In fact, if I remember right, this is the thread that led me to the discovery of this forum a year or two ago when I was doing some searches on EU theory and how it may correlate with LDS theology. Well before this, I discovered Anthony's blog and website among the Mormon blogosphere via a link from another blog a number of years ago and subsequently found his YouTube channel which, at the time, only had a few short few videos discussing and illustrating the ancient polar configuration from the Dibble document and his Joshua and the Long Day series of videos. Back then, Anthony did not have the sets of courses he now has available through his website or the additional presentations now on his YouTube channel. I was able to find his books at my local library at the time and was able to read through them all. It was definitely a paradigm shift for me. While he may not have hit the nail on the head in the details proposed in his books then, I do remember feeling like there was something truthful there, something in the right direction that was worthy of further learning, exploration, and consideration. It certainly struck me as something much more plausible than the "Kolob Theorem" I had read some time before stumbling into Anthony's stuff.
From there, I was led to discover the Thunderbolts Project, largely spearheaded by non-LDS scholars (and non-religious as far as I can perceive) David Talbot, Donald Scott, & Wallace Thornhill, who all apparently found inspiration in the studies of the late Immanuel Velikovsky. Somewhere in the same time frame, I stumbled upon Talbot's Symbols of an Alien Sky on YouTube back when it only existed as 10-15 minute segments someone had uploaded, before the Thunderbolts Project put it up in full and exploded their own channel with a few other narrative documentaries and other thought-provoking lectures, presentations and other content ever since. I became truly fascinated at that point and ever since, in between so many other interests I have, I've bounced back and forth trying to follow updates from both Anthony and the Thunderbolts Project, particularly their YouTube channels, among other sources related to the electric universe theory. It has been fascinating to watch the Thunderbolts Project movement pick up steam and grow with their annual conferences, their video productions, and all the other content they share on their website, Facebook, and so forth. It seems like every year now, more and more scholars of various fields including physics, mathematics, astronomy, geology, biology, etc...are starting to corroborate the idea that electro-magnetic forces have a significant and major role, if not dominant role, in much of our universe, from the atomic and subatomic levels, to the molecular and cellular levels, to events across inter-galactic space.
Back to Anthony, I have since watched most of his courses that he has since made available through his website online. Unfortunately, there was/is a cost, but it's understandable given that there probably is a significant cost to hosting such content through the way it is setup, and I can only assumed he'd like to use any leftover funds generated from those courses to keep software updated for creating new video content himself, and other such related expenses, etc. I haven't yet gone through the last few courses because I ultimately got side-tracked with other interests at the time. I may still finish out the courses in the near future, but at this point, it seems that most of what was in his prior courses I've gone through is now discussed in many of the other freely available lectures and presentations Anthony has recently given in library settings and what not with small groups that he has since made available on his YouTube Channel. Those too require a lot of time to sit through (there are some that I still haven't watched all the way through) but of those I have, they too are rather fascinating and thought provoking, including the Conference Center one as discussed above in this thread.
And yes, Mark Pinnel, I recognize your name from that video where Anthony credits you in with parts of that specific Conference Center presentation. You probably could have started out this thread by simply introducing who you are and your relationship with Anthony and then putting his studies and presentations out there as food for thought for others like myself who may find the whole new paradigm and concept it presents on the creation and the universe as we know it as something plausible and worth further study and pondering. Instead, as Robin Hood noted, I have to agree that it almost seems like just a spam ad solely trying to drive traffic to Anthony's site rather than generate a thoughtful discussion. Thankfully, it looks like the latter has occurred.
So I will add further here that I also find it interesting to have discovered via the Conference Center video and since confirmed that Immanuel Velikovsky is mentioned in the Church's Old Testament Student Manuel within the first section giving commentary on Genesis 1-2 and the creation:
The full text can be found here: https://www.lds.org/manual/old-testamen ... n?lang=eng" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;Although the majority of geologists, astronomers, and other scientists believe that even this long period is not adequate to explain the physical evidence found in the earth, there are a small number of reputable scholars who disagree. These claim that the geologic clocks are misinterpreted and that tremendous catastrophes in the earth’s history speeded up the processes that normally may take thousands of years. They cite evidence supporting the idea that thirteen thousand years is not an unrealistic time period. Immanuel Velikovsky, for example, wrote three books amassing evidence that worldwide catastrophic upheavals have occurred in recent history, and he argued against uniformitarianism, the idea that the natural processes in evidence now have always prevailed at the same approximate rate of uniformity. These books are Worlds in Collision, Ages in Chaos, and Earth in Upheaval. Two Latter-day Saint scientists, Melvin A. Cook and M. Garfield Cook, have also advocated this theory in their book Science and Mormonism. A short summary of the Cooks’ approach can be found in Paul Cracroft’s article “How Old Is the Earth?” (Improvement Era, Oct. 1964, pp. 827–30, 852).
For those who don't know much about Immanuel Velikovsky, he was a Russian born Jew who went on to become a doctor specializing in psychiatry and a scholar who wrote and published books (as mentioned in the paragraph above) that reinterpreted the events that led to current physical state of the earth. His studies and observations led him to the conclusion that our skies appeared much differently to ancient civilizations than we see them today and that this all had, at certain times, had a catastrophic effect on the earth and its inhabitants in addition to playing a huge role in the origins of the mythology, symbols, rituals, rites, and other traditions that have come to be among ancient cultures and civilizations all across the globe and from which many still exist in our present day societies and cultures. Unfortunately, Velikovsky became a point of great controversy among mainstream science and astronomy circles where he was quickly dismissed and discredited rather than being allowed to have his ideas further considered and researched and therefore not a name or concept most people will learn about through current standard education and textbooks. Most notably, to my understanding, Carl Sagan practically vilified him and his ideas. However, his works have resurfaced again over the last couple of decades, not only providing the inspiration and framework for which Anthony Larsen has made reference to with his own gospel connected concepts, but also for these other non-LDS scholars I've mentioned among the Thunderbolts Project and elsewhere out there.
The main idea from Velikovsky is that the earth and it's current landscape has been largely sculpted by catastrophism (i.e. close encounters with celestial bodies that can very quickly result in not just significant changes across the sky but also the earth's landscape via powerful electric discharges and so forth) rather than the long held view of uniformitarianism among main stream scientists and geologists (i.e. millions of years of consistent uniform erosion from wind, water, ice, etc). Scholars like David Talbot who have done in depth studies into comparative mythology have found an overwhelming amount of common abstracts among many symbols, archetypes, rites, rituals, etc...from across the globe that by themselves seem rather odd, mysterious, and even absurd, but when compared against each other, have all too much in common to be dismissed as coincidence. Then you have scholars like Donald Scott and Wallace Thornhill and a growing body of others now who have studied and researched and continue to study and research the physics for a model of the universe that is powered and governed by electro-magnetic forces, which all scientifically explains just how much Velikovsky's theories founded in catastrophism could very well be possible. Lots of new discoveries and information have come about recently that Velikovsky didn't have during his time to give further support to his unique conclusions. It may all still be perceived as pseudo-science among many, if not most, of their mainstream peers, it's a scientific model and movement nonetheless that is gaining traction among many other peers that are finding it worthy of further consideration and study. While I'm no expert on the matter myself, I'd think it hard to argue against much of the lab observations and other scientific findings with plasma physics and other electro-magnetic forces now being studied among and presented by these scholars in addition to other related fields of study.
Also, consider Nephi in the Book of Mormon and how he was instructed/prompted to reach forth his hand so as to send forth a shock to his brothers. I would say that for a believing Latter Day Saint at least, this event may serve as additional support for the theory of an electric universe and the idea of electric fields all about us. Add to that the fact that the Church continues to allow a mention of Velikovsky and his books (and by extension his ideas) in one of its official manuals published as a gospel study aid, then I think that's all the more reason for a Latter Day Saint to study up more on his ideas and the body of scientific and other scholarly work now being done which is largely inspired by his ideas.
And while the details might not be quite dead on yet with much to still discover and confirm, I do think Anthony Larsen is on to something of worth and has made a compelling case for many of our own symbols and practices, both within the restored gospel as taught and revealed through Joseph Smith, and throughout the other scriptures and traditions of Christianity, as being rooted in the same origins as that of so many other ancient cultures. In my opinion, what has since been observed and researched among those with the Thunderbolts Project and elsewhere has only provided further corroboration and context to much of what Anthony Larsen has put out there, especially this Philo Dibble sketch from Joseph Smith of the three (four?) orbs aligned in a polar configuration. In that context, many of the images and events described in the Book of Revelation and elsewhere in both the Bible and other LDS canon, take on a whole new meaning that makes a lot more sense. It is a major paradigm change, but an enlightening one.
That all said, I am still struggling to make all the connections to the Temple with all the symbols and so forth that Anthony keeps alluding too. It's not that many of the same symbols and geometry aren't there, but I struggle to see the deeper significance they may represent beyond reflecting what may have been witnessed in the ancient skies. Particularly as it all correlates with Genesis and the creation account. Larsen sometimes seems to imply, like Talbot, that Adam and Eve were mythical characters as well, a metaphor or parable for telling the story played out in the ancient skies, and thus not real people who partook of real fruit who literally became the parents of mortality and the perpetuation of the human race. So I need some more clarity on that.
I also need clarity in seeing how all these configurations allegedly seen in the ancient sky connect with specific principles and concepts within LDS core doctrine and theology, particularly the importance of knowing that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God, our Savior and Redeemer, and the Plan of Salvation and Christ's role in that plan. In other words, while I certainly understand and easily see how so many of these symbols could represent events and configurations allegedly witnessed in the sky by ancient civilizations, I'm not sure I fully understand what made/makes these particular events and configurations and the universal symbols that supposedly represent them so important to prophets, past and present,to be recorded metaphorically or parabolically in scripture and to be found on and in LDS temples and rituals, and other structures like the Conference Center?
What significance, role, or connection do these celestial events and symbols have in our ability and need to learn of Christ, accept Him, receive of His ordinances, strive to live according to his example, and obtain his attributes in our path toward eternal salvation and exaltation? What do these things teach us about our relationship to God, our potential, and the plan for us as His children to achieve that potential? Were said events in the skies meant to represent and portray events such as the pre-mortal battle, the creation and paradise, the fall, the birth of the Savior, His triumph over sin, His resurrection, the apostasy, the restoration, etc? Does each symbol that came about represent not just an event witnessed in the sky, but also a sacred and important gospel principle and/or ordinance within the gospel essential to our salvation and exaltation and if so, what are some of the essential principles expressed through some of these symbols? Anthony Larsen speaks a lot of these symbols found around the temple and I assume the endowment, but I fail to grasp the how the temple endowment supposedly portrays what may have played out in the skies, and again, what would what which may have been seen in the skies have to do with the role of Christ and our salvation and exaltation? Is he also implying that the ancient celestial events, if they indeed happened, was a portrayal of the temple endowment itself?
Were these events played out in the ancient skies simply a way for God to instruct the inhabitants of earth about the Plan of Salvation and the gospel of Christ via a visual parable in a celestial theater of sorts for all to see or what is it much more than that? That'd be neat and interesting enough if it was just that, but again, I don't see how knowing that now would be any more revelatory than the instruction we already receive for establishing and nurturing a relationship with God and the Holy Spirit and being able to understand what God's will is for us, collectively and individually.
Sorry if I sound redundant with these questions, but I'm having a hard time putting what I want to ask into words. I hope those questions make sense. In short, I do believe there is something truthful and of spiritual value to be had in all of this EU theory and 'symbols from an alien sky' as it were, but having a hard time seeing how it all becomes critically important in coming to an understanding of the fullness of the gospel and it's essential principles and ordinances as preached by Anthony Larsen. Is it all still interesting and fascinating? Absolutely! But of important significance? I'm having a hard time seeing how it builds on the basic precepts we're all still working to master.
So, despite my failure thus far to make the full connections to essential gospel truths with as much depth as Anthony seems to have done, I do feel that when it comes science and how the universe works, much of what is proposed in the EU model and theory does seem to harmonize much better with unique LDS theology and doctrine on the whole than does the gravity centric model that requires unproven dark matter, dark energy, and black holes to work. Ironically, there are those that find it absurd to have faith in non-scientifically proven concepts when it comes to matters of religion, but think it wholly appropriate to have faith in unproven and unseen concepts such as dark matter, dark energy, and black holes.
Here's a good insightful discussion on Electric Universe theory vs Mainstream Science: