Hidden Treasures of Knowledge

 Doctrine and Covenants 89 (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/89?lang=eng), otherwise known as the Word of Wisdom, talks about the then and future existence of conspiring people in our modern era and provides counsel on how to be protected via dietary and moral advice from them. It also promises that people who follow it will be blessed to find hidden treasures of knowledge.

I think I may have found some of them. Here is a summary:

1) Many educated people of Christian heritage have come to reject the divinity of Jesus Christ because they think he did his miracles using a deep knowledge of winemaking. This was a crucial element of Dan Brown's book The Da Vinci Code, in which it is posited that the vinegar Jesus was given on the cross was made from wine specially fermented to temporarily knock him unconscious and that Jesus didn't actually die on the cross. My college chemistry textbook on page 666 talks about how wine turns into vinegar by being left in oxygen for a while; while this is technically accurate, the process happens far faster in the presence of acetic acid bacteria. "666" is a symbolic number used to mark one's self as being "of the beast" or an anti-Christ; it is taken from Revelation 13:18 in the Bible.

I think the people who have believe this have fallen for a clever ruse, for The Book of Mormon stands as another witness to the world of the divinity of Jesus Christ. While the history of the church that is currently taking The Book of Mormon to the world is still a bit murky, the book itself stands on its own and is testified to by the Holy Ghost, as many earnest seekers of truth have found. A nice thing about God is that he doesn't hide his treasures from those who seek Him.

2) As the 18th century Italian biologist/physicist/physician Luigi Galvani discovered, electrical impulses applied to appendages can affect a body's neurons dramatically. We live in a time when nearly every teenager and adult using a cell phone or smart watch is exposing their hands and wrists to varying electromagnetic fields at close proximity. Frequently they are doing this while using camera-equipped devices that can assess aspects of brain function and stimulation via facial microexpressions and pupil appearance. That means that our technology can now be used to affect our neurons and that computer programs can be written that will fine-tune those effects in various ways such as to foster addiction, anger, depression, paranoia, distraction, and so forth. 

As those old enough to remember having TV antennae will remember, antenna reception can be improved by the addition of spiraling or encircling conductive materials; a metal clothes hanger wrapped around part of the antenna was usually the low-tech hack we would use to improve the picture clarity on our TVs. Wearing or inserting conductive things around parts of our bodies can enhance the effect of varying electromagnetic fields on our neurons. This effect will be easier to achieve in people whose diet includes high levels of iron (iron is easily magnetized and it then interacts with electromagnetic fields, especially when the iron is moving, as the iron-containing blood cells of our body are constantly doing) and ionic potassium.

Again, my college chemistry textbook contains a hint about this. In a section that discusses Napoleon's health issues while on St. Helena, it discusses "Marsh's test" to look for arsenic poison, but the diagram has an unexplained "shiny metallic ring" where there should just be a flat deposit of arsenic.

I think Isaiah 3 in the Bible (which is repeated in 2 Nephi 13 of the Book of Mormon) contains a warning against a wide variety of fancy ornaments and clothing wraps in part because vanity is foolish and in part because such items, depending on their mineral content and shape, can be used to affect our neurons. Even plastic, if tainted with conductive substances, is conductive. After realizing that the Amish have for centuries avoided encircling parts of their body with anything metallic, I stopped wearing rings a few months ago. Within two weeks, my thinking had noticeably become clearer. I recommend a similar experiment to others. 

If I am correct, this points to possible manipulative use for literally millennia of ceremonial jewelry, acoutrements, and clothing by those who are aware of how to harness the possibilities: crowns, bracelets, rings, collars, staffs, scepters, turbans, phylacteries, walking sticks, wristwatches, and so forth. I'm surprised that science fiction hasn't dealt with the topic much. I can promise you'll never read the Old Testament the same again once you start looking for whether ancient Israel might have picked up some knowledge from the Egyptians or Babylonians on the subject.

It also points to possible inappropriate use of such technology to increase the underlying health problems of some people. A recent Nature article (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02714-0) documents that a specific use of "electroacupuncture" on a mouse's hind leg brings down inflammation throughout the mouse's whole body by sending signals to the brain that result in lower inflammation. Now imagine such technology being deployed instead to increase systemic inflammation or disrupt heart or brain electric pulses. 

3) While we all know that some chemicals are dangerous and can make us sick, two common food/drink items appear to have escaped scrutiny. My personal experience, as well as cultural knowledge, indicate that fenugreek (now regularly consumed in the US as a "natural" maple flavoring) can bring on paranoia and delusion, while hops (used to make bitter--as opposed to mild--beer) can increase the tendency to hallucinate or "see what we want to see" ("beer goggles" are more than a running joke). 

In 2020, fenugreek caused me two episodes of paranoia. Interestingly, matzoh crackers imported from Israel seemed to be the deciding food factor in when those episodes ended. Like I said, you'll never read the Old Testament the same again once you start looking for hints of hidden knowledge. Actually, since Jesus notes the close attention paid by the Pharisees to tithes of various herbs, including dill, which some commentators think was fenugreek, you'll likely never read the New Testament quite the same way again, either.

4) While many have heard of "laughing gas," that small gas molecules floating just above the skin's surface can affect whether mosquitoes are attracted to a specific person, and that pheremones can cause some kinds of interhuman reponses, I have never heard anyone talk about what medications can due to influence the gas molecules released on our body's surface. I had an experience right after hugging someone who takes mind-altering prescription medicine where I noticed a sudden change in my thinking. We know that there is a fast passage from the nose to the brain via the olfactory nerve, and in this world of fabric softeners, detergents, essential oils, perfumed-toiletries, air fresheners, e-cigarettes, and incense, we need more information about the potential effects of various gas compounds on our brain function. We also need more information about what gas compounds our bodies are more likely to produce when we consume different substances.

5) Sound frequencies can physically alter structures by creating standing waves where resonance occurs. While we tend to think of our brains as solid "muscles," they are not. Brains are actually rather gelatinous in some places, and in those wobbly areas, resonance can be used to alter structure and thus affect the intensity and directional flow of electromagnetic fields within the brain. Yes, this means that music and anything else producing specific sound wave frequencies can be used to affect our thinking. Not exactly hidden information, but less talked about than it should be in a media-saturated world. 

I think some of the medieval guild craftsmen who constructed churches knew about the ability of sound waves to affect thinking. Again, my chemistry textbook, while talking about Napoleon, threw in a gratuitous comment about how he would have known more about the behavior of tin if he had paid attention to cathedral organ pipes. Adolf Hitler, well-known for having large, rousing rallies in which his amplified voice was carried to his audience, was made the Time "Man of the Year" in 1939 with a magazine cover photo featuring an elaborate set of organ pipes; in counterpoint, when the Russians later battled against Nazi Germany, the Germans called the Russian rocket launchers "Stalinorgel" which translates to "Stalin's organs."

6) Mind-altering chemicals can be delivered via paper. This is often done by prison visitors who attempt to sneak methamphetamine to prisoners. But it can also be done via that free magazine your favorite political organization, college, or church mails to you. Pay attention to who produces your printed materials, especially if it seems like you're getting too much paper (such as with CVS receipts) or if you have other reasons to distrust the paper providers.

7) Videos or .gif's that cause eyes to move rapidly from side to side need to be scrutinized. Such eye movement is used in a relatively new form of psychotherapy called "eye movement desensitization and reprocessing." Too many unaware media consumers can be targeted by those who would use this new field of psychotherapy to "reprocess" their thinking in ways that could be harmful. This field needs scrutiny as soon as possible. Any new technology and treatment can be used for both good and ill.