zerinus Posted September 5, 2011 Posted September 5, 2011 (edited) I'd be very interested in that passage (if you could find it, or if anyone else could refer me to it.)Could this be why Mormons use the plural term "eternities"?Could there be more than one "eternity"?I searched, and this is the closest I could find, which doesn't say quite what I thought it says:. . . eternity, agreeably to the records found in the catacombs of Egypt, has been going on in this system, (not this world) almost two thousand five hundred and fifty five millions of years. Times and Seasons, Vol. 5That may be what I had read, and misunderstood; or it could be something else that I had read, but I can't find right now. Edited September 5, 2011 by zerinus
Calm Posted September 5, 2011 Posted September 5, 2011 (edited) I'm not sure about this one, about whether or not eternity is a ring. The problem with eternity being a ring is that eternity endlessly repeats itself.How about a spiral? Patterns repeat themselves but also progress. Edited September 5, 2011 by calmoriah
CV75 Posted September 5, 2011 Posted September 5, 2011 Could there be more than one "eternity"?From the example in the OP, each "immortal mind" constitutes a ring or an eternal round, and as such we have innumerable rings or eternal rounds.
zerinus Posted September 5, 2011 Posted September 5, 2011 I searched, and this is the closest I could find, which doesn't say quite what I thought it says:. . . eternity, agreeably to the records found in the catacombs of Egypt, has been going on in this system, (not this world) almost two thousand five hundred and fifty five millions of years. Times and Seasons, Vol. 5That may be what I had read, and misunderstood; or it could be something else that I had read, but I can't find right now.Still haven't been able to find what I was looking for; but while looking I found the following interesting quote instead:The course of God, we are told by the prophet Nephi, is one eternal round; that like eternity, it has neither beginning nor end, and is illustrated in the Book of Abraham by the hieroglyphic of the circle. You may start upon this ring at any given point, and in traversing it you will come to the same point—it is without beginning, without end. (JOD 21:22)
CV75 Posted September 5, 2011 Posted September 5, 2011 Still haven't been able to find what I was looking for; but while looking I found the following interesting quote instead:The course of God, we are told by the prophet Nephi, is one eternal round; that like eternity, it has neither beginning nor end, and is illustrated in the Book of Abraham by the hieroglyphic of the circle. You may start upon this ring at any given point, and in traversing it you will come to the same point—it is without beginning, without end. (JOD 21:22)It seems that Joseph’s description of the immortal mind as an eternal round or a ring and Nephi’s description that the Lord’s course as one eternal round represent the same idea. God has an immortal mind and an immortal body. We have immortal minds and mortal bodies, which temporarily cut the ring. In a sense our mortal bodies have minds of their own, and our test in life is to adjust to that and bring them into alignment with God’s will. The more we align them in righteousness, the greater the glory we enjoy now and in the resurrection, at which point we will have immortal minds and immortal bodies, and pick up our course in the new-and-improved ring, as an eternal round, like God.I think JOD 21:22 is saying that that we will never define our beginning or end--wherever we look, the same point is simultaneously a beginning for one advancement and the end of another. I think this is how Christ is the Beginning and the End--He is the basis for all progress provided in and stemming from our mortal experience.
TAO Posted September 5, 2011 Posted September 5, 2011 (edited) How about a spiral? Patterns repeat themselves but also progress.Yeah, I like the idea of a spiral too. But he used ring... so not sure myself XD.Sometimes I visualize it like a spring, or slinky in fact =). A neverendingly long spring/slinky lol XD. Of course, as said, I am only guessing, and am most probably wrong. Edited September 5, 2011 by TAO
elguanteloko Posted September 7, 2011 Posted September 7, 2011 (edited) [...] our presence here can not be the result of an infinite series of events because an infinte series of events can not be completed by definition.Otherwise known as Xeno's paradox (or one of them, really). You will have to deny movement (change, more specifically) and discard it probably as an illusion to accept what that CARM person said. Edited September 7, 2011 by elguanteloko
elguanteloko Posted September 7, 2011 Posted September 7, 2011 (edited) ...or probably we have found ourselves the "Trinity" of Mormonism as something being said first and attempted to be understood later without making much sense. Edited September 7, 2011 by elguanteloko
Deborah Posted September 7, 2011 Posted September 7, 2011 When I think of eternity being spoken of as a ring I think of it only illustrating that like the ring there is no end or beginning to existence. However, I think of time as linear where we have a straight line representing past, present and future and because God can see the entire line he knows the beginning from the end, which is why he knows what will happen before it does. All we can see is the present and the past is only known to us because of memory or records that have been kept.
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