Being human, and therefore mortal, renders certain aspects of the nature of God somewhat ambiguous, if not completely ineffable. Among the more perplexing qualities of God is his relationship, or lack thereof, to time. Did God create time? Is time self-existent? Does time apply to God? Does God exist within or outside of time?
"I am God, and there is none else;" the Lord says, "I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure" (Isaiah 46:9-10).
Interpretation of passages such as this varies between theologians. Some, such as the Calvinists, say that God simply knows beforehand everything that will happen, taking a deterministic view of mortal life and its eventual result. Others say that God doesn't know the future, because words like "future" are only applicable from the perspective of one who lives within time, which, they purport, God does not.
Latter-day Saint theology sheds an interesting light on the subject. In a revelation given to Joseph Smith, the Lord declares himself to be "Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, whose course is one eternal round, the same today as yesterday, and forever" (Doctrine and Covenants 35:1). The general language of this verse bespeaks a certain amount of subjectivity with regard to time. Most interesting though, is the phrase "one eternal round," which seems to imply something other than our traditional, linear understanding of time. Read more...
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