{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_34362/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_34362","id":"gutenberg_34362","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34362","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Category: Science - Physics","Christianity","Latter Day Saints","Smith, Joseph, Jr., 1805-1844"],"text":"Produced by the Mormon Texts Project,\nhttp://bencrowder.net/books/mtp. Volunteers: Hilton\nCampbell, Ben Crowder, Meridith Crowder, Eric Heaps, Tod\nRobbins, Dave Van Leeuwen.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJOSEPH SMITH\nAS\nSCIENTIST\n\nA CONTRIBUTION TO\nMORMON PHILOSOPHY\n\nBY\n\nJohn A. Widtsoe, A. M., Ph. D.\n\n\nTHE GENERAL BOARD\nYOUNG MEN'S MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT\nASSOCIATIONS\nSALT LAKE CITY, UTAH\n1908\n\n\n\n\nCopyright\n1908\nby John A. Widtsoe.\n\n\n\n\nPreface\n\n\nIn the life of every person, who receives a higher education, in or\nout of schools, there is a time when there seems to be opposition\nbetween science and religion; between man-made and God-made knowledge.\nThe struggle for reconciliation between the contending forces is not\nan easy one. It cuts deep into the soul and usually leaves scars that\nache while life endures. There are thousands of young people in the\nChurch to-day, and hundreds of thousands throughout the world, who are\nstruggling to set themselves right with the God above and the world\nabout them. It is for these young people, primarily, that the\nfollowing chapters have been written.\n\nThis volume is based on the conviction that there is no real\ndifference between science and religion. The great, fundamental laws\nof the Universe are foundation stones in religion as well as in\nscience. The principle that matter is indestructible belongs as much\nto theology as to geology. The theology which rests upon the few basic\nlaws of nature is unshakable; and the great theology of the future\nwill be such a one.\n\n\"Mormonism\" teaches and has taught from the beginning that all\nknowledge must be included in the true theology. Because of its\ncomprehensive philosophy, \"Mormonism\" will survive all religious\ndisturbances and become the system of religious faith which all men\nmay accept without yielding the least part of the knowledge of nature\nas discovered in the laboratories or in the fields. The splendid\nconceptions of \"Mormonism\" concerning man and nature, and man's place\nin nature are among the strongest testimonies of the divine nature of\nthe work founded by Joseph Smith, the Prophet.\n\nThis little volume does not pretend to be a complete treatment of\n\"Mormon\" philosophy; it is only a small contribution to the subject.\nThere is room for elaboration and extension in this field for many\ngenerations to come. The attempt has been made to sketch, briefly, the\nrelation of \"Mormonism\" to some features of modern scientific\nphilosophy, and to show that not only do \"Mormonism\" and science\nharmonize; but that \"Mormonism\" is abreast of the most modern of the\nestablished views of science, and that it has held them many years--in\nsome cases before science adopted them. The only excuse for the scant\ntreatment of such an important subject is that it is as extensive as\nthe duties of a busy life would allow. In the future, the subject may\nbe given a fuller treatment.\n\nSome readers may urge that \"the testimony of the Spirit,\" which has\nbeen the final refuge of so many Christians, has received little\nconsideration in the following chapters. This is due to the avowed\npurpose of the work to harmonize science and religion, on the basis of\naccepted science. \"Mormonism\" is deeply and rationally spiritual; the\ndiscussion in this volume is confined to one phase of Gospel\nphilosophy.\n\nThe majority of the following chapters were originally published in\nthe _Improvement Era_ for 1903-1904 as a series of articles bearing\nthe main title of this book. These articles are here republished with\noccasonal changes and additions. The new chapters have been cast into\nthe same form as the original articles. The publication as independent\narticles will explain the apparent lack of connection between the\nchapters in this book. The statements of scientific facts have been\ncompared very carefully with standard authorities. However, in\npopularizing science there is always the danger that the\nsimplification may suggest ideas that are not wholly accurate. Those\nwho have tried this kind of work will understand and pardon such\nerrors as may appear. However, corrections are invited.\n\nMy thanks are due and cheerfully given the management of the\n_Improvement Era_ for the help and encouragement given. I am under\nespecial obligations to Elder Edward H. Anderson, the associate editor\nof the _Era_, to whose efforts it is largely due that this volume has\nseen the light of day. I desire to render my thanks also to the\ncommittee appointed by the First Presidency to read the manuscript,\nElders George Albert Smith, Edward H. Anderson and Joseph F. Smith,\nJr.\n\nThis volume has been written in behalf of \"Mormonism.\" May God speed\nthe truth!\n\n\n\n\nContents.\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY.\n\n  Chapter I. Joseph's Mission and Language\n\nTHE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF THE UNIVERSE.\n\n  Chapter II. The Indestructibility of Matter\n  Chapter III. The Indestructibility of Energy\n  Chapter IV. The Universal Ether\n  Chapter V. The Reign of Law\n\nTHE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE.\n\n  Chapter VI. The New Astronomy\n  Chapter VII. Geological Time\n  Chapter VIII. Organized Intelligence\n\nTHE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL.\n\n  Chapter IX. Faith\n  Chapter X. Repentance\n  Chapter XI. Baptism\n  Chapter XII. The Gift of the Holy Ghost\n  Chapter XIII. The Word of Wisdom\n\nTHE DESTINY OF EARTH AND MAN.\n\n  Chapter XIV. The Law of Evolution\n  Chapter XV. The Plan of Salvation\n\nTHE REGION OF THE UNKNOWN.\n\n  Chapter XVI. The Sixth Sense\n\nTHE FORCE OF FORCES.\n\n  Chapter XVII. The Nature of God\n\nCONCLUSION.\n\n  Chapter XVIII. Joseph Smith's Education\n  Chapter XVIV. A Summary Restatement\n  Chapter XX. Concluding Thoughts\n\nAPPENDIX.\n\n  Chapter XXI. The Testimony of the Soil\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY.\n\nChapter I.\n\nJOSEPH'S MISSION AND LANGUAGE.\n\n\n[Sidenote: Scientific discussions not to be expected in the Prophet's\nwork.]\n\nThe mission of Joseph Smith was of a spiritual nature; and therefore,\nit is not to be expected that the discussion of scientific matters\nwill be found in the Prophet's writings. The revelations given to the\nProphet deal almost exclusively with the elucidation of so-called\nreligious doctrines, and with such difficulties as arose from time to\ntime in the organization of the Church. It is only, as it appears to\nus, in an incidental way that other matters, not strictly of a\nreligious nature, are mentioned in the revelations. However, the\nChurch teaches that all human knowledge and all the laws of nature are\npart of its religious system; but that some principles are of more\nimportance than others in man's progress to eternal salvation.[A]\nWhile on the one hand, therefore, it cannot reasonably be expected\nthat Joseph Smith should deal in his writings with any subject\npeculiar to natural science, yet, on the other hand, it should not\nsurprise any student to find that the Prophet at times considered\nmatters that do not come under the ordinary definition of religion,\nespecially if they in any way may be connected with the laws of\nreligion. Statements of scientific detail should not be looked for in\nJoseph Smith's writings, though these are not wholly wanting; but\nrather, we should expect to find general views of the relations of the\nforces of the universe.\n\n[Footnote A: \"And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as\nthey were and as they are to come.\"--Doctrine and Covenants, 93:24.\n\n\"Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be\ninstructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the\nlaw of the Gospel, in all things that pertain unto the Kingdom of God,\nthat are expedient for you to understand;\n\n\"Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth;\nthings which have been, things which are, things which must shortly\ncome to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the\nwars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are\non the land, and a knowledge also of countries and kingdoms,\n\n\"That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to\nmagnify the calling, whereunto I have called you, and the mission with\nwhich I have commissioned you.\"--Doctrine and Covenants, 88:78-80.\n\n\"And verily, I say unto you, that it is my will that you should hasten\nto translate my Scriptures, and to obtain a knowledge of history, and\nof countries, and of kingdoms, of laws of God and man, and all this\nfor the salvation of Zion.\"--Doctrine and Covenants, 93:53.\n\n\"It (theology) is the science of all other sciences and useful arts,\nbeing in fact the very foundation from which they emanate. It includes\nphilosophy, astronomy, history, mathematics, geography, languages, the\nscience of letters, and blends the knowledge of all matters of fact,\nin every branch of art and research.......All that is useful, great\nand good, all that is calculated to sustain, comfort, instruct, edify,\npurify, refine or exalt intelligences, originated by this science, and\nthis science alone, all other sciences being but branches growing out\nof this, the root.\"--Pratt, Key to Theology, chap. 1.]\n\n[Sidenote: Man must not expect direct revelation in matters that he\ncan solve for himself.]\n\nIt is not in harmony with the Gospel spirit that God, except in\nspecial cases, should reveal things that man by the aid of his natural\npowers may gain for himself. The Lord spoke to the Prophet as\nfollows:--\"Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I\nwould give it unto you, when you took no thought, save it was to ask\nme; but, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your\nmind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will\ncause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel\nthat it is right.\"[A] Such a doctrine makes it unreasonable to look to\nthe Prophet's work for a gratuitous mass of scientific or other\ndetails, which will relieve man of the labor of searching out for\nhimself nature's laws. So well established is this principle that in\nall probability many of the deepest truths contained in the writings\nof Joseph Smith will not be clearly understood, even by his followers,\nuntil, by the laborious methods of mortality, the same truths are\nestablished. It is even so with the principles to be discussed in the\nfollowing papers. They were stated seventy years ago, yet it is only\nrecently that the Latter-day Saints have begun to realize that they\nare identical with recently developed scientific truths; and the world\nof science is not yet aware of it. However, whenever such harmony is\nobserved, it testifies of the divine inspiration of the humble,\nunlearned boy prophet of the nineteenth century.\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants 9:7, 8.]\n\n[Sidenote: The absence of the language, details and methods of science\nin the Prophet's writings proves him unfamiliar with the written\nscience of his day.]\n\nThe Prophet Joseph does not use the language of science; which is\nadditional proof that he did not know the science of his day. This may\nbe urged as an objection to the assertion that he understood\nfundamental scientific truths, but the error of this view is easily\ncomprehended when it is recalled that the language of science is made\nby men, and varies very often from age to age, and from country to\ncountry. Besides, the God who spoke to Joseph Smith, says, \"These\ncommandments were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the\nmanner of their language, that they might come to understanding.\"[A]\nIf God had spoken the special language of science, the unlearned\nJoseph Smith would not, perhaps, have understood. Every wise man\nexplains that which he knows in the language of those to whom he is\nspeaking, and the facts and theories of science can be quite easily\nexpressed in the language of the common man. It is needless to expect\nscientific phraselogy in the writings of Joseph Smith.\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants 1:24.]\n\nScientific details are almost wholly wanting in the writings of Joseph\nSmith. Had the Prophet known the science of his day, his detailed\nknowledge would have been incorporated somehow in his writings. The\nalmost complete absence of such scientific detail as would in all\nprobability have been used, had the Prophet known of it, is additional\ntestimony that he did not get his information from books.\n\nFinally, another important fact must be mentioned. Men in all ages\nhave speculated about the things of the universe, and have invented\nall kinds of theories to explain natural phenomena. In all cases,\nhowever, these theories have been supported by experimental evidence,\nor else they have been proposed simply as personal opinions. Joseph\nSmith, on the contrary, laid no claim to experimental data to support\nthe theories which he proposed, nor did he say that they were simply\npersonal opinions, but he repeatedly asserted that God had revealed\nthe truths to him, and that they could not, therefore, be false. If\ndoctrines resting upon such a claim can be shown to be true, it is\nadditional testimony of the truth of the Prophet's work.\n\n[Sidenote: Purpose of the following chapters.]\n\nIn the following chapters it will be shown, by a series of\ncomparisons, that, in 1833, or soon thereafter, the teachings of\nJoseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet, were in full harmony with the most\nadvanced scientific thought of today, and that he anticipated the\nworld of science in the statement of fundamental facts and theories of\nphysics, chemistry, astronomy and biology.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF THE UNIVERSE.\n\nChapter II.\n\nTHE INDESTRUCTIBILITY OF MATTER.\n\n\n[Sidenote: Until recent days many believed that matter could be\ncreated or destroyed.]\n\nIt was believed by the philosophers of ancient and mediaeval times,\nespecially by those devoted to the study of alchemy, that it was\npossible through mystical powers, often of a supernatural order, to\nannihilate matter or to create it from nothing. Men with such powers\ntranscended all known laws of nature, and became objects of fear,\noften of worship to the masses of mankind. Naturally enough, the\nsystems of religion became colored with the philosophical doctrines of\nthe times; and it was held to be a fundamental religious truth that\nGod created the world from nothing. Certainly, God could do what his\ncreatures, the magicians, were able to do--that part of the reasoning\nwas sound.\n\nIn support of this doctrine, attention was called to some of the\nexperiences of daily life. A piece of coal placed in a stove, in a\nshort time disappear--it is annihilated. From the clear air of a\nsummer's day raindrops start--created out of nothing. A fragment of\ngold placed in contact with sufficiently strong acids, disappears--it\nis destroyed.\n\n[Sidenote: Matter is eternal, its form only can be changed.]\n\nTowards the end of the eighteenth century, facts and laws of chemistry\nwere discovered, which enabled scientists to follow in great detail\nthe changes, visible or invisible, to which matter in its various\nforms is subject. Then it was shown that the coal placed in a stove\nunites with a portion of the air entering through the drafts, and\nbecomes an invisible gas, but that, were this gas collected as it\nissues from the chimney, it would be found to contain a weight of the\nelements of the coal just equal to the weight of the coal used. In a\nsimilar manner it was shown that the raindrops are formed from the\nwater found in the air, as an invisible vapor. The gold dissolved in\nthe acid, may be wholly recovered so that every particle is accounted\nfor. Numerous investigations on this subject were made by the most\nskillful experimenters of the age, all of which showed that it is\nabsolutely impossible to create or destroy the smallest particle of\nmatter; that the most man can do is to change the form in which matter\nexists.\n\nAfter this truth had been demonstrated, it was a necessary conclusion\nthat matter is eternal, and that the quantity of matter in the\nuniverse cannot be diminished nor increased. This great\ngeneralization, known as the law of the Persistence of Matter or Mass,\nis the foundation stone of modern science. It began to find general\nacceptance among men about the time of Joseph Smith's birth, though\nmany religious sects still hold that God, as the Supreme Ruler, is\nable at will to create matter from nothing. The establishment of this\nlaw marked also the final downfall of alchemy and other kindred occult\nabsurdities.\n\n[Sidenote: Mormonism teaches that all things are material.]\n\nNo doctrine taught by Joseph Smith is better understood by his\nfollowers than that matter in its elementary condition is eternal, and\nthat it can neither be increased nor diminished. As early as May,\n1833, the Prophet declared that \"the elements are eternal,\"[A] and in\na sermon delivered in April, 1844, he said \"Element had an existence\nfrom the time God had. The pure principles of element are principles\nwhich can never be destroyed; they may be organized and reorganized,\nbut not destroyed. They had no beginning, and can have no end.\"[B]\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 93:33.]\n\n[Footnote B: The Contributor, Vol. 4, p. 257.]\n\nIt is thus evident that from the beginning of his work, Joseph Smith\nwas in perfect harmony with the fundamental doctrine of science; and\nfar in advance of the religious sects of the world, which are, even at\nthis time, slowly accepting the doctrine of the persistence of matter\nin a spiritual as well as in a material sense.\n\nMormonism has frequently been charged with accepting the doctrine of\nmaterialism. In one sense, the followers of Joseph Smith plead yes to\nthis charge. In Mormon theology there is no place for immateralism;\ni.e. for a God, spirits and angels that are not material. Spirit is\nonly a refined form of matter. It is beyond the mind of man to\nconceive of an immaterial thing. On the other hand, Joseph Smith did\nnot teach that the kind of tangible matter, which impresses our mortal\nsenses, is the kind of matter which is associated with heavenly\nbeings. The distinction between the matter known to man and the spirit\nmatter is very great; but no greater than is the difference between\nthe matter of the known elements and that of the universal ether which\nforms one of the accepted dogmas of science.\n\nScience knows phenomena only as they are associated with matter;\nMormonism does the same.\n\n\n\n\nChapter III.\n\nTHE INDESTRUCTIBILITY OF ENERGY.\n\n\n[Sidenote: All forms of energy may be converted into each other.\nEnergy can not be destroyed.]\n\nIt is only when matter is in motion, or in the possession of energy,\nthat it is able to impress our senses. The law of the\nindestructibility and convertibility of energy, is of equal\nfundamental value with that of the indestructibility of matter. A\ngreat variety of forces exist in nature, as, for instance,\ngravitation, electricity, chemical affinity, heat and light. These\nforces may all be made to do work. Energy, in fact, may be defined as\nthe power of doing work. In early days these forces were supposed to\nbe distinct and not convertible, one into the other, just as gold and\nsilver, with our present knowledge, are distinct and not convertible\ninto other elements.\n\nIn the early part of the nineteenth century students of light and heat\nbegan to demonstrate that these two natural forces were different\nmanifestations of one universal medium. This in turn led to the\nthought that possibly these forces, instead of being absolutely\ndistinct, could be converted one into the other. This idea was\nconfirmed in various experimental ways. Sir Humphrey Davy, about the\nend of the eighteenth century, rubbed together two pieces of ice until\nthey were nearly melted. Precautions had been taken that no heat could\nbe abstracted from the outside by the ice. The only tenable conclusion\nwas that the energy expended in rubbing, had been converted into heat,\nwhich had melted the ice. About the same time, Count Rumford, a\ndistinguished American, was superintending the boring of a cannon at\nthe arsenal at Munich, and was forcibly struck with the heating of the\niron due to this process. He, like Davy, believed that the energy of\nthe boring instruments had been converted into the heat.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: The Conservation of Heat--Stewart, pp. 38, 39.]\n\nFrom 1843 to 1849, Dr. Joule of Manchester, England, published the\nresults of experiments on the relation between mechanical energy and\nheat. Dr. Joule attached a fixed weight to a string which was passed\nover a pulley, while the other end was connected with paddles moving\nin water. As the weight descended, the paddles were caused to revolve;\nand it was observed that, as the weight fell and the paddles revolved,\nthe water became warmer and warmer. Dr. Joule found further that for\neach foot of fall, the same amount of heat energy was given to the\nwater. In fact, he determined that when a pound weight falls seven\nhundred and seventy two feet it gives out energy enough to raise the\ntemperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit.[A] This\nexperiment, frequently repeated, gave the same result and established\nlargely the law of the convertibility of energy.\n\n[Footnote A: The Conservation of Energy--Stewart, pp. 44, 45. Recent\nAdvances in Physical Science--Tait, pp. 63, 65.]\n\nAbout the same time, it was shown that light can be converted into\nheat; and later it was proved that electricity may be changed into\nheat or light. In all these cases it was found that the amount of\nenergy changed was exactly equal to the amount of energy produced.\n\nThus, by countless experiments, it was finally determined that energy\nis indestructible; that, when any form of energy disappears, it\nreappears immediately in another form. This is the law of the\npersistence of force or energy. In more recent days, it has been\nsuggested that all known forces are variations of a great universal\nforce, which may or may not be known. The very nature of force or\nenergy is not understood. In the language of Spencer, \"By the\npersistence of force, we really mean the persistence of some cause\nwhich transcends our knowledge and conception.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: First Principles, Spencer, 4th ed., p. 200.]\n\nIt need hardly be explained that energy cannot exist independently of\nmatter; and that the law of the persistence of matter is necessary for\nthe existence of the law of persistence of force.\n\n[Sidenote: Universal intelligence, comparable to universal energy is\nindestructible, according to Joseph Smith.]\n\nJoseph Smith was not a scientist; and he made no pretense of solving\nthe scientific questions of this day. The discussion relative to the\nconvertibility of various forms of energy was in all probability not\nknown to him. Still, in his writings is found a doctrine which in all\nrespects resembles that of the conservation of energy.\n\nJoseph Smith taught, and the Church now teaches, that all space is\nfilled with a subtle, though material substance of wonderful\nproperties, by which all natural phenomena are controlled. This\nsubstance is known as the Holy Spirit. Its most important\ncharacteristic is intelligence. \"Its inherent properties embrace all\nthe attributes of intelligence.\"[A] The property of intelligence is to\nthe Holy Spirit what energy is to the gross material of our senses.\n\n[Footnote A: Key to Theology, P. P. Pratt, 5th ed., p. 40.]\n\nIn one of the generally accepted works of the Church, the energy of\nnature is actually said to be the workings of the Holy Spirit. The\npassage reads as follows: \"Man observes a universal energy in\nnature--organization and disorganization succeed each other--the\nthunders roll through the heavens; the earth trembles and becomes\nbroken by earthquakes; fires consume cities and forests; the waters\naccumulate, flow over their usual bounds, and cause destruction of\nlife and property; the worlds perform their revolutions in space with\na velocity and power incomprehensible to man, and he, covered with a\nveil of darkness, calls this universal energy, God, when it is the\nworkings of his Spirit, the obedient agent of his power, the\nwonder-working and life-giving principle in all nature.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Compendium, Richards and Little, 3rd ed., p. 150.]\n\nIn short, the writings of the Church clearly indicate that the various\nforces of nature, the energy of nature, are only manifestations of the\ngreat, pervading force of intelligence. We do not understand the real\nnature of intelligence any better than we understand the true nature\nof energy. We only know that by energy or intelligence gross matter is\nbrought within reach of our senses.\n\nIntelligence or energy was declared by Joseph Smith in May, 1833, to\nbe eternal: \"Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or\nmade, neither indeed can be.\"[A] In the sermon already referred to the\nProphet said, \"The intelligence of spirits had no beginning, neither\nwill it have an end.\"\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 93:29.]\n\nThese quotations, and many others to which attention might be called,\nshow clearly that Joseph Smith taught the doctrine that the energy of\nthe universe can in nowise be increased or diminished, though, it may\nmanifest itself in various forms.\n\nThe great Latter-day prophet is thus shown to be in harmony with the\nsecond fundamental law of science. It is not a valid objection to this\nconclusion to say that Joseph Smith did not use the accepted terms of\nscience. Words stand only for ideas; the ideas are essential. The\nnomenclature of a science is often different in different lands, and\nis often changed as knowledge grows.\n\nIt is hardly correct to say that he was in harmony with the law; the\nlaw as stated by the world of science was rather in harmony with him.\nLet it be observed that Joseph Smith enunciated the principle of the\nconservation of the energy, or intelligence as he called it, of the\nuniverse, in May, 1833, ten years before Dr. Joule published his\nfamous papers on energy relations, and fifteen or twenty years before\nthe doctrine was clearly understood and generally accepted by the\nlearned of the world. Let it be also remembered that the unlearned boy\nfrom the backwoods of New York state, taught with the conviction of\nabsolute certainty that the doctrine was true, for God had revealed it\nto him.\n\nIf God did not reveal it to him, where did he learn it, and whence\ncame the courage to teach it as an eternal truth?\n\n\n\n\nChapter IV.\n\nTHE UNIVERSAL ETHER.\n\n\n[Sidenote: The modern theory of light was established only about the\nyear 1830.]\n\nThe nature of light has been in every age a fascinating subject for\nstudy and reflection. Descartes, the French mathematician and\nphilosopher, advanced the hypothesis that light consists of small\nparticles emitted by luminous bodies, and that the sensation of light\nis produced by the impact of these particles upon the retina of the\neye. Soon after this emission or corpuscular theory had been proposed,\nHooke, an English investigator of great note, stated publicly that the\nphenomena of light, as he had observed them, led him to the belief\nthat the nature of light could best be explained on the assumption\nthat light was a kind of undulation or wave in some unknown medium,\nand that the sensation of light was. produced when these waves struck\nupon the retina of the eye. This new hypothesis, known as the theory\nof undulations, after the great Isaac Newton had declared himself in\nfavor of the corpuscular theory, was finally adjudged by the majority\nof students to be erroneous.\n\nAbout the year 1800, more than a century after the days of Descartes,\nHooke and Newton, an English physician, Dr. Thomas Young, who had long\nexperimented on the nature of light, asserted that the emission theory\ncould not explain many of the best known phenomena of light. Dr. Young\nfurther claimed that correct explanations could be made only by the\ntheory of waves of undulation of an etherial medium diffused through\nspace, and presented numerous experimental evidences in favor of this\nview. This revival of the old theory of undulation met at first with\nviolent opposition from many of the greatest scientific minds of the\nday. Sometime after Dr. Young's publication, a French army officer,\nAugustine Fresnel, undertook the study of the nature of light, and\narrived, almost independently, at the conclusion stated by Dr. Young.\nLater, other investigators discovered light phenomena which could be\nexplained only on the undulatory hypothesis, and so, little by little,\nthe new theory gained ground and adherents.\n\nStill, even as late as 1827, the astronomer Herschel published a\ntreatise on light, in which he appeared to hold the real merit of the\ntheory of undulations in grave doubt.[A] Likewise, the Imperial\nAcademy at St. Petersburg, in 1826, proposed a prize for the best\nattempt to relieve the undulatory theory of light of some of the main\nobjections against it.[B] It was several years later before the great\nmajority of the scientific world accepted the theory of undulations as\nthe correct explanation of the phenomena of light.\n\n[Footnote A: History of the Inductive Sciences, Whewell, 3rd edition,\nVol. II, p. 114.]\n\n[Footnote B: Loc. cit., 117.]\n\n[Sidenote: A subtle substance, the ether, fills all space.]\n\nIn brief, this theory assumes that a very attenuated, but very\nelastic, substance, called the ether, fills all space, and is found\nsurrounding the ultimate particles of matter. Thus, the pores of wood,\nsoil, lead, gold and the human body, are filled with the ether. It is\nquite impossible by any known process to obtain a portion of space\nfree from it. A luminous body is one in which the ultimate particles\nof matter, the atoms or molecules, are moving very rapidly, and thus\ncausing disturbances in the ether, similar to the disturbances in\nquiet water when a rock is thrown into it; and, like the water wave,\nproceeding from the point of disturbance, so the ether waves radiate\nfrom the luminous body into space. When a wave strikes the retina of\nthe eye, the sensation of light is produced. This new-found ether was\nsoon used for the explanation of other natural phenomena.\n\n[Sidenote: Light, heat, electricity and other forces are forms of\nether motion.]\n\nThe nature of heat had long been discussed when the world of science\ndecided in favor of the undulatory theory of light. One school held\nthat the sensation of heat was caused by the cannonading of heat\nparticles by the heated body; the other school, with few adherents,\ninsisted that heat was simply a form of motion of the ether already\nadopted in the theory of light. The later discoveries of science\nproved with considerable certainty that the undulatory theory of heat\nis right, but it was well towards the middle of the last century\nbefore the emission theory of heat lost its ground. In fact,\nDr.Whewell, in the third edition of his classic book on the _History\nof Inductive Sciences_, published in 1859, says that the undulatory\ntheory of heat \"has not by any means received full confirmation;\"[A]\nand Dr. John Tyndall, in a book published in 1880, says, that the\nemission theory \"held its ground until quite recently among the\nchemists of our own day.\"[B] Today, the evidences of modern science\nare overwhelmingly in favor of the undulatory theory of heat.\n\n[Footnote A: Vol. II, p. 184.]\n\n[Footnote B: Heat, A Mode of Motion, Tyndall, 6th ed., p. 38.]\n\nThe wonderful developments of the last century, in electricity and\nmagnetism, led to much speculation concerning the nature of the subtle\nelectrical and magnetic forces. The most popular theories for many\nyears were those that presupposed various electrical and magnetic\nfluids, which could be collected, conducted, dispersed and otherwise\ncontrolled. In 1867, the eminent English mathematician, Clerk Maxwell,\nproposed the theory that electrical and magnetic phenomena were simply\npeculiar motions of the ether, bearing definite relationship to light\nwaves. Later researches, one result of which is the now famous\nRoentgen or X-rays, have tended to confirm Maxwell's theory. A recent\ntext-book on physics, of unquestioned authority,[A] states that the\nether theory of electricity and magnetism is now susceptible of direct\ndemonstration; and another eminent authority frankly states that \"when\nwe explain the nature of electricity, we explain it by a motion of the\nluminiferous ether.\"[B]\n\n[Footnote A: Lehrbuch der Physik, Riecke, (1896), 2ter Band, p. 315.]\n\n[Footnote B: Popular Lectures and Addresses, Kelvin (1891) Vol. 1,\npage 334.]\n\nOther recent discoveries have hinted at the possibility of matter\nitself being only the result of peculiar forms of this all-pervading\nsubstance, the luminiferous ether. The properties of the element\nradium, and other radioactive elements, as at present understood,\nsuggest the possibility of a better understanding of the nature of the\nether, and of its relation to the world of phenomena.\n\n[Sidenote: The existence of the ether is a certainty of science.]\n\nThat the present knowledge of the world of science compels a faith in\nan all-pervading substance, of marvelous properties, and of intimate\nrelationship to all forms of energy, is shown by the following\nquotations from Lord Kelvin, who is generally regarded as the world's\ngreatest physicist: \"The luminferous ether, that is the only substance\nwe are confident of in dynamics. One thing we are sure of, and that is\nthe reality and substantiality of the luminiferous ether.\" \"What can\nthis luminiferous ether be? It is something that the planets move\nthrough with the greatest ease. It permeates our air; it is nearly in\nthe same condition, so far as our means of judging are concerned, in\nour air and in the interplanetary space.\" \"You may regard the\nexistence of the luminiferous ether as a reality of science.\" \"It is\nmatter prodigiously less dense than air--of such density as not to\nproduce the slightest resistance to any body going through it.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Kelvin's Lectures, Vol. 1, pp. 317, 334, 336, 354.]\n\nThe theory of the ether is one of the most helpful assumptions of\nmodern science. By its aid the laws of energy have been revealed.\nThere is at the present time no grander or more fundamental doctrine\nin science than that of the ether. The nature of the ether is, of\ncourse, far from being clearly understood, but every discovery in\nscience demonstrates that the hypothetical ether stands for an\nimportant reality of nature. Together with the doctrines of the\nindestructibility of matter and energy, the doctrine of the ether\nwelds and explains all the physical phenomena of the universe.\n\nJoseph Smith, in a revelation received on December 27, 1832, wrote:\n\n[Sidenote: Joseph Smith taught space is filled with a substance\ncomparable to the ether of science.]\n\n\"The light which now shineth, which giveth you light, is through him\nwho enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth\nyour understandings; which light proceedeth forth from the presence of\nGod to fill the immensity of space. The light which is in all things:\nwhich is the law by which all things are governed: even the power of\nGod.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, section 88:11-13.]\n\nThis quotation gives undoubted evidence of the prophet's belief that\nspace is filled with some substance which bears important relations to\nall natural phenomena. The word substance is used advisedly; for in\nvarious places in the writings of Joseph Smith, light, used as above\nin a general sense, means spirit,[A] and \"all spirit is matter, but it\nis more fine and pure.\"[B]\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 84:45.]\n\n[Footnote B: Ibid, 131:7.]\n\nTrue, the passage above quoted does not furnish detailed explanation\nof the Prophet's view concerning the substance filling all space, but\nit must be remembered that it is simply an incidental paragraph in a\nchapter of religious instruction. True, also, the Prophet goes farther\nthan some modern scientists, when he says that this universal\nsubstance bears a controlling relation to all things; yet, when it is\nrecalled that eminent, sober students have suggested that the facts of\nscience make it possible to believe that matter itself is simply a\nphenomenon of the universal ether, the statement of the \"Mormon\"\nprophet seems very reasonable. The paragraph already quoted is not an\naccidental arrangement of words suggesting an idea not intended by the\nprophet, for in other places, he presents the idea of an omnipresent\nsubstance binding all things together. For instance, in speaking of\nthe controlling power of the universe he says:\n\n\"He comprehendeth all things, and all things are before him, and all\nthings are round about him; and he is above all things, and in all\nthings, and is through all things, and is round about all things.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Ibid, 88:41.]\n\nThat Joseph Smith does not here have in mind an omnipresent God, is\nproved by the emphatic doctrine that God is personal and cannot be\neverywhere present.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Ibid, 130:22.]\n\nLest it be thought that the words are forced, for argument's sake, to\ngive the desired meaning, it may be well to examine the views of some\nof the persons to whom the Prophet explained in detail the meanings of\nthe statements in the revelations which he claimed to have received\nfrom God.\n\nParley P. Pratt, who, as a member of the first quorum of apostles, had\nevery opportunity of obtaining the Prophet's views on any subject,\nwrote in considerable fullness on the subject of the Holy Spirit, or\nthe light of truth:\n\n\"As the mind passes the boundaries of the visible world, and enters\nupon the confines of the more refined and subtle elements, it finds\nitself associated with certain substances in themselves invisible to\nour gross organs, but clearly manifested to our intellect by their\ntangible operations and effects.\" \"The purest, most refined and subtle\nof all these substances--is that substance called the Holy Spirit.\"\n\"It is omnipresent.\" \"It is in its less refined particles, the\nphysical light which reflects from the sun, moon and stars, and other\nsubstances; and by reflection on the eye makes visible the truths of\nthe outward world.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Key to Theology, 5th ed., pp. 38-41.]\n\nElder C. W. Penrose, an accepted writer on Mormon doctrine, writes,\n\"It is by His Holy Spirit, which permeates all things, and is the life\nand light of all things, that Deity is everywhere present. * * By that\nagency God sees and knows and governs all things.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Rays of Living Light, No. 2, p. 3.]\n\nSuch quotations, from the men intimately associated or acquainted with\nthe early history of the Church, prove that Joseph Smith taught in\nclearness the doctrine that a subtle form of matter, call it ether or\nHoly Spirit, pervades all space; that all phenomena of nature,\nincluding, specifically, heat, light and electricity, are definitely\nconnected with this substance. He taught much else concerning this\nsubstance which science will soon discover, but which lies without the\nprovince of this paper to discuss.\n\nBy the doctrine of the ether, it is made evident all the happenings in\nthe universe are indelibly inscribed upon the record of nature. A word\nis spoken. The air movements that it causes disturbs the ether. The\nether waves radiate into space and can never die. Anywhere, with the\nproper instrument, one of the waves may be captured, and the spoken\nword read. That is the simple method of wireless telegraphy. It is\nthus that all our actions shall be known on the last great day. By the\nether, or the Holy Spirit as named by the Prophet, God holds all\nthings in His keeping. His intelligent will radiates into space, to\ntouch whomsoever it desires. He who is tuned aright can read the\nmessage, flashed across the ether ocean, by the Almighty. Thus, also,\nGod, who is a person, filling only a portion of space is, by His power\ncarried by the ether, everywhere present.\n\nThe ether of science though material is essentially different from the\nmatter composing the elements. So, also, in Mormon theology, is the\nHoly Spirit different from the grosser elements. In science there is a\nvast distinction between the world of the elements, and that of the\nether; in theology, there is an equally great difference between the\nspiritual and material worlds. Though the theology of Joseph Smith\ninsists that immaterialism is an absurdity, yet it permits no\noverlapping of the earthly and the spiritual.\n\n[Sidenote: Joseph Smith stated the existence of a universe-filling\nsubstance before science had generally accepted it.]\n\nIt must not be overlooked that the broad statement of this doctrine\nwas made by Joseph Smith, at least as early as 1832, at a time when\nthe explanation of light phenomena on the hypothesis of a universal\nether was just beginning to find currency among learned men; and many\nyears before the same hypothesis was accepted in explaining the\nphenomena of heat and electricity.\n\nThe idea of an influence pervading the universe is not of itself new.\nPoets and philosophers of all ages have suggested it in a vague,\nhesitating manner, without connecting it with the phenomena of nature,\nbut burdening it with the greatest absurdity of religion or\nphilosophy, that of immaterialism. Joseph Smith said the doctrine had\nbeen taught him by God, and gave it to the world unhesitatingly and\nrationally. The men of science, to whom Joseph Smith appears only as\nan imposter, and who know nothing of his writings, have later\ndiscovered the truth for themselves, and incorporated it in their\nbooks of learning.\n\nHad Joseph Smith been the clever imposter that some claim he was, he\nprobably would not have dealt in any way with the theories of the\nmaterial world, at least would not have claimed revelations laying\ndown physical laws; had he been the stupid fool, others tell us he\nwas, his mind would not have worried itself with the fundamental\nproblems of nature.\n\nHowever that may be, it is certain that Joseph Smith, in the broad and\nrational statement of the existence of an omnipresent, material though\nsubtle substance, anticipated the workers in science. In view of that\nfact, it is not improbable that at some future time, when science\nshall have gained a wider view, the historian of the physical sciences\nwill say that Joseph Smith, the clear-sighted, first stated correctly\nthe fundamental physical doctrine of the universal ether.\n\n\n\n\nChapter V.\n\nTHE REIGN OF LAW.\n\n\nIn the seventh book of the _Republic of Plato_[A] occurs the following\npassage:\n\n[Footnote A: Golden Treasury edition, pp. 235, 236.]\n\n[Sidenote: The realities of nature are known by their effects.]\n\n\"Imagine a number of men living in an underground cavernous chamber,\nwith an entrance open to the light, extending along the entire length\nof the cavern, in which they have been confined, from childhood, with\ntheir legs and necks so shackled, that they are obliged to sit still\nand look straight forward, because their chains render it impossible\nfor them to turn their heads round; and imagine a bright fire burning\nsome way off, above and behind them, and an elevated roadway passing\nbetween the fire and the prisoners, with a low wall built along it,\nlike the screens which conjurers put up in front of their audiences,\nand above which they exhibit their wonders. Also figure to yourself a\nnumber of persons walking behind the wall, and carrying with them\nstatues of men and images of other animals, wrought in wood and stone\nand all kinds of materials, together with various other articles,\nwhich overtop the wall; and, as you might expect, let some of the\npassers-by be talking, and the others silent.\n\n\"Let me ask whether persons so confined could have seen anything of\nthemselves or of each other, beyond the shadows thrown by the fire\nupon the part of the cavern facing them? And is not their knowledge of\nthe things carried past them equally limited? And if they were able to\nconverse with one another, would they not be in the habit of giving\nnames to the objects which they saw before them? If their prison house\nreturned an echo from the part facing them, whenever one of the\npassers-by opened his lips, to what could they refer the voice, if not\nto the shadow which was passing? Surely such person would hold the\nshadows of those manufactured articles to be the only realities.\"\n\nWith reference to our absolute knowledge of the phenomena of nature,\nthis splendid comparison is as correct today as it was in the days of\nPlato, about 400 B. C.; we are only as prisoners in a great cave,\nwatching shadows of passing objects thrown upon the cavern wall, and\nreflecting upon the real natures of the things whose shadows we see.\nWe know things only by their effects; the essential nature of matter,\nether and energy is far from our understanding.\n\n[Sidenote: The progress of science rests on the law of cause and\neffect.]\n\nIn early and mediaeval times, the recognition of the fact that nature\nin its ultimate form is unknowable, led to many harmful superstitions.\nChief among the fallacies of the early ages was the belief that God at\nwill could, and did, cause various phenomena to appear in nature,\nwhich were contrary to all human experience. As observed in chapter 4,\na class of men arose who claimed to be in possession of knowledge\nwhich made them also able, at will, to cause various supernatural\nmanifestations. Thus arose the occult sciences, so called,--alchemy,\nastrology, magic, witchcraft, and all other similar abominations of\nthe intellect. Such beliefs made the logical study of nature\nsuperfluous, for any apparent regularity or law in nature might at any\ntime be overturned by a person in possession of a formula of the black\nart or a properly treated broomstick.\n\nWhile such ideas prevailed among the majority of men, the rational\nstudy of science could make little progress. In the march of the ages\nas the ideas of men were classified, it began to be understood that\nthe claims of the devotees of the mystical arts not only could not be\nsubstantiated but were in direct opposition to the known operations of\nnature. It became clear to the truthseekers, that in nature a given\ncause, acting upon any given object, providing all surrounding\nconditions be left unchanged, will always produce the same effect.\nThus, coal of a certain quality, brought to a high temperature in the\npresence of air, will burn and produce heat; a stick held in water at\nthe right angle will appear crooked; iron kept in contact with\nmoisture and air, at the right temperature, will be changed into rust;\nsunlight passed through a glass prism will be broken into rainbow\ncolors; ordinary plants placed in a dark cellar will languish and die.\nNo matter how often trials are made, the above results are obtained;\nand today it is safe to assert that in the material world no relation\nof cause and effect, once established, has failed to reappear at the\nwill of the investigator. As this principle of the constancy in the\nrelations between cause and effect was established, the element of\nchance in natural phenomena, with its attendant arts of magic, had to\ndisappear. It is now well understood by intelligent persons that the\nlaw of order controls all the elements of nature.\n\nIt is true that the cause of any given effect may, itself, be the\neffect of other causes, and that the first cause of daily phenomena is\nnot and probably cannot be understood. It is also true that very\nseldom is the mind able to comprehend why certain causes, save the\nsimpler ones, should produce certain effects. In that respect we are\nagain nothing more than Plato's cave prisoners, seeing the shadows of\nultimate realities. However, the recognition of the principle of the\ninvariable relation between cause and effect was a great onward stride\nin the intellectual development of the world.\n\n[Sidenote: Laws of nature are man's simplest expression of many\nrelated facts.]\n\nNow, as men began to investigate nature with her forces, according to\nthe new light, numerous relations of the forces were discovered--in\nnumber far beyond the comprehension of the human mind. Then it was\nfound necessary to group all facts of a similar nature, and invent, if\npossible, some means by which the properties of the whole group might\nbe stated in language so simple as to reach the understanding. Thus\ncame the laws of nature.\n\nFor instance, men from earliest times observed the heavenly bodies and\nthe regularity of their motions. Theories of the universe were\ninvented which should harmonize with the known facts. As new facts\nwere discovered, the theories had to be changed and extended. First it\nwas believed that the earth was fixed in mid-space, and sun and stars\nwere daily carried around it. Hipparchus improved this theory by\nplacing the earth not exactly in the center of the sun's circle.\nPtolemy, three hundred years later, considered that the sun and moon\nmove in circles, yearly, around the earth, and the other planets in\ncircles, whose centers again described circles round the earth.\nCopernicus simplified the whole system by teaching that the earth\nrotated around its axis, and around the sun. Keppler next showed that\nthe earth moved around the sun in certain curves termed ellipses.\nFinally, Newton hit upon the wide-embracing law of gravitation, which\nunifies all the known facts of astronomy.[A] All the earlier laws were\ncorrect, so far as they included all the knowledge of the age in which\nthey were proposed, but were insufficient to include the new\ndiscoveries.\n\n[Footnote A: See The Grammar of Science, Pearson, pp. 117, 118.]\n\nLaws of nature are, therefore, man's simplest and most comprehensive\nexpression of his knowledge of certain groups of natural phenomena.\nThey are man-made, and subject to change as knowledge grows; but, as\nthey change, they approach or should approach more and more nearly to\nthe perfect law. Modern science is built upon the assumption that the\nrelations between cause and effect are invariable, and that these\nrelations may be grouped to form great natural laws, which express the\nmodes by which the forces of the universe manifest themselves.\n\n[Sidenote: A miracle is a law not understood.]\n\nIn this matter, science is frankly humble, and acknowledges that the\nregion of the unknown is far greater than that of the known. Forces,\nrelations and laws may exist as yet unknown to the world of science,\nwhich, used by a human or superhuman being, might to all appearances\nchange well-established relations of known forces. That would be a\nmiracle; but a miracle simply means a phenomenon not understood, in\nits cause and effect relations. It must also be admitted that men\npossess no absolute certainty that though certain forces, brought into\na certain conjunction a thousand times, have produced the same effect,\nthey will continue to do so. Should a variation occur, however, that\nalso must be ascribed to an inherent property of the forces or\nconditions, or the existence of a law not understood.[A] There can be\nno chance in the operations of nature. This is a universe of law and\norder.\n\n[Footnote A: The Credentials of Science, the Warrant of Faith, Cooke,\npp. 169, 170.]\n\n[Sidenote: Joseph Smith taught the invariable relation of cause and\neffect.]\n\nWere it not for the sake of the completeness of the argument running\nthrough these chapters, it would be unnecessary to call attention to\nthe fact that Joseph Smith in a very high degree held views similar to\nthose taught by science relative to cause and effect, and the reign of\nlaw.\n\nFrom the beginning of his career, the Prophet insisted upon order, or\nsystem, as the first law in the religion or system of philosophy which\nhe founded.[A] Moreover, the order which he taught was of an\nunchangeable nature, corresponding to the invariable relation between\ncause and effect. He wrote, \"There is a law, irrevocably decreed in\nheaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings\nare predicated; and when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by\nobedience to that law upon which it is predicated.\"[B] No text book in\nscience has a clearer or more positive statement than this, of the\nfact that like causes have like effects, like actions like results.\nThe eternal nature of natural law is further emphasized as follows:\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 28:13; 132; 8.]\n\n[Footnote B: Doctrine and Covenants, 130:20, 21.]\n\n\"If there be bounds set to the heavens, or to the seas: or to the dry\nland, or to the sun, moon or stars; all the times of their\nrevolutions; all the appointed days, months, and years, and all the\ndays of their days, months, and years, and all their glories, laws,\nand set times, shall be revealed, in the days of the dispensation of\nthe fullness of times, according to that which was ordained in the\nmidst of the Council of the Eternal God of all other Gods before this\nworld was.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 121:30-32.]\n\nThose who may be inclined to believe that this doctrine was taught in\na spiritual sense only, should recall that Joseph Smith taught also\nthat spirit is only a pure form of matter,[A] so that the principles\nof the material world must have their counterparts in the spiritual\nworld. Besides, in the last quotation reference is made to such\nmaterial bodies as sun, moon, and stars. In other places, special\nmention is made of the fact that the material universe is controlled\nby law. For instance:\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 131:7.]\n\n\"All kingdoms have a law given: and there are many kingdoms; * * * *\nand unto every kingdom is given a law; and unto every law there are\ncertain bounds also and conditions. * * * * And again, verily I say\nunto you, he hath given a law unto all things by which they move in\ntheir times and their seasons; and their courses are fixed; even the\ncourses of the heavens and the earth, which comprehend the earth and\nall the planets.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 88:36-33, 42, 43.]\n\nThis also is a clear, concise statement of law and its nature, which\nis not excelled by the definitions of science. There can be no doubt\nfrom these quotations, as from many others that might be made, that\nJoseph Smith based his teachings upon the recognition that law\npervades the universe, and that none can transcend law. In the\nmaterial world or in the domain of ether or spirit, like causes\nproduced like effects--the reign of law is supreme.\n\n[Sidenote: \"The law also maketh you free.\"]\n\nCertainly the claim cannot be made that Joseph Smith anticipated the\nworld of science in the recognition of this important principle; but\nit is a source of marvel that he should so clearly recognize and state\nit, at a time when many religious sects and philosophical creeds chose\nto assume that natural laws could be set aside easily by mystical\nmethods that might be acquired by anyone. In some respects, the\nscientific test of the divine inspiration of Joseph Smith lies here.\nIgnorant and superstitious as his enemies say he was, the mystical\nwould have attracted him greatly, and he would have played for his own\ninterest upon the superstitious fears of his followers. Instead, he\ntaught doctrines absolutely free from mysticism, and built a system of\nreligion in which the invariable relation of cause and effect is the\ncornerstone. Instead of priding himself, to his disciples, upon his\nsuperiority to the laws of nature, he taught distinctly that \"the law\nalso maketh you free.\"[A] Herein he recognized another great\nprinciple--that freedom consists in the adaptation to law, not in the\nopposition to it.\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 98:8.]\n\nHowever, whatever else the Prophet Joseph Smith was, he most certainly\nwas in full harmony with the scientific principle that the universe is\ncontrolled by law.\n\n\n\n\nTHE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE.\n\nChapter VI.\n\nTHE NEW ASTRONOMY.\n\n\n[Sidenote: The laws of the motions of the heavenly bodies have been\nlearned very slowly.]\n\nFrom the dawn of written history, when the first men, watching through\nthe nights, observed the regular motions of the moon and stars,\nhumanity has been striving to obtain a correct understanding of the\nrelation of the earth to the. First it was believed that the sun,\nmoon, and stars revolved in circles around the earth (which for a time\nwas supposed to be flat instead of spherical). The great Greek\nphilosopher, Hipparchus, after observing the movements of the heavenly\nbodies, suggested that the earth was not exactly in the middle of the\ncircles. Three hundred years later, Ptolemy discovered a number of\nfacts concerning the movements of the sun, moon and planets, which\nwere unknown to Hipparchus, and which led him to suggest that the sun\nand moon move in circles around the earth, but that the planets move\naround the earth in circles, whose centres again move around the\nearth. This somewhat complex theory explained very well what was known\nof astronomy in the days of the ancients. In fact, the views of\nPtolemy were quite generally accepted for 1300 years.\n\nAbout 1500, A. D., Copernicus, a Dutch astronomer, having still more\nfacts in his possession than had Ptolemy, concluded that the simplest\nmanner in which the apparent movements of the sun, moon, and planets\ncould be explained, was to assume that the sun is the center of the\nplanetary system, and that the earth, with the moon and planets,\nrevolves according to definite laws around the sun. This theory,\nsupported by numerous confirmatory observations, was generally\naccepted by astronomers, and really did explain very simply and\nclearly many of the facts of planetary motion.\n\nFifty years after the death of Copernicus, the celebrated astronomer,\nKepler, proposed extensions and improvements of the Copernican\ndoctrine, which made the theory that the planets revolve about the sun\nmore probable than ever before. He suggested first that the planets\nmove around the sun in closed curves, resembling flattened circles,\nand known as ellipses. By assuming this to be true, and assisted by\nother discoveries, he was also able to state the times required by the\nplanets for their revolutions around the sun, and the velocity of\ntheir motions at different times of the year. Later investigations\nhave proved the great laws proposed by Copernicus and Kepler to be\ntrue; and from their days is dated the birth of modern astronomy.\n\n[Sidenote: The law of gravitation is universal and explains many of\nthe motions of celestial bodies.]\n\nAfter the laws of the motions of the planets had been determined, it\nwas only natural that men should ask themselves what forces were\nconcerned in these motions. The ancient philosophers had proposed the\nidea that the sun attracts all heavenly bodies, but the suggestion had\nnot been accepted by the world at large. However, after the\ndiscoveries of Kepler, the English, philosopher Newton advanced the\ntheory that there is in the universe an attractive force which\ninfluences all matter, beyond the limits of known space. He further\nproved that the intensity of this force varies directly with the\nproduct of the attractive masses, and inversely, with the square of\nthe distances between them--that is, the greater the bodies the\ngreater the attraction; the greater the distance between them, the\nsmaller the attraction. This law of gravitation has been verified by\nrepeated experiments, and, taken in connection with the astronomical\ntheories of Copernicus and Kepler, has made celestial mechanics what\nthey are today.\n\nBy the aid of the law of gravitation, many astronomical predictions\nhave been fulfilled. Among the most famous is the following incident:\n\nIn the early part of the last century, astronomers noticed that the\nmotions of the planet Uranus did not agree with those derived from\ncalculations based upon the law of gravitation. About 1846, two\ninvestigators, M. Leverrier, of France, and Mr. Adams of England,\nstated, as their opinion, that the discordance between theory and\nobservation in the case of the motions of Uranus, was due to the\nattraction of a planet, not yet known, and they calculated by means of\nthe law of gravitation, the size and orbit of the unknown planet. In\nthe fall of 1846, this planet was actually discovered and named\nNeptune. It was found to harmonize with the predictions made by the\nastronomers before its discovery.\n\nDuring the days of Newton, the question was raised if the celestial\nbodies outside of the solar system obey the law of gravitation. Among\nthe stars, there are some which are called double stars, and which\nconsist of two stars so near to each other that the telescope alone\ncan separate them to the eye. In 1803, after twenty years of\nobservation, William Herschel discovered that some of these couples\nwere revolving around each other with various angular velocities. The\nson of William Herschel continued this work, and many years later, he\ndiscovered that the laws of motion of these double stars are the same\nas those that prevail in the the solar system.[A] This result\nindicated not only the universality of the law of gravitation, but\nalso the probability that all heavenly bodies are in motion.\n\n[Footnote A: History of the Inductive Sciences, Whewell, 3rd ed. Vol.\nI, pp. 467-469.]\n\n[Sidenote: The invention of the spectroscope laid the foundation of\nthe new astronomy.]\n\nThen, early in the nineteenth century, a new method of research began\nto be developed, which was destined to form a new science of\nastronomy. It had long been known that white light when passed through\na glass prism is broken into a colored spectrum, with colors similar\nto those observed in the rainbow. Now it was discovered that when\nwhite light passes through vapors of certain composition, dark lines\nappear in the spectrum, and that the position of the lines varies with\nthe chemical composition of the vapors. By the application of these\nprinciples, it was shown, towards the middle of the last century, that\nthe chemical composition of the heavenly bodies may be determined.\nLater,it was discovered that by noting the positions of the dark lines\nin the spectrum, it could be known when a star or any heavenly body is\nmoving, as also the direction and amount of its motion. These\nunexpected discoveries led to a study of the heavens from the\nspectroscopic point of view, which has resulted in a marvelous advance\nin the science of astronomy.\n\n[Sidenote: All heavenly bodies are in motion.]\n\nIt has been determined that all heavenly bodies are in motion, and\nthat their velocities are great compared with our ordinary conceptions\nof motion. Most of the stars move at the rate of about seven miles per\nsecond, though some have a velocity of forty-five miles, or more, per\nsecond. Many stars, formerly thought to be single, have been resolved\ninto two or more components. The rings of Saturn have been proved to\nconsist of small bodies revolving about the planet in obedience to\nKepler's law.[A] Clusters of stars have been found that move through\nspace as one body, as possible counterparts of the planetary\nsystem.[B] It has been demonstrated, further, that the sun itself,\nwith its planets, is moving through space at a very rapid rate.\nProfessor Simon Newcomb, perhaps the greatest astronomer of the day,\nsays, \"The sun, and the whole solar system with it, have been speeding\ntheir way toward the star of which I speak (Alpha Lyrae) on a journey\nof which we know neither the beginning nor the end. During every\nclock-beat through which humanity has existed, it has moved on this\njourney by an amount which we cannot specify more exactly than to say\nthat it is probably between five and nine miles per second. The\nconclusion seems unavoidable that a number of stars are moving with a\nspeed such that the attraction of all the bodies of the universe could\nnever stop them.\"[C] In brief, the new astronomy holds that all\nheavenly bodies are in motion, and that the planetary system is but a\nsmall cluster of stars among the host of heaven. Further, it has\nweighed the stars, measured the intensity of their light, and\ndetermined their chemical composition, and it affirms that there are\nsuns in the heavens, far excelling our sun in size and lustre, though\nbuilt of approximately the same elements.\n\n[Footnote A: See C. G. Abbott, Report of Smithsonian Institution, for\n1901, pp. 153-155.]\n\n[Footnote B: Light Science for Leisure Hours, Proctor, pp. 42-52.]\n\n[Footnote C: The Problems of Astronomy, S. Newcomb, Science, May 21,\n1897.]\n\n[Sidenote: The solar system is only one of many.]\n\nSir Robert Ball expresses his views as follows: \"The group to which\nour sun belongs is a limited one. This must be so, even though the\ngroup included all the stars in the milky way. This unnumbered host is\nstill only a cluster, occupying, comparatively speaking, an\nexpressibly small extent in the ocean of infinite space. The\nimagination will carry us further still--it will show us that our star\ncluster may be but a unit in a cluster of an order still higher, so\nthat a yet higher possibility of movement is suggested for our\nastonishment.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: The Story of the Sun, R. S. Ball, pp. 360, 361.]\n\nAnother eminent astronomer expresses the same idea briefly but\neloquently: \"It is true that from the highest point of view the sun is\nonly one of a multitude--a single star among millions--thousands of\nwhich, most likely, exceed him in brightness, magnitude and power. He\nis only a private in the host of heaven.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: The Sun, C. A. Young, p. 11.]\n\nAnd still another student of the stars propounds the following\nquestions: \"Does there exist a central sun of the universe? Do the\nworlds of Infinitude gravitate as a hierarchy round a divine focus?\nSome day the astronomers of the planets which gravitate in the light\nof Hercules (towards which constellation the solar system is moving)\nwill see a little star appear in their sky. This will be our sun,\ncarrying us along in its rays; perhaps at this very moment we are\nvisible dust of a sidereal hurricane, in a milky way, the transformer\nof our destinies. We are mere playthings in the immensity of\nInfinitude.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Popular Astronomy, C. Flammarion, p. 309.]\n\n[Sidenote: Scientists believe that heavenly bodies are inhabited by\nliving, thinking beings.]\n\nIt is not strange that men who have learned to look at the universe in\nthis lofty manner should go a step farther, beyond the actually known,\nand suggest that some of these countless heavenly bodies must be\ninhabited by living, thinking beings. Sober, thoughtful truthseekers,\nwho never advance needlessly a new theory, have suggested, in all\nseriousness, that other worlds than ours are peopled. For instance,\n\"What sort of life, spiritual and intellectual, exists in distant\nworlds? We can not for a moment suppose that our little planet is the\nonly one throughout the whole universe on which may be found the\nfruits of civilization, warm firesides, friendship, the desire to\npenetrate the mysteries of creation.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: The Problems of Astronomy, S. Newcomb.]\n\nSuch, then, is in very general terms the view of modern astronomy with\nreference to the constitution of the universe. Most of the information\nupon which this view rests has been gathered during the last fifty\nyears.\n\n[Sidenote: Joseph Smith taught that all heavenly bodies are in\nmotion.]\n\nJoseph Smith was doubtlessly impressed with the beauty of the starry\nheavens, and, in common with all men of poetical nature, allowed his\nthoughts to wander into the immensity of space. However, he had no\nknown opportunity of studying the principles of astronomy, or of\nbecoming familiar with the astronomical questions that were agitating\nthe thinkers of his day. Naturally, very little is said in his\nwritings that bears upon the planetary and stellar constitution of the\nuniverse; yet enough to prove that he was in perfect harmony with the\nastronomical views developed since his day.\n\nFirst, he believed that stellar bodies are distributed throughout\nspace. \"And worlds without number have I created.\"[A] \"And there are\nmany kingdoms; for there is no space in which there is no kingdom.\"[B]\nHe is further in harmony with modern views in that he claims that\nstars may be destroyed, and new ones formed. \"For, behold, there are\nmany worlds that have passed away by the word of my power.\"[C] \"And as\none earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof, even so shall\nanother come.\"[D]\n\n[Footnote A: Book of Moses, 1:33.]\n\n[Footnote B: Doctrine and Covenants, 88:37.]\n\n[Footnote C: Book of Moses, 1:35.]\n\n[Footnote D: Doctrine and Covenants, 1:38.]\n\nAt the time that Joseph Smith wrote, there was considerable discussion\nas to whether the laws of the solar system were effective with the\nstars. The Prophet had no doubts on that score, for he wrote, \"And\nunto every kingdom is given a law; and unto every law there are\ncertain bounds also and conditions.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 88:38.]\n\nLikewise, his opinions concerning the motions of celestial objects\nwere very definite and clear. \"He hath given a law unto all things by\nwhich they move in their times and seasons; and their courses are\nfixed; even the courses of the heavens and the earth, which comprehend\nthe earth and all the planets. The earth rolls upon her wings, and the\nsun giveth his light by day, and the moon giveth her light by night,\nand the stars also giveth their light, as they roll upon their wings\nin glory, in the midst of the power of God.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 88:43, 45.]\n\nIn another place the same thought is expressed. \"The sun, moon or\nstars; all the times of their revolutions; all the appointed days,\nmonths, and years, and all the days of their days, months, and years,\nand all their glories, laws, and set times, shall be revealed.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 121:30, 31.]\n\nThe two revelations from which these quotations are made, were given\nto the Prophet in 1832 and 1839 respectively, many years before the\nfact that all celestial bodies are in motion was understood and\naccepted by the world of science.\n\n[Sidenote: Joseph Smith taught that the solar system is only one of\nmany--in advance of the astronomers of his day.]\n\nThe accepted conception that groups or clusters of stars form systems\nwhich revolve around some one point or powerful star, was also clearly\nunderstood by Joseph Smith, for he speaks of stars of different orders\nwith controlling stars for each order. \"And I saw the stars that they\nwere very great, and that one of them was nearest unto the throne of\nGod; and there were many great ones which were near unto it: and the\nLord said unto me: These are the governing ones; and the name of the\ngreat one is Kolob because it is near unto me--I have set this one to\ngovern all those which belong to the same order as that upon which\nthou standest.\"[A] That the governing star, Kolob, is not the sun is\nevident, since the statement is made later in the chapter that the\nLord showed Abraham \"Shinehah, which is the sun.\" Kolob, therefore,\nmust be a mighty star governing more than the solar system; and is\npossibly the central sun around which the sun with its attendant\nplanets is revolving. The other great stars near Kolob are also\ngoverning stars, two of which are mentioned by name Oliblish and\nEnish-go-ondosh, though nothing is said of the order or stars that\nthey control. The reading of the third chapter of the _Book of\nAbraham_ leaves complete conviction that Joseph Smith taught that the\ncelestial bodies are in great groups, controlled (under gravitational\ninfluence) by large suns. In this doctrine, he anticipated the world\nof science by many years.\n\n[Footnote A: Book of Abraham, chapter 3.]\n\n[Sidenote: Joseph Smith taught that other worlds are inhabited.]\n\nIt is perhaps less surprising to find that Joseph Smith believed that\nthere are other peopled worlds than ours. For instance, \"The reckoning\nof God's time, angel's time, prophet's time, and man's time, is\naccording to the planet on which they reside,\"[A] which distinctly\nimplies that other planets are inhabited. Another passage reads, \"The\nangels do not reside on a planet like this earth, but they reside in\nthe presence of God, on a globe like a sea of glass and fire.\"[B]\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 130:4.]\n\n[Footnote B: Loc. cit., verses 6 and 7. See also 88:61.]\n\nWhile the idea that the planets and stars may be inhabited is not at\nall new, yet it is interesting to note that Joseph Smith taught as an\nabsolute truth that such is the case. Probably no other philosopher\nhas gone quite that far.\n\nThese brief quotations go to show that the doctrines of the Prophet of\nthe Latter-day Saints are in full accord with the views that\ndistinguish the new astronomy. It is also to be noted that in\nadvancing the theories of universal motion among the stars, and of\ngreat stars or suns governing groups of stars, he anticipated by many\nyears the corresponding theories of professional astronomers.\n\nIn various sermons the Prophet dealt more fully with the doctrines\nhere set forth and showed more strongly than is done in his doctrinal\nwritings, that he understood perfectly the far reaching nature of his\nastronomical teachings.\n\nDid Joseph Smith teach these truths by chance? or, did he receive\ninspiration from a higher power?\n\n\n\n\nChapter VII.\n\nGEOLOGICAL TIME.\n\n\n[Sidenote: The history of the world written in the rocks.]\n\nGod speaks in various ways to men. The stars, the clouds, the\nmountains, the grass and the soil, are all, to him who reads aright,\nforms of divine revelation. Many of the noblest attributes of God may\nbe learned by a study of the laws according to which Omnipotent Will\ndirects the universe.\n\nNowhere is this principle more beautifuly illustrated and confirmed\nthan in the rocks that constitute the crust of the earth. On them is\nwritten in simple plainness the history of the earth almost from that\nbeginning, when the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.\nYet, for centuries, men saw the rocks, their forms and their\nadaptations to each other, without understanding the message written\nin them. Only, as the wonderful nineteenth century approached, did the\nvision open, and the interpretation of the story of the rocks become\napparent.\n\n[Sidenote: Water and heat among the shaping forces of the earth.]\n\nHow the earth first came into being has not yet been clearly revealed.\nFrom the first, however, the mighty forces which act today, have\nshaped and fashioned the earth and prepared it for man's habitation.\nWater, entering the tiny cracks of the rocks, and expanding as, in\nwinter, it changed to ice, crumbled the mighty mountans; water,\nfalling as rain from the clouds, washed the rock fragments into the\nlow-lying places to form soil; the water in mighty rivers chiseled the\nearth with irresistible force, as shown by the Grand Canyon of the\nColorado. The internal heat of the earth, aided by the translocation\nof material by water, produced large cracks in the earth's crust,\nthrough which oceans of molten matter flowed and spread themselves\nover the land; the same heat appeared in volcanoes, through which were\nspurted liquid earth, cinders and foul gases; as the earth heat was\nlost, the crust cooled, contracted and great folds appeared,\nrecognized as mountains, and as time went on, many of the mountains\nwere caused to sink and the ocean beds were brought up in their stead.\nWonderful and mighty have been the changes on the earth's surface\nsince the Lord began its preparation for the race of men.\n\n[Sidenote: The geological history of the earth is in many chapters.]\n\nIn the beginning, it appears that water covered the whole earth. In\nthat day, the living creatures of earth dwelt in the water, and it was\nthe great age of fishes and other aquatic animals. Soon the first land\nlifted itself timidly above the surface of the ocean, and formed\ninviting places for land animals and plants. Upon the land came,\nfirst, according to the story of the rocks, a class of animals known\nas amphibians, like frogs, that could live both in water and on land.\nAssociated with these creatures were vast forests of low orders of\nplants, that cleared the atmosphere of noxious gases, and made it fit\nfor higher forms of life. Then followed an age in which the\npredominating animals were gigantic reptiles, a step higher than the\namphibians, but a step lower than the class of Mammals to which man\nbelongs. During the age of these prehistoric monsters, the earth was\nyet more fully prepared for higher life. Following the age of\nreptiles, came the age of mammals, which still persists, though, since\nthe coming of man upon the earth, the geological age has been known as\nthe age of man.\n\nThis rapid sketch of the geological history of the earth does very\npoor justice to one of the most complete, wonderful and beautiful\nstories brought to the knowledge of man. The purpose of this chapter\nis not, however, to discuss the past ages of the earth.\n\nIt is, of course, readily understood that such mighty changes as those\njust described, and the succession of different kinds of organic life,\ncould not have taken place in a few years. Vast periods of time must\nof necessity have been required for the initiation, rise, domination\nand final extinction of each class of animals. A year is too small a\nunit of measurement in geological time; a thousand years or, better, a\nmillion years, would more nearly answer the requirements.\n\n[Sidenote: The earth is probably millions of years old.]\n\nIt is possible in various ways to arrive at a conception of the age of\nthe earth since organic life came upon it. For instance, the gorge of\nthe Niagara Falls was begun in comparatively recent days, yet, judging\nby the rate at which the falls are now receding, it must have been at\nleast 31,000 years since the making of the gorge was first begun, and\nit may have been nearly 400,000 years.[A] Lord Kelvin, on almost\npurely physical grounds, has estimated that the earth cannot be more\nthan 100,000,000 years old, but that it may be near that age.[B] It\nneed not be said, probably, that all such calculations are very\nuncertain, when the actual number of years are considered; but, all\nhuman knowledge, based upon the present appearance of the earth and\nthe laws that control known phenomena, agree in indicating that the\nage of the earth is very great, running in all probability into\nmillions of years. It must have been hundreds of thousands of years\nsince the first life was placed upon earth.\n\n[Footnote A: Dana's New Text Book of Geology, p. 375.]\n\n[Footnote B: Lectures and Addresses, vol. 2, p. 10.]\n\n[Sidenote: The war concerning the earth's age has helped theology and\nscience.]\n\nWhen these immense periods of time were first suggested by students of\nscience, a great shout of opposition arose from the camp of the\ntheologians. The Bible story of creation had been taken literally,\nthat in six days did the Lord create the heavens and the earth; and it\nwas held to be blasphemy to believe anything else. The new revelation,\ngiven by God in the message of the rocks, was received as a man-made\ntheory, that must be crushed to earth. It must be confessed likewise\nthat many of the men of science, exulting in the new light, ridiculed\nthe story told by Moses, and claimed that it was an evidence that the\nwritings of Moses were not inspired, but merely man-made fables.\n\nThe war between the Mosaic and the geological record of creation\nbecame very bitter and lasted long, and it led to a merciless\ndissection and scrutiny of the first chapter of Genesis, as well as of\nthe evidence upon which rests the geological theory of the age of the\nearth. When at last the din of the battle grew faint, and the smoke\ncleared away, it was quickly perceived by the unbiased on-lookers,\nthat the Bible and science had both gained by the conflict. Geology\nhad firmly established its claim, that the earth was not made in six\ndays of twenty-four hours each; and the first chapter of Genesis had\nbeen shown to be a marvelously truthful record of the great events of\ncreation.\n\n[Sidenote: The word day in Genesis refers to indefinite time periods.]\n\nMoses, in the first chapter of Genesis, enumerates the order of the\nevents of creation. First, light was brought to the earth and was\ndivided from darkness, \"and the evening and the morning were the first\nday.\" Then the firmament was established in the midst of the waters,\n\"and the evening and the morning were the second day.\" After each\ngroup of creative events, the same expression occurs, \"and the evening\nand the morning were the third [fourth, fifth, and sixth] days.\" Those\nwho insisted upon the literal interpretation of the language of the\nBible maintained that the word day, as used in Genesis 1, referred to\na day of twenty-four hours, and that all the events of creation were\nconsummated by an all-powerful God in one hundred and forty-four\nearthly hours. An examination of the original Hebrew for the use of\nthe word translated \"day\" in Genesis, revealed that it refers more\nfrequently to periods of time of indefinite duration.[A] When this\nbecame clear, and the records of the rocks became better known, some\ntheologians suggested, that as we are told that a thousand years are\nas one day to God, the day of Genesis 1 refers to periods of a\nthousand years each. This did not strengthen the argument. The best\nopinion of today, and it is well-nigh universal, is that the Mosaic\nrecord refers to indefinite periods of time corresponding to the great\ndivisions of historical geology.\n\n[Footnote A: Compare The Mosaic Record of Creation, A. McCaul, D. D.,\np. 213.]\n\nEven as late as the sixties and seventies of the last century this\nquestion was still so unsettled as to warrant the publication of books\ndefending the Mosaic account of creation.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: For instance Aids to Faith, containing McCaul's most able\ndiscussion. The Origin of the World, J. W. Dawson.]\n\n[Sidenote: Joseph Smith's teachings concerning creation found in the\nBook of Abraham.]\n\nIn 1830, certain visions, given to the Jewish lawgiver Moses, were\nrevealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith. These visions are now\nincorporated with other matter in the Pearl of Great Price, under the\ntitle, The Book of Moses. In chapter two of this book is found an\naccount of the creation, which is nearly identical with the account\nfound in Genesis 1. The slight variations which occur tend only to\nmake the meaning of the writer clearer. In this account, the\nexpression \"and the evening and the morning were the first [etc.]\nday,\" occurs just as it does in the Mosaic account in the Bible. In\n1835, certain ancient records found in the catacombs of Egypt fell\ninto the hands of Joseph Smith, who found them to be some of the\nwritings of Abraham, while he was in Egypt. The translation of these\nrecords is also found in the Pearl of Great Price, under the title,\nThe Book of Abraham. In the fourth and fifth chapters of the book is\nfound an account of the creation according to the knowledge of\nAbraham. The two accounts are essentially the same, but the Abrahamic\nversion is so much fuller and clearer that it illumines the obscurer\nparts of the Mosaic account. We shall concern ourselves here only with\nthe variation in the use of the word \"day.\"\n\n[Sidenote: The Book of Abraham conveys the idea that the creative\nperiods included much time.]\n\nIn Genesis 1:5 we read, \"And God called the light Day, and the\ndarkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the\nfist day.\" The corresponding period is discussed in the Book of\nAbraham 4:5 as follows: \"And the Gods called the light Day, and the\ndarkness they called Night. And it came to pass that from the evening\nuntil the morning they called night; and from the morning until the\nevening they called day; _and this was the first, or the beginning, of\nthat which they called night and day.\"_\n\nIt is to be noted that in Abraham's version names were given to the\nintervals between evening and morning, and morning and evening; but\nabsolutely nothing is said about a _first_ day: the statement is\nsimply made, that this was the beginning of the alternating periods of\nlight and darkness which _they,_ the Gods, had named night and day.\nAccording to this version, the first creative period occupied an\nunknown period of time.\n\nIn Genesis 1:8 it further says: \"And God called the firmament Heaven.\nAnd the evening and the morning were the second day.\"\n\nThe corresponding passage in the Book of Abraham 4:8, reads, \"And the\nGods called the expanse Heaven. And it came to pass that it was from\nevening until morning that they called night; and it came to pass that\nit was from morning until evening that they called day, and this was\n_the second time that they called night and day.\"_\n\nHere it must be noted that nothing is said about a second day. It is\nsaid that it was the second time that _they_ called day--which leaves\nthe second creative period entirely indefinite so far as time limits\nare concerned.\n\nIn Genesis 1:13, it reads, \"and the evening and the morning were the\nthird day.\"\n\nIn Abraham 4:13, the corresponding passage reads, \"And it came to pass\nthat they numbered the days; from the evening until the morning they\ncalled night; and it came to pass, from the morning until the evening\nthey called day; and it was the third time.\"\n\nHere it is explicitly stated that the Gods numbered the days;\nevidently, they counted the days that had passed during the third\ncreative period, and it was the third time that the numbering had been\ndone. Again, the third creative period is left indefinite, as to time\nlimits.\n\nGen. 1:19, reads, \"And the evening and the morning were the fourth\nday.\"\n\nCorrespondingly, in Abraham 4:19, is found, \"And it came to pass that\nit was from evening until morning that it was night; and it came to\npass that it was from morning until evening that it was day; and it\nwas the fourth time.\"\n\nThis quotation from Abraham, standing alone, would be somewhat\nambiguous, for it might indicate that it was the fourth time that the\nperiods between evening and morning, and morning and evening were\ncalled night and day. In the light of previous passages, however, the\nmeaning of the passage becomes clear. Certainly there is nothing in\nthe verse to confine the fourth creative period within certain time\nlimits.\n\nThe fifth day in Genesis closes as does the fourth; and the fifth time\nin Abraham closes as does the fourth. The remarks made concerning the\nfourth creative period apply to the fifth.\n\nConcerning the sixth creative period, Gen. 1:31, says, \"And God saw\neverything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the\nevening and the morning were the sixth day.\"\n\nOf the same period Abraham says, \"And the Gods said: We will do\neverything that we have said, and organize them; and behold, they\nshall be very obedient. And it came to pass that it was from morning\nuntil evening that they called night; and it came to pass that it was\nfrom evening until morning that they called day; and they numbered the\nsixth time.\"\n\nAs in the previous periods, the sixth ended by the Gods numbering the\ndays of the creative period; the sixth period, like those preceding,\nbeing indeterminate as to time.\n\nRepeated reading and study of the Abrahamic account, as revealed\nthrough Joseph Smith, make it certain beyond doubt that the intent is\nto convey the idea that the creative periods included much time, and\nthat, at the end of each period, the measure of night and day, was\napplied to the period, in order that its length might be determined.\nWhether or not the different creative periods represented days to the\nmighty beings concerned in the creation, we do not know, and it\nmatters little to the argument of this article.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: The writer understands the creation, reported in Abraham,\n4th chapter, to be spiritual in its nature; but he also believes that\nthis spiritual account is a perfect picture of the actual material\ncreation. If chapter 4 of Abraham represents the Gods planning\ncreation, the measuring of time becomes easily understood. It then\nmeans, \"How long will it take to accomplish the work?\" All this,\nhowever, has no bearing upon the present argument.]\n\nNow, then, we must remember that Joseph Smith made this translation\nlong before the theologians of the world had consented to admit that\nthe Mosaic days meant long periods of time; and long before geology\nhad established beyond question that immense time periods had been\nconsumed in the preparation of the earth for man.\n\nJoseph Smith, the humble, unlearned, despised boy, unfamiliar with\nbooks and the theories of men, stated with clear and simple certainty,\nif his works be read with the eye of candid truth, this fundamental\ntruth of geological science and the Bible, long before the learned of\nthe world had agreed upon the same truth.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: It may be remarked that other geological doctrines were\ntaught by the Prophet, that science has since confirmed. One of these\nwas discussed by Dr. J.E. Talmage in the Improvement Era, Vol. 7, p.\n481.]\n\nStanding alone, this fact might be called a chance coincidence, a\nresult of blind fate. But recalling that it is one of many similar and\neven more striking facts, what shall be said, Has ever impostor dared\nwhat Joseph Smith did? Has ever false prophet lived beyond his\ngeneration, if his prophecies were examined? Shall we of this foremost\nage accept convincing, logical truth, though it run counter to our\npreconceived notions? Glorious were the visions of Joseph the Prophet;\nunspeakable would be our joy, should they be given to us.\n\n\n\n\nChapter VIII.\n\nORGANIZED INTELLIGENCE.\n\n\n[Sidenote: A complete philosophy must consider living beings.]\n\nThe student of the constitution of the universe must take into account\nliving beings. Plants, animals and men are essentially different from\nthe mass of matter. The rock, apparently, is the same forever; but the\nplant has a beginning, and after a comparatively short existence dies.\nAnimals and men, likewise, begin their earthly existence; then, after\na brief life, die, or disappear from the immediate knowledge of living\nthings.\n\nMan, the highest type of living things, differs from the rock,\nmoreover, in that he possesses the power to exercise his will in\ndirecting natural forces. Animals and even plants seem to possess a\nsimilar power to a smaller degree. The rock on the hillside is pulled\ndownward by gravitation, but can move only if the ground is removed\nfrom beneath it by some external force. Man, on the other hand, can\nwalk up or down the hill, with or against the pull of gravity.\n\n[Sidenote: Science teaches that all phenomena may be referred to\nmatter and ether in motion.]\n\nModern science refers all phenomena to matter and motion; in other\nwords, to matter and force or energy. In this general sense, matter\nincludes the universal ether, and force includes any or all of the\nforces known, or that may be known, to man.\n\nTo illustrate: the electrician develops a current of electricity,\nwhich to the scientist is a portion of the universal ether moving in a\ncertain definite manner. When the vibrations of the ether are caused\nto change, light, or magnetism or chemical affinity may result from\nthe electricity. In every case, matter is in motion. The ear perceives\na certain sound. It is produced by the movements of the air. In fact,\nsounds are carried from place to place by great air waves. The heat of\nthe stove is due to the rapid vibration of the molecules in the iron\nof the stove, which set up corresponding vibrations in the ether.\n\nIn nature no exceptions have been found to the great scientific claim\nthat all natural phenomena may be explained by referring them to\nmatter in motion.[A] Variations in the kind of matter and the kind of\nmotion, lead to all the variations found in the universe.\n\n[Footnote A: Tyndall, Fragments of Science, I. chaps. I and II.]\n\n[Sidenote: Life is a certain form of motion.]\n\nBy many it has been held that life and its phenomena transcend the\nordinary explanations of nature. Yet, those who have learned, by\nlaborious researches, that the fundamental ideas of the universe are\nonly eternal matter, eternal energy and the universe-filling medium,\nthe ether, find it very difficult to conceive of a special force of\nlife, which concerns itself solely with very limited portions of\nmatter, and is wholly distinct from all other natural forces.\n\nTo the student of science it seems more consistent to believe that\nlife is nothing more than matter in motion; that, therefore, all\nmatter possesses a kind of life; and that the special life possessed\nby plants, animals and man, is only the highest or most complex motion\nin the universe. The life of man, according to this view, is\nessentially different from the life of the rock; yet both are certain\nforms of the motion of matter, and may be explained ultimately by the\nsame fundamental conceptions of science. Certainly, such an idea is\nmore beautifully simple than that of a special force of life, distinct\nfrom all other natural forces.\n\nIt is argued by those who uphold this view, that the simple forces of\nnature are converted by living things into the higher forces that\ncharacterize life. For instance, to keep the human body, with its\nwonderful will and intelligence, in health, it is necessary to feed\nit. The food is actually burned within the body. The heat thus\nobtained gives to the man both physical and intellectual vigor. It\nwould really appear, therefore, that heat, which is a well known,\nsimple physical force, may be converted by the animal body into other\nand more complex forces, or modes of motion, such as the so-called\nlife force.\n\n[Sidenote: A certain organization characterizes life.]\n\nNaturally, should science class life as the highest or most complex of\nthe modes of material motion, the question would arise concerning the\nmanner in which this conversion were made possible. The answer must be\nthat the ultimate particles of the matter composing the living thing\nare so arranged or organized that the great natural forces may be\nconverted into life force. It is possible by passing heat through\ncertain substances to make them luminous, thus converting heat into\nlight; by employing a dynamo, mechanical energy may be converted into\nelectrical energy; by coiling a wire around a rod of soft iron,\nelectricity may be converted into magnetism. In short, it is well\nunderstood in science, that by the use of the right machines one form\nof energy may be changed into another. It is generally assumed, that\nthe human body is so organized that the forces of heat, light and\nundoubtedly others, may be converted into higher forms, peculiar to\nliving things.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Compare, Fiske, Outlines of Cosmic Philiosophy, chap.\nXVI. Pearson, Grammar of Science, pp. 404-407. Dolbear, Matter, Ether\nand Motion, chap. XI, pp. 294-297.]\n\n[Sidenote: Protoplasm, a highly organized body, is always associated\nwith life.]\n\nTo substantiate this view, it may be recalled that the fundamental\nchemical individual in living thing is a very complex, unstable\nsubstance known as protoplasm. No living cell exists without the\npresence of this substance. It is far from being known well, as yet,\nbut enough is known to enable science to say that it is composed of\nseveral elements, so grouped and regrouped as to transcend all present\nmethods of research.[A] By means of this highly organized body, it is\nassumed that the ordinary forces of nature are worked over and made\nsuited for the needs of the phenomena of life.\n\n[Footnote A: Pearson, Grammar of Science, p. 408.]\n\nThe existence of the complex life-characteristic substance protoplasm,\nrenders probable the view that living things, after all, differ from\nthe rest of creation only in the kind and degree of their\norganization, and that life, as the word is ordinarily used, depends\nupon a certain kind or organization of matter,[A] which leads to a\ncertain kind of motion.\n\n[Footnote A: Tyndall, Fragments of Science. II, chaps. IV and VI.]\n\nAs to the origin of the special organization called life, science has\nnothing to say. Science is helpless when she deals with the beginning\nof things. The best scientific explanation of life is that it is a\nvery complex mode of motion occasioned by a highly complex\norganization of the matter and ether of the living body.\n\nThere are still some students who prefer to believe in the existence\nof a special vital force, which is not subject to the laws that govern\nother forces. This view, however, is so inconsistent with the modern\nunderstanding of the contents of the universe that it has few\nfollowers.\n\n[Sidenote: The modern conception of life is very recent.]\n\nThe view that life is a special organization by which the great\nnatural forces are focussed and concentrated, so as to accomplish the\ngreatest works, necessarily implies a belief in the modern laws of\nnature. Since modern science is of very recent development it was\nquite improbable for such a conception of life to have been held\nclearly before modern times. In fact it is within the last thirty or\nforty years that these views have found expression among scientific\ninvestigations.\n\n[Sidenote: Joseph Smith taught the universality of life.]\n\nAs observed in chapters two and three, Joseph Smith taught that the\nenergy of matter or of ether is a form of intelligence. If, according\nto this doctrine, matter and ether are intelligent; then life also\nmust reside in all matter and ether. Hence everything in the universe\nis alive. Further, since all force is motion, universal motion is\nuniversal life. The difference between rock, plant, beast and man is\nin the amount and organization of its life or intelligence. For\ninstance, in harmony with this doctrine, the earth must possess\nintelligence or life. In fact the Prophet says \"the earth......shall\nbe sanctified; yea, notwithstanding it shall die, it shall be\nquickened again, and shall abide the power by which it is\nquickened.\"[A] The statement that the earth shall die and shall be\nquickened again, certainly implies that the earth possess life,\nthough, naturally, of an order wholly different from that of men or\nother higher living things.\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants 88:25, 26.]\n\n[Sidenote: Man is coexistent with God.]\n\nIt is an established \"Mormon\" doctrine that man is coexistent with\nGod. Note the following statements: \"Ye were also in the beginning\nwith the Father.\" \"Man was also in the beginning with God.\nIntelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither\nindeed can be.\"[A] \"Yet these two spirits, notwithstanding one is more\nintelligent than the other, have no beginning; they existed before,\nthey shall have no end, they shall exist after for they are\neternal.\"[B]\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants 93:23 and 29.]\n\n[Footnote B: Book of Abraham 3:19.]\n\n[Sidenote: Joseph Smith taught that man is organized from matter,\nspirit and intelligence.]\n\nIn the account of the Creation, given in the Book of Abraham, it is\nclearly stated that the Gods organized the earth and all upon it from\navailable materials, and as the fitting climax to their labors they\n\"went down to organize man in their own image, in the image of Gods to\nform him.\"[A] The creation of man was in part at least the\norganization of individuals from eternal materials and forces. The\nnature of that organization is made partly clear by the Prophet when\nhe says \"The spirit and the body are the soul of man.\"[B] The spirit\nhere referred to may be compared to the ether of science, vibrating\nwith the force of intelligence, which is the first and highest of the\nmany forces of nature. The body, similarly, refers to the grosser\nelements, also fired with the universal energy--intelligence. The word\n_Soul,_ in the above quotation, means man as he is on earth and is\nused as in Genesis. Man, according to this, is composed of matter; the\nspirit which may be likened to ether, and energy. The organization of\nman at the beginning of our earth history, was only the clothing of\nthe eternal spiritual man with the matter which constitutes the\nperishable body. In confirmation of this view note another statement,\n\"For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element,\ninseparably connected, receiveth a fullness of joy, and when\nseparated, man can not receive a fullness of joy.\"[C] Here also it is\ntaught that man is composed of matter, spirit and energy.\n\n[Footnote A: Book of Abraham, 4th chap. (Note verse 27.)]\n\n[Footnote B: Doctrine and Covenants 88:15.]\n\n[Footnote C: Doctrine and Covenants 93:33 and 34.]\n\n[Sidenote: Intelligence is universal.]\n\nPresident Brigham Young has left an interesting paragraph that\nconfirms the statement that according to \"Mormon\" doctrine, all matter\nis intelligent, and that man is superior only because of his higher\norganization. \"Is this earth, the air and the water, composed of\nlife.....?......If the earth, air and water, are composed of life is\nthere any intelligence in this life?....Are those particles of matter\nlife; if so, are they in possession of intelligence according to the\ngrade of their organization?......We suggest the idea that there is an\neternity of life, an eternity of organization, and an eternity of\nintelligence from the highest to the lowest grade, every creature in\nits order, from the Gods to the animalculae.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: The Resurrection, p. 3. Ed. of 1884.]\n\n[Sidenote: Spirit unaided knows matter with difficulty.]\n\nThe statement that man can receive a fullness of joy only when spirit\nand element are united, is of itself a scientific doctrine of high\nimport. This is a world of matter; and a spiritual man, that is one\nmade only of the universal ether, would not be able to receive fully\nthe impressions that come from the contact of element with element. To\nenjoy and understand this world, it is necessary for the spirit to be\nclothed with matter. The ether or spirit world is not within our\nimmediate view; and it is probable that the material world is far away\nfrom purely spiritual beings.\n\n[Sidenote: God is the Master-builder.]\n\nThis whole doctrine means that God is the organizer of worlds, and all\nupon them. He is not the Creator of the materials and forces of the\nuniverse, for they are eternal; He is the master buidler who uses the\nsimple elements of nature for his purposes. It is also plain that,\naccording to \"Mormon\" doctrine, there is no special life force. The\nintelligence residing in a stone is in quality, as far as it goes, the\nsame as the intelligence possessed by man. But, man is so organized\nthat a greater amount of intelligence, a fullness of it, centers in\nhim, and he is as a consequence essentially and eternally different\nfrom the stone. President Young also said, \"The life that is within us\nis a part of an eternity of life, and is organized spirit, which is\nclothed upon by tabernacles, thereby constituting our present being,\nwhich is designed for the attainment of further intelligence. The\nmatter comprising our bodies and spirits has been organized from the\neternity of matter that fills immensity.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Journal of Discourses, vol. 7:285. (Brigham Young.)]\n\n[Sidenote: A lower intelligence cannot become a higher intelligence\nexcept by disorganization.]\n\nThis doctrine does not permit of the interpretation that a lower\nintelligence, such as that of an animal, may in time become the\nintelligence of a man. \"It remaineth in the sphere in which I, God,\ncreated it.\"[A] The horse will ever remain a horse, though the\nintelligence of the animal may increase. To make any of the\nconstituent parts or forces of an animal, part of the intelligence of\na man, it would be necessary to disorganize the animal; to organize\nthe elements into a man, and thus to begin over again.\n\n[Footnote A: Book of Moses 3:9.]\n\n[Sidenote: Joseph Smith anticipated science in the modern conception\nof life.]\n\nMen, beasts and plants--those beings that possess the higher life,\ndiffer from inanimate nature, so called, by a higher degree of\norganization. That is the dogma of \"Mormonism,\" and the doctrine of\nscience. About 1831 Joseph Smith gave this knowledge to the world; a\ngeneration later, scientific men arrived independently at the same\nconclusion.\n\n[Sidenote: The thinkers and writers of Mormonism have taught the\nforegoing doctrine of life.]\n\nThe thinkers and writers of \"Mormonism\" have more or less directly\ntaught the same doctrine. Apostle Orson Pratt believed that the body\nof man, both spiritual and earthly, was composed of atoms or ultimate\nparticles--of the Holy Spirit for the spiritual body and material\nelements for the mortal body. It has already been shown that the Holy\nSpirit of \"Mormonism\" may be compared with the ether of science,\nvibrating with the greater force of the universe--intelligence. For\ninstance: \"The intelligent particles of a man's spirit are by their\npeculiar union, but one human spirit.\"[A] \"Several of the atoms of\nthis spirit exist united together in the form of a person.\"[B]\nUndoubtedly Elder Pratt believed that the living man is simply\norganized from the elements and elementary forces of the universe.\n\n[Footnote A: Absurdities of Immaterialism, ed. 1849, p. 26.]\n\n[Footnote B: Ibid, p. 29.]\n\nPerhaps the best and safest exposition of the philosophy of\n\"Mormonism\" is Parley P. Pratt's Key to Theology. In it he states\ndefinitely that the spirit of man is organized from the elementary\nHoly Spirit. \"The holiest of all elements, the Holy Spirit, when\norganized in individual form, and clothed upon with flesh and bones,\ncontains, etc.\"[A] That the earthly body was likewise organized is\nequally plain for he says \"At the commencement--the elements--were\nfound in a state of chaos.\"[B] Then man was \"moulded from the earth as\na brick.\"[C] Again, \"The spirit of man consists of an organization of\nthe elements of spiritual matter,\"[D] which finds entrance into its\ntabernacle of flesh. In another place he defines creation by asking\n\"What is creation? Merely organization...... The material of which\nthis earth was made always did exist, and it was only an organization\nwhich took place during the time spoken of by Moses.\"[E]\n\n[Footnote A: Key to Theology, 5th ed., p. 46.]\n\n[Footnote B: Ibid, p. 49.]\n\n[Footnote C: Ibid, p. 51.]\n\n[Footnote D: Ibid, p. 131.]\n\n[Footnote E: Roberts, Mormon Doctrine of Deity, pp. 278, 279.]\n\nNumerous other authorities might be quoted to prove that the above is\nthe \"Mormon\" view.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: See especially the Prophet Joseph Smith's Sermon,\nContributor, vol. 4, pp. 256-268.]\n\nIn this chapter the intention has not been to explain fully the\ndoctrines of Joseph Smith relating to the nature of man, but to call\nattention to the fact that the present scientific conception of the\nnature of living things is the same as that of \"Mormonism.\" That\n\"Mormonism\" goes farther than science, and completes the explanation,\nis to the credit of the Prophet.\n\nIt must not be forgotten that in stating the doctrine that man is\norganized from the eternal elements and elementary forces of the\nuniverse, in such a way as to produce the phenomena of higher life,\nJoseph Smith anticipated the workers in science by nearly a\ngeneration.\n\nHow wonderful was this boy-prophet of \"Mormonism,\" if all this was\norginated within his own mind! At every point of contact, the sanest\nof modern philosophy finds counterpart in the theological structure of\nthe Gospel as taught by Joseph Smith. Is the work divine?\n\n\n\n\nTHE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL.\n\nChapter IX.\n\nFAITH.\n\n\n[Sidenote: Faith is the assurance of the existence of \"things not\nseen.\"]\n\nFor the government of the individual the first principle in Mormon\ntheology is faith. Joseph Smith defined faith in the words of the\nApostle Paul, \"Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for; the\nevidence of things not seen.\" To this the Prophet added \"From this we\nlearn that faith is the assurance which men have of things which they\nhave not seen.\"[A] On this principle, with this definition, many young\npersons who have ventured upon the sea of unbelief have wrecked the\nreligion of their childhood; for, the human mind, in some stages of\nits development, is disinclined to accept as knowledge anything that\ncan not be sensed directly.\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, Lecture I, verses 8, 9.]\n\nNowadays, the young doubter who can not accept as the foundation of\nhis religion \"things which he has not seen,\" usually turns for comfort\nand future growth to the results of science. There he finds truths\nupon truths, glorious in their beauty and susceptibility to direct and\nunmistakeable proof; and soon he declares that in so-called natural\nscience, there is no need of faith, for, if a person has only advanced\nfar enough, every concern of science may be known through one, two or\nseveral senses.\n\n[Sidenote: Such faith lies at the formation of science.]\n\nIt is true that in the beginning of science no faith seems to be\nrequired; for every statement is based on experiments and observations\nthat may be repeated by every student; and nothing is \"taken on\ntrust.\" As the deeper parts of science are explored, however, it is\nsoon discovered that in science as in theology, a faith in \"things\nthat can not be seen,\" is an essential requisite for progress. In\nfact, the fundamental laws of the great divisions of science deal with\nrealities that are wholly and hopelessly beyond the reach of man's\nfive senses.\n\n[Sidenote: The molecules are beyond man's direct senses.]\n\nAn exposition of the fundamental conception of chemical science will\nillustrate the nature of scientific faith. A fragment of almost any\nsubstance may easily be divided into two or three pieces by a stroke\nof a hammer. Each of the pieces may be broken into smaller pieces and\nthis process of division continued until the powder is as fine as\ndust. Still, each particle of the dust may be divided again and again,\nif we only have instruments fine enough to continue the process. A\nquestion which philosophy asked itself near its beginning was: Is it\npossible to keep on dividing the dust particles forever, or is there a\nparticle so small that it can not be divided again? Neither science\nnor abstract philosophy has yet been able to answer this question\nfully. However, science has learned that if such a process of division\noccurs, in course of time a particle will be obtained which is so\nsmall that if it is divided or broken, the fragments will no longer be\nof the same nature as the original substance. These smallest particles\nin which the properties of the original substance inhere, are known as\n_molecules._ Thus a molecule of sugar, when broken, falls into the\nelements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen; of salt, into sodium and\nchlorine and of water into hydrogen and oxygen.\n\nThe size of such a molecule can not be comprehended by the human mind;\nits smallness seems infinite. The mortal eye, though aided by the most\npowerful miscroscopes of modern days could not distinguish a sugar\nmolecule or even a pile of thousands of them; placed on the tongue,\nthere would be no sensation of sweetness; though it were hurled\nagainst our body with the velocity of lightning we should not feel the\nimpact. To all our senses, the molecule is wholly unknown and no doubt\nshall remain so while the earth is as it is. Yet, no fact is better\nestablished than the existence of the realities that we interpret as\nmolecules. Their relative weights and other properties have been\nsecurely determined. The existence of such a particle is as certain as\nis the existence of the sun in the high heavens.\n\n[Sidenote: Science teaches the composition of the directly unknowable\nmolecules.]\n\nNot only does science teach the existence of molecules; it looks\nwithin them and reveals their composition. For instance, a molecule of\nthe sugar known as glucose, and used by candy makers, is made up of\nsix particles of the element carbon, twelve of the element hydrogen\nand six of the element oxygen. The particles of carbon in the glucose\nmolecule are so small that if one were divided it would no longer be\ncarbon; the same with the particles of hydrogen and oxygen: if divided\nthey would change into something else--into what is not yet known to\nman. These smallest particles are called _atoms_ of the elements\ncharcoal, hydrogen and oxygen. If instead of an atom of carbon,\nhydrogen and oxygen, we write C, H, O, the composition of a molecule\nof glucose would be written C_{6}H_{12}O_{6}. These are also\nindisputable facts of science. If the molecules are far beyond the\nrange of our senses, the atoms are of course much further removed from\nthe known world.\n\n[Sidenote: Science teaches the arrangements of the atoms within the\nmolecules.]\n\nBut the chemist does not stop here. He is able to state accurately how\nthe invisible, unsensed atoms are arranged within the unknowable\nmolecule. In nature are found several glucose-like sugars, the\nmolecules of which contain the same numbers of carbon, hydrogen and\noxygen atoms. The varying properties of these sugars have been found\nto result from the different arrangements of the atoms within the\nmolecules. The structure of the molecules of three of the most common\nsugars are as follows:\n\n----------------------------------------------------------------------\n       I                 II                  III\n    DEXTROSE [A]      LAEVULOSE [A]       GALACTOSE [A]\n    H2=C-OH           H2=C-O H             H2=C-OH\n       |                 |                    |\n    HO-C-H           H O-C-H               HO-C H\n       |                 |                    |\n    HO-C-H           H O-C-H                 HC-OH\n       |                 |                    |\n     H-C-O-H           H C-O H               HC-OH\n       |                 |                    |\n    HO-C-H               C=O               HO-CH\n       |                 |                    |\n     H-C=O             H C=O                H-C=O\n----------------------------------------------------------------------\n\n[Footnote A: Dextrose and laevulose combine to form ordinary cane or\nbeet sugar. Dextrose and galactose combine to form the sugar found in\nmilk.]\n\nReferring to the above diagrams it will be observed that although each\narrangement contains the same number of atoms, yet, because of the\ndifference in arrangement, they are far from being identical. In fact,\nthe difference in the properties of the sugars may be referred to the\narrangement of the atoms in the molecules. This truth is one of the\nmost splendid achievements of modern science. All the facts, here\nbriefly outlined, are included in the atomic hypothesis, which is the\nfoundation of the modern science of chemistry.\n\n[Sidenote: Science requires a strong faith in \"things not seen.\"]\n\nScience asks us to believe in the existence of particles, unknowable\nto our senses, the molecules; then to believe in still smaller\nparticles, the atoms, which make up the molecules but whose relative\nweights and general properties have been determined. Here, a faith is\nrequired in \"things that can not be seen,\" and in the properties of\nthese things. True, the scientist does not pretend to describe the\natoms in detail, he does not need to do that to establish the\ncertainty of their existence. He looks upon them as ultimate causes of\neffects that he may note with his physical senses. Does theology\nrequire more? Does any sane man in asking us to believe in God, for\ninstance, attempt to describe him in detail?\n\nThe scientist goes farther than this, however, for he asks us not only\nto have faith in the invisible, untasteable, unfeelable atoms, but\nalso in the exact manner in which these atoms are arranged within the\nmolecule. True, it is claimed, only, that the relative arrangement is\nknown, yet the faith required still leads us far beyond the simple\nfaith in atoms. Has any man asked us to believe that he can describe\nthe structure of God's dwelling? No principle taught by Joseph Smith\nrequires a larger faith than this.\n\n[Sidenote: The conception of the ether requires large faith.]\n\nNot only in chemistry are such transcendent truths required. The\nfundamental conception of physics requires, if possible, a larger\nfaith. The explanations of modern physics rest largely upon the\ndoctrine of the universal ether. This ether is everywhere present,\nbetween the molecules and atoms; in fact the things of the universe\nare, as it were, suspended in the ocean of ether. This ether is so\nattenuated that it fills the pores of the human body without\nimpressing itself upon our consciousness, yet some of its properties\nindicate that its elasticity is equal to that of steel. As shown in\nchapter 5, the most eminent scientists of the day declare that the\nexistence of this world-ether is one of the few things of which men\nmay be absolutely sure. Yet the ether cannot be seen, heard, tasted,\nsmelled or felt. To our senses it has neither weight nor substance. To\nbelieve the existence of this ether requires a faith which is\ncertainly as great as the greatest faith required by Mormon theology.\n\nNumerous other illustrations might be cited, without greatly\nemphasizing the truth that the great fundamental doctrines of science\nrequire a great faith in realities that are beyond the reach of our\nsenses.\n\n[Sidenote: Faith comes slowly and naturally.]\n\nThe great foundations of science have not come as a \"great wakening\nlight,\" but have come slowly, through a process of normal, guided\ngrowth. The first experiment was made, from which a simple conclusion\nwas drawn; the second experiment furnished a second conclusion; the\ntwo results combined produced a third conclusion, and so on through\nthousands of experiments and conclusions, until the brilliant\nconceptions of modern science were attained. In short, the scientist\nworks very simply by careful observation of nature, \"the earth and its\nfullness,\" and by as careful reasoning from the observed facts. The\nmind builds noble structures of the materials the senses bring. The\nsame method may be employed in gaining faith in the principles of\ntheology; and the Apostle Paul tells us distinctly that the\nrighteousness of God is revealed from \"faith to faith,\" and that the\neternal power of God and the Godhead and \"the invisible things of Him\nfrom the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by\nthe things that are made.\" The scientist, likewise, begins with the\nthings that are made and proceeds \"from faith to faith,\" gaining \"here\na little, and there a little,\" until a faith is reached which, to him\nwho has not followed its growth, may seem absurd in its loftiness.\n\n[Sidenote: Science cannot progress without faith.]\n\nCertainly, no man can progress in science unless he has faith in the\ngreat inductions of scientific men. Faith is as indispensable for\nscientific progress as for theological advancement. In both cases it\nis the great principle of action.\n\nThis subject merits more extended discussion, but the exposition of\nthe nature of faith is outside the argument running through these\nchapters. It must be sufficient to remark again that Mormonism is\nstrictly scientific in stating as the first principle of the guidance\nof the individual, that of faith in unseen things; for that is the\nbasic principle for the beginner in modern science.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Read for a fuller exposition, We walk by Faith,\nImprovement Era, Volume 3, p. 561.]\n\n\n\n\nChapter X.\n\nREPENTANCE.\n\n\nThe second principle for the government of the individual, according\nto Mormon theology, is repentance. So commonly has this principle been\ndiscussed from its relation to moral law that its counterpart in all\nhuman effort has often been overlooked.\n\n[Sidenote: Repentance follows faith.]\n\nTo repent is first to turn from old practices. Thus, he who violates\nany of God's laws renders himself liable to certain punishment, but,\nif he repents, and sins no more, the punishments are averted.\nNaturally, such a change of heart and action can come only after faith\nhas been established. No man will change a habit without a\nsatisfactory reason. In fact, all the actions of men should be guided\nby reason. Repentance then is a kind of obedience or active faith; and\nis great in proportion to the degree of faith possessed by the\nindividual. Certainly, the repentance of no man can transcend his\nfaith, which includes his knowledge.\n\n[Sidenote: Scientific repentance follows scientific faith.]\n\nSo it is in science. For centuries, wounds of the body were treated\naccording to certain methods, assumed to be correct; and, especially\nin time of war, large numbers of the patients died. Then it was found\nthat low forms of life--the bacteria--infected the wounds, and caused\nthe high mortality. This led to the antiseptic treatment in surgery,\nwhich destroys germ life, and leaves the wound absolutely clean. As a\nconsequence the mortality from flesh and other wounds has diminished\nremarkably. The medical profession repented, or turned away, from its\nformer methods, and the reward was immediately felt. However, before\nantisceptic surgery was finally and fully established, faith in the\npractice had to be awakened among the members of the profession. A\nchemist, making refined analysis may apply a certain factor, assumed\nto be correct in his calculations, but in reality incorrect. As a\nresult, the determinations are wrong. When later, the correct factor\nis discovered, and applied, the results of the work become correct.\nRepentance from the previous error, changes the chemist's work from\nwrong to right. In fact, in any department of knowledge, when it is\ndiscovered that a law of nature has been violated, it becomes\nnecessary, if further progress is desired, to cease the violation.\nShould a scientist persist in violation of a known law, he knows that\nthe consequences, great or small will certainly follow.\n\n[Sidenote: Repentance means adopting new habits; not simply turning\nfrom old ones.]\n\nTo repent is more than to turn from incorrect practices. It implies\nalso the adoption of new habits. The man who has turned from his sins,\nmay learn of a law, which he has never violated, yet which if obeyed,\nmeans progress for him. If he does not follow such a law, but remains\nneutral in its presence, he certainly is a sinner. To repent from such\nsin, is to obey each higher law as it appears. In the spiritual life,\nit is impossible for the person who desires the greatest joy to remain\npassive in the presence of new principles. He must embrace them; live\nthem; make them his own.\n\nNot only must the worker in science turn from scientific error; he\nmust also accept new science as it is discovered. When the chemist,\nworking with the best known analytical methods, learns that a more\nrapid or more accurate method has been found, he must adopt the new\nfact, in order to make the results of his work more accurate. When the\nchemists of a hundred years ago learned of the atomic hypothesis, it\nbecame necessary to adopt it, in order to insure more rapid progress\nin chemistry. Those who failed to accept the new doctrine worked in\ngreater darkness, and made no material progress. Newton's doctrine of\ngravitation opened a new method of investigating the universe. Those\nwho did not adopt it were soon outdistanced by their more active\ncolleagues.\n\nIn every such case, the obedience yielded to the new knowledge is a\nkind of repentance. When a person, in religion or science, ceases to\nbreak law, he ceases from active evil; when he accepts a new law, he\nceases from passive evil. No repentance can be complete which does not\ncease from both active and passive evil.\n\n[Sidenote: Repentance is active faith.]\n\nViewed in this manner, then, repentance is obedience to law and is\nactive faith. The law, before it is obeyed, must be understood--that\nis, faith must precede repentance. Therefore, the obedience yielded\ncan increase only with the knowledge or faith of the individual. As\nthe Prophet Joseph Smith stated it, \"No man can be saved in ignorance\"\nand \"a person is saved no faster than he gains intelligence.\"\n\nRepentance is as truly the second principle of action for individuals,\nin the domain of science as of theology.\n\n\n\n\nChapter XI.\n\nBAPTISM.\n\n\nA repentant man turns from previous violation of law, and accepts\nevery new law that may be revealed to him. Repentance is obedience;\nand the repentant person is always ready to obey righteous laws.\n\nBaptism is one of the laws of the Kingdom of God. \"Except ye repent\nand be baptized ye can in nowise enter the Kingdom of God.\" The\nrepentant person must of necessity accept this law with the others\nwith which he may be familiar.\n\n[Sidenote: The equivalent of baptism found in science.]\n\nStudents of science, who agree that faith and repentance have a place\nin science, frequently assert that the equivalent of baptism is not\nfound in external nature. This claim may be proved false by examining\nthe nature of law.\n\nThe chemist must frequently produce the gas hydrogen. To do it, an\nacid must be poured upon fragments of certain metals. In thus\nproducing the gas, the chemist obeys law. The astronomer who studies\nthe stars discovers that by using a piece of glass properly ground,\nhis powers of vision appear to be strengthened. He therefore prepares\nsuch lenses for his telescopes, and thus obeys law. The surgeon uses\nantisceptics in the treatment of wounds because he has learned that\nsuch application will destroy germ life, and thus the surgeon obeys\nlaw. The electrician has found that by winding a wire in a certain\nmanner around iron and rotating it near a magnet, electric currents\nare set up. He builds dynamos according to such principles, and thus\nshows his obedience to law.\n\nIt must be noted that the scientist does not know just _why_ acid\nadded to metal produces hydrogen, or _why_ a certain curved lens\nbrings the stars nearer; or _why_ certain chemicals destroy low forms\nof life or _why_ wire wound in a certain way when rotated in the\nmagnetic field will produce electricity. Nature requires, without\nvolunteering an explanation, that to produce hydrogen, see the stars,\ndestroy germs and produce the electric current, certain invariable\nlaws must be obeyed.\n\nBaptism is essentially of the same nature. To enter the Kingdom of\nGod, a person must be baptized. Just _why_ baptism should be the\nordinance that opens the door, no man knows. It undoubtedly has high\nsymbolic value; but the symbolism might be expressed in many other\nways. All that man can do is to obey.\n\n[Sidenote: It is unreasonable to do only what is fully understood.]\n\nMen say at times that they will do nothing which they do not fully\nunderstand, and therefore they will not be baptized. It would be as\nunreasonable for a man to say that because he does not fully\nunderstand why a certain winding of the wire is necessary to produce\nelectricity he will not produce this wonderful natural force. All\ntheology and all science contain laws that must be obeyed in order to\nobtain certain results, although the full reasons for the required\ncombinations are not understood.\n\nHe who is baptized, enters the Kingdom of God. He who throws acid on\nmetal enters the kingdom of hydrogen; he who grinds the lens right,\nenters the kingdom of the stars; he who uses antisceptics right,\nenters the kingdom of lower life, and he who winds the wire correctly,\nenters the kingdom of electricity. Yielding obedience to any of these\nvarious laws, is a form of baptism, which gives entrance to a kingdom.\n\n[Sidenote: Baptism is obedience to law.]\n\nThe essential virtue of baptism is obedience to law. The prime value\nof any natural law is attained only after obedience has been yielded\nto it. Baptism is conformity to certain details in entering God's\nKingdom. Scientific baptism is conformity to certain details in\nentering the kingdom of science. Only by baptism can a man attain\nsalvation; only by using lenses of the right curvature can a man view\nthe stars. Religious success does not rest in the degree to which\nevery law is explained; but rather in the degree to which all known\nlaws are obeyed. Scientific success does not rest upon the degree to\nwhich every law is explained; but rather in the degree to which every\ndiscovered law is obeyed and applied for man's advancement.\n\nIn science and in theology man must be content \"to see through a\nglass, darkly.\" Until the essential nature of infinitude itself shall\nbe understood, man must be content to learn to use unexplained laws.\nScience is the great explainer, but she explains relations and not the\nabsolute foundations of phenomena.\n\nAfter faith or knowledge has been obtained, the alpha and omega of\nreligious or scientific progress is obedience. The cry of universal\nnature is, Obedience!\n\nViewed rationally, therefore, the baptism taught in theology is an\nordinance which has its counterpart in every department of science.\nJoseph Smith was strcitly scientific in classing baptism as the third\ngreat principle governing human action.\n\n\n\n\nChapter XII.\n\nTHE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST.\n\n\n[Sidenote: The gift of the Holy Ghost is a gift of intelligence.]\n\nBaptism by water is insufficient to open the door to God's Kingdom.\nThe Gift of the Holy Ghost, obtained by the laying on of Hands by one\nhaving authority, completes the ordinance. Not only Joseph Smith, but\nthe Savior Himself taught distinctly that to enter the Kingdom of God,\na person must be baptized by water and by fire; and the promise is\ngiven that those are \"baptized by water for the remission of sins,\nshall receive the Holy Ghost.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 84:63, 64.]\n\nJesus, speaking to His disciples, taught that \"the Comforter, which is\nthe Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach\nyou all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I\nhave said unto you.\"[A] This clearly implies that the promised gift is\nessentially a gift of increased intelligence with the added power that\nresults from a more intelligent action. That this is the Mormon view\nof the effect of the Gift of the Holy Ghost may be amply demonstrated\nfrom the standard works of the Church and from the writings of the\nleading interpreters of Mormon doctrine. Parley P. Pratt in the Key to\nTheology says, \"It quickens all the intellectual faculties, increases,\nenlarges, expands and purifies all the natural passions and affection\n* * * *. It develops and invigorates all the faculties of the physical\nand intellectual man.\"[B] The Prophet Joseph Smith declared \"This\nfirst Comforter or Holy Ghost has no other effect than pure\nintelligence. It is * * * * powerful in expanding the mind,\nenlightening the understanding, and storing the intellect with present\nknowledge.\"[C] Concisely expressed, therefore, Joseph Smith and the\nChurch he restored, teach that the Gift of the Holy Ghost, is a gift\nof \"intelligence.\"\n\n[Footnote A: John 14:26.]\n\n[Footnote B: Key to Theology, 5th ed., pp. 101, 102.]\n\n[Footnote C: History of the Church, Vol. III, p. 380.]\n\n[Sidenote: Science furnishes an equivalent of the gift of the Holy\nGhost.]\n\nIf the equivalents of faith, repentance and baptism are irrevocable\nlaws for the individual who studies science, the question arises, Is\nthere also, a scientific equivalent for the Gift of the Holy Ghost?\nEven a superficial view of the matter will reveal such an equivalent.\nTo use again the illustrations employed in the preceding chapter, if\nthe chemist has obeyed natural law in producing hydrogen, that is, has\nbeen baptized into the kingdom of hydrogen, he may by the proper use\nand study of the gas obtained, add much to his knowledge. He may learn\nthat it is extremely light; that it forms an explosive mixture with\nair; that it will destroy many vegetable colors, and will burn with an\nalmost invisible flame. Thus, the possession of the gas enlarges the\nknowledge and develops the intelligence of the scientist. Is not this\nanother form of the Gift of the Holy Ghost?\n\nThe man who is baptized into the kingdom of heavenly bodies by\ngrinding the lenses right, is enabled to learn many new facts\nconcerning the nature and motions of celestial bodies; and thus\nreceives intelligence. He who obediently winds the wire correctly\naround the iron core, may generate a current of electricity with which\nmany mighty works may be accomplished. Do not these men, as their\nintelligences are expanded, receive a Gift of the Holy Ghost, as a\nreward for their obedience to the demands of nature?\n\nIt would be possible to carry the comparisons into every scientific\naction without strengthening the argument. In science, if a person has\nfaith, repentance and is baptized, that is obeys, he will receive\nadded intelligence, which is the equivalent of the Gift of the Holy\nGhost as taught in theology. The four fundamental laws for the\nguidance of the individual are identical in Mormon theology, and in\nmodern science.\n\nJust why the laying on of hands should be necessary to complete the\nordinance of baptism is not known, any more than the reasons are known\nfor the results that follow the numberless relations that may be\nestablished by mortal man. However, the dogma of the Gift of the Holy\nGhost, is logically the fourth step in attaining scientific salvation.\n\nThus, each of the minor laws of Mormonsim might be investigated, and\nbe shown to have a scientific counterpart. For the purpose of this\nvolume, however, a more extended consideration of the laws governing\nthe actions of the individual, is unnecessary.\n\n\n\n\nChapter XIII.\n\nTHE WORD OF WISDOM.\n\n\nIt has already been remarked that the nature of the mission of Joseph\nSmith made it unlikely that references to scientific matters, and much\nless to isolated scientific facts, obtainable by proper methods of\nexperimentation should be found in the writings of the Prophet.\nNevertheless, in a revelation given March 8, 1883, statements are made\nthat can now be connected with facts of science, not generally or not\nat all known, at the time the revelation was received.\n\n\"Inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong drink among you, it is\nnot good, * * * strong drinks are not for the belly but for the\nwashing of your bodies.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 89:5, 7.]\n\n[Sidenote: The doctrine that alcohol is injurious to man is\nscientific.]\n\nAt the time this was written, many persons believed that the use of\nalcoholic drinks was injurious to human health; but more, especially\namong the uneducated classes, held quite the opposite opinion. Since\nthat day, the question concerning the value of alcohol in any form has\nbeen greatly agitated, and much new light has been obtained. This is\nnot the place to examine this famous controversy, but a few quotations\nfrom authoritative books, which are not controversial in their nature,\nwill show the coincidence between the position of science, and the\ndoctrine of Joseph Smith, in respect to this matter.\n\nThe _United States Dispensatory_ (17th ed.) speaks of the medicinal\nproperties of alcohol as follows, \"It is irritant even to the skin,\nand much more so to the delicate organs; hence, the various abdominal\ninflammations that are so frequent in habitual drunkards. A single\ndose of it, if large enough, may produce death. The nervous symptoms\ncaused by alcohol show that it has a very powerful and direct\ninfluence upon the nerve-centers. The arterial pressure and the\npulse-rate are both increased by moderate doses of alcohol, by a\ndirect influence upon the heart itself. * * * Taken habitually in\nexcess, alcohol produces the most deplorable results, and is a very\ncommon cause of fatal maladies.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Page 129, art., Alcohol Ethylicum.]\n\nDr. W. Gilman Thompson in his authoritative book on _Practical\nDietetics,_ speaking of the constant use of alcoholic beverages, says,\n\"The use of alcohol in any shape is wholly unnecessary for the use of\nthe human organism in health. * * * * The lifelong use of alcohol in\nmoderation does not necessarily shorten life or induce disease in some\npersons, while in others it undoubtedly produces gradual and permanent\nchanges which tend to weaken vital organs so that the resistance of\nthe body to disease is materially impaired. * * * * Many persons\nshould be particularly warned against the use of alcohol. * * * *\nAlthough alcohol is such a strong force-producer and heat-generator,\nits effect in this direction is very soon counter-balanced by its\nstronger influence in lowering the general tone of the nervous system\nand in producing positive degeneration in the tissues.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Pages 206, 207.]\n\nThe recent newspaper statements that alcohol has been shown to be a\nfood are based on a complete misunderstanding. The experiments\ndemonstrated that alcohol is burned within the body--which is the\nsimplest manner in which the body can rid itself of the alcohol.\n\nNo more authoritative opinions on this subject can be found than those\ncontained in the two volumes from which quotations have been made--and\nthe strongest opinions are not quoted. In spite of the isolated claims\nmade for alcohol, the fact remains that the knowledge of the world\nindicates that alcohol is a poison to the human system; that it is not\n\"for the belly.\" However, the value of the external use of alcohol,\nfor various purposes, has never been denied. On the contrary almost\nevery up to date practitioner recommends the external use of alcohol,\nas for instance after baths for lowering the temperature of fever\npatients. In this matter, then, Joseph Smith was in perfect harmony\nwith the latest results of science. It is strange that he, unlearned\nas he was, should have stated what is now known as truth, so clearly\nand simply, yet so emphatically, more than seventy years ago, before\nthe main experiments on the effect of alcohol on the human organsim\nhad been made.\n\n[Sidenote: The doctrine that tobacco is injurious to man is\nscientific.]\n\n\"And again, tobacco is not for the body, neither for the belly, and is\nnot good for man, but is an herb for bruises and all sick cattle, to\nbe used with judgment and skill.\"[A] Although tobacco has been used\nfor several centuries by civilized man, the real cause of the effect\nwhich it has upon the human body was not understood until the early\npart of the last century. In 1809, a chemist separated from tobacco an\nactive principle, in an impure state, some of the properties of which\nhe observed. In 1822, two other chemists succeeded in isolating the\nsame principle, in a pure condition, and found it to be a colorless,\noily liquid, of which two to eight per cent is found in all tobacco.\nThis substance has been called nicotine; later investigations have\nshown it to be one of the most active poisons known. Tobacco owes its\nactivity entirely to this poison.\"[B]\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 89:8.]\n\n[Footnote B: Wormley, Micro-chemistry of Poisons, 2nd ed., pp. 434,\n435.]\n\nThe intensely poisonous nature of nicotine is illustrated by a number\nof cases on record. One drop placed on the tongue of a cat caused\nimmediate prostration, and death in seventy-eight seconds. A smaller\ndrop was placed on the tongue of another cat, which resulted in death\nafter two minutes and a half. A third cat to which a similar quantity\nhad been administered was dead after seventy-five seconds. A man who\nwas accustomed to smoking took a chew of tobacco, and after a quarter\nof an hour accidently swallowed the mass. An hour later he became\nunconscious and died. In another case, in which an ounce of tobacco\nhad been swallowed, death resulted in seven hours. In still another\ncase, one ounce of tobacco was boiled in water, and the solution drunk\nas an remedy for constipation. The patient died in three quarters of\nan hour.[A] These, and numerous other cases, illustrate the intensely\npoisonous nature of tobacco. The evil effects of the repeated use of\nsmall amounts of tobacco, in smoking or chewing are also well\nunderstood.\n\n[Footnote A: Ibid, pp. 436, 437.]\n\n[Sidenote: Joseph Smith probably did not know the poisonous nature of\ntobacco in 1833.]\n\nIt was in 1828, about five years before Joseph Smith's doctrine with\nrespect to tobacco was given, that nicotine was obtained in a pure\nstate. Many years later the chemists and physiologists learned to\nunderstand the dangerous nature of the tobacco poison. It does not\nseem probable that Joseph Smith had heard of the discovery of nicotine\nin 1833; the discovery was announced in a German scientific journal,\nand in those days of few newspapers, scientific news, even of public\ninterest, was not made generally known as quickly as is the case\ntoday. In fact, Hyrum Smith, the brother of the Prophet, on May 29,\n1842, delivered a sermon upon the Word of Wisdom in which he says,\n\"Tobacco is a nauseous, stinking, abominable thing;\"[A] but nothing\nworse, thus basing his main objection to it on the revealed word of\nthe Lord. Had Joseph and his associates been familiar with the\nisolation of nicotine and its properties, they would undoubtedly have\nmentioned it in sermons especially directed against the use of\ntobacco. In any case, at a time when it was but vaguely known that\ntobacco contained a poisonous principle, it would have been extremely\nhazardous for the reputation of an impostor to have claimed a\nrevelation from God, stating distinctly the injurious effects of\ntobacco.\n\n[Footnote A: The Contributor, vol. iv., p. 13; Improvement Era, Vol.\n4. pp. 943-9.]\n\nIt should also be noted that Joseph Smith says that when tobacco is\nused for bruises and all sick cattle, it should be used with judgment\nand skill, thus impressing caution even in the external application of\nthe herb. This is fully borne out by facts, for it has been found that\n\"the external application of tobacco to abraded surfaces, and even to\nthe healthy skin, has been attended with violent symptoms, and even\ndeath.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Wormley, Micro-chemistry of Poisons, p. 436.]\n\nIn the matter of the chemistry and physiological action of tobacco,\nthen, the Prophet, in 1833, was in full accord with the best knowledge\nof 1908. In the emphasis of his doctrine, he even anticipated the\nworld of science.\n\n\"And again, hot drinks are not for the body or belly.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 89:9.]\n\n[Sidenote: The doctrine that tea and coffee are injurious to man is\nscientific.]\n\nWhen this statement was made, in 1833, the meaning of the expression\nhot drinks was not clearly understood. Many believed that the only\nmeaning of the above statement was that drinks that are hot enough to\nburn the mouth should not be used. Others, however, claimed for the\ndoctrine a deeper meaning. To settle the difficulty, appeal was made\nto Joseph Smith who explained that tea, coffee and similar drinks were\nmeant by the expression hot drinks. From that time on, the Church has\ntaught that tea and coffee should not be used by mankind.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: See The Contributor, vol. iv. p. 13; Improvement Era, vol\n4, pp. 943-9.]\n\nIn the year 1821, several chemists isolated from coffee a bitter\nprinciple, of peculiar properties, which was named caffein. In 1827,\nthe same substance was found to occur in tea. Numerous analysis show\nthat there are between one and two per cent of caffein in coffee, and\nbetween three and six percent in tea. Later investigations have shown\nthat caffein belongs to the vegetable poisons, and that its poisonous\naction is very strong.\n\nAmong the medical properties of caffein are the following, \"in doses\nof three to five grains, it produces a peculiar wakefulness--after a\ndose of twelve grains, it produces intense physical restlessness and\nmental anxiety. Upon the muscles it acts as a powerful poison--it is\nused in medicines as a brain and heart stimulant.\"[A] Fatal cases of\npoisoning are also on record.\n\n[Footnote A: U. S. Dispensatory, 17th ed., pp. 278 and 279.]\n\nCaffein is not in any sense a food, but, as a stimulant, must be\nclassed with tobacco, opium and other similar substances. Owing to its\naction on the heart and circulation, the body becomes heated, and in\nthat sense a solution of caffein is a \"hot drink.\" The use of tea and\ncoffee in health is now generally condemned by the best informed\npersons in and out of the medical profession. Dr. W. Gilman Thompson\nsays, \"The continuance of the practice of drinking coffee to keep\nawake soon results in forming a coffee or tea habit, in which the\nindividual becomes a slave to the beverage. * * * Muscular tremors are\ndeveloped, with nervousness, anxiety, dread of impending evil,\npalpitation, heartburn, dyspepsia and insomnia. * * * It produces\ngreat irritability of the whole nervous system and one may even\noverexcite the mind.\"[A] While it is true that one cup of coffee or\ntea does not contain enough caffein to injure the system, yet the\ncontinual taking of these small doses results in a weakening of the\nwhole system, that frequently leads to premature death.\n\n[Footnote A: Practical Dietetics, p. 199.]\n\nThe U. S. Consular and Trade Report for January, 1906,[A] warns\nagainst the use of coffee in the following words, \"The important\nconnection between consumption of coffee and epilepsy which deserves\nto be known everywhere, serves as a warning to be extremely careful\nwith coffee made of beans containing caffein, and at any rate,\nchildren should be deprived of it entirely, otherwise their health\nwill be exposed to great danger.\"\n\n[Footnote A: Page 249.]\n\nBesides caffein, both tea and coffee contain an astringent known as\ntannic acid. In coffee this substance is present only in small\nquantity, but in tea from four to twelve per cent occurs. Tannic acid\nis the substance found in oak bark, and has the property of making\nanimal tissues hard--that is, makes leather of them. The habitual tea\ndrinker subjects the delicate lining of the stomach and intestines to\nthe action of this powerful drug.\n\nWithout going into further details, it is readily seen that the\nteachings of Joseph Smith, in 1833, in relation to the value of tea\nand coffee in human drinks, harmonizes with the knowledge of today.\nMoreover, he was in advance, in the certainty of his expressions, of\nthe scientists of his day. It is true that caffein had been found in\ncoffee and tea a few years before the revelation of 1833, but the\nphysiological action of the drug was not known until many years\nafterwards. Besides, as in the case of tobacco, the Church leaders in\nspeaking against the use of tea and coffee did not mention the\npoisonous principle that had recently been discovered in them; thus\nrevealing their ignorance of the matter.\n\n[Sidenote: The doctrines regarding the values of herbs and fruits\nharmonize with recent scientific truths.]\n\n\"And again, * * * all wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the\nconstitution, nature, and use of man. Every herb in the season\nthereof, and every fruit in the season thereof; all these to be used\nwith prudence and thanksgiving.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants 89:10, 11.]\n\nThis doctrine, which seems self-evident now, also evidences the divine\ninspiration of the Prophet Joseph. At the time this revelation was\ngiven, food chemistry was not understood; and, in fact, it was not\nuntil about 1860, that the basis upon which rests our knowledge of\nfood chemistry, was firmly established. We now know that every plant\ncontains four great classes of compounds: mineral substances, fats,\nsugars and starches, and protein, or the flesh-forming elements. We\nfurther know that no plant can live and grow without containing these\ngroups of nutrients. It is also well understood that these substances\nare necessary for the food of the animal body, and that animal tissues\nare, themselves, composed of these groups, though in different\nproportions. In short, it has long been an established fact of science\nthat any plant that does not contain a poisonous principle, may by\nproper cooking be used as a food for man.\n\nWhen Joseph Smith wrote, this was a daring suggestion to make, for\nthere was absolutely no fact aside from popular experience, upon which\nto base the conclusion. The qualifying phrase, \"all wholesome herbs,\"\nundoubtedly refers to the existence of classes of plants like coffee,\ntea, tobacco, etc., which contain some special principle injurious to\nthe health.\n\n[Sidenote: The doctrine concerning the use of meats is scientific.]\n\n\"Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord,\nhave ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving; nevertheless they\nare to be used sparingly; and it is pleasing unto me that they should\nnot be used only in times of winter, or of cold, or of famine.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 89:12, 13.]\n\nThe breadth of this doctrine lies in the fact that it is not\nabsolutely forbidden to eat meat, as in all probability a fanatic,\nguided by his own wisdom, might have done; yet it must be observed,\nthe implication is clear that it is possible for man to live without\nmeat. Vegetarianism had been taught and practiced long before the days\nof Joseph Smith; but there had been no direct, positive proof that\nplants contain all the substances necessary for the sustenance of\nlife. As stated above, it is now known that every class of nutritive\nsubstance found in meat is also found in plants. This is in full\nharmony with the implied meaning of Joseph Smith in the statement\nregarding the abstaining from meat.\n\n[Sidenote: The distinction between the values of grains is also\nscientific.]\n\n\"All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the\nstaff of life. * * * All grain is good for the food of man, as also\nthe fruit of the vine, that which yieldeth fruit, whether in the\nground or above the ground. Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for\nthe ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine,\nand for all beasts of the field, and barley for all useful animals,\nand for mild drinks, as also other grain.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 89:14, 16 and 17.]\n\nThe first part of this teaching, that all grain can be used by man and\nbeast, corresponds to the earlier statement that all wholesome plants\nmay be used by man. The latter part respecting the best grain for\ncertain classes of animals, is of a different nature and merits\nspecial consideration. As already mentioned, all plants and plant\nparts contain four great groups of nutritive substances. The relative\nproportions of these grains are different in different plants or plant\nparts. For instance, wheat contains about 71.9 per cent of starch and\nsugar; corn, 70.2 per cent; oats, 59.7 per cent; rye, 72.5 per cent;\nand barley, 69.8 per cent. Wheat contains about 11.9 per cent of\nprotein or the flesh-forming elements; corn, 11.4 per cent; oats, 11.8\nper cent; rye, 10.6 per cent; and barley 12.4 per cent.[A] It has\nfurther been demonstrated that a man or beast doing heavy work,\nrequires a larger proportion of starch and sugar in his dietary than\ndoes one which has less work to do. Likewise, different classes of\nanimals require different proportions of the various nutrients, not\nonly through life but at the various periods of their lives. This\nprinciple has been recognized so fully that during the last\nthirty-five or forty years the attention of experimenters has been\ndirected toward the elucidation of laws which would make known the\nbest combinations of foods for the various classes of farm animals, as\nwell as for man. It must also be remarked that recent discoveries in\nscience are showing more deep-seated differences in the composition of\ngrains, than those here mentioned, as also corresponding differences\nin various classes of animals. Science will soon throw more light on\nthis subject, and in all probability will confirm the views of Joseph\nSmith, with respect to the grain best adapted to certain animals.\n\n[Footnote A: The Feeding of Animals, Jordan, p. 424.]\n\nA thoughtful reading of the above quotation clearly shows that Joseph\nSmith recognized the fundamental truth of food chemistry; namely, that\nwhile all plants contain the elements necessary for animal growth, yet\nthe proportions of these elements are so different as to make some\nplants better adapted than others to a certain class of animals. That\nthe \"Mormon\" prophet should have enunciated this principle from twenty\nto thirty years in advance of the scientific world, must excite wonder\nin the breast of any person, be he follower or opponent of Joseph\nSmith.\n\nThe discussion of the important statements made in section 89 of the\nbook of _Doctrine and Covenants,_ might be elaborated into a volume.\nThe merest outline has been given here. The physiological teachings of\nthe prophet concerning work, cleanliness and sleep, might also be\nconsidered with profit.\n\n[Sidenote: Joseph Smith anticipated the world of science in the word\nof wisdom.]\n\nTo summarize the contents of this chapter: Joseph Smith clearly\nrecognized and taught the physiological value of alcohol, tobacco,\nanticipated the tea and coffee, at a time when scientific world of\nscience discoveries were just beginning to reveal the active\nprinciples of these commodities. The probability is that he knew\nnothing of what the world of science was doing in this direction, at\nthe time the doctrine was taught. Joseph Smith clearly recognized and\ntaught the fundamental truths of food chemistry, and the food relation\nof vegetable products to man, nearly a generation before scientists\nhad arrived at the same doctrine. Whence came his knowledge?\n\n\n\nTHE DESTINY OF EARTH AND MAN.\n\nChapter XIV.\n\nTHE LAW OF EVOLUTION.\n\n\n[Sidenote: Whence? Where?]\n\nTo every intelligence the question concerning the purpose of all\nthings must at some time present itself. Every philosophical system\nhas for its ultimate problem the origin and the destiny of the\nuniverse. Whence? Where?--the queries which arise before every human\nsoul, and which have stimulated the truth-seekers of every age in\ntheir wearisome task of searching out nature's laws. Intelligent man\ncannot rest satisfied with the recognition of the forces at work in\nthe universe, and the nature of their actions; he must know, also, the\nresultant of the interaction of the forces, or how the whole universe\nis affected by them; in short, man seeks the law of laws, by the\noperation of which, things have become what they are, and by which\ntheir destiny is controlled. This law when once discovered, is the\nfoundation of religion as well as of science, and will explain all\nphenomena.\n\n[Sidenote: The only rational philosophy is based on science.]\n\nIt was well toward the beginning of the last century before\nphilosophical doctrines rose above mere speculation, and were based\nupon the actual observation of phenomena. As the scientific method of\ngathering facts and reasoning from them became established, it was\nobserved that in all probability the great laws of nature were\nthemselves controlled by some greater law. While many attempts have\nbeen made to formulate this law, yet it must be confessed, frankly,\nthat only the faintest outline of it is possesesd by the world of\nscience.\n\nThe sanest of modern philosophers, and the one who most completely\nattempted to follow the method of science in philosophical writings,\nwas Herbert Spencer. Early in his life, he set himself the task of\nconstructing a system of philosophy which should be built upon man's\nreliable knowledge of nature. A long life permitted him to realize\nthis ambition. Though his works are filled with conclusions which\ncannot be accepted by most men, yet the facts used in his reasoning\nare authentic. By the world at large, the philosophy of Herbert\nSpencer is considered the only philosophy that harmonizes with the\nknowledge of today.\n\n[Sidenote: All things are continually changing.--This is the\nfoundation of evolution.]\n\nAfter having discussed, with considerable fullness, the elements of\nnatural phenomena, such as space, time, matter, motion and force, Mr.\nSpencer concludes that all evidence agrees in showing that \"every\nobject, no less than the aggregate of objects, undergoes from instant\nto instant some alteration of state.\"[A] That is to say that while the\nuniverse is one of system and order, no object remains exactly as it\nis, but changes every instant of time.\n\n[Footnote A: First Principles, p. 287.]\n\nIn two directions only can this ceaseless change affect an object; it\neither becomes more complex or more simple; it moves forward or\nbackward; it grows or decays. In the words of Spencer, \"All things are\ngrowing or decaying, accumulating matter or wearing away, integrating\nor disintegrating.\"[A] This, then, is the greatest known fundamental\nlaw of the universe, and of all things in it--that nothing stands\nstill, but either progresses (evolution), or retrogrades\n(dissolution). Now, it has been found that under normal conditions all\nthings undergo a process of evolution; that is, become more complex,\nor advance.[B] This, in its essence, is the law of evolution, about\nwhich so much has been said during the last fifty years. Undoubtedly,\nthis law is correct, and in harmony with the known facts of the\nuniverse. It certainly throws a flood of light upon the phenomena of\nnature; though of itself, it tells little of the force behind it, in\nobedience to which it operates.\n\n[Footnote A: Loc. cit., p. 292.]\n\n[Footnote B: Loc. cit., p. 337.]\n\nSpencer himself most clearly realized the insufficiency of the law of\nevolution alone, for he asks, \"May we seek for some all-pervading\nprinciple which underlies this all pervading process!\"[A] and proceeds\nto search out this \"all-pervading principle\" which at last he\ndetermines to be the persistence of force--the operation of the\nuniversal, indestructible, incomprehensible force, which appears as\ngravitation, light, heat, electricity, magnetism, chemical affinity\nand in other forms.[B]\n\n[Footnote A: First Principles, p. 408.]\n\n[Footnote B: Loc. cit., p. 494.]\n\n[Sidenote: Evolution does not admit a final death.]\n\nA natural question now is, Is there any limit to the changes undergone\nby matter, and which we designate as evolution? \"Will they go on\nforever? or will there be an end to them?\"[A] As far as our knowledge\ngoes, there is an end to all things, a death which is the greatest\nknown change, and as far as human experience goes, all things tend\ntoward a death-like state of rest. That this rest is permanent is not\npossible under law of evolution; for it teaches that an ulterior\nprocess initiates a new life; that there are alternate eras of\nevolution and dissolution. \"And thus there is suggested the conception\nof a past during which there have been successive evolutions analogous\nto that which is now going on; and a future during which successive\nother such evolutions may go on ever the same in principle but never\nthe same in concrete result.\"[B] This is practically the same as\nadmitting eternal growth.\n\n[Footnote A: Loc. cit., p. 496.]\n\n[Footnote B: Loc. cit., p. 550.]\n\nThe final conclusion is that \"we can no longer contemplate the visible\ncreation as having a definite beginning or end, or as being isolated.\nIt becomes unified with all existence before and after; and the force\nwhich the universe presents falls into the same category with space\nand time, as admitting of no limitation in thought.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Loc. cit., p. 564.]\n\n[Sidenote: Spirit and matter are alike.]\n\nIt is interesting to note the conclusion concerning spirit and matter,\nto which Mr. Spencer is led by the law of evolution. \"The materialist\nand spiritualist controversy is a mere war of words, in which the\ndisputants are equally absurd--each thinking that he understands that\nwhich it is impossible for any man to understand. Though the relation\nof subject and object renders necessary to us these antithetical\nconceptions of spirit and matter; the one is no less than the other to\nbe regarded as but a sign of the Unknown Reality which underlies\nboth.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: First Principles, pp. 570 and 572.]\n\nWhile the law of evolution, as formulated by Spencer and accepted by\nthe majority of modern thinkers, is the nearest approach to the truth\npossessed by the world of science, yet there is no disposition on the\npart of the writer to defend the numerous absurdities into which\nSpencer and his followers have fallen when reasoning upon special\ncases.\n\n[Sidenote: Evolution and natural selection do not necessarily go\ntogether.]\n\nMany years before Mr. Spencer's day, it had been suggested, vaguely,\nthat advancement seemed to be the great law of nature. Students of\nbotany and zoology were especially struck by this fact, for they\nobserved how animals and plants could be made to change and improve\nunder favorable conditions, by the intervention of man's protection.\nIn 1859, Mr. Charles Darwin published a theory to account for such\nvariation, in which he assumed that there is a tendency on the part of\nall organisms to adapt themselves to their surroundings, and to change\ntheir characteristics, if necessary, in this attempt. He further\nshowed that in the struggle for existence among animals and plants,\nthe individual best fitted for its environment usually survives. These\nfacts, Mr. Darwin thought, led to a process of natural selection, by\nwhich, through long ages, deep changes were caused in the structure of\nanimals. In fact, Darwin held that the present-day plants and animals\nhave descended from extinct and very different ancestors.[A] The\nexperiences of daily life bear out the assertion that organic forms\nmay be changed greatly--witness the breeding of stock and crops,\npracticed by all intelligent farmers--and all in all the theory seemed\nso simple that numerous biologists immediately adopted it, and began\nto generalize upon it. Having once accepted the principle that the\npresent-day species have descended from very unlike ancestors, it was\neasy to assume that all organic nature had descended from one common\nstock. It was claimed that man, in a distant past, was a monkey; still\nearlier, perhaps, a reptile; still earlier a fish, and so on. From\nthat earliest form, man had become what he is by a system of natural\nselection. In spite of the absence of proofs, such ideas became\ncurrent among the scientists of the day. In this view was included, of\ncourse, the law of evolution or growth, and thus, too, the law became\nassociated with the notion that man has descended from the lower\nanimals. In fact, however, the law of evolution is just as true,\nwhether or not Darwin's theory of natural selection be adopted.\n\n[Footnote A: Origin of Species, p. 6.]\n\nIn justice to Darwin, it should be said that he in nowise claimed that\nnatural selection was alone sufficient to cause the numerous changes\nin organic form and life; but, on the contrary, held that it is only\none means of modification.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Origin of Species, p. 6; also Darwin and After Darwin\nRomanes, Vol. II. pp. 2-6.]\n\nProfessor Huxley, who, from early manhood, was an eminent and ardent\nsupporter of the Darwinian hypothesis frankly says, \"I adopt Mr.\nDarwin's hypothesis, therefore, subject to the production of proof\nthat physiological species may be produced by selective breeding; and\nfor the reason that it is the only means at present within reach of\nreducing the chaos of observed facts to order.\"[A] After writing a\nbook to establish the descent of man from apes, Professor Huxley is\nobliged to confess that \"the fossil remains of man hitherto discovered\ndo not seem to take us appreciably nearer to that lower pithecoid\nform, by the modification of which he has, probably, become what he\nis.\"[B]\n\n[Footnote A: Man's Place in Nature, p. 128.]\n\n[Footnote B: Loc. cit., p. 183.]\n\nThis is not the place to enter into this famous controversy. The\nrelation of the theory of natural selection to the law of evolution is\nnot established; that man and the great classes of animals and plants\nhave sprung from one source is far from having been proved; that the\nfirst life came upon this earth by chance is as unthinkable as ever.\nEven at the present writing, recent discoveries have been reported\nwhich throw serious doubt upon natural selection as an all-sufficient\nexplanation of the wonderful variety of nature. The true scientific\nposition of the Darwinian hypothesis is yet to be determined.\n\nThe moderate law of evolution which claims that all normal beings are\nadvancing, without asserting that one form of life can pass into\nanother, is, however, being more and more generally accepted, for it\nrepresents an eternal truth, of which every new discovery bears\nevidence.\n\n[Sidenote: Joseph Smith taught the law of eternal growth--evolution.]\n\nWere it not that the law of evolution is of such fundamental value in\nthe understanding of natural phenomena, it would hardly be expected\nthat the calling of Joseph Smith would necessitate any reference to\nit. Besides, upwards of fifteen years elapsed after the martyrdom of\nJoseph and Hyrum Smith before the world of science conceived the\nhypothesis. One of the leading doctrines of the Church resembles the\nspirit of the law of universal growth so nearly that one is forced to\nbelieve that the great truth embodied by this doctrine is the truth\nshadowed forth by the law of evolution.\n\nThe doctrine of God, as taught by Joseph Smith, is the noblest of\nwhich the human mind can conceive. No religion ascribes to God more\nperfect attributes than does that of the Latter-day Saints. Yet the\nChurch, asserts that God was not always what he is today. Through\ncountless ages he has grown towards greater perfection, and at the\npresent, though in comparison with humankind, he is omniscient and\nomnipotent, he is still progressing. Of the beginning of God, we have\nno record, save that he told his servant Abraham, \"I came down in the\nbeginning in the midst of all the intelligences thou hast seen.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Book of Abraham, 3:21.]\n\nAs told by Joseph Smith, in May, 1833, John the Apostle said of God,\nJesus Christ, \"And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at\nfirst, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness;\nand thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the\nfulness at first.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 93:12-14.]\n\n[Sidenote: Man will develop until he becomes like God.]\n\nMan, likewise, is to develop until, in comparison with his present\ncondition, he becomes a God. For instance, in speaking of the\nsalvation to which all men who live correct lives shall attain, the\nProphet says, \"For salvation consists in the glory, authority,\nmajesty, power and dominion which Jehovah possesses;\"[A] and in\nanother place, \"Then shall they be Gods, because they have no end;\ntherefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they\ncontinue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject\nunto them. Then shall they be Gods, because they have all power.\"[B]\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, Lectures on Faith, 7:8.]\n\n[Footnote B: Doctrine and Covenants, 132:20.]\n\nThat this is not a sudden elevation, but a gradual growth, is evident\nfrom many of the writings of Joseph Smith, of which the following are\nillustrations. \"He that receiveth light and continueth in God,\nreceiveth more light, and that light groweth brighter and brighter\nuntil the perfect day.\"[A] \"For if you keep my commandments you shall\nreceive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father;\ntherefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace.\"[B]\n\n[Footnote A: Ibid., 50:24.]\n\n[Footnote B: Ibid., 93:20.]\n\nIn various sermons Joseph Smith enlarged upon the universal principle\nof advancement, but few of them have been preserved for us. In a\nsermon delivered in April, 1844, the following sentences occur, \"God\nhimself was once as we are now, and is an exalted Man, and sits\nenthroned in yonder heavens. You have got to learn how to be Gods\nyourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods\nhave done before you; namely, by going from one small degree to\nanother, and from a small capacity to a great one; from grace to\ngrace, from exaltation to exaltation.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Contributor, vol. 4, pp. 254 and 255.]\n\n[Sidenote: Joseph Smith anticipated science in the statement of the\nlaw of evolution.]\n\nThe preceding quotations suffice to show that with regard to man,\nJoseph Smith taught a doctrine of evolution which in grandeur and\nextent surpasses the wildest speculations of the scientific\nevolutionist. Yet Joseph Smith taught this doctrine as one of eternal\ntruth, taught him by God. There can be no doubt that the truth behind\nSpencer's law of evolution, and the doctrine taught by the \"Mormon\"\nprophet, are the same. The great marvel is that Joseph Smith, who knew\nnot the philosophies of men, should have anticipated by thirty years\nor more the world of science in the enunciation of the most\nfundamental law of the universe of living things.\n\n[Sidenote: Animals are subject to evolution.]\n\nNow, it is true that Joseph Smith did not extend this law to the lower\nanimals; but it must be remembered that his mission on earth was to\nteach a system of redemption for men. Yet, it is an interesting\nobservation that he taught that men and animals had a spiritual\nexistence, before they were placed on earth. \"For I, the Lord God,\ncreated all things of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they\nwere naturally upon the face of the earth. And out of the ground made\nI, the Lord God, to grow every tree, naturally, that is pleasant to\nthe sight of man; and man could behold it. And it became also a living\nsoul. For it was spiritual in the day that I created it; for it\nremaineth in the sphere in which I, God, created it.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Book of Moses, 3:5 and 9. See also Doctrine and\nCovenants, 29:31, 32.]\n\nIf, in common with men, animals and plants were created spiritually,\nit may not be an idle speculation that the lower forms of life will\nadvance, in their respective fields, as man advances in his. However,\na statement in the above quotation must not be overlooked, \"It\nremaineth in the sphere in which I, God, created it.\" This would\npreclude any notion that by endless development a plant may become an\nanimal, or that one of the lower classes of animals become a high\nanimal, or a man. Is not this the place where, perhaps, the evolution\nof science has failed? All things advance, but each order of creation\nwithin its own sphere. There is no jumping from order to order. The\nlimits of these orders are yet to be found.\n\nSpencer's belief that one period of evolution follows another[A] is\nbrought strongly to mind in contemplating the doctrine of Joseph Smith\nthat man, and other things, had first a spiritual existence, now an\nearthly life, then a higher existence after death. Is not the\nparallelism strong--and may it not be that here, also, the \"Mormon\"\nprophet could have shown the learned philosopher the correct way?\n\n[Footnote A: First Principles, p. 550.]\n\n[Sidenote: God is the compelling power of evolution.]\n\nFinally, one other suggestion must be made. Spencer, after a long and\ninvolved argument, concludes (or proves as he believes) that the great\nlaw of evolution is a necessity that follows from the law of the\npersistence of force. In chapter two of this series, the scientific\nconception of the persistence of force was identified with the\noperations of the Holy Spirit, as taught by Joseph Smith. This Spirit\nis behind all phenomena; by it as a medium, God works his will with\nthe things of the universe, and enables man to move on to eternal\nsalvation, to advance, and become a God; every law is of necessity a\nresult of the operation of this Spirit. Here, again, the \"Mormon\"\nprophet anticipated the world of science; and his conceptions are\nsimplier and more direct than those invented by the truth-seekers, who\ndepended upon themselves and their own powers.\n\nMarvelous is this view of the founder of \"Mormonism.\" Where did he\nlearn in his short life, amidst sufferings and persecution such as few\nmen have known, the greatest mysteries of the universe!\n\n\n\n\nChapter XV.\n\nTHE PLAN OF SALVATION.\n\n\n[Sidenote: Why am I on earth?]\n\nIn the preceding chapter the law of evolution was shown to be the\ncementing law of nature, which explains the destiny of man. To live is\nto change, and (if the change is right) to grow. Through all the ages\nto come righteous man will increase in complexity and will grow\ntowards a condition of greater knowledge, greater power and greater\nopportunity.\n\nWhile the great law of evolution may be quite sufficient for the\ngeneral survey, it does not explain the special conditions amidst\nwhich organized intelligences find themselves. Man asks, Why am I on\nearth? Science is silent. Up to the present time, many scientific men\nhave not found it necessary to postulate an intelligent force behind\nthe phenomena of nature, which would explain our earthly existence.\n\nThe Mormon answer to this question lies in the Mormon doctrine of the\nplan of salvation. There can be no attempt to harmonize the Mormon\nplan with that of science, for science has none; but, that the Mormon\nplan of salvation is strictly scientific, and rests upon the\nirrevocable laws of the universe can certainly be demonstrated.\n\n[Sidenote: Perfection comes only when matter, spirit and intelligence\nare associated.]\n\nFundamental, in the doctrines of Joseph, is the statement that all\nintelligence is eternal; and that God at the best is the organizer of\nthe spirits of men. The ether of science has been compared with the\nHoly Spirit of Mormonism. The spirit body may be likened to an ether\nbody of man, and is the condition of his original existence. From the\noriginal condition, at man's spiritual birth, under the law of\nevolution he has steadily grown in complexity, which means in power.\n\nIn the universe are recognized ether or spirit, force or intelligence,\nand matter. Matter may act upon the ether and the ether upon matter;\nbut ether acts most effectively upon ether, and matter upon matter.\nThe original man, in whom intelligence and other forces acted through\na purely spiritual or ether body, could impress matter and be\nimpressed by it only in part. The man was imperfect because he did not\ntouch directly the world of matter, and could know only in part the\nphenomena of the material world, which forms an integral part of the\nuniverse. In the words of Joseph Smith, \"Spirit and element\ninseparably connected, receiveth a fullness of joy, and when\nseparated, man can not receive a fullness of joy.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 93:33, 34.]\n\nFor man's perfection, it then became necessary that his spiritual body\nshould be clothed with a material one, and that he should become as\nfamiliar with the world of matter, as he had become with the world of\nspirit. God, as the supreme intelligence, who desired all other\nspirits to know and become mighty, led in the formulation of the plan,\nwhereby they should obtain knowledge of all the contents of the\nuniverse.\n\n[Sidenote: The fall of Adam necessary to perfect intelligence.]\n\nFor the purpose of perfecting the plan, a council of the Gods, or\nperfected intelligences was called. It was decided to organize an\nearth from available materials, and place the spirits on it, clothed\nwith bodies of the grosser elements. An essential function of\nintelligence is free agency; and that the spirits might have the\nfullest opportunity to exercise this agency in their earthly career,\nthey were made to forget the events of their spiritual existence. To\nlearn directly the nature of grossest matter, the earth bodies of\nnecessity were made subject to the process of the disintegration\ncalled death.\n\nTo make possible the subjection of eternal, spiritual organized\nintelligences to perishable, material structures, certain natural laws\nwould naturally be brought into operation. From the point of view of\nthe eternal spirit, it might mean the breaking of a law directed\ntowards eternal life; yet to secure the desired contact with matter,\nthe spirit was compelled to violate the law. Thus, in this earth life,\na man who desires to acquire a first hand acquaintance with magnetism\nand electricity, may subject himself to all kinds of electric shocks,\nthat, perhaps, will affect his body injuriously; yet, for the sake of\nsecuring the experience, he may be willing to do it. Adam, the first\nman, so used natural laws that his eternal, spiritual body became\nclothed upon with an earthly body, subject to death. Then in begetting\nchildren, he was able to produce earthly bodies for the waiting\nspirits.\n\nAccording to this doctrine, the socalled Fall of Adam was\nindispensable to the evolving of organized intelligences that should\nhave a complete acquaintance with all nature, and a full control over\ntheir free agencies. If laws were broken, it was done because of the\nheroism of the first parents, and not because of their sinfulness.\n\nMormon theology does not pretend to say in what precise manner Adam\nwas able to secure his corruptible body; neither is science able to\nanswer all the \"whys\" suggested by recorded experiences. The doctrines\nof Joseph Smith maintain, however, that the events connected with the\nintroduction of organized intelligences on this earth, were in full\naccord with the simple laws governing the universe. That the Mormon\nview of this matter, so fundamental in every system of theology, is\nrational, can not be denied.\n\n[Sidenote: The atonement was in harmony with natural law.]\n\nHowever, the bodies given to the spirits continued for only a few\nyears; then they were disorganized in death. Adam's work had been done\nwell. After the death of the mortal body, the spirit was still without\na permanent body of matter, that would complete his contact with the\nelements of the universe. Therefore, it was necessary to bring other\nlaws into operation, that would reorganize these dead material bodies\nin such a way that they would no longer be subject to the forces of\ndisorganization, death and decay. The eternal spiritual body, united\nwith this eternal material body, then constituted a suitable home for\neternal intelligence, whereby it might be able, under the law of\nevolution to attain the greatest conceivable knowledge and power.\n\nThe personage who directed the laws that cancelled the necessary work\nof Adam, and made the corruptible body incorruptible was the Savior,\nJesus Christ. As Adam, by his personal work, made the earth career\npossible for all who succeeded him; so Jesus, by His personal work,\nmade it possible for the spirits to possess immortal material bodies.\n\nConditions that may be likened to the atonement are found in science.\nSuppose an electrical current, supplying a whole city with power and\nlight, is passing through a wire. If for any reason the wire is cut\nthe city becomes dark and all machines driven by the current cease\ntheir motion. To restore the current, the ends of the broken wire must\nbe reunited. If a person, in his anxiety to restore the city to its\nnormal conditions, seizes the ends of the wire with his bare hands,\nand unites them, he probably will receive the full charge of the\ncurrent in his body. Yet, as a result, the light and power will return\nto the city; and one man by his action, has succeeded in doing the\nwork for many.\n\nThe actual method by which Jesus was enabled to make mortal bodies\nimmortal, is not known to us. Neither can we understand just why the\nshedding of the Savior's blood was necessary for the accomplishment of\nthis purpose. Like the work of Adam, the exact nature of the atonement\nis unknown. Still, throughout this plan of Salvation, every incident\nand accomplished fact are strictly rational. There is no talk of a\nGod, who because of his own will, and in opposition to natural laws,\nplaced man on earth.\n\n[Sidenote: Earth life is a link in man's evolution.]\n\nThe presence of organized intelligences in earth is simply a link in\nthe evolution of man. The plan of salvation is the method whereby the\nevolution of man is furthered. The intelligence who conforms to the\nPlan, at last attains salvation, which means eternal life and endless\ndevelopment, directed by the free agency of an organized intelligence\nclothed with an incorruptible body of spirit and matter.\n\nCan any other system of theology produce an explanation of the\npresence of man on earth, which connects earthly life with the time\nbefore and the time after, on the basis of the accepted laws of the\nuniverse?\n\nFlawless seems the structure reared by the Mormon Prophet. Had he been\nan imposter, human imperfection would have revealed itself\nsomewhere.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: It must not be assumed that in this chapter has been\ngiven a full account of the Mormon doctrine of the Atonement. These\nessays are not in any sense a full exposition of Mormon theology.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE REGION OF THE UNKNOWN.\n\nChapter XVI.\n\nTHE SIXTH SENSE.\n\n\n[Sidenote: The six senses, need help to reorganize many phenomena of\nnature.]\n\nThe five senses are the great gateways through which all the knowledge\nin man's possession has been obtained. Examine the matter as we may,\nthe truth of this statement persists. By seeing, hearing, smelling,\ntasting and feeling, only, is man brought into contact with external\nnature and himself, and is furnished material upon which the intellect\ncan act. True it is, that the sense of feeling may be divided into a\nnumber of poorly known sub-senses, of which that of touch is the best\nknown, but, probably, these are very nearly related, and we may still\nmaintain the existence of the _five_ senses of man.\n\nWonderful as these senses are, yet, in the presence of many natural\nphenomena, they are very weak, and require help, in order that the\noperations of nature may be recognized. Take, as an illustration, the\nrefined sense of sight. Light, coming from a distant star, is readily\nrecognized; the same quantity of light coming from a house, half a\nmile distant, is even more distinctly sensed by the eye. In both these\ncases, though the light is recognized, the sensation is not so sharply\ndefined as to produce a distinct image of the star or of the house. To\nmake the images of distant objects distinct, the telescope has been\ninvented; and this instrument is a most important aid to the sense of\nsight. The microscope is a similar aid to the eye, by which the\nlightrays coming from minute objects are so bent and arranged that the\nobject appears magnified, and may be sensed in its details by the eye.\nThe ear-trumpet is a similar device for collecting, concentrating and\ndefining sound waves that ordinarily would be, to the ear, a confusion\nof sounds. The ear-trumpet is a mighty help to the sense of hearing.\n\nThe light which passes through the lenses of the telescope and\nmicroscope, is the light which is ordinarily recognized by the eye.\nThe instruments effect no change in the light; they merely arrange the\nwaves so as to produce a clear and distinct outline of the objects\nfrom which the light comes. Likewise, the sound waves entering the\near-trumpet are in nowise changed in their essential nature, but are\nsimply rearranged or concentrated to produce a more definite\nimpression on the ear. Instruments similar to those here mentioned are\nthe simplest aids to man's senses.\n\nWith respect to many forces of nature, the unaided senses of man are\nhelpless. The subtle force of magnetism, for instance, appears\nincapable of affecting directly any of the senses. A person may hold a\npowerful lodestone in his hand and feel no influence different from\nthat coming from a piece of sandstone. A person may work near a wire\ncarrying a current of electricity, and, though it is well known that\npeculiar conditions exist in the universal ether around such a wire,\nyet, through his five senses, he may never become aware of the\nexistence of this current. A piece of uranium ore, as has been found\nin recent years, emits various kinds of rays related to the now famous\nX- or Roentgen rays, yet no indication comes directly through any of\nthe five senses that such is the case. In fact, men of science worked\nwith the ores of uranium for many years before discovering the\nemission of ether waves. In the light which comes from the sun are\nnumerous forms of energy that do not directly affect the senses, and\ntherefore remained unknown for many centuries. Numerous other\nillustrations might be quoted to show the existence of natural forces\nthat are beyond the direct recognition of man. In the great ocean of\nthe unknown, lie, undoubtedly, countless forces that shall never be\nknown by a direct action upon the senses of man.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: The writer is aware of the beliefs held by many students\nregarding the so-called touch sense, heat sense, magnetic sense,\nelectrical sense, spiritual sense, etc. So little is known of these\nsubdivisions of the sense of feeling, that they are not considered in\nthis popular writing. There is, moreover, no evidence that the\nmagnetic sense, as an example, if it exists, is a direct effect of\nmagnetic forces; it is as easily believed that the body somehow\nconverts magnetic forces, under certain circumstances, into other\nforces that may be sensed by man.]\n\n[Sidenote: The advance of knowledge requires instruments that convert\nnatural phenomena into intelligible forms. Thus the unknown is\nrevealed.]\n\nAs is well understood, however, even these apparently unknowable\nmanifestations of nature may be known, if proper aids be secured. In\nevery case the problem is this: To obtain some medium, be it natural\nor manufactured, which transforms the unknown force into a known\nforce, that is capable of affecting the senses of man. The search for\nsuch media is one of the most important labors of science. For\ninstance, sunlight has been known from the beginning of the human\nrace, and its nature has been studied by almost every generation of\nthinkers. To the time of Newton, it was only white light--or little\nmore. Newton discovered that if a ray of white light be allowed to\nfall upon a triangular prism or glass, it is dispersed or broken into\na number of colored rays known as the spectrum. All sunlight, passed\nthrough a glass prism, produces this colored spectrum; and the colors\nare arranged invariably in the same order; namely from violet through\nthe intermediate colors to red. By passing this spectrum through\nanother prism, white light is produced. Sunlight was thus proved to\nconsist of a number of kinds of colored light. The eye alone is\nincapable of resolving white light into its elements: the glass prism\nthus becomes an aid to the sense of sight, by which a new domain of\nscience is laid open to view.\n\nAbove the red end of the spectrum, obtained from white light, nothing\nis visible, yet if a delicate thermometer be placed there, the\nincrease in temperature shows the presence of certain invisible heat\nrays, and by moving the thermometer, it may be shown that the\ninvisible heat spectrum is longer than the light spectrum itself.\nThis, again, makes known to man a world that the five senses can\nrecognize only with difficulty; and in this case, the thermometer is\nthe necessary aid.\n\nEven more interesting is the violet end of the spectrum. Like the red\nend, it is invisible. In fact, for centuries it was believed that the\nlight spectrum represented the whole spectrum. During the last century\nit was found that if a photographic plate be placed below the violet\nend of the spectrum, it is affected by invisible light rays, which are\npopularly denominated chemical rays. By placing the photographic plate\nin various positions, it has been discovered that the chemical\nspectrum is as long as the visible part. Since the days of Newton,\ntherefore, the known part of the spectrum of sunlight has been trebled\nin length, and there is no certainty that all is now known concerning\nthe matter. In this particular, the photographic plate has become a\nmeans of revealing an unknown world to the senses.\n\nIf a low tension current of electricity passes through a wire, it\ncannot be sensed directly by man; but if a delicately adjusted\nmagnetic needle be placed above and parallel to such wire, the current\nwill turn the needle to one side and keep it there. The magnetic\nneedle then makes known the presence of a current of electricity which\nhas no appreciable effect upon any of man's five senses. Similarly,\nthe magnetic currents passing over the earth are not felt by man in\nsuch a way as to be recognized, but a magnetic needle, properly\nadjusted, will immediately assume an approximately north and south\ndirection, in obedience to the pull of the magnetic currents. In this\nmanner the magnetic needle, again, reveals to man the existence and\npresence of forces that he cannot sense directly.\n\nA piece of glass into which has been incorporated a small amout of the\nelement uranium, is an instrument which reveals many wonders of the\nunsensed world. If the uranium glass be brought near the violet end of\nthe spectrum of sunlight, it immediately glows, because it has the\npower of changing the invisible chemical rays into ordinary, white\nlight rays. With such an instrument, darkness can be literally changed\ninto light. Similarly, many of the class of rays to which belong the\nX-rays, and which are dark to the eye, and do not directly affect any\nof the other senses, are converted by uranium glass into visible rays.\nThis glass, then, becomes another means whereby the world which does\nnot directly affect our senses, may be made known.\n\nThe X- or Roentgen rays have been mentioned several times. It is\ngenerally known that they have the power of passing through the body\nand various other opaque bodies. The rays themselves are invisible,\nboth before entering and after leaving the body; moreover, they do not\naffect any of the other senses of man. Were it not that the power is\npossessed of changing these rays to light rays, man could know nothing\nof the Roentgen rays. In fact, a screen, covered with powdered\ncrystals of a chemical compound known as barium platinocyanide, is\nheld behind the object through which the rays are passing, and the\nmoment they touch this substance they are changed to light rays, and\nthe screen glows. Or, instead, a photographic plate may be used, for\nthe Roentgen rays affect the materials from which these plates are\nmade. The screen of barium platinocyanide is, therefore, another means\nfor revealing the unknown world.\n\n[Sidenote: \"Tuning\" to establish sympathetic vibrations is a form of\nthe aids for explaining the unknown.]\n\nSuch illustrations might be multiplied, but would add no strength to\nthe discussion. There is, however, another class of instruments which\nenable the senses to recognize natural forces that do not act directly\nupon the consciousness of man. If a musical note is produced on a\nviolin, near a piano, the piano string which is stretched or tuned\nright, will give out the same note. The sound waves from the violin\npenetrate the piano, and the string which is tuned to give out the\nsame note takes up the energy of the sound waves, and is set in\nvibration, with the result that the same note is given out by the\npiano. This is known as sympathetic vibrations. It is possible,\ntherefore, to make a piano give out any note within its range, without\nany solid object touching the instrument. In the universal ether,\nwhich surrounds and penetrates all things, are numberless waves of all\nkinds, and of all vibrations. If the proper instrument be used, and\ntuned aright, it is possible to separate from this tumult of waves any\ndesired kind or degree of wave motion, and to convert it into some\nknown form of energy, say electricity.\n\nThis principle is used in modern wireless telegraphy. Electric waves\nare sent out by the operator with a certain rapidity. These waves\nradiate into space, in all directions, and are lost, apparently, in\nthe confusion of myriads of other waves. Nevertheless, if the waves\nare not by some chance totally destroyed, it is possible to obtain\nthem again, by the use of a receiving instrument which is tuned\nexactly the same as that used by the operator, at the station where\nthe waves are sent out. A message sent from London may be received\nanywhere on earth where the receiving instruments are tuned aright; at\nthe same time, if the peculiar note or vibration of the message is not\nknown, so that the receivers can not be tuned properly, the message,\nthough it be all about it, can never be received.\n\nSuch aids to our senses do not depend so much upon the nature of the\nmaterial, as upon the degree to which it is brought into sympathy with\nthe force to be recognized.\n\n[Sidenote: With proper aids man's senses may discover the whole of\nnature.]\n\nNow, though our senses are imperfect, and recognize only a small part\nof the phenomena of nature, yet it is very probable that, with such\nhelps as have been described, nothing in nature need remain forever\nunknown. The means by which the forces of nature, that cannot be\nsensed directly, are brought to man's recognition may well be named,\ncollectively, man's sixth sense.\n\nThe progress of science depends upon the discovery of aids to man's\nsenses; a new and vast field is invariably opened whenever a new aid\nis discovered.\n\n[Sidenote: Joseph Smith recognized the existence of media which render\nthe unknown, known.]\n\nIn the works of Joseph Smith, which teach that there is no real line\nof demarkation between the natural and spiritual worlds, it would be\nnot surprising to find recognized the scientific principle, above\ndiscussed, that by the use of proper instruments, the world outside of\nthe five senses, may be brought within man's consciousness.\n\nAccording to the story of Joseph Smith, he was first visited by an\nangel, September 21, 1823, when the Prophet was less than eighteen\nyears of age. Among other things, the angel told the boy that \"there\nwas a book deposited, written on gold plates,\" giving an account of\nthe former inhabitants of the American continent; \"also, that there\nwere two stones in silver bows--and these stones, fastened to a\nbreastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and\nThummim--deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of\nthese stones were what constituted 'Seers' in ancient or former times;\nand that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the\nbook.\"[A] This reference to the Urim and Thummim, and their purpose,\nmakes it clear that the Prophet, at the beginning of his career,\nrecognized (whether consciously or unconsciously we know not), the\nexistence of means or media by which things unknown, such as a strange\nlanguage, may be converted into forms that can reach the\nunderstanding.\n\n[Footnote A: History of the Church, vol. 1, p. 12.]\n\n[Sidenote: The Book of Mormon was translated by such aids--the Urim\nand Thummim.]\n\nWhen the actual work of translation began, the Urim and Thummim were\nfound indispensable, and in various places the statement is made that\nthe translation was made, \"by means of the Urim and Thummim.\"[A] On\none occasion, when the Prophet, through the defection of Martin\nHarris, lost a portion of the manuscript translation the Urim and\nThummim were taken from him, and the power of translation ceased. Upon\nthe return of the instruments the work was resumed.[B] While it is\nvery probable that the Prophet was required to place himself in the\nproper spiritual and mental attitude, before he could use the Urim and\nThummim successfully, yet it must also be true that the stones were\nessential to the work of translation.\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 10:1.]\n\n[Footnote B: History of the Church, vol. 1, p. 23.]\n\n[Sidenote: Revelations were received by such aids.]\n\nThe Urim and Thummim were not used alone for translation, but most of\nthe early revelations were obtained by their means. Speaking of those\ndays, the Prophet usually says: \"I enquired of the Lord through the\nUrim and Thummim, and obtained the following.\"[A] The \"stones in\nsilver bows\" seemed, therefore, to have possessed the general power of\nconverting manifestations of the spiritual world into terms suitable\nto the understanding of Joseph Smith.\n\n[Footnote A: History of the Church, vol. 1, pp. 33, 36, 45, 49 and\n53.]\n\nThe doctrine of the use of the Urim and Thummim is in perfect harmony\nwith the established law of modern science, that special media are\nnecessary to bring the unknown world within the range of man's senses.\nTo believers in the Bible, the use of the Urim and Thummim can offer\nno obstacles, and to those who possess a rational conception of\nGod--that he is the Master of the universe, who works his will by\nnatural means--it cannot be more difficult to believe that God's will\nmay appear through the agency of special \"stones in silver bows,\" than\nto concede that invisible ether waves, become luminous when they fall\nupon a piece of uranium glass. The virtue possessed by the latter\nglass is no more evident than is the virtue claimed by Joseph Smith to\nbe possessed by the Urim and Thummim.\n\nIt is a noteworthy fact that the Prophet does not enter into an\nargument to prove the necessity of the use of the Urim and Thummim.\nOnly in an incidental way, as he tells the straightforward story of\nhis life, does he mention them; and with a simplicity that argues\nstrongly for his veracity, does he assume that, of course, they were\nnecessary and were used as he recounts. A shrewd imposter, building a\ngreat theological structure as is the Church founded by Joseph Smith,\nwould have appreciated that difficult questions would be asked\nconcerning the seer stones, and would have attempted to surround them\nwith some explanation. Joseph Smith offers no defense for the use of\nthese instruments; neither does the scientist excuse himself for using\nuranium glass, in the study of certain radiations.\n\n[Sidenote: As the Prophet placed himself in tune with the unknown, he\nbecame less dependent on external aids.]\n\nThe Prophet did not always receive his revelations by the assistance\nof the Urim and Thummim. As he grew in experience and understanding,\nhe learned to bring his spirit into such an attitude that it became a\nUrim and Thummim to him, and God's will was revealed without the\nintervention of external means. This method is clearly, though\nbriefly, expressed in one of the early revelations:\n\n    Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would\n    give it unto you, when you took no thought, save it was to ask me;\n    but, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your\n    mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right, I\n    will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you\n    shall feel that it is right; but if it be not right, you shall\n    have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought,\n    that cause you to forget the thing which is wrong.[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 9:7-9.]\n\n[Sidenote: The \"testimony of the spirit\" is scientific.]\n\nThe essence of this statement is that if a person will concentrate his\npowers so as to come into harmony with God, truth will be revealed to\nhim; and is not that like the tuning of a coil of wire so that it can\ntake up the waves of certain lengths, that may be passing through the\nether? If an inert mass of iron can be so tuned, can anyone refuse to\nbelieve that man, highly organized as he is, can \"tune\" himself to be\nin harmony with the forces of the universe? The universal ether of\nscience is like the Holy Spirit, and the waves or energy of the ether\nis like the intelligent action of that Spirit controlled by God. Heat,\nlight, magnetism, electricity, and the other forces, become, then,\nsimply various forms of God's speech, any of which may be understood,\nif the proper means of interpretation is at hand.\n\nIn the Book of Mormon, the Prophet states that \"When ye shall receive\nthese things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal\nFather, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye\nshall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in\nChrist, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the\nHoly Ghost; and by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth\nof all things.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Moroni 10:4, 5.]\n\nThis involves the principle discussed above. By placing oneself in\nharmony with the requirements of the subject in hand, the truth must\nbecome known, even as an instrument properly tuned must feel the\ninfluence of the ether waves with which it is in harmony.\n\nAgain, then, the conceptions of the Mormon Prophet rise to equal\nheights with the best theories of the scientists. In simple phrases,\napparently unconscious of the philosophical meaning of the doctrines,\nJoseph Smith recognized the various means whereby man's senses may be\nenabled to seize upon and comprehend the natural forces which to man's\nunaided senses must remain unknown forever.\n\nIt cannot be justly claimed that the Prophet anticipated the world of\nscience in the recognition of this principle, but reading his works in\nthe light of modern progress, it cannot be denied that he placed a\ngreater value upon the aids to man's senses, with respect to the\nsubtle forces of the universe, than did any of his contemporaries.\nThat acknowledgment is a wonderful tribute to the powers of an\nunlearned boy.\n\nEvidence crowds upon evidence, and testimony upon testimony, until the\nopposition of logic falls away; and Joseph Smith rises above the fog\nof prejudice, a mighty prophet of our God.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FORCE OF FORCES.\n\nChapter XVII.\n\nTHE NATURE OF GOD.\n\n\n[Sidenote: Nearly all thinkers believe in God or an equivalent.]\n\nIn every philosophy of the universe, the question concerning the\nprimary cause of the phenomena of nature always arises. Ancient and\nmodern philosophers, alike, have discussed the probability of the\nexistence of this primary cause and its properties. Plato, putting the\nwords into the mouth of Socrates, declares, \"I do believe in the\nGods.\"[A] Aristotle, the greatest of early thinkers, assumed that a\nGod exists, from whom all other forces are derived. For example, \"From\na first principle, then, of this kind--I mean, one that is involved in\nthe assumption of a First Mover--hath depended the Heaven and\nNature.\"[B] Spencer, speaking in these latter days, likewise implies\nthe existence of the equivalent of the God of men, thus, \"If religion\nand science are to be reconciled, the basis of reconciliation must be\nthis deepest, widest and most certain of all facts--that the Power\nwhich the universe manifests to us is utterly inscrutable.\"[C]\n\n[Footnote A: Plato, The Apology, chap. XXIV.]\n\n[Footnote B: Aristotle, Metaphysics, chap. VII, sec. 4.]\n\n[Footnote C: First Principles, p. 48.]\n\nTo the great majority of men, in all ages, the idea of a God or Power,\nhas appeared to be a necessity. Naturally, there has been a great\nvariety of opinions concerning the nature of God, or the great Power\nbehind things. Some, including the early Greek thinkers, looked upon\nGod as a personal being of transcendental attributes; others gave Him\na more shadowy form, and made of Him nothing more than an all\npervading spiritual essence. Still others, considering the relations\nof all natural operations to the infinite power of God, identified Him\nwith Nature, and then, with astonishing shortsight denied His personal\nexistence. Thus, by degrees, arose the various theists, who accepted a\npersonal God with varying attributes; the pantheists, who identified\nGod with nature, and the atheists, who denied absolutely God, or any\nequivalent. Among those who have adopted the idea of God, the chief\ndispute has been largely as to His personality; to the atheists the\nessential consideration has been that the laws of nature are\nself-operative and need no directing force such as is implied in the\nconception of a God.\n\n[Sidenote: Science points to a force of forces.]\n\nAs modern science arose, certain conceptions became established which\nwere directly related to the idea of God. In obedience to the modern\ntendency towards simplification, the great variety in the material\nworld has been referred to a few elements (nearly 80); and all the\nforces of nature are now held to be modes of motion of matter or of\nthe one all pervading substance, the ether. The complexity of nature\nis produced by new combinations of matter, ether and motion. According\nto this doctrine, all the phenomena in the universe may be explained\nby referring them to the action of forces upon matter and ether. There\nis a limited number of elements, which, at the present, can not be\nconverted into each other. There is only one ether, which can probably\nexist in various degrees of density. There are numerous forces, which\nmay be converted into each other. Thus light may be changed into heat;\nheat into electricity and electricity into light again.\n\nScientists have long asked if there is one great universal force, of\nwhich all other forces are merely variations. Usually, the thinkers\nhave agreed that the indications point to such a central force, which\nby many has been identified with gravitation. Newton and many of the\nmen who followed him in the development of the theory of gravitation,\nagreed that probably the force of gravitation is the source of all\nother natural forces. Thus the doctrines of modern science point to\n_one_ force from which all other forces are derived; and thus, the\ncomplexity of nature has been simplified, by explaining it on the\nassumption of this one force. Those who believe in God have claimed\nthat this points to one great Being as the mover behind all things;\nthe atheists have declared, that these scientific conceptions indicate\nthat there is no real necessity for a God; and many honest searchers\nwho have reached this closed door, have declared, \"I do not know. It\nmay be God; it may be force. It cannot be known.\"\n\n[Sidenote: \"Mormonism\" teaches that intelligence is the force of\nforces.]\n\n\"Mormonism\" has harmonized science and theology in its conception of\nGod. As has been shown earlier in this volume, Joseph Smith taught\nthat the central force of the universe is intelligence. Gravitation,\nheat, light, magnetism, electricity, chemical attraction, are all\nvarious manifestations of the all-pervading force of intelligence.\nThis, it may be seen, is the simple theory advanced by scientists,\nwith the definition of the first force added.\n\n[Sidenote: God is the greatest intelligence.]\n\nThe \"Mormon\" Prophet taught, further, that the individual is organized\nintelligence; that the organization is the instrument whereby\nintelligence may be concentrated, focussed and directed. Man is\nsuperior to beasts because his organization permits a greater use of\nthe universal force of intelligence. Under the law of evolution, man's\norganization will become more and more complex. That is, he will\nincrease in his power of using intelligence until in time, he will\ndevelop so far that, in comparison with his present state, he will be\na God. Conversely, God, who is a superior organization, using and\ndirecting the force of intelligence, must at one time have possessed a\nsimpler organization. Perhaps, at one time He was only what man is\nto-day. God, in \"Mormon\" theology, is the greatest intelligence; it\nwill always remain the greatest; yet, it must of necessity, under the\ninexorable laws of the universe, grow. God is in no sense the Creator\nof natural forces and laws; He is the director of them.\n\nThe correct conclusion from this doctrine is that all the forces of\nnature are supported by intelligent action. This leads of necessity to\norder in nature. Blind forces, acting independently of intelligence,\ncould not have brought about the perfect order that appears everywhere\nin the universe. Every atom of matter; every particle of ether is\nendowed with a form of intelligence. All the attractions, repulsions\nand equilibriums among natural objects are modes of expression of the\nforce of intelligence. The explanations of the mysteries of nature\nwill be greatly simplified when the \"Mormon\" doctrine of the position\nof intelligence in universal phenomena is clearly understood by\nscientific workers.\n\n[Sidenote: Many grades of intelligence; hence, many Gods.]\n\nSince these teachings practically imply the definition that God is a\nsuperior intelligence evolved from a lower condition, there can be no\nlogical objection to the idea that there are many Gods. Yet, \"Mormon\"\ntheology acknowledges the supremacy of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and\nJacob.  God transcends all human imagination. He is omniscient, and\nomnipotent; for His great knowledge enables Him to direct the forces\nof nature. He is full of love and mercy, because these qualities are\nattributes of intelligence, which God possesses in the highest degree.\nThe \"Mormon\" idea of God, is delicate, refined, advanced and\nreasonable.\n\nThe interesting fact about this matter is, naturally, that in this\nconception of God, Joseph Smith was strictly scientific. He departed\nfrom the notion that God is a Being foreign to nature and wholly\nsuperior to it. Instead, he taught that God is part of nature, and\nsuperior to it only in the sense that the electrician is superior to\nthe current that is transmitted along the wire. The great laws of\nnature are immutable, and even God can not transcend them.\n\nThis doctrine of God was taught by Joseph Smith early in his career.\nCan ignorance or disease produce such a logical climax of a scientific\nsystem of belief? Such a conclusion would be absurd.\n\n\n\n\nCONCLUSION.\n\nChapter XVIII.\n\nJOSEPH SMITH'S EDUCATION.\n\n\n[Sidenote: Joseph Smith's early educational opportunities were very\nlimited.]\n\nJoseph Smith had few educational advantages during his life. His\nscientific teachings do not rest upon information gained in schools or\nfrom books. His parents fully appreciated the value of an education,\nbut the pioneer lives which they led, and their numerous financial\nmisfortunes, made it impossible for them to realize their desires for\nthe education of their children. The Prophet's mother writes that when\nJoseph was about six years old, Hyrum, the elder brother, was sent to\nan academy at Hanover, New Hampshire, and the smaller children to a\ncommon school.[A] It is probable that throughout the wanderings of the\nfamily, the children were given such meager schooling as was possible.\nJoseph was a \"remarkably quiet, well-disposed child,\" and his life up\nto the age of fourteen was marked only by those trivial circumstances\nwhich are common to childhood.[B]\n\n[Footnote A: History of the Prophet by his Mother, Improvement Era,\nVol. 5, p. 166.]\n\n[Footnote B: Ibid., p. 247.]\n\nA few months after his fourteenth birthday, the future prophet beheld\nhis first vision. In his autobiography he mentions that at the time\n\"he was doomed to the necessity of obtaining a scanty maintenance by\nhis daily labor.\"[A] This would indicate that at this age he was\nspending little or no time in school. During the time that elapsed\nbetween his fourteenth and eighteenth years, there is nothing to show\nthat the boy was receiving scholastic education. The Prophet says that\nhe was left to all kinds of temptation, and mingled with all kinds of\nsociety.[B] Nothing is said about the acquirement of book learning.\nAbout the age of nineteen he writes, \"As my father's worldly\ncircumstances were very limited, we were under the necessity of\nlaboring with our hands, hiring out by day's work and otherwise, as we\ncould get opportunity. In the month of October, 1825, I hired with an\nold gentleman by the name of Josiah Stoal. During the time I was thus\nemployed, I was put to board with a Mr. Isaac Hale--it was there I\nfirst saw my wife (his daughter), Emma Hale. On the 18th of January,\n1827, [when the Prophet was a little more than twenty-one years old]\nwe were married, while I was yet employed in the service of Mr. Stoal.\nImmediately after my marriage, I left Mr. Stoal's and went to my\nfather's, and farmed with him that season.\"[C] From his eighteenth to\nhis twenty-second year, then, there is evidence that he worked as an\nordinary laborer, and attended no school.\n\n[Footnote A: History of the Church, vol. 1, p. 7.]\n\n[Footnote B: Ibid., p. 9.]\n\n[Footnote C: History of the Church, Vol. 1, pp. 16, 17.]\n\nIt seems, moreover, that Joseph Smith was not a boy to gather\ninformation from books, for his mother says of him, when he was\neighteen years old, that \"he seemed much less inclined to the perusal\nof books than any of the rest of our children, but far more given to\nmeditation and deep study.\"[A] From the records extant, the conclusion\nis justifiable that from his fourteenth to his twenty-second year\nJoseph Smith received practically no school education, and did no\nextensive reading. What he might have gathered from conversation with\nothers during that time is unknown to us. However, it is known that\nthe heavenly messengers who visited him at intervals gave him much\nvaluable information, which more than compensated for his poor\nscholastic advantages.\n\n[Footnote A: History of the Prophet Joseph, Improvement Era, Vol. 5,\np. 257.]\n\nOne month before his twenty-second birthday, the golden plates were\ndelivered to the Prophet, and the next two and a half years he was\nengaged with various assistants in translating the Book of Mormon;\nthough at different times during this period he farmed and did other\nmanual labor. During this period (twenty-two to twenty-four and a half\nyears of age), he most certainly attended no school nor gave special\nattention to worldly knowledge.\n\nOn the 6th of April, 1830, when the Prophet was twenty-four years and\nfour months old, the Church was organized. The life led by the Prophet\nfrom this time to 1844, when he was assassinated, was not conducive to\nthe gathering of information, and quiet, deep reflection. During\nalmost the whole of this period his life was in danger; scores of\ntimes he was arrested on trumped-up charges; the Church was driven\nfrom place to place; he built at least three cities, and two temples;\norganized and governed the body of the Church; taught the doctrinal\nsystem accepted by his followers; organized the public ministry of the\nChurch for spreading the Gospel among all men, wrote his\nautobiography; compiled the revelations given him, and made a revision\nof parts of the Bible.\n\n[Sidenote: Joseph Smith taught the importance of schools and\neducation.]\n\nThe mistake must not be made, however, of assuming that because the\nProphet's education had been limited, he lacked a due appreciation of\nschools and scholastic attainments. On the contrary, at a very early\ndate in the history of the Church, schools were organized even for the\nolder men, that they might improve their time and make up in a manner\nfor the lack of opportunity during their early days. During the winter\nof 1832-3, a school of the prophets was organized in Kirtland, Ohio,\nand another in Independence, Missouri, at which the elders of the\nChurch received various instructions. In the discussion relative to\nthe building of temples, references to schools being held in them were\nalways made, and, in fact, in the fall of 1835, when a portion of the\nKirtland temple was finished, \"schools were opened in the various\napartments.\" Many \"were organized into a school for the purpose of\nstudying the Hebrew language.\"[A] The reading of Greek had previously\nbeen begun. In these languages as well as in German, the Prophet\nacquired considerable facility. His studies tended, of course, towards\nthe interpretation of the Bible and the explanation of Gospel truths;\nthough at times his investigations appeared quite foreign to his\nspecial work, as when, in 1838, he began the methodical study of law.\n\n[Footnote A: Autobiography of P. P. Pratt, p. 140.]\n\nWhen the city of Nauvoo was chartered, a section was included,\nproviding for the establishment of a university, to be called the\nUniversity of the City of Nauvoo, under the direction of which should\nbe taught \"all matters pertaining to education, from common schools up\nto the highest branches of a most liberal collegiate education.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: History of Joseph Smith, George Q. Cannon, pp. 341, 343.]\n\nIn numerous revelations did the Lord urge the Prophet and the Church\nto gather information from every source, of which the following\nquotations are good illustrations: \"Teach ye diligently, that you may\nbe instructed in theory, in principle, of things both in heaven and in\nthe earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which\nare, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home,\nthings which are abroad; the wars and perplexities of the nations, and\na knowledge also of countries and kingdoms. Seek ye out of the best\nbooks words of wisdom; seek learning even by study.\"[A] \"Obtain a\nknowledge of history, and of countries and of kingdoms, of laws of God\nand man.\"[B] \"Study and learn and become acquainted with all good\nbooks, and with languages, tongues and peoples.\"[C] \"It is impossible\nfor a man to be saved in ignorance.\"[D] A more comprehensive outline\nof education can hardly be imagined. The energetic manner in which the\nChurch has acted upon these instructions, during its whole history,\nneed not be recounted here.\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 88:78, 79, 118.]\n\n[Footnote B: Ibid., 93:53.]\n\n[Footnote C: Ibid., 90:15.]\n\n[Footnote D: Ibid., 131:6.]\n\nHowever much the Prophet sought for knowledge, even from books, in his\nlater life, the fact remains that the evidence in our possession\nindicates that, up to the time of the organization of the Church, his\nbook learning was very slight, and that during the years immediately\nfollowing, his time was so fully occupied with the details of the\norganization that little or no time was given to education, as\nordinarily understood. These statements are of especial importance, in\nview of the fact that all the principles discussed in this volume were\nenunciated before the end of the year 1833.\n\n[Sidenote: Though the Prophet had little book learning, the spiritual\nand intellectual growth was great.]\n\nThe associates of the Prophet are unanimous in saying that his\nspiritual and intellectual growth was marvelous, from the time that\nthe work of the ministry fell upon him. He was transformed from a\nhumble country lad to a leader among men, whose greatness was felt by\nall, whether unlearned or educated, small or great. Of himself the\nProphet said, \"I am a rough stone. The sound of the hammer and chisel\nwas never heard on me until the Lord took me in hand. I desire the\nlearning and wisdom of heaven alone.\" Certainly, his whole history\nshows that the great learning which he did manifest was acquired in a\nmanner very different from that followed by the majority of men.\n\n\n\n\nA SUMMARY RESTATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES.\n\nChapter XIX.\n\n\n[Sidenote: Philosophy and its methods.]\n\nIn its broadest sense, philosophy includes all that man may know of\nthe universe--of himself and of the things about him. To be worthy of\nits name, a system of philosophy must possess certain comprehensive,\nfundamental principles, which if clearly understood, make intelligible\nto the human mind any or all of the phenomena in the universe. The\nsimpler these foundation principles are, the greater is the system as\na philosophy. In the words of Spencer, \"Philosophy is knowledge of the\nhighest degree of generality,\" or \"completely unified knowledge.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: First Principles, pp. 133 and 136.]\n\nIt is to be observed, that the great laws of nature are inferred only\nfrom a number of lesser laws that have been gathered by man. A\ngeneralization which is not built upon numerous confirmatory\nobservations, is at best an uncertain guess, which can be accepted\nonly when demonstrated to be correct by numerous isolated experiences.\nThe rational philosopher proceeds from the many to the few; he groups\nand groups again, until the wide, fundamental laws have been attained.\n\nIn olden days, and at times today, this method was not pursued. A\nphilosopher, so called, would assume that a certain statement or idea\nwere true. Upon this idea an elaborate, speculative, philosophical\nsuperstructure was reared. If by chance, and the chance usually came,\nthe fundamental notion were shown to be false, the whole system fell\nwith a crash into the domain of untruth.\n\nIt is the glory of modern science that by its methods, innumerable\nfacts, correct so far as present instruments and man's senses will\nallow, have been gathered; and, that present day philosophy is built\nupon these certain facts. The errors, if any exist, of this philosophy\nlie not in the foundation stones, but in the inferences that have been\ndrawn from them. Modern philosophy rests upon the truths of the\nuniverse, and not upon the wild speculations of men.\n\n[Sidenote: The fundamental conceptions of scientific philosophy.]\n\nThe philosophy of science, which is the basis of all rational\nphilosophy, rests upon the doctrine of the indestructibility of\nmatter. Matter cannot be destroyed, and it is unthinkable that it ever\nwas created. True, matter may appear in various forms: the tangible\ncoal may escape through the chimneys as an intangible gas; water may\nvanish into vapor; gold may unite with acids to form compounds\nentirely unlike gold. However, the weight of the coal in the gases\npassing through the chimney is the same as the weight of the coal fed\ninto the stove; the water vapor in the air weighs precisely as much as\nthe water that was in the vessel; the gold in the compound weighs the\nsame as the metallic gold used; in every case matter has been changed\ninto another form, but has not been destroyed.\n\nAlong with this fundamental principle, science holds the doctrine of\nthe indestructibility of energy. Matter of itself is dead and useless;\nit is only when it is in motion or in the possession of energy that it\ncan take part in the processes of nature. Matter without energy is not\nknown to man; however inert it may be, it possesses some energy. The\nultimate particles of all things,--rock and plant, and beast and\nman--are in motion; that is, they possess energy. The immediate source\nof energy for this earth is the sun, though the ultimate source of\nuniversal energy is not known.\n\nEnergy may appear in various forms, as light, heat, electricity,\nmagnetism, gravitation and mechanical motion; and each of these forms\nof energy may be changed into any of the others. In every change,\nhowever, there is no loss, but simply a change of condition. That\nwhich men call energy, the vivifying principle of matter, is\nindestructible. It has never had a beginning, and shall never have an\nend.\n\nTo the mind of man, however, a motion independent of something in\nmotion, is inconceivable. An ocean wave without water is nonsense. It\nis equally difficult to conceive of energy which is immaterial,\npassing from the sun to the earth, through empty space. There must be\nsomething between the earth and the sun, which carries the energy.\nSuch reflections have led the thinkers to the belief that all space is\nfilled with a subtle medium, now called the ether, through which\nenergy passes in the form of waves. Today, few doctrines of science\nare so well established as that of the universal ether. The ether is a\nrefined kind of matter which fills all space, and permeates all\nthings. It is in the table on which I write; in and through the ink;\nbetween the ultimate particles of the glass of the ink bottle. This\nearth, and all heavenly bodies, are simply suspended in the\nall-and-ever-present ocean of ether. By the agency of the ether,\nenergy is carried from the sun to the earth, and may be carried\nanywhere in space. Light, heat, electricity, magnetism and gravitation\nare all various manifestations of ether motion. Many scientists\nbelieve that this world--ether is the original matter from which the\nvarious elements have been made.\n\nOn these three doctrines, the indestructibility of matter, the\nindestructibility of energy, and the existence of the universal ether,\nrest primarily the explanations of the phenomena of nature. Hand in\nhand they stand, an almost perfect example of the greatness of the\nhuman mind.\n\n[Sidenote: \"Mormonism\" and science have the same fundamental laws.]\n\nThe religion founded by Joseph Smith rests upon the same or similar\nlaws. To the very beginner in \"Mormon\" theology, it is a familiar fact\nthat Joseph Smith taught that matter is eternal, and has not been nor\ncan be created. Matter is coexistent with God. God, himself, is\nmaterial, in the sense that His body is composed of a refined kind of\nmatter. In the fundamental laws that underlie all nature, there is\nperfect harmony between science and \"Mormonism\". Few religions can say\nas much. In most systems of theology, it is assumed that the ruling\npower, God, can create matter. In \"Mormon\" theology he can only\norganize it.\n\nIt is not quite so well understood that the doctrine of the\nindestructibility of energy lies also at the foundation of \"Mormon\"\ntheology, and was taught by Joseph Smith. It was clearly comprehended\nby the Prophet and his associates that intelligence is the vivifying\nforce of all creation--animate or inanimate--that rock and tree and\nbeast and man, have ascending degrees of intelligence. The\nintelligence spoken of by the Prophet corresponds fully with the\nenergy of science.\n\nThat the Prophet did not use the word current among scientific men at\nthat time does not destroy the validity of this claim. Different words\nhave no quarrel when they mean the same.\n\nThe Prophet also taught that this intelligence fills all space, and\nthat it may appear in various forms, such as heat, light, and\nelectricity, and that it is eternal, and can neither be created nor\ndestroyed. These are the very qualities assigned to energy by\nscientific workers. This doctrine and its coincidence with the\ndoctrine of science appears marvelous, when it is recalled that the\nProphet laid down these teachings in 1831, more than ten years before\nthey were discovered by scientists, and a generation before they were\ngenerally accepted by the scientific world.\n\nThe Prophet did not stop with the enunciation of these two fundamental\ndoctrines. He declared that a refined medium, called the Holy Spirit,\nfills all space, whereby intelligence is conveyed from place to place.\nIn the terms of Joseph Smith, the forces of nature, such as heat,\nlight and electricity, are simply various manifestations of the\nintelligence of the Holy Spirit; in the terms of science, of the\nenergy of the universal ether. The parallelism is complete. The Holy\nSpirit, in \"Mormon\" theology, corresponds with the ether of science.\nThis doctrine, too, was enunciated many years before the corresponding\ndoctrines were established among men of science.\n\n[Sidenote: Cause and effect.]\n\nThe Prophet also taught the unchanging relation of cause and effect,\nwhich brings the whole universe under a reign of law, and overthrows\nthe mysticisms of old. This doctrine was emphasized at a time when the\nworld was just beginning to insist upon it. He further taught clearly\nthe manner in which nature's laws may be discovered by man.\n\n[Sidenote: Astronomy.]\n\nThe Prophet further taught that all the heavenly bodies are in motion;\nthat the solar system is but a small part of a greater and grander\nwhole, controlled by the same laws, and that some of these other\nworlds are inhabited. These doctrines, which now form the foundation\nof the new astronomy, was discovered and accepted by the world of\nscience after the days of Joseph Smith.\n\n[Sidenote: Geology.]\n\nHe also held clear and modern views regarding time limits in geology,\nor the prehistoric ages of the world, at a time when students were not\nagreed on the subject.\n\n[Sidenote: The individual.]\n\nMoreover, the \"Mormon\" prophet declared that the living beings found\non earth were organized from the commonly occurring elements and\nforces of nature in such a manner that through them the force of\nintelligence might exert itself in the greatest degree. Hence the\nindividual is only an organized intelligence. This, too, is in perfect\nharmony with the results of the latest scholarship.\n\n[Sidenote: The laws for the individual.]\n\nOn the basis of the fundamental laws, above defined, what does science\nrequire of its devotees? How does it affect the actions of the\nindividual? As in theology, the scientific worker must have faith in\nthe principles that have been discovered. It is not possible in one\nlifetime for a man to repeat all the work of preceding workers, to\ndemonstrate the accuracy of their results. Much must be taken on\ntrust; though at any time, should it be necessary, the earlier work\nmay be repeated. Besides requiring faith in the principles discovered\nand enunciated by others, science demands that its every worker shall\nbelieve in things that lie far beyond the reach of man's senses.\n\nIn theology, at least in the system established by Joseph Smith, a\nsimilar faith is required of the individual. God and angels have been\nseen by very few individuals. These realities must be accepted by\nfaith. In the words of the Prophet Joseph, \"Faith is the assurance\nwhich men have of the existence of things which they have not seen,\nand the principle of action in all intelligent beings.\" With respect\nto the first principle of science and theology, \"Mormonism\" is in\nentire accord with the best philosophy. The individual, whether\nscientist or theologian, must base his work on faith.\n\nThe scientist who has acquired faith in a law of nature will no longer\ntransgress that law. He will obey it. If he establishes the faith that\na wire connected in a certain way with the electric dynamo carries a\ncurrent sufficiently strong to destroy life, he will not wantonly\nseize that wire in his hands. Before this faith came to him, he\nprobably came near losing his life, by the careless handling of the\ncharged wire. To conform to the laws of nature is scientific\nrepentance. Faith in science or religion is a high form of\nintelligence and is opposed to ignorance. Repentance is the use of\nthis intelligence for the benefit of man.\n\nIn \"Mormonism\" the second principle of action for the individual is\nrepentance. If faith in God has been attained and his laws have been\nmade clear, the believer will no longer violate those laws; he will\nobey them. That is repentance. Not by a jot or tittle does this kind\nof repentance differ from the repentance taught by science. True,\nscience does not _speak_ of repentance, but it _thinks_ it. In the\nmatter of the great principle of repentance, governing the action of\nworkers in science or theology, \"Mormonism\" is eminently sane and\nphilosophical. Faith does not compel men to repent; but it is a\nnecessary precedent. The man who does not repent in science or\ntheology, after he has acquired faith, renders himself liable to\ninjury and retards his own progress.\n\nIn the system of theology taught by Joseph Smith, baptism is the third\ngreat principle to be obeyed by the individual; that is, unless\nbaptism follows faith and repentance it is impossible to enter the\nkingdom of God. In science there is a counterpart of baptism which is\nthe third principle of scientific progress.\n\nA man who has attained faith in electricity resolves to refrain from\nviolating any of the laws of electricity. If he desires to produce a\ncurrent of electricity, he winds a wire around a piece of iron, and\nrevolves the coil in the field of a magnet, and the current is\nproduced. If the wire has not been wound in a certain definite manner,\nand has not been placed in the proper relation to the magnet, no\ncurrent can be produced. The scientist may rail and object that it is\nall nonsense to insist that the work be done just so to produce the\ncurrent. Nature is inexorable. The man to enter the kingdom of the\nelectric current must yield obedience to the order of nature; he must\nreceive a scientific baptism.\n\nThe baptism taught by the theology of Joseph Smith is nothing more\nthan obedience to law. Just why it is necessary to be buried in the\nwater to enter the Church, perhaps no man fully knows. Nor does any\none know just _why_ the wire must be wound, just so, to produce the\ncurrent of electricity. Of one thing every thinker may be certain,\nthat the essential principle of baptism is as necessary in science as\nin theology. In this matter also, then, Joseph the Prophet is\neminently philosophical.\n\nThe fourth principle in \"Mormon\" theology teaches that after baptism,\nthe gift of the Holy Ghost is conferred which enlightens the mind,\nclears the intelligence, and brings man nearer the presence of God. So\nalso in science, to the man who obeys the law of nature, come greater\npower and intelligence, to him who winds the wire right, the electric\ncurrent comes, with all its latent powers. Thus is the Holy Ghost\nconferred in science; and thus, also, in a more subtle and greater\ndegree is it conferred in the Church. The dogma of Joseph Smith and\nthe teachings of science harmonize perfectly in the examination of the\nfourth fundamental principle of the philosophy governing the\nindividual.\n\n[Sidenote: Evolution.]\n\nIt is becoming fairly well demonstrated that the ceaseless changes and\ntransformations in nature cause a greater and greater complexity in\nnature. This, in other words, means that the earth and all on it are\ndeveloping and progressing. According to Darwin and his followers, man\nand animals advance. Only those who progress, persist; those who\nretrograde, die. Creation as a whole grows and develops, and must of\nnecessity do so. By this law, the purpose of the earth and the\nuniverse is explained to be endless growth. The law of evolution is\nthe great cementing law of science. Even so, in the philosophy of\nJoseph Smith, the doctrine is taught that all things advance; that man\nshall continue to advance, in intelligence, and all pertaining to it,\nuntil he shall become as God is now. Meanwhile, our God will also\nincrease in his fulness, and ever be a God to us. Through this\ndoctrine, all the principles of the Gospel are made coherent. All the\nrequirements of man have in view his eternal growth. Man's presence\nhere on earth is simply that he may better learn to understand the\nnature of gross matter, and thus to develop and progress more\ncompletely.\n\nIt is remarkable that Joseph Smith taught the law of evolution as an\neternal truth, twenty or more years before Darwin published his views.\n\n[Sidenote: God.]\n\nAbove the law of laws is the force of forces--or the central force of\nthe universe. Science has little to say of God. It is content to\naccept the laws of nature as they are found. Yet, at times, in some\nbranches of science, a knowledge of the beginning of things is\ndesired. Usually science answers, \"I do not know;\" but it nevertheless\naffirms that there must be a central force, unknown and unnamed, to\nwhich the manifestations of all other forces may be referred. Science,\nwhich is essentially orderly, is chaotic when the question of the\nbeginning of things is raised. The \"Mormon\" Prophet left no such\nweakness in his philosophy. He, too, realized the necessity of a\ncontrolling universal force. This he named God. God is an organized,\nmaterial being, filled with the form of energy known as intelligence.\n\"The glory of God is intelligence.\" All other forces of nature may be\nconverted into intelligence; and from intelligence all other forces\nmay be obtained; God is the center of these forces, and their\ndirecting power. Because of this centralization, nature is orderly.\nNatural laws are not, as supposed by some philosophers, accidental\nrelations of phenomena, observed and recorded by man. The force of\nintelligence controls all phenomena; there is mind behind the\noperations of nature. God, himself a part of nature, is not the\ncreator of nature, but the organizer and director of it. What a\nbeautifully reasonable climax that is to the wonderful philosophy of\nJoseph the Prophet!\n\nThe intelligence of God is organized; therein lies his individuality\nand life. Man is organized intelligence; therein lies his life.\nThrough obedience to law, intelligence grows; by the violation of law,\nwhich is sin, it decays. It is the degree of organized intelligence\nthat ultimately distinguishes one man from other men; men from beasts,\nbeasts from plants, and plants from rocks. Since intelligence, as\ndefined by Joseph Smith, corresponds with the main form of energy of\nthe universe, the doctrine of God, and all other beings, and of life,\nfinds expression in terms of energy. That is exactly what science\ndemands.\n\n[Sidenote: Theology and science agree.]\n\nIs it any wonder that workers in science, who have been taught the\ndoctrine of an immaterial God who is able to create something from\nnothing, and to transcend all laws of nature, depart from the faith of\ntheir childhood? Truth is truth forever. Scientific truth cannot be\ntheological lie. To the sane mind, theology and philosophy must\nharmonize. They have the common ground of truth on which to meet.\n\nThus, on every hand, from the highest to the lowest, from the force of\nforces and the law of laws to the fundamental laws governing the\noperations of the universe, and the actions of the individual, the\nphilosophy of the \"Mormon\" Prophet is consistently referred back to\nmatter, energy and law. In its completeness, it transcends the\nphilosophy of science. Wherever the doctrines of \"Mormonism\" and\nscience meet, they agree. No discord has yet been found between them.\nScience is daily confirming the truth of the universe--embracing\nphilosophy of the unlearned founder of \"Mormonism.\"\n\nBack of the revelations of the greatness of the Prophet's knowledge\nthat come to all who enter upon such a discussion, stands the eminent\nfact that \"Mormon\" philosophy is plain, simple, and easily understood.\nThere is no need and no room for mysteries in the teachings of Joseph\nthe Prophet. Similarly, the philosophy of men, based upon nature, is\nessentially simple, and easily understood. Only untruth needs to hide\nitself in mysteries.\n\nOne hundred years have passed since Joseph, honored and chosen of God,\nentered the school of life. Face to face with God, Joseph learned the\nGospel, planned before the foundations of the world were laid, and he\ntaught it to a careless world. It is not Joseph Smith's philosophy;\nbut God's code of fundamental laws, which the world is laboriously\ndeciphering in the beautifully written pages of nature. Is it any\nwonder that the philosophy is perfect?\n\nOf simple brilliancy must have been the mind of the Prophet which was\nable to discover in the forgotten corners of thought the priceless\ngems of controlling, universal truth.\n\n\n\n\nChapter XX.\n\nCONCLUDING THOUGHTS.\n\n\nIt has been shown in the preceding chapters that Joseph Smith\nrecognized and stated the fundamental laws of all science, the\nfundamental principles of physical and biological science and\nastronomy, together with a great number of scientific facts, and made\nthese statements usually in advance of workers in science.\n\nIt is a surprising fact that a young man of twenty-eight, who had had\nno educational advantages of schooling, or reading, or society, should\nstate clearly and correctly known laws of science; but it is marvelous\nthat he should state fundamental laws that the workers in science did\nnot discover until many years later. Every honest man, be he friend or\nenemy, must marvel, and ask, \"Whence did this man derive his\nknowledge?\"\n\nWas he a man of lively imagination who guessed shrewdly? If so, he was\nthe shrewdest guesser the world has known. All that he said has come\ntrue; his bitterest enemies have been unable to prove incorrect\nstatements of facts. Their attacks have always been on the origin of\nthe work, on its ethical ideals (which are largely personal opinions),\nand on the probability that Joseph Smith was the real founder of\n\"Mormonism\"--thus tacitly admitting the greatness of the work. Had he\nbeen a guesser, simply, he would have failed somewhere, and thus\nrevealed his weakness. But let any man show one error in the inspired\nwritings of Joseph Smith, even when he dealt with matters which lay\nfar outside of his daily mission. Though thousands of persons have\nfelt impelled to war against \"Mormonism,\" no such error has been\nfound. All human logic denies that he was a guesser.\n\nDid he receive his knowledge from well educated persons, who kept\nthemselves in the background? No documentary evidence has been found\nto substantiate such a view. Primarily, it is unlikely that men of\nintelligence and education would hide behind an ignorant boy, from the\ntime he was fourteen until his death at thirty-nine years of age.\nThere was nothing to gain by it; the prophet never had more wealth\nthan just enough to live on; the pleasure that his power over his\nfollowers gave him, was more than offset by the ceaseless persecution\nwhich followed him. Besides, nearly all the fairly well educated men\nwho joined the Church in the early days were given prominent positions\nin the Church, yet it is known that they were instructed or chastised\nby the youthful prophet whenever occasion required, as were those of\nno or little education. Joseph Smith was always greater than any of\nhis followers. But above all, no educated man would have been able to\ntell Joseph, by means of his education, of things not yet known. The\nidea that Joseph Smith was only a dummy for clever heads is not\ntenable.\n\nSince ordinary means were beyond his power, how did he acquire his\nknowledge? How was he able to look into the future, and reveal its\nsecrets? \"Ah,\" says a new philosopher, \"I have it, he was epileptic,\nand had trances, during which his visions appeared;\" and the\nphilosopher proceeds to write a book proving his theory to be\ncorrect.[A] What a pitiful attempt to push the question into the\nregion of the unknown; and at the same time, what a splendid\nacknowledgment of the fact that the life and labors of Joseph Smith\ntranscend ordinary human explanations! Do epileptics, in their\nphantasms, see orderly systems of truth, which are carried into effect\nin their days of health and sanity? Does the epileptic see the truth\nthat shall be revealed in the coming ages, and teach it with a stately\nsoberness of language which admits of no uncertainty? If so, then\nmight the race well long for the time when the great gift of\nhealthful, reasoning imagination shall be exchanged for the ghastly\ndisease of epilepsy. Folly of follies! The life, writings and works of\nJoseph Smith are healthy, above all else; no trace of physical, or\nmental, or spiritual disease can be found in them. His teachings are\ngiven as eternal truths revealed by the God of nature; and they rise\nloftily above the vague theorizings of the investigator, or the\nuncertain gibberish of the diseased intellect. Clearness, reason,\nlogic in method and execution, characterize the teachings and works of\nJoseph Smith. Have such qualities ever indicated disease?\n\n[Footnote A: The Founder of Mormonism. Riley.]\n\nTo the person who can rise above his prejudices, and confess to\nhimself that he is not able to explain in the manner of men how Joseph\nSmith came by his knowledge of ideas, men and things, comes the strong\nconviction that the \"Mormon\" prophet was inspired by a mightier power\nthan men possess; and if that conviction is followed by a prayerful\ndesire to know what that power is, the testimony will be given that\nfrom God, the Controller of the universe, known by various men under\ndivers names, did Joseph Smith receive, directly, the truths which\nfill the pages of his published writings, and direct the lives of his\nfollowers.\n\nGod spoke to Joseph, and gave him the revelations necessary for\nbuilding his kingdom in the last days. Little more than was necessary\ndid the Lord reveal, but occasionally, for the comfort of the prophet\nand his associates, truths were given which hinted of the glorious\norder of the universe. May it not be, also, that the Lord showed\nJoseph many truths, similar to those touched upon in these papers, in\norder that later generations might have additional testimonies of the\ndivinity of the latter-day work? Under the influence of the Holy\nSpirit, the boy Joseph grew into a man, whose mind was filled with the\ngreat vision of the contents and the destiny of the universe,\nincluding the future lot of mankind. No man has had a nobler education\nthan that received by Joseph Smith.\n\nWhen the historian of future days shall review the history of the\ngrowth of science, and shall judge men by the record that they have\nleft behind them, he will place Joseph Smith as the greatest\nphilosopher of science of the nineteenth century, and possibly of the\ntwentieth. Then will men reverently speak of that mighty mind and\nclear vision, which, inspired by the God of heaven, saw, as in an open\nbook, the truths which men have later developed, through ceaseless\nlabor and countless vigils. Then shall the thinkers of the future\nspeak of him as Joseph, the clearsighted.\n\nKnowledge, concentrated into wisdom, is the end of existence. To those\nwho live according to God's law, knowledge will come easily. It will\ncontinue to come to his people, until it shall be the most intelligent\namong the nations. The Lord has said it.\n\n\"How long can rolling waters remain impure? What power shall stay the\nheavens? As well might man stretch forth his puny arm to stop the\nMissouri River in its decreed course, or turn it up stream, as to\nhinder the Almighty from pouring down knowledge from heaven upon the\nheads of the Latter-day Saints.\"[A]\n\n[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 121:33.]\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX.\n\nChapter XXI.\n\nA VOICE FROM THE SOIL.\n\n\nI.\n\n\"--the defenced city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken,\nand left like a wilderness.\"--_Isaiah, xxvii:_ 10.\n\nIt is a fact, which has impressed itself upon all readers of history,\nthat countries which have been the homes of the most powerful and\ncultured nations, are now great stretches of the veriest desert. No\ncountry teaches this truth better than the extensive valley of the\nMesopotamia which looms giant-like in the dawn of history. Upon its\nplains and highlands, the great nations of antiquity acted the\ntragedies of their existence; like the schoolboys' snowman, they rose,\nwith vast proportions, in a day, and fell ere the setting of the next\nsun. In this district, advanced and retreated with wonderful\nprecision, as it appears to us so many ages removed from the time of\naction, the Chaldeans, the Babylonians and the Assyrians; here the\nMedes and Persians achieved the victories that made them famous, and\nhere came all the great generals of old to crown their successes. A\nhundred populous cities clustered, in the lower part of the valley,\naround Babylon the great, the most marvelous city of any past age; a\nhundred cities were in the upper half, with Nineveh, also magnificent\nand great, as their center. From Mesopotamia come evidences of\nart--painting, sculpture, music, literature and architecture--the\nindication of a higher civilization. Still, today, even the sites of\nmany of the great cities are lost, and Mesopotamia is a stretch of\nbarren land.\n\nTo the west of Mesopotamia is the valley containing the promised land\nof Palestine--it, also, has fallen from its former splendor, and is a\ndesert compared with the days of its greatest prosperity. Still\nfurther west and south lies the land of Egypt, in the valley of the\nNile. It was the fostermother of science, and the shaker of empires.\nIt has fallen likewise; and a blight has come upon the soil, until it\nbears the appearance of a sandy waste. Over the sites of other famous\nnations of antiquity, in Europe and Asia, hovers, today, the spirit of\ndesolation.\n\nThe same story is told on the American continent. Peru, the land of\nthe Incas, once populous, powerful, wealthy, is today largely a\nwilderness. Mexico, the Aztec home, is now a vast desert, in spite of\nthe evidence, through the discovered ruins of mighty cities and\ngigantic temples, that it was once the home of a strong people.\nCentral America tells a similar story. It seems to be a general fact\nthat wherever a large people lived formerly, there, today, a desert\noften occurs.\n\nHowever, these countries are deserts only because human effort is no\nlonger applied to them; by proper treatment the lands would again be\nraised to the flourishing condition that prevailed in their prosperous\ndays. Intrinsically the soils are extremely fertile, but are dry and\nrequire the application of water to make the fertility suitable for\nthe use of crops. The soils of Babylon, Assyria, Egypt, Peru and\nMexico, raise crops of wonderful yields when properly irrigated; and\nthere is abundant proof that in former days irrigation was practiced\nin these countries on a scale far larger than in Utah or in any other\ncountry of the present day.\n\nMany of the old irrigation canals of Babylon still exist, and prove\nthe magnitude of the practice, there, of the art of irrigation. The\nold historians, also, agree in explaining the ingenious devices by\nwhich whole rivers were turned from their courses to flow over the\nsoil. In Egypt, likewise, irrigation was more commonly practiced in\nthe past than it is today; though even now a large portion of the soil\nof that country is made to yield crops by the artificial application\nof water. In Peru, Central America, and Mexico, the irrigation canals\nthat remain from prehistoric days are even more wonderful as feats of\nengineering and as evidences of a populous and enlightened condition\nof the country than the massive temples and extensive cities that are\nalso found. In the construction of these canals every precaution,\napparently, was taken to have the water applied to the lands in the\nright manner, and to reduce the loss to a minimum. In some places\nimmense canals remain, that are tiled for miles, on sides and bottom,\nin order to render them watertight, and thus prevent any loss by\nseepage.\n\nInstead of saying, then, that the countries where most great nations\nhave lived are now deserts, we may as well say that most great nations\nhave lived in countries where irrigation was necessary; in fact, that\nhistory indicates that a dense population, and high culture, usually\ngo hand in hand with a soil that thirsts for water. What can science,\nthe great explainer, say on this subject?\n\n\nII.\n\n\"Science moves, but slowly, slowly, moving on from point to\npoint.\"--_Locksley Hall_.\n\nA plant feeds in two ways--by its leaves, and by its roots. The leaves\nfeed from the air; the roots from the soil. In the air is found a\ncolorless, heavy gas, known as carbon dioxide, which is made up partly\nof the element of carbon, or charcoal. When an animal or a plant is\nburned at a low heat, it first chars, showing the presence of\ncharcoal; then if the burning be continued, it disappears, with the\nexception of the ash, as the gas, carbon dioxide. Since animal and\nvegetable matters are constantly being burned upon the earth's\nsurface, naturally the air contains a perceptible quantity of carbon\ndioxide. The leaves of a living plant, waving back and forth, draw\ninto themselves the carbon dioxide with which they come into contact,\nand there break it up and take the carbon away from it. The carbon\nthus obtained by the leaves is built into the many ingredients of a\nplant, and carried to the parts that are in greatest need. The plant\nis able to do this by virtue of the peculiar properties of the green\ncoloring matter in all its leaves, leaf green; which acts, however,\nonly in the presence of bright sunlight. Since one-half or more of the\ndry matter of a plant is carbon, the importance of the\nleaf-air-feeding of a plant may be understood.\n\nThe water which a plant contains and the incombustible portions, the\nmineral matters or ash, are taken directly from the soil by means of\nthe roots. The old idea that vegetable mould and other corbonaceous\nmatters are also taken from the soil by the roots has been shown to be\nerroneous. The mineral portions of a plant are of the highest value to\nthe life of the plant--without them, in fact, it languishes and dies.\nIf a soil on which a plant is growing contains, for instance, no iron,\nthe leaves become pale, soon white, and finally they lose the power of\nappropriating carbon from the air. If potash is absent from the soil,\nthe plants growing upon it will develop in an imperfect manner and\nfinally die. It has been found by careful experiment that seven\nmineral substances must be found in every soil, if it shall support\nthe life of plants, namely: (1) Potash; (2) lime; (3) magnesia; (4)\noxide of iron or iron rust; (5) sulphuric acid or oil of vitriol; (6,\nphosophoric acid, and (7) nitric acid or aqua fortis. The fertility of\nany soil or soil district is determined by the quantity of these\nindispensable ash ingredients contained by it.\n\nAll soils are produced by the breaking down of the mountains under the\ninfluence of weathering. The broken down rock is washed into the\nhollows and lowlands by the rains and floods of melted snow, and there\nforms soil. Soil may, therefore, be defined, in a general way, as\npulverized rock. Nearly all rocks contain the elements above\nenumerated as being essential to a plant's life; and nearly every soil\nwill, consequently, be in possession of them. Rocks, however, in being\nsubjected to the action of weathering, undergo other changes than mere\npulverization. The potash, lime and other plant foods held by a rock\nare in an insoluble condition, and can not be taken up with any ease\nby the plant roots. As the rock is pulverized in the process of\nweathering, it is also made more soluble, and the juices of the plant\nroots can then absorb the needed foods with greater facility. This\nprocess of making the soil more soluble, continues while time lasts,\nand every year will find the soil more soluble than the year before,\nif there are no opposing actions. Therefore, the fertility of a soil\nis determined not only by the quantity of plant food it contains, but\nalso by the condition of solubility the soil constituents are in.\n\nAccording to the facts above given, it would be fair to infer that a\nsoil becomes more fertile with every year that passes. This would be\nthe case were it not for opposing tendencies. First, the crops grown\nupon a soil remove considerable quantities of mineral plant food. This\nalone would not seriously affect the fertility of a soil did not other\nforces act in conjunction with it. The most important cause of\nlowering the fertility of soils is the loss of plant food due to\ndrainage. In districts of abundant rainfall, as, for instance, the\nEastern United States, sufficient rain falls to soak the soil\nthoroughly and to drain through and go off as drainage water. The\nwater, in passing through the soil, will dissolve, as far as it can,\nthe soluble ingredients, including the plant foods, and carry them\naway into the rivers and finally into the ocean. This action,\ncontinued for many years, will rob the soil to feed the ocean; in\nfact, the saltness of the ocean is due, largely, to the substances\nwashed out of the soils. Most of the poor soils of the world have been\nrendered infertile in this way. If, on the other hand, only a small\nquantity of rain falls upon the soil--an amount sufficient to soak the\nsoil without draining through--the water will gradually be evaporated\nback into the air, and there will be no loss of plant food. In such a\ndistrict the soils, if they are treated right, become richer year by\nyear, even though subjected to tillage, if the tillage be according to\nour best knowledge.\n\nIn every rainless district, or in every district where the rainfall is\nso slight as to render irrigation necessary, the soils would be\nexpected to be richer than in a place of abundant rainfall. Leaving\nout of consideration differences due to local conditions, this has\nbeen verified by the study of soils from many parts of the world. The\nsoils of an arid district contain more soluble plant food than those\nof a humid district, and, with proper treatment, will not only raise\nlarger crops, but remain fertile much longer. They will also bear\nharsher treatment, closer cultivation, and are in every respect\nsuperior to the water-washed soils of a humid country. A recent study\nof the soils of Utah has shown that the fertility of our soils is\nexceedingly high, and that they will endure long and close\ncultivation; that is, that because of the peculiar climatic conditions\nof the State, they can support bountifully a large population.\n\nSeveral years ago Dr. E. W. Hilgard, an eminent student of climate and\nsoils, threw out the suggestion that upon the facts just discussed\nrests the explanation of the historical datum that the great nations\nof antiquity on this and on other continents sought for the abodes the\nrainless, arid stretches of the world. A large, active population,\nwhich does not depend on other peoples for its support, must of\nnecessity possess the most fertile lands, which are found only in\ndistricts of limited rainfall. In the whole history of the world, the\ngreat granaries of the world have been located on the arid stretches;\nand on our continent, the great West, largely arid, is becoming the\nsource of the food staples of the nation. Utah is the heart of the\narid region of North America; her soils are heavy with wealth of plant\nfood. If the time comes that her valleys be filled with people,\ncrowding in from the nations of the earth, her soils, responding to\nthe better treatment which science is developing day by day, will\ndisplay their strength, and feed the world, should the demand be made.\n\n\nIII.\n\n\"Therefore will I make solitary places to bud and blossom, and to\nbring forth in abundance, saith the Lord.\"--_Doctrine and Covenants_.\n\nSixty years ago the facts of plant feeding, as just outlined, were\npractically unknown. The erroneous ideas of the preceding century\nstill held full sway. In 1840 Liebig published his treatise on\nagricultural chemistry which threw a faint light on the relation of\nthe plant and the soil. During the twenty years following, the\nindispensable nature of some of the plant foods was ascertained; and\nit is only within the last ten or fifteen years that the superiority\nof arid districts over humid ones, for the purpose of supporting man,\nhas been demonstrated. Even today it is a new light which has not been\nfully received.\n\nIn 1842 Joseph the Prophet wrote: \"I prophesied that the saints would\ncontinue to suffer much affliction and would be driven to the Rocky\nMountains * * * and some of you will live to go and assist in making\nsettlements and build cities and see the saints become a mighty people\nin the midst of the Rocky Mountains.\" Why did Joseph Smith speak of\nthe Rocky Mountains as a gathering place for his people? Was it simply\nbecause the place was far off and offered, apparently, good security?\nIf so, he builded better than he knew. But what prompted Brigham Young\nto plant his cane by the shore of an alkali lake and say, Here we\nshall remain? That certainly was not for security only. Perhaps he was\ntired of wandering? Though he may have been so, yet he was not the man\nto give up when near something better. Perhaps he thought the valley\nfair, and the blue mountains may have rested his eyes? If that was the\nmotive of settlement, he, too, builded better than he knew. Certainly\nit is that these two men who historically hold the responsibility for\nbringing the Latter-day Saints here, did not know, by the world's\nlearning, that the valleys of Utah are filled with the richest soil,\nwaiting only to yield manifold to the husbandman; for the world did\nnot yet know, and had no means for predicting it. These men were not\nscientists. They had no laboratories in which, by long hours, over\nlong drawn fires, and among a hundred fumes, to draw out for\nthemselves the law of the fertility of arid soils, which has but\nrecently become the property of modern science. It is not likely that\nthe records of a lost learning, unknown today, taught them this fact.\nThough they had had such records, they were unlettered men, and the\nancient tongues would have been dead indeed to them, had they\nattempted an interpretation by their own efforts. Why then, did they\nbring the people here? Was it a chance move? A blind effort, acting\nout the desperation that comes from long persecution? If an element of\nchance entered into the location in the valleys of Utah, it was akin\nto wisdom.\n\n_And it was wisdom_ of the highest kind; at which the world ever\nstands in reverent wonder; inspiration from the living God. The logic\nthat science, itself, applies to facts in the deduction of its laws,\nmakes it impossible to believe that the settlement of the pioneers in\nthe Salt Lake Valley was a chance move. Nothing, from the point of\nview of human wisdom, encouraged the pioneers to remain in Utah--they\nwere in the center of a desert; the leaders were urged by many of the\ncompany to go on, for there were fairer climes to the west or the\nsouth, or on the islands of the sea. But the leaders were possessed of\na wisdom higher than that of men, and founded an empire on the wastes\nof the Great American Desert.\n\nNow, let every reader of this paper consider these wonderful facts: Of\nthe vast possibilities of agriculture in Utah being the same with\nthose of the countries where the great nations of the world have\nlived; of a people, claiming that the nations shall in the future flee\nto it for safety, making its home in a place which possesses the\ncapabilities of supporting the nations; and of the choice of that\ncountry when it was named a desert; when science, the world's\nknowledge, did not dream of the fertility of that desert any more than\nit was able to give a correct explanation of the fertility of the\nvalley of Mesopotamia: and every honest heart will recognize the\nunseen hand of the God of Israel, guiding the people of God to the\ndestined land.","title":"Joseph Smith as Scientist: A Contribution to Mormon Philosophy","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":44058}