The Creation - Part II

And worlds without number have I created.... For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them. (Moses 1:33, 35)

The Lord told Moses that his creations were innumerable. Carl Sagan, in his book Cosmos, attempts to give us perspective about the immensity of the universe. “The dimensions of the Cosmos are so large that using familiar units of distance, such as meters or miles, chosen for their utility on Earth, would make little sense. Instead, we measure distance with the speed of light. In one second a beam of light travels 186,000 miles, nearly 300,000 kilometers or seven times around the earth. In eight minutes it will travel from the Sun to Earth. We can say that the Sun is eight light-minutes away. In a year, it crosses nearly ten trillion kilometers, about six trillion miles of intervening space. That unit of length, the distance light goes in a year, is called a light year. It measures not time, but distances--enormous distances....

“There are some hundred billion galaxies, each with, on the average, a hundred billion stars. In all the galaxies, there are perhaps as many planets as stars...ten billion trillion.”(1) The creations of the Lord are grand and incomprehensible by human standards. Mr. Sagan only begins to help us imagine the greatness and immensity of the universe.

George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjodahl wrote, “The works of God encompass many other worlds, and of these Moses would not receive knowledge.

“We, perhaps, cannot conceive the immensity of God’s works; indeed, His ‘works and words’ have no end. The worlds which He has by His Son created, cannot be numbered by men. There are worlds that endure forever, serving the Lord. There are others that had not fulfilled the measure of their creation and at the word of God passed away. But truly, in the heavens above, in the stars He has established, God has raised a memorial of His greatness to all generations.”(2)

Though the creations of God are immeasurable, the Lord told Moses, “But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you.”(3) It would be fascinating to know more about these great creations spread across the universe and their part in the gospel plan. Apparently, this is not necessary for us to fulfill our purpose on this earth. The scriptures remain virtually silent on the other creations of God. Our focus should be on the scriptures and revelations the Lord has given us and not on the mysteries that have not yet been revealed.
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[1] Carl Sagan, Cosmos (New York: Random House, 1980), pp. 5-7.
[2] George Reynolds and Janne M. Sjodahl, Commentary on the Pearl of Great Price (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1965), p. 94.
[3] Moses 1:35.