Worlds without end

"The least, the most inferior spirit now upon the earth, in our capacity, is worth worlds." -- Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses

Entire worlds -- all the glories, follies and ages thereof -- are worth the price of saving just one soul. This is what Brother Brigham meant.

Imagine the assembling of galaxies. The spinning out of starry clusters of cosmic dust and molecules. The fiery congealing of molten matter. The expression of light and heat and gas. The formation of oceans and atmosphere, the rise of mountains and fall of rain. Plants, animals, people, kingdoms, wars, contentions, blood, fire, love and peace.  All of it.

For just one soul.

Perhaps yours.

All of this for just one man or one woman -- in fact, most certainly for at least one man and one woman -- to come unto Christ and attain divinity through Him.

This is what gods do and how they "become".

The Fathers who have been "saved" -- and all those who will be saved -- are the reason this world was formed.

We are all fellow "sojourners" in this cause of coming unto Christ. Every soul you meet is on this path (whether he or she recognizes it!). Every knee shall bow -- eventually -- and every tongue confess that this is so. But, naturally, to get here, we must all start at the very beginning, with birth, clothed only with the glory and intelligence we carry with us from the world and life before, organized into the societies and families and friendships we formed (or agreed to join!) in that stage of existence, in the "life" before this life. That body of intelligence we gained and nurtured there has been "quickened" -- or "translated" into the spiritual essence that is what we are now -- and we are born anew, clothed again in this world, with a new body. We have received a "new garment" -- a "wedding garment" of flesh and blood, that, if we are successful, prepares us -- enable us -- to achieve a successful marriage with the Lamb of God, becoming "one" with Him. Without that garment, we are damned in our eternal progress, held captive in outer darkness.

When we offend one of these little ones -- one of our fellow travelers who has come clothed in innocence and purity, with the intelligence they gained from their life before this world, as they come again seeking for Christ -- we, may, in fact, doom them by misdirection, diverting them from their intended course, the stuff for which this world was made and organized!

What is a fitting consequence for the misdirection and destruction of souls? For diverting untold numbers from their intended course? From requiring multitudes to make new plans, even, perhaps, await to be born again? It is, indeed, better that a millstone were hung about his neck and he be drowned in the depths of the sea than that he should cause and suffer that others be diverted from their divine trajectory!

But even that can be corrected in Jesus. He can raise up children of Abraham even from stones.

So much effort has gone into this! And while the organization of worlds -- and eons of time -- is but a blink and a moment to those who dwell in timelessness, still it requires effort, pain, suffering, and sacrifice to create all things. Those with experience creating -- and having those creations destroyed -- develop the patience and faith necessary to foster worlds...and parent offspring who become deity. The disassembling of worlds is tragic, even if it is reparable. Families that were intended to be "reunited" and "reclaimed" here in this world, perchance, to be exalted together, must sometimes wait until another day. The failure of one can have repercussions for many, diverting the course of nations.

But what are nations to Him?

God, full of the Spirit of Truth, sees all things and will not be hindered, frustrated or flustered in His progress, work and designs. He reigns supreme by His intelligence. He knows all things, even the "course" of history, the end from the beginning. And while He steps and weaves and maneuvers through the mayhem and madness that men and nations (of mere children!) seemingly create, it is by design. This "mess" of godly "upbringing" requires it. Our "failures" in this world -- and all the fallen nature thereof -- are not "mistakes", but steps in our evolution toward godhood. We are base pupae, in gestation, evolving into grander beings readying to take flight! But we must awaken from our slumber and captivity. When we do so is left up to us. You cannot compel a caterpillar to become a butterfly by forcing it into a cocoon...or by ripping it from its chrysalis! You can only offer protection and encouragement: light, air, nourishment, the right conditions.

Those who would be gods will be gods...because they are gods...by the power of the Son. They seize this power by choosing to exercise faith in Him.

This world and everything in it is but a "pageant". Its sole purpose is to persuade all who will come unto Christ to do so. Most of those in attendance scarcely recognize the plot or acknowledge that a play is even unfolding!

This process cannot be "hastened" generally. You cannot "force-feed" a god any more than you can force-feed a child and expect him to "grow up" healthy and strong. Each step of the ladder must be ascended, rung by rung, individually, so that muscles and sinew, courage and confidence, wisdom and perspective are quickened and acquired contemporaneously with every increase and advance. One must learn to hold on tightly early on...or one falls...to begin again. There is instructional purpose even in failure.

I absolutely love the movie "Edge of Tomorrow". Get it. Watch it. Enjoy it. Learn from it.

Water seeks its own level. Light cleaves unto light. Truth embraces truth. (And falsehood finds the pit with those who seek after and follow it!) In the process of tasting good and evil, the "good" chose good and the "evil" choose evil. Successful creations "evolve" toward divinity while unsuccessful ones devolve into chaos. It is given to us to choose.

We cannot achieve godhood in the absence of evil. Those who would be our nemeses are indeed our benefactors, for one hand washes the other. It is impossible (for man) to tell who first (if any of us) will be completely purified thereby. Diamonds arise from ashes and idols of gold and silver melt, to be consumed, in this process.

There is but one standard, one perfect pattern of holiness and perfection, one eternal truth. One way. One life. And that life, pattern and perfection are embodied, exemplified, and personified in Jesus Christ. He is what Gods are, what the Fathers have become; what our Father in heaven is. He is whom we shall also be, if we continue faithfully in Him.

That's what this world is all about.

It is our "spaceship" to launch us to the stars. If we are willing.

What seems like "waste" is necessary filtering. Gold is washed from sand and sediment, sorted out by constant agitation and cleansing. This "engine" that produces gods -- and mass produces the verisimilitude of godliness, including the form thereof, without the power -- is really designed to extract a precious, rare elixir that will, eventually, become the stuff of divinity. It crushes every input, extracting every drop of output that is worthy to be harvested and saved. The rest is cast off as "waste", as manufacturing "defect", to be "recycled". This "process" is one of gathering, winnowing, grading and garnering. It is on-going, worlds without end.

Where are we in the process?

If 100 billion people were destined to become gods, and only one couple from each world were saved and exalted during each 7,000-year epoch of mortal existence and probation, then 50 billion worlds would be required -- and used! -- to perform that work. Worlds almost without end.

This is nothing to God. What is 50 billion worlds to Him? It is but a handful of sand.

We over-estimate the number who are actually coming unto Christ. (We think there are 15 million Mormons today so, literally, millions must be "saved", right?) And we under-estimate the degree of devotion required for us to do so. We don't even naturally understand what is required.

It means we become like Him.

But, first, we have to come unto Him.

We don't have to be perfect to do that. We don't even have to be good.

We just have to respond and be 100% committed. (All those who are not committed, to some degree, will fall by the wayside, to be "consumed" by entropy or stopped in their progress, producing less fruit.) Christ can work with 100% commitment. Hot or cold, either way, it doesn't matter to Him. Good or bad, He can work with that! He is a master at employing ricochet to re-directing the misguided but energetic soul! (Think of Paul or Alma the younger.)

But indifference, apathy, ambivalence, sloth? He spews that out of His mouth! That kind of attitude and effort gets one nowhere good. The double-minded man receives nothing from the Lord.

Perhaps that explains the present "silence" in the heavens.

Are we asleep?

We must approach Him with "perfect singleness of mind" and "full purpose of heart". "Purity of heart" is another matter. We don't have to be "pure" (in a moral or sexual sense) or "perfect" in any way (to begin). We just have to be purely and perfectly committed. (He will direct all the moral "purifying" and provide all the "healing" necessary. He paid the price to acquire the cure for every malady.) We just have to put our hand to the plow, focus on Him, start plowing, and not look back. We have to contemplate building the tower (to get to Him), count the cost, be willing to make the sacrifice...and get to work.

He'll take it from there.

We need to look unto Him in every thought and strive to recognize His handiwork and wisdom in all things. We must choose the right and dare not to sin. Then His grand mystery, redemption and perfection will unfold to us.

We're "in it" now. Why not make the most of it?