Our Infinite God
As a young man, I spent countless hours under the stars with nothing more than a star chart and a pair of binoculars. I could not help but admire the beauty of God‘s creations, the infinite number of worlds that abound in the heavens. As I looked at enormous clusters of stars, I wondered what it would be like to live on a planet in one of those clusters. At night, the sky would be filled with the brightest of stars and it would never be dark. It was that wonder as a young boy, contemplating the infinite that drew me to a study of mathematics.
Or perhaps it was my love of mathematics the drew me to appreciate and wonder at the universe and the infinite God who created it. In this writing, I want to explore the nature of the infinite God who created us, and all that we see.
I understood even as a lad, the requirement for evil in the world and that pain and suffering are intertwined with our agency. What disturbed me was the quantity of evil, pain and suffering. Was so much suffering really necessary? Do we really understand what it means for God to be infinite? Could an infinite God not do better than this? We talk glibly about an infinite God, but we do not know what this really means, nor can we. The answers are beyond our understanding. I can, however, explore and ponder in a small, finite way what His infinite power means, and fill my heart and soul with wonder.
My favorite math class in college, Introduction to Topology, gave me the tools and the desire to at least explore these questions. In the class, we started with four simple axioms, basic assumptions about the order, properties and equality of points in a set. An axiom is simply something which one accepts as true without proof or argument. With these axioms and a number of definitions to add clarity, we constructed throughout the semester, an incredible topological space. We proved statements about chains and continuum that were beautiful in their complexity and yet all could be traced back to those four simple axioms. A lesson I learned was that when things get complex, drop back to the basics, the fundamentals and build from there.
I am not going to provide here a definitive scriptural analysis of the nature of God. I am approaching this task from a mathematical perspective. Rest assured there is a vast difference between “the philosophies of men mingled with scripture” and “Come, let us reason together”. I do not want to contradict the doctrine of Christ. I am not here to even expound doctrine. I will consider and accept some basic truths, then, using a mathematical approach, formulate a rendering of His plan. Think of this as a piece of art. I have the artistic talent of a bag of Portland cement and would never try to inspire you through an actual painting, but here I can try to paint a mental image of the power and purpose of our God. Examples from scripture or real life are not meant to prove that this abstract rendering of His power and plan is in any way real, only that it is not contradicted by what I know. For example, if this rendering were to postulate that there is no need for a Messiah (which it doesn’t), then this mental image I am trying to create is obviously contradicted, and therefore does not make sense. I will start with three basic assumptions or axioms upon which I will explore the infinite nature of God and his plan of salvation.
Axiom 1: God is all knowledgeable, all powerful and all loving.
Through the ages, mankind has argued incessantly about the infinite power of God. Some claim that pain and suffering in the world proves that God is not infinite in His knowledge and power. Others claim that because of the infinite cardinality of God, it is impossible for Him to even communicate with we mere mortals. Those who claim such communication, Joseph Smith included, are therefore frauds.
H Chris Ransford, in his book “God and the Mathematics of Infinity” states “There is a stark impregnable wall between the infinite and the non-infinite: infinity can never be created out of the whole cloth from within any finite reality, and therefore to ever exist at all must pre-exist to begin with. . . the question of whether a Godhead exists or not, debated since time immemorial [is] never compellingly answered either way: the question is unanswerable by logic alone”. In this exercise, I accept as an axiom the existence of an infinite God. No proof, no argument. There are many places to explore this topic if you would like. Go to Churchofjesuschrist.org and search for topics such as “infinite God”, “all powerful God” or “attributes of God”. There are many scriptures which attest to His infinite power and glory and I will reference a small few here, but only for insight. From a mathematical or scientific viewpoint, it is impossible to prove even the existence of God. That is an act of faith, and in this exercise, accepted as a basic truth or axiom.
Axiom 2: God is perfect and is surrounded only by perfection.
This may seem a bit trivial at first blush, but Perfection of realm implies an infinite scope of complexity, richness and beauty. The perfection of His Realm plays intimately into this mental painting of His scope and power. This will become clear as we begin to formulate our ‘painting’ and discuss His plan.
Axiom 3: Agency is a fundamental law which God utilizes in formulating His plan.
Do we have free will or was the destiny of each of us, and indeed the entire universe set at the defining moment of creation? The free will theorem states that if agency or free will exists, it must exist at the level of the most elementary of sub atomic particles. This tells me, one who believes in agency, that this universe was created with the fundamental purpose of enabling agency. The existence of agency is a hotly debated topic. If you are interested in pursuing the stance of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on the concept of agency, go to churchofjesuschrist.org and search for “Agency”. There are many fine articles and scripture references for you to peruse. Think of it as an extra credit homework assignment. I assume agency as a fundamental concept, the basis of our creation, and build from there.
To greatly simplify this writing, I assume that the above axioms are true. No proof, no arguments, no justification. That is the nature of an axiom, it is an accepted truth. Spend a few minutes looking them over and pondering their meaning. The theorems that follow are built on these four axioms. OK, OK, another mathematical term. A theorem is simply a statement that we can prove by the use of logic using our fundamental axioms. Using axioms and theorems gives us a structured way to reason together.
Before I get started, I want to examine the ramifications of the Agency described in axiom 3. What does it mean to have agency? Agency, or the ability to choose implies that there are significant choices to make, significant meaning that the choices we make must have compelling repercussions. Agency is the capability of choosing for ourselves, options that draw us closer, or push us further away from God. If the most significant choice we have in our eternal existence is between a salted caramel and a cookie dough ice cream cone, then that agency or choice is meaningless. Who cares? Actually, it would be pretty significant for me . . . Cookie dough? UUUGH. Humor aside, the point is that agency discussed here implies choices that have eternal ramifications. Our eternal state will not be significantly impacted by choices between two good things. The job we take, where we decide to go on vacation, where we decide to go for lunch. Agency is significant in this mental painting only when the choices we face may draw us closer to, or cause us to deviate from God’s plan, meaning choices between good and evil. Agency and evil are equivalent. One does not exist without the other. How can something be evil if there is no choice in the matter? You would not blame gravity for breaking your sister’s arm after pushing her off the porch . . . Well, you might try. Gravity was not the evil factor in this act, it was your choice to push. The very nature of evil implies choice. Conversely, how can we have agency if we have no significant choices to make? Without evil, there is no agency. Without agency, there is no evil. We wanted to choose, and we had the ability to do so. This brings us to our first theorem:
Theorem 1 Agency requires the existence of evil, the two are equivalent.
Note that I could have cast axiom 3 as:
Axiom 3 We are subject to evil in this mortal life.
I could than recast theorem 1 to state that if evil exists, we must have agency to choose between good and evil. Agency requires the existence of evil to make it meaningful. Maybe I should make that a homework assignment . . .
In early revisions of this treatise, I proposed the existence of a plan of progress as an axiom, but realized that in doing so, I minimized the importance and power of agency. If agency implies choices which separate us from perfection, then we have distanced ourselves from God. This gave me fresh insight into our first decision, the choice to follow Jesus Christ or follow Lucifer. Either way we as spirit children of God chose between these options, we separated ourselves from Him. There was no option to remain in His presence. We are children created by Heavenly Parents who honor our agency. We have the capacity to choose for ourselves our own path which requires separation from Him. As all loving and all-powerful parents, they crafted a means by which we can return to Their presence in our progression to become like them. This gives us our second theorem.
Theorem 2 There is a plan of progression in place which allows us exercise agency while providing a path to reach perfection and return to God’s presence.
Because God honors agency, He put a plan in place for us to exercise this agency, separating ourselves from Him, yet providing a path to return to his presence. At this point, let’s explore the role of evil, pain and suffering. They are in fact necessary components to God’s plan of salvation. Otherwise, He didn’t know about it, He couldn’t eliminate it, or He doesn’t love us enough free us from it, and we have contradicted axiom 1.
Some argue that God cannot be infinite because there is pain and suffering in the world. If He were infinite, He would eliminate it. As it is, He just cannot cope. Again, this contradicts axiom 1, an all-powerful God, as well as axiom 3, agency. I cannot imagine a perfectly loving God allowing us to suffer either physical pain or the effects of evil and sin if He could have created us otherwise. Had it been possible, by axiom 1, would He not have simply created us as perfected, celestial beings with all knowledge, understanding and love? He did not. For whatever reason, agency and the resulting existence of evil, pain and suffering have a place in God’s perfect plan, and experiencing these allows us the significant choices necessary in order to progress. 1 Chronicles 28:9 “for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever”. The choices we make through exposure to evil pain and suffering are crucial to His plan of progression.
H Chris Ransford states beautifully. “We are led to the unexpected and counterintuitive insight that even if an infinitely good Godhead exists, then some measure of evil is unavoidable. Mathematical analysis has turned an age-old question on its head–the question of why a Godhead would tolerate evil has turned into the hard fact that a measure of evil is an inescapable price to pay for infinite reality to keep growing and pushing its boundaries and unfolding above and beyond all the places it has already reached and ultimately for any Godhead to retain its very quality of Godhood.” (God and the mathematics of infinity). This gives us our third theorem.
Theorem 3 Evil, Pain and suffering are of benefit to God’s plan.
In other words, not only do evil, pain and suffering exist, but they are also of benefit in God’s plan of salvation. Wouldn’t it be great to create perfect children? No messes, no temper tantrums, no late night waiting for dates to come home? To do so would have violated axiom 3, the existence of agency.
We can become like God and become heirs to His kingdom only if we choose to do so. Since God is surrounded by perfection, the only way to exercise agency through exposure to evil is to distance ourselves from Him. In order to exercise true agency, we need to be separated from a true and complete knowledge of Him. We had to distance ourselves from God both physically and spiritually in order to experience evil, pain and suffering. From that distance, we cannot even peer into His realm and remain in a mortal state. This brings us to the next theorem, which clarifies theorem 2, the existence of a Plan of Salvation.
Theorem 4 We must pass through mortality in order to experience evil, pain and suffering.
In the broad context, even diseases, aging, natural disasters and the suffering they cause are a result of the fall, an act of agency. In a personal sense, an individual may suffer because of a situation not of that person’s making or a result of another person’s evil. Be it an act of violence on the part of someone else or suffering as a result of our fallen world, all pain and suffering are caused by choice, be it ours or someone else’s. How we choose to respond to pain and suffering has eternal consequences and therefore falls within the sphere of agency as I have described it here. Based on theorem 4, we must at some point in God’s plan of progression, pass through an imperfect state called mortality, and in that state, experience evil, pain and suffering. In this state we had to distance ourselves from the perfection which God is, and which surrounds Him. God either forced us to leave His presence, or we chose to do so. Being perfect, He will not force us to do evil (axiom 2). Therefore:
Theorem 5 We as God’s children chose to leave His presence and experience mortality.
This brings up a bit of a logical dilemma, one that shows we cannot fully understand His plan. I stated earlier that we had a choice in the preexistence: follow Jesus Christ or follow Lucifer. There was not a third option to do neither and simply remain with God as a spirit being. Perhaps by refusing to make that choice, we would have chosen not to progress. It’s interesting to note that one definition of damned is to stop progression. The lack of that third choice is something for me to noodle on in the future, not exactly germane to the mental image we are painting.
The entire plan crafted by our Infinite God is built around agency. Though not a part of this treatise, it is insightful to list the components of His plan as described at churchofjesuschrist.org: the preexistence, the war in heaven, the creation, the second estate, the fall, The atonement of Jesus Christ. The center of His plan is agency. We can only choose to return to Him in perfection.
Agency is a necessary component of God’s plan of progression, and to exercise agency, we must have meaningful choices. The existence of evil, pain and suffering are necessary, but not sufficient. If we were created with perfect trust in God and had a perfect understanding of all the consequences of our actions, then agency and the lessons of evil, pain and suffering would be inconsequential, and therefore not necessary. Distancing ourselves from God and from his perfection put meaning into our choices. Agency is meaningful only when it is based on trust; choices made with incomplete understanding, but with a reliance on Him. To exercise true agency, we must work to develop a trusting relationship with God to receive his direction and influence, and that can happen only in mortality. What about the choice we made in the preexistence when we accepted His plan and our second or mortal estate? I am digressing from my original goal, but it appears to me that we could not fully know the ramifications of our choice to follow Him into our second estate without a physical body. Being mortal and subject to evil, pain and suffering was something we could not comprehend as spirit beings. Even in the presence of God, we had to have faith to step into this realm, unknown and unknowable by premortal spirits.
We need one other component to make agency meaningful. In our current mortal realm, if we were judged and immediately paid in full for the consequences of each decision we make, would we really have agency? Consider the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16. Would the rich man really have had agency if he were immediately punished for ignoring Lazarus and his goods confiscated to provide for the poor beggar at his door? To use a more common vernacular, agency is truly meaningful only when we are allowed to hang ourselves with our own rope. If we had to immediately pay in full for each sin we commit, then our agency would be severely curtailed if not eliminated. Taking the life of, or even injuring another person would be impossible if we had to immediately pay in full for the consequences of that decision. We cannot begin to compensate for taking the life of another, or causing someone to suffer from our inflicted injuries. If we had to pay immediately for our acts, there would be no time for guilt, no time for remorse and therefore no time for repentance. This concept will again come into play when I discuss the need for a Messiah. In the meantime, let’s put this concept in the form of a theorem
Theorem 6 Agency is meaningful only when it is impossible for us to pay the consequences of our decisions.
It is important to understand the ramifications of our agency and what we need to exercise it properly. Let me start with a headline I recently perused. A young woman, concerned about global warming, had decided to abort her unborn baby to save the planet from one more human to pollute and plunder its natural resources. In her eyes, she was making a righteous choice by sacrificing her unborn child on the altar of environmental activism. How far her reasoning was from the truths outlined in the Proclamation on the Family. The way we truly understand the consequences of our decisions is by developing trust in God and learning of His plan. We learn to exercise our agency in true righteousness by learning to follow the Light of Christ. Remember the example of those in the premortal realm? As spirits, how could we truly understand the consequences of our decision to follow Christ? We had to listen and trust in His plan. Though our understanding of the ramifications of that grand decision was woefully incomplete, we were confident in our decision based on our trust and faith in God. This deserves another theorem.
Theorem 7: We can best use our agency to make choices which will bring us back to God by developing and exercising faith and trust in Him
We established a solid link between evil and agency. Choosing freely and faithfully to follow God is fundamental to his plan, and that choice cannot be trivial. Evil, pain and suffering must be present in His plan in sufficient force to allow us the necessary level of tough, agonizing choices. But how much? Since He is all powerful and all knowing, God’s dealing with His creations is perfect, and in that perfection, He will not allow his children to suffer needlessly. He will allow evil the minimum impact necessary in this mortal realm, but no more. Look at this another way. If there is even the tiniest trace of unnecessary pain, then we have violated axiom 1, the existence of an all-powerful God.
I am going to inject a little thought experiment here. Suppose we have two Gods to compare side by side (OK, OK, put the rocks down, this is just a thought experiment to help give us insight). Both Gods formulate a plan for the progression of their children. Both achieve the same result, our exaltation, but the plan formulated by God 1 requires less evil pain and suffering than the plan formulated by God 2. Would not the plan of God 1 be more desirable? More perfect? If you take that thought experiment to the limit, then it is not possible for our God to formulate a plan with even one iota of unnecessary evil, pain and suffering. To do otherwise would not be perfection. I need to clarify something before moving on. What constitutes a good plan for our overall salvation? I would define that as one which affords all a path to perfection in the presence of God, and does so by honoring agency while minimizing evil, pain and suffering.
It is here we catch a glimpse of the infinite nature of God. To what level of detail does He comprehend our mortal existence? If He is truly and Infinite God, and by axiom 1 we accept that He is, then every flutter of joy and happiness, every twinge of pain and suffering we experience is known and acknowledged by Him, otherwise, He is not infinite by my understanding of the term. What level of detail in our lives can He ignore and still remain infinite? None what so ever. If God sees our lives only to a certain level of detail, then I can conceive of a God that sees us at a finer level. A God who comprehends us only to a certain level is a finite God.
Let me interject another thought experiment to reinforce the point. I am going to line up a row of God candidates (remember, this is a stone free environment, hold those rocks for later) and let’s consider which is the best, which is the infinite God. The first candidate looks in on us every second Tuesday. He is aware of our major transgressions, and perhaps our major successes as well. Not a bad God, He’s twelve times more powerful than Santa Claus, who only pulls this off once a year.
The second Candidate looks in on us every Tuesday, and is aware of significant transgressions and successes. Which is the better, more informed? The second, of course. The third candidate looks in on us once a day and is aware of our daily successes and transgressions. Much better, but still not infinite in knowledge. How about another candidate who checks in on us once each hour? Once each minute? Once each second? Follow this sequence of candidates to its logical conclusion. Once each microsecond is still a finite interval and We can conceive of a God who can do better. God is aware of everything about us. There is not a neuron of pain or happiness that he does not feel, recognize and understand.
Jacob 4: 8-10
“8. Behold, great and marvelous are the works of the Lord. How unsearchable are the depths of the mysteries of him; and it is impossible that man should find out all his ways. And no man knoweth of his ways save it be revealed unto him; wherefore, brethren, despise not the revelations of God.
9. For behold, by the power of his word man came upon the face of the earth, which earth was created by the power of his word. Wherefore, if God being able to speak and the world was, and to speak and man was created, O then, why not able to command the earth, or the workmanship of his hands upon the face of it, according to his will and pleasure?
10. Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand. For behold, ye yourselves know that he counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works.”
God understands our mortal situation to an infinite level of comprehension. Every experience or feeling, no matter how small, is recognized and acknowledged by Him. This is important enough to include as a theorem.
Theorem 8 God is aware of us to the cellular level and beyond
Would this infinitely perfect God not be able to eliminate any evil, pain and suffering that does not further our progression in his plan? By axiom 1, He can and does. Any exposure to the evil and pain we experience is necessary to the progression and perfection of His children, otherwise the infinite God as described in axiom 1 would have eliminated it. Look at the example of Nephi and King Laban. Nephi was told to slay Laban (the sin of murder) in order to minimize what I deem the unnecessary evil that Laban would enable were he allowed to live. (1 Nephi 4:13). I will summarize all of this in theorem 8.
Theorem 9 There will be no unnecessary evil, pain or suffering in His Plan.
There are two ways to learn from evil and pain. Experience it for ourselves, or learn vicariously by example. We learn vicariously all the time. We do not need to misuse drugs in order to see the deleterious effect they have on our bodies. We can learn that through the experience of those who have suffered and even died from illegal or improper drug use. We do not need to drive intoxicated and experience a serious or fatal accident to understand that drunk driving has consequences. We learn from the experiences of others who have made poor choices and paid the price. This is the basis of the next theorem. I must mention here that learning vicariously is not limited to observing and learning from those who do evil or who suffer, we learn as well from those who inspire us, who provide examples of righteous living and drawing closer to God.
Theorem 10 We individually do not need to suffer all things in order to understand the consequences of our agency. We can learn from the experience of others.
Let’s look at another example. The members of the Willie and Martin handcart companies were put through extreme hardships on their trek to the Salt Lake valley. Early snows blocked their route, frost bite, starvation and death were prevalent. A massive rescue effort was organized by Brigham Young, which taxed to the extreme the resources of the fledgling colony in the deserts of the Rocky Mountains. Were such hardship and pain really necessary for the salvation and exaltation of this handful of early saints? Most likely not, and I’m sure these early saints wondered at the extent of hardship they had to endure. Look though, at the thousands of youth who reenact that trek each year, study these early pioneers and live vicariously their experience. God has indeed amplified the experiences and lessons learned by this small company of saints to impact the lives of thousands if not millions.
I will give you a more personal example. I am married (eternally only at the moment) to one of the most loving, sensitive and faithful daughters of God in existence. My totally unbiased opinion has been collaborated many times by others. She suffered for 14 years with cancer and was finally called home after losing her battle not just with leukemia, but with three other cancers as well, all unrelated and treated with different procedures and chemotherapies. I cannot believe that the level and duration of pain and suffering this righteous daughter of God endured was necessary for her salvation. I do believe that her example in these trials has transformed her family and blessed the lives of countless others. The pain and suffering we endure may not be necessary for our own salvation, but they are used by a perfect God to exalt others.
The events in each of our lives, the evil we face, the pain we endure, the joy we feel, our failures and our triumphs, each are a lesson amplified infinitely by an all-loving, all-powerful and all-knowing God. Though hinted at in the previous theorem, this is a concept important enough to state in an additional theorem.
Theorem 11 The evil, pain and suffering which does exist is utilized perfectly as a teaching tool for countless others on both sides of the veil.
God has built into His plan a requirement that we distance ourselves from Him in order to exercise our agency and build trust in Him. What about returning to His presence? We cannot do so, since we have been tainted by evil, and God is surrounded only by perfection (axiom 2). God loves us perfectly and would not exile us from his presence without a means of return, (Theorem 2). We cannot rectify each and every sin we commit, we learned that in the discussion of theorem 6: true agency allows us to make choices for which we cannot pay the consequences. For God to provide a way for us his children to return to Him, which means we must also be perfected, then there must be a way to absolve the consequences of our agency.
Theorem 12 God will provide a path for His children to return to perfection, an Atonement to absolve sin and imperfection, wash away pain and suffering.
It takes an infinite God to span the chasm between agency and perfection. Nothing less will do. His is an infinite choreography of obedience and rebellion, mercy and judgment. Could, and would God Himself provide this atonement? God providing the atonement falls in the same category of Him creating us in a perfected state. God is perfect, is surrounded by perfection and therefore will not place Himself in a situation as sinful as that required to sacrifice a Redeemer. Someone other than God must provide the atonement necessary for our salvation. Agency brought about the Fall, and agency is paramount in His plan, which means this individual must fulfill this role voluntarily for the same reasons we distanced ourselves voluntarily from the presence of God to enter a mortal realm. To force a Messiah would violate Theorem 5, our choice to leave His presence. Further, since the consequences of our sin and anguish are infinite and unredeemable by we finite mortals, this atonement must be infinite as well.
Theorem 13 An infinite atonement is required for us to return to the presence of God, and this atonement must be based on agency, therefore the need for a willing Messiah. Perfection must choose to intercede in chosen imperfection.
The Messiah that we worship, He who has interceded in our behalf to wash away our sin, our imperfection, our suffering and our sorrow is indeed a willing Messiah who chose to descend beneath all thing, experience all evil, and suffer the unimaginable for our exaltation.
Alma 34:10
For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice.
Where have we arrived in constructing this mental painting? Starting with three simple axioms about the nature of God, we have constructed a model in which God has mapped out a marvelous plan that incorporates agency, yet minimizes in unaccountable, incredible ways the evil, pain and suffering of His creations in respecting and encouraging that agency. To us, evil is allowed seemingly limitless influence in this mortal world, but is in fact in perfect control to fulfill His purpose. He has constructed a perfect plan by which we separate ourselves from Him to exercise agency, at the same time providing a path, an atonement, by which we can return to Him. For me, two important concepts come from this exercise. First, God is aware of us to infinite perfection. There is not one twitch, one neuron experiencing joy or pain that He is not aware of in full. Second, God manages evil, pain and suffering to perfection. There is not one infinitesimal pin prick of pain, or one fleeting experience of Joy that is not used to His infinite purpose.
Perfection does not mean boring. Because God is perfect does not mean He has no choice. As we push a system to infinite perfection we see an explosion of diversity and richness. The mathematical term for this is emergence. God is magnificent, far more so than I can even begin to imagine in this insignificant mental exercise.
Moses 1:4,5
Look, and I will show thee the workmanship of mine hands; but not all, for my works are without end, and also my words, for they never cease. Wherefore, no man can behold all my works, except he behold all my glory; and no man can behold all my glory, and afterwards remain in the flesh on the earth.
I testify of His power, His knowledge and His love for each of us. This rendering has postulated a world where a Supreme God is in complete and loving control of all events that transpire in His infinite domain. Evil is not running rampant, but is perfectly managed and controlled to fulfill His ultimate design. Pain and suffering are held to the absolute minimum necessary for this plan and the lessons learned are projected in uncountable ways to all His creations. I don’t know the mind and will of God any more than does my neighbor’s cat, probably even less, but the love, power and wisdom of a God who fits the parameters of this exercise fills my soul with awe and gratitude. What of the actual state of God’s creations, and the infinite care given to His plan? It is more breathtaking, I am sure, than I can possibly imagine. What thrills me in all of this is how much ability God has given us to understand and appreciate Him, even though we are so far removed from His infinite power and realm.
In this exercise, I have skipped many steps and left out much detail in moving from one theorem to another. From a mathematical perspective, sloppy work indeed. I did so to make this exercise more intuitive, to keep the flow more readable, but the mathematical tools and procedures I used are solidly in place. Please forgive any gaps you find in my logic. Better yet, respond and let me know.
The axioms and theorems discussed here are bold statements, backed by scripture as well as statements and discourses from church leaders and Christian apologetics in general. To add these here would break the flow of narrative in painting this mental image of our infinite God. In future essays, I will make that attempt. In the meant time, if this exercise has drawn you to the scriptures and the words of living and past prophets, so much the better.
Latter-Day Saints 