Is This Dark Matter?
- stephenstrent7
- Sep 27
- 7 min read
Where Science Meets the Doctrine and Covenants, for the Come Follow Me lesson September 29-Oct 5; Doctrine and Covenants 109-110
In the dedicatory prayer for the Kirtland Temple on March 27, 1836, the Prophet Joseph Smith said, as recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 109:36-37, “Let it be fulfilled upon them, as upon those on the day of Pentecost; let the gift of tongues be poured out upon thy people, even cloven tongues as of fire, and the interpretation thereof. And let thy house be filled, as with a rushing mighty wind, with thy glory.”
According to the History of the Church, “Brother George A. Smith arose and began to prophesy, when a noise was heard like the sound of a rushing mighty wind, which filled the Temple, and all the congregation simultaneously arose, being moved upon by an invisible power; many began to speak in tongues and prophesy; others saw glorious visions; and I beheld the Temple was filled with angels, which fact I declared to the congregation. The people of the neighborhood came running together (hearing an unusual sound within, and seeing a bright light like a pillar of fire resting upon the Temple), and were astonished at what was taking place. This continued until the meeting closed at eleven p. m.”1
We read about the events at Pentecost in Acts 2:1-3, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.”
Then, we are told in Doctrine and Covenants 110:2, that on April 3, 1836, “We saw the Lord standing upon the breastwork of the pulpit, before us; and under his feet was a paved work of pure gold, in color like amber.”
In Exodus 24:9–11 we are told, “Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.”
Daniel saw a vision, as recorded in Daniel 10:5, 7: “Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz…And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.”
We are told in Mark 16:5 about the empty sepulcher, “And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.” Luke 24:4 gives a different version of the same event, “And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments…”
We read about the evening of that resurrection day in John 20:19, “Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.”
The account in Luke 24:36-39 adds: “And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.”
We read in Revelation 7:9, “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands…”
In Joseph Smith History 1:30-31, Joseph described Moroni: “While I was thus in the act of calling upon God, I discovered a light appearing in my room, which continued to increase until the room was lighter than at noonday, when immediately a personage appeared at my bedside, standing in the air, for his feet did not touch the floor. He had on a loose robe of most exquisite whiteness. It was a whiteness beyond anything earthly I had ever seen; nor do I believe that any earthly thing could be made to appear so exceedingly white and brilliant. His hands were naked, and his arms also, a little above the wrist; so, also, were his feet naked, as were his legs, a little above the ankles. His head and neck were also bare. I could discover that he had no other clothing on but this robe, as it was open, so that I could see into his bosom.”
Then we learn in Joseph Smith History 1:43, that when Moroni left: “After this communication, I saw the light in the room begin to gather immediately around the person of him who had been speaking to me, and it continued to do so until the room was again left dark, except just around him; when, instantly I saw, as it were, a conduit open right up into heaven, and he ascended till he entirely disappeared, and the room was left as it had been before this heavenly light had made its appearance.”
What do all the above verses have in common? In addition to the heavenly and/or resurrected visitors’ physical bodies, there were also other material objects associated with them: “fire”, light, clothing—some made specifically of linen, and gold or sapphire pavement. In the case of Christ’s visit to the closed room, I assume he was wearing some sort of clothing—probably the same clothing as when Mary thought He was the gardener and when He walked to Emmaus.
If the events at Pentecost and Kirtland involved actual fire, the flames that were seen would result from the release of photons from superheated gases. However, we now know that fire can be simulated with a number of techniques involving the release of photons by, for example, electrical discharge, where there is light but no heat—as in an LED. But no matter the source or cause, there are photons released. However, the photons released at Pentecost and at the dedication of the Kirtland Temple seem to be photons coming from another dimension and another, unknown source; likewise, the photons that “gathered around” Moroni and, perhaps, formed the “conduit” that took him into heaven.
Linen's chemical composition is primarily cellulose (65-85%), with hemicelluloses (10-20%), lignin (2-5%), pectins (2-3%), and trace amounts of waxes, lipids, and mineral substances (1-2%). Cellulose has the chemical formula: (C₆H₁₀O₅)n. Gold is a separate element: Au, with an atomic weight of approximately 196.97 atomic mass units, and an atomic number of 79. Sapphire is composed of aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃).
So, these visions/visitations listed above included at least photons, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, gold, and aluminum. Daniel saw the angel clothed in linen and gold, but his companions did not.2 Christ, apparently dressed in some sort of robe, entered a closed room; with Him and His clothes apparently passing through a solid door or solid wall.3 Apparently, many people saw the “flames” on the Kirtland Temple. Where did these invisible/visible elements come from? No one had any idea; this issue was a complete supernatural mystery until 1933.
That year, Fritz Zwicky discovered dark matter, but no one paid his discovery much attention until, in the 1970s, Vera Rubin found evidence for similar “unseen” matter around spiral galaxies. Then, in 1998, Michael Turner proposed the existence of dark energy. It turns out that over 95% of the total matter/energy in the universe is dark matter and dark energy.4
Could the linen, gold, and sapphire seen by numerous witnesses throughout history be comprised of dark matter, and the fire and light comprised of dark energy? These visions suggest that the clothing and pavement seen in, for example, Doctrine and Covenants 110:2, were made of more than one type of element. Does dark matter include carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, gold, and aluminum? Does dark matter have its own periodic table of 118, or more, elements?
Then there is the issue of the resurrected body itself. Approximately 99% of the human body is comprised of just six elements: Oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, calcium, and phosphorus. Sulfur, potassium, sodium, chlorine, and magnesium make up another 0.85% of the mass. The remaining 0.15% are about a dozen or so trace elements, the most abundant of those being iron, fluorine, and zinc. The body cannot function, or even exist, without these 23 elements. Iron, for example, although “only” one of the trace elements, is vital to human life—it is the part of hemoglobin that transports oxygen in the blood.5 Zinc is required by over 300 enzymes and 1000 transcription factors. A total of 3,000 proteins in the human body require zinc for their function.6
Joseph Smith told the Saints in Ramus, Ill, as recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 131:7-8, “There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes; We cannot see it; but when our bodies are purified we shall see that it is all matter.” This definition is very similar to the definition of dark matter, except for the idea that it “can only be discerned by purer eyes”, because, at least I, don’t know what that phrase actually means from the perspective of scientific instrumentation.
The ”man” who Daniel saw, but who his companions did not see7, was not resurrected, as no one was resurrected before Christ’s resurrection. Therefore, he must have been a spirit, yet he was wearing linen clothes with a gold belt. Therefore, are spirit bodies also made of some combination of dark elements?
Trent Dee Stephens, PhD
References
1. Smith, Joseph, History of the Church, 2:428
2. Daniel 10:5, 7
3. John 20:19, Luke 24:36-39
4. Stephens, Trent, The Infinite Creation: Unifying Science and Latter-Day Saint Theology, Cedar Fort, Inc., Springville, Utah, 2020
5. Stephens, Trent, The Immortal Messiah: The Physiology of Resurrected Beings, Cedar Fort, Inc., Springville, Utah, 2022
6. Davey, Reginald, What Chemical Elements are Found in the Human Body? news-medical.net/life-sciences/What-Chemical-Elements-are-Found-in-the-Human-Body.aspx
7. Daniel 10:5, 7
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