth. Though the threads of the adversary only reaffirmed this truth as he opposes all truth, still ... reading this quote was a delight to my soul.

The comment regarding 12 realms is intriguing given the Seven Levels of Mankind and the Seven Heavens referenced in the Book of Enoch and in the Ascension of Isaiah and other apocrypha. Are there 7 heavens and 5 "other" realms including "the abode of the devils?" No good answer comes without another great question ... at least not until one knows all.


Conclusion

There really isn't much else to say. This entire article is itself a conclusion, detailing my personal journey since posting the first article on Multiple Mortal Probations. I'll just end with these quotes from Joseph Smith I shared in my frist article that lead me down this rabbit hole or served as my personal, "red pill."

But the Holy Ghost is yet a spiritual body and waiting to take to himself a body, as the Savior did or as God did or the gods before them took bodies; for the Savior says the work that my Father did do I also. . . . He took himself a body and then laid down his life that he might take it up again. ~ Joseph Smith, The Words of Joseph Smith, p. 382


Joseph also said that the Holy Ghost is now in a state of probation which if he should perform in righteousness he may pass through the same or a similar course of things that the Son has. ~ Joseph Smith, The Words of Joseph Smith, p. 245 (From Franklin D. Richards Journal)


I wish I was in a suitable place to tell it, and that I had the trump of an archangel, so that I could tell the story in such a manner that persecution would cease forever. What did Jesus say? (Mark it, Elder Rigdon!) The scriptures inform us that Jesus said, as the Father hath power in himself, even so hath the Son power—to do what? Why, what the Father did. The answer is obvious—in a manner to lay down his body and take it up again. Jesus, what are you going to do? To lay down my life as my Father did, and take it up again. Do you believe it? If you do not believe it you do not believe the Bible. The scriptures say it, and I defy all the learning and wisdom and all the combined powers of earth and hell together to refute it. Here, then, is eternal life—to know the only wise and true God; and you have got to learn how to be gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all gods have done before you, namely, by going from one small degree to another, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to grace, from exaltation to exaltation, until you attain to the resurrection of the dead, and are able to dwell in everlasting burnings, and to sit in glory, as do those who sit enthroned in everlasting power. And I want you to know that God, in the last days, while certain individuals are proclaiming His name, is not trifling with you or me. ~ Joseph Smith, King Follett Sermon