Introduction
This article seeks to present a new and comprehensive cosmology as seen from an LDS viewpoint, but using the best of non-LDS sources for greater understanding. Cosmology is defined as “the study of the origin, evolution, and eventual fate of the universe”, but in religious terms it is more properly an understanding of how man, god and religion fit into the origin, purpose and destiny of the human soul within the universe. LDS people call this “Eternal Progression” within The Plan of Salvation. Joseph Smith’s view of eternal progression added a lot to the existing cosmology of Catholicism and Medieval Christianity, but the many works cited in this paper add immensely to the general LDS view, and may clear up some contradictions in the prevailing LDS view of the afterworld.

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Is Religious Cosmology Man-made or Revealed?
The advocacy group “Survival International” suggests that as of the year 2010, there are at least 100 uncontacted indigenous tribal peoples living world-wide. The pictures below were taken by airplane in 2010 of a tribe living near the Peruvian / Brazilian border which officials in the civilized world have known about and monitored since at least 1910. Groups such as Survival International fight for these group’s right of self-determination and try to uphold policy enforcing no-fly zones and no travel zones which leave the groups in peace until they purposefully seek contact with the outside world for themselves. It is obvious from pictures such as these and other encounters that these tribes are frightened and negatively affected by encounters from the outside world. (Even marginal contact often introduces disease which decimates these types of tribal populations) It is a bit amazing to think that there are dozens of these isolated unevolved groups living in the midst of such a connected, advanced, technological world. (consider this YouTube video for instance)

The implications of this on the idea that man is alone in the universe should be obvious. Could mankind really be the only advanced life in the multiverse? Does anyone really believe there are not sophisticated civilizations which exist in the heavens or other dimensions, watching over, protecting, and studying us on our evolutionary journey of self determination and progression? Isn’t it probable that advanced life in our galaxy looks at earth’s inhabitants with the same pity, compassion and respect for self determination, as our technologically advanced world looks on these aboriginal tribal groups?

Uncontacted primitive tribe living in Brazilian rain forest photographed in 2010 (red & black is body paint). Many such groups exists which are totally unaware of the advanced world around them.

In the following article I suggest that most of the world’s religious and scientific advancement is very likely result of inspiration passed to man from advanced extra-dimensional groups in the heavens. These groups seem to have carefully and subtly worked within our superstitions and religious traditions to telepathically pass information which might help us individually and as a planet to one day join the galactic community–without frightening us or violating our right to self-determination. However, because of the contradictory aspects of channeled/revealed literature and near-death experiences, it also seems evident that any such interaction happens in a subjective metaphysical realm where the cultural beliefs and expectations of the individual are strangely meshed with completely unique and new information which seems to be passed to them. Such ideas might seem a bit crazy… but then again you might think about what the aboriginal people in the above pictures thought when they tried to tell their friends about their unbelievable encounter with a low-flying helicopter.

Law of witnesses
LDS people like to talk about the law of witnesses spoken of in 2 Cor. 13:1 which says that “in the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established”. I believe this common-sense concept applies to all truths revealed to man by higher dimensional groups. The highly organized, and strictly governed groups in the heavens, which religion’s typically associate with “God”, subtly reveal truths through the subconscious of witnesses to each respective class of people on earth according to their existing traditions and ability to receive offered information. So not only have heavenly truths been shown to multiple witnesses within Israel or the earth’s major religions but those heavenly truths are also revealed through multiple separate secular witnesses and thus on to the world at large. In Mormonism we call the religious witnesses, prophets, seers or revelators; although the generally accepted term in most of Western society for a religious witness is a “clairvoyant”, “channel” or “mystic“.  As I have combed the world’s revealed texts for cosmological information, I have found a handful of works which have been especially helpful in piecing together a cohesive view which expands and makes sense of the piecemeal and often ambiguous descriptions of cosmology found in LDS scripture.

Most Mormon’s see Joseph Smith (1805 to 1844) as the ultimate modern witness to heavenly beings, and the only true modern revelator of religious cosmology. However, this article will seek to prove that there are many more modern cosmological witnesses outside of Mormonism than in it. For instance, John Ballou Newbrough’s work (1828-1891) claimed to receive a book of scripture from light-beings which is larger than Joseph’s Book of Mormon & D&C and contains far more detailed cosmological information. He was followed by another in the seer and mystic John Sebastian Ward (1885-1949) whose channeled works on the Spirit world correspond closely to Joseph Smith’s revelation of heaven found in D&C 76. Yet an earlier forerunner was Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) whose exhaustive works likely influenced Joseph’s theology. There are many more skilled adepts and scientists in each major division of the world who were parts of the inspired religious reformation movements, religious great awakenings and industrial/technological revolutions. A few of the most popular of the Second Great Awakening were Siyyid Shírází (Founder of Bahá’í Faith; 8 million adherents), Mirzā Ghulām Ahmad (Aḥmadiyya Muslims; 20 million adherents), Hong Xiuquan (prophetic icon of Chinese millennialism)

In the last few decades it seems most modern individuals producing ‘revealed’ works have considered themselves part of the “new age movement”. One quite modern example was Don Elkins, whose strangely original works pioneered much of new age cosmology and like the Newbrough, Blavatsky and the Theosphical Society, did a fantastic job of harmonizing the worldviews of ancient eastern and western prophetic or mystic works. All of these individuals taught controversial cosmological concepts which are in many cases validated by modern consensus oriented scientific inquiry. All of these prophet/seers (called mystics in modern terms), claim to have been taught by light-beings or angels (or “Jesus” if this was their religious tradition), as well as seeing “heaven” and channeling large literary works. Works which give strikingly similar accounts of eternal progression, the constitution of heaven and a new theology—greatly advancing the prevailing ideas taught in Catholicism and medieval Christianity. Each of these individuals work’s mirrored larger cultural changes in social and industrial thought and development. By piecing together the evidence given by all their accounts, I’ll attempt to construct picture of the afterlife which seems to harmonize the views of many major earthly religions with each other as well as with scientific findings. And I believe that future consensus oriented scientific inquiry will eventually iron out the misconceptions and distortions of the world’s religious views and bring the world into a general unity of belief and understanding concerning the metaphysical realms and the ways in which higher dimensional being communicate in those realms.

standard simplistic LDS view of eternal progression

Identifying misunderstanding
Like most large religious sects, the LDS church is typically a little narrow minded as to what revelations or prophets it accepts or believes. Because of this, LDS theology has not advanced much past the cosmological ideas of Joseph Smith and the early nineteenth century. In teaching our view of cosmology, LDS missionaries commonly use the above diagram, which although somewhat corresponding to the accounts of other modern mystics in a simplistic sense– ends up distorting the available picture of revealed Christian cosmology. It suggests that the degrees of glory seen in Smith’s D&C 76 revelation, are different spheres or planets of sorts, completely separate from earth or the spirit world to which men pass after corporeal resurrection. A careful reading of Joseph Smith’s revelations, in comparison to other given revelations shows this is not quite the case (we will cover this misunderstanding in detail much later). The illustration and prevailing view also ignores Smith’s view of earth’s future status as a “terrestrial kingdom” during the millennium, or the earth’s future status as a “celestial kingdom” (LDS Terms to be described later). The illustration also perpetuates distorted views concerning the ‘Spirit World’ being a two-divisioned, disembodied realm where the majority of people on earth wait for an extended period of time until the “resurrection”, which will occur at the beginning and end of the millennium (which again is a gross oversimplification.) I have attempted to create some diagrams of my own to better show the complexity of available revealed Christian cosmology. However, I have been met with frustration realizing that they will also inevitably introduce confusion and misunderstanding in people’s minds. It is simply too difficult to properly depict the complexity of the modern mystic accounts of dimensional divisions in pictures so I will try to draw on as many examples in physics as possible. Hopefully they will help people get at least one step closer to the picture of reality as described by the many witnesses.

A less simplified view of LDS cosmology based on LDS theology. Events like the “fall, flood and second coming” are archetypes based on Judeo-christian worldviews which use partially mythological events to teach important symbolic truths.

Cosmology
The first step to understanding modern channeled Christian cosmology or “eternal progression” is to have at least a general understanding of the earth’s progression or orbit within the galaxy. Since man’s progression is said to follow that of the earth’s evolution, an understanding of cosmology gives a framework for us to better understand earth’s origins and destiny. Many LDS scriptures show this is supposedly often the first step taken by higher beings in educating mystics/prophets, and was among the first concepts shown to Moses (Moses 1:4,33–38), Abraham (Abr 3:2–21), Enoch (Moses 7), the Brother of Jared (Ether 3:25) and others. Joseph Smith purports to have introduced a very basic version of this cosmology in the Pearl of Great Price (see facsimile 2). In his channeled works (footnote: it is important to note that Joseph’s works were channeled, not translated), Joseph Smith suggests that there is a physical and spiritual hierarchical order to the universe where stars/planets gravitationally and energetically rule over the evolution of other stars/planets and the higher dimensional rulers of those systems rule over the inhabitants of the governed bodies as well. Abraham states in Smith’s Pearl of Great Price that he,

2 …saw the stars, that they were very great, and that one of them was nearest unto the throne of God; and there were many great ones which were near unto it;
3 And the Lord said unto me: These are the governing ones; and the name of the great one is Kolob, because it is near unto me, for I am the Lord thy God: I have set this one to govern all those which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest.

In the notes written by Joseph Smith for the hypocephalus (facsimile 2) we get more detail stating that “Kolob, signifying the first creation, nearest to the celestial, or the residence of God.” Is “first in government, the last pertaining the the measurement of time”. Abraham is further taught that Kolob has a binary or sister sphere of sorts called Oliblish by the Egyptians that “stands next to Kolob”, being “the next grand governing creation near the celestial or the place where God resides. …which is equal with Kolob in its revolution and in its measuring of time”. The account suggests these bodies are either governing masses in the center of our Milky Way galaxy, or a binary system composing one of the “twelve fixed stars” described below. The power and gravitational influence of these bodies is then traced down through two more “stars” called Kli-flos-is-es, or Hah-ko-kau-beam which then pass their power onto Kae-e-vanrash which in turn “governs fifteen other fixed planets or stars, [including]… the Moon, the Earth and the Sun in their annual revolutions.” In Joseph Smiths personal notes to the hypocephalus and “Alphabet of the Egyptian Language”, he goes into a bit more detail naming the “twelve fixed stars” (of which Kolob belongs) and “fifteen moving planets”, as well as giving what seems to be a slightly different explanation of some of the aforementioned spheres…

“Oliblish, Enish-go-on-dosh, and Kaii-ven-rash, are the three grand central powers that govern all the other creations, which have been sought out by the most aged of all the fathers, since the beginning of the creation, by means of the Urim and Thummim: The names of the other twelve of the fixed stars are: Kolob, Limdi, Zip, Vusel, Venisti, Waine, Wayoh-ox-oan, oansli, Shible, Shineflis, flis, os. The Egyptian names of the fifteen moving planets are: Oanisis, Flosisis, floese, Abbesels, Eleash, Subble, Slundlo, Carroam, Crashmakraw, obblesisim, Izinsbah, missel.

“Kli flosisis signifies Kolob in its motion, which is swifter than the rest of the twelve fixed stars; going before, being first in motion, being delegated to have power over others to regulate others in their time” (J.S. Alphabet of the Egyptian Language)

Comparison of Earth\’s nearly circular orbit around the Sun to Our Solar System’s more elliptical orbit around the Galactic Core in our Milky Way Galaxy. In reality the orbital path more resembles a serpent as it helically spirals or zig-zags above and below the galactic equatorial plane.

Comparing this to what we currently know of our Galaxy, its not easily understood what Joseph Smith was getting at (or if this is a feasible astronomical model at all). But although this cosmological model may at first seem a bit far-fetched, it in fact has more witnesses to its general validity in both John Newbrough’s work and in Hindu and eastern cosmology. Just a few decades after Joseph Smith, Newbrough independently wrote a cohesive and highly illustrated cosmology consisting of our solar system orbiting through our Milky Way galaxy in a circuit, in his book Oahspe, A Sacred History of the Higher and Lower Heavens on the Earth.

1. First, the earth plieth in a circuit around the sun, which circuit is divided into four arcs called spring, summer, autumn and winter.
2. Second, the sun, with his family, plieth in a large circuit [around the center of the galaxy], which is divided into one thousand five hundred arcs, the distance of which for each arc is about three thousand years or one [harvest] cycle.
3. During a cycle, the earth and her heavens fall in the spiritual regions of hundreds of etherean worlds, where dwell Jehovah’s high-raised angels, whose Chiefs have to do with the management of worlds.
4. During the time of a cycle, the earth is therefore under the control and management of such of Jehovah’s angels for the resurrection of man of the earth. (Oahspe 9/1.1)

Like Joseph Smith’s work, Newbrough’s work suggests that as our Solar System orbits the Galactic core, we pass by higher dimensional “etherean” worlds or “governing” systems which are inhabited by higher dimensional beings who subtly govern the inhabitants of world who pass within their domains. Newbrough’s works contain hundreds of pages which detail the histories, philosophies and tactics of these extra-dimensional beings. And the picture they paint is surprisingly similar to Joseph Smith’s and many ancient religious myths which integrate religion into the movement of our solar system’s as it orbits around the milky-way galaxy. Just as a single rotation around the sun can be separated into 4 seasons, 12 months, 52 weeks and 365 days; so also did the ancients try to give names to the corresponding orbital periods of the solar system moving in the Galaxy. An example is given below

The differing worlds of dimensions of ancient Norse Cosmology.

1. And thou [speaking to an officer of the current governing “god” of earth] shalt dwell in thy kingdom seven years and sixty days, and the time shall be called the first dawn of dan, and the next succeeding shall be called the second dawn of dan, and so on, as long as the earth bringeth forth.
2. And the time from one dawn of dan to another shall be called one dan’ha; and four dan’ha shall be called one square, because this is the sum of one density, which is twelve thousand of the earth’s years. And twelve squares shall be called one cube, which is the first dividend of the third space, in which there is no variation in the vortex of the earth. And four cubes shall be called one sum, because the magnitude thereof embraceth one equal of the Great Serpent. (Oahspe 07/2.6)

The Zodiac, Precession of the Equinoxes & their Effect on Earth
Both Newbrough’s and Smith’s works suggest that in ancient times, higher beings came to earth and taught men a general understanding of astronomy & astrophysics and their relationship to galactic rule. The idea of a “great celestial serpent” is found in many ancient cultures and generally seems to describe the Galactic Orbit of our Solar System following a sinusoidal or possibly helical pattern as it dips above and below the galactic equatorial plane. These motions relate to Earth’s precession of the equinoxes as well as the precession or axial wobbling of our sun. (The sun wobbles and travels in a slight helical pattern because of the gravitational effects of Jupiter and the other large planets; seen from the side this orbital path would look like a stretched spring or partially coiled flying serpent.) What makes Oahspe, the Law of One and Joseph Smith’s mystic works unique is the picture they paint of how these well understood astronomical phenomena affects the earth and its inhabitants. Their works agree, first in suggesting that just as the earth experience’s periodic “conjunctions” with other larger planets in its orbit around the sun, our solar system also experiences conjunctions with far larger star clusters as it orbits the galactic core. These star clusters not only subtly affect our solar system gravitationally and electromagnetically, they also rule us spiritually as they contain “gods”, archangels or unified planetary consciousnesses who “have to do with the management of worlds” (Oahspe 9/1.3). This gives a bit more insight to Joseph Smiths hypocephalus where “god”, who is associated with a celestial body (throne) is said to rule earth from/by the fixed star known in a certain Egyptian dialect transliterated as ‘Kolob’. This idea of course, is not limited to Mormonism, Star Wars and other science fiction but exists in some form in the astrology of many ancient cultures. The following is another excerpt from Oahspe which gives a more detailed account of earth’s galactic orbit and how it relates to “heavenly” government.

04/7.2. And Jehovah caused the earth, and the family of the sun to travel in an orbit, the circuit of which requires of them four million seven hundred thousand years. And He placed in the line of the orbit, at distances of [approximately] three thousand years, etherean [celestial] lights, at which places, as the earth passes through, angels from the second heaven come into its corporeal presence. As ambassadors they come, in companies of hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands, and these are called the etherean [celestial] hosts of the Most High.
04/7.3. They come not as single individuals; nor do they come for a single individual mortal.
04/7.4. And Jehovah gave this sign to man on earth; which is to say: In the beginning of the light of dan’ha, the spirits of the newly dead shall have power to take upon themselves the semblance of corporeal bodies, and appear and talk face to face with mortals. Every three thousand years Jehovah gave this sign on earth, so that those, who learned the powers and capacities of such familiar spirits, could bear testimony regarding the origin of man on earth. || Jehovah said: And when it shall come to pass in any of the times of dan’ha that these signs manifest, man shall know that the hosts of the Most High come soon after. Let him who will become wise, enumerate the great lights of My serpent, for in such times I set aside things that are old, and establish My chosen anew. ||
04/7.5. In the time of the earth, when man was brought forth from mortal to immortal life, the earth passed beyond se’mu [interstellar organic debris]. The angels of heaven remained with corporeal man, but not in the semblance of mortals, but as spirits; and by virtue of their presence, strove to make man wise and upright before Jehovah. Upon the earth the number of such angels was millions. To these angels Jehovah spoke:
04/7.6. Behold the work you have taken in hand! It was commanded to you all, to partake of all the fruits of the earth except of the fruit of the tree of life, which is of the knowledge of the earth and heaven, lest you lose your inheritance in etherea.
04/7.7. Behold, you now have sons and daughters on the earth; by your love to them you have become bound spirits of the lower heaven. Until you redeem them in wisdom and power even to the sixth generation, you shall not rise again and inherit My emancipated heavens.
04/7.8. To which end you shall be co workers with one another in system and order. In My name you shall become an organic body and known as the heaven of the earth, or lower heaven, which shall travel with the earth.
04/7.9. And I will allot to you a Chief, who is wise in experience in founding heavenly kingdoms; and he shall appoint from among you, officers, messengers, ashars, asaphs, and es’enaurs [angel leadership positions], and you shall be numbered and apportioned to your labor and places, like in My other lower heavens on other worlds.
04/7.10. He who is Chief shall be called God of this heaven and the earth, which are now bestowed to his making.
04/7.11. And God shall have a Council and throne within his heavenly city; and the place shall be called Hored, because it is the first kingdom of God in this firmament.
04/7.12. And God shall rule on his throne, for it is his; and his Council shall rule with him; in My name they shall have dominion over angels and mortals belonging to the earth.
04/7.13. And God shall appoint Chiefs under him who shall go down and dwell on the earth with mortals; and the labor of these Chiefs shall be with mortals for their resurrection. And these Chiefs shall be called Lords, for they are Gods of land, which is the lowest rank of My commissioned Gods.
04/7.14. And God and his Lords shall have dominion from two hundred years to a thousand or more years; but never more than three thousand years [a Dan]. According to the regions of dan (light) into which I bring the earth, so shall the terms be for the office of My Gods and My Lords.
04/7.15. And God and his Lords shall raise up officers to be their successors; these officers shall be appointed and crowned in My name by God and his Lords.
04/7.16. At the termination of the dominion of My God and his Lords, they shall in these, My bound heavens, gather together all those angels who have been prepared in wisdom and strength for resurrection to My etherean [celestial] kingdoms. And these angels shall be called Brides and Bridegrooms to Jehovah, for they are Mine and in My service.
04/7.17. And in the time of dan I will send down ships from etherea to God, his Lords and the Brides and Bridegrooms; by My etherean [celestial] Gods and Goddesses, these ships shall descend to these heavens to receive God, his Lords and the Brides and Bridegrooms, and carry them up to the exalted regions I have prepared for them.
04/7.18. All those who ascend shall be called a Harvest to Me, through My God and Lords. And the time of My Harvests shall be according to each dan, which is two hundred years, four hundred years, six hundred years, and five hundred years; and these shall be called My lesser cycles, because they are the times of the tables of prophecy which I give to My servants.
04/7.19. But at no other times, nor in any other way, shall My Harvests ascend to My emancipated worlds in etherea. For each and every dan’ha I have created seven dans, and to each dan given six generations of mortals.

Oaspe as well as other channeled texts also detail the spacecraft and dimension shifting technology which these higher beings use in covertly guiding and governing the affairs of earth. The Law of One, a more modern cosmological work channeled by Don Elkin, goes into great detail to explain the rules of non-intervention these beings are bound by, in order to preserve man’s rights to self-determination. These texts also explain the way in which communication and travel between the various dimensions is bound by laws of physics relating to the earth’s 11 year solar cycle and the position of our solar system within its Galactic orbit.

Illustration comparing the divisions of earth’s Gregorian Solar Calendar with the divisions outlined in Oahspe and ancient mythologies of the Galactic Calendar. These divisions are the ‘Times and Seasons’ mentioned in the Bible and the LDS D&C. Just as the earth’s seasons are caused by our planets position in the solar system combined with our earth’s axial tilt, so also are solar seasons dependent upon our solar system’s position in the galaxy combined with our Sun’s ‘axial tilt’ and position in the galactic plane.

<!– add another illustration that is a closeup of a square made on the above illustration. so in a small portion of the universe orbit we zoom in on the earth going from one of these “fixed” star systems to another. make its orbit a sinusoidal wave like oahspe shows, and explain that it is spiraling and show how it moves through the dimension, and perhaps even how it splits or activates new dimensions… –>

Additionally, Oahspe and the Law of One suggest that as the earth travels through the Galaxy, it passes through regions with differing energy density, which actually affect the consciousness and intelligence of mankind in general. This concept linking energy or light in the galaxy with intelligence and consciousness of mankind is also taught in Mormonism in the Doctrine and Covenants.

7 Which truth shineth. This is the light of Christ. As also he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made….
11 And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings;
12 Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space—
13 The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things. (D&C 88:11–13)

Oahspe and the Law of One go into far more detail on the specifics of how the intensity of interstellar cosmic energy reaching the earth affects human consciousness and behavior. It suggests that most ages of enlightenment as well as ages of apostasy and intellectual darkness are caused by the amount of intergalactic energy reaching our solar system.

38/7.6. The prophets of old divided time into cycles of three thousand years, with slight variations. And they found that at the beginning of these periods of time, a certain impulse came upon the people, causing them to try to be better and wiser—even as the same feeling is manifesting itself this day in many nations.
38/7.7. The scale then rises for four hundred years, more or less; and, after that, wars and epidemics come upon the people. They then begin to decline, especially in virtue and peace, but the general intelligence suffers little for about another six or seven hundred years. After which time, they destroy their libraries and records, and reduce themselves to ignorance and vice. Then a darkness follows of one thousand or more years, with slight intermissions. And after that, for six hundred years the corporeal senses [intellect] begin to ascend. Self conceit comes upon them; they think they are the beginning of wisdom on earth. Then comes another cycle of light. Angels descend from the unseen worlds. New revelations crop up in every quarter. Inspiration comes upon mortals, and they go to the opposite extreme, becoming superstitious and obedient to unseen influences.
38/7.8. Such, then, is the general character and behavior of man during a cycle (dan’ha cycle). And he rises and falls in all these particulars as regularly as the tides of the ocean.
38/7.9. These revelations are chiefly made so that man can begin to comprehend these things, and learn to classify them so as to rise in wisdom and virtue, and thus overcome these epidemic seasons of cycles.
38/7.10. As previously shown, there are positive and negative forces continually going to and escaping from the earth. Without these no creature could live on the earth. The negative imparts to man his corporeal growth, as well as his corporeal desires, passions, and so on.
38/7.11. According to the quantity and quality of the corpor solutions in the firmament and their precipitations to the earth, so will man be affected and inclined to manifest. These influences are easily discernible by some persons. As one is depressed by a dull day; another inclined to drunkenness and fighting. A bright day inspires man with energy… (Oahspe 38/7.6-11, Cosmogony)

This is incredibly similar to the concept of Yugas convolutedly put forth in the Hindu epic Mahabharata from around 300 BC. In it, Rishi Suka teaches the times & seasons of the Gods, referred to as the Yuga.

The Rishis, measuring time, have named particular portions by particular names… A year (of human beings) is equal to a day… of the gods. The division (as regards the gods) consists in this: the half year for which the sun travels from the vernal to the autumnal equinox is the day of the deities, and the half year for which the sun travels from the latter to the former is their night. Computing by the days and nights of human beings about which I have told thee, I shall speak of the day and night of Brahman and his years also… Four thousand years (of the deities) is the duration of the first or Krita age. The morning of that epoch consists of four hundred years and its evening is of four hundred years. (The total duration, therefore, of the Krita yuga is four thousand and eight hundred years of the deities). As regards the other yugas, the duration of each gradually decreases by a quarter in respect of both the substantive period with the conjoining portion and the conjoining portion itself. (Thus the duration of the Treta is three thousand years and its morning extends for three hundred years and its evening for three hundred [3600 years])

In the other yugas, duty, ordained in the Vedas, is seen to gradually decline by a quarter in each. Sinfulness grows in consequence of theft, untruth, and deception. In the Krita age, all persons are free from disease and crowned with success in respect of all their objects, and all live for four hundred years. In the Treta, the period of life decreases by a quarter. It has also been heard by us that, in the succeeding yugas, the words of the Vedas, the periods of life, the blessings (uttered by Brahmanas), and the fruits of Vedic rites, all decrease gradually…  The learned say that these twelve thousand years (of the deities) constitute what is called a yuga. (Mahabharata 12:231)

Just a cursory look at the Hindu Yuga source material gives the impression that these convolutedly related to the same ancient cosmology expressed in the Mayan calendar. With 144,000 Yuga Sandhya equaling the 144,000 days of the Mayan Baktun (equaling 394.26 tropical years), and the 71 Mahayugas Manvantara cycles of the Tzolk’in (72×260).

[add a law of one quote here illustrating the same point. That the “logos” (law of one terminology for a governing celestial body) dictates progression of consciousness on earth ]

The following illustrations visually depict the theorized “arcs” or regions of reinforcing or cancelling galactic energy patterns described in the preceding verses.

The Oahspe text contains many supposed ancient illustrations (channeled in 1882) of astronomic regions though which the earth passed in its galactic orbit which purportedly affected human behavior and consciousness, the pattern in this illustration (left) is surprisingly similar to the reinforced wave patterns of toroidal energy flow (right); a theoretical field pattern existing in the galaxy. The blue equatorial circle could very roughly symbolize our solar system’s orbit around the galactic core. Line nodes would represent reinforcing waves which create areas of high energy density.

Much of the Christian idea of “harvest” (Rev 14:15) comes from this same concept of Galactic “Times & Seasons”. Suggesting that higher beings in our galaxy seek to help people on earth progress in the same way that a gardener tends his garden. There are cosmically induced “winters” where the earth travels through un-energetic or thick nebulous regions of galactic dust which inhibit earth from receiving much of the higher wavelengths of energy on the electromagnetic spectrum (God’s spirit in religious terms), which mankind’s body and spirit rely on for intelligence and connectivity with each other and the rest of creation. These beings plant the “seeds” of civilization in the autumn (such as Moses to Christ), clear the weeds during winter (such as the dark ages), pour down inspiration during spring (such as the renaissance to present) and gather the fruit during summer (coming millennium). The higher off-planet beings who aid the earth transmit most orally communicated information first to the upper realms of earth’s spirit world where it filters down through multiple realms of that dimension before passing on to our dimension in the material world (see D&C 76:86–88).

18/6.21. Is a summer on the earth not half a time? And the winter half a time? And the two, one full time? So also I created for atmospherea [the spirit dimension] a dan (cycle) of four hundred years, and a half time of two hundred years. And in seven times and one half time I created one dan’ha.
18/6.22. For thousands of years I sent My Gods to teach these things, so that My angels could know the times of My resurrections. Does a farmer not have knowledge of the resurrection of spring, when I cover the earth over with new growing things, which I raise up out of the earth? How much more knowledge should My angels have of My spring times, in atmospherea [earth’s spirit world], when My archangels come to gather in My harvests of emancipated souls?

There are several other cosmic influence dictated by our position in the galaxy, explained in Oahspe’s cosmology which we don’t have time to cover in this article. These include the 11 year solar cycle affecting the ability to travel and communicate through space. There are many activities which can occur only with the collapse of the sun’s magnetic field during solar max (references coming soon). These cycles as well as regions of nebula and gas clouds also affect man’s ability in the spirit world to raise or be resurrected between realms or kingdoms (references coming soon). The realms or kingdoms of the spirit world are also raised or lowered depending on these galactic conditions (references coming soon).

[Add a few paragraphs here showing how the highly fragmented Hindu, Buddhist and Mayan cosmological belief systems and calendars each sought to literally or figuratively describe the “arcs” or discs of the solar system’s orbit through the galaxy. Name specifically a few of the most popular. End with a chart showing how they fit with Christian Harvest cycles, Mormon cosmology ideas and how Oahspe contains the most detailed and believable framework for tying them all together with modern scientific/astronomical observations.]