My last post ended with a brief discussion of "creation-in-reverse," which is my term for a process described in the scriptures in two different ways.
Here is a very brief summary of each type:
- Covenant makers experience "creation-in-reverse" by "rend[ing] that veil of unbelief" (see Ether 4:15) and experiencing the "light of the glory of God" (see Alma 19:6). This joyful process is symbolically represented in ancient temple worship.
- Covenant breakers experience "creation-in-reverse" of a different sort, in that their wickedness leaves them unprotected and "cut off" from God's presence. The decay of their bodies is often described in detail, often emphasizing the return to dust (see Alma 16:10-11; Alma 28:11; Mormon 6:15) or being buried in the deep (see Alma 44:22).
Compare Genesis 1:2-4
2 And the earth was without , and void; and was upon the face of the deep. And the of God upon the face of the waters.
3 And God , Let there be : and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was : and God divided the light from the darkness. (Genesis 1)
Before the addition of light, and the division of light and darkness, the creation was:
When we reject the covenant, we simultaneously reject the purpose of the creation. In a sense, our soul becomes formless, void, and dark. The creation spoils around us.
And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? (Jeremiah 4:30)
Jeremiah preaches against Israel's wickedness and connects their covenant-breaking with a spoiling of the creation around them:
22 For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.
26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger.
27 For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.
28 For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it. (Jeremiah 4)
Notice how Jeremiah uses those same three descriptors for the earth from Genesis 1:2, positioned between a description of the covenant people's wickedness and the description of the creation's response. (Notice also that in verses 25-28, there is a mention of the elements of creation in reverse order -- "man" then "bird" then "fruitful place" then "land" then "heavens" becoming "black.")
Connecting "creation-in-reverse" and scriptural descriptions of hell
This leads into a bigger topic of study, one that I've been working on for several weeks. It began as I was working in my yard. My wife and I had lopped off some dead branches from a tree we are trying to revive (using Jacob 5 as our instruction manual, of course, even though it isn't an olive tree).
One Saturday, my task was to decide the fate of this pile of dead branches. I chose fire. For about an hour, I stood in front of the firepit, gradually feeding in these dead branches. As I worked I entertained two thought processes at once: chemistry and scripture. The chemical reaction we call fire involves the breaking down of the "organized" hydrocarbon elements of the wood into more fundamental elements: water vapor, carbon dioxide, and, well, dust.
At the same, I thought of Mormon lamenting the fate of his people:
...and their flesh, and bones, and blood lay upon the face of the earth, being left by the hands of those who slew them to molder upon the land, and to crumble and to return to their mother earth. (Mormon 6:15)
I hadn't ever thought of this description of the fate of the bodies of the wicked as a symbol of hell, but it fits.
Consider other related phrases, such as "hewn down and cast into the fire." King Benjamin (and others) describe the result of rejecting the word:
25 ... if they be evil they are consigned to an awful view of their own guilt and abominations, which doth cause them to shrink from the presence of the Lord into a state of misery and endless torment, from whence they can no more return; therefore they have drunk damnation to their own souls.
26 Therefore, they have drunk out of the cup of the wrath of God, which justice could no more deny unto them than it could deny that Adam should fall because of his partaking of the forbidden fruit; therefore, mercy could have claim on them no more forever.
27 And their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flames are unquenchable, and whose smoke ascendeth up forever and ever.
There is a lot to unpack in these verses, including references to justice and Adam. I'll pick this up in a future post, but for now it's enough to point out that the fire of guilt and torment that afflicts the wicked who knowingly reject the word is a result of their decision to reject the plan of mercy. Thus we can reinforce that the purposes of mortality have much to do with the plan of mercy.
Connection to 'The Two Ways'
Mormon also summarizes the contrast between the righteous and the wicked very nicely after describing the aftermath of a war:
10 And from the first year to the fifteenth has brought to pass the destruction of many thousand lives; yea, it has brought to pass an awful scene of bloodshed.
11 And the bodies of many thousands are laid low in the earth, while the bodies of many thousands are moldering in heaps upon the face of the earth; yea, and many thousands are mourning for the loss of their kindred, because they have reason to fear, according to the promises of the Lord, that they are consigned to a state of endless wo.
12 While many thousands of others truly mourn for the loss of their kindred, yet they rejoice and exult in the hope, and even know, according to the promises of the Lord, that they are raised to dwell at the right hand of God, in a state of never-ending happiness.
13 And thus we see how great the inequality of man is because of sin and transgression, and the power of the devil, which comes by the cunning plans which he hath devised to ensnare the hearts of men.
14 And thus we see the great call of diligence of men to labor in the vineyards of the Lord; and thus we see the great reason of sorrow, and also of rejoicing—sorrow because of death and destruction among men, and joy because of the light of Christ unto life. (Alma 28)
Light versus darkness
The symbolism here boils ties in with the very fundamental elements of creation -- light versus darkness. This fundamental contrast is emphasized multiple times in the scriptures. Here is a notable example:
23 And that which doth not is not of God, and is .
24 That which is of God is ; and he that , and in God, receiveth more ; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.
25 And again, verily I say unto you, and I say it that you may know the , that you may chase darkness from among you;
26 He that is of God and sent forth, the same is appointed to be the , notwithstanding he is the and the of all.
27 Wherefore, he is possessor of all things; for all things are unto him, both in heaven and on the earth, the life and the light, the Spirit and the , sent forth by the will of the Father through Jesus Christ, his Son. (Doctrine & Covenants 50)
See also Doctrine & Covenant 88:6-13.
Choosing the light is the way of life. Jesus Christ, of course, is both the light and life of the world (John 8:12 and John 1:4).
Conclusion
Once again we connect the temple covenant with the creation, quite directly. God created the light as He separated the light from the darkness. "Let there be light" may be seen by us as a divine injunction in addition to a declaration by God during the creation process. Mortality is all about seeking the light and cleaving to it. When we do, God promises to send us more and more, until the day comes when we can rend the veil of unbelief and experience the "marvelous light of [God's] goodness—yea, this light [which] infuse[s] such joy into [our] soul, ... that the light of everlasting life [becomes] lit up in [our] soul ... overcom[ing] [our] natural frame, and [we are] carried away in God" (Alma 19:6).