090. satan, the great orator: Part II - Who's Voice Are We Listening To?

The following is part of an early conversation had between the only two human characters, both male, in Perelandra, the 2nd book of CS Lewis' Space Trilogy (1943): Elwin Ransom and Weston. Ransom agreed to be taken from Earth to the planet Perelandra by heavenly beings, the "Powers of Heaven," who had a mission for him to fulfill. He arrives alone and naked, and feels a clarity and peace of conscience as he has never before experienced. After exploring Perelandra for some time, experiencing its climate, and interacting with its animal life and vegetation, he encounters a naked woman who is in harmony with all nature, referred to throughout the book as "the Green Lady". Weston enters the scene soon after, having crash-landed his spacecraft on the planet. Ransom, a professor of linguistics, knew Weston, a physicist, from Earth, and of his evil intentions, as evidenced by what happened to them in another world, Malacandra. And so it went...

“That, if you will permit me to say so, is one of the real weaknesses of organised religion — that adherence to formulae, that failure to recognise one’s own friends. God is a spirit. Ransom. Get hold of that. You’re familiar with that already. Stick to it. God is a spirit.” [said Weston]

“Well, of course. But what then?” [said Ransom]

“What then? Why, spirit-mind-freedom-spontaneity — that’s what I’m talking about. That is the goal towards which the whole cosmic process is moving. The final disengagement of that freedom, that spirituality, is the work — to which I dedicate my own life and the life of humanity. The goal. Ransom, the goal: think of it! Pure spirit: the final vortex of self-thinking, self-originating activity.”...

“By the way,” said Ransom, “is it in any sense at all personal — is it alive?”...

“Yes,” said Weston, “I couldn’t have believed, myself, till recently. Not a person, of course. Anthropomorphism is one of the childish diseases of popular religion, but the opposite extreme of excessive abstraction has perhaps in the aggregate proved more disastrous. Call it a Force. A great, inscrutable Force, pouring up into us from the dark bases of being. A Force that can choose its instruments. It is only lately, Ransom, that I’ve learned from actual experience something which you have believed all your life as part of your religion.” Here he suddenly subsided again into a whisper—a croaking whisper unlike his usual voice. “Guided,” he said. “Chosen. Guided. I’ve become conscious that I’m a man set apart. Why did I do physics? Why did I discover the Weston rays? Why did I go to Malacandra? It-the Force-has pushed me on all the time. I’m being guided. I know now that I am the greatest scientist the world has yet produced. I’ve been made so for a purpose. It is through me that Spirit itself is at this moment pushing on to its goal.”

“Look here,” said Ransom, “one wants to be careful about this sort of thing. There are spirits and spirits, you know.”

“Eh?” said Weston. “What are you talking about?”

“I mean a thing might be a spirit and not good for you.”

“But I thought you agreed that Spirit was the good — the end of the whole process? I thought you religious people were all out for spirituality? What is the point of asceticism — fasts and celibacy and all that? Didn’t we agree that God is a spirit? Don’t you worship Him because He is pure spirit?”

“Good heavens, no! We worship Him because He is wise and good. There’s nothing specially fine about simply being a spirit. The Devil is a spirit.”...“What proof,” said Ransom, “what proof have you that you are being guided or supported by anything except your own individual mind and other people’s books?”

“You didn’t notice, dear Ransom,” said Weston, “that I’d improved a bit since we last met in my knowledge of extraterrestrial language. You are a philologist, they tell me.” 

Ransom started. “How did you do it?” he blurted out.

“Guidance, you know, guidance,” croaked Weston. He was squatting at the roots of his tree with his knees drawn up, and his face, now the colour of putty, wore a fixed and even slightly twisted grin. “Guidance. Guidance,” he went on. “Things coming into my head. I’m being prepared all the time. Being made a fit receptacle for it.”

“That ought to be fairly easy,” said Ransom impatiently. “If this Life Force is something so ambiguous that God and the Devil are equally good portraits of it, I suppose any receptacle is equally fit, and anything you can do is equally an expression of it.”

“There’s such a thing as the main current,” said Weston. “It’s a question of surrendering yourself to that — making yourself the conductor of the live, fiery, central purpose — becoming the very finger with which it reaches forward.”...

“How far does it go? Would you still obey the Life-Force if you found it prompting you to murder me?” asked Ransom

“Yes.”

“Or to sell England to the Germans?”

“Yes.”

“Or to print lies as serious research in a scientific periodical?”

“Yes.”

“God help you.” said Ransom.

As the story develops, we see how far Weston's possession by the dark side has gone. We will return to this story in subsequent posts as it serves to illustrate how satan is indeed the great orator who seeks to blind and deceive those who listen to his lies. Perhaps the foregoing is somewhat of an extreme example of how far things can go when one seeks to follow a voice that may not be God's. But, this happens all the time in our world. How many wars, feuds, disputes, contentions, jarrings, strifes, and disrupted and ended lives have come to pass because of someone claiming revelation over, or for, or contrary to another?

In any case, it is clear that there are many spirits that find place on this earth who are not on the "right side" of things. In fact, as lost and cast out spirits, they are on the wrong side, seeking control over the minds and hearts of the living because they have no body of their own to animate. Weston is right, spirit communication is real, and if we open ourselves up to whatever voice may come, we might find ourselves entertaining and possibly following all sorts of misleading voices that are not God's. Those on the wrong side have likely had thousands of years to perfect the subtlety, seductiveness, and verisimilitude of their voices and messages so that they imitate the real deal. Receiving true communication from God takes discernment, careful study, and a "firm mind in every form of Godliness". The scriptures lay out how the word, voice, and Spirit of God are obtained:

"...and they had waxed strong in the knowledge of the truth; for they were men of a sound understanding and they had searched the scriptures diligently, that they might know the word of God." Alma 17:2

"Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me. But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right. But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong;" Doctrine & Covenants 9:7-9 

"Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men." Doctrine & Covenants 11:21 

"...And how do ye suppose that I know of their surety? Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me." Alma 5: 45-46

"...they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of their yielding their hearts unto God." Helaman 3:35

"...and they fasted much and prayed much that the Lord would grant unto them a portion of his Spirit to go with them, and abide with them, that they might be an instrument in the hands of God..." Alma 17:9

"Pray always, and I will pour out my Spirit upon you, and great shall be your blessing..." Doctrine & Covenants 19:38

"And thus we see that the Lord began to pour out his Spirit upon the Lamanites, because of their easiness and willingness to believe in his words." Helaman 6:36

"And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy." Mosiah 4:20

"These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." Acts 17:11

"Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me." John 5:39

So, from these verses, what are the keys to obtaining knowledge or revelation from God and hearing His voice?

• Study questions and ideas out in your mind.
• Study/search the scriptures diligently and daily.
• Pray always (ask/seek/call upon name of the Lord).
• Beg for a remission of your sins.
• Fast often.

Then it is promised that His Spirit will be poured out upon us, that He will bless us with knowledge of the truth pertaining to our salvation, that we will receive His word (it will be a part of us), and then loosen our tongues so we can speak His word to others to help orient them also to Christ. Then, as He continues to abide with us, we can truly become one in mind and purpose with Him. It is not always easy, and we are often desperate for a quick and easy answer to our problems and dilemmas. Yet, there are likely scores of spirits out there just waiting to give us their opinion of things. Why not use these problems and dilemmas as an opportunity to deepen our relationship with God and truly come to hear and know His real voice?

089. satan, the great orator: Part I - Introduction

The devil is often depicted as one possessing a silver tongue, or an eloquence and persuasive ability in speech. One of his names, Lucifer, means shining one or lightbearer; he is also known as the Son of the Morning (Isaiah 14:12, 2 Nephi 24:12; D&C 76:25-27). Because of his once exalted station, he possesses great knowledge, wisdom, and understanding. He used that knowledge to persuade a great many of the Hosts of Heaven to reject the plan of the Father. He continues to use that knowledge to deceive, blind, and bind those who give heed to his voice, reasoning, arguments, and logic. We are at a significant disadvantage because the devil's knowledge spans both time and space, whereas ours is more limited to our mortal lives in this sphere. And because most of the devil's arguments and lies contain some element of truth, they can catch the ear and heart of those who are seeking for the truth. His words can seem like answers that we had never before considered, but lead us down false paths and into despair. His logic can put things in a new way that seem godly, but only result in the end in a betrayal and rejection of God. His wisdom can provide alternatives that seem to achieve the same end-goals as God's commandments, but they are only counterfeit falsehoods that lead us into sin and bondage. Once hooked by his eloquence, flattery, logic, intelligence, knowledge, etc, he can lead those that hearken down a primrose path that quickly becomes a web of destruction and separation from God. 

The prime example of the exercise of this ability of the devil was in his persuading of Eve to partake of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden:

2 Nephi 2:18-19 "And because he had fallen from heaven, and had become miserable forever, he sought also the misery of all mankind. Wherefore, he said unto Eve, yea, even that old serpent, who is the devil, who is the father of all lies, wherefore he said: Partake of the forbidden fruit, and ye shall not die, but ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil. And after Adam and Eve had partaken of the forbidden fruit they were driven out of the garden of Eden, to till the earth."

We know very little of what occurred in the Garden. How an evil being was able to enter into such a Holy place. What the conversations between the devil and both Adam and Eve fully consisted of. How long it took to "wear them down". What various arguments were made by the devil, and how Adam and Eve resisted them. What Eve's thoughts were as she considered those arguments. Ultimately, Eve chose to hearken to the devil's arguments and partook of the fruit. Adam and Eve also hearkened to the devil when they hid from the Lord and also put on fig leaves to cover their nakedness. Whatever those arguments were, it is clear that the devil did not "make" Adam and Eve do anything. They chose for themselves. They used their intelligence and agency to act. Just as all of us have to ultimately choose for ourselves:

2 Nephi 2:27-39: "Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself. And now, my sons, I would that ye should look to the great Mediator, and hearken unto his great commandments; and be faithful unto his words, and choose eternal life, according to the will of his Holy Spirit; And not choose eternal death, according to the will of the flesh and the evil which is therein, which giveth the spirit of the devil power to captivate, to bring you down to hell, that he may reign over you in his own kingdom."

One of the chief strategies used by the devil to captivate us in mortality is through his great power of oration, or eloquent and persuasive speaking. Of course, very few, if any, of our encounters with the devil will involve him appearing before us speaking with us directly in a persuasive manner. Yet perhaps, and most likely, as in the Garden of Eden, he will use other means to reach us: "And satan put it into the heart of the serpent, (for he had drawn away many after him,) and he sought also to beguile Eve" (Moses 4:6). Over the next several posts, a series of examples will be given that illustrate this persuasive and deceptive ability of our adversary, in order that we may be able to guard against it, deflect it, and reject it. 

088. Men Should Be Anxiously Engaged in a Good Cause

For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things;
For he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant;
Wherefore he receiveth no reward.

Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause,
and do many things of their own free will,
and bring to pass much righteousness;

For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves.
And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.

But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded,
and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart,
and keepeth it with slothfulness,
the same is damned.

D&C 58:26-29

087. Heaven & Hell

"You cannot take all luggage with you on all journeys; on one journey even your right hand and your right eye may be among the things you have to leave behind. We are not living in a world where all roads are radii of a circle and where all, if followed long enough, will therefore draw gradually nearer and finally meet at the centre: rather in a world where every road, after a few miles, forks into two, and each of those into two again, and at each fork you must make a decision. Even on the biological level life is not like a pool but like a tree.

"I do not think that all who choose wrong roads perish; but their rescue consists in being put back on the right road. A wrong sum can be put right: but only by going back till you find the error and working it afresh from that point, never by simply going on. Evil can be undone, but it cannot "develop" into good. Time does not heal it. The spell must be unwound, bit by bit, "with backward mutters of dissevering power"-or else not. It is still "either-or." If we insist on keeping Hell (or even earth) we shall not see Heaven: if we accept Heaven we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell. I believe, to be sure, that any man who reaches Heaven will find that what he abandoned (even in plucking out his right eye) was precisely nothing: that the kernel of what he was really seeking even in his most depraved wishes will be there, beyond expectation, waiting for him in "the High Countries." In that sense it will be true for those who have completed the journey (and for no others) to say that good is everything and Heaven everywhere. But we, at this end of the road, must not try to anticipate that retrospective vision. If we do, we are likely to embrace the false and disastrous converse and fancy that everything is good and everywhere is Heaven.

"But what, you ask, of earth? Earth, I think, will not be found by anyone to be in the end a very distinct place. I think earth, if chosen instead of Heaven, will turn out to have been, all along, only a region in Hell: and earth, if put second to Heaven, to have been from the beginning a part of Heaven itself."

C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce (preface), April, 1945

086. Profile of a Prophet

In 1967, Elder Hugh B. Brown of the LDS Church delivered a talk in General Conference entitled "The Profile of a Prophet." In this talk Elder Brown shared several characteristics of a true prophet of God as derived from the Bible, which he developed as part of a conversation he had with a non-Mormon friend. His intent was to demonstrate how the prophet Joseph Smith, jr. also embodied all of these characteristics:

1. Any man claiming to be a prophet of God would also claim that he had been spoken to by God.
2. He would be a dignified man, with a dignified and clear statement of truth.
3. He would declare his message without any fear, and do so courageously, without making any weak concessions to public opinion. 
4. If he were speaking for God he would not make concessions, and what he taught would not be in harmony with the accepted teachings of the day. 
5. He would speak in the name of the Lord and say "Thus saith the Lord" as did Moses, Jeremiah, and others.
6. He would predict future events and predict them in the name of God, and that they would come to pass, as did Isaiah, Ezekiel, and others.
7. He would have not only an important message for his time, but also a message for all future time, such as Noah, Malachi, and others. 
8. His courage in supporting his statement of truth would be such that would enable him not only to endure persecution, but to give his life if need be for the cause he had espoused, such as Daniel, Hosea, and others. 
9. Such a man would denounce wickedness fearlessly. He would generally be rejected by the people of his time, but as time went on he would grow in stature and descendants would build monuments to his honor. 
10. He would do superhuman things that no man could do without God’s help. As he grew in stature the consequences of his work would be among the most convincing evidences of his calling: “By their fruits ye shall know them” (Matthew 7:20). 
11. His teachings would be in strict conformity with scripture, and that his words and his writings would become scripture.

Although not a high-ranking leader in the LDS church, BYU scholar Truman Madsen also developed a list of the qualities of a prophet of God:

1. A foreteller, meaning he has prophetic access to the future. 
2. A forth-teller, meaning he speaks forth boldly in judgment and in teaching.
3. Has authority, who speaks with more than human sanction.
4. A recoverer or discovered of truth.
5. An advocate of social righteousness. 
6. A charismatic, who's personality attracts in a spiritual sense.
7. Endures suffering. 
8. Embodies love of others.
9. A seer, who can understand and reveal truth.
10. Often a martyr.  

Joseph Smith embodied all of these qualities and many others. I believe that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God because his teachings enlighten the mind and heart of the hearer, which fills them with a knowledge that seems to have always been a part of them, laying dormant, but has now suddenly been switched on. God spoke with him. God appeared to him. His message was the same from the 1st to the last...that the first principle of the gospel is to know the character of God and that we can speak with Him face-to-face as one person speaks to another.

Do the characteristics outlined above match with what people call prophets today? It seems like prophets of old sacrificed everything they valued for their knowledge of Christ. But today, prophets seem to be people who have achieved great worldly success, obtained advanced scholarly degrees, and are well-regarded in their professions. Perhaps God is a changeable God, or at least many hope and want Him to be, and He now prefers to call prophets who measure their connection to God through worldly accomplishments and a willingness to speak soothing and flattering words to others.

More information about prophets of God can be found here.

085. God With Us

In one prophecy of His birth, Christ is referred to using the name-title Immanuel or Emmanuel, meaning God With Us: Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Matthew 1:23)

Although Christ was likely born at another time of year, perhaps in the Spring around the vernal equinox as some have suggested, I am grateful for Christmas when we pause to remember His birth into mortality. His birth represents the supreme condescension of a Most Holy being from His exalted condition into this fallen and darkened world, to ransom and rescue its inhabitants from the wages of sin and death. He submitted Himself to His Father's will in all things for the salvation of His children.  His love continues to fill the hearts of all those who earnestly seek Him.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel is a sacred and holy hymn that conveys the essence of our Savior's mission, power, and love. Originally written in the 12th century in Latin, music added in the 15th century, and translated in the 18th century:


1 O come, O come, Immanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.

Refrain
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.

2 O come, O Wisdom from on high,
who ordered all things mightily;
to us the path of knowledge show
and teach us in its ways to go. Refrain

3 O come, O come, great Lord of might,
who to your tribes on Sinai's height
in ancient times did give the law
in cloud and majesty and awe. Refrain

4 O come, O Branch of Jesse's stem,
unto your own and rescue them!
From depths of hell your people save,
and give them victory o'er the grave. Refrain

5 O come, O Key of David, come
and open wide our heavenly home.
Make safe for us the heavenward road
and bar the way to death's abode. Refrain

6 O come, O Bright and Morning Star,
and bring us comfort from afar!
Dispel the shadows of the night
and turn our darkness into light. Refrain

7 O come, O King of nations, bind
in one the hearts of all mankind.
Bid all our sad divisions cease
and be yourself our King of Peace. Refrain

"...and mine Only Begotten is and shall be the Savior, for he is full of grace and truth." (Moses 1:6)

084. Out of the Silent Planet

A friend mentioned to me over breakfast that today is C.S. Lewis' birthday, his 119th. C.S. Lewis lived only 65 years, but his voluminous writings have inspired millions to seek for a more intimate relationship with Christ.

On this occasion, I thought I'd write a few thoughts about one of my favorite books of all time, The Space Trilogy, written by C.S. Lewis. Part I is called Out of the Silent Planet, which was written in the late 1930s, soon after Lewis was re-converted to Christianity. A man, unaided by or un-animated by God, could not have written these books. Anyone who has communed with the Divine, accessed truth for themselves from God, or has had even the smallest smidgen of the mysteries of Godliness revealed to them will recognize the profound truths expounded in these short novels. However, these books are unappealing to most people for many reasons. They are not filled with the quick sound-bytes that people of today prefer. They are 1930s science fiction. The sophisticated English of C. S. Lewis is off-putting to some. However, all those impediments are a small price to pay for the deep truths and profound insights that one can reap by reading these novels. There are layers of meaning and depths upon depths of truths buried within their pages. There is a lot of detail that needs to be sorted through before you get to the nuggets, but without the details, you cannot fully understand the nuggets. Most of the information conveyed by the stories in these books is extremely difficult to convey from one person to another because of the depth and complexity of the material, making it difficult to adequately summarize this book in a way that conveys the full import of what it entails, as it needs to be individually read and digested. So, perhaps only to whet your appetite, I'll provide a few excerpts.

The gist of the story is that a young professor of linguistics, Elwin Ransom, is abducted aboard a spaceship by a scientist, named Weston, and his accomplice, named Devine. They intend to transport Ransom to the nearby planet of Malacandra as they believe they have been required to bring a human sacrifice for the creatures of the planet. Weston and Devine are interested in exploiting Malacandra for the preservation of the human race. Malacandra is a terrestrial world where no evil exists until invaded by the humans of Thulcandra [earth] who bring with them a willingness to plunder and murder in order to obtain what they desire. Soon after landing, Ransom escapes his captors and befriends some of the creatures on Malacandra. One day, while hunting, a being called an eldil, an almost invisible spirit-like, angelic creature, tells Ransom that he must go to meet Oyarsa, the eldil who is ruler of the planet. After an arduous and interesting journey, Ransom arrives in Meldilorn, the home of Oyarsa and a long-awaited conversation begins.

In the course of this conversation it is explained that there are Oyéresu (the plural) for each of the planets in our solar system; in the four inner planets, which have organic life (intelligent and non-intelligent), the local Oyarsa is responsible for that life. The ruler of Earth (Thulcandra, "the silent planet"), has turned evil (become "bent") and has been restricted to Thulcandra, after "great war," by the Oyéresu and the authority of Maleldil, the ruler of the universe. Ransom is ashamed at how little he can tell Oyarsa about Earth and how foolish he and other humans seem to Oyarsa. Oyarsa then tells Ransom that he had actually been chosen to come to Malacandra and servants had been sent to fetch him.

While the two are talking, Devine and Weston are brought in guarded by some of the creatures of Malacandra, because they have killed three of a certain race. A long discussion ensues over the actions and motivations of Weston and Devine. Oyarsa, passing judgment, tells Weston and Devine that he would not tolerate the presence of such creatures, but lets them leave the planet immediately, albeit under very unfavorable orbital conditions. Oyarsa offers Ransom the option of staying on Malacandra, but Ransom decides he does not belong there, perhaps because he feels himself unworthy and perhaps because he yearns to be back among the human beings of Earth.

Oyarsa had promised Ransom that the eldila of "deep heaven" would watch over and protect him against any attacks from the other two Thulcandrians, who might seek to kill him as a way of economizing their air and food supplies during the return journey; at times, Ransom is conscious of benevolent presences within the spaceship—the eldila. After a difficult return journey, the space-ship makes it back to Earth, and is shortly "unbodied" according to Oyarsa's will.

Ransom himself half-doubts whether all that happened was true, and he realizes that others will be even less inclined to believe it if he should speak of it. However, the author (Lewis, appearing as a character) who did not previously know of Ransom's adventure, fortuitously writes to Ransom asking whether he has heard of the medieval Latin word "Oyarses" and knows what it meant. This prompts Ransom to let Lewis in on the secret. Ransom then dedicates himself to the mission that Oyarsa gave him before he left Malacandra: stopping Weston from further evil. Ransom and Lewis then collaborate—in the story, not in real life—to compose and publish Out of the Silent Planet under the guise of fiction. They realize that only a few readers will recognize their story as describing "real" events, but since they anticipate that further conflict with Weston or the Bent Oyarsa of Earth will be forthcoming, they also desire simply to familiarize many readers with the ideas contained therein.

What follows are a couple of interesting excerpts from the book...

On the nature of heavenly beings...
"Do tell me, Small One [referring to Ransom], that there are no eldila [spirit-like, angelic creatures] in your world?"
"Not that I know of. But what are eldila, and why can I not see them? Have they no bodies?"
"Of course they have bodies. There are a great many bodies you cannot see. Every animal's eyes see some things but not others. Do you know of many kinds of body in Thulcandra [earth]?"
Ransom explained the terrestrial terminology of solids, liquids, and gases.
"That is not the way to say it," it replied. "Body is movement. If it is at one speed, you smell something; if at another, you hear a sound; if at another, you see a sight; if at another, you neither see nor hear nor smell, nor know the body in any way. But mark this, Small One, that the two ends meet."
"How do you mean?"
"If movement is faster, then that which moves is more nearly in two places at once."
"That is true."
"But if the movement were faster still -- it is difficult, for you do not know many words -- you see that if you made it faster and faster, in the end the moving thing would be in all places at once, Small One."
"I think I see that."
"Well, then, that is the thing at the top of all bodies -- so fast that it is at rest, so truly body that it has ceased being a body at all. But we will not talk of that. Start from where we are, Small One. The swiftest thing that touches our senses is light. We do not truly see light, we only see slower things lit by it, so that for us light is on the edge -- the last thing we know before things become too swift for us. But the body of an eldil is a movement swift as light; you may say its body is made of light, but not of that which is light for the eldil. His "light" is a swifter movement which for us is nothing at all; and what we call light is for him a thing like water, a visible thing, a thing he can touch and bathe in -- even a dark thing when not illuminated by the swifter. And what we call firm things -- flesh and earth -- seem to him thinner, and harder to see, than our light, and more like clouds, and nearly nothing. To us the eldil is a thin, half-real body that can go through walls and rocks: to himself he goes through them because he is solid and firm and they are like cloud. And what is true light to him and fills the heaven, so that he will plunge into the rays of the sun to refresh himself from it, is to us the black nothing in the sky at night. These things are not strange, Small One, though they are beyond our senses. But it is strange that the eldila never visit Thulcandra [earth]."

On the result of no Eldila or governing Oyarsa on Earth, the Silent Planet...
They [some of the creatures of Malacandra] were astonished at what he [Ransom] had to tell them of human history -- of war, slavery, and prostitution. "It is because they have no Oyarsa," said one of them. "It is because every one of them wants to be a little Oyarsa himself," said another. "They cannot help it," said an old one. "There must be rule, yet how can creatures rule themselves? Beasts must be ruled by hnau [rational creatures] and hnau by eldila and eldila by Maleldil. These creatures have no eldila. They are like one trying to lift himself by his own hair -- or one trying to see over a whole country when he is on level with it -- like a female trying to beget young on herself."

On why Earth is known as the Silent Planet throughout the heavens...
"Thulcandra is the world we do not know. It alone is outside heaven, and no message comes from it," said Oyarsa. "It was not always so. Once we knew the Oyarsa of your world -- he was brighter and greater than I -- and then we did not call it Thulcandra. It is the longest of all stories and the bitterest. He became bent. That was before any life came on your world. Those were the Bent Years of which we still speak in the heavens, when he was not yet bound to Thulcandra but free like us. It was in his mind to spoil other worlds besides his own....We did not leave him so at large for long. There was great war, and we drove him back out of the heavens and bound him in the air of his own world as Maleldil taught us. There doubtless he lies to this hour, and we know no more of that planet: it is silent. We think that Maleldil would not give it up utterly to the Bent One, and there are stories among us that He has taken strange counsel and dared terrible things, wrestling with the Bent One in Thulcandra. But of this we know less than you; it is a thing we desire to look into." "We know nothing since the day when the Bent One sank out of heaven into the air of your world, wounded in the very light of his light." "I am allowed to tell you this. The year we are now in -- but heavenly years are not as yours -- has long been prophesied as a year of stirrings and high changes and the siege of Thulcandra may be near its end. Great things are on foot. If Maleldil does not forbid me, I will not hold aloof from them. And now, farewell."

I believe this story to be an autobiographical spiritual experience of or higher understanding gained by C.S. Lewis...camouflaged in a book of science fiction. In chapter 21 the narrator says "I am not allowed to record this conversation [between Ransom and Oyarsa], beyond saying that the voice concluded it with the words: 'You have shown me more wonders than are known in the whole of heaven'." And this is only part I. Happy birthday [in Thulcandra time] C. S. Lewis, wherever it is you now reside upon the endless fields of Deep Heaven.

083. God Can Speak to Us through the Use of Lots

Vote on this Proposal by Midnight, Wednesday November 8, 2017

From the book, "Nephi's Isaiah" (2006):

To Elijah, as he watched the unfolding physical signs of wind, earthquake and fire, these signs were not where he found God’s will.[17] These were physical events, observable by anyone who would have been present.  They were not “emotional” or “feeling,” but were outward events.  They were used to confirm the truthfulness of the inner “voice” which spoke to him.  That inner voice, speaking intelligence to the mind, was the voice of God; to him and to you as well.

Nebuchadnezzar[18] heard God speak to Him through a dream.  Likewise, Joseph of Egypt[19] heard God speak many times in dreams containing symbols from which God’s “voice” was “heard.”  Joseph, Christ’s earthly foster-father, was also warned repeatedly through dreams.[20] It is more likely the lack of faith than the absence of communication which accounts for the apparent “silence” of God in most lives.  We just do not believe or trust in Him enough to experience what is available to us all.  The great difference between prophets and others is not in God’s willingness to speak, but in the refusal to listen.  Some listen; and they are prophets.  Others do not; and struggle to believe the prophets.  God, however, has and does speak to us all.

In choosing a replacement Apostle for the deceased and apostate Judas, the method employed by the surviving Apostles was to “cast lots.”  It is written:  “And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all mean, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen, That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.  And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.” (Acts 1:24-26.)  The same method is used here by Apostles as had been used by the Lord’s crucifiers to divide up His clothing, as He was ganging on the cross in the last throes of dying.[21] When we think of the Roman guards using it to divide Christ’s clothing, it becomes less inspired-looking and more homely.  It looks more like expediency than revelation as a tool for choosing an Apostle.  Yet, at the same time, this same process is built into the scriptures for the Church today, and is used in every disciplinary council to assign roles to the High Council.[22] Without regard to feeling, emotion or desire, the lots are drawn and the assignments are made.  These physical objects contain within them the Lord’s mind for organizing a council before whom the hearing takes place.

From Nephi’s casting lots to decide who would go to address Laban,[23] to choosing a scapegoat,[24] to choosing an Apostle, to choosing roles in a disciplinary court, casting of lots has been the way people of faith have determined God’s will for millennia.  Through it God “speaks.”  But it requires faith to see it in that light.  For these are ordinary, even commonplace ways of making a decision.  Only through faith does it acquire the “voice of God” in it.

We are unique, and God’s ways of speaking to each of us is as unique as each of us.  We do ourselves a great disservice when we attempt to fit ourselves into a singular, stereotypical persona seeking only a singular way for God to talk with and to us.  We make ourselves into something we aren’t, in the search to find what cannot be found that way.  If we demand only the extraordinary before we will recognize His voice, we run the risk of looking in the wrong way for Him.  His voice is there.  He speaks to all of us.  But we can miss it if we are not attuned to listen.

You may never be able to hear God speak to you in the way in which others hear Him.  If you determine He must speak to you in a specific way, you can go a lifetime without ever having a conversation with Him.  He longs to speak with each of us.  Within each of us there is something uniquely attuned to Him.  How He reaches out to you may be as singular and unique as you are and you can be assured He is reaching out.  In fact, God is rather noisy, if you will allow Him to be.  We were never intended to live without a direct connection to Him.  Instead, we should hear His voice, and in time discover He is our “friend.”[25]

Summary of Proposal on Using Lots to Compile a Statement of Principles

11/1/2017 Update on the Lots Proposal

Vote on this Proposal by Midnight, Wednesday November 8, 2017

[17] 1 Kings 19:11-14:  “And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a ^astill small ^bvoice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very ^ajealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am ^bleft; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

[18] See Daniel, Chapter 2.

[19] See Genesis, Chapter 41.

[20] See Matthew, Chapter 2.

[21] Matt. 27:33-36:  “And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of ^aa skull, They gave him ^avinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. And they ^acrucifiedhim, and ^bparted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my ^cgarments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. And sitting down they watched him there;

[22] See D&C 102:12-17:  “Whenever a high council of the church of Christ is regularly organized, according to the foregoing pattern, it shall be the duty of the twelve councilors to cast lots by numbers, and thereby ascertain who of the twelve shall speak first, commencing with number one and so in succession to number twelve. Whenever this council convenes to act upon any case, the twelve councilors shall consider whether it is a difficult one or not; if it is not, two only of the councilors shall speak upon it, according to the form above written. But if it is thought to be difficult, four shall be appointed; and if more difficult, six; but in no case shall more than six be appointed to speak. The accused, in all cases, has a right to one-half of the council, to prevent insult or ^ainjustice.  And the councilors appointed to speak before the council are to present the case, after the evidence is examined, in its true light before the council; and every man is to speak according to equity and ^ajustice. Those councilors who ^adraw even numbers, that is, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12, are the individuals who are to stand up in behalf of the accused, and prevent insult and ^binjustice.”

[23] 1 Nephi 3:11.

[24] Leviticus 16:8: “And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat.”

[25] See, e.g., D&C 84:77:  “And again I say unto you, my friends, for from henceforth I shall call you friends,” among other places.