Post Author: Darrell
In my last post I discussed how an actual infinite number of things is incoherent. How does this apply to the universe, time, and Mormonism?
The Mormon Church denies creation ex nihilo, choosing instead to teach creation ex materia, the position that God organized the universe from pre-existing matter. In fact, Mormonism takes this position even a step further, teaching that matter, the stuff everything is made of, has always existed.
Time and matter are relative, i.e., one cannot exist without the other (see Einstein’s theory of relativity). Therefore, if matter has always existed, time has always existed. Time is the succession of moments; in otherwords, one moment following another makes up time. If time has always existed, prior to today there existed an actual infinite amount of time. As a result, there were an actual infinite number of moments prior to today.
However, an actual infinite number of things is incoherent, and whatever is incoherent is impossible. Therefore, an actual infinite number of moments prior to today, as well as the Mormon belief of the eternal existence of matter and the universe are all impossible.