A Faith Beyond: The Gospel's Least-Understood Principle (Part 3)

Part 1: A Faith Beyond
Part 2: A Faith Beyond

In each post of this series, we are highlighting an aspect of faith; at some point we will begin assembling the pieces together to create a portrait of the first principle of the gospel.

Faith's DNA

If you saw me right now sitting at my computer, you'd see me in Old Navy pajama pants, wearing wool socks (it is 21 degrees outside).

You'd take it all in at a glance, wondering at my poor sense of fashion ― but that's as far as your eyes will take you.  You won't think,  "What's going on with Tim's Chromosome Pair VII; is everything okay with his Histone Cluster H2A?"

The reason is simple: we observe the exterior; the shell; the outmost layer of existence.  In this mortal coil, all we can do is judge books by their covers.

But even with our 20/20 vision, we remain blind to the unseen; for we simply cannot, with our natural eye, peer into the invisible spiritual realm.

"Out of sight, out-of-mind."  That sums up our life here-on-earth.

To dig deeper we will need microscopes and spectrometers to help us delve into what is hidden beneath the surface (that is, we will require faith to behold the mystery-that-lies-within-the-temporal).

As we learned in high school chemistry, everything we observe in the natural world is not what it appears ― the barstool, my elbow, that red rose ― what we see is simply the manifestation (the expression) of unseen, smaller, constituent parts.

A thing's form (or substance) is observed by the reflection of light.  So although there is an entire universe beneath the skin, we see only the outside-of-things because light cannot travel through opaque matter.

In other words (to make a spiritual analogy), we see only so far as we can perceive light traveling through something.

Reflection vs. Refraction

Water has the ability to refract (to turn) light.  Water is not opaque, but neither is it entirely translucent.  So a beam of light shot through a glass of water will bounce around and end up coming out the other side in a novel way, because the water bends (refracts) the light's course of travel.

I want to suggest that Faith is spiritual refraction.  It changes the course of light as a refractor, creating new possibilities and even new realities.

For Faith is God's forge of creation.

"Faith is the Substance of Things . . . Not Seen"
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Imagine trying to tell Solomon about deoxyribonucleic acid (commonly known as DNA).

"Okay, Solomon, you're a pretty smart guy, so let me explain a mystery.  There are these, umm, building blocks ― yes, little tiny building blocks that are invisible to the eye (no, no, not like midichlorians from Star Wars; you're getting us off track).  These DNA rope-strands spiral around each other in a helix and make up all organisms on earth, including you.  Hey, you still with me?"

Before we would have a chance to explain base pairs and guanine and thymine, Solomon would have us locked in the loony bin.  
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In a way, Faith acts like spiritual DNA ― the foundational makeup that governs the expression of spiritual matter into the temporal world.  You see, there's a reason you have green eyes and I have hazel eyes; you are blond and I am bald.  These things are generated by the genes we inherited from our parents (and you and I have excellent parentage: we are created in the image of God!).

Among all the "genetic" (spiritual) gifts we inherited from being in God's likeness, the one that makes us most like Them is the ability to create new life through the exercise of faith.

For Faith is a principle of power by which the Gods organized and framed the worlds (this is why I call faith "the forge of spiritual creation").

   Through faith we understand
   that the worlds were framed
   by the word of God:
   [notice the recipe?  It takes two ingredients: "faith" and the "word"]
   so that things which are seen
   were NOT made of things
   which do appear.

(Hebrews 11:3)  

"By this we understand that the principle of power, which existed in the bosom of God, by which the worlds were framed, was faith."

(Lectures on Faith, 1:14-15)

Now, we're probably thinking of the physical creations of God, like planet earth (His footstool) or little baby Suzy (His tabernacle).  But think instead for a moment of faith being the catalyst for creating spiritual worlds.

In other words, faith to call forth kingdoms.  Like telestial and celestial kingdoms.

Jesus spoke more about one thing than any other: "The kingdom of heaven is like. . . (Matt. 13:31)."  The kingdom of heaven is like this and this and that.

Why did Jesus care so much about describing His kingdom, which is not of this world?  I get it: His kingdom didn't exist here on earth.  So where was it?  He prayed "Thy kingdom come" ― but come from where?  Come from outer-space like an asteroid colliding with the earth?

Is it possible Jesus was saying His kingdom (the kingdom of heaven) was still unfinished, without form, and uncreated in the ultimate sense?  That it was still a spiritual creation, awaiting instantiation into elemental form?  And for it to exist, to exist here on earth, we must fashion it from our collective faith, so this place becomes a celestial kingdom?

Practice Pointer:  Every kingdom is crafted by the composite faith of its citizens.

That was a mouthful, but so saying:

   Hell is often the result.

Welcome to the Telestial Kingdom

Have you ever wondered what makes the telestial kingdom . . . telestial?

Whenever someone wants to describe the kingdoms of glory, they turn to D&C 76.  Which is, yes, an awesome revelation ―  but it doesn't answer very many questions (certainly not the nuts-and-bolts of how the kingdoms operate).

D&C 76 is focused on a different issue: the breadth of God's loving atonement, which redeems all men and women in glory (save perdition).

So in D&C 76 we get categories of people and where they end up; which is nice, I guess, to know where Hitler and Ted Bundy go.  

But I know murderers already; I don't need to wait for the next life to associate with them ― we've got the good, the bad, and the ugly all right here, right now.

To understand the Telestial kingdom, picture one great traffic jam of spirits; an intersection of cars crashing into one another as each person asserts their right-of-way, unyielding.

You see, here on earth, there is no unified vision; nobody seems to be paying much attention to God's traffic control devices.  Everyone is using their faith instead to create a world that is better for . . . themselves.

This is one of the hallmarks, actually, of a telestial kingdom:

   Every man walketh
   in his own way . . . 
   in the likeness of the world.

(D&C 1:16)

Here in hell, we "see" the substance of a world cobbled together from the hodge-podge of people's desires (competing desires, mind you).

With agency to pursue their faith's desire, we see, as a result, the train wreckage of people pitting their faith against one another.

And what do we see?  What do people desire here?  The answer will invariably tell us what kingdom we're in.

For faith is a condition of all kingdoms.  The expression (manifestation) of our faith into the physical creation is proof of where we are.

Faith in the [Prosperity] Gospel

Here on earth, what we've created is pretty impressive.  It's a monument to Satan's dominion; a testament to the devil's plan.

Long ago, Satan had the bright idea to save everyone so none should be lost.  Sounds good, doesn't it?

But if we read the fine print to Satan's business plan, we see how he's going to accomplish his purposes: with gold and silver, with priests who oppress, with armies and navies he'll run things his way.

So we'll have to cut out from the budget all the blubber: you know, the charitable giving, the freedom to work from home, the company Christmas party.  But don't worry: he'll offer his employees generous perks. 

What we see behind the curtain of Satan's proposal is the prosperity gospel (for he is its chief architect) whereunder he (and his apprentices) gets the honor . . . for a price.

His sons are doing a bang-up job, too, at preaching his prosperity gospel (his plan), which is to fly high on someone else's dime, all the while appearing their benefactor, reaping honor and wealth and praise whilst doing "God's work." 

Isn't it nice to contribute to God's work in a way that personally profits you, too? 

Satan:  Have faith . . . to get that cushy job promotion you deserve!

Satan:  Have faith . . . and become rich so you can retire young and enjoy your grandchildren; you've earned it!

Satan:  Have faith . . . and be recognized for your righteousness as a mission president or something important, where you can really make a difference!

You see, Satan WANTS US TO HAVE FAITH!  But the catch?  He wants us to have faith in all the wrong things; to seek for all the wrong gifts.

He wants us to have faith, primarily, in ourselves.

Conditions of a Kingdom Are . . .

Under Satan's plan, we see religions using the Faith of their adherents to build Babylon (the way Egypt used Hebrew slaves to build their pyramids).

Churches in the telestial kingdom grow into multi-national magisteriums, transforming the priesthood into gubernational offices, amassing untold wealth that is controlled by a select few, preying upon the widow and poor.

Nephi saw what would become of us:

   And their works are in the dark;
   and they say: Who seeth us,
   and knoweth us?  Surely,
   your turning of things
   upside down shall be esteemed
   as potter's clay.

(2 Nephi 27:27)

That last bit was interesting: what did Nephi mean about potter's clay?  Well he was referencing Isaiah 29:16:

   You turn things upside down,
   as if the potter were thought
   to be like the clay!

   Shall what is formed say
   to the one who formed it,
   "You did not make me"?

   Can the pot say to the potter,
   "You know nothing"?

(Isaiah 29:16, NIV)

Like the ashtray I made in 2nd Grade for my parents (nevermind they didn't smoke); picture the ashtray back-talking its Maker: so it is in a telestial kingdom, with the creations thinking themselves wiser than their Creator, placing their faith in something other than Him.

Remember this:  All kingdoms of glory operate upon the faith of those belonging to them.

Broadly speaking (if I may make some crude generalizations):

1.  The Telestial kingdom describes people who exercise their faith to the detriment of others.

2.  The Terrestrial kingdom is where people exercise faith harmlessly ― without prejudice to others (they "deal justly").

3.  The Celestial kingdom describes the quality of people who exercise faith to their personal detriment in order to better the lives of others.

When we're told to have "faith in Jesus Christ," we are talking not only a faith in a historical individual, but also in what that individual stood for: a faith that mirrors His celestial Spirit, willing to lose its life in love's fire so others may be reborn.