We're Not Alone...

I believe I've written a post or two on this topic before, but, given a recent study, I thought I would revisit it again.

This study finds the Milky Way is teeming with billions of planets that are about the size of Earth, orbit stars just like our sun, and exist in the Goldilocks zone – not too hot and not too cold for life.

Astronomers using NASA data have calculated for the first time that in our galaxy alone, there are at least 8.8 billion stars with Earth-size planets in the habitable temperature zone.

The study was published this last Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

For perspective, that's more Earth-like planets than there are people on Earth.

As for what it says about the odds that there is life somewhere out there, it means "just in our Milky Way galaxy alone, that's 8.8 billion throws of the biological dice," said study co-author Geoff Marcy, a longtime planet hunter from the University of California at Berkeley.

This should be nothing new for us Latter-day Saints. We have been taught, as God spoke to Moses that, "...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." (Moses 1:33)

Reading this recent study reminded me of the book "The Kolob Theorem," written by Lynn M. Hilton, a BYU professor of education and LDS author. I have shared this book with several of you before. It may be a good exercise to revisit the book again. It is a short read, but very compelling in thought and discovery.

You can access a free, authorized PDF copy of the book here: http://www.rogerknecht.com/uploads/2011/12/The_Kolob_Theorem.pdf

Brother Hilton's theory is that our Milky Way Galaxy holds the earthly creations of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. That the center of the galaxy is where God dwells and creates new earths from the core of the Milky Way Galaxy's black hole. He further states that our galaxy has three, distinct layers or levels; the outer part of the galaxy being the telestial state, where our earth currently resides; the middle ring is the terrestial state, and the center, or core, where God resides, as the celestial state.

I would encourage you to read this book again. For me, if in fact it is a correct theory, puts the physical creation process, as well as the existence of billions of earths, into a clearer and more understandable perspective.

This theory received a little more validation in the recent depiction of the creation process in the new temple movie, with the movie going into a more detailed process of creation, than in earlier versions. 

The fact that there are others of our brothers and sisters living on other earths, going through the same plan of salvation as we are, impresses upon my mind the greatness and immensity of God's love for his children, and the progressive nature of our existence here and now.

As we get enveloped in the day to day affairs of life, its challenges and trials, its always good to take a step back and realize we are part of a grand plan to have our spirits occupy our physical bodies on this earthly planet with a promise that if we live and progress as God would have us do, that we someday can be standing at the center of our own galaxy, creating earths for our spirit children to occupy and progress as we have done so before them.

And to think that we, as a family, are taking this journey together.

Love, Dad