My 2022 Sunstone presentation will be entitled “Eschatology in Community of Christ Through the Ages”. The plan of salvation has been on my mind a lot lately, and I decided to try and convey it through some psychedelic fractal art pieces.
The descriptions and the scriptural references are currently under construction, so check back for improvements!
I hope you enjoy them!
I drew inspiration for this design from the Shri Yantra. I wanted to convey the spiritual creation of all things before it was infused with the physical. I wanted to convey the order, complexity, and diversity which is present in all things.
Relevant scriptures:
Genesis 2:5, 9, 11 (IV) / LDS Moses 3:5, 7, 9
Triangles came to symbolize human souls. In this piece every third triangle is darker than the others and is pointed the other way. This represents the 1/3 of the souls who chose to follow Lucifer. Often times the lighter and darker triangles are pointing towards each other, symbolizing the tension that existed. Other times they point away from each other, symbolizing the eventual separation.
I also wanted to convey how this period essentially could have gone on for an eternity before it concluded, and the triangles seemingly zoom in endlessly.
This was a difficult piece for me, but I am quite pleased with how it turned out. This is the first stage where humanity inhabits a physical body. The bodies are found in 7 different colors, symbolizing the 7 continents. They are found on a blue circle, which is the earth itself. The earth is encompassed by a colorful atmosphere and phases of the moon.
On the very edges are the triangles which represent human souls. Some are pointing inwards while others point outwards. This symbolizes the birth and death that is constantly happening on earth.
I think the Spirit World is my favorite piece in this series. Traditionally in Community of Christ, everyone who was righteous or becomes righteous in Spirit Prison goes to Spirit Paradise without the need for work for the dead. There is a chasm between Paradise and Prison, but since Christ there has been movement between them.
The very center is overlapping circles. I wanted to convey the reunions of family and friends once their loved ones join them in the afterlife. The palm leaves convey the peace that would be found here. Above the palm leaves are a triangle, 2 swoops, and 3 dots; these are meant to convey celebrating that would inevitably take place in Paradise. The flames are meant to symbolize the bridges which connect Paradise and Prison; they are bright, colorful, and inviting – I chose fire because of the hymn “The Spirit of God, Like a Fire is Burning”. The whole of paradise is surrounded by a circle of hearts, symbolizing the enveloping love that would permeate paradise.
There are spirits that are leaving Paradise to go into Prison, presumably to help others cross into Paradise. In Prison, all the souls are pointing and moving towards Paradise.
For this piece, I repurposed many of the elements from the “Earthly Mortality” piece. It contains a circle with the same atmosphere. I wanted to emphasize that this Millennial period would be rather similar to Earth today, but with some improvements.
The resurrection and the Millennium are something that isn’t talked about a lot in community of Christ. This part of our eschatology is especially complicated because we have a complicated history regarding a literal and physical Zion in Independence, Missouri. At the core, our conception of Zion and the Millennium envisioned a global community in which everyone is treated with dignity and lives in peace; everything else is subsidiary to that. With that goal in mind, I decided to decided to harken back to our antiquated understandings of Zion, particularly with the Plat of the City of Zion, which was designed in June 1833. The circle of earth is filled with diverse communities which all are working together in different ways. At the center we have the symbol for the peace that we strive for: the temple.
The earth itself is surrounded by dozens of doves, which traditionally symbolize peace. There are so many doves it looks as if earth is just radiating peace.
The realms which are described in D&C 76 and 85 are also considered rather antiquated by many people in Community of Christ. Many have opted for either a traditional dualistic heaven/hell dichotomy, simply a single afterlife, or don’t really know or talk about the afterlife at all. Admittedly, it has been difficult finding material talking about the afterlife in general, which is a large motivator behind me creating these artworks to begin with.
That being said, I have quite the affinity for the 3 Degrees, but my understanding differs quite a bit from the traditional conception.
Firstly, I do not care for the term “kingdom”, because it is monarchial, which is a system of government that I have absolutely no connection to. In place of this I use the term “Realm”, which I believe conveys the same concept in a much more modern way.
I do not see the different realms as a placement test based off of adherence to a list of do’s and don’ts, but by where your spiritual maturity level is. We, by our nature, are always changing and growing, and the different realms are, in a lot of ways, like different “classes”. There are certain things that you need to learn and in certain ways that you need to grow. Each of the different realms represent a stage in spiritual development and maturity. Once you have learned the lessons you need to in a specific realm, you move onto the next. To eternally place us somewhere would mean that we stop growing, which is contrary to the nature that the Divine placed inside of us, so I believe that there is movement between the realms.
Those in the Telestial Realm were focused on lying, conning, using their sexuality to harm others, oppressing the oppressed, and in general putting themselves before others at the detriment of others. This realm is gray; it doesn’t have a lot of life or sharing life with others. While everyone is arranged in the shape of a star, everyone is able to isolate themselves to their heart’s content here, without having to worry about others interfering with their lives.
These people are focused most on the basics of human interaction. They learn the fundamentals of treating others as they want to be treated.
The Terrestrial Realm is symbolized by the moon, and this has a lot of overlapping colorfully muted crescents. the people here are often isolated within their own little area, but that isn’t always the case. People here are more willing to work together with others for mutual benefit. Many of these people once were tricked by others to maybe not be as kind as they otherwise would have been, but are working to undo that conditioning.
Finally, the Celestial realm. This Realm is symbolized by the sun, which is bright and colorful. As people get closer to it, there is less and less distinction and differences. In the middle is just bright love. The people who inhabit this Realm are of “one heart and one mind”, and are eager to share each other burdens to make them lighter.