Lunokilo,
Reading your initial post in this thread (without reading any of the others), I must respond to your "wandering wonderings" using the little song from "The Sound of Music" when "Maria" and "the Captain" are singing to each other. One stanza in the song goes, "Nothing comes from nothing, nothing ever could" (so somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good).
I am LDS (Mormon), and we believe that the protology (what came before) of mankind (on this earth) was that we lived all as spirit 'children' of heavenly parents (Eliza R. Snow, 2nd General President of the LDS Church's (Female) Relief Society wrote - in an LDS hymn called "Oh My Father"), "In the heavens, are parents single? No, the thought, makes reason stare. Truth is reason, truth eternal, tells me I've a mother there...").
Last Sunday, in our 'Gospel Doctrine' Sunday School class, I expressed this personal opinion
In Matthew, we find this statement by Jesus
Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
(Matthew 18:10)
I think that it is highly likely that the word "angels" likely originally was "spirits". And hence, I believe what Jesus was saying was this
In heaven, before we are born and take upon us a body of flesh and bones (and become, initially as mortals on this earth "little children"), we are in "heaven", and we are intimately acquainted with our Heavenly Father, as a little child often becomes intimately acquainted with an earthly parent. We knew him there, because he was/is the 'Father of (our) spirits'! We loved him there, because he loved us (we see a shadow of this relationship with earthly parents and their children). And, we wanted to grow in stature and favor with him. We 'worshiped' him (meaning, we wanted to become like him). We could always there, quite literally, see his face! We were well acquainted with him, and he was/is perfectly acquainted with each and every one of us!
During a period of our pre-earthly lives, even before the earth was 'created' (formed), our Heavenly Father presented a plan, whereby we could acquire bodies of flesh and bone as he has (he does not have blood, though, since that is lost or not needed after resurrection).
Even Jesus alludes to an apparent life that the Father must have had when he (Jesus) said this
Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
(John 5:19)
What did the Son do? He healed the sick. He raised the dead. He baptized. He ordained men to priesthood offices (apostles, seventies, evangelists, bishops, priests, teachers, etc). He ate. He drank. He slept. He walked on water. He cast out devils. He died. He self-resurrected. So, we can extrapolate that the Father, at a much earlier time, on another planet, did likewise.
The concept of 'ex nilho' (out of nothing) comes from a misunderstanding of what is meant in Genesis, when it says that the earth was 'void'. That doesn't mean it was 'nothing', it means it was void of life, especially human life.
My wife can create a chocolate cake. But, though she "makes it from scratch", she does not make it from 'nothing', though one meaning of the word 'scratch' literally means "nothing". She starts with ingredients flour, sugar, eggs, baking powder, chocolate, salt, etc.
Sure, to creatures (us) who have a 'beginning' (conception and/or birth), and an 'end' (death), that something / anything could and would go on forever, from eternity (back in time) to eternity (forward in time) seems difficult.
But, on the other hand, the thought that either something 'begins' (is made of absolutely nothing) and 'ends' (ceases to exist), is even far more difficult, at least for me (and some others) to imagine.
The following reference are from LDS scriptures (which include the Bible-KJV, The Book of Mormon, the book of 'Doctrine & Covenants' and 'The Pearl of Great Price'. All of these can be found at lds(dot)org in menu under scriptures.
Our Father in heaven there presented a plan, where he told us that we would get the opportunity to live on a planet to be tested. We would receive, like He has, a physical body. He would, via angels and prophets and apostles, give us commandments. And, to the extent or degree to which we sought to do his will, rather than our own, would determine whether or not we would be able to become like Him.
Since He knew we would transgress his law, and since he is a perfectly just being, someone would have to make intercession for us. A Savior, now known as Jesus Christ, but initially known, even premortally, as Jehovah, was the one spirit child of His of sufficient integrity that He (God the Father) knew He (Jehovah/Jesus) would fulfill his calling as a Savior and Redeemer for us, and make it so that we all would eventually be resurrected after we died, and inherit either His Kingdom (God the Father's) with Him (same & Christ), or would inherit a lesser kingdom (I Corinthians 15, especially verses 39-41 touch upon this subject).
A "son of the morning", Lucifer, an angel of some high position and prominence during our premortal life, challenged God the Father's plan. He proposed that he (Lucifer) be the savior, and he would make everyone do what is right. Since God (the Father) has already given us our 'agency' (our right to choose for ourselves), and Lucifer sought to take this agency away, and he (Lucifer) also wanted to be above God the Father, he (Lucifer) and one third of all the hosts of heaven who followed him (Lucifer) were cast out. They are they who try to derail us in this life. Lucifer became 'Satan', the devil, or the "devil of devils". Since his plan was unworkable, he truly was and is a "liar from the beginning".
The "beginning" was the time when our opportunity came, with the formation of this planet (earth), and our chance to come and prove ourselves, showing by our inclinations, as evidenced by our actions, what we ultimately desired. Being out of the presence of God allowed us to fully exercise our agency, not feeling coerced into doing what is right!
(more next post on this)
