Intelligence, Part III

 “Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be.”  (D&C 93:29)

That single verse has 5 qualifying links or footnotes.

There is a totally different take on the word intelligence – I would first capitalize it, and then pluralize it: Intelligences.

Almost everyone I have talked with about this will agree on one thing: they know things from somewhere that they can’t explain. It typically manifests by my mentioning, say, the concept of marriage that lasts beyond death, or the idea of a Pre-Existence. They all say something like “yeah, I know that…” even when I point out that it is inconsistent with the formalities of their particular faith (if they aren’t Latter-Day Saints).

Now there’s a thought – pre-existence - that my Jesuit friend could never explain:

“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. “(Jeremiah 1:5)

Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going? – the only really important questions.

As I understand this, we’ve been in existence for billions of years - a Pre-Existence. The difference between a million and a billion is really not critical here since I can’t count high enough to reach either. It certainly would explain that pre-existing memory that everyone seems to have.

Intelligence was not created or made (D&C 93:29).

The first time I heard this in a class it surprised me, but again, that pre-existent memory said “yeah – of course.” So we weren’t created, we were organized into existence as thinking individuals. At some point we were given agency. We had already existed. Now there’s something to occupy your thoughts for a few commuter bus trips to downtown Washington, DC.

How? I haven’t a clue – at least not in any detail – but the existence of Dark Matter and Dark Energy (and Vacuum Energy and quantum entanglement) commonly come to my forebrain sometime around Arlington on I-66.

I have this abiding sense that I – we – are almost at the point where we can understand and tie all these cosmology and tantalizing scriptural pieces together. For me, at least, it’s another reason not to fear death. Beyond that door, this learning thing just has to speed up considerably. I won’t need sleep or sugar, for one thing.  AND we will have full access to all of those pre-existent memories.

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