Things big compared to things small
With advancements in science, we can now look at the vast universe and identify similarities between infinitely large and small things. The motion of a solar system can resemble an atom, and I'm sure countless other examples exist.
Black Holes may contain the seed of another universe
A recent hypothesis, known as Schwarzschild cosmology, suggests our universe expands within a black hole that belongs to a parent universe. This scenario implies universes can exist within universes, like nesting dolls. Traveling back through a black hole (likely impossible, since light can't do it) could unlock unknown realms, as Gaurav Khanna suggests (Coffey, 2023).
Our brains map the 3-D space around us
Neuroscientists O'Keefe et al. (2008) won the Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology for discovering that the Entorhinal Cortex maps our comprehension of 3D space. We are 3D beings, and our brains may intentionally prevent us from perceiving higher dimensions. Let's use an example:
Other dimensions
A common misunderstanding exists about the Plan of Salvation's "three glories" being "worlds." However, Joseph Smith described them as "glories" we can be resurrected to. He explained them in terms he understood and thought others would understand best, which might seem rudimentary considering the cultural and scientific understanding of his time.
To further explain higher dimensional understanding, consider this:
Imagine visiting a 2D world like a flat piece of paper. Beings there move around like amoebas in a petri dish. Now, if a 3D being like you visited them, you'd have a perspective they lack, seeing much more simply because of your extra dimension. You'd appear to them as two 2D beings, one for each foot. These 2D beings might not comprehend that the two oddly shaped things are connected to one body. Walking for you would be a miraculous disappearance and reappearance for them.
Now imagine those same 2D beings visiting a 1D world, a straight line like a string. The 1D beings can't move around each other, only along the string. A 2D being visiting this realm would appear miraculous to them, able to skip the line and move about freely.
The same principle applies when higher dimensional beings visit our 3D world. Their abilities might seem to them as simple as walking, but baffle us.
Some examples
Remember how God and Christ appeared "standing in air" to Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove? This could be because they are higher dimensional beings visiting a lower dimension. The same applies to the angel Moroni appearing to Joseph. These are beings with physical resurrected bodies, so standing in air defies our physics. Perhaps beings from other realms also possess technologies explaining these seemingly miraculous things. Maybe traveling back through black holes between universes is how higher dimensional beings visit lower realms, like the three glories. This could explain why beings in higher realms can visit lower ones, but not vice versa.
Another example, imagine how if God a multi-dimensional being, were to have Joseph Smith translate a book written in the past and perceived by peering through a higher dimension. "Translation" might be the closest word in our language to describe what's happening. When Joseph Smith used a seer stone and a hat, he might have been simply blocking out his worldly eyes, so he wasn't distracted with those perceptions and could instead focus on what is written on this book that might perhaps have been in a higher realm. Just because we don't understand something doesn't mean it's not true.
It's the same with prayer. How does God hear everyone's prayers at once? The answer is, He stands outside of time. Time is part of our realm, not His.
How are the Godhead all one? God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. The traditional explanation is that they are "One in purpose." But what if the Holy Trinity is just another aspect of a higher dimension that we haven't grasped with our 3D understanding?
Is this life a simulation?
Perhaps, but not in the way we currently understand simulations. Based on quotes from apostles and prophets, "this life is a test" (Eyring, 2020; Dew, 1998). We came here in this mortal state to be tested, to see if we can obey basic laws and principles. This could be why God allows bad things to happen.
A simulation parable
By way of comparison to our three-dimensional reality, let's imagine an amoeba living in a two-dimensional world. Now, say a higher-dimensional being is "stuffed" into the body of that amoeba. We, as the being, would likely be limited by the amoeba's brain capacity and lifespan. Our cognitive abilities would be constrained by the physical limitations of its brain.
Despite our confinement to this two-dimensional existence, we, the higher-dimensional amoeba, might still be able to grasp and comprehend aspects of higher dimensions, even if we couldn't perceive them directly with our limited senses. Given the right knowledge and tools, we might even be able to measure, quantify, and interact with certain aspects of those higher dimensions, eventually gaining a rudimentary understanding of their concepts.
When we, the higher-dimensional beings, finally shed this amoeba body, we would return to our previous state of greater dimensional awareness.
The Hope
If this scenario holds true, it could explain why some individuals who claim to have been in the presence of angels or even God experience such profound shifts in comprehension. The transfiguration of faces, etc.
The ultimate hope, then, is not to be resurrected to a higher glory simply unconstrained by the "amoeba" brain or even our current three-dimensional limitations. The greatest hope is to one day climb the ladder of existence further, perhaps even gaining the ability to inhabit a body with a mind like God's.
When Christ descended and inhabited a human body, perhaps He retained some of His higher-dimensional comprehension and abilities. His ability to guide the creation of Earth and have the elements obey as their creator could be a manifestation of this. Understanding His true nature, He might have simply extended this knowledge and abilities in ways that surpassed our three-dimensional minds, leaving us, the two-dimensional amoeba-like humans, mesmerized and awe-struck.
References:
Coffey, D. (2023, June 18). Could Earth be inside a black hole? Live Science. https://www.livescience.com/space/could-earth-be-inside-a-black-hole
National Geographic. (2014, February 18). Black hole blast explains Big Bang. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/140218-black-hole-blast-explains-big-bang
Sifferd, P. (2023, October 6). Every black hole contains a new universe. Inside Science. https://www.insidescience.org/news/every-black-hole-contains-new-universe
Kiehn, O., & Forssberg, H. (2014). Scientific background: The Brain's navigational place and grid cell system. In Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2014 (pp. 1-8). Nobel Foundation.
Eyring, H. B. (2020, October). Tested, proved, and polished. In General conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (pp. 43-52). https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2020/10?lang=eng
Dew, S. L. (1998, May 1). This Is a Test. It Is Only a Test. [Talk given at the BYU Women's Conference]
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