Darkness Covereth the Earth -- A Different Look

This was an interesting read, "The source of up to half of the Earth’s internal heat is completely unknown – here’s how to hunt for it"

https://phys.org/news/2017-08-source-earth-internal-unknownhere.html

http://theconversation.com/the-source-of-up-to-half-of-the-earths-internal-heat-is-completely-unknown-heres-how-to-hunt-for-it-81524

In the article was this heat map of the earth:

(the map was credited to Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth%27s_internal_heat_budget#/media/File:Earth_heat_flow.jpg)

When I saw the image, I thought it reminded me of arteries. Which got my mind thinking along other lines.

Here's another heat flow map of the earth (major faults/plate boundaries are in this image).


(https://www.researchgate.net/profile/R_Cardoso2/publication/291830385/figure/fig12/AS:321932252729355@1453766038975/Figure-12-Global-heat-flow-map-derived-from-mixed-data-sets-For-oceanic-regions-with.png)

And, this heat flow map: from http://eqseis.geosc.psu.edu/~cammon/HTML/Classes/IntroQuakes/Notes/Images_specific02/hrv0100km.gif



My thoughts wanted to compare thermal imaging of the human body:



(http://www.chambersclinic.com/treatments/spectrum-thermography/)



(http://www.breastthermographync.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Carotid.jpg)

And then there are articles about how the heat of our body changes with mood:

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2013/12/30/258313116/mapping-emotions-on-the-body-love-makes-us-warm-all-over


Notice how colder/darker the body gets with the negative emotions, contrasted to the increased heat throughout the entire body with emotions such as happiness and love...



Thermography is also being used to help detect health changes in the body, such as the possibility of detecting cancer.

http://breastscreeningaustralia.com/2014/05/29/thermography-can-detect-subtle-changes-in-body/



"Early Detection of Breast Cancer using Thermal Texture Maps"
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a580/dbf39dd333e95580a5b74b026cd2637ba35c.pdf

http://www.thermology.com/

It is interesting that hot spots can indicate injury, stress, and potential areas of concern when compared to normal baseline images.

So, now for my thoughts.

The earth is alive. It has a spirit.

The first article discussed not knowing where half of the heat of the earth is generated. Isn't it interesting that when mortals die, the body gets cold. Certainly we know that the heart and various bodily functions generate heat. I'd be very interested to know if all the heat generated by the body can be accounted for.

Some may say "yes, we can account for it."

But, if the amount of heat can be solely quantified by purely subjective, quantifiable studies, how can it explain the above article that shows our emotions affect our thermal image?

Or, how can it explain Tibetan nuns (or others) who can change their core body temperature through meditation (http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-04/tibetan-nuns-incrase-body-temperature-through-meditation)?

Certainly the amount of heat the body generates has other factors that come into play, besides the commonly understood biological ones.

So, it might be safe to say that our spirits, combined with the body, heart, and mind, probably have a significant role in the heat production. And, if that is the case, the earth's spirit probably has an effect on the heat generated by the planet.

Taking that further, if the human body's heat signature can be affected by diseases, damage, and negative emotion, it would be reasonable to say that the earth probably experiences similar effects. Pollution and wickedness could be said to be sickening the earth.

With the increasing wickedness across the whole earth, darkness is covering the earth.

Refer back to the image of emotional/mood heat mapping. It's not just anger, fear, pride, contempt, and envy that causes increased darkness in the body.

Perhaps the earth is ashamed at how badly humans are behaving.

She could certainly be angry or disgusted at how poorly humans have treated and abused her.

I suspect she is experiencing a lot of sadness, and maybe some depression, at the iniquity that is covering her surface, and she is not permitted to do much about it.

What if the effects of wickedness and the many negative emotions of so many humans affect how the earth feels?

Think about how we feel around those with negative emotions. Emotions are easily conveyed, and affect others. When we are around negative people, it's easier to also fall into negativity. On the opposite end, being around happy, loving, positive people has an uplifting, enlightening effect on our own moods.

When you look at the various thermal images and heat flows, it brings a different meaning to the following scriptures:

"And the whole world lieth in sin, and groaneth under darkness and under the bondage of sin." (D&C 84:49 https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/84.49?lang=eng#p48)

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, darkness covereth the earth, and gross darkness the minds of the people, and all flesh has become corrupt before my face." (D&C 112:23 https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/112.23?lang=eng&clang=eng#p22)

Perhaps, if we could see in certain wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum, there is an literal darkness that is covering much of the world.

And, if the earth "groaneth under [the] darkness" that covers her, imagine her joy when the Savior comes and during the millennium when sin no longer covers the earth. My guess is not only will she be happier, she will probably be brighter.

This has also made me wonder a little more on verse 24 of section 50 of the Doctrine and Covenants:

"That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth clight, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day." (https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/50.24?lang=eng&clang=eng#p23).

If we are "brighter" when we are happier, we love, and when we experience joy, and if we increase our joy by following the Savior and doing the will of the Father, then the light that we receive of God "groweth brighter and brighter" not just in a symbolic way, but there is very likely a literal brightness that increases. Maybe we cannot see it with our mortal eyes. But, judging from the bright thermal images of happiness and joy, my guess is that brightness would increase.

While several of the negative emotions have a bright thermal image in the upper body, only with happiness and love does that warmth spread throughout the body. How would true joy show in a thermal image?

Could that also be why angels and resurrected beings are often described as being bright, or having light all around them? Not having the veil to cover them from experiencing the joy and love of God, their thermal image (if it could be imaged) is probably a burning brightness emanating from the entire body, and mortal eyes only perceive a small portion of the visible light, but cannot perceive the brightness in other wavelengths.

If this is the case (or something similar), it would be no wonder Satan and his followers will try to lead men astray by appearing as "an angle of light" ( see D&C 129:8, 128.20, 2 Nephi 9:9, 2 Corinthians 11:14). Satan cannot mimic the internal warmth, but he would know that mortal eyes cannot see the various wavelengths and only perceive the visible light. Thus, without discerning the truth, Satan can lead men astray in this way.

As possible evidence to this, consider our sun. We only see the visible light, but there is much more to the light spectrum, including infrared and ultraviolet, that comes from the sun. There are extremely bright lights that humans have created, (and this year a laser was announced which is supposedly 1 billion times brighter than the sun) which may mimic the visible brightness of the sun, but not the other wavelengths. If someone were to judge only by the visible light, they may be mistaken in which light source is the true sun.

Some other interesting thoughts...

Could becoming sanctified help burn out the negative emotions so we can better radiate love?

Developing a greater love for others, charity, would certainly increase the light we have.

And, is there any correlation to D&C 9:8 where it states:

"But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right."

It might be an interesting picture, if we could see what the thermal image of burning in the bosom looks like. Not that I expect we would ever be able to capture such an experience, since these are usually spiritual experiences which would not likely be duplicated for a thermal imaging camera.

What about when someone, usually a non-member of the Church, comes into a sacrament meeting and feels a "warmth?" We attribute it to the Spirit. Could it also be from the members who are trying to be more like our Savior, who have a portion of the Lord's love and the joy that comes from it?