The Eternal Round of
Evolution to Godhood
The Human Life Cycle as a
Metaphor for the Mystery of All Life and Eternal Progression
The Great Mystery of all life can be metaphorically described by observing
an individual life cycle, such as that of a human.
Two adults come together in an act of love to combine an egg with a sperm.
The single cell which begins the new life is not the beginning of that new
individual, for the DNA existed in both parents, who got it from their
parents, who got it from their parents, ad infinitum. Yet that new expression
begins in the simplest form : a single cell, which then divides, and divides
again, and again. As the divisions progress, differentiation begins to take
place so that some portions begin to form one organ, while other portions
begin to form another organ, until by the time the fetus is fully developed, a
new child has been formed with all organs functional. Yet the child's birth is
not the end, but its beginning, as it now grows from complete dependence upon
its parental support to eventually becoming a parent itself, and repeating the
cycle.
In this analogy, we can compare the "adult" to what we call
"God" in religion. He/she is the fully-developed guardian over our
well-being as his children, and as his children we can grow to become as
he/she is. But there is a broader term -- "human," in our analogy --
which corresponds to a "God-ness" that is in all things, for all
things are God and make up God in this broad sense. The DNA of the Baby is
essentially the same as the DNA in the parent. Even in the single cell state,
that single cell has the same DNA as the DNA of the parents who created it.
Everything is there, even though it is not yet fully expressed. And yet in
that single cell state, it is "fully" expressed suitable to that
particular stage of development. Those things requisite to a fulness in that
phase are all present and functioning.
In our analogy, the development from the stage of single cell to the fully
developed fetus is comparable to the progression of an entity through the
various life forms prior to human, from the simplest atom to the most advanced
animal. Darwinists love to study the development of the embryo as it is a
recapitulation of evolution, going from a single cell to a highly complex
organism. The embryologist is quick to point out the astonishing similarities
between the early embryonic development of animals, humans. On a cellular
level, the function of a human cell is hardly different from that of plant
cell or of a bacteria, or of an animal. Some DNA segments a hundred base-pairs
long vary by but one base-pair between humans and peas, for example.
The post-fetal state, from birth to adulthood, could be compared in this
analogy to human existence when we, in the image of the fully-developed God,
grow from complete dependence upon God to becoming even as he is -- a God
ourselves, to create our own earth, and to people it with our own
"children."
Yet though the baby is in the image of the parent, so also is the embryo,
even from its earliest state, technically, for that is what the parent once
was, even though the early embryonic states do not resemble visually the
developed human form.
In this sense, the rocks and the plants and the insects and the birds and
the beasts of the field have no more a "beginning" than God, for
they with him are eternal, for they are all in various stages of the
developmental process.
Though an "individual" could be thought to have its beginning
when the sperm from the father combines with the egg from the mother, yet it
is not a beginning, for that sperm and that egg came from the parents, who
received their DNA from their parents, ad infinitum.
As for the various phases of emotional/spiritual development that the
person passes through from the time of birth to the time of adulthood, I have
embellished this theme at length in a book I wrote called "The Vision of
All: Our Past, Present, and Future as Foretold in Book of Mormon History"
[available on-line]. In that book, I compare the timeline of the Lehite civilization
with the timeline of the history/destiny of the Gentiles and the house of
Israel. Then I take those "temporal" timelines and compare them to
the "spiritual" timeline of an individual as he/she progresses
through one lifetime. That makes up Part II of the book.
We can look at the progression of man from the time he was in the garden of
Eden to the present and even into the future and see spiritual parallels to an
individual as he/she progresses through life, from ignorance to
fully-developed spirituality.
The pending coming of Christ to the world in glory, for example, is
paralleled on an individual level when the individual -- whenever they live,
whatever race they may be, whatever their sex -- comes into personal communion
with Christ, walking and talking with God, standing as his emissary on earth.
Every last person who resides in the New Jerusalem that will be build up here
upon this earth will have arrived at this state personally. Everyone who now
resides in the heavenly New Jerusalem has arrived at this state.
We are close to that time when heaven and earth are going to come together,
and the heavenly New Jerusalem is going to join the New Jerusalem that shall
be built up here on earth. We are at that phase of history which is analogous
on an individual level to when they marry and have children of their own.
Eden was the innocent infant stage.
Moses and the children of Israel represented the early childhood stage,
when a heavy hand of leadership was required to tell the child everything they
must do.
The Diaspora, or scattering, was the teen age rebellion stage. The ensuing
dark ages parallels all the reckless blackness that teenagers are capable of
getting themselves into.
The renaissance and age of enlightenment which brings us up to the present
era represents the "coming to" or born again phase in which the
individual comes to his/her senses and trusts in God, who blesses them with
light and truth.
The advanced college or university learning of early adulthood is likewise
an advanced part of this phase and is certainly a fitting metaphor for the
advances in science and civility that we have seen in the world in the past
few centuries.
On the eve of the millennium of peace, we are ready for the marriage of the
bridegroom -- using this metaphor. Those who had been children are now becoming
parents and ready to begin rearing a new generation, the millennium is the
honeymoon. Following that will be the beginning of another cycle. The parents
grow on to godhood, and the children begin in a new Eden, whether on this
planet or on another that is created for them.
In anticipating this marriage, the Savior presents us with a very
compelling metaphor in his marriage to Mary Magdalene, who had been possessed
of seven devils. She who had been so despised was purified by the Lord and
made a worthy bride for Jesus. So also, the metaphorical bride (church and
state that will become the kingdom of God on earth) is at present in need of
purification, having been overrun by devils or corruption. These must be cast
out, so to speak, and the bride purified, made ready for the marriage.
That is where we are now. Time to purify. Time for the separation of the
wheat and the tares. Time for the purification of the bride through the
purging tribulations that will be shortly upon us.
One final thought I would like to share in connection to this topic regards
a metaphor found in contemplating the "evolution" of species.
Regarding the Darwinian theory of evolution, I tend to believe a combination
of creationism and evolution. There was indeed and Adam and Eve scenario which
commenced the current human civilization. At the same time, the gamut of
progression of species from one to the next is one that is impossible for the enlightened
mind not to notice. There is a continuum of progression from the
simplest life forms to the most complex, with humans being the most complex or
advanced.
What I hypothesize is that this current "batch" of people born
during this cycle, starting with Adam and Eve in the garden and ending with
the culmination we are now entering, are as a group at a certain level of
development. Previous "batches" of which we were a part were not as
advanced. And the batches before that still less advanced, so that as each
cycle is run, there is an overall increase in the intelligences of the
entities involved. And speaking in these terms, I would conjecture that our
cycle is approaching the most advanced level, if not being at the most
advanced level; which makes this go around one of the most significant in the
universe at present, which makes this pivotal juncture we are in now all the
more profound.
Whatever the case, the timeless injunction to make the most of life never
changes. Now is the time to improve ourselves in service to others for the
benefit of all.
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