Understanding Abraham and the Creation – Part III

Continuing with Abraham’s account of the creation and the principles behind it so we can better understand how the Earth was changed during the crucifixion and why it was not merely a cosmetic event, but a change that was extremely complex and performed in a specific and exact manner. 

In Abraham 4:2, the darkness of the deep is contrasted to the Spirit upon the waters. We imagine the massive sphere of earth just organized, but how organized was it? Many planets exist as spheres of gas or ice. The “gas giants,” composed of hydrogen and helium may be a fair representation of “darkness reigning upon the face of the deep.” Perhaps the deep refers to the sea of gases surrounding the core. “A gas giant (sometimes also known as a jovian planet after the planet Jupiter, or giant planet) is a large planet that is not primarily composed of rock or other solid matter. There are four gas giants in the Solar System: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune,” the latter two are a distinct class of giant planet, composed mainly of heavier volatile substances, referred to as “ices.”
    The chaos at the surface of a gas planet is likened to the darkness and chaos of hell.  “Matter unorganized” is what we would expect if there was no God in the universe to improve upon it.  Without the power of the Spirit of the Gods to counteract it, the earth would remain an uninhabitable, poisonous planet. 
    What would the Gods need to make the planet habitable? Water is the great key to survival.  Perhaps the Spirit is brooding upon the waters because the simple water molecule must be put to work. Organizing it into great bodies of waters, separating it from the other gases in the atmosphere, and organizing the water cycle of the earth is something that only God could do. To imagine that it all happened by accident is to ascribe way too much power to the so-called “Big Bang.” The hydrological cycle of our earth is so well tuned and refined as to be one of the many evidences of a divine force in the Universe.

“The earth, after it was organized and formed was, of course, not ‘without form and void,’ but rather as understood from the Hebrew and as read in the Abraham account, it was ‘empty and desolate.’ Indeed, at the point that the description of the preparation of the earth to be a habitable abode for man begins, it was enveloped in waters upon which the ‘Spirit of God’ moved or brooded. (The latter two words are both attempts to translate a Hebrew word which depicts that which a bird or hen does in incubating and guarding her eggs in the nest!)
    “The creative force here called the ‘Spirit of God,’ which acts upon the elements to shape and prepare them to sustain life on earth can be the same as is termed in the Doctrine and Covenants in one context the ‘Light of Christ.’ (See D&C 88:7-13). That power was exerted by the Son, under the command of the Father, and under that direction, by the Gods.
    “The Earth, a "water planet", contains some 0.07% water by mass or 0.4% by volume. Left to itself in space, this water would create a sphere 1500 miles in diameter, big, but smaller than numerous icy bodies in the Solar System. It is interesting to note that the first scientific reasoning on water balance of our globe came from the realms of celestial orbits: it can be traced to Copernicus (1543), who as well as being a keen astronomer, had also a good grasp of hydrology, contemplating in the opening chapters of his revolutionary book, how the Earth forms a single sphere with water and concluding that there is little water in comparison with land, even though more water perhaps appears on the surface.”  
    We should follow the example of the Gods in Abraham 4:3. We should say the same thing. We should say, “Let there be light.” “Let there be light in the world; Let there be light in our nation; Let there be light in our community; Let there be light in our families; Let there be light in our countenances.”
    N. Eldon Tanner said that in modern revelation, the Lord has declared: “And when the times of the Gentiles is come in, a light shall break forth among them that sit in darkness, and it shall be the fulness of my gospel” (D&C 45:28).
    We are encouraged to remain faithful through a promise of increased light and knowledge, for He said: “That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day” (D&C 50:24).

“And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things” (D&C 88:67)
    Every individual has the right to and can have the Light of Christ in his life as an abiding influence. But he must earn that privilege and blessing. Each of us must so live as to be worthy for the blessings of the Lord to attend us. This means we must know and understand and keep his commandments. Through the saving principles of the gospel, we can use the light in our lives to dispel the darkness in the world and to thwart the plans of that Prince of Darkness, even Satan, who has vowed to destroy mankind and the glorious plan of life and salvation authored by God and his Son Jesus Christ. (“The Light of the Gospel,” Ensign, Nov. 1977, 49–51)
    To digress for just a moment, since we are dealing mostly with the location of the Land of Promise in this blog, we might suggest that when theorists come up with lists of places where the Land of Promise is supposed to be or have been, and since it was only in one location, the others are obviously not accurate, we are dealing with the need for light and truth.
    In Abraham 4:4, it states that the Gods comprehended the light. No other account of the creation includes this phrase, “the Gods comprehended the light.” To comprehend light is a divine characteristic. We need to learn how to do the same thing. We must learn how to comprehend the light, to fully appreciate the truth, to understand God. In the days of the Master, the people couldn’t comprehend it, “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined” (Isaiah 9:2). Unfortunately the people couldn’t comprehend the light, “the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:5).

The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not; nevertheless, the day shall come when you shall comprehend even God, being quickened in him and by him (D&C 88:48-50). As Mosiah said, “Believe in God; believe that he is, and that he created all things, both in heaven and in earth; believe that he has all wisdom and all power, both in heaven and in earth; believe that man doth not comprehend all the things which the Lord can comprehend” (Mosiah 4:9).
    “If our eyes are single to God’s glory, our ‘whole bodies shall be filled with light, and … that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things’ (D&C 88:67). It seems impossible that in such an environment it would be impossible to have several different views of where the Land of Promise is or was located. Since God is not the author of confusion, it cannot be said that God is accepting of these various and different views. Only one can be correct, and that one has to agree with all the scriptural descriptions describing it. Yet, we have people continually coming up with locations that are inconsistent with the scriptural descriptions and defending their inaccurate locations as though they had some dispensation on truth that no one else possessed.
    “By hearkening to the voice of the Spirit, which ‘giveth light to every man that cometh into the world’ (D&;C 84:46), we receive more light (see D&C 50:24) until we come ‘unto God, even the Father’ (D&C 84:47). “Thus, the glory of God is his intelligence, meaning, in other words, his truth and light, which are his knowledge and comprehension, his power and divinity. These are elements of God’s very being that his children are to seek if they are to be like him.” (Richard D. Draper, “I Have a Question,” Ensign, Apr. 1995, 61).

Neal A. Maxwell put it this way, “Jesus plumbed the depths and scaled the heights in order to comprehend all things. (See D&C 88:6.) Jesus, therefore, is not only a fully atoning but He is also a fully comprehending Savior!” (Ensign, May 1990, 35).
    The point is, so many people rely on their own judgment or knowledge, or the knowledge of temporal beings, such as historians, archaeologists, anthropologists, or other scientists in the fields, or just some historical factors, and try to defend their position on such, while ignoring or paying little attention to the scriptural record, which gives us such clearly defined information regarding where Lehi sailed, where he landed, where Nephi moved to, and where the Nephite Nation lived. The light is there, but few comprehend the light.
(See the next post, “Understanding Abraham and the Creation – Part IV,” for more information regarding Abraham’s account of the creation and the principles behind it so we can better understand how the Earth was changed during the crucifixion and why it was not merely a cosmetic things, but a change that was extremely complex and performed in a specific and exact manner)