The arm of the flesh

The arm of the flesh brings us a unique moment in history. It is not so much for our technology, which is making the world incomprehensible to the majority (do you understand the operation of a mobile?) But because for the first time technology has become independent of culture, yes, of all of us and has its own roadmap. The worrying thing about this is that nobody, absolutely nobody, knows a span of that route.

Another worrisome aspect is our claudication before the technology. What I mean by this? to understand it let’s see the origin of the word give up. This word comes from the Latin claudus (lame, hesitant to walk) the claudica gives in to the enemy before the opponent, does not assert himself on his feet, limps.

Most when a new technology knocks on your door does not ask who you are? he does not tell him what he wants but it assumes that it is going to happen to its house and it will come to settle and it is not going to give explanations.
In earlier times society used its technology for its needs, let’s say it was a tool in the hands of those who used it and barely interfered in the conversations of the elderly. Now, however, our technology becomes our landlady, accelerates our environment, provides us with beliefs, redefines the words and marks the time we spend thinking and what we do, it is a kind of invisible tyranny.

I often hear perplexed debates of all kinds, where the discussion is settled when one of the participants declares «I do not say it, the science says it» for example in the possibility that men can get pregnant. That phrase, «science says» is a kind of abracadabra that eliminates any other way of thinking.

Opposing the proposal to convert men into seahorses, is not to oppose the scientific method of thought, but to its application in the achievement of an absurdity.

Jeremiah tells us from the past «Thus saith the Lord: Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and makes of the flesh his arm , and whose heart departs from . Lord» Jeremiah 17: 5 The triple condition to suffer this curse It includes

Trust (alone) in man
Make flesh our arm. That is to say that only what comes from man is worthy of our eagerness and the use of our vigor.
His heart departs from Jehovah. What it means to direct our efforts and desires without considering Jehovah’s governing board.

A person who meets these three conditions would be someone who directs their thinking and issues their judgments exclusively (keyword) for what the scientific method provides. This I say to many may sound desirable, modern and magnificent. However, Jehovah warns us that it is a curse to lean on that arm alone. I assure the reader that he should not be alarmed and consider me a technophobe. Almost all my professional training is technical in the electronic and computer branch.

A new neocortex about us

In order to get to the subject we are dealing with, it is necessary to discuss some discoveries and conclusions that seem alien to the study of the gospel. But scrutinizing the scriptures is an activity with broad consequences, as is the case at hand. He trusted the reader’s patience.

The neocortex of our brain is a superficial layer of 2 mm, which contains about 23 billion neurons, «It controls emotions and cognitive abilities: memorization, concentration, self-reflection, problem solving, ability to choose the appropriate behavior. It also plays an important role in functions such as sensory perception, the generation of motor commands, spatial reasoning, conscious thought and, in humans, language. « ( Wikipedia )

This layer is a user interface with the outside world, in this layer is generated the reproduction of the world we understand and with which we relate. That kind of operating system that is the neocortex, provides routines to experience religious belief. Allow me a mechanical description of the situation, ignoring the role of our preexisting spirit in all this. but this is our carnal wrapping in this world. In an article by Pedro Rubal (University of Comillas) he talks about the relationship between the brain and beliefs.

Neocortex and beliefs

«These locations (of beliefs) were located in the inner part of the temporal cortex, looking and connecting with the amygdala (limbic system) through bidirectional links (entries and reentries in the sense of Edelman). Later it has been seen (and Andrew B. Newberg has contributed ) that in this connection system part of the frontal zones and other brain topologies is integrated. « ( Pedro Rubal, Universidad Pontificia Comillas, referring to Andrew B. Newberg in the neuroteologia )
In this link we can see a study of the University of Utah , published in Social Neuroscience, where he talks about the relation of the brain with spirituality.

I do not intend to dwell on this issue, but I do highlight an important fact: the transcendent or religious meaning of our existence, has its part in our brain, is not only cultural as many would have us believe, but accompanies us from the beginning and in depth . It is part of our «anatomy».

Therefore to fight the transcendent in man is to act against his nature. We should not, as believers, be disturbed by these findings since matter is a key element of the plan of salvation. Our brain is a reflection of that plan and as saints we have to prepare ourselves with joy to receive much information about it and with wisdom to be able to scrutinize that plan in the folds of that organ that was organized for us with celestial abilities.

The new neocortex

It is common among many scientists in the field of neurology to consider that the biological evolution of man has ended and that it is the new technological fields of all kinds that are going to provide us with the next evolutionary step, this step being outside our brain.

Imagine the reader a new neocortex on top of what we have now. But not inside our skull (at least still) but outside. Imagine the reader that the connectivity we already have, mobile phones, watches, glasses, computer devices, grows at the current rate in perfection, in intimacy with our body, in potential, diversity and possibilities.

Keep imagining the voluntary transfer of the individual’s confidence, his reflection, the decisions about his behavior, the contents, opinions, news, social relations, new ways that circulate at a dizzying pace in that new neural network. We no longer imagine, but take for granted the infantile enthusiasm of the population towards everything that happens in that new top layer that covers us all. Let’s increase the power of the interface from a simple touch screen to virtual reality.

It is not much to imagine this, you can almost touch with your fingers. But let’s continue, let’s add to this the mystery of what we still do not know and that will come in coming years. And finally add artificial intelligence.
I assure you that if we reflect on this for some time we realize that this approach fulfills many of the functions of a cerebral cortex.

And now some questions. How will the world perceive someone with that added artificial layer? What will you keep active from your previous way of thinking? What skills will you lose and what will you gain? It is desirable?

The new intelligence

Artificial intelligence or AI is intelligence in machines. This includes the ability to solve problems, make decisions and learn from their own experiences. For this, the knowledge of how the human brain and its replication in artificial neural systems is used.

One of the AI classes is fuzzy. Suppose I set the air thermostat to 26º, when the room exceeds that temperature it will turn off and it will not start. If the temperature of the room is around 26º, then the device will be continuously stopping and starting. The application of the diffused AI will make the apparatus learn to maintain that temperature in the most efficient way taking into account its accumulated experience. That is the difference.

This same idea applies to fields such as medicine, law, transport, architecture, engineering, agriculture, etc.

The key to this matter is that gradually, there is a transfer of decisions from our personal neural network, inside our head, to the new artificial neural network, since it decides with respect to its learning and not to our instructions. However, there is no transfer of faith in God, or spiritual life, or the concept of good and evil. And even less of the need to choose between both.

These aspects are becoming obsolete in the new world that will save us, where not one will be lost, where we are told that we will be redeemed from death and affliction. These concepts, as you know very well, have already begun to be relative a long time ago. They are not transferable.

As saints we must assume that the adversary will continue with his proposal, in one way or another. So much looking forward to the flocks of Abel, thinking Cain: «I am free …» ( Moses 5:33 ) as lead us to the pinnacle of knowledge and propose «All this I will give you, if you prostrate you worship me.» ( Matthew 4: 9 ) In both cases there is nothing wrong with the sheep or the pinnacle of the temple. The deception is in requesting a very serious and important decision reducing the question to a very simple question.

The dangers of the new neocortex

Isaac de la Peña is considered a philosopher, technologist, entrepreneur and economist, in that order, in a recent article reports on the concern of some eminent scientists in this regard.
«… However the tremendous advances that AI has experienced in recent times have caused a wave of concern in certain people. And we are not talking about anyone, but people of the caliber of Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak and Elon Musk, who have come together to alert us of the «IA threat». Does it represent an existential danger for the human race? Are we approaching a scenario in which the machines can rise against us, such as Skynet in Terminator?

Remember, unlike the old expert systems, the human does not code the rules, but the system discovers them by itself. That is precisely grace, but it also implies that we stay out of the process. That the system is a black box in which we know what is introduced, what it gets, but not what happens inside the intermediate layers, known as hidden layers. «

Leading the AI globally this Google, according to Nick Bostrom its technology is the most advanced in imitating human intelligence through DeppMind.
Bill Gates, warns of the possible dangers of an uncontrolled evolution of this superior intelligence and coincided with Elon Musk the founder of Tesla that we had better have it well monitored .

The danger is clear, but there is another addition. A society increasingly individual, unbelieving, without faith, with rampant selfishness.
In this article by Mario Silar in Expansion, he describes the Swedish society, an advanced and technologically advanced society, which shows an unknown aspect as a result of the absence of moral values in the plans (?) Of the state for the family. It is a society directed more and more by secular values without counterweight. A society directed by technical criteria, specially prepared for the adoption of the arm of the meat.

The arm of the flesh

This non-biological layer that is woven day by day on us is transforming our perception and relationship with the world. For example, the decline in the teaching of humanities, the decline of language among the new generations and the progressive marginalization of all subjects that are not of a technical or scientific application.

In the moral order, the abandonment of Christianity by those societies that are based on it. The relativization of good and evil. And what is more curious, the predominance of invertebrate sentimentality over reason in politics. The humanistic vision of man is giving way to a technological vision of the world.

In summary, what is observed is that a new non-human world is being created. A world that responds to the arm of the natural man whose heart has turned away from Jehovah.
Imagine that we are facing the advanced version of that way of thinking already imposed, our neocortex, the one that we all possess now stands before the strange world proposed by that great superior brother. Our skills begin to deal with new situations:

Control of emotions .
What kind of human emotions circulate predominantly in social networks? Are they deep? Are they real and mature? Do they foster a true enriching exchange?
Memorization
What use would memory have in a space where the previous week was a remote past? What purpose would memory serve without analysis time in a flow of information at a non-human speed?
Concentration
Would it be possible to concentrate on something in that world and for how long?
Self-reflection
Will we perceive ourselves to be stripped of our ancient culture? A naked stripped man, who does not know who he is or where he comes from or why he is here; because his stories were dismissed as old and useless in the new neocortex.
Resolution of problems .
There would be no longer because the intelligent machines solve them. And especially because they would define what is a problem
Ability to choose the right behavior .
The dilemmas are already resolved. There is no choice because everything is explained or is being done.
Sensory perception We would
perceive what the new neocortex would show us, we would see the world through the new virtual reality
The generation of motor orders
Each time would be less and we see that already.
Spatial reasoning.
A new concept of space, the virtual, seizes our attention. When I worked in web design, we said to the client: If you are not in the network, you are not . Personal presence is something abstract in that space, it exists in function of recognition.
The language
The first victim of the process. The machines already have yours. In the end we will end up speaking it all, the language oriented to how machines interpret the objects of the world. They are already absorbing ours, the computer calculates, decides, even gets infected like us.

Large-scale functions of data interpretation arise. Data mining and concept mining, new technologies that use AI to extract patterns, analysis of large amounts of data to, for example, analyze trends in purchases in the supermarket to patterns of customer leaks in banking.

It is a transfer of the functions of our brain (problem solving, perception) to the AI, I would say surrender of sovereignty. The concept of citizen is silently mutating towards that of neurotransmitter.

All this I draw a pattern is clearly and Moses «… I will redeem all mankind, so that will not be lost even one soul, and surely I will …» ( 4: 1 )

This proposal of Satan, in a simple future mode is very in tune with what is happening. It is the same security that is attributed to the arm of the flesh, or the blind trust in man, to the future of humanity.

This language that you use in your proposal transmits a total security (surely I will) on an innumerable number of individuals. And that can only be achieved in two ways.

1. A human genre decreased in its cortex, ie with programmed patterns of behavior and lack of skills in the choice of these behaviors.

2. The other possibility. Given the fact that the first
option was discarded, the second option remains: superimpose on us the primacy of an artificial mentality that does not respond in its design to
human nature , which is what I suspect is happening.

Our body contains the keys of the plan of salvation. The neurology and the derived fields make us very clear about this plan. Our brain is strange and has unnecessary skills to survive but useful for matters foreign to its environment. To put it in some way it has been breathed in by a strange breath to conceive the worlds of the plan of salvation.

Vulcano, the resistant culture.

What model of culture would be resistant to the adoption of a technology that facilitates the arm of man to contend against the sword of fire that keeps immortality.

What would that culture and society be like that would keep its signs, its humanity, its literature, its language, its legacy without evaporating before the emergence of an alien and politely inhuman technology?

I always get an image. The society of Vulcano, the homeland of Spock, inseparable companion of Captain Kirk.

In vulcano the most advanced technology coexists with traditions respected by all. Both are enshrined in the minds of the Vulcans. This race renounced their emotions in favor of logic. In a ritual called kolinahr, they surrender to their philosophy of thought.

In this example we see a strange path taken by its inhabitants, however their technology (superior to terrestrial) does not lead them through strange paths . They are their strong personality and attachment to their history, those who stand out above their technique. Unlike the terrestrial characters, they almost do not reflect anything of their world, all the cultural force is summarized in the Enterprise ship. Spock with only a few strokes of his Vulcan culture, he fills up much more than the rest.

The ship Nauvoo

The series of fiction Expanse by Daniel Abraham (Netflix) shows us a solar system colonized by humanity in the XXIII century. There are three groups separated by centuries of colonization, the terrestrial ones, the Martians and the Beluronians. Although all have a common origin on earth, they have lost their roots and war is about to break out between them.

At one point in the series, the Mormon missionaries appear at the Tycho station, where the Nauvoo ship is being built, which will take thousands of Mormons to colonize Tau Cety, a distant planet where they could live their beliefs in freedom. In this fiction, the saints survive the change they have destroyed, not the human race, but the human way of living.

The restored Church of Jesus Christ is now, an example of how a culture with a differentiated profile of the environment, has assimilated the power of the arm of the flesh, without losing substance in that exchange.

It is still a great challenge, but I still remember it in 1996, where some partners and I established Telebase SL as the first Internet connection provider in Almeria and one of the first in Spain. I made one of the first information webs about the Church in Spanish. On the cover was the angel Moroni and some buttons with our beliefs. I digitalized the whole Book of Mormon and put it online.

I remember at that time how the church watched with suspicion everything that happened, the advice given to us invited us to be cautious and not to take initiative in this field. But I could not help it, I had a hammer and everything was nails.

Now the Church of Jesus Christ is the world leader in online family registration. The magnitude of the work in its technological aspect is unparalleled. And there is more an advance in the minds of the leaders of the church and of the saints of the last days. There will be no one who stops this wave of expansion in knowledge. And I am certain that the counterbalance of the culture and testimony of the saints will metabolize the disturbing aspects of the modern arm of the flesh and focus on the objectives entrusted by the savior in the Kirtland temple.

The challenge in Nauvoo

Our challenge is to be in the world without being of the world. Use the arm of the flesh without forgetting the precepts of Jehovah. Do not fear, do not feel threatened by knowledge, because everything comes from him. But be very careful of what is distilled from that place without the direction and fear of Jehovah. There is nothing more dangerous than a knife in the hands of a child.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is an example of how a world community integrates advanced technology in its goals, without losing its form or its principles. Surrounded by a claudicating culture that is in the process of surrendering its will to technology, to those apparently docile and sweet eunuchs. These, without ambitions, only to please us and watch over our efforts, seek our welfare, but little by little occupying the sacred places of our conscience. Those we fought for at the beginning and who defined us as gods.