Thursday, October 25, 2018

Stephen L. Richards on the Spirit of the Father filling the universe (cf. Jeremiah 23:24)


If a man enters a hiding place, Do I not see him--says the Lord. For I fill both heaven and earth--declares the Lord. (Jer 23:24 1985 JPS Tanakh)

In my post Does Jeremiah 23:24 pose problems for LDS theology? I addressed the common charge that this verse is problematic for Latter-day Saint theology that holds that the Father is embodied.

That Latter-day Saints do agree with this verse, namely that God’s spirit and the influence thereof fills the universe was something explicated by Elder Stephen L. Richards (1879-1959) at the  April 1951 General Conference, in comparison to our (currently) limited, mortal nature:

I believe that man has divine attributes emanating from divine lineage. The Spirit of the Father is distributed through the Universe, and influences all life and all things.

There is a spirit in man which, within the limitations of his contacts in life, radiates from him and touches the lives and things about him. This spirit may be called personality. Whatever it is called, it exists and it is a potent force. When once set in motion it cannot well be controlled, but fortunately it is within our power to determine the characteristics which go into the structure of our lives and thus determine the influences and radiations which come from us. Our living will mold these characteristics into our lives. (Conference Report, April 1951, p. 87, emphasis added)