3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. -Hebrews 11:3 King James Version (KJV)
Book of Moses
An extract from the translation of the Bible as revealed to Joseph Smith the Prophet, June 1830–February 1831.
Since, from the Divine mercy of the Lord, the interiors, which are of my spirit, have been opened to me, and thereby it has been granted me to speak with spirits and angels, not only with those who are near our earth, but also with those who are near other earths; because I had a desire to know whether there are other earths, and what their nature is, and the quality of their inhabitants, therefore it has been granted me by the Lord to speak and converse with spirits and angels who are from other earths, with some for a day, with some for a week, and with some for months; and to be instructed by them concerning the earths, from which and near which they were; and concerning the lives, customs, and worship of the inhabitants thereof, and of various other things worthy to be related: and because in this manner it has been granted me to know these things, it is permitted to describe them from what has been heard and seen. It is to be known that all spirits and angels are from the human race; 1-1 and that they are near their own earths; 1-2 and that they know what is there; and that by them man may be instructed, if his interiors are so far opened that he can speak and converse with them; for man in his essence is a spirit, 1-3 and he is together with spirits as to his interiors; 1-4 wherefore he whose interiors are opened by the Lord, may speak with them as man with man; 1-5 which has been granted me now for twelve years daily. FROM THE ARCANA COELESTIA; WHERE THESE AND THE FOLLOWING NOTES ARE EXPLAINED AND SHOWN.
That there are many earths, and men upon them, and spirits and angels thence, is well known in the other life, for it is there granted to every one who desires it from a love of truth, and thence of use, to speak with the spirits of other earths, and thereby to be confirmed concerning a plurality of worlds, and to be informed that the human race is not from one earth only, but from innumerable earths; and moreover to be informed what is their genius, manner of life, and their Divine worship.
I have occasionally spoken on this subject with the spirits of our earth, and it was said that any man of keen understanding may conclude from many things that he knows that there are many earths, and that there are men there; for it may be concluded from reason that such great masses as the planets are, some of which exceed this earth in magnitude, are not empty... and created only to be conveyed in their revolutions round the sun, and to shine with their scanty light for one earth, but that their use must needs be more excellent than that. He who believes, as every one ought to believe, that the Divine created the universe for no other end than that the human race may exist, and thence heaven, for the human race is the seminary of heaven, must needs believe also, that wherever there is an earth, there are men...
4.
Moreover, when I have spoken with spirits, I have said that men may believe that in the universe there are more earths than one, from this, that the starry heaven is so immense, and the stars therein are so innumerable, each of which in its place, or in its world, is a sun, and like our sun, in various magnitude. Whoever duly considers, concludes that so immense a whole must needs be a means to an end, which is the ultimate of creation, which end is the kingdom of heaven, wherein the Divine may dwell with angels and men; for the visible universe, or the heaven resplendent with stars so innumerable, which are so many suns, is only a means for the existence of earths, and of men upon them, of whom may be formed a heavenly kingdom. From these things a rational man must needs be led to conceive, that so immense a means, adapted to so great an end, was not constituted for a race of men and for a heaven thence derived from one earth only; for what would this be to the Divine, which is infinite, and to which thousands, yea, ten thousands of earths, all full of inhabitants, would be small and scarce anything.
5.
Moreover, the angelic heaven is so immense, that it corresponds with all the particulars with man, myriads corresponding to every member, organ, and viscus, and to every affection of each; and it has been given to know, that this heaven, as to all its correspondences, can by no means exist, except from the inhabitants of very many earths. 5-1
6.
There are spirits whose sole study is to acquire to themselves knowledges, because they are delighted only with knowledges. Therefore these spirits are permitted to wander about, and even to pass out of this solar system into others, and to procure for themselves knowledges. They have declared that there are earths inhabited by men, not only in this solar system, but also out of it in the starry heaven, to an immense number. These spirits are from the planet Mercury.
[26. Because of their thus journeying through the universe, and thereby being enabled to know more than others respecting the worlds and earths out of the sphere of our solar system, I have also spoken with them on this subject. They said that in the universe there are very many earths inhabited by men; and that they wonder how any should suppose, whom they called men of little judgment, that the heaven of the omnipotent God consisted only of spirits and angels who come from one earth, when these comparatively are so few that in respect to the omnipotence of God they are scarce anything, even if there should he myriads of worlds, and myriads of earths. They said, moreover, that they knew there were earths existing in the universe to the number of some hundred thousands and upwards; and yet what is this to the Divine, which is infinite?]
7.
As to what in general concerns the Divine worship of the inhabitants of other earths, those of them who are not idolaters, all acknowledge the Lord as the only God; for they adore the Divine not as invisible, but as visible, also for this reason, because when the Divine appears to them, He appears in the human form, as He also formerly appeared to Abraham and others on this earth; 7-1 and they who adore the Divine under a human form, are all accepted by the Lord. 7-2 They say also, that no one can rightly worship God, much less be joined to Him, unless He comprehends Him by some idea, and that God cannot be comprehended except in the human form; and if He be not so comprehended, the interior sight, which is of the thought, concerning God, is dissipated, as the sight of the eye when looking upon the boundless universe; and that in this case the thought cannot but sink into nature, and worship nature as God.
8.
Then they were told that the Lord on our earth assumed the Human, they mused awhile, and presently said, that it was done for the salvation of the human race...
123.
THE EARTHS IN THE STARRY HEAVEN. They who are in heaven can speak and converse with angels and spirits who are not only from the earths in this solar system, but also with those who are from other earths in the universe out of this system; and not only with the spirits and angels there, but also with the inhabitants themselves, but only with those whose interiors are open, so that they can hear such as speak from heaven. The same is the case with man during his abode in the world, to whom it has been granted by the Lord to speak with spirits and angels. For man is a spirit as to his interiors, the body which he carries about in the world only serving him for performing functions in this natural or terrestrial sphere, which is the [outer] ultimate, But it is granted to no one to speak as a spirit with angels and spirits, unless he be such that he can consociate with angels as to faith and love; nor can he so consociate, unless he have faith and love to the Lord; for man is joined to the Lord by faith and love to Him, that is, by truths of doctrine and goods of life from Him; and when he is conjoined to the Lord, he is secure from the assaults of evil spirits from hell. With others the interiors cannot be so far opened, since they are not in the Lord. This is the reason why there are few at this day to whom it is granted to speak and converse with angels; a manifest proof whereof is, that the existence of spirits and angels is scarcely believed at this day, much less that they are with every man, and that by them man has connection with heaven, and through heaven with the Lord. Still less is it believed that man, when he dies as to the body, lives a spirit, even in a human form as before.
124.
Because at this day [1758] with many in the church there is no belief in the life after death, and scarce any belief in heaven, nor in the Lord as the God of heaven and earth; therefore the interiors which are of my spirit have been opened by the Lord, so that while still in the body, I can at the same time be with angels in heaven, and not only speak with them, but also see the stupendous things there, and describe them; so that it may not chance to be said hereafter, "Who has come to us from heaven and told us that there is such a place, and what there is there?" But I know that they who in heart have before denied heaven and hell and the life after death, will still confirm themselves against them, and deny them; for it is easier to make a crow white, than to make those believe who have once rejected faith in the heart. The reason is, that they always think of such things from the negative, and not from the affirmative. Nevertheless, let what has been said hitherto, and what is still further to be said concerning angels and spirits, be for the few who are in faith. And that the rest also may be led along to something of acknowledgment it has been conceded to relate such things as delight and attract the man who is desirous of knowing; and now about the earths in the starry heaven.
125.
He who does not know the arcana of heaven, cannot believe that a man can see earths so distant, and relate anything about them from the experiences of the senses. But let him know that the spaces and distances, and thence the progressions in the natural world, are, in their origin and first cause, changes of the state of the interiors, and with angels and spirits appear according to these changes; 125-1 and that thus they can by these changes be apparently transferred from one place to another, and from one earth to another, even to the earths which are at the end of the universe. So also may a man be transferred as to his spirit, his body still remaining in its place. Thus it has been done with me, since by the Divine mercy of the Lord it has been given me to have interaction with spirits as a spirit, and at the same time with men as a man. That a man can be so transferred as to his spirit, the sensual man cannot understand, since he is in space and time, and measures his movements according to them.
126.
That there are many worlds, may be evident to every one, from there being so many constellations visible in the universe; and it is known in the learned world that every fixed star is like a sun in its place; for it remains fixed like the sun of our earth in its place; and that the distance makes it appear small in form like a star. Consequently that like the sun of our world, it has round it planets, which are earths; and the reason that these do not appear to our eyes, is their being at such an immense distance, and having only the light of their star, which cannot be reflected again as far as here. For what other purpose is there so great a heaven with so many stars? For the end of the creation of the universe is man, that from man there may be an angelic heaven. What would the human race, and thence an angelic heaven, from one earth, be for the Infinite Creator, for Whom a thousand earths, nay, tens of thousands, would not be enough? ...But in what now follows, the earths in the starry heavens shall be described from experience itself; from which it will also be evident how I was transferred thither as to my spirit, my body remaining in its place...
Chapter 1
(June 1830)
God reveals Himself to Moses—Moses is transfigured—He is confronted by Satan—Moses sees many inhabited worlds—Worlds without number were created by the Son—God’s work and glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
1 The words of God, which he spake unto Moses at a time when Moses was caught up into an exceedingly high mountain,
2 And he saw God face to face, and he talked with him, and the glory of God was upon Moses; therefore Moses could endure his presence.
3 And God spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I am the Lord God Almighty, and Endless is my name; for I am without beginning of days or end of years; and is not this endless?
4 And, behold, thou art my son; wherefore look, and I will show thee the workmanship of mine hands; but not all, for my works are without end, and also my words, for they never cease.
5 Wherefore, no man can behold all my works, except he behold all my glory; and no man can behold all my glory, and afterwards remain in the flesh on the earth.
6 And I have a work for thee, Moses, my son; and thou art in the similitude of mine Only Begotten; and mine Only Begotten is and shall be the Savior, for he is full of grace and truth; but there is no God beside me, and all things are present with me, for I know them all.
7 And now, behold, this one thing I show unto thee, Moses, my son, for thou art in the world, and now I show it unto thee.
8 And it came to pass that Moses looked, and beheld the world upon which he was created; and Moses beheld the world and the ends thereof, and all the children of men which are, and which were created; of the same he greatly marveled and wondered.
9 And the presence of God withdrew from Moses, that his glory was not upon Moses; and Moses was left unto himself. And as he was left unto himself, he fell unto the earth.
10 And it came to pass that it was for the space of many hours before Moses did again receive his natural strength like unto man; and he said unto himself: Now, for this cause I know that man is nothing, which thing I never had supposed.
11 But now mine own eyes have beheld God; but not my natural, but my spiritual eyes, for my natural eyes could not have beheld; for I should have withered and died in his presence; but his glory was upon me; and I beheld his face, for I was transfigured before him...
29 And he beheld many lands; and each land was called earth, and there were inhabitants on the face thereof.
30 And it came to pass that Moses called upon God, saying: Tell me, I pray thee, why these things are so, and by what thou madest them?
31 And behold, the glory of the Lord was upon Moses, so that Moses stood in the presence of God, and talked with him face to face. And the Lord God said unto Moses: For mine own purpose have I made these things. Here is wisdom and it remaineth in me.
32 And by the word of my power, have I created them, which is mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth.
33 And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten.
35 But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you. For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them.
36 And it came to pass that Moses spake unto the Lord, saying: Be merciful unto thy servant, O God, and tell me concerning this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, and also the heavens, and then thy servant will be content.
37 And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying: The heavens, they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine.
38 And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words.
39 For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
40 And now, Moses, my son, I will speak unto thee concerning this earth upon which thou standest; and thou shalt write the things which I shall speak.
41 And in a day when the children of men shall esteem my words as naught and take many of them from the book which thou shalt write, behold, I will raise up another like unto thee; and they shall be had again among the children of men—among as many as shall believe.
42 (These words were spoken unto Moses in the mount, the name of which shall not be known among the children of men. And now they are spoken unto you. Show them not unto any except them that believe. Even so. Amen.)
Earths in the Universe, by Emanuel Swedenborg, [1758], tr. by John Whitehead [1892] at sacred-texts.com
That there are many earths, and men upon them, and spirits and angels thence, is well known in the other life, for it is there granted to every one who desires it from a love of truth, and thence of use, to speak with the spirits of other earths, and thereby to be confirmed concerning a plurality of worlds, and to be informed that the human race is not from one earth only, but from innumerable earths; and moreover to be informed what is their genius, manner of life, and their Divine worship.
I have occasionally spoken on this subject with the spirits of our earth, and it was said that any man of keen understanding may conclude from many things that he knows that there are many earths, and that there are men there; for it may be concluded from reason that such great masses as the planets are, some of which exceed this earth in magnitude, are not empty... and created only to be conveyed in their revolutions round the sun, and to shine with their scanty light for one earth, but that their use must needs be more excellent than that. He who believes, as every one ought to believe, that the Divine created the universe for no other end than that the human race may exist, and thence heaven, for the human race is the seminary of heaven, must needs believe also, that wherever there is an earth, there are men...
4.
Moreover, when I have spoken with spirits, I have said that men may believe that in the universe there are more earths than one, from this, that the starry heaven is so immense, and the stars therein are so innumerable, each of which in its place, or in its world, is a sun, and like our sun, in various magnitude. Whoever duly considers, concludes that so immense a whole must needs be a means to an end, which is the ultimate of creation, which end is the kingdom of heaven, wherein the Divine may dwell with angels and men; for the visible universe, or the heaven resplendent with stars so innumerable, which are so many suns, is only a means for the existence of earths, and of men upon them, of whom may be formed a heavenly kingdom. From these things a rational man must needs be led to conceive, that so immense a means, adapted to so great an end, was not constituted for a race of men and for a heaven thence derived from one earth only; for what would this be to the Divine, which is infinite, and to which thousands, yea, ten thousands of earths, all full of inhabitants, would be small and scarce anything.
5.
Moreover, the angelic heaven is so immense, that it corresponds with all the particulars with man, myriads corresponding to every member, organ, and viscus, and to every affection of each; and it has been given to know, that this heaven, as to all its correspondences, can by no means exist, except from the inhabitants of very many earths. 5-1
6.
There are spirits whose sole study is to acquire to themselves knowledges, because they are delighted only with knowledges. Therefore these spirits are permitted to wander about, and even to pass out of this solar system into others, and to procure for themselves knowledges. They have declared that there are earths inhabited by men, not only in this solar system, but also out of it in the starry heaven, to an immense number. These spirits are from the planet Mercury.
[26. Because of their thus journeying through the universe, and thereby being enabled to know more than others respecting the worlds and earths out of the sphere of our solar system, I have also spoken with them on this subject. They said that in the universe there are very many earths inhabited by men; and that they wonder how any should suppose, whom they called men of little judgment, that the heaven of the omnipotent God consisted only of spirits and angels who come from one earth, when these comparatively are so few that in respect to the omnipotence of God they are scarce anything, even if there should he myriads of worlds, and myriads of earths. They said, moreover, that they knew there were earths existing in the universe to the number of some hundred thousands and upwards; and yet what is this to the Divine, which is infinite?]
7.
As to what in general concerns the Divine worship of the inhabitants of other earths, those of them who are not idolaters, all acknowledge the Lord as the only God; for they adore the Divine not as invisible, but as visible, also for this reason, because when the Divine appears to them, He appears in the human form, as He also formerly appeared to Abraham and others on this earth; 7-1 and they who adore the Divine under a human form, are all accepted by the Lord. 7-2 They say also, that no one can rightly worship God, much less be joined to Him, unless He comprehends Him by some idea, and that God cannot be comprehended except in the human form; and if He be not so comprehended, the interior sight, which is of the thought, concerning God, is dissipated, as the sight of the eye when looking upon the boundless universe; and that in this case the thought cannot but sink into nature, and worship nature as God.
8.
Then they were told that the Lord on our earth assumed the Human, they mused awhile, and presently said, that it was done for the salvation of the human race...
123.
THE EARTHS IN THE STARRY HEAVEN. They who are in heaven can speak and converse with angels and spirits who are not only from the earths in this solar system, but also with those who are from other earths in the universe out of this system; and not only with the spirits and angels there, but also with the inhabitants themselves, but only with those whose interiors are open, so that they can hear such as speak from heaven. The same is the case with man during his abode in the world, to whom it has been granted by the Lord to speak with spirits and angels. For man is a spirit as to his interiors, the body which he carries about in the world only serving him for performing functions in this natural or terrestrial sphere, which is the [outer] ultimate, But it is granted to no one to speak as a spirit with angels and spirits, unless he be such that he can consociate with angels as to faith and love; nor can he so consociate, unless he have faith and love to the Lord; for man is joined to the Lord by faith and love to Him, that is, by truths of doctrine and goods of life from Him; and when he is conjoined to the Lord, he is secure from the assaults of evil spirits from hell. With others the interiors cannot be so far opened, since they are not in the Lord. This is the reason why there are few at this day to whom it is granted to speak and converse with angels; a manifest proof whereof is, that the existence of spirits and angels is scarcely believed at this day, much less that they are with every man, and that by them man has connection with heaven, and through heaven with the Lord. Still less is it believed that man, when he dies as to the body, lives a spirit, even in a human form as before.
124.
Because at this day [1758] with many in the church there is no belief in the life after death, and scarce any belief in heaven, nor in the Lord as the God of heaven and earth; therefore the interiors which are of my spirit have been opened by the Lord, so that while still in the body, I can at the same time be with angels in heaven, and not only speak with them, but also see the stupendous things there, and describe them; so that it may not chance to be said hereafter, "Who has come to us from heaven and told us that there is such a place, and what there is there?" But I know that they who in heart have before denied heaven and hell and the life after death, will still confirm themselves against them, and deny them; for it is easier to make a crow white, than to make those believe who have once rejected faith in the heart. The reason is, that they always think of such things from the negative, and not from the affirmative. Nevertheless, let what has been said hitherto, and what is still further to be said concerning angels and spirits, be for the few who are in faith. And that the rest also may be led along to something of acknowledgment it has been conceded to relate such things as delight and attract the man who is desirous of knowing; and now about the earths in the starry heaven.
125.
He who does not know the arcana of heaven, cannot believe that a man can see earths so distant, and relate anything about them from the experiences of the senses. But let him know that the spaces and distances, and thence the progressions in the natural world, are, in their origin and first cause, changes of the state of the interiors, and with angels and spirits appear according to these changes; 125-1 and that thus they can by these changes be apparently transferred from one place to another, and from one earth to another, even to the earths which are at the end of the universe. So also may a man be transferred as to his spirit, his body still remaining in its place. Thus it has been done with me, since by the Divine mercy of the Lord it has been given me to have interaction with spirits as a spirit, and at the same time with men as a man. That a man can be so transferred as to his spirit, the sensual man cannot understand, since he is in space and time, and measures his movements according to them.
126.
That there are many worlds, may be evident to every one, from there being so many constellations visible in the universe; and it is known in the learned world that every fixed star is like a sun in its place; for it remains fixed like the sun of our earth in its place; and that the distance makes it appear small in form like a star. Consequently that like the sun of our world, it has round it planets, which are earths; and the reason that these do not appear to our eyes, is their being at such an immense distance, and having only the light of their star, which cannot be reflected again as far as here. For what other purpose is there so great a heaven with so many stars? For the end of the creation of the universe is man, that from man there may be an angelic heaven. What would the human race, and thence an angelic heaven, from one earth, be for the Infinite Creator, for Whom a thousand earths, nay, tens of thousands, would not be enough? ...But in what now follows, the earths in the starry heavens shall be described from experience itself; from which it will also be evident how I was transferred thither as to my spirit, my body remaining in its place...
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