Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: David.Anderson@cs.cmu.edu Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Extra-terrestrial worlds Message-ID: Date: 3 Oct 90 07:23:28 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Lines: 40 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu Lynn, here. As I understand it, most Christians "officially" believe that Terra is the only planet inhabited by human beings like us. However, lds scripture indicates otherwise: "And worlds without number have I [God] created.... 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..." (Moses 1:33, 35) "For we saw him [Christ], even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father-- That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, adn the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God." (Doctrine & Covenants 76:23-24) I believe it is lds doctrine that the fall of Adam was a *universal* fall, affecting all of humanity on all worlds for all times, and that likewise the atonement of Christ is universal in its scope. (This idea of other worlds and the universality of Christ's work is by no means a new or exclusively lds idea. There are some interesting gnostic writings on the subject, including the notion that our world has been "quarantined"--that other worlds are allowed to communicate with each other, but because our planet is the "staging area" for God's eternal plan, as it were--we are isolated.) PS: I saw a UFO (along with a hundred other girl scouts) when I was 8 years old. I didn't know what to call it back then (1965); it was strictly a fly-by (not a "close encounter of the third kind"). Definitely not "swamp gas" or headlights or meteorite or whatever. This thing was brilliant white, *enormous*, perfectly round, with a hard edge. It filled the whole sky, and moved very fast. I've always wanted to see another! :-) [I don't know of any official statements on the subject. Does anyone else? There have been a few science fiction stories and books exploring this subject, and I've had private discussions, but I don't recall any official doctrine. --clh]