A Theory of Everything # A Theory of Everything Agency, providence, and the Atonement across time How God can know every possible future, fix His purposes, and never force a single choice. [Begin reading](/introduction) Read at the depth you like. Brief gives the spine of each chapter; Deep adds fuller arguments, sources, and objections. You can change it any time. DepthStandard BriefStandardDeep Front matter 1. ### [Introduction](/introduction) * [The Shape of the Answer](/introduction#the-shape-of-the-answer) * [Reading at Three Depths](/introduction#reading-at-three-depths) * [How This Book Is Organized](/introduction#how-this-book-is-organized) * [A Word About Analogies](/introduction#a-word-about-analogies) * [A Word About Certainty](/introduction#a-word-about-certainty) Part One · The Model 1. Chapter 1 ### [Agency](/agency) * [Why It Matters](/agency#why-it-matters) * [God Does Not Override](/agency#god-does-not-override) * [The First Principle](/agency#the-first-principle) * [Why Begin Here?](/agency#why-begin-here) 2. Chapter 2 ### [God Knows Every Possible Future](/possible-futures) * [Complete Knowledge of Possibility](/possible-futures#complete-knowledge-of-possibility) * [What Is Not Fixed](/possible-futures#what-is-not-fixed) * [Knowing Is Not Making](/possible-futures#knowing-is-not-making) * [Where This Sits Among the Classic Views](/possible-futures#where-this-sits-among-the-classic-views) 3. Chapter 3 ### [Divine Decree and Prophecy](/decree-and-prophecy) * [Not Only Foresight](/decree-and-prophecy#not-only-foresight) * [Pruning the Possible](/decree-and-prophecy#pruning-the-possible) * [The Second Coming](/decree-and-prophecy#the-second-coming) * [Why This Matters](/decree-and-prophecy#why-this-matters) * [Two Kinds of Prophecy](/decree-and-prophecy#two-kinds-of-prophecy) 4. Chapter 4 ### [God Collapses the Mission, Not the Person](/mission-not-person) * [Joseph Smith’s Warnings](/mission-not-person#joseph-smith-s-warnings) * [The Work Is Fixed, the Worker Is Free](/mission-not-person#the-work-is-fixed-the-worker-is-free) * [Scripture’s Own Examples of Substitution](/mission-not-person#scripture-s-own-examples-of-substitution) * [Foreordination Without Predestination](/mission-not-person#foreordination-without-predestination) 5. Chapter 5 ### [Providence as Global Constraint](/providence) * [The Interacting Causes](/providence#the-interacting-causes) * [The Whole, Not the Step](/providence#the-whole-not-the-step) * [What This Explains](/providence#what-this-explains) 6. Chapter 6 ### [Three Case Studies](/case-studies) * [The Lost 116 Pages](/case-studies#the-lost-116-pages) * [The Star at Christ’s Birth](/case-studies#the-star-at-christ-s-birth) * [Ephraim Hanks and the Buffalo](/case-studies#ephraim-hanks-and-the-buffalo) * [The Pattern](/case-studies#the-pattern) 7. Chapter 7 ### [Miracles Without Micromanagement](/miracles) * [What a Miracle Need Not Be](/miracles#what-a-miracle-need-not-be) * [What a Miracle Can Be](/miracles#what-a-miracle-can-be) * [Why This Is Not Less Than a Miracle](/miracles#why-this-is-not-less-than-a-miracle) * [Prayer Inside This Picture](/miracles#prayer-inside-this-picture) 8. Chapter 8 ### [Wave-Function Collapse as an Analogy](/collapse) * [The Physics, Briefly](/collapse#the-physics-briefly) * [The Analogy](/collapse#the-analogy) * [Two Kinds of Collapse](/collapse#two-kinds-of-collapse) * [The Limits of the Analogy](/collapse#the-limits-of-the-analogy) 9. Chapter 9 ### [Time as Actualization](/time) * [Time Is Possibility Becoming History](/time#time-is-possibility-becoming-history) * [God and Time](/time#god-and-time) * [One Coherent Whole](/time#one-coherent-whole) * [Causation That Is Not Only Forward](/time#causation-that-is-not-only-forward) 10. Chapter 10 ### [The Atonement Across Time](/atonement) * [The Puzzle of Gethsemane](/atonement#the-puzzle-of-gethsemane) * [Christ as Co-Experiencer](/atonement#christ-as-co-experiencer) * [Knowledge That Is Experience](/atonement#knowledge-that-is-experience) * [Agency Preserved](/atonement#agency-preserved) * [The Same Pattern as Prayer](/atonement#the-same-pattern-as-prayer) 11. Chapter 11 ### [The Light of Christ](/light-of-christ) * [More Than an Impersonal Force](/light-of-christ#more-than-an-impersonal-force) * [The Other Side of the Connection](/light-of-christ#the-other-side-of-the-connection) * [Never Forced](/light-of-christ#never-forced) * [Two Directions, One Relationship](/light-of-christ#two-directions-one-relationship) * [Like Entanglement](/light-of-christ#like-entanglement) 12. Chapter 12 ### [A Unified View of Providence](/unified-view) * [The Structure](/unified-view#the-structure) * [Seeing It in Each Part](/unified-view#seeing-it-in-each-part) * [How It Compares](/unified-view#how-it-compares) * [The Core Idea](/unified-view#the-core-idea) Part Two · Companions 1. Companion A ### [Echoes in Early Christianity](/early-christianity) * [Origen: Foreknowledge Does Not Cause](/early-christianity#origen-foreknowledge-does-not-cause) * [Gregory of Nyssa: Humanity as One Whole](/early-christianity#gregory-of-nyssa-humanity-as-one-whole) * [Maximus the Confessor: Fixed Purposes, Free Modes](/early-christianity#maximus-the-confessor-fixed-purposes-free-modes) * [Irenaeus: Christ Sums Up Every Life](/early-christianity#irenaeus-christ-sums-up-every-life) * [Justin Martyr: The Seed of the Word](/early-christianity#justin-martyr-the-seed-of-the-word) * [Boethius: A Rival Worth Taking Seriously](/early-christianity#boethius-a-rival-worth-taking-seriously) * [Further Reading](/early-christianity#further-reading) 2. Companion B ### [The Forty-Day Ministry](/forty-days) * [A Whole Genre of Texts](/forty-days#a-whole-genre-of-texts) * [Hugh Nibley’s Study](/forty-days#hugh-nibley-s-study) * [A Recent Book](/forty-days#a-recent-book) * [Reading These Texts Honestly](/forty-days#reading-these-texts-honestly) * [Connection to This Book](/forty-days#connection-to-this-book) 3. Companion C ### [Open Questions](/open-questions) * [1\. The Substitutability Assumption](/open-questions#1-the-substitutability-assumption) * [2\. Is Gethsemane Finished?](/open-questions#2-is-gethsemane-finished) * [3\. Physics: What the Analogies Show](/open-questions#3-physics-what-the-analogies-show) * [An Invitation](/open-questions#an-invitation) A Theory of Everything · Draft edition, 2026