Gospel topic
Space: Plurality of Worlds
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The Savior said that preceding his coming there would be signs in the heavens. No doubt there will be appearances of commotion among the heavenly bodies. We are informed by prophecy that the earth will reel to and fro. This will make it appear like the stars are falling. The sun will be darkened and the moon look like blood. All of these wonders will take place before Christ comes. Naturally the wonders in the heavens that man has created will be numbered among the signs which have been predicted—the airplanes, the guided missiles, and man-made planets that revolve around the earth. Keep it in mind, however, that such man-made planets belong to this earth, and it is doubtful that man will ever be permitted to make any instrument or ship to travel through space and visit the moon or any distant planet. The Lord will permit men to go just so far and no farther; and when they get beyond the proper bounds, he will check them. The Lord opened to the vision of Moses many of his works. Moses looked into the heavens and found that they “are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine,” the Lord said to him. After showing Moses the great wonders of the heavens, then the Lord said: “But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you.” Then Moses was content and said, “Be merciful unto thy servant, O God, and tell me concerning this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, and also the heavens [i.e. the heavens belonging to this earth] and thy servant will be content.” Man is Limited to His Own Earth When man was placed on this earth it became his probationary, or mortal home. Here he is destined to stay until his earth-life is completed, subject to all the mortal conditions outlined in the beginning. There is no prophecy or edict ever given that mortals should seek dominions beyond this earth while they dwell in mortality. Here we are, and here we should be content to stay. All this talk about space travel and the visiting of other worlds brings to mind vividly an attempt long ago made by foolish men who tried to build to heaven. This earth is our destined earth home. With this in mind, wise men will be content and will wait until the time comes when this earth is cleansed and purified from all sin for heavenly visits, and in that day they will come.
President Joseph Fielding Smith
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This magnificent far-reaching telescope is deliberately situated above the smog so this powerful instrument can better probe the galaxies. So it is with life and seeing by the lens of faith. If we are to see things more clearly we too must lift ourselves above the secular smog. Then in the words of the hymn we can in awesome wonder consider all the worlds God's hands have made and see God's power throughout the universe displayed. Otherwise we will be kept from probing Jesus's universal gospel and from seeing things as they really are. Nevertheless by viewing the stretching cosmos we can humbly contemplate the vastness of divine handiwork. Long before He was born at Bethlehem and became known as Jesus of Nazareth our Savior was Jehovah. Way back then under the direction of the Father, Christ was the Lord of the universe who created worlds without number of which ours is only one. How many planets are there in the universe with people on them? We don't know but we are not alone in the universe. God is not the God of only one planet. I testify that Jesus is truly the Lord of the universe, that by Christ and through Him and of Him the worlds are and were created and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God. Having purchased us with His atoning blood in the great and marvelous atonement Jesus thereby became our lawgiver. It is by obedience to His laws and His commandments that we may return one day to His presence and that of our Heavenly Father. The foregoing cosmic facts should bring us to our knees even now long before that later judgment day when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ. I testify that Jesus fulfilled these great roles as creator and lawgiver out of His desire to immortalize all of Heavenly Father's children with the most valiant to live in His Father's house which has many mansions. When Christ comes again it will not be to the meekness of the manger. It will be as the recognized Redeemer and the Lord of the universe. Then in a great solar display stars will fall from their places in a witnessing way with much more drama than at His birth when the stars in the heavens look down where He lay. Yet in the vastness of his creations the Lord of the universe who notices the fall of every sparrow is our personal Savior of which I give apostolic testimony in the holy name of Jesus Christ amen.
Elder Neal A. Maxell
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Whenever I come to this great city of Jerusalem I feel a renewed reverence for Him who made this land holy. Under the direction of the Father, Jesus the Christ was creator of this and other worlds. He was Jehovah, God of the Old Testament. Jesus was the promised Immanuel as prophesied by Isaiah more than two thousand years ago. The Lord Jesus Christ was born in nearby Bethlehem as the only begotten Son of Almighty God. Jesus was the only perfect man to walk the earth. In New Testament days Jesus established His church built on the foundation of apostles and prophets. He healed the sick and caused the lame to walk, the blind to see, and the deaf to hear. He raised the dead. Yet He allowed His life to be taken to make resurrection a reality and eternal life a possibility for all humankind. It was here in Jerusalem that the Savior spent His final days in mortality. I am standing on the Mount of Olives. Here at the base of the Mount Jesus came to the Garden of Gethsemane. He came to submit to the will of His Father and offer Himself as the sacrifice for the sins and weaknesses the pains and burdens of all who would ever live. In that garden olives had been pressed under great weight to squeeze precious oil from the olives. In like manner Jesus was literally pressed under the weight of the sins of the world. There He sweat great drops of blood His life’s oil which issued from every pore. Not far from here is a hill named Golgotha meaning skull, which symbolized death. There upon the cross the Savior of the world was lifted up. He gave His life as part of His atoning sacrifice. His subsequent resurrection, His triumphant victory over the grave is recorded in holy writ. But now is Christ risen from the dead and become the firstfruits of them that slept. Because the Savior offered Himself as the infinite atonement you and I have the opportunity, the privilege, to be forgiven when we repent. We can also turn to Him for healing of our hearts, for strength where we are weak, and for help to do things we simply cannot do on our own. By virtue of His transcendent offering Jesus also gave us the gift of immortality and the opportunity for eternal life acclaiming, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die." Another testament of Jesus Christ comes from ancient America where God the Father introduced His Son to the Nephites declaring "Behold my Beloved Son ... hear ye him." Modern prophets have also borne witness of Him including this declaration by the Prophet Joseph Smith "And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!" I also declare that Jesus the Christ lives that His church has been restored to the earth complete with His power and authority with apostles and prophets and essential ordinances and covenants. In a coming day the Lord will return to this holy land. Then "the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together." Then he will offer these words: "I was wounded in the house of my friends. I am he who was lifted up. I am Jesus that was crucified. I am the Son of God." Then every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is the Christ. I testify that He is the Living Christ our Lord and Savior, Exemplar, Redeemer and Judge. In the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen. Russell M. Nelson, “Special Witnesses of Christ,” (video), Gospel Library.
President Russell M. Nelson
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