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Stars and the heavens

Words of the scriptures and prophets

Inspired and prophetic utterances concerning the stars, the skies, and the heavens.

“When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained…” (Psalms 8:3)
“He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them by their names…his understanding is infinite.” (Psalms 147:4-5)
“For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.” (Isaiah 14:13-14)
“And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” (Daniel 12:3)
“The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.” (Revelation 1:20)
“The earth rolls upon her wings, and the sun giveth his light by day, and the moon giveth her light by night, and the stars also give their light, as they roll upon their wings in their glory, in the midst of the power of God. Unto what shall I liken these kingdoms, that ye may understand? Behold, all these are kingdoms, and any man who hath seen any or the least of these, hath seen God moving in His majesty and in His power, I say unto you, he hath seen him.” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:44-47)
“Let the mountains shout for joy, and all ye valleys cry aloud; and all ye seas and dry lands tell the wonders of your eternal King! And ye rivers, and brooks, and rills, flow down with gladness. Let the woods and all the trees of the field praise the Lord; and ye solid rocks weep for joy! And let the sun, moon, and morning stars sing together, and let all the sons of God shout for joy! And let the eternal creations declare his name forever and ever! And again I say, how glorious is the voice we hear from heaven, proclaiming in our ears, glory, and salvation, and honor, and immortality, and eternal life; kingdoms, principalities, and powers!” (Doctrine and Covenants 128:23)
“God has made certain decrees which are fixed and immovable; for instance, God set the sun, the moon, and the stars in the heavens, and gave them their laws, conditions, and bounds, which they cannot pass, except by His commandments; they all move in perfect harmony in their sphere and order, and are as lights, wonders, and signs unto us. The sea also has its bounds which it cannot pass. God has set many signs on the earth, as well as in the heavens, for instance, the oak of the forest, the fruit of the tree, the herb of the field, all bear a sign that seed hath been planted there; for it is a decree of the Lord that every tree, plant, and herb bearing seed should bring forth of its kind, and cannot come forth after any other law or principle. Upon the same principle do I contend that baptism is a sign ordained of God, for the believer in Christ to take upon himself in order to enter into the kingdom of God, ‘for except ye are born of water and of the spirit ye cannot enter into the kingdom of God’, said the Savior. It is a sign and a commandment which God has set for man to enter into His kingdom. Those who seek to enter in any other way will seek in vain, for God will not receive them, neither will the angels acknowledge their works as accepted, for they have not obeyed the ordinances, nor attended to the signs which God ordained for the salvation of man, to prepare him for, and give him a title to, a celestial glory; and God has decreed that all who will not obey His voice shall not escape the damnation of hell. What is the damnation of hell? To go with that society who have not obeyed His commands.” (Teachings of the Latter-day Prophets, Joseph Smith)
One of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s favorite scriptural names of our Savior is ‘bright and morning star‘, found in Revelation 22:16. Elder Holland says, “The bright and morning star is technically the last star you see before dawn, the last star in the heavens of the night leading into the dawn. I love that image of light in our lives always. He is the light in our life, He is the light of the world…”
“The earth is groaning under corruption, oppression, tyranny, and bloodshed, and God is coming out of His hiding place, as He said He would, to vex the nations of the earth. Daniel, in his vision, saw convulsion upon convulsion; he ‘beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit’; and one was brought before him like unto the Son of Man, and all nations, kindreds, tongues, and peoples did serve and obey Him. It is for us to be righteous, that we may be wise and understand; for none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand, and they that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever and ever. ” (Teachings of the Latter-day Prophets – Joseph Smith)
“I love to view the things around me, to gaze upon the sun, moon, and stars, to study the planetary system, and the world we inhabit; to behold their beauty, order, harmony, and the operations of existence around me. I can see something more than that jargon, those childish quibbles; this heaven beyond the bounds of time and space, where they have nothing to do but sit and sing themselves away to everlasting bliss or go and roast on gridirons. There is nothing like that to be found in nature — everything is beautifully harmonious, and perfectly adapted to the position it occupies in the world. Whether you look at birds, beasts, or the human system, you see something exquisitely beautiful and harmonious, and worthy of the contemplation of all intelligence. What is man’s wisdom in comparison to it? I couldn’t help but believe there is a God, if there were no such things as religion in the world.” (Teachings of the Latter-day Prophets, John Taylor)
“Upon those of you who have worthy determinations, the Lord will open the way before you whereby you can accomplish the labor. There is no passage in all the Book of Mormon that has made such a profound impression upon my very heart, soul, and being, as the statement of Nephi when he went up to Jerusalem with his brothers to secure the brass plates from Laban. When they made a failure, and the brothers of Nephi wanted to go back to their father’s tent in the wilderness, Nephi told them he would not go back, that he would stay there until they had accomplished the thing which the Lord required of them. He announced to them that he knew the Lord made no requirements of men but what he prepared the way whereby the thing that was required might be accomplished. I am not quoting the exact language but the exact idea. I read the Book of Mormon as a young man, and fell in love with Nephi more than with any other character in profane or sacred history that I have ever read, except the Savior of the world. No other individual has made such a strong impression upon me as did Nephi. He has been one of the guiding stars of my life.” (Teachings of Latter-day Prophets, Heber J. Grant)
“With these resolves in mind, with all my heart I say, fellow workers, God bless you. Cherish in your hearts the testimony of truth, make it as solid and as firm and unwavering as the fixed stars in the heavens. May there come into everyone’s heart and in all our homes the true spirit of Christ our Redeemer, whose reality, whose inspiring guidance I know to be real.” (Teachings of Latter-day Prophets, David O. McKay)
“James L. Gordon is right when he declares,’A cathedral without windows, a face without eyes, a field without flowers, an alphabet without vowels, a continent without rivers, a night without stars, and a sky without a sun — these would not be so sad as a world without a Bible or a soul without Christ.” (David O. McKay)
“Earth to be a celestial sun. It is my opinion that the great stars that we see, including our sun, are celestial worlds that have passed on to their exaltation or other final resurrected status. This is in conflict, of course, with the teachings of scientific men, who declare that the sun is losing its energy and gradually cooling off and will eventually be a dead world. I do not believe the Lord has any such thing in his plan. The Lord lives in ‘everlasting burning’, we are informed. President Brigham Young has said that this earth, when it is celestialized, will shine like the sun, and why not.” (Joseph Fielding Smith)
“When I learned how intense the heat of that orb is and that our sun is a celestial world, I did not know whether I wanted to live in a celestial world or not, if it was that hot. But then I came to understand that if i have a body suitable to dwell in eternal burning, then I think I would like it.” Elder Melvin J. Ballard.
“Abraham, greatest astronomer of all ages. Abraham knew far more in his day regarding the planets and the fixed stars out in space than the greatest astronomer knows today. How did he get his knowledge? Not through the telescope, not through the spectroscope, but through the opening of his vision by the Spirit of God. He was taught by the Lord himself who revealed unto him all these things and he explained the great heavenly bodies and their workings; also, the earth, in a manner that never has been approached and cannot be approached by the scientific man with all his instruments to aid him and inspired by worldly learning, and don’t you forget it.” (Joseph Fielding Smith)
“We read in the Book of Abraham that the Lord revealed to the ancient worthies many things pertaining to His kingdom, and how He had created worlds without number, and that they have passed through the same course of development that we are going through today and have gone on to their glory. The ancient prophets wrote and sang about the stars. They were well acquainted with them. The shepherds out with their flocks at night sang and wrote about the stars. What is there more beautiful than the worlds of David that perhaps he sang while tending his flocks in the dear shining of stars on a beautiful spring evening: ‘When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the work of thy hands, thou hast put all things under his feet; O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth.’ ” (Joseph Fielding Smith)
“It is a foolish notion to think that the ancient inhabitants of the earth were ignorant of the heavenly bodies. They were acquainted with many of the constellations and the movements of the planets and sang about them. Thus Deborah and Barak, after their victory over the Canaanites sang a song of triumph in which they said, ‘…the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.’ Moreover, we read in the words of Job, that he was evidently an astronomer, at least he was well acquainted with the stars. In his defense against the accusations of his tormentors he said, ‘I know it is so of a truth, but how should man be just with God? If he will contend with him, he cannot answer him one of a thousand.’ Then speaking of the power of the Lord he said, “Which removeth the mountains, and they know not; which turneth them in his anger. Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble. Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars. Which doth spread out the heavens, and treadeth upon the waves of the sea. Which maketh Arcturus, Orion, Pleiades, and the chambers of the south. Which doeth great things past finding out, yea, and wonders without number.’ (Job 38:31) (President Joseph Fielding Smith)
“On the west wall of the great Salt Lake Temple, underneath the center spires, is a symbolic representation of the constellation of stars known as ‘The Dipper’ with the pointers pointing to the north star, which was said by the architect of the temple to represent the great truth that through the priesthood of God the lost may find their way.” (Elder Harold B. Lee)
“God bless you, my young friends. Keep on thinking the serious thoughts and asking those serious questions, and in time, as you keep your eyes fixed upon the stars to guide you on and on and upward, you will reach your objective — an exaltation in the celestial kingdom of our Heavenly Father, which I pray for you and all the youth of Zion, and all the world if that were possible, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” ( President Harold B. Lee)

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