Remembering – Myths Are History

new-heavens2This past week brought three impressive celestial events – the vernal equinox, a solar eclipse and a geomagnetic storm caused by major solar flares with CME’s – Coronal Mass Ejections – that lit up the Aurora Borealis in a most spectacular manner. Most people were unaware of any unusual activity in the sky. It was simply another week that happened to include the first day of spring.

I have always been fascinated with space weather. I check two sites daily to keep tabs on what’s going on in the heavens. I don’t think that’s so unusual. A lot of people are interested in space technology, astronomy and especially with things happening in our solar system. Fireballs are still considered unusual, making headlines even though they happen relatively frequently now.

new-heavens4Why the seeming universal interest in things falling from the sky? Most astronomers agree with Phil Plait that the odds of death from the skies are infinitesimally small. Yet disaster movies that depict that exact scenario are almost always blockbusters. Is there some sort of hidden memory in the collective human subconscious that we all have regarding past cosmological disturbances?

We Live With Collective Amnesia

In a word, yes. We, as members of the human race, have collective amnesia. We have forgotten something extremely important, something our ancestors tried to record so we would remember.

new-heavens6There are thousands of artifacts from ancient civilizations all over the world that point us to one unescapable conclusion – something terrible happened in the skies. It all but wiped out humanity. The planets were Gods to ancient peoples. Old Testament Prophets dealt with this idol worship.

Myth is the history of the psyche – William Irwin Thompson

Myth is the history of the solar system – David Talbott

“Ancient traditions, even when they are dressed as myth and saga, cannot be dismissed lightly as fantastic, or worse, meaningless fabrications. It is particularly proper to avoid this pitfall when dealing with serious reports, especially those of religious nature such as those that occur in large number in the Old Testament.” – Franz Xavier Kugler, “The Sibylline Battle of the Stars and Phaethon Seen as Natural History” (1927)

Here is some forgotten knowledge:

planets

“The ancient name Melchizedek is a compound name, derived from ‘Milki’ (Moloc, Meleck) and ‘Zedek’ (Zadok, Sadat). Etymologists readily acknowledge that Zedek is the ancient Hebrew name for Jupiter. Milki is likely a name for Saturn. So the compound name Melchizedek most likely literally means ‘Saturn / Jupiter,’ often translated ‘Jupiter is my God’ or ‘Righteousness is my God’ by scholars. The seal of Melchizedek is probably a symbol once associated with the two gas giant planets in history.” – Anthony Larson

Prophets Recorded What They Saw

new-heavens5“The imagery spawned in cosmic apparitions which dominated Earth’s ancient heavens, employed by the Savior and all the prophets, is not exclusive to this creation. It is as eternal as God himself. That is, every world ever created by God has been graced by the same glorious celestial phantasmagoria — planetary and plasma discharges — witnessed by our ancestors. That this marvel is a mystery to us is due to our own failure to take our modern prophets, beginning with Joseph Smith, at their word.” Anthony E. Larson, www.mormonprophecy.com

“When the earth was framed and brought into existence and man was placed upon it, it was near the throne of our Father in heaven. And when man fell … the earth fell into space and took up its abode in this planetary system and the sun became our light. This is the glory the earth came from, and when it is glorified it will return again unto the presence of the Father ….” (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, 17:143.)

new-heavens3“If the message of the Savior, his apostles and prophets is couched in terms that originated in cosmic images, then that imagery is all important. Additionally, if we fail to understand the real meaning and intent of that imagery, we also fail to understand the message. And if we miss the complete message, we cannot know and do what we must to gain salvation.” Anthony Larson

Understanding Gospel-Centric Cosmological Imagery

Ancient (i.e., historically traditional) Astrotheology was neither solar nor lunar. Both Venus and Mars were held in awe by people everywhere, and Venus in particular was closely watched for a period of over 4000 years (especially since -2349) in Mesoamerica to the complete exclusion of the Sun and the Moon. This, in fact, is one of the most curious aspects of our historic past. As Velikovsky wrote:

new-heavens7“The Sun and the Moon are two great luminaries, and it is easily understandable that the imagination of the peoples should be preoccupied with them and should ascribe to them mythological deeds. Yet the ancient mythologies of the Chaldeans, the Greeks, the Romans, the Hindus, the Maya, preoccupy themselves not with the Sun or the Moon, but prima facie with the planets.” (Velikovsky, unpublished document at www.varchive.org)

“As related in all creation mythologies, mankind was witness to the birth of the Gods and the creation of the Universe. The Universe, however, at this time consisted only of ‘Upper Earth’ in the north populated by Saturn’s satellites, and […] the equatorial rings standing in the sky in the south, thought to also represent an ocean or sea. Humans had thought of themselves as living in a valley between these two regions. Only in the far north of Earth was it obvious that the globe in the sky was nearly overhead. (Recovering the Lost World, A Saturnian Cosmology — Jno Cook Chapter 3: The Osiris Mystery – http://saturniancosmology.org/)

Things as They Are, Were and Are to Come

new-heavens8When I first started blogging, I wrote about a few of my favorite books on Prophecy. One of them has always intrigued me because it is so unique and explained so much about what will happen when the Savior returns, cosmologically speaking. I was pleased to receive an email from the author of that series of books. We have been conversing via email and Facebook ever since.

It takes courage to go against the mainstream understanding and acceptance of cosmology and the role, or lack thereof, in the modern LDS Church. In early Mormonism, knowledge of the heavens, and the history of what happened there, was much more important. Joseph taught much about the way things were and would be once again, referred to now as the polar configuration.

polar-configuration1“This knowledge is vital to our salvation and exaltation. We need it to fully understand the prophets, comprehend prophecy itself and inherit the blessings promised in the Endowment. Otherwise, Joseph Smith, under God’s tutelage, would not have restored it to us. At some point in our eternal progression, we will have to come to this knowledge and understanding.

“Sooner or later, in this life or the next, we will be required to include this in our worldview. So, why not get an early start? Why not follow Joseph Smith’s counsel to get as much correct knowledge in this life as possible to our greater benefit in the next?”

Much of this post quotes from the writings of Anthony Larson, author of a Trilogy of books on Prophecy and Last Days.

Cosmology To Understand The Prophets

“The brethren focus on the basics for the benefit of potential converts and the newest church members because their mission is worldwide conversion and the building of the kingdom. That’s why their message is repetitive. They consistently emphasize the basics. And there is great wisdom and virtue for each of us in revisiting those basics on a regular basis. That’s why we consistently hear that same, vital counsel. But once firmly grounded in the faith, the responsibility to move forward is wholly ours. The brethren are not there to do what we can do for ourselves. We are responsible for our own salvation. This has always been true.

isaiah-recording-revelation“The whole purpose of studying the Restored Gospel from a cosmological perspective is to allow us to easily and correctly distinguish what is spiritual (the fundamental truths) from what is temporal (the origins and meaning of symbolism). If we cannot easily and correctly differentiate between what is symbolic and what is literal in the scriptures and the teachings of the prophets, then we run the very real risk of reaching incorrect conclusions about their pronouncements.

“Restoring the ‘fullness of the gospel’ required including the cosmological traditions and their respective rituals that were honored and repeated by all the prophets. Again, Joseph wrote: “I also gave some instructions in the mysteries of the kingdom of God; such as the history of the planets, Abraham’s writings upon the planetary systems, etc,” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 118, emphasis added.)

The day of the Lord will come quickly“This was done so that we can understand the arcane allusions and references of the prophets and apostles as they meant them to be understood, not as our emasculated, spiritualized and Christianized versions had them before Joseph Smith. Clarifying these symbolic and metaphorical usages was as much a part of restoring the truth as instituting the correct manner of baptism or the reality that God has a body of flesh and bone.”

Cosmology To Understand The Temple

SaltLakeTempleNight“One simply cannot comprehend the teachings in the temple endowment without a working knowledge of ancient cosmological imagery, derived from apparitions once beheld in Earth’s heavens. Without that comprehension, all we do, see, say, hear and wear in the endowment rituals is meaningless gibberish to us. However, with that comprehension, we can vicariously share the glorious vision given to all the prophets.”

“Perhaps the best reason to study all this is that our temples, inside and out, are replete with that same cosmic imagery. In fact, the whole temple experience is geared to show us the cosmological components of the prophetic experience, beginning with the creation. The visions of Moses and Abraham are, just like our temple icons, filled with the cosmic imagery of planets, stars, suns and moons. Our endowment is a virtual example of the prophetic ascension experience related throughout scripture in the visions of the prophets. This is the core message in our temple ceremonies.

Yes, I am a Mormon activist“Thus within our temples, each of us is afforded the marvelous opportunity to vicariously experience the visionary odyssey of the prophets. In so doing, we share the awe-inspiring, cosmic vision revealed to them. So, how can we fully understand the endowment message if we don’t see its cosmological components? The tragedy is that so few Latter-day Saints recognize that truth and thus miss the vital and mind-expanding message the endowment is meant to convey. Thus, the core message of our restored endowment goes unnoticed and unappreciated by nearly all temple goers.”

Source: http://mormonprophecy.blogspot.com/2011/11/why-cosmology_21.html?m=1

Cosmology To Prepare For Future Events

Armageddon – on earth and in heavenSo much of what is prophesied to occur in the last days has to do with cosmological cataclysmic events that intersect directly with human events. When the Savior comes to the earth in power, he will be accompanied by the hosts of heaven. Some of the illustrations accompanying this post are from Ryan Darger. One of them, the first in the post, depicts the concept of the hosts of heaven. Think about it.

The idea of collective amnesia is not espoused by modern science. Yet in my lifetime, I have witnessed more and more evidence brought forth to support the polar configuration Joseph knew and taught. Of course, there are detractors and disbelievers who claim Joseph never taught any such thing. Sadly, we do not have recorded details of what he taught from Abraham’s writings.

Mormon Doctrine - Prophecy and the Last DaysI have long been convinced Anthony Larson has got it right. It may not occur in my lifetime, but the day will come when the Lord returns with the City of Enoch – once a part of this planet – and other hosts of the heavens. Think planets when you read that phrase. The reconfiguration of this solar system is exactly what Joseph meant when he wrote of earth returning to paradisiacal glory.

7 thoughts on “Remembering – Myths Are History”

  1. I am not LDS, yet was in my teens, and if I could pick Anthony Larson’s brain, I would ask what are the implications of this “return to paradisiacal glory.” How should we behave if some of the gods from the Bible are merely planets in polar configuration? What changes? What stays the same? I have not read Larson’s books, but have witnessed many of his YouTube videos and talks. Is there a better way to explain this? Or should we just obey gospel principles as the LDS Church teaches?

  2. Tim

    Way to help us literally look upward! My understanding which still needs to be expounded upon is that certain planets represent literal people (or Gods) and these same planets represent different star, which represent Gods. To say they worshipped the planets is actually not finding the complete truth. Planets represent energies or spirits, which represent different stars, which represent the Gods.
    Orion’s Belt and the three pyramids represent three people, same with the plaiedes and then the seven planets etc. be careful to not go so far to think the ancients only worshipped the stars and planets, it is deeper than that.

  3. Tim,
    Your thoughts on the planets and the heavens are thought provoking. I have always loved to look at the stars and maybe now in my middle age I am beginning to understand why. Well done.
    Chris

  4. Tim,

    Thank you! I studied out just some of the electric universe today and I obtained a witness that the reality of plasma running through all things is true. I already had a testimony of this, but I always called it by different names. Buddhists called it nirvana, it has been called the sea of light, it is glory, it is intelligence. This is truly what God is.
    I have much more to study and read but I believe that at our core each of us is this same stuff, it is the portion of Christ in us, and if we allow it to fill us, amazing things will occur. What I understand is there is more than the plasma though, and that the plasma, or sea of light, is the male side of things, and that frequency, or sound (the logos, or the word) is the female side, and when the frequency and the plasma come together it creates form and this is what the universe is all about. Anyway thank you for bringing this to our attention I love finding different angles or things and different names for what the ancients knew so long ago, and it is being restored to us today. God bless

  5. It’s always fun to read what you are thinking Tim, but I also appreciate your guest bloggers. I am confident you have also wondered “why we Ephraimites stopped our progression to re-become the House of Israel and to shed our lost tribe status.” Pee-yeew who wants to be a lost tribe. As I interpret history, Joseph was taking us to a restoration of some kind and our pioneer ancestors were also, at least on kitsch level, going there until we stopped for some reason. Is this another one of those excuses about us being an international church? OMH (oh my heck) I grew up on a street named Gentile across the street from the owner of Zions bank of all cool things, and the old farmer men of the ward would bear their testimonies complete with references to us walking back to Zion (Jackson County). I even saw them (the old guys) bless the emblems with their arms raised to the square and I’m not that old (I think even Tim is older).

    As I watch my new Jewish friends in Brooklyn I see them observing the phases of the moon every week, but more often because of each holy day. BTW…When Joseph Smith translated the inspired Old Testament, he didn’t declare the holy days, which were to be observed forever, as invalid did he? No! He reaffirmed their eternal status which commands Israel to observe these days. Hmm…Last time I checked, Ephraim is a legit tribe of Jacob so why are we still doing the mainstream Christian observances of not observing the heavens? What are your plans for Passover? Do you (not you Tim) know when to think about and observe Passover this year? NO! 🙂 It isn’t on Easter, but you are close. Do you know why? Are we that slothful to have to be compelled in all things? Are you waiting for an engraved invitation from the Brethren on the matter? I guess so because we’re still re-learning gospel essentials each and every conference talk with the vain hope of learning something new aren’t we? I like, by the way, stake conferences much better because stake presidents are listening to the spirit and inviting unusual speakers. Today I heard about visions, visitations from beyond the veil and establishing Zion and all manner of great LDS subjects I thought were out of style. I am grateful.

    The Brethren must get very tired of us holding back and waiting for them. My mother always called us boys baby birds with the imagery of our mouths wide open waiting for her to feed us. Shouldn’t we be doing all we can as saviors on mount zion for the good of our fellow Ephraimites? You know what I mean. Just what are we waiting for? If someone is erring in traditions-of-our-fathers doctrine help them see things correctly. Start the discussion. Go to the temple and learn from the Spirit and read your scriptures for goodness sake. I am not talking to the average reader of Tim Malone, but you have friends. Regular readers of scripture represent 3% of membership worldwide, and there are literally 100s of Tim Malones out there to learn from and with whom to discuss things without worrying about the burdens and responsibilities of our Brethren in Salt Lake. They have enough on their plate.

    Well anyway…if we start observing sabbath as it was intended (from sunset to sunset) we will begin to understand why heavenly starry things are for us. Tim is right. Watch the heavens and learn. Last week’s solar eclipse and amazing display of Mars, the crescent moon and Venus was stunning. Did you see it?

    Tim: Speaking of the heavens, I read “The Mystery of the Shemitah” by Jonathan Cahn after your post about the Shemitah earlier this month. What a fascinating subject! Last year when I got back to the farm in late summer, our plum tree out back was bursting with fruit. We put up 2X4 boards to hold up the branches, but even that proved unsuccessful in saving them and all the fruit. Across the street the apples were more abundant than anyone could remember. So I got to wondering. Is this some kind of sign? What is the Lord telling us? The answer came recently and once again, the answer is in the Old Testament (which we neglect). Last year was the 6th year of the Shemitah and the Lord gives abundance to those who keep His law on that year. So why would he give a bunch of clueless, non-observant, Ephraimites abundance when we aren’t even aware of what a Shemitah is all about? “I’ve never heard about a Shemitah from the Brethren,” you say? Well..maybe they don’t feel it necessary to tell us because it’s plainly in the Bible.

    It is worth considering how many signs have accompanied Shemitah years over history and the knowledge of them hints 2015 is probably going to the an amazing year since we still have 2 blood moons and 1 solar eclipse to go. Watch out for September 13th (which Elul 29)! Do you know what Elul 29 represents? You should find out if you don’t. 🙂

    I don’t have to believe anything which isn’t true,
    Jonathan Felt

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