William Morgan

[Soretna]

Thanks to @sidharthabahadur for mentioning what he did about William Morgan here. It made me think that we should really have a thread to discuss William Morgan with more detail.

In looking closer at the monument (not to mention the previous painting/drawing we discussed on the old list some time ago), there is a STRIKING resemblance to "The Man" in Etidorhpa:
https://www.thebatavian.com/blogs/howard-owens/photo-william-morgan-batavia-cemetery/20936 (archive)

"The Man" from Etidorhpa:

And back to William Morgan:

There appear to be a number of interesting articles here: https://www.thebatavian.com/tags/william-morgan

Find-A-Grave has some interesting stuff:
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/10220283/william-morgan

I also found it to be very interesting to see how close Batavia is to Palmyra, New York as per other discussions here about connections with the early Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

[sidharthabahadur]

Soretna , thanks for starting a separate thread for William Morgan - after all , if even our group doesn't give him his rightful due , who will ? Also , the eyes...if we look carefully at the eyes in the depiction of "I AM The Man" of Etidorpha , they are exactly the same as those of William Morgan , even their expression is the same !

Regards

[sidharthabahadur]

Ephraimite , I am mesmerised by the possibility of William Morgan actually still having been alive as "The Man" , around the time he was being posthumously baptized by the Mormons...wonder when and IF he actually died , given his new form was no longer like ordinary humans ?

As described in Etidorpha , he had metamorphosed into a different form , not fully human...there was a hint that he would be able to live much longer than the average man . What if he is still alive somewhere in the Earth's interior ??

Regards

[Ephraimite]

@Soretna Great job in putting this info together. I'm linking to my comment, as per your suggestion in the other thread. Very important details here.

[Ephraimite]

@sidharthabahadur Hey, I almost didn't see your comment here You might consider putting an @ symbol in front of someone's name so that they get notified when you mention them

When and if William Morgan died are two very good questions. It's honestly hard for me to say. I haven't chronologized the events of Etidorhpa into a real-world timeline of years. That would probably be a worthwhile endeavor for someone to try to do.

Perhaps he is still alive in the earth's interior. That's probably where John the Beloved is, along with the Three Nephites. They were all promised by Jesus Christ to live all the way to the Second Coming, as special witnesses of Him. In our religion, we call them translated beings – they are not afflicted by death and disease like everyone else and can live very long (if not indefinitely). It is somewhat different than what we believe resurrection is, which is what Jesus Christ achieved.

This all sounds very similar to William Morgan / The Man, in my opinion.

[sidharthabahadur]

@Ephraimite , I agree . A close reading of Etidorpha seems to suggest that William Morgan had acquired some "superhuman" characteristics that transformed him into "I AM The Man" .

You see , the pursuit of immortality is as old as human civilisation . It is one of the most profound quests of man , down the ages - Alchemists and practitioners of other esoteric systems , have been exploring this for a very long time .

In Hinduism , it is believed that there are 7 (or 8 by some accounts) immortals - called "Chiranjeevi" in Sanskrit . They are staying alive to play some very important roles in human society , when the next Satyuga dawns....so , where are they at present and what are they supposed to be doing ??

Well , as can be expected of such highly evolved , enlightened beings - they have completely isolated themselves from the disfunctional society of this Kalyug and are lost in the deepest state of meditation . This is their preparation to play the role of the Vedic Sages and Seers , who will guide society , when the next Satyuga (Golden Age) dawns .

However , except for the Chiranjeevis , Hinduism does not condone the pursuit of immortality , as it is considered unnatural and not a desirable situation for any individual .

**In the ancient world , many kings , especially the Chinese emperors , went to extraordinary lengths to discover the elixir of immortality . The philosopher's stone and Holy Grail were all attempts to attain that elusive immortality .

In the Biblical literature , it is implied that the patriarch Enoch probably never died , he just went to another realm .

In relatively more recent times , Paris St. Germain , Roger Bacon and Francis Bacon were supposed to be one and the same person , even though they lived at different times .

Regards

Regards

[Ephraimite]

@sidharthabahadur Hmm, very interesting thoughts there. Yes, these Chiranjeevi sound somewhat similar to translated beings. I would guess that any immortal beings that do exist would need to keep themselves out of sight of necessity. Imagine how many people would beg or even extort them to reveal the secrets of immortality. I can definitely imagine them hiding among the benevolent areas of the inner earth where they can be undisturbed by such concerns.

Also, what you say about the preparation for the next Golden Age sounds similar to our beliefs. I think many translated beings are waiting in preparation for the Second Coming to reveal themselves, which will usher the Millennium (or a new Golden Age, if you will).

Furthermore, I would like to point out that it seems that immortality often doesn't come to those who actively seek it without a real purpose. E.g., the alchemists, kings, emperors, etc. All of these people want to be immortal simply because they don't want to die. But do they have a truly altruistic purpose in wanting immortality, or is it merely a selfish desire?

Immortality seems to come more often to those who either weren't seeking after it in the first place, or they had a very specific selfless wish to fulfill. E.g., William Morgan didn't seem to be seeking after immortality in Etidorhpa, yet that's what he seems to have gotten after reaching a certain level. On the other hand, John the Beloved and the Three Nephites had a specific selfless wish to fulfill, which was to be able to stand as special witnesses of Jesus Christ to those in later generations.

In order to do this, they were blessed to not taste of death. From 3 Nephi 28:4-12:

And when he had spoken unto them, he turned himself unto the three, and said unto them: What will ye that I should do unto you, when I am gone unto the Father?

And they sorrowed in their hearts, for they durst not speak unto him the thing which they desired.

And he said unto them: Behold, I know your thoughts, and ye have desired the thing which John, my beloved, who was with me in my ministry, before that I was lifted up by the Jews, desired of me.

Therefore, more blessed are ye, for ye shall never taste of death; but ye shall live to behold all the doings of the Father unto the children of men, even until all things shall be fulfilled according to the will of the Father, when I shall come in my glory with the powers of heaven.

And ye shall never endure the pains of death; but when I shall come in my glory ye shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to immortality; and then shall ye be blessed in the kingdom of my Father.

And again, ye shall not have pain while ye shall dwell in the flesh, neither sorrow save it be for the sins of the world; and all this will I do because of the thing which ye have desired of me, for ye have desired that ye might bring the souls of men unto me, while the world shall stand.

And for this cause ye shall have fulness of joy; and ye shall sit down in the kingdom of my Father; yea, your joy shall be full, even as the Father hath given me fulness of joy; and ye shall be even as I am, and I am even as the Father; and the Father and I are one;

And the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and the Father giveth the Holy Ghost unto the children of men, because of me.

And it came to pass that when Jesus had spoken these words, he touched every one of them with his finger save it were the three who were to tarry, and then he departed.

It's always interesting to see parallels in other belief systems with my own. It suggests that there's some truth to be gleaned somewhere.

[Soretna]

Regarding "out of sight": These translated individuals are also said to be in the service fo the Lord yet still and are believed to be seen from time to time helping and serving humanity. There are even books about the possibility of seeing these people: GoodReads.com search results for "three nephites"

Example result:

Note the last one seems to be, sadly, missing @sidharthabahadur's "translated beings":

Postponing Heaven

It seems to me that while they may be primarily in hiding within the Earth, they do appear to "come and go" amongst the mortals on the outer layer.

[sidharthabahadur]

@Ephraimite and @Soretna , you both have said something which made me notice a pattern , across cultures :

"It's always interesting to see parallels in other belief systems with my own. It suggests that there's some truth to be gleaned somewhere."

"It seems to me that while they may be primarily in hiding within the Earth, they do appear to "come and go" amongst the mortals on the outer layer."

One of the 7 (or maybe 8) Chiranjeevis of Hinduism , King Mahabali , is clearly said to be residing in Hollow Earth , as he waits for this Kalyug to get over . Maybe some of the others are there too...who knows ?

A few other similarities I noticed amongst the immortals of different cultures :

1. They are selfless , altruistic , spiritually inclined , sage like characters
2. Invariably such characters have to withdraw from society of this current age and become reclusive , waiting for the right era to emerge once again
3. They did NOT seek out immortality , rather it was granted to them , for fulfilling some very special responsibility in the coming ages

William Morgan too seems to be like one of those immortals , described above . For these rare individuals , immortality is like : "This is my gift , this is my curse" .

Regards