Monday, December 6, 2021

Mammals Don't Lay Eggs

They say that mammals don't lay eggs, but that's not really true. There are some mammals that do, in fact, lay eggs, including echidnas and platypi. That said, most mammals don't lay eggs, and, as a general rule, "mammals don't lay eggs" is true enough that we can accept it at a general rule, even while acknowledging a few exceptions. Granted, I would personally prefer that we not over-generalize the abilities and inabilities of mammals, but I still must admit that it's true enough that, for most intents and purposes, we might as well say that mammals don't lay eggs, even if it's not strictly true. 

By the same token, they say that God is omnipotent, that there is nothing that God cannot do, but that's not completely true. Even going only by modern revelation, and discrediting all other sources as potential mistranslations  or misinterpretations, I can think of at least one thing God cannot do. He cannot create intelligence. D&C 93:29 says that "Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be." If intelligence cannot be created, then God cannot create it, and thus there is at least one thing that God cannot do, and thus, God is not truly omnipotent. That said, God is very powerful, so much so that, as a general rule, "God is omnipotent" is true enough that we can accept it as a general rule, even while acknowledging at least one exception. Granted, I would personally prefer if we stopped exaggerating the power of God by claiming complete omnipotence, but I still must admit that it's true enough that, for most intents and purposes, we might as well say that God is omnipotent, even if it's not completely true.

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