Joseph Smith as scientist : a contribution to Mormon philosophy

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JOSEPH SMITH

AS

SCIENTIST

A CONTRIBUTION TO
MORMON PHILOSOPHY

John A. Widtsoe, A. M., Ph. D.

THE GENERAL BOARD

YOUNG MEN'S MUTUAL IMPBOVEMZ»lT

ASSOCIATIONS

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

1908

Copyright

1908

by John A. Widtsoe.

Preface

In the life of every person, who receives a higher edu-
cation, in or out of schools, there is a time when there seems
to be opposition between science and religion; between
man-made and God-made knowledge. The struggle for recon-
ciliation between the contending forces is not an easy one.
It cuts deep into the soul and usually leaves scars that ache
while life endures. There are thousands of young people
in the Church to-day, and hundreds of thousands through-
out the world, who are struggling to set themselves right
with the God above and the world about them. It is for
these young people, primarily, that the following chapters
have been written.

This volume is based on the conviction that there is no
real difference between science and religion. The great,
fundamental laws of the Universe are foundation stones in
religion as well as in science. The principle that matter is
indestructible belongs as much to theology as to geology.
The theology which rests upon the few basic laws of nature
is unshakable; and the great theology of the future will be
such a one.

"Mormonism" teaches and has taught from the begin-
ning that all knowledge must be included in the true theol-
ogy. Because of its comprehensive philosophy, "Mormon-
ism" will survive all religious disturbances and become the
system of religious faith which all men may accept without
yielding the least part of the knowledge of nature as dis-
covered in the laL oratories or in the fields. The splendid
conceptions of "Mormonism" concerning man and nature,
and man's place in nature are among the strongest testi-
monies of the divine nature of the work founded by Joseph
Smith, the Prophet.

This little volume does not pretend to be a complete
treatment of "Mormon" philosophy; it is only a small con-
tribution to the subject. There is room for elaboration and
extension in this field for many generations to come. The
attempt has been made to sketch, briefly, the relation of
"Mormonism" to some features of modem scientific phil-

2 PREFACE.

osopy, and to show that not only do "Mormonism" and
science harmonize; but that "Mormonism" is abreast of the
most modem of the established views of science, and that
It has held them many years — in some cases before science
adopted them. The only excuse for the scant treatment of
such an important subject is that it is as extensive as the
duties of a busy life would allow. In the future, the subject
may be given a fuller treatment.

Some readers may urge that "the testimony of the
Spirit," which has been the final refuge of so many Chris-
tians, has received little consideration in the following
chapters. This is due to the avowed purpose of the work
to harmonize science and religion, on the basis of accepted
science. "Mormonism" is deeply and rationally spiritual;
the discussion in this volume is confined to one phase of
Gospel philosophy.

The majority of the following chapters were originally
published in the Impi-ovement Era for 1903-1904 as a series
of articles bearing the main title of this book. These ar-
ticles are here republished with occasonal changes and ad-
ditions. The new chapters have been cast into the same
form as the original articles. The publication as inde-
pendent articles will explain the apparent lack of connec-
tion between the chapters in this book. The statements
of scientific facts have been compared very carefully with
standard authorities. However, in popularizing science
there is always the danger that the simplification may sug-
gest ideas that are not wholly accurate. Those who have
tried this kind of work will understand and pardon such
errors as may appear. However, corrections are invited.

My thanks are due and cheerfully given the manage-
ment of the Improvement E?a for the help and encourage-
ment given. I am under especial obligations to Elder Ed-
ward H. Anderson, the associate editor of the Era, to whose
efforts it is largely due that this volume has seen the light
of day. I desire to render my thanks also to the committee
appointed by the First Presidency to read the manuscript,
Elders George Albert Smith, Edward H. Anderson and
Joseph F. Smith, Jr.

This volume has been written in behalf of "Mormon-
ism." May God speed the truth!

Contents.

Page
INTRODUCTORY.

Chapter I. Joseph's Mission and Language .... 3

THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF THE UNIVERSE

Chapter II. The Indestructibility of Matter 10

Chapter III. The Indestructibility of Energy 14

Chapter I V. The Universal Ether 19

Chapter V. The Reign of Law 30

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE.

Chapter VI. The New Astronomy 39

CJiapter VII. Geological Time 50

Chapter VIII. Organized Intelligence 61

THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL.

Chapter VI V. Faith 72

Chapter X. Repentance 80

Chapter XI. Baptism 83

Chapter XII. The Gift of the Holy Ghost 87

Chapter XIII. The Word of Wisdom 90

THE DESTINY OF EARTH AND MAN.

Chapter XI V. The Law of Evolution 103

Chapter X V. The Plan of Salvation 115

THE REGION OF THE UNKNOWN.

Chapter X VI. The Sixth Sense 121

THE FORCE OF FORCES.

Chapter X VII. The Nature of God 134

CONCLUSION.

Chapter X VIII. Joseph Smith's Education 139

Chapter X VI V. A Summary Restaterhent 145

Chapter XX. Concluding Thoughts 158

APPENDIX.

Chapter XXI. The Testimony of the Soil 163

INTRODUCTORY.

Chapter I.
JOSEPH'S MISSION AND LANGUAGE.

The mission of Joseph Smith was of a spiritual
nature; and therefore, it is not to be expected that

Scientific discus- the discussion of scientific matters will

sions not to be , „ j • ,, t^

expected in the be tound in the Prophet's writings.

Prophet's work. The revelations given to the Prophet
deal almost exclusively with the elucidation of so-
called religious doctrines, and with such difficulties
as arose from time to time in the organization of the
Church. It is only, as it appears to us, in an inci-
dental way that other matters, not strictly of a re-
ligious nature, are mentioned in the revelations.
However, the Church teaches that all human knowl-
edge and all the laws of nature are part of its re-
ligious system; but that some principles are of more
importance than others in man's progress to eternal
salvation.* While on the one hand, therefore, it can-

* "And truth is knowledge of things as they are. and as
they were and as they are to come."— Doctrine and Cove-
nants, 93: 24.

" Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you,
that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in
principle, in doctrine, in the law of the Gospel, in all
things that pertain unto the Kingdom of God, that are ex-
pedient for you to understand;

"Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under

6 INTRODUCTORY.

not reasonably be expected that Joseph Smith should
deal in his writings with any subject peculiar to
natural science, yet, on the other hand, it should not
surprise any student to find that the Prophet at
times considered matters that do not come under the
ordinary definition of religion, especially if they in
any way may be connected with the laws of religion.
Statements of scientific detail should not be looked
for in Joseph Smith's writings, though these are not
wholly wanting; but rather, we should expect to find

the earth; things which have been, things which are, things
which must shortly come to pass; things which are at
home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplex-
ities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the
land, and a knowledge also of countries and kingdoms,

" That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall
send you again to magnify the calling, whereunto I have
called you, and the mission with which I have commis-
sioned you." — Doctrine and Covenants, 88: 78-80.

And verily, I say unto you, that it is my will that you
should hasten to translate my Scriptures, and to obtain a
knowledge of history, and of countries, and of kingdoms,
of laws of God and man, and all this for the salvation of
Zion." — Doctrine and Covenants, 93: 53.

" It (theology) is the science of all other sciences and
useful arts, being in fact the very foundation from which
they emanate. It includes philosophy, astronomy, history,
mathematics, geography, languages, the science of letters,
and blends the knowledge of all matters of fact, in every

branch of art and research. All that is useful, great

and good, all that is calculated to sustain, comfort, instruct,
edify, purify, refine or exalt intelligences, originated by this
science, and this science alone, all other sciences being but
branches growing out of this, the root." — Pratt, Key to
Theology, chap, 1.

JOSEPH'S MISSION AND LANGUAGE. 7

general views of the relations of the forces of the
universe.

It is not in harmony with the Gospel spirit that

God, except in special cases, should reveal things

Man must not ex-that man by the aid of his natural

pect direct reve- powers may gain for himself. The

lation in matters ^ c- o

that he can solve Lord spoke to the Prophet as follows : — •

for himself. '< Behold, you have not understood;

you have supposed that I Avould give it unto you,
when you took no thought, save it was to ask me;
but, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it
out in your mind ; then you must ask me if it be
right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom
shall burn within you ; therefore, you shall feel that
it is right."* Such a doctrine makes it unreasonable
to look to the Prophet's work for a gratuitous mass
of scientific or other details, which will relieve man
of the labor of searching out for himself nature's
laws. So well established is this principle that in all
probability many of the deepest truths contained in
the writings of Joseph Smith will not be clearly un-
derstood, even by his followers, until, by the la-
borious methods of mortality, the same truths are
established. It is even so with the principles to be
discussed in the following papers. They were stated
seventy years ago, yet it is only recently that the
Latter-day Saints have begun to realize that they
are identical with recently developed scientific
truths ;'and the world of science is not yet aware of
it. However, whenever such harmony is observed,
it testifies of the divine inspiration of the humble,
unlearned boy prophet of the nineteenth century.

♦Doctrine and Covenants 9:7, 8.
2

8 INTRODUCTORY.

The Prophet Joseph does not use the language
of science ; which is additional proof that he did not
The absence of know the science of his day. This may
lafiSme'thodsbe urged as~an objection to the asser-
of science in the tion that he understood fundamental
Prophet'swritings^^.^^^.^^ truths, but the error of this

him unfamiliar view is easily comprehended when it is
with the written n t -i . j.i i £ • ^„^ i^

science of his day. recalled that the language ot science is

made by men, and varies very often from age to age,

and from country to country. Besides, the God who

spoke to Joseph Smith, says, ' ' These commandments

were given unto my servants in their weakness, after

the manner of their language, that they might come

to understanding."* If God had spoken the special

language of science, the unlearned Joseph Smith

would not, perhaps, have understood. Every wise

man explains that which he knows in the language

of those to whom he is speaking, and the facts and

theories of science can be quite easily expressed in

the language of the common man. It is needless to

expect scientific phraselogy in the writings of Joseph

Smith,

Scientific details are almost wholly wanting in
the writings of Joseph Smith. Had the Prophet
known the science of his day, his detailed knowledge
would have been incorporated somehow in his writ-
ings. The almost complete absence of such scientific
detail as would in all probability have been used, had
the Prophet known of it, is additional testimony that
he did not get his information from books.

Finally, another important fact must be men-
tioned. Men in all ages have speculated about the

* Doctrine and Covenants 1:24.

JOSEPH'S MISSION AND LANGUAGE. 9

things of the universe, and have invented all kinds

of theories to explain natural phenomena. In all

cases, however, these theories have been supported

by experimental evidence, or else they have been

proposed simply as personal opinions. Joseph Smith,

on the contrary, laid no claim to experimental data

to support the theories which he proposed, nor did

he say that they were simply personal opinions, but

he repeatedly asserted that God had revealed the

truths to him, and that they could not, therefore, be

false. If doctrines resting upon such a claim can be

shown to be true, it is additional testimony of the

truth of the Prophet's work.

In the following chapters it will be shown, by a

series of comparisons, that, in 1833, or soon there-

_ ,.. after, the teachings of Joseph Smith,

Purpose of the ' off

following the Mormon Prophet, were in full har-

chapters. mony with the most advanced scientific

thought of today, and that he anticipated the world
of science in the statement of fundamental facts and
theories of physics, chemistry, astronomy and
biology.

THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS
OF THE UNIVERSE.

Chapter II.

THE INDESTRUCTIBILITY OF MATTER.

It was believed by the philosophers of ancient
and mediaeval times, especially by those devoted to
the study of alchemy, that it was possible through
mystical powers, often of a supernatural order, to
annihilate matter or to create it from nothing. Men
with such powers transcended all known laws of na-
Until recent days ture, and became objects of fear, often

many believed f worship to the masses of mankind.

that matter could ^

be created or Naturally enough, the systems of reli-

destroyed. gj^^^ became colored with the philo-

sophical doctrines of the times; and it was held to
be a fundamental religious truth that God created
the world from nothing. Certainly, God could do
what his creatures, the magicians, were able to do —
that part of the reasoning was sound.

In support of this doctrine, attention was called
to some of the experiences of daily life. A piece of
coal placed in a stove, in a short time disappears —
it is annihilated. From the clear air of a summer's
day raindrops start — created out of nothing. A
fragment of gold placed in contact with sufficiently
strong acids, disappears — it is destroyed.

Towards the end of the eighteenth century, facts

THE INDESTRUCTIBILITY OF MATTER. H

and laws of chemistry were discovered, which en-
abled scientists to follow in i-reat de-
Matter is .1,11 • -1 1 • " ., ,
eternal, its tail the changes, visible or mv. uble, to

form only can which matter in its various forms is
be changed. i • , rm -, i .i

subject. Then it was shown thai iii-^

coal placed in a stove unites with a portion of the
air entering through the drafts, and becomes an in-
visible gas, but that, were this gas collected as it
issues from the chimney, it would be found to con-
tain a weight of the elements of the coal just equal
to the weight of the coal used. In a similar manner
it was shown that the raindrops are formed from the
water found in the air, as an invisible vapor. The
gold dissolved in the acid, may be wholly recovered
so that every particle is accounted for. Numerous
investigations on this subject were made by the most
skillful experimenters of the age, all of which
showed that it is absolutely impossible to create or
destroy the smallest particle of matter; that the most
man can do is to change the form in which matter
exists.

After this truth had been demonstrated, it was
a necessary conclusion that matter is eternal, and that
the quantity of matter in the universe cannot be
diminished nor increased. This great generalization,
known as the law of the Persistence of Matter or
Mass, is the foundation stone of modern science. It
began to find general acceptance among men about
the time of Joseph Smith's birth, though many reli-
gious sects still hold that God, as the Supreme Ruler,.
is able at will to create matter from nothing. The
establishment of this law marked also the final down-
fall of alchemy and other kindred occult absurdities.

12 THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS.

No doctrine taught by Joseph Smith is better
understood by his followers than that matter in its
Mormonism elementary condition is eternal, and

all things cvre ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ neither be increased nor
material. diminished. As early as May, 1833, the

Prophet declared that "the elements are eternal,"*
and in a sermon delivered in April, 1844, he said
" Element had an existence from the time God had.
The pure principles of element are principles which
can never be destroyed; they may be organized and
reorganized, but not destroyed. They had no begin-
ning, and can have no end."t

It is thus evident that from the beginning of his
work, Joseph Smith was in perfect harmony with the
fundamental doctrine of science ; and far in advance
of the religious seets of the world, which are, even at
this time, slowly accepting the doctrine of the per-
sistence of matter in a spiritual as well as in a ma-
terial sense.

Mormonism has frequently been charged with
accepting the doctrine of materialism. In one sense,
the followers of Joseph Smith plead yes to this
charge. In Mormon theology there is no place
for immateralism ; i. e. for a God, spirits and angels
that are not material. Spirit is only a refined form
of matter. It is beyond the mind of man to conceive
of an immaterial thing. On the other hand, Joseph
Smith did not teach that the kind of tangible mat-
ter, which impresses our mortal senses, is the kind
of matter which is associated with heavenly beings.
The distinction between the matter known to man

♦Doctrine and Covenants, 93:33.
I The Contributor, Vol. 4, p. 257.

THE INDESTRUCTIBILITY OF MATTER. 13

and the spirit matter is very great ; but no greater
than is the difference between the matter of the
known elements and that of the universal ether
which forms one of the accepted dogmas of science.
Science knows phenomena only as they are as-
sociated with matter ; Mormonism does the same.

Chapter III.

THE INDESTRUCTIBILITY OF ENERGY.

It is only when matter is in motion, or in the
possession of ener^, that it is able to impress our
senses. The law of the indestructibility and converti-
bility of energy, is of equal fundamental value with
All forms of ^^^^^ of the indestructibility of matter.

energy may be ^ great variety of forces exist in na-
converted into ^ „ . ■. ,■ ^

each other. ture, as, tor inscance, gravitation, elec-

Energy can not tricity, chemical affinity, heat and light.
These forces may all be made to do
work. Energy, in fact, may be defined as the power
of doing work. In early days these forces were sup-
posed to be distinct and not convertible, one into the
other, just as gold and silver, with our present
knowledge, are distinct and not convertible into
other elements.

In the early part of the nineteenth century
students of light and heat began to demonstrate that
these two natural forces were different manifesta-
tions of one universal medium. This in turn led to
the thought that possibly these forces, instead of be-
ing absolutely distinct, could be converted one into
the other. This idea was confirmed in various expe-
rimental ways. Sir Humphrey Davy, about the end
of the eighteenth century, rubbed together two
pieces of ice until they were nearly melted. Pre-
cautions had been taken that no heat could be ab-
stracted from the outside by the ice. The only ten-

THE INDESTRUCTIBILITY OF ENERGY. 15

able conclusion was that the energy expended in
rubbing, had been converted into heat, which had
melted the ice. About the same time, Count Rum-
ford, a distinguished American, was superintending
the boring of a cannon at the arsenal at Munich, and
was forcibly struck with the heating of the iron due
to this process. He, like Davy, believed that the
energy of the boring instruments had been converted
into the heat.*

From 1843 to 1849, Dr. Joule of Manchester,
England, published the results of experiments on the
relation between mechanical energy and heat. Dr.
Joule attached a fixed weight to a string which was
passed over a pulley, while the other end was con-
nected with paddles moving in water. As the weight
descended, the paddles were caused to revolve ; and
it was observed that, as the weight fell and the pad-
dles revolved, the water became warmer and warmer.
Dr. Joule found further that for each foot of fall, the
same amount of heat energy was given to the water.
In fact, he determined that when a pound weight
falls seven hundred and seventy two feet it gives out
energy enough to raise the temperature of one pound
of water one degree Fahrenheit.! This experiment,
frequently repeated, gave the same result and estab-
lished largely the law of the convertibility of energy.

About the same time, it was shown that light
can be converted into heat; and later it was proved
that electricity may be changed into heat or light.
In all these cases it was found that the amount of
energy changed was exactly equal to the amount of
energy produced.

* The Conservation of Heat — Stewart, pp. -35, 39.

f The Conservatism of Energy,' — Stewart, pp. 44, 45. Re-
cent Advances in Pysical Science — Tait, pp. 63, 65.

16 THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS.

Thus, by countless experiments, it was finally
determined that ener^ is indestructible ; that, when
any form of energy disappears, it reappears imme-
diately in another form. This is the law of the per-
sistence of force or energy. In more recent days, it
has been suggested that all known forces are varia-
tions of a great universal force, which may or may
not be known. The very nature of force or energy
is not understood. In the language of Spencer, "By
the persistence of force, we really mean the persis-
tence of some cause which transcends our knowledge
and conception."*

It need hardly be explained that energy cannot
exist independently of matter ; and that the law of the
persistence of matter is necessary for the existence
of the law of persistence of force.

Joseph Smith was not a scientist; and he made
no pretense of solving the scientific questions of this

Universal intelli- day. The discussion relative to the
gence, comparable -it. £ • £ £

to universal convertibility or various lorms oi en-

energy is inde- ergy was in all probability not known
cording to ^o him. Still, in his writings is found

Joseph Smitii. a doctrine which in all respects resem-
bles that of the conservation of energy.

Joseph Smith taught, and the Church now
teaches, that all space is filled with a subtle, though
material substance of wonderful properties, by which
all natural phenomena are controlled. This substance
is known as the Holy Spirit. Its most important
characteristic is intelligence. ''Its inherent prop-
erties embrace all the attributes of intelligence."!

•First Principles, Spencer, 4th ed., p. 200.
I Key to Theology, P. P. Pratt, 5th ed., p. 40.

THE INDESTRUCTIBILITY OF ENERGY. 17

The property of intelligence is to the Holy Spirit
what energy is to the gross material of our senses.
In one of the generally accepted works of the
Church, the energy of nature is actually said to be
the workings of the Holy Spirit. The passage reads
as follows i^ ' Man observes a universal energy in na-
ture— organization and disorganization succeed each
other — the thunders roll through the heavens; the
earth trembles and becomes broken by earthquakes ;
fires consume cities and forests; the waters accumu-
late, flow over their usual bounds, and cause destruc-
tion of life and property; the worlds perform their
revolutions in space with a velocity and power in-
comprehensible to man, and he, covered with a veil
of darkness, calls this universal energy, God, when it
is the workings of his Spirit, the obedient agent of
his power, the wonder-working and life-giving prin-
ciple in all nature.^"* J

In short, the writings of the Church clearly in-
dicate that the various forces of nature, the energy
of nature, are only manifestations of the great, per-
vading force of intelligence. We do not understand
the real nature of intelligence any better than we
understand the true nature of energy. We only
know that by energy or intelligence gross matter is
brought within reach of our senses.

Intelligence or energy was declared by Joseph
Smith in May, 1833, to be eternal: " Intelligence, or
the light of truth, was not created or made, neither
indeed can be."t In the sermon already referred to

* Compedium, Richards and Little, 3rd ed., p. 150.
•j- Doctrine and Covenants, 93 : 29.

18 THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS.

the Prophet said, " The intelligence of spirits had
no beginning, neither will it have an end."

These quotations, and many others to which at-
tention might be called, show clearly that Joseph
Smith taught the doctrine that the energy of the
universe can in nowise be increased or diminished,
though, it may manifest itself in various forms.

The great Latter-day prophet is thus shown to
be in harmony with the second fundamental law of
science. It is not a valid objection to this conclu-
sion to say that Joseph Smith did not use the ac-
cepted terms of science. Words stand only for ideas ;
the ideas are essential. The nomenclature of a
science is often different in different lands, and is
often changed as knowledge grows.

It is hardly correct to say that he was in har-
mony with the law; the law as stated by the world
of science was rather in harmony with him. Let it
be observed that Joseph Smith enunciated the prin-
ciple of the conservation of the energy, or intelli-
gence as he called it, of the universe, in May, 1833,
ten years before Dr. Joule published his famous pa-
pers on energy relations, and fifteen or twenty years
before the doctrine was clearly understood and gen-
erally accepted by the learned of the world. Let it
be also remembered that the unlearned boy from the
backwoods of New York state, taught with the con-
viction of absolute certainty that the doctrine was
true, for God had revealed it to him.

If God did not reveal it to him, where did he
learn it, and whence came the courage to teach it as
an eternal truth?

Chapter IV.
THE UNIVERSAL ETHER.

The nature of light has been in every age a fas-
cinating subject for study and reflection. Descartes,
The modern ^^^^ French mathematician and philoso-

theory of light pher, advanced the hypothesis that

was established

only about the light consists of small particles emitted

year 1830. by luminous bodies, and that the sen-

sation of light is produced by the impact of these
particles upon the retina of the eye. Soon after this
emission or corpuscular theory had been proposed,
Hooke, an English investigator of great note, stated
publicly that the phenomena of light, as he had ob-
served them, led him to the belief that the nature of
light could best be explained on the assumption tliat
light was a kind of undulation or wave in some un-
known medium, and that the sensation of light was
produced when these waves struck upon the retina
of the eye. This new hypothesis, known as the
theory of undulations, after the great Isaac Newton
had declared himself in favor of the corpuscular-
theory, was finaly adjudged by the majority of
students to be erroneous.

About the year 1800, more than a century after
the days of Descartes, Hooke and Newton, an En-
glish physician, Dr. Thomas Young, who had long
experimented on the nature of light, asserted that
the emission theory could not explain many of the
best known phenomena of light. Dr. Young further

20 THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS.

claimed that correct explanations could be made
only by the theory of waves of undulation of an
etherial medium diffused through space, and pre-
sented numerous experimental evidences in favor of
this view. This revival of the old theory of undula-
tion met at first with violent opposition from many
of the greatest scientific minds of the day. Some-
time after Dr. Young's publication, a French army
officer, Augustine Fresnel, undertook the study of
the nature of light, and arrived, almost independ-
ently, at the conclusion stated by Dr. Young. Later,
other investigators discovered light phenomena
which could be explained only on the undulatory
hypothesis, and so, little by little, the new theory
gained ground and adherents.

Still, even as late as 1827, the astronomer
Herschel published a treatise on light, in which he
appeared to hold the real merit of the theory of
undulations in grave doubt.* Likewise, the Imperial
Academy at St. Petersburg, in 1826, proposed a prize
for the best attempt to relieve the undulatory theory
of light of some of the main objections against it.f
It was several years later before the great majority
of the scientific world accepted the theory of un-
dulatons as the correct explanation of the phenom-
ena of light.

In brief, this theory assumes that a very atten-
uated, but very elastic, substance, called the ether,
fills all space, and is found surrounding the ultimate

* History of the Inductive Sciences, Whewell, 3rd edi-
tion. Vol. n, p. 114.

I Loo. cit., 117.

THE UNIVERSAL ETHER. 21

particles of matter. Thus, the pores of wood, soil,

. , , lead, gold and the human body, are

A subtle sub- . , . .

stance, the ether, filled with the ether. It is quite impos-

fills all space. sible by any known process to obtain
a portion of space free from it. A luminous body is
one in which the ultimate particles of matter, the
atoms or molecules, are moving very rapidly, and
thus causing disturbances in the ether, similar to the
disturbances in quiet water when a rock is thrown
into it; and, like the water wave, proceeding from
the point of disturbance, so the ether waves radiate
from the luminous body into space. When a wave
strikes the retina of the eye, the sensation of light is
produced. This new-found ether was soon used for
the explanation of other natural phenomena.

The nature of heat had long been discussed
when the world of science decided in favor of the

Light, heat, undulatory theory of light. One school

othe*p'^forces"are ^^^^ *^^* *^^ sensation of heat was
forms of ether caused by the cannonading of heat
motion. particles by the heated body; the other

school, with few adherents, insisted that heat was
simply a form of motion of the ether already adopted
in the theory of light. The later discoveries of
science proved with considerable certainty that the
undulatory theory of heat is right, but it was well
towards the middle of the last century before the
emission theory of heat lost its ground. In fact. Dr.
Wliewell, in the third edition of his classic book on
the History of Inductive Sciences^ published in 1859,
says that the undulatory theory of heat "has not by
any means received full confirmation;" and Dr.

♦Vol. II, p. 184.

22 THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS.

John Tyndall, in a book published in 1880, says, that
the emission theory "held its ground until quite re-
cently among the chemists of our own day."* To-
day, the evidences of modern science are overwhelm-
ingly in favor of the undulatory theory of heat.

The wonderful developments of the last cen-
tury, in electricity and magnetism, led to much spec-
ulation concerning the nature of the subtle electrical
and magnetic forces. The most popular theories for
many years were those that presupposed various
electrical and magnetic fluids, which could be col-
lected, conducted, dispersed and otherwise con-
trolled. In 1867, the eminent English mathematician,
Clerk Maxwell, proposed the theory that electrical
and magnetic phenomena were simply peculiar mo-
tions of the ether, bearing definite relationship to
light waves. Later researches, one result of which is
the now famous Koentgen or X-rays- have tended
to confirm Maxwell's theory. A recent text-book
on physics, of unquestioned authority,! states that
the ether theory of electricity and magnetism is now
susceptible of direct demonstration ; and another em-
inent authority frankly states that ''when we explain
the nature of electricity, we explain it by a motion
of the luminiferous ether, "t

Other recent discoveries have hinted at the pos-
sibility of matter itself being only the result of pecu-
liar forms of this all-pervading substance, the lumin-
iferous ether. The properties of the element radium.

* Heat, A Mode of Motion, Tyndall, 6tli ed., p. 38.

-j- Lehrbuch der Physik, Riecke,(1896), 2ter Band, p. 315.

j; Popular Lectures and Addresses, Kelvin (1891) Vol.
1, page 334.

THE UNIVERSAL ETHER. 23

and other radioactive elements, as at present under-
stood, suggest the possibility of a better understand-
ing of the nature of the ether, and of its relation to
the world of phenomena.

That the present knowledge of the world of
science compels a faith in an all-pervading substance,
The existence of of marvelous properties, and of inti-
certainty of mate relationship to al! forms of en-

science, ergy, is shown by the following quota-

tions from Lord Kelvin, who is generally regarded
as the world's greatest phj^sicist: " The iumin-
ferous ether, that is the only substance we are con-
fident of in dynamics. One thing we are sure of, and
that is the reality and substantiality of the lumin-
iferous ether." " AVhat can this luminiferous ether
be? It is something that the planets move through
with the greatest ease. It permeates our air; it is
nearly in the same condition, so far as our means
of judging are concerned, in our air and in the inter-
planetary space." "You may regard the existence
of the luminiferous ether as a reality of science."
"It is matter prodigiously less dense than air — of
such density as not to produce the slightest resis-
tance to any body going through it."*

The theory of the ether is one of the most help-
ful assumptions of modern science. By its aid the
laws of energy have been revealed. There is at the
present time no grander or more fundamental doc-
trine in science than that of the ether. The nature
of the ether is, of course, far from being clearly un-
derstood, but every discovery in science demon-
strates that the hypothetical ether stands for an im-

* Kelvin's Lectures, Vol. 1, pp. 317, 334, 336, 354.

24 THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS.

portant reality of nature. Together with the doc-
trines of the indestructibility of matter and energy,
the doctrine of the ether welds and explains all the
physical phenomena of the universe.

Joseph Smith, in a revelation received on De-
cember 27, 1832, wrote:

"The light which now shineth, which giveth

you light, is through him who enlighteneth your

Joseph Smith eyes, which is the same light that

taught space is quickeneth your understandings : which

filled with a sub-,. , ^ -, ., ^ , ^ ,

stance com par- light proceedeth forth from the pres-

able to the ether ence of God to fill the immensity of
of scicncCa

space. The light which is in all things :

which is the law by which all things are governed :

even the power of God."*

This quotation gives undoubted evidence of the
prophet's belief that space is filled with some sub-
stance which bears important relations to all natu-
ral phenomena. The word substance is used ad-
visedly; for in various places in the writings of
Joseph Smith, light, used as above in a general
sense, means spirit,t and "all spirit is matter, but
it is more fine and pure. "J

True, the passage above quoted does not fur-
nish detailed explanation of the Prophet's view con-
cerning the substance filling all space, but it must
be remembered that it is simply an incidental para-
graph in a chapter of religious instruction. True,
also, the Prophet goes farther than some modern
scientists, when he says that this universal substance

♦Doctrine and Covenants, section 88: 11-13.
•{•Doctrine and Covenants, 84: 45.
J Ibid, 131: 7.

THE UNIVERSAL ETHER. 25

bears a controlling relation to all things; yet, when
it is recalled that eminent, sober students have sug-
gested that the facts of science make it possible to
believe that matter itself is simply a phenomenon
of the universal ether, the statement of the ''Mor-
mon" prophet seems very reasonable. The para-
graph already quoted is not an accidental arrange-
ment of words suggesting an idea not intended by
the prophet, for in other places, he presents the idea
of an omnipresent substance binding all things to-
gether. For instance, in speaking of the controlling
power of the universe he says :

"He comprehendeth all things, and all things
are before him, and all things are round about him;
and he is above all things, and in all things, and
is through all things, and is round about all
things."*

That Joseph Smith does not here have in mind
an omnipresent God, is proved by the emphatic
doctrine that God is personal and cannot be every-
where present.!

Lest it be thought that the words are forced,
for argument's sake, to give the desired meaning,
it may be well to examine the views of some of
the persons to whom the Prophet explained in de-
tail the meanings of the statements in the revela-
tions which he claimed to have received from God.

Parley P. Pratt, who, as a member of the first
quorum of apostles, had every opportunity of ob-
taining the Prophet's views on any subject, wrote

*Ibid, 88: 41.
flbid, 130: 22.

26 THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS.

in considerable fullness on the subject of the Holy-
Spirit, or the light of truth :

"As the mind passes the boundaries of the vis-
ible world, and enters upon the confines of the more
refined and subtle elements, it finds itself associated
with certain substances in themselves invisible to
our gross organs, but clearly manifested to our in-
tellect by their tangible operations and effects."
" The purest, most refined and subtle of all these
substances — is that substance called the Holy Spirit."
" It is omnipresent." " It is in its less refined par-
ticles, the physical light which reflects from the sun,
moon and stars, and other substances; and by re-
flection on the eye makes visible the truths of the
outward world."*

Elder C .W. Penrose, an accepted writer on
Mormon doctrine, writes, " It is by His Holy Spirit,
which permeates all things, and is the life and light
of all things, that Deity is everywhere present. * *
By that agency God sees and knows and governs all
things, "t

Such quotations, from the men intimately asso-
ciated or acquainted with the early history of the
Church, prove that Joseph Smith taught in clearness
the doctrine that a subtle form of matter, call it
ether or Holy Spirit, pervades all space; that all
phenomena of nature, including, specifically, heat,
light and electricity, are definitely connected with
this substance. He taught much else concerning this
substance which science will soon discover, but

♦Key to Theology, 5th ed., pp. 38-41.
I Rays of Living Light, No. 2, p. 3.

THE UNIVERSAL ETHER. 27

which lies without the province of this paper to
discuss.

By the doctrine of the ether, it is made evident
all the happenings in the universe are indelibly in-
scribed upon the record of nature. A word is spoken.
The air movements that it causes disturbs the ether.
The ether waves radiate into space and can never
die. Anywhere, with the proper instrument, one of
the waves may be captured, and the spoken word
read. That is the simple method of wireless tele-
graphy. It is thus that all our actions shall be known
on the last great day. By the ether, or the Holy
Spirit as named by the Prophet, God holds all
things in His keeping. His intelligent will radiates
into space, to touch whomsoever it desires. He who
is tuned aright can read the message, flashed across
the ether ocean, by the Almighty. Thus, also, God,
who is a person, filling only a portion of space is,
by His power carried by the ether, everywhere
present.

The ether of science though material is essen-
tially different from the matter composing the ele-
ments. So, also, in Mormon theology, is the Holy
Spirit different from the grosser elements. In science
there is a vast distinction between the world of the
elements, and that of the ether; in theology, there is
an equally great difference between the spiritual and
material worlds. Though the theology of Joseph
Smith insists that immaterialism is an absurdity, yet
it permits no overlapping of the earthly and the
spiritual.

It must not be overlooked that the broad state-

28 THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS.

ment of this doctrine was made by Joseph Smith,
Joseph Smith at least as early as 1832, at a time when
tence of a ^^'^ *^® explanation of light phenomena on
universe-filling the hypothesis of a universal ether was
substance before . , , . . . /? j
science had gen- J^st beginnmg to find currency among

erally accepted it. learned men; and many years before
the same hypothesis was accepted in explaining the
phenomena of heat and electricity.

The idea of an influence pervading the universe
is not of itself new. Poets and philosophers of all
ages have suggested it in a vague, hesitating manner,
without connecting it with the phenomena of nature,
but burdening it with the greatest absurdity of re-
ligion or philosophy, that of immaterialism. Joseph
Smith said the doctrine had been taught him by God,
and gave it to the world unhesitatingly and ration-
ally. The men of science, to whom Joseph Smith
appears only as an imposter, and who know nothing
of his writings, have later discovered the truth for
themselves, and incorporated it in their books of
learning.

Had Joseph Smith been the clever imposter that
some claim he was, he probably would not have
dealt in any way with the theories of the material
world, at least would not have claimed revelations
laying down physical laws; had he been the stupid
fool, others tell us he was, his mind would not have
worried itself with the fundamental problems of
nature.

However that may be, it is certain that Joseph
Smith, in the broad and rational statement of the
existence of an omnipresent, material though subtle
substance, anticipated the workers in science. In

THE UNIVERSAL ETHER. 29

view of that fact, it is not improbable that at some
future time, when science shall have gained a wider
view, the historian of the physical sciences will say
that Joseph Smith, the clear-sighted, first stated
correctly the fundamental physical doctrine of the
universal ether.

Chapter V.

THE REIGN OF LAW.

In the seventh book of the Republic of Plato*
occurs the following passage :

" Imagine a number of men living in an under-
ground cavernous chamber, with an entrance open
The realities of to the light, extending along the entire

nature 3iVG

known by tiieir length of the cavem, in which they
effects. have been confined, from childhood,

with their legs and necks so shackled, that they are
obliged to sit still and look straight forward, because
their chains render it impossible for them to turn
their heads round; and imagine a bright fire burn-
ing some way off, above and behind them, and an
elevated roadway passing between the fire and the
prisoners, with a low wall built along it, like the
screens which conjurers put up in front of their au-
diences, and above which they exhibit their won-
ders. Also figure to yourself a number of persons
walking behind the wall, and carrying with them
statues of men and images of other animals,
wrought in wood and stone and all kinds of mate-
rials, together with various other articles, which
overtop the wall ; and, as you might expect, let some
of the passers-by be talking, and the others silent.

" Let me ask whether persons so confined could
have seen anything of themselves or of each other,
beyond the shadows thrown by the fire upon the part

* Golden Treasury edition, pp. 235, 236.

THE REIGN OF LAW. 31

of the cavern facing them? And is not their knowl-
edge of the things carried past them equally limited?
And if they were able to converse with one another,
would they not be in the habit of giving names to the
objects which they saw before them ? If their prison
house returned an echo from the part facing them,
whenever one of the passers-by opened his lips, to
what could they refer the voice, if not to the shadow
which was passing? Surely such person would hold
the shadows of those manufactured articles to be the
only realities."

With reference to our absolute knowledge of the
phenomena of nature, this splendid comparison is as
correct today as it was in the days of Plato, about
400 B. C. ; we are only as prisoners in a great cave,
watching shadows of passing objects thrown upon
the cavern wall, and reflecting upon the real natures
of the things whose shadows we see. We know
things only by their effects; the essential nature of
matter, ether and energy is far from our under-
standing.

In early and mediaeval times, the recognition of
the fact that nature in its ultimate form is unknow-
The progress able, led to many harmful superstitions.
on the law of Chief among the fallacies of the early
cause and effect, ages was the belief that God at will
could, and did, cause various phenomena to appear
in nature, which were contrary to all human expe-
rience. As observed in chapter 4, a class of men
arose who claimed to be in possession of knowledge
which made them also able, at will, to cause various
supernatural manifestations. Thus arose the occult
sciences, so called, — alchemy, astrology, magic,

32 THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS.

witchcraft, and all other similar abominations of the
intellect. Such beliefs made the logical study of na-
ture superfluous, for any apparent regularity or law
in nature might at any time be overturned by a per-
son in possession of a formula of the black art or a
properly treated broomstick.

While such ideas prevailed among the majority
of men, the rational study of science could make lit-
tle progress. In the march of the ages as
the ideas of men were classified, it began
to be understood that the claims of the de-
votees of the mystical arts not only could not be
substantiated but were in direct opposition to the
known operations of nature. It became clear to the
truthseekers, that in nature a given cause, acting
upon any given object, providing all surrounding
conditions be left unchanged, will always produce
the same effect. Thus, coal of a certain quality,
brought to a high temperature in the presence of
air, will bum and produce heat; a stick held in
water at the right angle will appear crooked; iron
kept in contact with moisture and air, at the right
temperature, will be changed into rust; sunlight
passed through a glass prism will be broken into
rainbow colors; ordinary plants placed in a dark
cellar will languish and die. No matter how often
trials are made, the above results are obtained; and
today it is safe to assert that in the material world
no relation of cause and effect, once established, has
failed to reappear at the will of the investigator. As
this principle of the constancy in the relations be-
tween cause and effect was established, the element
of chance in natural phenomena, with its attendant

THE REIGN OP LAW. 33

arts of magic, had to disappear. It is now well un-
derstood by intelligent persons that the law of order
controls all the elements of nature.

It is true that the cause of any given effect may,
itself, be the effect of other causes, and that the first
cause of daily phenomena is not and probably can-
not be understood. It is also true that very seldom
is the mind able to comprehend why certain causes,
save the simpler ones, should produce certain effects.
In that respect we are again nothing more than
Plato's cave prisoners, seeing the shadows of ulti-
mate realities. However, the recognition of the prin-
ciple of the invariable relation between cause and
effect was a great onward stride in the intellectual
development of the world.

Now, as men began to investigate nature with
her forces, according to the new light, numerous re-
Laws of nature lations of the forces were discovered —

plesrex"prei7on ^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^.^ ^^ comprehen-
of many re- sion of the human mind. Then it was

lated facts. found necessary to group all facts of a

similar nature, and invent, if possible, some means
by which the properties of the whole group might
be stated in language so simple as to reach the un-
derstanding. Thus came the laws of nature.

For instance, men from earliest times observed
the heavenly bodies and the regularity of their mo-
tions. Theories of the universe were invented which
should harmonize with the known facts. As new
facts were discovered, the theories had to be changed
and extended. First it was believed that the earth
was fixed in mid-space, and sun and stars were daily
carried around it. Hipparchus improved this theory

34 THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS.

by placing the earth not exactly in the center of the
sun's circle. Ptolemy, three hundred years later,
considered that the sun and moon move in circles,
yearly, around the earth, and the other planets in
circles, whose centers again described circles round
the earth. Copernicus simplified the whole system
by teaching that the earth rotated around its axis,
and around the sun. Keppler next showed that the
earth moved around the sun in certain curves termed
ellipses. Finally, Newton hit upon the wide-embrac-
ing law of gravitation, which unifies all the known
facts of astronomy.* All the earlier laws were cor-
rect, so far as they included all the knowledge of the
age in which they were proposed, but were insuffi"
cient to include the new discoveries.

Laws of nature are, therefore, man's simplest
and most comprehensive expression of his knowl-
edge of certain groups of natural phenomena. They
are man-made, and subject to change as knowledge
grows; but, as they change, they approach or should
approach more and more nearly to the perfect law.
Modem science is built upon the assumption that the
relations between cause and effect are invariable, and
that these relations may be grouped to form great
natural laws, which express the modes by which the
forces of the universe manifest themselves.

In this matter, science is frankly humble, and
acknowledges that the region of the unknown is far
greater than that of the known. Forces, relations
and laws may exist as yet unknown to the world of
science, which, used by a human or superhuman be-

* See The Grammar of Science, Pearson, pp. 117, 118.

THE REIGN OF LAW. 35

ing, might to all appearances change well-established
A miracle is a relations of known forces. That would

law not under- be a miracle: but a miracle simolv
stood. 1

means a phenomenon not understood,

in its cause and effect relations. It must also be ad-
mitted that men possess no absolute certainty that
though certain forces, brought into a certain con-
junction a thousand times, have produced the same
effect, they will continue to do so. Should a varia-
tion occur, however, that also must be ascribed to
an inherent property of the forces or conditions, or
the existence of a law not understood.* There can
be no chance in the operations of nature. This is a
universe of law and order.

Were it not for the sake of the completeness of

the argument running through these chapters, it would

Joseph Smith be unnecessary to call attention to the

taught the invari. fact that Joseph Smith in a very high
able relation 1 1 • • , •/ o

of cause and degree held views similar to those

®^®*^*' taught by science relative to cause and

effect, and the reign of law.

From the beginning of his career, the Prophet
insisted upon order, or system, as the first law in the
religion or system of philosophy which he founded. f
Moreover, the order which he taught was of an un-
changeable nature, corresponding to the invariable
relation between cause and effect. He wrote, " There
is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the
foundations of this world, upon which all blessings
are predicated; and when we obtain any blessing
* The Credentials of Science, the Warrant of Faith,
Cooke, pp. 169, 170.

•j- Doctrine and Covenants, 28: 13; 132; 8.

36 THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS.

from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which
it is predicated."* No text book in science has a
clearer or more positive statement than this, of the
fact that like causes have like effects, like actions
like results. The eternal nature of natural law is
further emphasized as follows:

" If there be bounds set to the heavens, or to
the seas: or to the dry land, or to the sun, moon or
stars; all the times of their revolutions; all the ap-
pointed days, months, and years, and all the days
of their days, months, and years, and all their
glories, laws, and set times, shall be revealed, in the
days of the dispensation of the fullness of times, ac-
cording to that which was ordained in the midst of
the Council of the Eternal God of all other Gods
before this world was."t

Those who may be inclined to believe that this
doctrine was taught in a spiritual sense only, should
recall that Joseph Smith taught also that spirit is
only a pure form of matter,$ so that the principles
of the material world must have their counterparts
in the spiritual world. Besides, in the last quotation
reference is made to such material bodies as sun,
moon, and stars.. In other places, special mention is
made of the fact that the material universe is con-
trolled by law. For instance :

"All kingdoms have a law given: and there
are many kingdoms; * * * * and unto every
kingdom is given a law; and unto every law there
are certain bounds also and conditions. * * * *
* Doctrine and Covenants, 130: 20,21.
I Doctrine and Covenants, 121: 30-32.
t Doctrine and Covenants, 131 : 7.

THE REIGN OF LAW. 37

And again, verily I say unto you, he hath given
a law unto all things by which they move in their
times and their seasons; and their courses are fixed;
even the courses of the heavens and the earth, which
comprehend the earth and all the planets.*

This also is a clear, concise statement of law
and its nature, which is not excelled by the defi-
nitions of science. There can be no doubt from
these quotations, as from many others that might
be made, that Joseph Smith based his teachings
upon the recognition that law pervades the universe,
and that none can transcend law. In the material
world or in the domain of ether or spirit, like causes
produced like effects — the reign of law is supreme.
Certainly the claim cannot be made that Joseph
Smith anticipated the world of science in the recog-
"The law also i^ition of this important principle ; but
maketh you it is a source of marvel that he should

®" so clearly recognize and state it, at a

time when many religious sects and philosophical
creeds chose to assume that natural laws could be
set aside easily by mystical methods that might be
acquired by anyone. In some respects, the scientific
test of the divine inspiration of Joseph Smith lies
here. Ignorant and superstitious as his enemies say
he was, the mystical would have attracted him great-
ly, and he would have played for his own interest
upon the superstitious fears of his followers. In-
stead, he taught doctrines absolutely free from
mysticism, and built a system of religion in which
the invariable relation of cause and effect is the
cornerstone. Instead of priding himself, to his
* Doctrine and Covenants, 88 : 36-38, 42, 43.

38 THE REIGN OF LAW.

disciples, upon his superiority to the laws of nature,
he taught distinctly that "the law also maketh you
free."* Herein he recognized another great prin-
ciple— that freedom consists in the adaptation to
law, not in the opposition to it.

However, whatever else the Prophet Joseph
Smith was, he most certainly was in full harmony
with the scientific principle that the universe is
controlled by law.

♦Doctrine and Covenants, 98:8.

THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE.

Chapter VI.

THE NEW ASTRONOMY.

Prom the dawn of written history, when the first
men, watching through the nights, observed the
The laws of the regular motions of the moon and stars,
motions of the humanity has been striving to obtain
have^been ° '^^ ^ correct understanding of the relation
learned very of the earth to the heavenly obdies.

First it was believed that the sun,
moon, and stars revolved in circles around the earth
(which for a time was supposed to be flat instead of
spherical). The great Greek philosopher, Hippar
chus, after observing the movements of the heavenly
bodies, suggested that the earth was not exactly
in the middle of the circles. Three hundred years
later, Ptolemy discovered a number of facts con-
cerning the movements of the sun, moon and planets,
which were unknown to Hipparchus, and which led
him to suggest that the sun and moon move in cir-
cles around the earth, but that the planets move
around the earth in circles, whose centres again move
around the earth. This somewhat complex theory
explained very well what was known of astronomy
in the days of the ancients. In fact, the views of
Ptolemy were quite generally accepted for 1300
years.

About 1500, A. D., Copernicus, a Dutch astron-
omer, having still more facts in his possession than

40 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE.

had Ptolemy, concluded that the simplest manner
in which the apparent movements of the sun, moon,
and planets could be explained, was to assume that
the sun is the center of the planetary system, and
that the earth, with the moon and planets, revolves
according to definite laws around the sun. This
theory, supported by numerous confirmatory obser-
vations, was generally accepted by astronomers, and
really did explain very simply and clearly many of
the facts of planetary motion.

Fifty years after the death of Copernicus, the
celebrated astronomer, Kepler, proposed extensions
and improvements of the Copernican doctrine, which
made the theory that the planets revolve about the
sun more probable than ever before. He suggested
first that the planets move around the sun in closed
curves, resembling flattened circles, and known as
ellipses. By assuming this to be true, and assisted
by other discoveries, he was also able to state the
times required by the planets for their revolutions
around the sun, and the velocity of their motions
at different times of the year. Later investigations
have proved the great laws proposed by Copernicus
and Kepler to be true ; and from their days is dated
the birth of modern astronomy.

After the laws of the motions of the planets

had been determined, it was only natural that men

Ti. I- ■ ..J • should ask themselves what forces were
The law of gravi-
tation is univer- concerned in these motions. The an-

miny of^'thlf'"^ cient philosophers had proposed the idea
motions of that the sun attracts all heavenly

celestial bodies. ^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^j^^ suggestion had not been

accepted by the world at large. However, after the

THE NEW ASTRONOMY. 41

discoveries of Kepler, the English philosopher New-
ton advanced the theory that there is in the universe
an attractive force v^^hich influences all matter, be-
yond the limits of known space. He further proved
that the intensity of this force varies directly with
the product of the attractive masses, and inversely,
with the square of the distances between them — that
is, the greater the bodies the greater the attraction ;
the greater the distance between them, the smaller
the attraction. This law of gravitation has been
verified by repeated experiments, and, taken in con-
nection with the astronomical theories of Coper-
nicus and Kepler, has made celestial meehanicsi
what they are today.

By the aid of the law of gravitation, many
astronomical predictions have been fulfilled. Among
the most famous is the following incident :

In the early part of the last century, astron-
omers noticed that the motions of the planet Uranus
did not agree with those derived from calculations
based upon the law of gravitation. About 1846,
two investigators, M. Leverrier, of France, and Mr.
Adams of England, stated, as their opinion, that the
discordance between theory and observation in the
case of the motions of Uranus, was due to the at-
traction of a planet, not yet known, and they cal-
culated by means of the law of gravitation, the size
and orbit of the unknovni planet. In the fall of
1846, this planet was actually discovered and named
Neptune. It was found to harmonize with the pre-
dictions made by the astronomers before its dis-
covery.

During the days of Newton, the question was

42 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE.

raised if the celestial bodies outside of the solar
system obey the law of gravitation. Among the
stars, there are some which are called double stars,
and which consist of two stars so near to each other
that the telescope alone can separate them to the
eye. In 1803, after twenty years of observation,
William Herschel discovered that some of these
couples were revolving around each other with var-
ious angular velocities. The son of William Herschel
continued this work, and many years later, he dis-
covered that the laws of motion of these double
stars are the same as those that prevail in the
the solar system.* This result indicated not only
the universality of the law of gravitation, but also
the probability that all heavenly bodies are in
motion.

Then, early in the nineteenth cetury, a new

method of research began to be developed, which was

The invention of destined to form a new science of

the spectroscope astronomy. It had long been known

laid the founda- "^

tion of the new that white light when passed through

astronomy. g^ glass prism is broken into a colored

spectrum, with colors similar to those observed in
the rainbow. Now it was discovered that when
white light passes through vapors of certain com-
position, dark lines appear in the spectrum, and that
the position of the lines varies with the chemical
composition of the vapors. By the application of
these principles, it was shown, towards the middle
of the last century, that the chemical composition
of the heavenly bodies may be determined. Later,

* History of the Inductive Sciences, Whewell, 3rd ed.
Vol. I, pp. 467-469.

THH NEW ASTRONOMY. 43

it was discovered that by noting the positions of
the dark lines in the spectrum, it could be known
when a star or any heavenly body is moving, as also
the direction and amount of its motion. These un-
expected discoveries led to a study of the heavens
from the spectroscopic point of view, which has re-
sulted in a marvelous advance in the science of
astronomy.

It has been determined that all heavenly bodies
are in motion, and that their velocities are great
. compared with our ordinary concep-

bodiea are in tions of motion. Most of the stars move

motion. g^^ ^Yie rate of about seven miles per

second, though some have a velocity of
forty-five miles, or more, per second. Many
stars, formerly thought to be single, have
been resolved into two or more components.
The rings of Saturn have been proved to
consist of small bodies revolving about the planet in
obedience to Kepler's law.* Clusters of stars have
been found that move through space as one body,
as possible counterparts of the planetary system. f
It has been demonstrated, further, that the sun it-
self, with its planets, is moving through space at
a very rapid rate. Professor Simon Newcomb, per-
haps the greatest astronomer of the day, says, "The
sun, and the whole solar system with it, have been
speeding their way toward the star of which I speak
(Alpha Lyrae) on a journey of which we know
neither the beginning nor the end. During every

* See C. G. Abbott, Report of Smithsonian Institution,
for 1901, pp. 153-155.

I Light Science for Leisure Hours, Proctor, pp. 42-52.

44 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE.

clock-beat through which humanity has existed, it has
moved on this journey by an amount which we can-
not specify more exactly than to say that it is
probably between five and nine miles per second.
The conclusion seems unavoidable that a number
of stars are moving with a speed such that the at-
traction of all the bodies of the universe could never
stop them."* In brief, the new astronomy holds
that all heavenly bodies are in motion, and that the
planetary system is but a small cluster of stars
among the host of heaven. Further, it has weighed
the stars, measured the intensity of their light, and
determined their chemical composition, and it af-
firms that there are suns in the heavens, far ex-
celling our sun in size and lustre, though built of
approximately the same elements.

Sir Robert Ball expresses his views as follows:

"The group to which our sun belongs is a limited

The solar °^^- ^^^^ must be so, even though the

system is only group included all the stars in the milky

many. way. This unnumbered host is still

only a cluster, occupying, comparatively speaking, an

expressibly small extent in the ocean of infinite

space. The imagination will carry us further still

— it will show us that our star cluster may be but

a unit in a cluster of an order still higher, so that

a yet higher possibility of movement is suggested

for our astonishment, "t

Another eminent astronomer expresses the same
idea briefly but eloquently: "It is true that from

* The Problems of Astronomy, S. Newcomb, Science,
May 21. 1897.

-j- Tbe Story of the Sun, R. S. Ball, pp. 360, 361.

THE NEW ASTRONOMY. 45

the highest point of view the sun is only one of a
multitude — a single star among millions — thousands
of which, most likely, exceed him in brightness,
magnitude and power. He is only a private in the
host of heaven."*

And still another student of the stars propounds
the following questions: "Does there exist a cen-
tral sun of the universe? Do the worlds of Infini-
tude gravitate as a hierarchy round a divine focus?
Some day the astronomers of the planets which
gravitate in the light of Hercules (towards which
constellation the solar system is moving) will see a
little star appear in their sky. This will be our sun,
carrying us along in its rays; perhaps at this very
moment we are visible dust of a sidereal hurricane,
in a milky way, the transformer of our destinies.
We are mere playthings in the immensity of Infin-
itude, "f

It is not strange that men Avho have learned to

look at the universe in this lofty manner should go

a step farther, beyond the actually

lieve that hea- known, and suggest that some of these

venly bodies countless heavenly bodies must be in-

are inhabited

by living, habited by living, thinking beings.

thinking beings, gober, thoughtful truthseekers, who
never advance needlessly a new theory, have sug-
gested, in all seriousness, that other worlds than
ours are peopled. For instance, "What sort of life,
spiritual and intellectual, exists in distant worlds?
We can not for a moment suppose that our little
planet is the only one throughout the whole uni-

* The Sun, C. A. Young, p. 11.

I Popular Astronomy, C. Flamraarion, p. 309.

46 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE.

verse on which may be found the fruits of civiliza-
tion, warm firesides, friendship, the desire to pene*
trate the mysteries of creation."*

Such, then, is in very general terms the view
of modern astronomy with reference to the con-
stitution of the universe. Most of the information
upon which this view rests has been gathered during
the last fifty years.

Joseph Smith was doubtlessly impressed with

the beauty of the starry heavens, and, in common

Joseph Smith with all men of poetical nature, allowed

taught that all ^ns thoughts to wander into the immens-

heavenly bodies . °

are in motion. ity of space. However, he had no

known opportunity of studying the principles of

astronomy, or of becoming fam|iliar with the

astronomical questions that were agitating the

thinkers of his day. Naturally, very little is said in

his writings that bears upon the planeta*ry and

stellar constitution of the universe; yet enough to

prove that he was in perfect harmony with the

astronomical views developed since his day.

First, he believed that stellar bodies are dis-
tributed throughout space. "And worlds without
number have I created, "f " And there are many
kingdoms; for there is no space in which there is
no kingdom. "J He is further in harmony with
modem views in that he claims that stars may be
destroyed, and new ones formed. "For, behold,
there are many worlds that have passed away by
the word of my power. "|| "And as one earth shall

* The Problems of Astronomy, S. Newcomb.

■f Book of Moses, 1: 33. J Doctrine and Coyenants,

88: 37. II Book of Moses, 1: 35.

THE NEW ASTRONOMY. 47

pass away, and the heavens thereof, even so shall
another come."*

At the time that Joseph Smith wrote, there was
considerable discussion as to whether the laws of
the solar system were effective with the stars. The
Prophet had no doubts on that score, for he wrote,
"And unto every kingdom is given a law; and unto
every law there are certain bounds also and con-
ditions, "f

Likewise, his opinions concerning the motions
of celestial objects were very definite and clear.
' ' He hath given a law unto all things by which they
move in their times and seasons; and their courses
are fixed; even the courses of the heavens and the
earth, which comprehend the earth and all the
planets. The earth rolls upon her wings, and the
sun giveth his light by day, and the moon giveth her
light by night, and the stars also giveth their light,
as they roll upon their wings in glory, in the midst
of the power of God. ' 'J

In another place the same thought is expressed.
"The sun, moon or stars; all the times of their
revolutions; all the appointed days, months, and
years, and all the days of their days, months, and
years, and all their glories, laws, and set times,
shall be revealed. "||

The two revelations from which these quota-
tions are made, were given to the Prophet in 1832
and 1839 respectively, many years before the fact

* Doctrine and Covenants, 1 : 38.
•{•Doctrine and Covenants, 88: 38.
J Doctrine and Covenants, 88: 43,45.
II Doctrine and Covenants, 121: 30,31.

48 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE.

that all celestial bodies are in motion was under-
stood and accepted by the world of science.

The accepted conception that groups or clus-
ters of stars form systems which revolve around
Joseph Smith some one point or powerful star, was
taught that the also clearly understood by Joseph
only one of Smith, for he speaks of stars of dif-

many— in ad- ferent orders with controlling stars for
astronomers each order. "And I saw the stars that

of his day. they were very great, and that one of

them was nearest unto the throne of God ; and there
were many great ones which were near unto it : and
the Lord said unto me: These are the governing
ones; and the name of the great one is Kolob be-
cause it is near unto me — I have set this one to
govern all those which belong to the same order
as that upon which thou standest."* That the gov-
erning star, Kolob, is not the sun is evident, since
the statement is made later in the chapter that the
Lord showed Abraham "Shinehah, which is the
sun." Kolob, therefore, must be a mighty star gov-
erning more than the solar system; and is possibly
the central sun around which the sun with its at-
tendant planets is revolving. The other great stars
near Kolob are also governing stars, two of which
are mentioned by name Oliblish and Enish-go-on-
dosh, though nothing is said of the order or stars
that they control. The reading of the third chapter
of the Book of Abraham leaves complete conviction
that Joseph Smith taught that the celestial holies
are in great groups, controlled (under gravitational
influence) by large suns. In this doctrine, he anti-

* Book of Abraham, chapter 3.

THE NEW ASTRONOMY. 49

cipated the world of science by many years.

It is perhaps less surprising to find that Joseph
Smith believed that there are other peopled worlds
Joseph Smith than ours. For instance, "The reckon-
oth??*w*oMds arei^g ^f God's time, angel's time, proph-
inhabited. et's time, and man's time, is according

to the planet on which they reside,"* which dis-
tinctly implies that other planets are inhabited. An-
other passage reads, "The angels do not reside on
a planet like this earth, but they reside in the pres-
ence of God, on a globe like a sea of glass and
fire."t

"While the idea that the planets and stars may
be inhabited is not at all new, yet it is interesting
to note that Joseph Smith taught as an absolute
truth that such is the case. Probably no other
philosopher has gone quite that far.

These brief quotations go to show that the doc-
trines of the Prophet of the Latter-day Saints are
in full accord with the views that distinguish the
new astronomy. It is also to be noted that in ad-
vancing the theories of universal motion among the
stars, and of great stars or suns governing groups
of stars, he anticipated by many years the corres-
ponding theories of professional astronomers.

In various sermons the Prophet dealt more fully
with the doctrines here set forth and showed more
strongly than is done in his doctrinal writings, that
he understood perfectly the far reaching nature of
his astronomical teachings.

Did Joseph Smith teach these truths by chance ?
or, did he receive inspiration from a higher power?

* Doctrine and Covenants, 130: 4.

•J-Loc. cit., verses 6 and 7. See also 88: 61.

Chapter VII.

GEOLOGICAL TIME.

God speaks in various ways to men. The stars,

the clouds, the mountains, the grass and the soil, are

_. . . . . all, to him who reads aright, forms of

The history of ' o '

the world written divine revelation. Many of the noblest
in the rocks. attributes of God may be learned by a

study of the laws according to which Omnipotent
Will directs the universe.

Nowhere is this principle more beautifuly illus-
trated and confirmed than in the rocks that con-
stitute the crust of the earth. On them is written
in simple plainness the history of the earth almost
from that beginning, when the Spirit of God moved
upon the face of the waters. Yet, for centuries, men
saw the rocks, their forms and their adaptations to
each other, without understanding the message writ-
ten in them. Only, as the wonderful nineteenth cen-
tury approached, did the vision open, and the inter-
pretation of the story of the rocks become apparent.
How the earth first came into being has not yet
been clearly revealed. From the first, however, the

Water and heat mighty forces which act today, have

among the shap- , , -, j, , . ,, ,,

ing forces of snaped and fashioned the earth and pre-

the earth. pared it for man's habitation. Water,

entering the tiny cracks of the rocks, and expanding

as, in winter, it changed to ice, crumbled the mighty

GEOLOGICAL TIME. 51

mountans; water, falling as rain from the clouds,
washed the rock fragments into the low-lying places
to form soil ; the water in mighty rivers chiseled the
earth with irresistible force, as shown by the Grand
Canyon of the Colorado. The internal heat of the
earth, aided by the translocation of material by
water, produced large cracks in the earth's crust,
through which oceans of molten matter flowed and
spread themselves over the land; the same heat ap-
peared in volcanoes, through which were spurted
liquid earth, cinders and foul gases ; as the earth heat
was lost, the crust cooled, contracted and great folds
appeared, recognized as mountains, and as time went
on, many of the mountains were caused to sink and
the ocean beds were brought up in their stead. Won-
derful and mighty have been the changes on the
earth's surface since the Lord began its preparation
for the race of men.

In the beginning, it appears that water covered
the whole earth. In that day, the living creatures

The geological of earth dwelt in the water, and it was

history of the ^^^ ^^^ ^^ g^l^^g ^^^ ^^j^g^. armatic

earth is in many .

chapters. animals. Soon the first land lifted itself

timidly above the surface of the ocean, and formed
inviting places for land animals and plants. Upon
the land came, first, according to the story of the
rocks, a class of animals known as amphibians, like
frogs, that could live both in water and on land.
Associated with these creatures were vast forests of
low orders of plants, that cleared the atmosphere of
noxious gases, and made it fit for higher forms of
life. Then followed an age in which the predominat-
ing animals were gigantic reptiles, a step higher than

52 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE.

the amphibians, but a step lower than the class of
Mammals to which man belongs. During the age of
these prehistoric monsters, the earth was yet more
fully prepared for higher life. Following the age of
reptiles, came the age of mammals, which still per-
sists, though, since the coming of man upon the
earth, the geological age has been known as the age
of man.

This rapid sketch of the geological history of
the earth does very poor justice to one of the most
complete, wonderful and beautiful stories brought to
the knowledge of man. The purpose of this chapter
is not, however, to discuss the past ages of the earth.
It is, of course, readily understood that such
^ mighty changes as those just described, and the suc-
cession of different kinds of organic life, could not
have taken place in a few years. Vast periods of
time must of necessity have been required for the
initiation, rise, domination and final extinction of
each class of animals. A year is too small a unit of
measurement in geological time ; a thousand years or,
better, a million years, would more nearly an-
swer the requirements.

It is possible in various ways to arrive at a con-
ception of the age of the earth since organic life
The earth is came upon it. For instance, the gorge
lions of years ^^ ^^® Niagara Falls was begun in com-
o'tl- paratively recent days, yet, judging by

the rate at which the falls are now receding, it must
have been at least 31,000 years since the making of
the gorge was first begun, and it may have been near-
ly 400,000 years.* Lord Kelvin, on almost purely

* Dana's New Text Book of Geology, p. 375.

GEOLOGICAL TIME. 53

physical grounds, has estimated that the earth can-
not be more than 100,000,000 years old, but that it
may be near that age.* It need not be said, probably,
that all such calculations are very uncertain, when
the actual number of years are considered; but, all
human knowledge, based upon the present appear-
ance of the earth and the laws that control known
phenomena, agree in indicating that the age of the
earth is very great, running in all probability into
millions of years. It must have been hundreds of
thousands of years since the first life was placed
upon earth.

When these immense periods of time were first

suggested by students of science, a great shout of

The war con- Opposition arose from the camp of the

cerning the theologians. The Bible story of crea-

earth's age has .• i i , . , ,. „ ,

helped theology ^lon nad been taken literally, that m

and science. six days did the Lord create the heav-

ens and the earth ,• and it was held to be blasphemy
to believe anything else. The new revelation, given
by God in the message of the rocks, was received as
a man-made theory, that must be crushed to earth.
It must be confessed likewise that many of the men
of science, exulting in the new light, ridiculed the
story told by Moses, and claimed that it was an evi-
dence that the writings of Moses were not inspired,
but merely man-made fables.

The war between the Mosaic and the geological
record of creation became very bitter and lasted long,
and it led to a merciless dissection and scrutiny of
the first chapter of Genesis, as well as of the evidence
upon which rests the geological theory of the age of

♦Lectures and Addresses, vol. 2, p. 10.

54 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE.

the earth. When at last the din of the battle grew
faint, and the smoke cleared away, it was quickly per-
ceived by the unbiased on-lookers, that the Bible and
science had both gained by the conflict. Geology
had firmly established its claim, that the earth was
not made in six days of twenty-four hours each ; and
the first chapter of Genesis had been shown to be a
marvelously truthful record of the great events of
creation.

Moses, in the first chapter of Genesis, enumerates

the order of the events of creation. First, light was

The word day brought to the earth and was divided

in Genesis from darkness, "and the evening and

refers to indef- °

inite time the morning were the first day." Then

periods. ^j^g firmament was egtablished in the

midst of the waters, ' ' and the evening and the morn-
ing were the second day." After each group of
, creative events, the same expression occurs, ' ' and
the evening and the morning were the third [fourth,
fifth, and sixth] days." Those who insisted upon the
literal interpretation of the language of the Bible
maintained that the word day, as used in Genesis 1,
referred to a day of twenty-four hours, and that all
the events of creation were consummated by an all-
powerful God in one hundred and forty-four earthly
hours. An examination of the original Hebrew for
the use of the word translated "day in Genesis, re-
vealed that it refers more frequently to periods of
time of indefinite duration.* When this became
clear, and the records of the rocks became better
known, some theologians suggested, tbat as we are

* Compare The Mosaic Record of Creation, A. McCaul,
D. D.. p. 213.

GEOLOGICAL TIME. 55

told that a thousand years are as one day to God, the
day of Genesis 1 refers to periods of a thousand years
each. This did not strengthen the argument. The
best opinion of today, and it is well-nigh universal, is
that the Mosaic record refers to indefinite periods of
time corresponding to the great divisions of histori-
cal geology.

Even as late as the sixties and seventies of the
last century this question was still so unsettled as
to warrant the publication of books defending the
Mosaic account of creation.*

In 1830, certain visions, given to the Jewish law-
giver Moses, were revealed to the Prophet Joseph
Joseph Smith's Smith. These visions are now incorpor-

teachings con- ^^^^ ^-^j^ ^^^ler matter in the Pearl of

cerning creation

found in the Booi< Great Price, under the title, The Book of

of Abraham. Moses. In chapter two of this book

is found an account of the creation, which is nearly
identical with the account found in Genesis 1. The
slight variations which occur tend only to make the
meaning of the writer clearer. In this account, the
expression "and the evening and the morning were
the first [etc.] day," occurs just as it does in the
Mosaic account in the Bible. In 1835, certain an-
cient records found in the catacombs of Egypt fell
into the hands of Joseph Smith, who found them to
be some of the writings of Abraham, while he was
in Egypt. The translation of these records is also
found in the Pearl of Great Price, under the title,
The Book of Abraham. In the fourth and fifth chap-
ters of the book is found an account of the creation

* For instance Aids to Faith, containing McCaul's most
able discussion. The Origin of the World, J. W. Dawson.

56 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE.

according to the knowledge of Abraham. The two

accounts are essentially the same, but the Abrahamic

version is so much fuller and clearer that it illumines

the obscurer parts of the Mosaic account. We shall

concern ourselves here only with the variation in the

use of the word ' ' day. ' '

In Genesis 1 : 5 we read, "And God called the

light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And

the evening and the morning were the

The Book of jjj>qi day." The corresponding period

Abraham con- ■ -,. -, • i-r~.i

veys the idea IS discussed in the Book oi Abraham

that the creative 4 . 5 as follows: "And the Gods called
periods included , ,. , -,^ -1,1, ,

much time. the light Day, and the darkness they

called Night. And it came to pass that

from the evening until the morning they called night ;

and from the morning until the evening they called

day; and this was the first, or the beginning, of that

which they called night and day."

It is to be noted that in Abraham's version
names were given to the intervals between evening
and morning, and morning and evening; but abso-
lutely nothing is said about a first day: the state-
ment is simply made, that this was the beginning
of the alternating periods of light and darkness
which they, the Gods, had named night and day.
According to this version, the first creative period
occupied an unknown period of time.

In Genesis 1 : 8 it further says: "And God called
the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the
morning were the second day."

The corresponding passage in the Book of Abra-
ham 4:8, reads, "And the Gods called the expanse
Heaven. And it came to pass that it was from even-

GEOLOGICAL TIME. 57

ing until morning that they called night; and it
came to pass that it was from morning until evening
that they called day, and this was the second time
that they called night and day."

Here it must be noted that nothing is said about
a second day. It is said that it was the second time .
that they called day — which leaves the second crea-
tive period entirely indefinite so far as time limits
are concerned.

In Genesis 1 : 13, it reads, ' ' and the evening and
the morning were the third day."

In Abraham 4 : 13, the corresponding passage
reads, ''And it came to pass that they numbered the
days; from the evening until the morning they
called night; and it came to pass, from the morning
until the evening they called day; and it was the
third time."

Here it is explicitly stated that the Gods num-
bered the days ; evidently, they counted the days that
had passed during the third creative period, and it
was the third time that the numbering had been
done. Again, the third creative period is left
indefinite, as to time limits.

Gen. 1:19, reads, "And the evening and the
morning were the fourth day."

Correspondingly, in Abraham 4:19, is found,
"And it came to pass that it was from evening until
morning that it was night ; and it came to pass that
it was from morning until evening that it was day ;
and it was the fourth time."

This quotation from Abraham, standing alone,
would be somewhat ambiguous, for it might indicate
that it was the fourth time that the periods between

58 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE.

evening and morning, and morning and evening were
called night and day. In the light of previous pas-
sages, however, the meaning of the passage becomes
clear. Certainly there is nothing in the verse to
confine the fourth creative period within certain time
limits.

The fifth day in Genesis closes as does the
fourth ; and the fifth time in Abraham closes as does
the fourth. The remarks made concerning the
fourth creative period apply to the fifth.

Concerning the sixth creative period. Gen. 1 :31,
says, "And God saw everything that he had made,
and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and
the morning were the sixth day."

Of the same period Abraham says, "And the
Gods said : We wUl do everything that we have said,
and organize them; and behold, they shall be very
obedient. And it came to pass that it was from
morning until evening that they called night; and
it came to pass that it was from evening until morn-
ing that they called day; and they numbered the
sixth time."

As in the previous periods, the sixth ended by
the sixth period, like those preceding, being inde-
the Gods numbering the days of the creative period ;
terminate as to time.

Kepeated reading and study of the Abrahamic
account, as revealed through Joseph Smith, make it
certain beyond doubt that the intent is to convey
the idea that the creative periods included much
time, and that, at the end of each period, the measure
of night and day, was applied to the period, in order
that its length might be determined. Whether or

GEOLOGICAL TIME. 59

not the different creative periods represented days
to the mighty beings concerned in the creation, we
do not know, and it matters little to the argument
of this article.*

Now, then, we must remember that Joseph
Smith made this translation long before the theolo-
gians of the world had consented to admit that the
Mosaic days meant long periods of time; and long
before geology had established beyond question that
immense time periods had been consumed in the
preparation of the earth for man.

Joseph Smith, the humble, unlearned, despised
boy, unfamiliar with books and the theories of men,
stated with clear and simple certainty, if his works
be read with the eye of candid truth, this funda-
mental truth of geological science and the Bible,
long before the learned of the world had agreed
upon the same truth. f .

Standing alone, this fact might be called a
chance coincidence, a result of blind fate. But re-
calling that it is one of many similar and even more

* The writer understands the creation, reported in
Abraham, 4th chapter, to be spiritual in its nature; but he
also believes that this spiritual account is a perfect picture
of the actual material creation. If chapter 4 of Abraham
represents the Gods planning creation, the measuring of
time becomes easily understood. It then means, " How
long will it take to accomplish the work?" All this, how-
ever, has no bearing upon the present argument.

I It may be remarked that other geological doctrines
were taught by the Prophet, that science has since con-
firmed. One of these was discussed by Dr. J. E. Talmage
in the Improvement Era, Vol. 7, p. 481.

60 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE.

striking facts, what shall be said, Has ever impostor
dared what Joseph Smith did? Has ever false
prophet lived beyond his generation, if his prophecies
were examined? Shall we of this foremost age ac-
cept convincing, logical truth, though it run counter
to our preconceived notions? Glorious were the vis-
ions of Joseph the Prophet; unspeakable would be
our joy, should they be given to us.

Chapter Vin.

ORGANIZED INTELLIGENCE.

The student of the constitution of the universe
must take into account living beings. Plants, ani-
A complete mals and men are essentially different

c^'S'JlvTng* from the mass of matter. The rock,
beings. apparently, is the same forever; but the

plant has a beginning, and after a comparatively
short existence dies. Animals and men, likewise, be-
gin their earthly existence; then, after a brief life,
die, or disappear from the immediate knowledge of
of living things.

Man, the highest type of living things, differs
from the rock, moreover, in that he possesses the
power to exercise his will in directing natural forces.
Animals and even plants seem to possess a similar
power to a smaller degree. The rock on the hillside is
pulled downward by gravitation, but can move only
if the ground is removed from beneath it by some
external force. Man, on the other hand, can walk
up or down the hill, with or against the pull of
gravity.

Modern science refers all phenomena to matter

and motion ; in other words, to matter and force or

Science teaches energy. In this general sense, matter

that all phenom- ^^j^^gg ^he universal ether, and force

ena may be x^^j.^^

referred to mat- includes any or all of the forces known,

^''n^otlon*^^'' or *^^* ™^y ^^ known, to man.

To illustrate : the electrician develops a current

62 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE.

of electricity, which to the scientist is a portion ot
the universal ether moving in a certain definite man-
ner. When the vibrations of the ether are caused to
change, light, or magnetism or chemical affinity
may result from the electricity. In every case, mat-
ter is in motion. The ear perceives a certain sound.
It is produced by the movements of the air. In fact,
sounds are carried from place to place by great air
waves. The heat of the stove is due to the rapid
vibration of the molecules in the iron of the stove,
which set up corresponding vibrations in the ether.

In nature no exceptions have been found to the
great scientific claim that all natural phenomena may
be explained by referring them to matter in motion.
*Variations in the kind of matter and the kind of
motion, lead to all the variations found in the uni-
verse.

By many it has been held that life and its phe-
nomena transcend the ordinary explanations of na-
ture. Yet, those who have learned, by laborious re-

, .. . searches, that the fundamental ideas of

Life IS a . '

certain form the universe are only eternal matter,
of motion. eternal energy and the universe-filling

medium, the ether, find it very difficult to conceive
of a special force of life, which concerns itself solely
with very limited portions of matter, and is wholly
distinct from all other natural forces.

To the student of science it seems more consist-
ent to believe that life is nothing more than matter
in motion ; that, therefore, all matter possesses a kind
of life ; and that the special life possessed by plants,
animals and man, is only the highest or most com-

* Tyndall, Fragments of Science, I. chaps. I and II.

ORGANIZED INTELLIGENCE. 63

plex motion in the universe. The life of man, ac-
cording to this view, is essentially different from the
life of the rock; yet both are certain forms of the
motion of matter, and may be explained ultimately
by the same fundamental conceptions of science. Cer-
tainly, such an idea is more beautifully simple than
that of a special force of life, distinct from all other
natural forces.

It is argued by those who uphold this view, that
the simple forces of nature are converted by living
things into the higher forces that characterize life.
For instance, to keep the human body, with its won-
derful will and intelligence, in health, it is necessary
to feed it. The food is actually burned within the
body. The heat thus obtained gives to the man both
physical and intellectual vigor. It would really ap-
pear, therefore, that heat, which is a well known,
simple physical force, may be converted by the an-
imal body into other and more complex forces, or
modes of motion, such as the so-called life force.

Naturally, should science class life as the highest

or most complex of the modes of material motion,

the question would arise concerning the

organization char- manner in which this conversion were

acterizes life. made possible. The answer must be

that the ultimate particles of the matter composing

the living thing are so arranged or organized that

the great natural forces may be converted into life

force. It is possible by passing heat through certain

substances to make them luminous, thus converting

heat into light ; by employing a dynamo, mechanical

energy may be converted into electrical energy; by

coiling a wire around a rod of soft iron, electricity

64 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE.

may be converted into magnetism. In short, it is

well understood in science, that by the use of the

right machines one form of energy may be changed

into another. It is generally assumed, that the

human body is so organized that the forces of heat,

light and undoubtedly others, may be converted into

higher forms, peculiar to living things.*

To substantiate this view, it may be recalled

that the fundamental chemical individual in living

_ ^ , thing is a very complex, unstable sub-

Protoplasm, a ^ J f ,

highly organized stance known as protoplasm. No livmg

body, is always ^^^ ^^^g^g without the presence of this

associated ^

with life. substance. It is far from being known

well, as yet, but enough is known to enable science
to say that it is composed of several elements, so
grouped and regrouped as to transcend all present
methods of research.! By means of this highly or-
ganized body, it is assumed that the ordinary forces
of nature are worked over and made suited for the
needs of the phenomena of life.

The existence of the complex life-characteristic
substance protoplasm, renders probable the view
that living things, after all, differ from the rest of
creation only in the kind and degre of their organi-
zation, and that life, as the word is ordinarily used,
depends upon a certain kind or organization of mat-
ter,! which leads to a certain kind of motion.

As to the origin of the special organization

* Compare, Fiske, Outlines of Cosmic Philiosophy, chap.
XVI. Pearson, Grammar of Science, pp. 404-407. Dolbear,
Matter, Ether and Motion, chap. XI, pp. 294-297.

•j- Pearson, Grammar of Science, p. 408.

J Tyndall, Fragments of Science. II, chaps. IV and VI.

ORGANIZED INTELLIGENCE. 65

called life, science has nothing to say. Science is
helpless when she deals with the beginning of things.
The best scientific explanation of life is that it is a
very complex mode of motion occasioned by a highly
complex organization of the matter and ether of the
living body.

There are still some students who prefer to be-
lieve in the existence of a special vital force, which is
not subject to the laws that govern other forces. This
view, however, is so inconsistent with the modern
understanding of the contents of the universe that
it has few followers.

The view that life is a special organization by

which the great natural forces are focussed and con-

^. _, centrated, so as to accomplish the

The modern con- ., . ,.

ception of lifeis greatest works, necessarily implies a

very recent. belief in the modem laws of nature.

Since modem science is of very recent development
it was quite improbable for such a conception of
life to have been held clearly before modern times.
In fact it is within the last thirty or forty
years that these views have found expression among
scientific investigations.

As observed in chapters two and three, Joseph
Smith taught that the energy of matter or of ether

Joseph Smith is a form of intelligence. If, according

taught the ^^ ^j^^g doctrine, matter and ether are

universality ,.0 ,

of life. intelligent; then life also must reside

in all matter and ether. eHnce everything in the
universe is alive. Further, since all force is motion,
universal motion is universal life. The difference
between rock, plant, beast and man is in the amount
and organization of its life or intelligence. For in-
stance, in harmony with this doctrine, the earth

66 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE.

must possess intelligence or life. In fact the Prophet
says "the earth shall be sanctified; yea, not-
withstanding it shall die, it shall be quickened again,
and shall abide the power by which it is quickened."*
The statement that the earth shall die and shall be
quickened again, certainly implies that the earth
possess life, though, naturally, of an order wholly
different from that of men or other higher living
things.

It is an established "Mormon" doctrine that
man is coecxistent with God. Note the following state-
Man 's ments: "Ye were also in the beginning
coexistent with the Father." "Man was also in
with God. ^j^g beginning with God. Intelligence,
or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither
indeed can be,"t "Yet these two spirits, notwith-
standing one is more intelligent than the other, have
no beginning; they existed before, they shall have
no end, they shall exist after for they are eternal. "$
In the account of the Creation, given in the Book
of Abraham, it is clearly stated that the Gods or-
Joseph Smith ganized the earth and all upon it from

taught that man available materials, and as the fitting

is organized from

matter, spirit and climax to their labors they "went down

Intelligence ^q organize man in their own image, in

the image of Gods to form him."§ The creation of
man was in part at least the organization of indi-
viduals from eternal materials and forces. The na-
ture of that organization is made partly clear by the

* Doctrine and Covenants 88 : 25, 26.

I Doctrine and Covenants 93 : 23 and 29.

J Book of Abraham 3 : 19.

8 Book of Abraham, 4th chap. (Note verse 27.)

ORGANIZED INT JJLLIGENCE. 67

Prophet when he says "The spirit and the body are
the soul of man."* The spirit liere referred to may
be compared to the ether of science, vibrating with
the force of intelligence, which is the first and high-
est of the many forces of nature. The body, similar-
ly, refers to the grosser elements, also fired with the
universal energy — intelligence. The word Soul, in
the above quotation, means man as he is on earth
and is used as in Genesis. Man, according to this, is
composed of matter; the spirit which may be likened
to ether, and energy. The organization of man at
the begininng of our earth history, was only the
clothing of the eternal spiritual man with the mat-
ter which constitutes the perishable body. In con-
firmation of this view note another statement, "For
man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit
and element, inseparably connected, receiveth a full-
ness of joy, and when separated, man can not re-
ceive a fullness of joy."t Here also it is taught that
man is composed of matter, spirit and energy.

President Brigham Young has left an interest-
ing paragraph that confirms the statement that ac-

. , ... cording to "Mormon" doctrine, all mat-

Intelligence °

is uni- ter is intelligent, and that man is su-

^*''®^'* perior only because of his higher organ-
ization. "Is this earth, the air and the water, com-
posed of life ? If the earth, air and

water, are composed of life is there any intelligence
in this life?. . . .Are those particles of matter life; if
so, are they in possession of intelligence according
to the grade of their organization? We suggest

* Doctriae and Covenants 88: 15.
•{■Doctrine and Covenants 93: 33 and 34.

68 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE.

the idea that there is an eternity of life, an eternity

of organization, and an eternity of intelligence from

the highest to the lowest grade, every creature in its

order, from the Gods to the animalculae. "*

The statement that man can receive a fullness of

joy only when spirit and element are united, is of it-

- . .. , . . self a scientific doctrine of high import.
Spirit unaided ° \

knows matter This is a world of matter ; and a spirit-

with difficulty, ^^j ^^^^ ^jj^^ .g^ ^^^ j^^^g ^^Yy of the

universal ether, would not be able to receive fully the
impressions that come from the contact of element
with element. To enjoy and understand this world,
it is necessary for the spirit to be clothed with mat-
ter. The ether or spirit world is not within our
immediate view ; and it is probable that the material
world is far away from purely spiritual beings.

This whole doctrine means that God is the or-
ganizer of worlds, and all upon them. He is not the
God is tiie Creator of the materials and forces of

iviaster- the universe, for they are eternal; He

"' **"' is the master builder who uses the sim-

ple elements of nature for his purposes. It is also
plain that, according to "Mormon" doctrine, there
is no special life force. The intelligence residing in
a stone is in quality, as far as it goes, the same as the
intelligence possessed by man. But, man is so or-
ganized that a greater amount of intelligence, a full-
ness of it, centers in him, and he is as a consequence
essentially and eternally different from the stone.
President Young also said, "The life that is within
us is a part of an eternity of life, and is organized
spirit, which is clothed upon by tabernacles, thereby

* The Resurrection, p. 3. Ed. of 1884.

ORGANIZED INTELLIGENCE. 69

constituting our present being, which is designed for
the attainment of further intelligence. The matter
comprising our bodies and spirits has been organized
from the eternity of matter that fills immensity,"*

This doctrine does not permit of the interpreta-
tion that a lower intelligence, such as that of an an-

A lower intelli- imal, may in time become the intelli-
gence can not be- p HT. • 4.1, • xl

come a higher gence 01 a man. it remameth in the
intelligence ex- sphere in which I, God, created it."t
ganiza^ion.°''' "^^^ hoTse will ever remain a horse,
though the intelligence of the animal may increase.
To make any of the constituent parts or forces of an
animal, part of the intelligence of a man, it would be
necessary to disorganize the animal; to organize the
elements into a man, and thus to begin over again.

Men, beasts and plants — those beings that pos-
sess the higher life, differ from inanimate nature,
Joseph Smith an- »« called, by a higher degree of organ-
ticipated science ization. That is the dogma of "Mor-
in the modern ,, , ,, -, . • <>

conception of monism, and the doctrine oi science.

'«fe- About 1831 Joseph Smith gave this

knowledge to the World ; a generation later, scientfic

men arrived independently at the same conclusion.

The thinkers and writers of ' ' Mormonism ' ' have

more or less directly taught the same doctrine.

_. ^. . , . Apostle Orson Pratt believed that the

The thmkers and ^

writers of Mor- body of man, both spiritual and earth-
monism have jy. ^yg^^ composcd of atoms or ultimate
taught the fore- *" ^
going doctrine particles — of the Holy Spirit for the

**' ''^®* spiritual body and material elements

for the mortal body. It has already been shown that

♦Journal of Discourses, vol. 7: 285. (Brigham Young.)
•j-Book of Moses 3: 9.

70 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE.

the Holy Spirit of "Mormonism" may be compared
with the ether of science, vibrating with the greater
force of the universe — intelligence. For instance :
"The intelligent particles of a man's spirit are by
their peculiar union, but one human spirit,"* "Sev-
eral of the atoms of this spirit exist united to-
gether in the form of a person."! Undoubtedly
Elder Pratt believed that the living man is simply
organized from the elements and elementary forces
of the universe.

Perhaps the best and safest exposition of the
philosophy of "Mormonism" is Parley P. Pratt's
Key to Theology. In it he states definitely that the
spirit of man is organized from the elementary Holy
Spirit. ' ' The holiest of all elements, the Holy Spirit,
when organized in individual form, and clothed upon
with flesh and bones, contains, etc."i That the
earthly body was likewise organized is equally plain
for he says "At the commencement — the elements —
were found in a state of chaos. "§ Then man was
"moulded from the earth as a brick."** Again, "The
spirit of man consists of an organization of the ele-
ments of spiritual matter, "ft which finds entrance
into its tabernacle of flesh. In another place he de-
fines creation by asking "What is creation? Merely

organization The material of which this earth

was made always did exist, and it was only an or-

* Absurdities of Immaterialism, ed. 1849, p. 26.
•j- Ibid, p. 29.

J Key to Theology, 5h ed., p. 46.
§ Ibid, p. 49
**Ibid, p. 51.
-j-j- Ibid, p. 131.

ORGANIZED INTELLIGENCE. 71

ganization which took place duripg the time spoken
of by Moses."*

Numerous other authorities might be quoted to
prove that the above is the "Mormon" view.f

In this chapter the intention has not been to ex-
plain fully the doctrines of Joseph Smith relating to
the nature of man, but to call attention to the fact
that the present scientific conception of the nature of
living things is the same as that of "Mormonism."
That ''Mormonism" goes farther than science, and
completes the explanation, is to the credit of the
Prophet.

It must not be forgotten that in stating the doe-
trine that man is organized from the eternal ele-
ments and elementary forces of the universe, in such
a way as to produce the phenomena of higher life,
Joseph Smith anticipated the workers in science by
nearly a generation.

How wonderful was this boy-prophet of "Mor-
monism," if all this was orginated within his own
mind ! At every point of contact, the sanest of mod-
em philosophy finds counterpart in the theological
structure of the Gospel as taught by Joseph Smith.
Is the work divine?

* Roberts, Mormon Doctrine of Diety, pp. 278, 279.
f See especially the Prophet Joseph Smith's Sermon,
Contributor, vol. 4, pp. 256-268.

THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL.

Chapter IX.
FAITH.

For the government of the individual the first
principle in Mormon theology is faith. Joseph
Faith is the Smith defined faith in the words of the

assurance of the Apostle Paul, "Now, faith is the sub-
"t'h'mgrnot ^ stance of things hoped for ; the evidence
seen." of things not seen." To this the

Prophet added "From this we learn that faith is the
assurance which men have of things which they have
not seen."* On this principle, with this definition,
many young persons who have ventured upon the sea
of unbelief have wrecked the religion of their child-
hood ; for, the human mind, in some stages of its de-
velopment, is disinclined to accept as knowledge any-
thing that can not be sensed directly.

Nowadays, the young doubter who can not ac-
cept as the foundation of his religion "things which
he has not seen," usually turns for comfort and fu-
ture growth to the results of science. There he finds
truths upon truths, glorious in their beauty and sus-
ceptibility to direct and unmistakeable proof; and
soon he declares that in so-called natural science,
there is no need of faith, for, if a person has only ad-
vanced far enough, every concern of science may be
known through one, two or several senses.

• Doctrine and Covenants, Lecture I, verses 8, 9.

FAITH. 73

It is true that in the beginning of science no faith
seems to be required; for every statement is based
Such faith lies ^^ experiments and observations that
at the formation may be repeated by every student; and
of science. nothing is "taken on trust." As the

deeper parts of science are explored, however, it is
soon discovered that in science as in theology, a
faith in "things that can not be seen," is an essen-
tial requisite for progress. In fact, the fundamental
laws of the great divisions of science deal with real-
ities that are wholly and hopelessly beyond the
reach of man's five senses.

An exposition of the fundamental conception of
chemical science will illustrate the nature of scien-

The molecules ^^^^ ^^^*^- ^ fragment of almost any
are beyond man's substance may easily be divided into
direct senses. ^^^ ^j. ^^^^^ ^-g^gg ^^ ^ stroke

of a hammer. Each of the pieces may be
broken into smaller pieces and this process of
division continued until the powder is as fine as dust.
Still, each particle of the dust may be divided again
and again, if we only have instruments fine enough
to continue the process. A question which philoso-
phy asked itself near its beginning was : Is it possible
to keep on dividing the dust particles forever, or is
there a particle so small that it can not be divided
again ? Neither science nor abstract philosophy has
yet been able to answer this question fully. How-
ever, science has learned that if such a process of
division occurs, in course of time a particle will be
obtained which is so small that if it is divided or
broken, the fragments will no longer be of the same
nature as the original substance. These smallest par-

74 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL.

ticlesinwhich the properties of theorignal substance
inhere, are known, as molecules. Thus a molecule of
sugar, when broken, falls into the elements carbon,
hydrogen and oxygen; of salt, into sodium and
chlorine and of water into hydrogen and oxygen.

The size of such a molecule can not be compreh-
ended by the human mind; its smallness seems infi-
nite. The mortal eye, though aided by the most pow-
erful miscroscopes of modern days could not dis-
tinguish a sugar molecule or even a pile of thousands
of them; placed on the tongue, there would be no
sensation of sweetness; though it were hurled
against our body with the velocity of lightning we
should not feel the impact. To all our senses, the
molecule is wholly unknown and no doubt shall re-
main so while the earth is as it is. Yet, no fact is
better established than the existence of the realities
that we interpret as molecules. Their relative
weights and other properties have been securely de-
termined. The existence of such a particle is as cer-
tain as is the existence of the sun in the high
heavens.

Not only does science teach the existence of mole-
cules ; it looks within them and reveals their composi-
Science teaches tion. For instance, a molecule of the
the composition sugar known as glucose, and used by
of the directly , , ^ n •

unl<nowab!e candy makers, is made up oi six par-

molecules, tides of the element carbon, twelve of

the element hydrogen and six of the element oxygen.
The particles of carbon in the glucose molecule are
so small that if one were divided it would no longer
be carbon; the same with the particles of hydrogen
and oxygen : if divided they would change into some-

FAITH.

75

thing else — into what is not yet known to man.
These smallest particles are called atoms of the ele-
ments charcoal, hydrogen and oxygen. If instead
of an atom of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, we
write C, H, 0, the composition of a molecule of glu-
cose would be written CsHiaOg These are also
indisputable facts of science. If the molecules are
far beyond the range of our senses, the atoms are of
course much further removed from the known world.
But the chemist does not stop here. He is able
to state accurately how the invisible, unsensed atoms
Science teaches ^^^ arranged within the unknowable
the arrange- molecule. In nature are found several

atoms within the glucose-like sugars, the molecules of
molecules. which contain the same numbers of car-

bon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The varying
properties of these sugars have been found to result
from the different arrangements of the atoms within
the molecules. The structure of the molecules of
three of the most common sugars are as follows :

DEXTROSE *
H2=C— OH

HO-C— H

HO-C— H

H— C— 0-H
HO-C— H

H— C-=0

II
LAEVULOSE *
H2=C— O H

H O— C— H

HO— C— H

H C— O H

H C=

=0
=0

III
GALACTOSE *
H2=rC— OH

HO-C H

HC— OH

HC— OH

HO-CH

H— C=0

* Dextrose and laevulose combine to form ordinary cane
or beet sugar. Dextrose and galactose combine to form
the sugar found in milk.

76 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL.

Referring to the above diagrams it will be ob-
served that although each arrangement contains the
same number of atoms, yet, because of the differ-
ence in arrangement, they are far from being identi-
cal. In fact, the difference in the properties of the
sugars may be referred to the arrangement of the
atoms in the molecules. This truth is one of the
most splendid achievements of modern science. All
the facts, here briefly outlined, are included in the
atomic hypothesis, which is the foundation of the
modem science of chemistry.

Science asks us to believe in the existence of
particles, unknowable to our senses, the molecules;
Science requires then to believe in still smaller particles,
fn^"thrngs^not *^® atoms, which make up the molecules
seen." but whose relative weights and general

properties have been determined. Here, a faith is
required in "things that can not be seen," and in
the properties of these things. True, the scientist
does not pretend to describe the atoms in detail, he
does not need to do that to establish the certainty of
their existence. He looks upon them as ultimate
causes of effects that he may note with his physical
senses. Does theology require more ? Does any sane
man in asking us to believe in God, for iastance, at-
tempt to describe him in detail ?

The scientist goes farther than this, however, for
he asks us not only to have faith in the invisible, un-
tasteable, unfeelable atoms, but also in the exact
manner in which these atoms are arranged within
the molecule. True, it is claimed, only, that the
relative arrangement is known, yet the faith re-

FAITH. 77

quired still leads us far beyond the simple faith, in
atoms. Has any man asked us to believe that he can
describe the structure of God's dwelling? No prin-
ciple taught by Joseph Smith requires a larger faith
than this.

Not only in chemistry are such transcendant

truths required. The fundamental conception of

The conception physics requires, if possible, a larger

of the ether re- f^ith. The explanations of modern

quires large ^

faith. physics rest largely upon the doctrine

of the universal ether. This ether is everywhere
present, between the molecules and atoms; in fact
the things of the universe are, as it were, suspended
in the ocean of ether. This ether is so attenuated
that it fills the pores of the human body without im-
pressing itself upon our consciousness, yet some of
its properties indicate that its elasticity is equal to
that of steel. As shown in chapter 5, the most emi-
nent scientists of the day declare that the existence
of this world-ether is one of the few things of which
men may be absolutely sure. Yet the ether cannot
be seen, heard, tasted, smelled or felt. To our senses
it has neither weight nor substance. To believe
the existence of this ether requires a faith which is
certainly as great as the greatest faith required by
Mormon theology.

Numerous other illustrations might be cited,
without greatly emphasizing the truth that the great
fundamental doctrines of science require a great
faith in realities that are beyond the reach of our
senses.

The great foundations of science have not
eome as a "great wakening light," but have come

78 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL.

„ .^. slowly, through a process of normal,

Faith comes *" ^

slowly and guided growth. The first experiment

naturally. ^^^ made, from which a simple conclu-

sion was drawn; the second experiment furnished
a second conclusion; the two results combined pro-
duced a third conclusion, and so on through thous-
ands of experiments and conclusions, until the bril-
liant conceptions of modem science were attained.
In short, the scientist works very simply by careful
observation of nature, "the earth and its full-
ness," and by as careful reasoning from the ob-
served facts. The mind builds noble structures of
the materials the senses bring. The same method
may be employed in gaining faith in the principles
of theology; and the Apostle Paul tells us distinct-
ly that the righteousness of God is revealed from
"faith to faith," and that the eternal power of God
and the Godhead and "the invisible things of Him
from the creation of the world are clearly seen, be-
ing understood by the things that are made." The
scientist, likewise, begins with the things that are
made and proceeds "from faith to faith," gaining
"here a little, and there a little," until a faith is
reached which, to him who has not followed its
growth, may seem absurd in its loftiness.

Certainly, no man can progress in science unless
he has faith in the great inductions of scientific men.

Science cannot Faith is as indispensable for scientific
progress with- » xt_ i • -i j

out faith. progress as for theological advance-

ment. In both cases it is the great principle of action.
This subject merits more extended discussion,
but the exx)osition of the nature of faith is outside
the argument running through these chapters. It

FAITH.

79

must be sufficient to remark again that Mormonism
is strictly scientific in stating as the first principle
of the guidance of the individual, that of faith in
unseen things; for that is the basic principle for the
beginner in modem science.*

* Read for a fuller exposition. We walk by Faith, Im-
provement Era, Volume 3, p. 561.

Chapter X.
BEPENTANCE.

The second principle for the government of the
individual, according to Mormon theology, is re-
pentance. So commonly has this principle been dis-
cussed from its relation to moral law that its coun-
terpart in all human effort has often been over-
looked.

To repent is first to turn from old practices.

Thus, he who violates any of God's laws renders

, , himself liable to certain punishment.
Repentance fol- ^ '

lows faith. but, if he repents, and sins no more,

the punishments are averted. Naturally, such a
change of heart and action can come only after
faith has been established. No man will change a
habit without a satisfactory reason. In fact, all the-
actions of men should be guided by reason. Repent-
ance then is a kind of obedience or active faith ; and
is great in proportion to the degree of faith pos-
esed by the individual. Certainly, the repentance
of no man can transcend his faith, which includes
his knowledge.

So it is in science. For centuries, wounds of

the body were treated according to certain methods,

Scientific repent- assumed to be correct; and, especially

ance follows in time of war, large numbers of the

scientific faith, patients died. Then it was found that

low forms of life — the bacteria — infected the wounds,

and caused the high mortality. This led to the

antiseptic treatment in surgery, which destroys germ

life, and leaves the wound absolutely clean. As a

consequence the mortality from flesh and "other-

REPENTANCE. gl

wounds has diminished remarkably. The medical
profession repented, or turned away, from its former
methods, and the reward was immediately felt.
However, before antisceptic surgery was finally and
fully established, faith in the practice had to be
awakened among the members of the profession. A
chemist, making refined analysis may apply a cer-
tain factor, assumed to be correct in his calcula-
tions, but in reality incorrect. As a result, the de-
terminations are wrong. When later, the correct
factor is discovered, and applied, the results of the
work become correct. Eepentance from the previous
error, changes the chemist's work from wrong to
right. In fact, in any department of knowledge,
when it is discovered that a law of nature has been
violated, it becomes necessary, if further progress
is desired, to cease the violation. Should a scien-
tist persist in violation of a known law, he knows
that the consequences, great or small will certainly
follow.

To repent is more than to turn from in-
correct practices. It implies also the adoption of
Repentance ^^^w habits. The man who has turned

means adopting from his sins, may learn of a law, which
new habits; not , , • i ^ j ^ i.- i u

simply turning ^^ has never violated, yet which if

from old ones. obeyed, means progress for him. If he
does not follow such a law, but remains neutral in
its presence, he certainly is a sinner. To repent from
such sin, is to obey each higher law as it appears.
In the spiritual life, it is impossible for the person
who desires the greatest joy to remain passive in
the presence of new principles. He must embrace
them ; live them ; make them his own.

Not only must the worker in science turn from

82 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVmUAL.

scientific error; he must also accept new science as
it is discovered. When the chemist, working with
the best known analytical methods, learns that a
more rapid or more accurate method has been founds
he must adopt the new fact, in order to make the re-
sults of his work more accurate. When the chem-
ists of a hundred years ago learned of the atomic
hypothesis, it became necessary to adopt it, in order
to insure more rapid progress in chemistry. Those
who failed to accept the new doctrine worked in
greater darkness, and made no material progress.
Newton's doctrine of gravitation opened a new
method of investigating the universe. Those who did
not adopt it were soon outdistanced by their more
active colleagues.

In every such case, the obedience yielded to
the new knowledge is a kind of repentance. When
a person, in religion or science, ceases to break law,^
he ceases from active evil; when he accepts a new
law, he ceases from passive evil. No repentance can
be complete which does not cease from both active
and passive evil.

Viewed in this manner, then, repentance is
obedience to law and is active faith. The law, be-
Repentance is fore it is obeyed, must be understood —
active faith. that is, faith must precede repentance.

Therefore, the obedience yielded can increase only
with the knowledge or faith of the individual. As
the Prophet Joseph Smith stated it, * ' No man can be
saved in ignorance" and "a person is saved no
faster than he gains intelligence."

Repentance is as truly the second principle of
action for individuals, in the domain of science as-
of theology.

Chapter XI.

BAPTISM.

A repentant man turns from previous violation
of law, and accepts every new law that may be re-
vealed to him. Repentance is obedience; and the
repentant person is always ready to obey right-
eous laws.

Baptism is one of the laws of the Kingdom of
God. "Except ye repent and be baptized ye can in
nowise enter the Kingdom of God." The repentant
person must of necessity accept this law with the
others with which he may be familiar.

Students of science, who agree that faith and

repentance have a place in science, frequently assert

The equivalent that the equivalent of baptism is not

of baptism found in external nature. This claim

found in , » , , . . ,

science. i^iay be proved lalse by examining the

nature of law.

The chemist must frequently produce the gas

hydrogen. To do it, an acid must be poured upon

fragments of certain metals. In thus producing the

gas, the chemist obeys law. The astronomer who

studies the stars discovers that by using a piece of

glass properly ground, his powers of vision appear

to be strengthened. He therefore prepares such

lenses for his telescopes, and thus obeys law. The

surgeon uses antsiceptics in the treatment of wounds

because he has learned that such application will

destroy germ life, and thus the surgeon obeys law.

84 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL.

The electrician has found that by winding a wire
in a certain manner around iron and rotating it
near a magnet, electric currents are set up. He builds
dynamos according to such principles, and thus
shows his obedience to law.

It must be noted that the scientist does not
know just why acid added to metal produces
hydrogen, or why a certain curved lens brings the
stars nearer; or why certain chemicals destroy low
forms of life or why wire wound in a certain way
when rotated in the magnetic field will produce
electricity. Nature requires, without volunteering
an explanation, that to produce hydrogen, see the
stars, destroy germs and produce the electric cur-
rent, certain invariable lav/s must be obeyed.

Baptism is essentially of the same nature. To
enter the Kingdom of God, a person must be bap-
tized. Just why baptism should be the ordinance
that opens the door, no man knows. It undoubt-
edly has high symbolic value; but the symbolism
might be expressed in many other ways. All that
man can do is to obey.

Men say at times that they will do nothing which

they do not fully understand, and therefore they

will not be be baptized. It would be
It is unreason- , i j. ,

able to do only ^^ unreasonable tor a man to say that

what is fully because he does not fully understand

understood. ^j^y ^ certain winding of the wire is

neccessary to produce electricity he will not produce
this wonderful natural force. All theology and all
science contain laws that must be obeyed in order
to obtain certain results, although the full reasons
for the required combinations are not understood.
He who is baptized, enters the Kingdom of God.

BAPTISM. 85

He who throws acid on metal enters the kingdom
of hydrogen; he who grinds the lens right, enters
the kingdom of the stars; he who uses antisceptics
right, enters the kingdom of lower life, and he who
winds the wire correctly, enters the kingdom of
electricity. Yielding obedience to any of these var-
ious laws, is a form of baptism, which gives entrance
to a kingdom.

The essential virtue of baptism is obedience to
law. The prime value of any natural law is at-
Baptism is tained only after obedience has been

obedience to law. yielded to it. Baptism is conformity
to certain details in entering God's Kingdom,
Scientific baptism is conformity to certain details
in entering the kingdom of science. Only by bap-
tism can a man attain salvation; only by using
lenses of the right curvature can a man view the
stars. Religious success does not rest in the degree
to which every law is explained; but rather
in the degree to which all known laws are obeyed.
Scientific success does not rest upon the degree to
which every law is explained; but rather in
the degree to which every discovered law is obeyed
and applied for man's advancement.

In science and in theology man must be content
"to see through a glass, darkly." Until the essen-
tial nature of infinitude itself shall be understood,
man must be content to learn to use unexplained
laws. Science is the great explainer, but she ex-
plains relations and not the absolute foundations
of phenomena.

After faith or knowledge has been obtained, the
alpha and omega of religious or scientific progress

86 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL.

is obedience. The cry of universal nature is,
Obedience !

Viewed rationally, therefore, the baptism taught
in theology is an ordinance which has its counter-
part in every department of science. Joseph Smith
was strcitly scientific in classing bg,ptism as the
third great principle governing human action.

Chapter XII.
THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST.

Baptism by water is insufficient to open the door
to God's Kingdom. The Gift of the Holy Ghost, ob-
The gift of the tained by the laying on of Hands by
1°'^ 9^°f\ '^ ^ one having authority, completes the
ligence. " ordinance. Not only Joseph Smith,

but the Savior Himself taught distinctly that to
enter the Kingdom of God, a person must be bap-
tized by water and by fire ; and the promise is
given that those are "baptized by water for the
remission of sins, shall receive the Holy Ghost."*

Jesus, speaking to His disciples, taught that
"the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the
Father will send in my name. He shall teach you
all things, and bring all things to your remembrance,
whatsoever I have said unto you."t This clearly
implies that the promised gift is essentially a gift
of increased intelligence with the added power that
results from a more intelligent action. That this is
the Mormon view of of the effect of the Gift of the
Holy Ghost may be amply demonstrated from the
stand^*d works of the Church and from the writ-
ings of the leading interpreters of Mormon doct-
rine. Parley P. Pratt in the Key to Theology says,
"It quickens all the intellectual faculties, increases,
enlarges, expands and purifies all the natural pas-

* Doctrine and Covenants, 84: 63,64,
I John 14: 26.

88 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL.

sions and affection * * * *. it develops and in-
vigorates all the faculties of the physical and in-
tellectual man."* The Prophet Joseph Smith de-
clared "This first Comforter or Holy Ghost has no
other effect than pure intelligence. It is * * * *
powerful in expanding the mind, enlightening the
understanding, and storing the intellect with present
knowledge."! Concisely expressed, therefore,
Joseph Smith and the Church he restored, teach
that the Gift of the Holy Ghost, is a gift of "in-
telligence. ' '

If the equivalents of faith, repentance and bap-
tism are irrevocable laws for the individual who
Science furnishes studies science, the question arises. Is

an equivalent there also, a scientific equivalent for

of the gift of ' ^

the Holy Ghost, the Gift of the Holy Ghost? Even a

superficial view of the matter will reveal such an
equivalent. To use again the illustrations employed
in the preceding chapter, if the chemist has obeyed
natural law in producing hydrogen, that is, has
been baptized into the kingdom of hydrogen, he may
by the proper use and study of the gas obtained,
add much to his knowledge. He may learn that it
is extremely light; that it forms an explosive mix-
ture with air; that it will destroy many vegetable
colors, and will bum with an almost invisible flame.
Thus, the possession of the gas enlarges the knowl-
edge and develops the intelligence of the scientist.
Is not this another form of the Gift of the Holy
Ghost?

The man who is baptized into the kingdom of

* Key to Theology, 5th ed., pp. 101, 102.
•}• History of the Church, Vol. Ill, p. 380.

THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST. 39

heavenly bodies by grinding the lenses right, is en-
abled to learn many new facts concerning the na-
ture and motions of celestial bodies; and thus re-
ceives intelligence. He who obediently winds the
wire correctly around the iron core, may generate
a current of electricity with which many mighty
works may be accomplished. Do not these men,
as their intelligences are expanded, receive a Gift
of the Holy Ghost, as a reward for their obedience
to the demands of nature? "'

It would be" possible to carry the comparisons
into every scientific action without strengthening the
argument. In science, if a person has faith, re-
pentance and is baptized, that is obeys, he will re-
ceive added intelligence, which is the equivalent of
the Gift of the Holy Ghost as taught in theology.
The four fundamental laws for the guidance of the
individual are identical in Mormon theology, and
in modem science.

Just why the laying on of hands should be nec-
essary to complete the ordinance of baptism is not
known, any more than the reasons are known for
the results that follow the numberless relations that
may be established by mortal man. However, the
dogma of the Gift of the Holy Ghost, is logically
the fourth step in attaining scientific salvation.

Thus, each of the minor laws of Mormonsim
might be investigated, and be shown to have a
scientific counterpart. For the purpose of this vol-
ume, however, a more extended consideration of the
laws governing the actions of the individual, is un-
necessary.

Chapter XIII.

THE WORD OF WISDOM.

It has already been remarked that the nature of
the mission of Joseph Smith made it unlikely that
references to scientific matters, and much less to
isolated scientific facts, obtainable by proper
methods of experimentation should be found in the
writings of the Prophet. Nevertheless, in a revela-
tion given March 8, 1883, statements are made that
can now be connected with facts of science, not
generally or not at all known, at the time the rev-
elation was received.

' ' Inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong
The doctrine drink among you, it is not good, * * *

that alcohol is strong drinks are not for the belly but
injurious to man ° •'

is scientific. for the washing of your bodies."*

At the time this was written, many persons be-
lieved that the use of alcoholic drinks was injurious
to human health ; but more, especially among the
uneducated classes, held quite the opposite opinion.
Since that day, the question concerning the value
of alcohol in any form has been greatly agitated, and
much new light has been obtained. This is not the
place to examine this famous controversy, but a few
quotations from authoritative books, which are not
controversial in their nature, will show the coin-
cidence between the position of science, and the
doctrine of Joseph Smith, in respect to this mat-
ter.

* Doctrine and Ck>Yenants, 89 : 5, 7.

THE WORD OF WISDOM.

91

The United States Dispensatory (17th ed.) speaks
of the medicinal properties of alcohol as follows,
"It is irritant even to the skin, and much more so
to the delicate organs ; hence, the various abdominal
inflammations that are so frequent in habitual drunk-
ards. A single dose of it, if large enough, may-
produce death. The nervous symptoms caused by
alcohol show that it has a very powerful and direct
influence upon the nerve-centers. The arterial
pressure and the pulse-rate are both increased by-
moderate doses of alcohol, by a direct influence up-
on the heart itself. * * * Taken habitually in
excess, alcohol produces the most deplorable results,
and is a very common cause of fatal maladies."*

Dr. W. Gilman Thompson in his authoritative book
on Practical Dietetics, speaking of the constant use of
alcoholic beverages, says, ''The use of alcohol in
any shape is wholly unnecessary for the use of the
human organism in health. * * « * tj^^ ^jfe.
long use of alcohol in moderation does not neces-
sarily shorten life or induce disease in some per-
sons, while in others it undoubtedly produces grad-
ual and permanent changes which tend to weaken
vital organs so that the resistance of the body to
disease is materially impaired. * * * * Many
persons should be particularly warned against the
use of alcohol. * * * * Although alcohol is such
a strong force-producer and heat-generator, its ef-
fect in this direction is very soon counter-balanced i-'S
by its stronger influence in lowering the general ^
tone of the nervous system and in producing pos-
itive degeneration in the tissues."*

* Page 129, art.. Alcohol Ethyllcum. • Pages 206, 207.

^^

92 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL.

The 'recent newspaper statements that alcohol
has been shown to be a food are based on a com-
plete misunderstanding. The experiments demon-
strated that alcohol is burned within the body —
which is the simplest manner in which the body can
rid itself of the alcohol.

No more authoritative opinions on this sub-
ject can be found than those contained in the two
volumes from which quotations have been made —
and the strongest opinions are not quoted. In spite
of the isolated claims made for alcohol, the fact
remains that the knowledge of the world indicates
that alcohol is a poison to the human system; that
it is not "for the belly." However, the value of the
external use of alcohol, for various purposes, has
never been denied. On the contrary almost every
up to date practitioner recommends the external
use of alcohol, as for instance after baths for lower-
ing the temperature of fever patients. In this mat-
ter, then, Joseph Smith was in perfect harmony with
the latest results of science. It is strange that he,
unlearned as he was, should have stated what is
now known as truth, so clearly and simply, yet so
emphatically, more than seventy years ago, before
the main experiments on the effect of alcohol on
the human organsim had been made.

"And again, tobacco is not for the body, neither
for the belly, and is not good for man, but is an

that^ tobacco^ls ^^^^ ^^^ bruises and all sick cattle, to
injurious to Be used with judgment and skill."* Al-

scientific. though tobacco has been used for sever-

al centuries by civilized man, the real cause of the ef-

* Doctrine and Covenants, 89 : 8.

THE WORD OF WISDOM. 93

feet which it has upon the human body was not under-
stood until the early part of the last century. In
1809, a chemist separated from tobacco an active
principle, in an impure state, some of the properties
of which he observed. In 1822, two other chemists
succeeded in isolating the same principle, in a pure
condition, and found it to be a colorless, oily
liquid, of which two to eight per cent is found in all
tobacco. This substance has been called nicotine;
later investigations have shown it to be one of the
most active poisons known. Tobacco owes its ac-
tivity entirely to this poison."*

The intensely poisonous nature of nicotine is
illustrated by a number of cases on record. One
drop placed on the tongue of a cat caused imme-
diate prostration, and death in seventy-eight seconds.
A smaller drop was placed on the tongue of an-
other cat, which resulted in death after two minutes
and a half. A third Cat to which a similar quan-
tity had been administered was dead after seventy-
five seconds. A man who was accustomed to smoking
took a chew of tobacco, and after a quarter of an
hour accidently swallowed the mass. An hour later
he became unconscious and died. In another case,
in which an ounce of tobacco had been swallowed,
death resulted in seven hours. In still another case,
one ounce of tobacco was boiled in water, and the
solution drunk as an remedy for constipation. The
patient died in three quarters of an hour.f These,
and numerous other cases, illustrate the intensely

* Wormley, Micro-chemistry of Poisons, 2nd ed., pp.
434, 435.

I Ibid, pp. 436, 437.

94 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL.

poisonous nature of tobacco. The evil effects of

the repeated use of small amounts of tobacco, in

smoking or chewing are also well understood.

It was in 1828, about five years before Joseph

Smith's doctrine with respect to tobacco was given,

.- r. -xu that nicotine was obtained in a pure
Joseph srnith
probably did state. Many years later the chemists

not know the ^^^ physiologists learned to under-
poisonous na- ^ -^ °
ture of tobacco stand the dangerous nature of the to-

in 1833. bacco poison. It does not seem prob-

able that Joseph Smith had heard of the discovery
of nicotine in 1833 ; the discovery was announced in
a German scientific journal, and in those days of
few newspapers, scientific news, even of public in-
terest, was not made generally known as quickly as
is the case today. In fact, Hyrum Smith, the brother
of the Prophet, on May 29, 1842, delivered a ser-
mon upon the Word of Wisdom in which he says,
"Tobacco is a nauseous, stinking, abominable
thing;"* but nothing worse, thus basing his main
objection to it on the revealed word of the Lord.
Had Joseph and his associates been familiar with the
isolation of nicotine and its properties, they would
undoubtedly have mentioned it in sermons especially
directed against the use of tobacco. In any case,
at a time when it was but vaguely known that to-
bacco contained a poisonous principle, it would
have been extremely hazardous for the reputation
of an impostor to have claimed a revelation from
God, stating distinctly the injurious effects of to-
bacco.

* The Contributor, vol. iv., p. 13 ; Improvement EJra,
Vol. 4. pp. 943-9.

THE WORD OF WISDOM. 95

It should also be noted that Joseph Smith
says that when tobacco is used for bruises and all
sick cattle, it should be used with judgment and
skill, thus impressing caution even in the external
application of the herb. This is fully borne out by
facts, for it has been found that "the external
application of tobacco to abraded surfaces, and even
to the healthy skin, has been attended with violent
symptoms, and even death."*

In the matter of the chemistry and physiological
action of tobacco, then, the Prophet, in 1833, was in
full accord with the best knowledge of 1908. In
the emphasis of his doctrine, he even anticipated the
world of science.

"And again, hot drinks are not for the body
or belly, "t

When this statement was made, in 1833, the

meaning of the expresson hot drinks was not clearly

The doctrine that understood. Many believed that the

tea and coffee only meaning of the above statement

to man is was that drinks that are hot enough to

scientific. bum the mouth should not be used.

Others, however, claimed for the doctrine a deeper

meaning. To settle the difficulty, appeal was made

to Joseph Smith who explained that tea, coffee and

similar drinks were meant by the expression hot

drinks. From that time on, the Church has taught

that tea and coffee should not be used by man-

kind.J

* Wormley, Micro-chemistry of Poisons, p. 436.
I Doctrine and Covenants, 89 : 9.
I See The Contributor, vol. iv. p. 13; Improvement EJra,
vol 4, pp. 943-9.

96 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL.

In the year 1821, several chemists isolated from
coffee a bitter principle, of peculiar properties,
which was named caffein. In 1827, the same sub-
stance was found to occur in tea. Numerous analy-
sis show that there are between one and two per
cent of caffein in coffee, and between three and
six percent in tea. Later investigations have shown
that caffein belongs to the vegetable poisons, and
that its poisonous action is very strong.

Among the medical properties of caffein are
the following, " in doses of three to five grains,
it produces a peculiar wakefulness — after a dose of
twelve grains, it produces intense physical restless-
ness and mental anxiety. Upon the muscles it acts
as a powerful poison — it is used in medicines as a
brain and heart stimulant."* Fatal cases of poison-
ing are also on record.

Caffein is not in any sense a food, but, as a
stimulant, must be classed with tobacco, opium and
other similar substances. Owing to its action on the
heart and circulation, the body becomes heated, and
in that sense a solution of caffein is a "hot drink."
The use of tea and coffee in health is now generally
condemned by the best informed persons in and
out of the medical profession. Dr. "W. Gilman
Thompson says, "The continuance of the practice of
drinking coffee to keep awake soon results in form-
ing a coffee or tea habit, in which the individual be-
comes a slave to the beverage. * * * Muscular
tremors are developed, with nervousness, anxiety,
dread of impending evil, palpitation, heartburn,
dyspepsia and insomnia. * * * It produces

* U. S. Dispensatory, 17th ed., pp. 278 and 279.

THE WORD OF WISDOM. 97

great irritability of the whole nervous system and
one may even overexcite the mind."* While it is
true that one cup of coffee or tea does not contain
enough eaffein to injure the system, yet the con-
tinual taking of these small doses results in a weak-
ening of the whole system, that frequently leads to
premature death.

The U. S. Consular and Trade Report fc ■ Jan-
uary, 1906,t warns against the use of coffee m the
following words, "The important connection be-
tween consumption of coffee and epilepsy which de-
serves to be known everywhere, serves as a warning
to be extremely careful with coffee made of beans
containing eaffein, and at any rate, children should
be deprived of it entirely, otherwise their health
will be exposed to great danger."

Besides eaffein, both tea and coffee contain an
astringent known as tannic acid. In coffee this sub-
stance is present only in small quantity, but in tea
from four to twelve per cent occurs. Tannic acid is the
substance found in oak bark, and has the property
of making animal tissues hard — that is, makes
leather of them. The habitual tea drinker subjects
the delicate lining of the stomach and intestines to
the action of this powerful drug.

Without going into further details, it is readily
seen that the teachings of Joseph Smith, in 1833, in
relation to the value of tea and coffee in human
drinks, harmonizes with the knowledge of today.
Moreover, he was in advance, in the certainty of his
expressions, of the scientists of his day. It is true
that eaffein had been found in coffee and tea a few

* Practical Dietetics, p. 199. f Page 249.

98 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL.

years before the revelation of 1833, but the physio-
logical action of the drug was not known until many
years afterwards. Besides, as in the case of tobacco,
the Church leaders in speaking against the use of
tea and coffee did not mention the poisonous prin-
ciple that had recently been discovered in them; thus
revealing their ignorance of the matter.

' knd again, * * * all wholesome herbs
God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and

use of man. Every herb in the season
The doctrines ^, r. t „ . . ,

regarding the thereof, and every fruit m the season

values of herbs thereof; all these to be used with pru-
and fruits har- j xv i • • ,,*

monizewith dence and thanksgiving."*

recent scientific This doctrine, which seems self-evi-
dent now, also evidences the divine in-
spiration of the Prophet Joseph. At the time this rev-
elation was given, food chemistry was not understood ;
and, in fact, it was not until about 1860, that the basis
upon which rests our knowledge of food chemistry,
was firmly established. We now know that every plant
contains four great classes of compounds: mineral
substances, fats, sugars and starches, and protein,
or the flesh-forming elements. We further know that
no plant can live and grow without containing these
groups of nutrients. It is also well understood that
these substances are necessary for the food of the
animal body, and that animal tissues are, themselves,
composed of these groups, though in different pro-
portions. In short, it has long been an established
fact of science that any plant that does not contain
a poisonous principle, may by proper cooking be
used as a food for man.

♦Doctrine and Covenants 89:10,11.

THE WORD OF WISDOM. 99

When Joseph Smith wrote, this was a daring
suggestion to make, for there was absolutely no fact
aside from popular experience, upon which to base
the conclusion. The qualifying phrase, "all whole-
some herbs," undoubtedly refers to the existence of
classes of plants like coffee, tea, tobacco, etc., which
contain some special principle injurious to the
health.

"Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of
the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of
The doctrine con- man with thanksgiving; nevertheless
cerning the use ^j^g g^j.^ ^^ ^ ^^ sparingly; and it is
of meats is •' t- o j )

scientific. pleasing unto me that they should not

be used only in times of winter, or of cold, or of
famine."*

The breadth of this doctrine lies in the fact
that it is not absolutely forbidden to eat meat, as in
all probability a fanatic, guided by his own wisdom,
might have done; yet it must be observed, the im-
plication is clear that it is possible for man to live
without meat. Vegetarianism had been taught and
practiced long before the days of Joseph Smith;
but there had been no direct, positive proof that
plants contain all the substances necessary for the
sustenance of life. As stated above, it is now known/
that every class of nutritive substance found in meat
is also found in plants. This is in full harmony with-
the implied meaning of Joseph Smith in the state-
ment regarding the abstaining from meat.

"All grain is ordained for the use of man and 7
of beasts, to be the staff of life. * * * ^1 grain

♦Doctrine and Covenants, 89: 12,13.

100 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL.

The distinction i^ good for the food of man, as also the

between the fruit of the vine, that which yieldeth

is also fruit, whether in the ground or above

scientific. the ground. Nevertheless, wheat for

man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse,

and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all

beasts of the field, and barley for all useful animals,

and for mild drinks, as also other grain."*

The first part of this teaching, that all grain
can be used by man and beast, corresponds to the
earlier statement that all wholesome plants may be
used by man. The latter part respecting the best
grain for certain classes of animals, is of a different
nature and merits special consideration. As already
mentioned, all plants and plant parts contain four
great groups of nutritive substances. The relative
proportions of these grains are different in different
plants or plant parts. For instance, wheat contains
about 71.9 per cent of starch and sugar; corn, 70.2
per cent; oats, 59.7 per cent; rye, 72.5 per cent; and
barley, 69.8 per cent. Wheat contains about 11.9
per cent of protein or the flesh-forming elements;
corn, 11.4 per cent; oats, 11.8 per cent^ rye, 10.6
per cent; and barley 12.4 per cent.f It has further
been demonstrated that a man or beast doing heavy
work, requires a larger proportion of starch and
sugar in his dietary than does one which has less
work to do. Likewise, different classes of animals
require different proportions of the various nu-
trients, not only through life but at the various pe-
riods of their lives. This principle has been recog-

* Ttoctrlae and Covenants, 89: 14, 16 and 17.
•}■ The Feeding of Animals, Jordan, p. 424.

THE WORD OF WISDOM. IQI

nized so fully that during the last thirty-five or
forty years the attention of experimenters has been
directed toward the elucidation of laws which would
make known the best combinations of foods for the
various classes of farm animals, as well as for man.
It must also be remarked that recent discoveries in
science are showing more deep-seated differences in
the composition of grains, than those here mentioned,
as also corresponding differences in various classes
of animals. Science will soon throw more light on
this subject, and in all probability will confirm the
views of Joseph Smith, with respect to the graui
best adapted to certain animals.

A thoughtful reading of the above quotation
clearly shows that Joseph Smith recognized the fun-
damental truth of food chemistry ; namely, that while
all plants contain the elements necessary for animal
growth, yet the proportions of these elements are so
different as to make some plants better adapted than
others to a certain class of animals. That the ' ' Mor-
mon" prophet should have enunciated this prin-
ciple from twenty to thirty years in advance of the
scientific world, must excite wonder in the breast
of any person, be he follower or opponent of Joseph
Smith.

The discussion of the important statements
made in section 89 of the book of Doctrine and Cove-
nants, might be elaborated into a volume. The merest
outline has been given here. The physiological teach-
ings of the prophet concerning work, cleanliness and
sleep, might also be considered with profit.

To summarize the contents of this chapter:
Joseph Smith clearly recognized and taught the

102 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL.

J e h Smith pliysiological value of alcohol, tobacco,
anticipated the tea and coffee, at a time when scientific
Tt'it word of" discoveries were just beginning to re-
wisdom, veal the active principles of these com-
modities. The probability is that he knew nothing
of what the world of science was doing in this direc-
tion, at the time the doctrine was taught. Joseph
Smith clearly recognized and taught the fundamental
truths of food chemistry, and the food relation of
vegetable products to man, nearly a generation be-
fore scientists had arrived at the same doctrine.
Whence came his knowledge?

THE DESTINY OF EARTH AND MAN.

Chapter XIV.
THE LAW OF EVOLUTION.

To every intelligence the question concerning

the purpose of all things must at some time present

itself. Every philosophical system has
Whence? ,

Where? for its ultimate problem the origin and

the destiny of the universe. Whence? Where? — the
queries which arise before every human soul, and
vi^hich have stimulated the truth-seekers of every age
in their wearisome task of searching out nature's
laws. Intelligent man cannot rest satisfied with the
recognition of the forces at work in the universe,
and the nature of their actions ; he must know, also,
the resultant of the interaction of the forces, or how
the whole universe is affected by them ; in short, man
seeks the law of laws, by the operation of which,
things have become what they are, and by which
their destiny is controlled. This law when once dis-
covered, is the foundation of religion as well as of
science, and will explain all phenomena.

It was well toward the beginning of the last
century before philosophical doctrines rose above
The only rational mere speculation, and were based upon
philosophy is ^g actual observation of phenomena,
based on „ ■, -, ^ , ■

science. As the scientific method of gathering

facts and reasoning from them became established,
it was observed that in all probability the great laws

* Loc. cit, p. 550. -j- Loc. cit., p. 564.

104 THE DESTINY OF EARTH AND MAN.

of nature were themselves controlled by some
greater law. While many attempts have been made
to formulate this law, yet it must be confessed,
frankly, that only the faintest outline of it is pos-
sesesd by the world of science.

The sanest of modern philosophers, and the one
who most completely attempted to follow the method
of science in philosophical ,vritings, was Herbert
Spencer. Early in his life, he set himself the task
of constructing a system of philosophy which should
be built upon man's reliable knowledge of nature.
A long life permitted him to realize this ambition.
Though his works are filled with conclusions which
cannot be accepted by most men, yet the facts used
in his reasoning are authentic. By the world at
large, the philosophy of Herbert Spencer is consid-
ered the only philosophy that harmonizes with the
knowledge of today.

After having discussed, with considerable full-
ness, the elements of natural phenomena, such as
All things are space, time, matter, motion and force,

continually Chang- Mr. Spencer concludes that all evidence
ing. — This is the • i, • 2.x j. a i • i.

foundation of agrees in showmg that every object,

evolution. no less than the aggregate of objects,

undergoes from instant to instant some alteration of

state."* That is to say that while the universe is one

of system and order, no object remains exactly as it

is, but changes every instant of time.

In two directions only can this ceaseless change

affect an object ; it either becomes more complex or

more simple ; it moves forward or backward ; it

grows or decays. In the words of Spencer, "All

* First Principles, p. 287..

THE LAW OF EVOLUTION. jQS

things are growing or decaying, accumulating mat-
ter or wearing away, integrating or disintegrating."*
This, then, is the greatest known fundamental law
of the universe, and of all tilings in it — that nothing
stands still, but either progresses (evolution), or
retrogrades (dissolution). Now, it has been found
that under normal conditions all things undergo a
process of evolution ; that is, become more complex,
or advance. t This, in its essence, is the law of evo-
lution, about which so much has been said during
the last fifty years. Undoubtedly, this law is correct,
and in harmony with the known facts of the uni-
verse. It certainly throws a flood of light upon
the phenomena of nature; though of itself, it tells
little of the force behind it, in obedience to which it
operates.

Spencer himself most clearly realized the insuffi-
ciency of the law of evolution alone, for he asks,
"May we seek for some all-pervading principle
which underlies this all peiwading process?"! and
proceeds to search out this "all-pervading princi-
ple" which at last he determines to be the persist-
ence of force — the operation of the universal, inde-
structible, incomprehensible force, which appears as
gravitation, light, heat, electricity, magnetism, chem-
ical affinity and in other forms. ||

A natural question now is. Is there any limit to
the changes undergone by matter, and which we
designate as evolution? "Will they go on forever?
or will there be an end to them?"** As far as our

* Loc. cit., p. 292. I Loc. cit, p. 337.

t First Principles, p. 408. || Loc. cit., p. 494

** Loc. cit., p. 496.

106 THE DESTINY OF EARTH AND MAN.

knowledge goes, there is an end to all things, a death

which is the greatest known change, and as far as

human experience goes, all things tend toward a

irw«i..*i«- ^^— death-like state of rest. That this rest
Evolution does ^

not admit a final is permanent is not possible under the
^®* ■ law of evolution ; for it teaches that an

ulterior process initiates a new life; that there are
alternate eras of evolution and dissolution. "And
thus there is suggested the conception of a past dur-
ing which there have been successive evolutions an-
alogous to that which is now going on ; and a future
during which successive other such evolutions may
go on ever the same in principle but never the same
in concrete result."* This is practically the same as
admitting eternal growth.

The final conclusion is that "we can no longer
contemplate the visible creation as?Jlaving a definite
beginning or end, or as being isoj^t^ed. It becomes
unified with all existence before ajid after; and the
force which the universe pres^^ falls into the
same category with space and ti^, as admitting of

> jj.

no limitation in thought, t

It is interesting to note the conclusion concern-
ing spirit and matter, to which Mr. Spencer is led

Spirit and ^^ *^^ ^^^ ^^ evolution. "The mate-

matter are rialist and spiritualist controversy is a

^ ' *■ mere war of words, in which the dispu-

tants are equally absurd — each thinking that he un-
derstands that which it is impossible for any man to
understand. Though the relation of subject and ob-
ject renders necessary to us these antithetical con-
ceptions of spirit and matter ; the one is no less than

THE LAW OF EVOLUTION. 107

the other to be regarded as but a sign of the Un-
known Reality which underlies both."*

While the law of evolution, as formulated by
Spencer and accepted by the majority of modem
thinkers, is the nearest approach to the truth pos-
sessed by the world of science, yet there is no dis-
position on the part of the writer to defend the nu-
merous absurdities into which Spencer and his fol-
lowers have fallen when reasoning upon special
cases.

Many years before Mr. Spencer's day, it had
been suggested, vaguely, that advancement seemed
Evolution and to be the great law of nature. Stu-
dTn^oTnrci'saJny^e^ts of botany and zoology were
go together. especially struck by this fact, for

they observed how animals and plants could be
made to change and improve under favorable con-
ditions, by the intervention of man's protection. In
1859, Mr. Charles Darwin published a theory to ac-
count for such variation, in which he assumed that
there is a tendency on the part of all organisms to
adapt themselves to their surroundings, and to
change their characteristics, if necessary, in this at-
tempt. He further showed that in the struggle for
existence among animals and plants, the individual
best fitted for its environment usually survives.
These facts, Mr. Darwin thought, led to a process of
natural selection, by which, through long ages, deep
changes were caused in the structure of animals. In
fact, Darwin held that the present-day plants and an-
imals have descended from extinct and very different

* First Principles, pp. 570 and 572.

108 THE DESTINY OF EARTH AND MAN.

ancestors.* The experiences of daily life bear out the
assertion that organic forms may be changed great-
ly— witness the breeding of stock and crops, prac-
ticed by all intelligent farmers — and all in all the
theory seemed so simple that numerous biologists im-
mediately adopted it, and began to generalize upon it.
Having once accepted the principle that the present-
day species have descended from very unlike an-
cestors, it was easy to asume that all organic nature
had descended from one common stock. It was
claimed that man, in a distant past, was a monkey ;
still earlier, perhaps, a reptile ; still earlier a fish,
and so on. From that earliest form, man had be-
come what he is by a system of natural selection. In
spite of the absence of proofs, such ideas became cur-
rent among the scientists of the day. In this view
was included, of course, the law of evolution or
errowth, and thus, too, the law became associate'l
with the notion that man has descended from the
lower animals. In fact, however, the law of evolu-
tion is just as true, whether or not Darwin's theory
of natural selection be adopted.

In justice to Darwin, it should be said that he
in nowise claimed that natural selection was alone
sufficient to cause the numerous changes in organic
form and life; but, on the contrary, held that it is
only one means of modification, f

Professor Huxley, who, from early manhood,
was an eminent and ardent supporter of the Darwin-
ian hypothesis frankly says, "I adopt Mr. Darwin's

* Origin of Species, p. 6.

4 Origin of Species, p. 6; also Darwin and After Dar-
win Romanes, Vol. U. pp. 2-6.

THE LAW OF EVOLUTION. 109

hypothesis, therefore, subject to the production of
proof that physiological species may be produced by
selective breeding-; and for the reason that it is the
only means at present within reach of reducing the
chaos of observed facts to order. ' '* After writing a
book to establish the descent of man from apes, Pro-
fessor Huxley is obliged to confess that "the fossil
remains of man hitherto discovered do not seem to
take us appreciably nearer to that lower pithecoid
form, by the modification of which he has, probably,
become what he is. "f

This is not the place to enter into this famous
controversy. The relation of the theory of natural
selection to the law of evolution is not established;
that man and the great classes of animals and plants
have sprung from one source is far from having
been proved ; that the first life came upon this earth
by chance is as unthinkable as ever. Even at the
present writing, recent discoveries have been report-
ed which throw serious doubt upon natural se-
lection as an all-sufficient explanation of the wonder-
ful variety of nature. The true scientific position
of the Darwinian hjrpothesis is yet to be deter-
mined.

The moderate law of evolution which claims that
all normal beings are advancing, without asserting
that one form of life can pass into another, is, how-
ever, being more and more generally accepted, for
it represents an eternal truth, of which every new
diacovery bears evidence.

Were it not that the law of evolution is of such
fundamental value in the understanding of natural

* Man's Place in Nature, p. 128. f Loc. cit., p. 183.

110 THE DESTINY OF EARTH AND MAN.

phenomena, it would hardly be expected that the
calling of Joseph Smith would necessitate any refer-
ence to it. Besides, upwards of fifteen years elapsed
after the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith
before the world of science conceived the hypothesis.
Joseph Smith One of the leading doctrines of the

eternal growth Church resembles the spirit of the law

evolution. of universal growth so nearly that one

is forced to believe that the great truth embodied
by this doctrine is the truth shadowed forth by the
law of evolution.

The doctrine of God, as tanght by Joseph Smith,
is the noblest of which the human mind can conceive.
No religion ascribes to God more perfect attributes
than does that of the Latter-day Saints. Yet the
Church, asserts that God was not always what he is
today. Through countless ages he has grown towards
greater perfection, and at the present, though in
comparison with humankind, he is omniscient and
omnipotent, he is still progressing. Of the beginning
of God, we have no record, save that he told his
servant Abraham, "I came down in the beginning in
the midst of all the intelligences thou hast seen."*

As told by Joseph Smith, in May, 1833, John the
Apostle said of God, Jesus Christ, "And I, John,
saw that he received not of the fulness at first, but
continued from grace to grace, until he received a
fulness; and thus he was called the Son of God, be-
cause he received not of the fulness at first, "f

Man, likewise, is to develop until, in comparison
with his present condition, he becomes a Grod. For

* Book of Abraham, 3 : 21.

I Doctrine and Covenants, 93 : 12-14.

THE LAW OF EVOLUTION.

I'll

instance, in speaking of the salvation to which all

men who live correct lives shall attain, the Prophet

says, "For salvation consists in the glory, authority,

majesty, power and dominion which Jehovah pos-

Man will develop sesses;"* and in another place, ''Then

until he becomes shall they be Gods, because they have

no end; therefore shall they be from

everlasting to everlasting, because they continue;

then shall they be above all, because all things are

subject unto them. Then shall they be Gods, because

they have all power, "f

That this is not a sudden elevation, but a grad-
ual growth, is evident from many of the writings
of Joseph Smith, of which the following are illustra-
tions. ''He that receiveth light and continueth in
God, receiveth more light, and that light groweth
brighter and brighter imtil the perfect day. "J "For
if you keep my commandments you shall receive of
his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the
Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive
grace for grace. "§

In various sermons Joseph Smith enlarged upon
the universal principle of advancement, but few of
them have been preserved for us. In a sermon de-
livered in April, 1844, the following sentences occur,
"God himself was once as we are now, and is an ex-
alted Man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens.
You have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves,
and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all
Gods have done before you ; namely, by going from

* Doctrine and Covenants, Lectures on Faith, 7 : 8.
-j- Doctrine and Covenants, 132:20.
J Ibid., 50:24. § Ibid., 93:20.

112 THE DESTINY OF EARTH AND MAN.

one small degree to another, and from a small ca-
pacity to a great one ; from grace to grace, from ex-
altation to exaltation."*

The preceding quotations suffice to show that
with regard to man, Joseph Smith taught a doctrine
Joseph Smith an- of evolution which in grandeur and
ticipated science g^tent surpasses the wildest specula-
in the statement ^ , • • tt ^

of the law of ' tions of the scientific evolutionist. Yet

evolution. Joseph Smith taught this doctrine as;

one of eternal truth, taught him by God. There can
be no doubt that the truth behind Spencer's law of
evolution, and the doctrine taught by the "Mormon"
prophet, are the same. The great marvel is that
Joseph Smith, who knew not the philosophies of men,
should have anticipated by thirty years or more the
world of science in the enunciation of the most fun-
damental law of the universe of living things.

Now, it is true that Joseph Smith did not ex-
tend this law to the lower animals; but it must be

. . , remembered that his mission on earth

Animals are

subject to was to teach a system of redemption

evolution. f^j. j^^j^ y^^^ \i js an interesting obser-

vation that he taught that men and animals had a
spiritual existence, before they were placed on earth.
"For I, the Lord God, created all things of which
I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally
upon the face of the earth. And out of the ground
made I, the Lord God, to grow every tree, naturally,
that is pleasant to the sight of man ; and man could
behold it. And it became also a living soul. For it
was spiritual in the day that I created it ; for it re-

* Contributor, vol. 4, pp. 254 and 255.

THE LAW OF EVOLUTION. 113

maineth in the sphere in which I, God, created it."*
If, in common with men, animals and plants were
created spiritually, it may not be an idle speculation
that the lower forms of life will advance, in their re-
spective fields, as man advances in his. However, a
statement in the above quotation must not be over-
looked, "It remaineth in the sphere in which I, God,
created it." This would preclude any notion that
by endless development a plant may become an an-
imal, or that one of the lower classes of animals be-
come a high animal, or a man. Is not this the place
where, perhaps, the evolution of science has failed?
All things advance, but each order of creation with-
in its own sphere. There is'^no jumping from order
to order. The limits of these orders are yet to be
found.

Spencer's belief that one period of evolution
follows another! is brought strongly to mind in con-
templating the doctrine of Joseph Smith that man,
and other things, had first a spiritual existence, now
an earthly life, then a higher existence after death.
Is not the parallelism strong — and may it not be
that here, also, the "Mormon" prophet could
have shown the learned philosopher the correct way?
Finally, one other suggestion must be made.
Spencer, after a long and involved argument, con-

^ _, . ,^ eludes (or proves as he believes) that

God IS the com- ^ f /

pelling power of the great law of evolution is a necessity
evolution. ^j^g^^ follows from the law of the persis-

tence of force. In chapter two of this series, the

♦Book of Moses, 3: 5 and 9. See also Doctrine an 1
Covenants, 29: 31, 32.

I First Principles, p. 550.

114 THE DESTINY OF EARTH AND MAN.

scientific conception of the persistence of force was
identified with the operations of the Holy Spirit, ai
taught by Joseph Smith, This Spirit is behind all
phenomena; by it as a medium, God works his will
with the things of the universe, and enables man to
move on to eternal salvation, to advance, and be-
come a God ; every law is of necessity a result of the
operation of this Spirit. Here, again, the "Mormon"
prophet anticipated the world of science; and his
conceptions are simplier and more direct than those
invented by the truth-seekers, who depended upon
themselves and their own powers.

Marvelous is this view of the founder of ''Mor-
monism." . Where did he learn in his short life,
amidst sufferings and persecution such as few men
have known, the greatest mysteries of the universe I

Chapter XV.
THE PLAN OF SALVATION.

In the preceding chapter the law of evolution
was shown to be the cementing law of nature, which
Why am I explains the destiny of man. To live

on earth? jg ^q change, and (if the change is

right) to grow. Through all the ages to cpme
righteous man will increase in complexity and will
grow towards a condition of greater knowledge,
greater power and greater opportunity.

While the great law of evolution may be quite
sufficient for the general survey, it does not ex-
plain the special conditions amidst which organized
intelligences find themselves. Man asks, Why am
I on earth? Science is silent. Up to the present
time, many scientific men have not found it neces-
sary to postulate an intelligent force behind tlie
phenomena of nature, which would explain our
earthly existence.

The Mormon answer to this question lies in the
Mormon doctrine of the plan of salvation. There
can be no attempt to harmonize the Mormon plan
with that of science, for science has none ; but, that
the Mormon plan of salvation is strictly scientific,
and rests upon the irrevocable laws of the uni-
verse can certainly be demonstrated.

Fundamental, in the doctrines of Joseph, is the
statement that all intelligence is eternal; and that
God at the best is the organizer of the spirits of

116 THE DESTINY OF EARTH AND MAN.

men. The ether of science has been compared with

the Holy Spirit of Mormonism. The spirit body may

Perfection comes be likened to an ether body of man,

te"^^srirrt"and*' ^°^ ^^ ^^^^ condition of his original ex-
intelligence are istence. From the original condition, at
associated. man's spiritual birth, under the law of

evolution he has steadily grown in complexity,
which means in power.

In the universe are recognized ether or spirit,
force or intelligence, and matter. Matter may act
upon the ether and the ether upon matter ; but ether
acts most effectively upon ether, and matter upon
matter. The original man, in whom intelligence and
other forces acted through a purely spiritual or
ether body, could impress matter and be impressed
by it only in part. The man was imperfect because
he did not touch directly the world of matter, and
could know only in part the phenomena of the mater-
ial world, which forms an integral part of the uni-
verse. In the words of Joseph Smith, "Spirit and
element inseparably connected, receiveth a fullness
of joy, and when separated, man can not receive a
fullness of joy."*

For man's perfection, it then became necessary
that his spiritual body should be clothed with a
material one, and that he should become as familiar
with the world of matter, as he had become with the
world of spirit. God, as the supreme intelligence,
who desired all other spirits to know and become
mighty, led in the formulation of the plan, whereby
they should obtain knowledge of all the contents of
the universe.

* Doctrine and Covenants, 93: 33, 34.

THE PLAN OF SALVATION. 117

For the purpose of perfecting the plan, a coun-
cil of the Gods, or perfected intelligences was called.
The fall of It was decided to organize an earth

Adam necessary f j.qjjj available materials, and place the

to perfect '

intelligence. spirits on it, clothed with bodies of

the grosser elements. An esesntial function of intelli-
gence is free agency ; and that the spirits might have
the fullest opportunity to exercise this agency in
their earthly career, they were made to forget the
events of their spiritual existence. To learn di-
rectly the nature of grossest matter, the earth bodies
of necessity were made subject to the process of
the disintegration called death.

To make possible the subjection of eternal^
spiritual organized intelligences to perishable,'
material structures, certain natural laws would nat-
urally be brought into operation. From the point
of view of the eternal spirit, it might mean the
breaking of a law directed towards eternal life ; yet
to secure the desired contact with matter, the spirit
was compelled to violate the law. Thus, in this
earth life, a man who desires to acquire a first
hand acquaintance with magnetism and electricity,
may subject himself to all kinds of electric
shocks, that, perhaps, will affect his body injurious-
h^; yet, for the sake of securing the experience, he
may be willing to do it. Adam, the first man, so
used natural laws that his eternal, spiritual body
became clothed upon with an earthly body, sub-
ject to death. Then in begetting children, he was
able to produce earthly bodies for the waiting
spirits.

According to this doctrine, the socalled Fall of

118 THE DESTINY OF EARTH AND MAN.

Adam was indispensable to the evolving of organized
intelligences that should have a complete acquain-
tance with all nature, and a full control over their
free agencies. If laws were broken, it was done
because of the heroism of the first parents, and not
because of their sinfulness.

Mormon theology does not pretend to say in
what precise manner Adam was able to secure his
corruptible body; neither is science able to answer
all the "whys' suggested by recorded experiences.
The doctrines of Joseph Smith maintain, however,
that the events connected with the introduction of
organized intelligences on this earth, were in full
accord with the simple laws governing the universe.
That the Mormon view of this matter, so funda-
mental in every system of theology, is rational, can
not be denied.

However, the bodies given to the spirits con-
tinued for only a few years; then they were dis-

The atonement organized in death. Adam's work had

was in harmony y^^^^ ^^^^ ^g^ ^f|.gj. ^j^g ^g^^^^ of the

with natural

law. mortal body, the spirit was still with-

out a permanent body of matter, that would com-
plete his contact with the elements of the universe.
Therefore, it was necessary to bring other laws into
operation, that would reorganize these dead mater-
ial bodies in such a way that they would no longer
be subject to the forces of disorganization, death
and decay. The eternal spiritual body, united with
this eternal material body, then constituted a suit-
able home for eternal intelligence, whereby it might
be able, under the law of evolution to attain the
greatest conceivable knowledge and power.

THE PLAN OF SALVATION. II9

The personage who directed the laws that can-
celled the necessary work of Adam, and made the
corruptible body incorruptible was the Savior, Jesus
Christ, As Adam, by his personal work, made the
earth career possible for all who succeeded him ;
so Jesus, by His personal work, made it possible for
the spirits to possess immortal material bodies.

Conditions that may be likened to the atone-
ment are found in science. Suppose an electrical
current, supplying a whole city with power and
light, is passing through a wire. If for any reason
the wire is cut the city becomes dark and all
machines driven by the current cease their motion.
To restore the current, the ends of the broken wire
must be reunited. If a person, in his anxiety to
restore the city to its normal conditions, seizes the
ends of the wire with his bare hands, and unites
them, he probably will receive the full charge of the
current in his body. Yet, as a result, the light and
power will return to the city; and one man by his
action, has succeeded in doing the work for many.

The actual method by which Jesus was enabled
to make mortal bodies immortal, is not known to
us. Neither can we understand just why the shed-
ding of the Savior's blood was necessary for the
accomplishment of this purpose. Like the work
of Adam, the exact nature of the atonement is un-
known. Still, throughout this plan of Salvation,
every incident and accomplished fact are strictly
rational. There is no talk of a God, who because of
his own will, and in opposition to natural laws,
placed man on earth.

The presence of organized intelligences in earth

]20 THE DESTINY OF EARTH AND MAN.

is simply a link in the evolution of man. The plan

of salvation is the method whereby the evolution

^ ^^ ,.^ . of man is furthered. The intelligence

Earth life is a

link in man's who conforms to the Plan, at last at-

evolution. tains salvation, which means eternal

life and endless development, directed by the free

agency of an organized intelligence clothed with an

incorruptible body of spirit and matter.

Can any other sy.stem of theology produce an
explanation of the presence of man on earth, which
connects earthly life with the time before and the
time after, on the basis of the accepted laws of the
universe ?

Flawless seems the structure reared by the
Mormon Prophet. Had he been an imposter, human
imperfection would have revealed itself some-
where.*

* It must not be assumed that in this chapter has
been given a full account of the Mormon doctrine of th©
Atonement. These essays are not in any sense a full
exposition of Mormon theology.

THE REGION OF THE UNKNOWN.

Chapter XVI.
THE SIXTH SENSE.

The five senses are the great gateways through

which all the knowledge in man's possession has

The six senses, been obtained. Examine the matter

need help to re- g^g ^g may, the truth of this statement

organize many .

phenomena of persists. By seeing, hearing, smelling,

nature. ' tasting and feeling, only, is man

brought into contact with external nature and him-
self, and is furnished material upon which the in-
tellect can act. True it is, that the sense of feel-
ing may be divided into a number of poorly known
sub-senses, of which that of touch is the best known,
but, probably, these are very nearly related, and
we may still maintain the existence of the five
senses of man.

Wonderful as these senses are, yet, in the pres-
ence of many natural phenomena, they are very
weak, and require help, in order that the operations
of nature may be recognized. Take, as an illustra-
tion, the refined sense of sight. Light, coming from
a distant star, is readil}' recognized ; the same quan-
tity of light coming from a house, half a mile dis-
tant, is even more distinctly sensed by the eye. In
both these cases, though the light is recognized,
the sensation is not so sharply defined as to produce
a distinct image of the star or of the house. To make
the images of distant objects distinct, the telescope
has been invented ; and this instrument is a most
important aid to the sense of sight. The micro-

122 THE REGION OF THE UNKNOWN.

scope is a similar aid to the eye, by which the light-
rays coming from minute objects are so bent and
arranged that the object appears magnified, and may
be sensed in its details by the eye. The ear-
trumpet is a similar device for collecting, concen-
trating and defining sound waves that ordinarily
would be, to the ear, a confusion of sounds. The
€ar-trumpet is a mighty help to the sense of hear-
ing.

The light which passes through the lenses of
the telescope and microscope, is the light which is
ordinarily recognized by the eye. The instruments
effect no change in the light; they merely arrange
the waves so as to produce a clear and distinct
outline of the objects from which the light comes.
Likewise, the sound waves entering the ear-trumpet
are in nowise changed in their essential nature, but
are simply rearranged or concentrated to produce
a more definite impres&ion on the ear. Instru-
ments similar to those here mentioned are the simpl-
est aids to man's senses.

With respect to many forces of nature, the un-
aided senses of man are helpless. The subtle force
of magnetism, for instance, appears incapable of
affecting directly any of the senses. A person may
hold a powerful lodestone in his hand and feel no
influence different from that coming from a piece
of sandstone. A person may work near a wire
carrying a current of electricity, and, though it is
well known that peculiar conditions exist in the
universal ether around such a wire, yet, through
his five senses, he may never become aware of the
existence of this current. A piece of uranium ore,
as has been found in recent years, emits various

THE SIXTH SENSE. 123

kinds of rays related to the now famous X- or
Koentgen rays, yet no indication comes directly
through any of the five senses that such is the case.
In fact, men of science worked with the ores of
uranium for many years before discovering the emis-
sion of ether waves. In the light which comes from
the sun are numerous forms of energy that do not
directly affect the senses, and therefore remained
unknown for many centuries. Numerous other il-
lustrations might he quoted to show the existence
of natural forces that are beyond the direct recog-
nition of man. In the great ocean of the unknown,
lie, undoubtedly, countless forces that shall never
be known by a direct action upon the senses of
man.*

As is well understood, however, even these ap-
parently unknowable manifestations of nature may
be known, if proper aids be secured. In every case
the problem is this: To obtain some medium, be it
natural or manufactured, which transforms the un-
known force into a known force, that is capable of
affecting the senses of man. The search for such
media is one of the most important labors of science.

* The writer is aware of the beliefs held by many-
students regarding the so-called touch sense, heat sense,
magnetic sense, electrical sense, spiritual sense, etc. So
little is known of these subdivisions of the sense of feel-
ing, that they are not considered in this popular writing.
There is, moreover, no evidence that the magnetic sense,
as an example, if it exists, is a direct effect of magnetic
forces; it is as easily believed that the body somehow con-
verts magnetic forces, under certain circumstances, into
other forces that may be sensed by man.

124 THE REGION OF THE UNKNOWN.

For instance, sunlight has been known from the
beginning of the human race, and its nature has
The advance been studied by almost every genera-
requires tnst^ru- ^^^^ ^^ thinkers. To the time of New-
ments that con- ton, it was only white light — or little
phenomena into iiiore. Newton discovered that if a

intelligible forms, ray of white light be allowed to fall
Thus the un- , . , -. , ...

known is re- upon a triangular prism oi glass, it is

sealed. dispersed or broken into a number of

colored rays known as the spectrum. All sunlight,
passed through a glass prism, produces this colored
spectrum; and the colors are arranged invariably in
the same order; namely from violet through the
intermediate colors to red. By passing this spec-
trum through another prism, white light _is pro-
duced. Sunlight was thus proved to consist of a
number of kinds of colored light. The eye alone is
incapable of resolving white light into its elements :
the glass prism thus becomes an aid to the sense of
sight, by which a new domain of science is laid open
to view.

Above the red end of the spectrum, obtained from
white light, nothing is visible, yet if a delicate
thermometer be placed there, the increase in tem-
perature shows the presence of certain invisible heat
rays, and by moving the thermometer, it may be
shown that the invisible heat spectrum is longer
than the light spectrum itself. This, again, makes
known to man a world that the five senses can
recognize only with difficulty; and in this case, the
thermometer is the necessary aid.

Even more interesting is the violet end of the
spectrum. Like the red end, it is invisible. In fact,

THE SIXTH SENSE. 125

for centuries it was believed that the light spectrum
represented the whole spectrum. During the last
century it was found that if a photographic plate
be placed below the violet end of the spectrum, it
is affected by invisible light rays, which are popular-
ly denominated chemical rays. By placing the pho-
tographic plate in various positions, it has been
discovered that the chemical spectrum is as long
as the visible part. Since the days of Newton, there-
fore, the known part of the spectrum of sunlight has
been trebled in length, and there is no certainty that
all is now known concerning the matter. In this
particular, the photographic plate has become a
means of revealing an unknown world to the senses.
If a low tension current of electricity passes
through a wire, it cannot be sensed directly by man ;
but if a delicately adjusted magnetic needle be
placed above and parallel to such wire, the current
will turn the needle to one side and keep it there.
The magnetic needle then makes known the presence
of a current of electricity which has no appreciable
effect upon any of man's five senses. Similarly, the
magnetic currents passing over the earth are not felt
by man in such a way as to be recognized, but a
magnetic needle, properly adjusted, will immediately
assume an approximately north and south direction,
in obedience to the pull of the magnetic currents. In
this manner the magnetic needle, again, reveals to
man the existence and presence of forces that he can-
not sense directly.

A piece of glass into which has been incorporated
a small amout of the element uranium, is an instru-
ment which reveals many wonders of the unsensed

126 THE REGION OF THE UNKNOWN.

world. If the uranium glass be brought near the
violet end of the spectrum of sunlight, it imimediate-
ly glows, because it has the power of changing thp
invisible chemical rays into ordinary, white light
rays. With such an instrument, darkness can be
literally changed into light. Similarly, many of
the class of rays to which belong the X-rays, and
which are dark to the eye, and do not directly affect
any of the other senses, are converted by uranium
glass into visible rays. This glass, then, becomes
another means whereby the world which does not
directly affect our senses, may be made known.

The X- or Roentgen rays have been mentioned
several times. It is generally known that they have
the power of passing through the body and various
other opaque bodies. The rays themselves are in-
visible, both before entering and after leaving the
body; moreover, they do not affect any of the other
senses of man. Were it not that the power is
possessed of changing these rays to light rays, man
could know nothing of the Roentgen rays. In fact,
a screen, covered with powdered crystals of a chem-
ical compound known as barium platinocyanide, is
held behind the object through which the rays are
passing, and the moment they touch this substance
they are changed to light rays, and the screen glows.
Or, instead, a photographic plate may be used, for the
Roentgen rays affect the materials from which these
plates are made. The screen of barium platinocyan-
ide is, therefore, another means for revealing the
unknown world.

Such illustrations might be multiplied, but
would add no strength to the discussion. There is,

THE SIXTH SENSE. 127

however, another class of instruments which enable

the senses to recognize natural forces that do not act

"Tuning" to directly upon the consciousness of man.

establish sym- • i - • j ■, ■ ,-

pathetic vibra- It a musicai note is produced on a violm,

tions is a form near a piano, the piano strinar which is
of the aids for , ^ ^ i • , . ,7 •

explaining the stretched or tuned right, will give out

unknown. thesamenote. The sound waves from the

violin penetrate the piano, and the string which is
tuned to give out the same note takes up the en-
ergy of the sound waves, and is set in vibration,
with the result that the same note is given out by
the piano. This is known as sympathetic vibrations.
It is possible, therefore, to make a piano give out
any note within its range, without any solid object
touching the instrument. In the universal ether,
which surrounds and penetrates all things, are num-
berless waves of all kinds, and of all vibrations. If
the proper instrument be used, and tuned aright, it
is possible to separate from this tumult of waves any
desired kind or degree of wave motion, and to con-
vert it into some known form of energy, say elec-
tricity.

This principle is used in modern wireless tele-
graphy. Electric waves are sent out by the operator
with a certain rapidity. These waves radiate into
space, in all directions, and are lost, apparently, in
the confusion of myriads of other waves. Neverthe-
less, if the waves are not by some chance totally de-
stroyed, it is possible to obtain them again, by the
use of a receiving instrument which is tuned exactly
the same as that used by the operator, at the station
where the waves are sent out. A message sent from
London may be received anywhere on earth where

128 THE REIGION OF THE UNKNOWN.

the receiving instruments are tuned aright; at the
same time, if the peculiar note or vibration of the
message is not known, so that the receivers can not
be tuned properly, the message, though it be all
about it, can never be received.

Such aids to our senses do not depend so much
upon the nature of the material, as upon the degree
to which it is brought into sympathy with the force
to be recognized.

Now, though our senses are imperfect, and

recognize only a small part of the phenomena of na-

With proper ture, yet it is very probable that, with

ards man's such helps as have been described,

senses may dis-

cover the whole nothing in nature need remain forever

of nature. unknown. The means by which the

forces of nature, that- cannot be sensed directly, are

brought to man's recognition may well be named,

collectively, man's sixth sense.

The progress of science depends upon the dis-
covery of aids to man's senses; a new and vast field
is invariably opened whenever a new aid is dis-
covered.

In the works of Joseph Smith, which teach that

there is no real line of demarkation between the nat-

Joseph Smith ural and spiritual worlds,it would be not
recognized the • • a. ^ j • j xi.

existence of surprising to nnd recognized the scien-

media which tifi^ principle, above discussed, that by

render the un- .

known, known, the use 01 proper instruments, the

world outside of the five senses, may be brought

within man's consciousness.

According to the story of Joseph Smith, he was

first visited by an angel, September 21, 1823, when

the Prophet was less than eighteen years of age.

THE SIXTH SENSE. 129

Among other things, the angel told the boy that
"there was a book deposited, written on gold
plates, ' ' giving an account of the former inhabitants
of the American continent; "also, that there were
two stones in silver bows — and these stones, fastened
to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim
and Thummim — deposited with the plates; and the
possession and use of these stones were what con-
stituted 'Seers' in ancient or former times; and that
God had prepared them for the purpose of translat-
ing the book."* This reference to the Urim and
Thummim, and their purpose, makes it clear that the
Prophet, at the beginning of his career, recognized
(whether consciously or unconsciously we know
not), the existence of means or media by which
things unknown, such as a strange language, may be
converted into forms that can reach the understand-
ing.

When the actual work of translation began, the

Urim and Thummim were found indispensable, and

_. _ . , in various places the statement is made

Mormon was that the translation was made, "by

lI'f.h^'fiH^J' KK^. means of the Urim and Thummim."!
such aids — tne '

Urim and On one occasion, when the Prophet,

Thummim. through the defection of Martin Harris,

lost a portion of the manuscript translation the Urim
and Thummim were taken from him, and the power
of translation ceased. Upon the return of the instru-
ments the work was resumed. J While it is very
probable that the Prophet was required to place

* History of the Church, vol. 1, p. 12.

I Doctrine and Covenants, 10: 1.

J History of the Church, vol. 1, p. 23.

130 THE REGION OF THE UNKNOWN.

himself in the proper spiritual and mental attitude,
before he could use the Urim an^ Thummim success-
fully, yet it must also be true that the stones were
essential to the work of translation.

The Urim and Thummim were not used alone
for translation, but most of the early revelations

, ,. were obtained by their means. Speak-
Revelations -r. ,

were received ing of those days, the Prophet usually

by such aids. gg^y^ . .. j enquired of the Lord

through the Urim and Thummim, and obtained
the following."* The "stones in silver bows"
seemed, therefore, to have possessed the general
power of converting manifestations of the spiritual
world into terms suitable to the understanding of
Joseph Smith.

The doctrine of the use of the Urim and Thum-
mim is in perfect harmony with the established law
of modern science, that special media are necessary
to bring the unknown world within the range of
man's senses. To believers in the Bible, the use of
the Urim and Thummim can offer no obstacles, and
to those who possess a rational conception of God —
that he is the Master of the universe, who works his
will by natural means — it cannot be more difficult to
believe that God's will may appear through the
agency of special "stones in silver bows," than to
concede that invisible ether waves, become luminous
when they fall upon a piece of uranium glass. The
virtue possessed by the latter glass is no more evi-
dent than is the virtue claimed by Joseph Smith to
be possessed by the Urim and Thummim.

It is a noteworthy fact that the Prophet does not

* History of the Church, vol. 1, pp. 33, 36, 45, 49 and 53.

THE SIXTH SENSE. 131

enter into an argument to prove the necessity of the
use of the Urim and Thummim. Only in an incidental
way, as he tells the straightforward story of his life,
does he mention them; and with a simplicity that
argues strongly for his veracity, does he assume that,
of course, they were necessary and were used as he
recounts. A shrewd imposter, building a great theo-
logical structure as is the Church founded by Joseph
Smith, would have appreciated that difficult ques-
tions would be asked concerning the seer stones, and
would have attempted to surround them with some
explanation. Joseph Smith offers no defense for the
use of these instruments; neither does the scientist
excuse himself for using uranium glass, in the study
of certain radiations.

The Prophet did not always receive his revela-
tions by the assistance of the Urim and Thummim.
As the Prophet ^g \yQ grew in experience and under-
in tune with standing, he learned to bring his spirit

the unknown, he i^to such an attitude that it became a

became less

dependent on ex- Urim and Thummim to him, and God s

ternal aids. ^j^ ^y^g revealed without the interven-

tion of external means. This method is clearly,
though briefly, expressed in one of the early reve-
lations :

Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed
that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought,
save it was to ask me; but, behold, I say unto you, that
you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask m'
if it be right, and if it is right, I will cause that your bos'-jm
shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it i_^
right; but if it be not right, you shall have no such feelings,

132 THE REGION OF THE UNKNOWN.

but you shall have a stupor of thought, that cause you to
forget the thing which is wrong.*

The essence of this statement is that if a person

will concentrate his powers so as to come into har-

^^ „^ ^. mony with God, truth will be revealed

The "testimony '' ' .

of the spirit" is to him ; and is not that like the tuning
scientific. ^^ ^ g^-j q£ ^jp^ g^ ^j^g^^ j^ g^u ^^j^g ^^p

the waves of certain lengths, that may be passing
through the ether? If an inert mass of iron can be
so tuned, can anyone refuse to believe that man,
highly organized as he is, can "tune" himself to be
in harmony with Ihe forces of the universe? The
universal ether of science is like the Holy Spirit, and
the waves or energy of the ether is like the intelli-
gent action of that Spirit controlled by God. Heat,
light, magnetism, electricity, and the other forces,
become, then, simply various forms of God's speech,
any of which may be understood, if the proper means
of interpretation is at hand.

In the Book of Mormon, the Prophet states that
' ' When ye shall receive these things, I would exhort
you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in
the name of Christ, if these things are not true ; and
if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent,
\ having faith, in Chirst, he will manifest the truth
of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost ; and
by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the
truth of all things."!

This inv^olves the principle discussed above. By
placing oneself in harmony with the requirements of
tb e subject in hand, the truth must become known,

* Doctrine and Covenants, 9 : 7-9.
•j- Moroni 10: 4, 5.

THE SIXTH SENSE. 133

even as an instrument properly tuned must feel the
iniiuence of the ether waves with which it is in har-
mony.

Ag-ain, then, the conceptions of the Mormon
Prophet rise to equal heights with the best theories
of the scientists. In simple phrases, apparently un-
conscious of the philosophical meaning of the doc-
trines, Joseph Smith recognized the various means
whereby man's senses may be enabled to seize upon
and comprehend the natural forces which to man's
unaided senses must remain unknown forever.

It cannot be justly claimed that the Prophet an-
ticipated the world of science in the recognition of
this principle, but reading his works in the light of
modem progress, it cannot be denied that he placed
a greater value upon the aids to man's senses, with
respect to the subtle forces of the universe, than
did any of his contemporaries. That acknowledg-
ment is a wonderful tribute to the powers of an un-
learned boy.

Evidence crowds upon evidence, and testimony
upon testimony, until the opposition of logic falls
away; and Joseph Smith rises above the fog of preju-
dice, a mighty prophet of our God.

134

THE FORCE OF FORCES,

Chapter XVII.
THE NATURE OF GOD.

In every philosophy of the universe, the ques-
tion concerning the primary cause of the phenomena

Nearly all of nature always arises. Ancient and

thinkers believe j i -i i ^•^ r. j-

in God or an modem philosophers, alike, have dis-

equivalent. cussed the probability of the existence

of this primary cause and its properties. Plato, put-
ting the words into the mouth of Socrates, declares,
"I do believe in the Gods."* Aristotle, the greatest of
early thinkers, assumed that a God exists, from
whom all other forces are derived. For example,
"From a first principle, then, of this kind — I mean,
one that is involved in the assumption of a First
Mover — hath depended the Heaven and Nature, "f
Spencer, speaking in these latter days, likewise im-
plies the existence of the equivalent of the God of
men, thus, "If religion and science are to be recon-
ciled, the basis of reconciliation must be this deepest,
widest and most certain of all facts — ^that the Power
which the universe manifests to us is utterly in-
scrutable. "J

To the great majority of men, in all ages, the
idea of a God or Power, has appeared to be a neces-
sity. Naturally, there has been a great variety of

* Plato, The Apology, chap. XXIV.

I Aristotle,, Metaphysics, chap. VII, sec. 4.

+ First Principles, p. 48.

THE NATURE OF GOD. ^35

opinions concerning the nature of God, or the great
Power behind things. Some, including the early-
Greek thinkers, looked upon God as a personal be-
ing of transcendental attributes ; others gave Him a
more shadowy form, and made of Him nothing more
than an all pervading spiritual essence. Still others,
considering the relations of all natural operations to
the infinite power of God, identified Him with Nature,
and then, with astonishing shortsight denied His per-
sonal existence. Thus, by degrees, arose the various
theists, who accepted a personal God with varying
attributes; the pantheists, who identified God with
nature, and the atheists, who denied absolutely God,
or any equivalent. Among those who have adopted
the idea of God, the chief dispute has been largely
as to His personality; to the atheists the essential
consideration has been that the laws of nature are
self-operative and need no directing force such as is
implied in the conception of a God.

As modem science arose, certain conceptions be-
came established which were directly related to the

_ . . ^ idea of God. In obedience to the mod-

Science points

to a force em tendency towards simplification,

of forces ^j^^ great variety in the material world

has been referred to a few elements (nearly 80) ; and**
all the forces of nature are now held to be modes of
motion of matter or of the one all pervading sub-
stance, the ether. The complexity of nature is pro-
duced by new combinations of matter, ether and mo-
tional According to this doctrine, all the phenomena
in the universe may be explained by referring them
to the action of forces upon matter and ether. There
is a limited number of elements, which, at the pres-

136 THE FORCE OF FORCES.

ent, can not be converted into each other. There is
only one ether, which can probably exist in various
degrees of density. There are numerous forces,
which may be converted into each other. Thus light
may be changed into heat; heat into electricity and
electricity into light again.

Scientists have long asked if there is one great
universal force, of which all other forces are merely
variations. Usually, the thinkers have agreed that
the indications point to such a central force, which
by many has been identified with gravitation. New-
ton and many of the men who followed him in the
development of the theory of gravitation, agreed that
probably the force of gravitation is the source of all
other natural forces. Thus the doctrines of modem
science point to one force from which all other forces
are derived; and thus, the complexity of nature has
been simplified, by explaining it on the assumption
of this one force. Those who believe in God have
claimed that this points to one great Being as the
mover behind all things ; the atheists have declared,
that these scientific conceptions indicate that there
is no real necessity for a God; and many honest
searchers who have reached this closed door, have
declared, ''I do not know. It may be God; it may
be force. It cannot be known."

" Mormonism " has harmonized science and

theology in its conception of God. As has been

"Mormonism" shown earlier in this volume, Joseph

intelligence isthe Smith taught that the central force

force of forces, of the universe is intelligence.

Gravitation, heat, light, magnetism, electricity,

chemical attraction, are all various manifestations

THE NATURE OF GOD. 137

of the all-pervading force of intelligence. This, it

may be seen, is the simple theory advanced by

scientists, with the definition of the first force added.

The "Mormon" Prophet taught, further, that

the individual is organized intelligence ; that the or-

_ . . ^ ganization is the instrument whereby in-

God IS the

greatest in- telligence may be concentrated, fo-

telligence. cussed and directed. Man is superior

to beasts because his organization permits a greater
use of the universal force of intelligence. Under the
law of evolution, man's organization will become
more and more complex. That is, he will increase in
his power of using intelligence until in time, he will
develop so far that, in comparison with his present
state, he will be a God. Conversely, God, who is a
superior organization, using and directing the force
of intelligence, must at one time have possessed a
simpler organization. Perhaps, at one time He was
only what man is to-day, God, in "Mormon" theol-
ogy, is the greatest intelligence; it will always re-
main the greatest; yet, it must of necessity, under
the inexorable laws of the universe, grow. God is in
no sense the Creator of natural forces and laws ; He
is the director of them.

The correct conclusion from this doctrine is that
all the forces of nature are supported by intelligent
action. This leads of necessity to order in nature.
Blind forces, acting independently of intelligence,
could not have brought about the perfect order that
appears everywhere in the universe. Every atom of
matter; every particle of ether is endowed with a
form of intelligence. All the attractions, repulsions
and equilibriums among natural objects are modes of

138 THE FORCE OF FORCES.

expression of the force of intelligence. The explan-
ations of the mysteries of nature will be greatly sim-
plified when the "Mormon" doctrine of the position
of intelligence in universal phenomena is clearly un-
derstood by scientific workers.

Since these teachings practically imply the defi-
nition that God is a superior intelligence evolved
Many grades from a lower condition, there can be no
hence, many ' logical objection to the idea that there
Gods. are many Gods. Yet, "Mormon" theol-

ogy acknowledges the supremacy of the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God transcends all hu-
man imagination. He is omniscient, and omnipotent ;
for His great knowledge enables Him to direct the
forces of nature. He is full of love and mercy, be-
cause these qualities are attributes of intelligence,
which God possesses in the highest degree. The
"Mormon" idea of God, is delicate, refined, ad-
vanced and reasonable.

The interesting fact about this matter is, nat-
urally, that in this conception of God, Joseph Smith
was strictly scientific. He departed from the notion
that God is a Being foreign to nature and wholly
superior to it. Instead, he taught that God is part
of nature, and superior to it only in the sense that
the electrician is superior to the current that is trans-
mitted along the wire. The great laws of nature are
immutable, and even God can not transcend them.
This doctrine of God was taught by Joseph
Smith early in his career. Can ignorance or disease
produce such a logical climax of a scientific system of
belief? Such a conclusion would be absurd.

CONCLUSION.

Chapter XVIII.

JOSEPH SMITH'S EDUCATION.

Joseph Smith had few educational advantages

during his life. His scientific teachings do not rest

Joseph Smith's upon information gained in schools or
early educational n ■> i tt- a j? n

opportunities were from books. His parents fully appre-

very limited. ciated the value of an education, but
the pioneer lives which they led, and their numerous
financial misfortunes, made it impossible for them to
realize their desires for the education of their chil-
dren. The Prophet 's mother writes that when Joseph
was about six years old, Hyrum, the elder brother,
was sent to an academy at Hanover, New Hamp-
shire, and the smaller children to a common school.*
It is probable that throughout the wanderings of the
family, the children were given such meager school-
ing as was possible. Joseph was a "remarkably
quiet, well-disposed child," and his life up to the
age of fourteen was marked only by those trivial
circumstances which are common to childhood.f

A few months after his fourteenth birthday, the
future prophet beheld his first vision. In his auto-
biography he mentions that at the time "he was
doomed to the necessity of obtaining a scanty main-

* History of the Prophet by his Mother, Improvement
Era, Vol. 5, p. 166.
f Ibid p. 247.

140 CONCLUSION.

tenance by his daily labor."* This would indicate
that at this age he was spending little or no time in
school. During the time that elapsed between his
fourteenth and eighteenth years, there is nothing to
show that the boy was receiving scholastic education.
The Prophet says that he was left to all kinds of
temptation, and mingled with all kinds of society.f
Nothing is said about the acquirement of book learn-
ing. About the age of nineteen he writes, "As my
father's worldly circumstances were very limited, we
were under the necessity of laboring with our hands,
hiring out by day's work and otherwise, as we could
get opportunity. In the month of October, 1825, I
hired with an old gentleman by the name of Josiah
Stoal. During the time I was thus employed, I was
put to board with a Mr. Isaac Hale — it was there I
first saw my wife (his daughter), Emma Hale. On
the 18th of January, 1827, [when the Prophet was a
little more than twenty-one years old] we were mar-
ried, while I was yet employed in the service of Mr.
Stoal. Immediately after my marriage, I left Mr.
Stoal's and went to my father's, and farmed with
him that season. "J From his eighteenth to his twen-
ty-second year, then, there is evidence that he worked
as an ordinary laborer, and attended no school.

It seems, moreover, that Joseph Smith was not a
boy to gather information from books, for his mother
says of him, when he was eighteen years old, that ' ' he
seemed much less inclined to the perusal of books
than any of the rest of our children, but far more

* History of the Church, vol. 1, p. 7. •{• Ibid p. 9.
J History of the Church, Vol. 1, pp. 16, 17.

JOSEPH SMITH'S EDUCATION. 141

given to meditation and deep study."* From the
records extant, the conclusion is justifiable that from
his fourteenth to his twenty-second year Joseph
Smith received practically no school education, and
did no extensive reading. What he might have
gathered from conversation with others during that
time is unknown to us. However, it is known that
the heavenly messengers who visited him at intervals
gave him much valuable information, which more
than compensated for his poor scholastic advantages.

One month before his twenty-second birthday,
the golden plates were delivered to the Prophet, and
the next two and a half years he was engaged with
various assistants in translating the Book of Mor-
mon ; though at different times during this period he
farmed and did other manual labor. During this
period (twenty-two to twenty-four and a half years
of age), he most certainly attended no school nor
gave special attention to worldly knowledge.

On the 6th of April, 1830, when the Prophet was
twenty-four years and four months old, the Church
was organized. The life led by the Prophet from this
time to 1844, when he was assassinated, was not con-
ducive to the gathering of information, and quiet,
deep reflection. During almost the whole of this
period his life was in danger ; scores of times he was
arrested on trumped-up charges ; the Church was
driven from place to place; he built at least three
cities, and two temples ; organized and governed the
body of the Church ; taught the doctrinal system ac-

* History of the Prophet Joseph, Improvement Era,
Vol. 5, p. 257.

142 CONCLUSION.

cepted by his followers; organized the public min-
istry of the Church for spreading the Gospel among
all men, wrote his autobiography; compiled the reve-
lations given him, and made a revision of parts of
the Bible.

The mistake must not be made, however, of as-
suming that because the Prophet's education had
Joseph Smith been limited, he lacked a due apprecia-

taught the im- ^ion of schools and scholastic attain-
portance of

schools and ments. On the contrary, at a very early

education. ^^^^ ^^ ^j^g history of the Church,

schools were organized even for the older men, that
they might improve their time and make up in a
manner for the lack of opportunity during their early
days. During the winter of 1832-3, a school of the
prophets was organized in Kirtland, Ohio, and an-
other in Independence, Missouri, at which the elders
of the Church received various instructions. In the
discussion relative to the building of temples, refer-
ences to schools being held in them were always
made, and, in fact, in the fall of 1835, when a portion
of the Kirtland temple was finished, ''schools were
opened in the various apartments." Many ''were
organized into a school for the purpose of studying the
Hebrew language."* The reading of Greek had pre-
viously been begun. In these languages as well as in
German, the Prophet acquired considerable facility.
His studies tended, of course, towards the interpre-
tation of the Bible and the explanation of Gospel
truths; though at times his investigations appeared
quite foreign to his special work, as when, in 1838,
he began the methodical study of law.

♦Autobiography of P. P. Pratt, p. 140.

JOSEPH SMITH'S EDUCATION. I43

When the city of Nauvoo was chartered, a sec-
tion was included, providing for the establishment
of a university, to be called the University of the
City of Nauvoo, under the direction of which should
be taught ' ' all matters pertaining to education, from
common schools up to the highest branches of a most
liberal collegiate education."*

In numerous revelations did the Lord urge the
Prophet and the Church to gather information from
every source, of which the following quotations are
good illustrations: "Teach ye diligently, that you
may be instructed in theory, in principle, of things
both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth ;
things which have been, things which are, things
which must shortly come to pass ; things which are at
home, things which are abroad ; the wars and perplex-
ities of the nations, and a knowledge also of coun-
tries and kingdoms. Seek ye out of the best books
words of wisdom; seek learning even by study. "f
"Obtain a knowledge of history, and of countries
and of kingdoms, of laws of God and man. "+ " Study
and learn and become acquainted with all good
books, and with languages, tongues and peoples. "§
"It is imposible for a man to be saved in ignor-
ance. "|| A more comprehensive outline of education
can hardly be imagined. The energetic manner in
whicli the Church has acted upon these instructions,
during its whole history, need not be recounted here.

However much the Prophet sought for knowl-

* History of Joseph Smith, George Q. Cannon, pp. 341,
343.

I Doctrine and Covenants, 88 : 78, 79, 118.

J Ibid 93: 53. § Ibid 90: 15. || Ibid 131: 6.

144 CONCLUSION.

edge, even from books, in his later life, the fact re-
mains that the evidence in our possesion indicates
that, up to the time of the organization of the
Church, his book learning was very slight, and that
during the years immediately following, his time was
so fully occupied with the details of the organization
that little or no time was given to education, as or-
dinarily understood. These statements are of
especial importance, in view of the fact that all the
principles discussed in this volume were enunciated
before the end of the year 1833.

The associates of the Prophet are unanimous in
saying that his spiritual and intellectual growth was
Though the marvelous, from the time that the work

book learning, * ^^ ^^® ministry fell upon him. He was
the spiriual and transformed from a humble country lad
intellectual j. i j 1.4.

growth was ^o a leader among men, whose greatness

great. was felt by all, whether unlearned

or educated, small or great. Of himself the Prophet
said, "I am a rough stone. The sound of the hammer
and chisel was never heard on me until the Lord
took me in hand. I desire the learning and wisdom
of heaven alone." Certainly, his whole history shows
that the great learning which he did manifest was
acquired in a manner very different from that fol-
lowed by the majority of men.

A SUMMARY RESTATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES.

Chapter XIX.

In its broadest sense, philosophy includes all that

man may know of the universe — of himself and of

„. ., ^ the things about him. To be worthy

Philosophy ® r, •

and its of its name, a system of philosophy

methods. must possess certain comprehensive,

fundamental principles, which if clearly understood,
make intelligible to the human mind any or all of the
phenomena in the universe. The simplier these foun-
dation principles are, the greater is the system as a
philosophy. In the words of Spencer, "Philosophy
is knowledge of the highest degree of generality, ' ' or
"completely unified knowledge."*

It is to be observed, that the great laws of nature
are inferred only from a number of lesser laws that
have been gathered by man. A generalization which
is not built upon numerous confirmatory observa-
tions, is at best an uncertain guess, which can be ac-
cepted only when demonstrated to be correct by nu-
merous isolated experiences. The rational philoso-
pher proceeds from the many to the few ; he groups
and groups again, until the wide, fundamental laws
have been attained.

In olden days, and at times today, this method
was not pursued. A philosopher, so called, would
assume that a certain statement or idea were true.
Upon this idea an elaborate, speculative, philoso-

* First Principles, pp. 133 and 136.

146 CONCLUSION.

phical superstructure was reared. If by chance, and
the chance usually came, the fundamental notion
were shown to be false, the whole system fell with a
crash into the domain of untruth.

It is the glory of modern science that by its
methods, innumerable facts, correct so far as present
instruments and man's senses will allow, have been
gathered; and, that present day philosophy is built
upon these certain facts. The errors, if any exist, of
this philosophy lie not in the foundation stones, but
in the inferences that have been drawn from them.
Modern philosophy rests upon the truths of the uni-
verse, and not upon the wild speculations of men.

The philosophy of science, which is the basis of
all rational philosophy, rests upon the doctrine of the
The fundamental indestructibility of matter. Matter can-
scientific pFiil- ^ot ^^ destroyed, and it is unthinkable
osophy. that it ever was created. True, matter

may appear in various forms : the tangible coal may
escape through the chimneys as an intangible gas;
water may vanish into vapor; gold may unite with
acids to form compounds entirely unlike gold. How-
ever, the weight of the coal in the gases passing
through the chimney is the same as the weight of
the coal fed into the stove; the water vapor in the
air weighs precisely as much as the water that was
in the vessel ; the gold in the compound weighs the
same as the metallic gold used ; in every case matter
has been changed into another form, but has not been
destroyed.

Along with this fundamental principle, science
holds the doctrine of the indestructibility of energy.
Matter of itself is dead and useless ; it is only when

A SUMMARY RESTATEMENT. I47

it is in motion or in the possession of energy that it
can take part in the processes of nature. Matter with-
out energy is not known to man; however inert it
may be, it possesses some energy. The ultimate par-
ticles of all things, — ^rock and plant, and beast and
man — are in motion; that is, they possess energy.
The immediate source of energy for this earth is
the sun, though the ultimate source of universal
energy is not known.

Energy may appear in varous forms, as light,
heat, electricity, magnetism, gravitation and mechan-
ical motion ; and each of these forms of energy may
be changed into any of the others. In every change,
however, there is no loss, but simply a change of con-
dition. That which men call energy, the vivifying
principle of matter, is indestructible. It has never
had a beginning, and ^hall never have an end.

To the mind of man, however, a motion inde-
pendent of something in motion, is inconceivable.
An ocean wave without water is nonsense. It is-
equally difficult to conceive of energy which is im-
material, passing from the sun to the earth, through
empty space. There must be something between the
earth and the sun, which carries the energy. Such
reflections have led the thinkers to the belief that all
space is filled with a subtle medium, now called
the ether, through which energy passes in the form of
waves. Today, few doctrines of science are so well
established as that of the universal ether. The ether
is a refined kind of matter which fills all space, and
permeates all things. It is in the table on which. I
write ; in and through the ink ; between the ultimate
particles of the glass of the ink bottle. This earth,

148 CONCLUSION.

and all heavenly bodies, are simply susi>ended- in the
all-and-ever-present ocean of ether. By the agency
of the ether, energy is carried from the sun to the
earth, and may be carried anywhere in space. Light,
heat, electricity, magnetism and gravitation are all
various manifestations of ether motion. Many
scientists believe that this world — ether is the origi-
nal matter from which the various elements have
been made.

On these three doctrines, the indestructibility of
matter, the indestructibility of energy, and the ex-
istence of the universal ether, rest primarily the ex-
planations of the phenomena of nature. Hand in
hand they stand, an almost perfect example of the
greatness of the human mind.

The religion founded by Joseph Smith rests

upon the same or similar laws. To the very begin-

"Mormonism" ner in "Mormon" theology, it is a fa-

the'^s^am "fur!S^* ^^^'^'" ^^^* *^^* Joseph Smith taught
mental laws. that matter is eternal, and has not
been nor can be created. Matter is coexistent with
God. God, himself, is material, in the sense that His
body is composed of a refined kind of matter. In
the fundamental laws that underlie all nature, there
is perfect harmony between science and "Mormon-
ism." Few religions can say as much. In most sys-
tems of theology, it is asumed that the ruling power,
God, can create matter. In "Mormon" theology he
can only organize it.

It is not quite so weU understood that the doc-
trine of the indestructibility of energy lies also at
the foundation of "Mormon" theology, and was
taught by Joseph Smith. It was clearly eompre-

A SUMMARY RESTATEMENT. 149

hended by the Prophet and his associates that intel-
ligence is the vivif jnng force of all creation-^animate
or inanimate — that rock and tree and beast and man,
have ascending degrees of intelligence. The intelli-
gence spoken of by the Prophet corresponds fully
with the energy of science.

That the Prophet did not use the word current
among scientific men at that time does not destroy
the validity of this claim. Different words have nO'
quarrel when they mean the same.

The Prophet also taught that this intelligence
fills all space, and that it may appear in various
forms, such as heat, light, and electricity, and that
it is eternal, and can neither be created nor de-
stroyed. These are the very qualities assigned to en-
ergy by scientific workers. This doctrine and its
coincidence with the doctrine of science appears mar-
velous, when it is recalled that the Prophet laid
down these teachings in 1831, more than ten years
before they were discovered by scientists, and a gen-
eration before they were generally accepted by the
scientific world.

The Prophet did not stop with the enunciation
of these two fundamental doctrines. He declared
that a refined medium, called the Holy Spirit, fills
all space, whereby intelligence is conveyed from
place to place. In the terms of Joseph Smith, the
forces of nature, such as heat, light and electricity,
are simply various manifestations of the intelligence
of the Holy Spirit; in the terms of science, of the
energy of the universal ether. The parallelism is
complete. The Holy Spirit, in "Mormon" theology,
corresponds with the ether of science. This doctrine,

150 CONCLUSION.

too, was enunciated many years before the corres-
ponding doctrines were established among men of
science.

The Prophet also taught the unchanging rela-
lation of cause and effect, which brings the whole
Cause universe under a reign of law, and

and effect. overthrows the mysticisms of old. This

doctrine was emphasized at a time when the world
was just beginning to insist upon it. He further
taught clearly the manner in which nature's laws
may be discovered by man.

The Prophet further taught that all the heavenly
bodies are in motion; that the solar system is but a
small part of a greater and grander
whole, controlled by the same laws, and
that some of these other worlds are inhabited. These
doctrines, which now form the foundation of the new
astronomy, was discovered and acepted by the world
of science after the days of Joseph Smith.

He also held clear and modern views regarding
time limits in geology, or the prehis-
toric ages of the world, at a time when
students were not agreed on the subject.

Moreover, the "Mormon" prophet declared that
the living beings found on earth were organized from
The in- the commonly occurring elements and

dividual. forces of nature in such a manner that

through them the force of intelligence might exert
itself in the greatest degree. Hence the individual
is only an organized intelligence. This, too, is in
perfect harmony with the results of the latest
scholarship.

A SUMMARY RESTATEMENT. 151

On the basis of the fundamental laws, above de-
fined, what does science require of its devotees?,

_. , . How does it affect the actions of the

The laws for

the in- individual? As m theology, the seien-

dividual. ^jgg worker must have faith in the prin-

ciples that have been discovered. It is not possible
in one lifetime for a man to repeat all the work of
preceding workers, to demonstrate the accuracy of
their results. Much must be taken on trust ; though
at any time, should it be necessary, the earlier work
may be repeated. Besides requiring faith in the prin-
ciples discovered and enunciated by others, science
demands that its every worker shall believe in things
that lie far beyond the reach of man's senses.

In theology, at least in the system established by
Joseph Smith, a similar faith is required of the in-
dividual. God and angels have been seen by very few
individuals. These realities must be accpeted by faith.
In the words of the Prophet Joseph, "Faith is the as-
surance which men have of the existence of things
which they have not seen, and the principle of action
in all intelligent beings." With respect to the first
principle of science and theology, "Mormonism" is
in entire accord with the best philosophy. The indi-
vidual, whether scientist or theologian, must base his
work on faith.

The scientist who has acquired faith in a law of
nature will no longer transgress that law. He will
obey it. If he establishes the faith that a wire con-
nected in a certain way with the electric dynamo
carries a current sufficiently strong to destroy life,
he will not wantonly seize that wire in his hands.
Before this faith came to him, he probably came near

152 CONCLUSION.

losing his life, by the careless handling of the
charged wire. To conform to the laws of nature is
scientific repentance. Faith in science or religion is
a high form of intelligence and is opposed to ignor-
ance. Repentance is the use of this intelligence for
the benefit of man.

In "Mormonism" the second principle of action
for the individual is repentance. If faith in God
has been attained and his laws have been made clear,
the believer will no longer violate those laws; he
will obey them. That is repentance. Not by a jot
or tittle does this kind of repentance differ from the
repentance taught by science. True, science does not
speak of repentance, but it thinks it. In the matter
of the great principle of repentance, governing the
the action of workers in science or theology, "Mer-
monism" is eminently sane and philosophical. Faith
does not compel men to repent ; but it is a necessary
precedent. The man who does not repent in science
or theology, after he has acquired faith, renders him-
self liable to injury and retards his own progress.

In the system of theology taught by Joseph
Smith, baptism is the third great principle to be
obeyed by the individual; that is, unless baptism
follows faith and repentance it is impossible to enter
the kingdom of God. In science there is a counter-
part of baptism which is the third principle of scien-
tific progress.

A man who has attained faith in electricity re-
solves to refrain from violating any of the laws of
electricity. If he desires to produce a current of
electricity, he winds a wire around a piece of iron,
and revolves the coil in the field of a magnet, and the

A SUMMARY RESTATEMENT. 153

curernt is produced. If the wire has not been wound
in a certain definite manner, and has not been placed
in the proper relation to the ma^et, no current can
be produced. The scientist may rail and object that
it is all nonsense to insist that the work be done
just so to produce the current. Nature is inexorable.
The man to enter the kingdom of the electric cur-
rent must yield obedience to the order of nature ; he
must receive a scientific baptism.

The baptism taught by the theology of Joseph
Smith is nothing more than obedience to law. Just
why it is necessary to be buried in the water to enter
the Church, perhaps no man fully knows. Nor does any
one know just why the wire must be wound, just so,
to produce the current of electricity. Of one thing
every thinker may be certain, that the essential
principle of baptism is as necessary in science as in
theology. In this matter also, then, Joseph the
Prophet is eminently philosophical.

The fourth principle in "Mormon" theology
teaches that after baptism, the gift of the Holy
Ghost is conferred which enlightens the mind, clears
the intelligence, and brings man nearer the presence
of God. So also in science, to the man who obeys the
law of nature, come greater power and intelligence,
to him who winds the wire right, the electric current
comes, with all its latent powers. Thus is the Holy
Ghost conferred in science ; and thus, also, in a more
subtle and greater degree is it conferred in the
Church. The dogma of Joseph Smith and the teach-
ings of science harmonize perfectly in the examina-
tion of the fourth fundamental principle of the phil-
osophy governing the individual.

154 CONCLUSION.

It is becoming fairly well demonstrated that the

ceaseless changes and transformations in nature

cause a greater and greater complexity in nature.

This, in other words, means that the
Evolution.

earth and all on it are developing

and progressing. According to Darwin and his
followers, man and animals advance. Only those
who progress, persist ; those who retrograde,
die. Creation as a whole grows and devel-
ops, and must of necessity do so. By this law, the
purpose of the earth and the universe is explained
to be endless growth. The law of evolution is the
great cementing law of science. Even so, in the phil-
osophy of Joseph Smith, the doctrine is taught that
all things advance; that man shall continue to ad-
vance, in intdiigence, and all pertaining to it, until
he shall become as God is now. Meanwhile, our God
will also increase in his fulness, and ever be a God
to us. Through this dictrine, all the principles of the
Gospel are made coherent. All the requirements of
man have in view his eternal growth. Man's pres-
ence here on earth is simply that he may better learn
to understand the nature of gross matter, and thus
to develop and progress more completely.

It is remarkable that Joseph Smith taught the
law of evolution as an eternal truth, twenty or more
years before Darwin published his views.

Above the law of laws is the force of forces — or the
central force of the universe. Science has little to say
God. of God. It is content to accept the laws

of nature as they are found. Yet, at times, in some
branches of science, a knowledge of the beginning
of things is desired. Usually science answers, " I

A SUMMARY RESTATEMENT. 155

do not know;" but it nevertheless affirms that there
must be a central force, unknown and unnamed, to
which the manifestations of all other forces may be
referred. Science, which is essentially orderly, is
chaotic when the question of the beginning of things
is raised. The ''Mormon" Prophet left no such weak-
ness in his philosophy. He, too, realized the necessity
of a controlling universal force. This he named God.
God is an organized, material being, filled with the
form of energy known as intelligence. "The glory
of God is intelligence." All other forces of nature
may be converted into intelligence; and from intel-
ligence all other forces may be obtained; God is the
center of these forces, and their directing power.
Because of this centralization, nature is orderly.
Natrual laws are not, as supposed by some philoso-
phers, accidental relations of phenomena, observed
and recorded by man. The force of intelligence con-
trols all phenomena; there is mind behind the oper-
ations of nature. God, himself a part of nature, is
not the creator of nature, but the organizer and di-
rector of it. What a beautifully reasonable climax
that is to the wonderful philosophy of Joseph the
Prophet !

The intelligence of God is organized ; therein lies
his individuality and life. Man is organized intelli-
gence; therein lies his life. Through obedience to
law, intelligence grows; by the violation of law,
which is sin, it decays. It is the degree of organized
intelligence that ultimately distinguishes one man
from other men ; men from beasts, beasts from plants,^
and plants from rocks. Since intelligence, as defined
by Joseph Smith, corresponds with the main form of
energy of the universe, the doctrine of God, and all

156 CONCLUSION.

other bein^, and of life, finds expresison in terms
of energy. That is exactly what science demands.

Is it any wonder that workers in science, who
have been taught the doctrine of an immaterial God
Theology and ^^^ is able to create something from
science agree. nothing, and to transcend all laws of
nature, depart from the faith of their childhood?
Truth is truth forever. Scientific truth cannot be
theological lie. To the sane mind, theologj-^ and
philosophy must harmonize. They have the common
ground of truth on which to meet.

Thus, on every hand, from the highest to the
lowest, from the force of forces and the law of laws
to the fundamental laws governing the operations of
the universe, and the actions of the individual, the
philosophy of the "Mormon" Prophet is consistently
referred back to matter, energy and law. In its
completeness, it transcends the philosophy of science.
Wherever the doctrines of "Mormonism" and
science meet, they agree. No discord has yet been
found between them. Science is daily confirming
the truth of the universe — embracing philosophy of
the unlearned founder of * ' Mormonism. ' '

Back of the revelations of the greatness of the
Prophet's knowledge that come to all who enter
upon such a discussion, stands the eminent fact that
"Mormon" philosophy is plain, simple, and easily
understood. There is no need and no room for mys-
teries in the teachings of Joseph the Prophet. Sim-
ilarly, the philosophy of men, based upon nature, is
essentially simple, and easily understood. Only un-
truth needs to hide itself in mysteries.

A SUMMARY RESTATEMENT. J 57

One hundred years have passed since Joseph,
honored and chosen of God, entered the school of
life. Face to face with God, Joseph learned the
Gospel, planned before the foundations of the world
were laid, and he taught it to a careless world. It
is not Joseph Smith's philosophy; but God's code of
fundamental laws, which the world is laboriously
deciphering in the beautifully written pages of na-
ture. Is it any wonder that the philosophy is per-
fect?

Of simple brilliancy must have been the mind
of the Prophet which was able to discover in the
forgotten corners of thought the priceless gems of
controlling, universal truth.

Chapter XX.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS.

It has been shown in the preceding chapters
that Joseph Smith recognized and stated the funda-
mental laws of all science, the fundamental principles
of physical and biological science and astronomy,
together with a great number of scientific facts, and
made these statements usually in advance of work-
ers in science.

It is a surprising fact that a young man of
twenty-eight, who had had no educational advan-
tages of schooling, or reading, or society, should
state clearly and correctly known laws of science;
but it is marvelous that he should state fundamental
laws that the workers in science did not discover
until many years later. Every honest man, be he
friend or enemy, must marvel, and ask, "Whence
did this man derive his knowledge?"

"Was he a man of lively imagination who gussed
shrewdly? If so, he was the shrewdest guesser
the world has known. All that he said has come
true ; his bitterest enemies have been unable to prove
incorrect statements of facts. Their attacks have
always been on the origin of the work, on its ethical
ideals (which are largely personal opinions), and on
the probability that Joseph Smith waig the real
founder of "Mormonism" — thus tacitly admitting
the greatness of the work. Had he been a guesser,
simply, he would have failed somewhere, and thus

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS. 159

revealed his weakness. But let any man show one
error in the inspired writings of Joseph Smith, oven
when he dealt with matters which lay far outside
of his daily mission. Though thousands of persons
have felt impelled to war against "Mormonism,"
no such error has been found. All human logic de-
nies that he was a guesser.

Did he receive his knowledge from well educated
persons, who kept themselves in the background?
No documentary evidence has been found to sub-
stantiate such a view. Primarily, it is unlikely that
men of intelligence and education would hide be-
hind an ignorant boy, from the time he was fourteen
until his death at thirty-nine years of age. There
was nothing to gain by it; the prophet never had
more wealth than just enough to live on; the pleas-
ure that his power over his followers gave him, was
more than offset by the ceaseless persecution which
followed him. Besides, nearly all the fairly well
educated men who joined the Church in the early
days were given prominent positions in the Church,
yet it is known that they were instructed or chas-
tised by the youthful prophet whenever occasion
required, as were those of no or little education.
Joseph Smith was always greater than any of his
followers. But above all, no educated man would
have been able to tell Joseph, by means of his edu-
cation, of things not yet known. The idea that
Joseph Smith was only a dummy for clever heads
is not tenable.

Since ordinary means were beyond his power,
how did he acquire his knowledge? How was he
able to look into the future, and reveal its secrets?

160 CONCLUSION.

"Ah," says a new philosopher, "I have it, he was
epileptic, and had trances, during which his visions
appeared;" and the philosopher proceeds to write
a book proving his theory to be correct.* What a
pitiful attempt to push the question into the region
of the unknown; and at the same time, what a
splendid acknowledgment of the fact that the life
and labors of Joseph Smith transcend ordinary
human explanations! Do epileptics, in their phan-
tasms, see orderly systems of truth, which are car-
ried into effect in their days of health and sanity?
Does the epiletptic see the truth that shall be revealed
in the coming ages, and teach it with a stately sober-
ness of language which admits of no uncertainty?
If so, then might the race well long for the time when
the great gift of healthful, reasoning imagination
shall be exchanged for the ghastly disease of epil-
epsy. Folly of follies ! The life, writings and works
of Joseph Smith are healthy, above all else ; no trace
of physical, or mental, or spiritual disease can be
found in them. His teachings are given as eternal
truths revealed by the God of nature; and they
rise loftily above the vague theorizings of the in-
vestigator, or the uncertain gibberish of the diseased
intellect. Clearness, reason, logic in method and
execution, characterize the teachings and works of
Joseph Smith. Have such qualities ever indicated
disease ?

To the person who can rise above his prejudices,
and confess to himself that he is not able to explain
in the manner of men how Joseph Smith came by
his knowledge of ideas, men and things, comes the

* The Founder of Mormonism. Riley.

CONCLUDING THOUGHTS. 161

strong conviction that the "Mormon" prophet was
inspired by a mightier power than men possess ; and
if that conviction is followed by a prayerful desire
to know what that power is, the testimony will be
given that from God, the Controller of the universe,
known by various men under divers names, did
Joseph Smith receive, directly, the truths which
fill the pages of his published writings, and direct
the lives of his followers.

God spoke to Joseph, and gave him the revela-
tions necessary for building his kingdom in the
last days. Little more than was necessary did the
Lord reveal, but occasionally, for the comfort of the
prophet and his associates, truths were given which
hinted of the glorious order of the universe. May
it not be, also, that the Lord showed Joseph many
truths, similar to those touched upon in these papers,
in order that later generations might have additional
testimonies of the divinity of the latter-day work?
Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, the boy
Joseph grew into a man, whose mind was filled with
the great vision of the contents and the destiny
of the universe, including the future lot of man-
kind. No man has had a nobler education than that
received by Joseph Smith.

When the historian of future days shall review
the history of the growth of science, and shall judge
men by the record that they have left behind them, he
will place Joseph Smith as the greatest philosopher
of science of the nineteenth century, and possibly
of the twentieth. Then will men reverently speak
of that mighty mind and clear vision, which, inspired
by the God of heaven, saw, as in an open book, the

162 CONCLUSION.

truths which men have later developed, through
ceaseless labor and countless vigils. Then shall the
thinkers of the future speak of him as Joseph, the
clearsighted.

Knowledge, concentrated into wisdom, is the end
of existence. To those who live according to God's
law, knowledge wiU come easily. It will continue
to come to his people, until it shaU be the most
intelligent among the nations. The Lord has said
it.

"How long can rolling waters remain impure?
"What power shall stay the heavens ? As well might
man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the Missouri
River in its decreed course, or turn it up stream,
as to hinder the Almighty from pouring down knowl-
edge from heaven upon the heads of the Latter-
day Saints."*

♦Doctrine and Covenants, 121: 33.

APPENDIX.

Chapter XXI.

A VOICE FROM THE SOIL.

I.

" the defenced city shall be desolate, and

the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness. ' '
— Isaiah, xxvii: 10.

It is a fact, which has impressed itself upon all
readers of history, that countries which have been the
homes of the most powerful and cultured nations,
are now great stretches of the veriest desert. No
country teaches this truth better than the extensive
valley of the Mesopotamia which looms giant-like
in the dawn of history. Upon its plains and high-
lands, the great nations of antiquity acted the trag-
edies of their existence; like the schoolboys' snow-
man, they rose, with vast proportions, in a day, and
fell ere the setting of the next sun. In this district,
advanced and retreated with wonderful precision,
as it appears to us so many ages removed from the
time of action, the Chaldeans, the Babylonians and
the Assyrians ; here the Medes and Persians achieved
the victories that made them famous, and here came
all the great generals of old to crown their successes.
A hundred populous cities clustered, in the lower part
of the valley, around Babylon the great, the most
marvelous city of any past age ; a hundred cities
were in the upper half, with Nineveh, also magnifi-
cent and great, as their center. From Mesopotamia

164 APPENDIX.

come evidences of art — painting, sculpture, music,
literature and architecture — the indication of a high-
er civilization. Still, today, even the sites of many
of the great cities are lost, and Mesopotamia is
a stretch of barren land.

To the west of Mesopotamia is the valley con-
taining the promised land of Palestine — it, also, has
fallen from its former splendor, and is a desert com-
pared with the days of its greatest prosperity. Still
further west and south lies the land of Egypt, in
the valley of the Nile. It was the fostermother
of science, and the shaker of empires. It has fallen
likewise ; and a blight has come upon the soil, until
it bears the appearance of a sandy waste. Over the
sites of other famous nations of antiquity, in Europe
and Asia, hovers, today, the spirit of desolation.

The same story is told on the American con-
tinent. Peru, the land of the Incas, once populous,
powerful, wealthy, is today largely a wilderness.
Mexico, the Aztec home, is now a vast desert, in
spite of the evidence, through the discovered ruins
of mighty cities and gigantic temples, that it was
once the home of a strong people. Central America
tells a similar story. It seems to be a general fact
that wherever a large people lived formerly, there,
today, a desert often occurs.

However, these countries are deserts only be-
cause human effort is no longer applied to them;
by proper treatment the lands would again be
raised to the flourishing condition that prevailed
in their prosperous days. Intrinsically the soils are
extremely fertile, but are dry and require the appli-
cation of water to make the fertility suitable for

THE TESTIMONY OF THE SOIL. 155

the use of crops. The soils of Babylon, Assyria,
Egypt, Peru and Mexico, raise crops of wonderful
yields when properly irrigated; and there is abun-
dant proof that in former days irrigation was prac-
ticed in these countries on a scale far larger than
in Utah or in any other country of the present day.

Many of the old irrigation canals of Babylon
still exist, and prove the magnitude of the practice,
there, of the art of irrigation. The old historians,
also, agree in explaining the ingenious devices by
which whole rivers were tunjed from their courses
to flow over the soil. In Egypt, likewise, irrigation
was more commonly practiced in the past than it is
today; though even now a large portion of the soil
of that country is made to yield crops by the arti-
ficial application of water. In Peru, Central Amer-
ica, and Mexico, the irrigation canals that remain
from prehistoric days are even more wonderful as
feats of engineering and as evidences of a populous
and enlightened condition of the country than the
massive temples and extensive cities that are also
found. In the construction of these canals every
precaution, apparently, was taken to have the water
applied to the lands in the right manner, and to
reduce the loss to a minimum. In some places im-
mense canals remain, that are tiled for miles, on
sides and bottom, in order to render them water-
tight, and thus prevent any loss by seepage.

Instead of saying, then, that the countries where
most great nations have lived are now deserts, we
may as well say that most great nations have lived
in countries where irrigation was necessary ; in fact,
that history indicates that a dense population, and

166 APPENDIX.

high culture, usually go hand in hand with a soil
that thirsts for water. What can science, the great
explainer, say on this subject?

II.

"Science moves, but slowly, slowly, moving on
from point to point." — Locksley Hall.

A plant feeds in two ways — by its leaves, and
by its roots. The leaves feed from the air; the
roots from the soil. In the air is found a colorless,
heavy gas, known as carbon dioxide, which is made
up partly of the element of carbon, or charcoal.
When an animal or a plant is burned at a low heat,
it first chars, showing the presence of charcoal ;
then if the burning be continued, it disappears, with
the exception of the ash, as the gas, carbon dioxide.
Since animal and vegetable matters are constantly
being burned upon the earth's surface, naturally the
air contains a perceptible quantity of carbon
dioxide. The leaves of a living plant, waving back
and forth, draw into themselves the carbon dioxide
with which they come into contact, and there break
it up and take the carbon away from it. The carbon
thus obtained by the leaves is built into the many
ingredients of a plant, and carried to the parts that
are in greatest need. The plant is able to do
this by virtue of the peculiar properties of the green
coloring matter in all its leaves, leaf green; which
acts, however, only in the presence of bright sun-
light. Since one-half or more of the dry matter of
a plant is cai^bon, the importance of the leaf-air-
feeding of a plant may be understood.

The water which a plant contains and the incom-
bustible portions, the mineral matters or ash, are

THE TESTIMONY OF THE SOIL. Jg?

taken directly from the soil by means of the roots.
The old idea that vegetable mould and other cor-
bonaeeous matters are also taken from the soil by
the roots has been shown to be erroneous. The
mineral portions of a plant are of the highest value
to the life of the plant — without them, in fact, it
languishes and dies. If a soil on which a plant is
growing contains, for instance, no iron, the leaves
become pale, soon white, and finally they lose the
power of appropriating carbon from the air. If
potash is absent from the soil, the plants growing
upon it will develop in an imperfect manner and
finally die. It has been found by careful experi-
ment that seven mineral substances must be found
in every soil, if it shall support the life of plants,
namely: (1) Potash; (2) lime; (3) magnesia; (4)
oxide of iron or iron rust; (5) sulphuric acid or oil
of vitriol; (6, phosophoric acid, and (7) nitric acid
or aqua fortis. The fertility of any soil or soil dis-
trict is determined by the quantity of these indis-
pensable ash ingredients contained by it.

All soils are produced by the breaking down of
the mountains under the influence of weathering.
The broken down rock is washed into the hollows
and lowlands by the rains and floods of melted snow,
and there forms soil. Soil may, therefore, be de-
fined, in a general way, as pulverized rock. Nearly
all rocks contain the elements above enumerated as
being essential to a plant's life; and nearly every
soil will, consequently, be in possession of them.
Rocks, however, in being subjected to the action of
weathering, undergo other changes than mere pul-
verization. The potash, lime and other plant foods

168 APPENDIX.

held by a rock are in an insoluble condition, and
can not be taken up with any ease by the plant
roots. As the rock is pulverized in the process of
weathering, it is also made more soluble, and the
juices of the plant roots can then absorb the needed
foods with greater facility. This process of mak-
ing the soil more soluble, continues while time lasts,
and every year will find the soil more soluble than
the year before, if there are no opposing actions;
Therefore, the fertility of a soil is determined not
only by the quantity of plant food it contains,
but also by the condition of solubility the soil con-
stituents are in.

According to the facts above given, it would be
fair to infer that a soil becomes more fertile with
every year that passes. This would be the case were
it not for opposing tendencies. First, the crops
grown upon a soil remove considerable quantities
of mineral plant food. This alone would not serious-
ly affect the fertility of a soil did not other forced
act in conjunction with it. The most important cause
of lowering the fertility of soils is the loss of plant
food due to drainage. In districts of abundant rain-:
fall, as, for instance, the Eastern United States,
sufficient rain falls to soak the soil thoroughly and
to drain through and go off as drainage water.,
The water, in passing through the soil, will dissolve,-
as far as it can, the soluble ingredients, including
the plant foods, and carry them away into the rivers'
and finally into the ocean. This action, continued
for many years, will rob the soil to feed the ocean;
in fact, the saltness of the ocean is due, largely,
to the substances washed out of the soils. Most

THE TESTIMONY OF THE SOIL. IQQ

of the poor soils of the world have been rendered
infertile in this way. If, on the other hand, only
a small quantity of rain falls upon the soil — an
amount sufficient to soak the soil without draining
through — the water will gradually be evaporated
back into the air, and there will be no loss of plant
food. In such a district the soils, if they are treated
right, become richer year by year, even though
subjected to tillage, if the tillage be according to
our best knowledge.

In every rainless district, or in every district
where the rainfall is so slight as to render irriga-
tion necessary, the soils would be expected to be
richer than in a place of abundant rainfall. Leav-
ing out of consideration differences due to local
conditions, this has been verified by the study of
soils from many parts of the world. The soils of
an arid district contain more soluble plant food than
those of a humid district, and, with proper treat-
ment, will not only raise larger crops, but remain
fertile much longer. They will also bear harsher
treatment, closer cultivation, and are in every re-
spect superior to the water-washed soils of a humid
country. A recent study of the soils of Utah has
shown that the fertility of our soils is exceedingly
high, and that they will endure long and close cul-
tivation ; that is, that because of the peculiar clim-
atic conditions of the State, they can support boun-
tifully a large population.

Several years ago Dr. E. W. Hilgard, an emin-
ent student of climate and soils, threw out the sug-
gestion that upon the facts just discussed rests the
explanation of the historical datum that the great

170 APPENDIX.

nations of antiquity on this and on other continents
sought for the abodes the rainless, arid stretches of
the world. A larg-e, active population, which does
not depend on other peoples for its support, must
of necessity possess the most fertile lands, which
are found only in districts of limited rainfall. In
the whole history of the world, the great granaries
of the world have been located on the arid stretches ;
and on our continent, the great West, largely arid,
is becoming the source of the food staples of the
nation. Utah is the heart of the arid region of
North America; her soils are heavy with wealth of
plant food. If the time comes that her valleys be
filled with people, crowding in from the nations of
the earth, her soils, responding to the better treat-
ment which science is developing day by day, will
display their strength, and feed the world, should
the demand be made.

III.

"Therefore will I make solitary places to bud
and blossom, and to bring forth in abundance, saith
the Lord." — Doctrine and Covenants.

Sixty years ago the facts of plant feeding, as
just outlined, were practically unknown. The er-
roneous ideas of the preceding century still held
full sway. In 1840 Liebig published his treatise on
agricultural chemistry which threw a faint light on
the relation of the plant and the soil. During the
twenty years following, the indispensable nature of
some of the plant foods was ascertained; and it
is only within the last ten or fifteen years that the
superiority of arid districts over humid ones, for
the purpose of supporting man, has been demon-

THE TESTIMONY OP THE SOIL. m

strated. Even today it is a new light which has
not been fully received.

In 1842 Joseph the Prophet wrote: "I prophe-
sied that the; saints would continue to suffer much
affliction and would be driven to the Rocky Moun-
tains * * * and some of you will live to go and
assist in making settlements and build cities and see
the saints become a mighty people in the midst of
the Rocky Mountains." Why did Joseph Smith
speak of the Rocky Mountains as a gathering place
for his people? Was it simply because the place
was far off and offered, apparently, good security?
If so, he builded better than he knew. But what
prompted Brigham Young to plant his cane by the
shore of an alkali lake and say, Here we shall re-
main? That certainly was not for security only.
Perhaps he was tired of wandering? Though he
may have been so, yet he was not the man to give
up when near something better. Perhaps he
thought the valley fair, and the blue mountains may
have rested his eyes? If that was the motive of
settlement, he, too, builded better than he knew.
Certainly it is that these two men who historically
hold the responsibility for bringing the Latter-day
Saints here, did not know, by the world's learn-
ing, that the valleys of Utah are filled with the
richest soil, waiting only to yield manifold to the
husbandman; for the world did not yet know, and
had no means for predicting it. These men were
not scientists. They had no laboratories in which,
by long hours, over long drawn fires, and among
a hundred fumes, to draw out for themselves the law
of the fertility of arid soils, which has but recently

172 APPENDIX.

become the property of modern science. It is not
likely that the records of a lost learning, unknown
today, taught them this fact. Though they had had
such records, they were unlettered men, and the an-
cient tongues would have been dead indeed to them,
had they attempted an interpretation by their own ef-
forts. Why then, did they bring the people here?
Was it a chance move? A blind effort, acting out
the desperation that comes from long persecution?
If an element of chance entered into the location
in the valleys of Utah, it was akin to wisdom.

And it was wisdom of the highest kind ; at which
the world ever stands in reverent wonder; inspira-
tion from the living God. The logic that science,
itself, applies to facts in the deduction of its laws,
makes it impossible to believe that the settlement of
the pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley was a chance
move. Nothing, from the point of view of human
wisdom, encouraged the pioneers to remain in Utah —
they were in the center of a desert ; the leaders were
urged by many of the company to go on, for there
were fairer climes to the west or the south, or on
the islands of the sea. But the leaders were pos-
sessed of a wisdom higher than that of men, and
founded an empire on the wastes of the Great
American Desert.

Now, let every reader of this paper consider
these wonderful facts: Of the vast possibilities
of agriculture in Utah being the same with those
of the countries where the great nations of the
world have lived; of a people, claiming that the
nations shall in the future flee to it for safety, mak-
ing its home in a place which possesses the capabili-

THE TESTIMONY OF THE SOIL. 173

ties of supporting the nations; and of the choice of
that country when it was named a desert; when
science, the world's knowledge, did not dream of the
fertility of that desert any more than it was able
to give a correct explanation of the fertility of the
valley of Mesopotamia : and every honest heart will
recognize the unseen hand of the God of Israel, guid-
ing the people of God to the destined land.

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