If we are obese do our spirits look obese also?

[The Nehor]

On 9/5/2022 at 10:32 AM, Nofear said:

I had a somewhat different thought of late. Three ideas that form my thinking:

1. I quite imagine that on different planets the morphology of our species probably evolved in variant ways, especially as necessary to adapt to the unique conditions of that planet (e.g. a planet around a different star could have bodies that need different UV mitigation, eyes that evolve to see slightly different wavelengths, heights based on gravity, etc.).

2. The probability that our Heavenly Father has the ethnic phenotype of a white Caucasian male based on the planet his physical body evolved on seems pretty dang small.

3. In our resurrected state, we will have total mastery over the biological technology that we call our physical body.

Put those ideas together and I quite imagine that we will be able to make adjustments from time to time. Maybe our state at death will be the starting point but we'll have the technology to change things as we choose. Do I want to be 2 inches taller or shorter? Sure. Do I want a deeper "tan"? Sure. Different eye or hair color? Sure. Do I want two or three joints in my little toe? I can change it. Do I want to add/remove the vestigial tendons that allow me to wiggle my ears? Sure. "Six pack" of belly muscles. Sure. We can make those changes and even though our exterior appearance may change we'll be able to identify individuals by something that is far more deep than external appearances.

I also suspect that angels or God actively adapt their form to be convenient/acceptable to the individual seeing them. For example, Joseph described the appearance of God in ways that are familiar to his cultural upbringing and that is because God chose to appear that way irrespective of the "natural" appearance that arose from their mortal state on this or another planet. If prophets in Asia saw angels or deity, they probably saw those with an appearances with Asiatic phenotype. Prophets from Africa? They'd see angels with African appearance. Native American prophets? Native American appearance. Etc.

If I were to imagine my Heavenly Father, do I think of him as a white, adult male? Sure. But I have no problem with Him being different in appearance to different individuals. With the biological mastery exalted beings have over their physical bodies, changes will be easy and convenient as per the need and/or whim.

Rare photograph of the First Vision:

[MustardSeed]

No one hopes every hair on my head is restored.  If so, I better be supplied with an eternal life supply of wax. 
 

Also I’m putting in my order now for self tanner just in case. 
 

I hope we don’t all look the same.  Sounds too cultish to want to hope for IMO. 

[MustardSeed]

Deleted for snark
 

 

Edited September 7, 2022 by MustardSeed

[Nofear]

28 minutes ago, Jim Dandy said:

The majority of this world's total population identify as white Caucasians, and Asians are close enough to "white" that we could include them as white too.  So I don't know why you are saying the odds are "pretty dang small".

 He and his wife went through mortality on a different planet (if that is one's theological position), around a different star, with a different. I will go so far as to assume that DNA is the basic building block there too but I won't go so far as to say that the genetic variations will be all that similar to what we have on our planet.

28 minutes ago, Jim Dandy said:

To some extent, I agree, but I still don't think we'll be able to look like zebras or turtles or elephants or apes without wearing some costumes and a whole lot of make-up.  Naturally our children should look a lot like us.

I don't anticipate us diverging from a basic human form. And we were created spiritually before physically. My idea isn't proposing anything radical but it is suggesting that are thinking may well be a little bit too earth-centric and too limiting in our imagination. Things more along the lines of a hair color that doesn't exist at all on our planet, or a different number of ribs, or a variant height distribution, the number of teeth, eye colors, prevalence of facial and/or body hair, number of toes (our little toe is pretty optional), different balding patters, a variant distribution in the hip/waist ratio, etc, etc.

That I am open to more flexible thinking about the boundaries of "humanoid" doesn't mean opening up the floodgates to radical change (such as implied by the videos posted).

[Nofear]

1 hour ago, Jim Dandy said:

I like your open mind, but I don't see how the variations could be anything other than similar to what we have and have had here.  In my perspective, the reason we are on this planet which orbits a sun which gives us our seasons and enough water and plants is because we need these things to survive as mortals, and the statement that God created us in his image and likeness is to be understood both literally and physically.  As mortals we need certain things to survive and this planet was created with God knowing our needs.  God didn't and doesn't need to settle for what can work in a pinch.  God is an interstellar mover and creator of worlds.  He chose Earth, not Jupiter or Uranus or Saturn or some other planet in our solar system, either finding our Earth right here where it was or moving the planet to its current position.  And he can find other planets and solar systems similar to ours, either moving some planets around or keeping them in positions similar to ours.  Hot, but not too hot, and able to sustain plants and water while giving us what we need to breathe as mortals while in our mortal phase.

One of the opinions that I hold is that evolution is a great creative mechanism. Instead of just defining static, immutable forms God, and not just God but we introduced biology into a world wherein a variety and variation evolved in often wondrous ways, letting it largely go on its way, just checking that our intents were "obeyed". And I think that same creative mechanism of evolution was used on countless worlds with the countless variations. I also allow the possibility that, perhaps on one world, a creature evolved and that we particularly liked and so may have introduced (in some way or another) onto this planet. What those are or even if they exist, I don't know. I simply allow the option in my mind.

 

1 hour ago, Jim Dandy said:

A hair color that doesn't exist on our planet?  Have you seen any of the purples and pinks and oranges and greens that I have seen here?  Women have more ribs than men have, and some people have more teeth than other people have.  Size and weight are varied as much if not more than I've ever wanted to see.  My eyes are hazel which change color with the colors I have around me.  Other people either have less or more hair than I have.  Women tend to have what are called more "inactive" hairs than men have, which is something I like about women's bodies.  How many different balding patterns would you like to see, either on males or females?  Can you think of any sizes for belt that would or should be way too big for any person?

I'm glad you see the diversity in the world. And yet, I assert that diversity far greater than that exists.

[Calm]

9 hours ago, Jim Dandy said:

The majority of this world's total population identify as white Caucasians,

Are you sure?

https://www.rutlandherald.com/opinion/commentary/the-world-is-not-white/article_61fd63e1-d401-5af7-9642-e9b52557c7ed.html

”However, the 5 percent of the world population that inhabits North America in no way reflects the racial mix of the world, in which only 16 percent are white.”

Another site puts whites at 24% (the highest I have seen so far), almost identical to blacks.

https://infogram.com/race-of-the-world-population-1go502yg18k62jd

The Han Chinese alone are 19% of the world’s population.

60% of the world’s population lives in Asia, 17% lives in Africa. 

Edited September 8, 2022 by Calm

[The Nehor]

10 hours ago, Jim Dandy said:

The majority of this world's total population identify as white Caucasians, and Asians are close enough to "white" that we could include them as white too.  So I don't know why you are saying the odds are "pretty dang small".

Sorry Ahab but this is objectively wrong.

[Rain]

On 9/7/2022 at 11:35 AM, Jim Dandy said:

I like your open mind, but I don't see how the variations could be anything other than similar to what we have and have had here.  In my perspective, the reason we are on this planet which orbits a sun which gives us our seasons and enough water and plants is because we need these things to survive as mortals, and the statement that God created us in his image and likeness is to be understood both literally and physically.  As mortals we need certain things to survive and this planet was created with God knowing our needs.  God didn't and doesn't need to settle for what can work in a pinch.  God is an interstellar mover and creator of worlds.  He chose Earth, not Jupiter or Uranus or Saturn or some other planet in our solar system, either finding our Earth right here where it was or moving the planet to its current position.  And he can find other planets and solar systems similar to ours, either moving some planets around or keeping them in positions similar to ours.  Hot, but not too hot, and able to sustain plants and water while giving us what we need to breathe as mortals while in our mortal phase.

A hair color that doesn't exist on our planet?  Have you seen any of the purples and pinks and oranges and greens that I have seen here?  Women have more ribs than men have,

This is untrue.

On 9/7/2022 at 11:35 AM, Jim Dandy said:

and some people have more teeth than other people have.  Size and weight are varied as much if not more than I've ever wanted to see.  My eyes are hazel which change color with the colors I have around me.  Other people either have less or more hair than I have.  Women tend to have what are called more "inactive" hairs than men have, which is something I like about women's bodies.  How many different balding patterns would you like to see, either on males or females?  Can you think of any sizes for belt that would or should be way too big for any person?

I think it's funny how many Star Wars creatures are based on animals mixed with people.  I don't think people are supposed to be that way in reality.

 

[Nofear]

16 minutes ago, Jim Dandy said:

I said:  Women have more ribs than men have,

How do you do the math?  God took one of Adam's ribs to make Eve, so by my reckoning that means Adam would have had 1 more rib than he was left with if God had not taken that one.

Brigham Young called the rib stuff a fairy tale answered according to our folly. Glad you still buy into that folly.

"Now about the rib: as for the Lord taking a rib out of Adam’s side to make a woman of, he took one out of my side just as much. ‘But, Brother Brigham, would you make it appear that Moses did not tell the truth?’ No, not a particle more than I would that your mother did not tell the truth when she told you that little Billy came from a hollow toadstool. I would not accuse your mother of lying any more than I would Moses. The people in the days of Moses wanted to know things that were not for them, the same as your children do when they want to know where their little brother came from; and he answered them according to their folly, the same as you did your children."

[Calm]

18 minutes ago, Jim Dandy said:

helpmeet

It is “help meet” meaning “help that is appropriate”.

https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1994/01/i-have-a-question/what-does-it-mean-when-the-lord-said-he-would-create-for-adam-an-help-meet-for-him?

[ksfisher]

2 hours ago, Jim Dandy said:

I said:  Women have more ribs than men have,

How do you do the math?  God took one of Adam's ribs to make Eve, so by my reckoning that means Adam would have had 1 more rib than he was left with if God had not taken that one.

I suppose if you consider all of the ribs women have as also belonging to men, through Adam, since God simply multiplied his to make hers, then I suppose that means men have more ribs than women. 

But since women make all men now, with a man's help, starting them out as their own baby boys, we could say both men and women have an equal number of ribs.

I now retract my earlier statement.

This reminds of the kind of things you'd find in the Book of Ahab.

[pogi]

1 hour ago, ksfisher said:

This reminds of the kind of things you'd find in the Book of Ahab.

I’ve been holding my tongue to see if anyone else would notice.  

[Calm]

4 hours ago, pogi said:

I’ve been holding my tongue to see if anyone else would notice.  

But when did Ahab ever refer to Wittgenstein or anyone like him?