Is the Power of Christ’s Spirit a Bit Quarky?

The quark structure of a proton. There are two up quarks in it and one down quark (accounting for only 1% of the total mass). The strong force is mediated by gluons (wavey lines). The strong force has three types of charges, the so-called red, green and the blue. Note that the choice of green for the down quark is arbitrary; the “color charge” is thought of as circulating among the three quarks. Wikimedia

Where Science Meets the Doctrine and Covenants: Come Follow Me Lesson: March 31-April 6: Doctrine and Covenants 29

We are told in Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Then, in Abraham 3:19, we are told, “And the Lord said unto me: These two facts do exist, that there are two spirits, one being more intelligent than the other; there shall be another more intelligent than they; I am the Lord thy God, I am more intelligent than they all.”

Again, in Psalm 147:5, “Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.”

Paul said to the Romans 11:33, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!”

Jacob stated in 2 Nephi 9:20, “O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it.”

Then, Ammon stated, in Alma 26:35, “Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began; yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name.”

However, God’s knowledge compared to ours is explained in far more depth in Doctrine and Covenants 29:30-34, “…remember that all my judgments are not given unto men; and as the words have gone forth out of my mouth even so shall they be fulfilled, that the first shall be last, and that the last shall be first in all things whatsoever I have created by the word of my power, which is the power of my Spirit. For by the power of my Spirit created I them; yea, all things both spiritual and temporal—First spiritual, secondly temporal, which is the beginning of my work; and again, first temporal, and secondly spiritual, which is the last of my work—Speaking unto you that you may naturally understand; but unto myself my works have no end, neither beginning; but it is given unto you that ye may understand, because ye have asked it of me and are agreed. Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal…”

So, Christ told Joseph Smith and the six elders with him, at Fayette, New York, in September 1830, that all things were created by the power of his Spirit, that all things were spiritual, then temporal, and that all things are spiritual to Him.

Christ also told Moses 3:5, “And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew. For I, the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth. For I, the Lord God, had not caused it to rain upon the face of the earth. And I, the Lord God, had created all the children of men; and not yet a man to till the ground; for in heaven created I them; and there was not yet flesh upon the earth, neither in the water, neither in the air…”

I have always thought, yes, all commandments, even the Word of Wisdom are spiritual rather than just temporal, for our health, but it seems to me that the above verses in the Doctrine and Covenants have a much deeper meaning than that; perhaps even explaining to us so that we “may naturally understand” the almost incomprehensible. However, today, we know far more than people did in the 14th century BC or in 1830 — or maybe we, today, are beginning to glimpse just how much we don’t know.

We in science are struggling to understand the very fabric of all matter, which we once considered to be all temporal, or natural, with no port being spiritual. Now we understand, or think we understand, that 75% of all matter in the universe is “dark” or “obscure” matter, which we know nothing about, other than it has gravity and hold the galaxies together. We also know that dark energy, which we know nothing about other than it apparently is causing the universe to expand, accounts for 68-71% of all matter/energy in the universe. We also know, that the elements, such as carbon, which were once thought of as being the solid, tangible matter, are actually about 99.999999999999% empty space. Furthermore, the protons, which we were sure were solid, are now known to be made up of only 1% quarks. The remaining 99% of the “mass” is actually the strong force (gluons) that binds the quarks together and the kinetic energy of the quarks’ motion. So that matter is almost entirely energy.

Is obscure matter, dark energy, and the energy of the strong force the same as “the word of [Christ’s] power, which is the power of [His] Spirit”? That statement, given in 1830, is even more quarky (or, perhaps more correctly, gluony) and mind-blowing today than it was then!

Trent Dee Stephens, PhD

trentdeestephens.com

stephenstrent7@gmail.com