CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY GIFT OF J. G. Schurman J DATE DUE GAYLORO PHINTEOINUS A. Cornell University Library BX8695.S65 W643 Joseph Smith.,as.scjentjst,„:,a^,contribut, olin The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029467879 ^^^fkthj^ ^^^HkMI s^^Jutrvu^^Xi,^ /" die. /f/rf-. JOSEPH SMITH AS SCIENTIST A COHTRIBUTIOH TO MORMON PHILOSOPHY John A. Widtsoe, A. M., Ph. D. THE GENERAL BOARD YOUNG MEN'S MUTUAL IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATIONS SALT LAKE CITY. UTAH 1908 Copyright 1908 by John A. Widtsoe. Pref ace In the life of every person, who receives a higher edu- cation, in or out of schools, there is a time when there seems to be opposition between science and religion; between man-made and God-made knowledge. The struggle for recon- ciliation between the contending forces is not an easy one. It cuts deep into the soul and usually leaves scars that ache while life endures. There are thousands of young people in the Church to-day, and hundreds of thousands through- out the world, who are struggling to set themselves right with the God above and the world about them. It is for these young people, primarily, that the following chapters have been written. This volume is based on the conviction that there is no real difference between science and religion. The great, fundamental laws of the Universe are foundation stones in religion as well as in science. The principle that matter is indestructible belongs as much to theology as to geology. The theology which rests upon the few basic laws of nature is unshakable ; and the great theology of the future will be such a one. "Mormonism" teaches and has taught from the begin- ning that all knowledge must be included in the true theol- ogy. Because of its comprehensive philosophy, "Mormon- ism" will survive all religious disturbances and become the system of religious faith which all men may accept without yielding the least part of the knowledge of nature as dis- covered In the laboratories or in the fields. The splendid conceptions of "Mormonism" concerning man and nature, and man's place in nature are among the strongest testi- monies of the divine nature of the work founded by Joseph Smith, the Prophet. This little volume does not pretend to be a complete treatment of "Mormon" philosophy; it is only a small con- tribution to the subject. There is room for elaboration and extension in this field for many generations to come. The attempt has been made to sketch, briefly, the relation of "Mormonism" to some features of modem scientific phil- 2 PREFACE. osopy, and to show that not only do "Mormonism" and science harmonize; but that "Mormonism" is abreast of the most modem of the established views of science, and that it has held them many years — in some cases before science adopted them. The only excuse for the scant treatment of such an important subject is that it is as extensive as the duties of a busy life would allow. In the future, the subject may be given a fuller treatment. Some readers may urge that "the testimony of the Spirit," which has been the final refuge of so many Chris- tians, has received little consideration in the following chapters. This is due to the avowed purpose of the work to harmonize science and religion, on the basis of accepted science. "Mormonism" is deeply and rationally spiritual; the discussion in this volume is confined to one phase of Gospel philosophy. The majority of the following chapters were originally published in the Improvement Era for 1903-1904 as a series of articles bearing the main title of this book. These ar- ticles are here republished with occasonal changes and ad- ditions. The new chapters have been cast into the same form as the original articles. The publication as inde- pendent articles will explain the apparent lack of connec- tion between the chapters in this book. The statements of scientific facts have been compared very carefully with standard authorities. However, in popularizing science there is always the danger that the simplification may sug- gest ideas that are not wholly accurate. Those who have tried this kind of work will understand and pardon such errors as may appear. However, corrections are invited. My thanks are due and cheerfully given the manage- ment of the Improvement Era for the help and encourage- ment given. I am under especial obligations to Elder Ed- ward H. Anderson, the associate editor of the^'ra, to whose efforts it is largely due that this volume has seen the light of day. I desire to render my thanks also to the committee appointed by the First Presidency to read the manuscript. Elders George Albert Smith, Edward H. Anderson and Joseph F. Smith, Jr. This volume has been written in behalf of "Mormon- ism." May God speed the truth! Contents. Page INTRODUCTORY. Chapter I. Joseph's Mission and Language .... 5 THE FUNDAMENTALCONCEPTS OF THE UNIVERSE Chapter II. The Indestnudibility of Matter 10 Chapter III. The IndestructiHlity of Energy 14 Chapter I V. The Universal Ether 19 Chapter V . The Reign of Law 30 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE. Chapter VI. The New Astronomy 39 Chapter VII. Geological Time 50 Chapter VIII. Organized Intelligence 61 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL. Chapter VI V. Faith 72 Chapter X. Repentance 80 Chapter XI. Baptism 83 Chapter XII. The Gift of the Holy Ghost 87 Chapter XIII. The Word of Wisdom 90 THE DESTINY OF EARTH AND MAN. Chapter XI V. The Law of Evolution 103 Chapter X V. The Plan of Salvation 115 THE REGION OF THE UNKNOWN. Chapter X VI. The Sixth Sense 121 THE FORCE OF FORCES. Chapter X VII. The Nature of God 134 CONCLUSION. Chapter X VIII. Joseph Smith's Education 139 Chapter XVIV. A Summary Restatement 145 Chapter XX. Concluding Thoughts 158 APPENDIX. Chapter XXI. The Testimony of the Soil 163 nrTEODTrCTOBY. Chapter I. JOSEPH'S MISSION AND LANGUAGE. The missioii of Joseph Smith was of a spiritual natore; and therefore, it is not to be expected that Scientific discus- the discnssion of scientific matters will expected in the ^e fonnd in the Prophet's writings. Prophet's work. The revelations given to the Prophet deal almost exclusively with the elucidation of so- called religious doctrines, and with such difficulties as arose from time to time in the organization of the Church. It is only, as it appears to us, in an inci- dental way tiiat other matters, not strictly of a re- ligious nature, are mentioned in the revelations. However, the Church teaches that all human knowl- edge and all the laws of nature are part of its re- ligious system ; but that some principles are of more importance than others in man's progress to eternal salvation.* While on the one hand, therefore, it can- * "And tTnth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were and as they are to come." — ^Doctrine and Cove- nants, 93: 24. " Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instmcted more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the Gospel, in all things that pertain nnto the Kingdom of God, that are ex- pedient few you to tmderstand; "Of things hoth in heaven and in the earth, and under 6 INTRODUCTORY. not reasonably be expected that Joseph Smith should deal in his writings with any subject peculiar to natural science, yet, on the other hand, it should not surprise any student to find that the Prophet at times considered matters that do not come under the ordinary definition of religion, especially if they in any way may be connected with the laws of religion. Statements of scientific detail should not be looked for in Joseph Smith 's writings, though these are not wholly wanting ; but rather, we should expect to find the earth ; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplex- ities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land, and a knowledge also of countries and kingdoms, " That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling, whereunto I have called you, and the mission with which I have commis- sioned you." — Doctrine and Covenants, 88: 78-80. And verily, I say unto you, that it Is my will that you should hasten to translate my Scriptures, and to obtain a knowledge of history, and of countries, and of kingdoms, of laws of God and man, and all this for the salvation of Zlon." — Doctrine and Covenants, 93: 53. " It (theology) Is the science of all other sciences and useful arts, being in fact the very foundation from which they emanate. It includes philosophy, astronomy, history, mathematics, geography, languages, the science of letters, and blends the knowledge of all matters of fact, In every branch of art and research All that Is useful, great and good, all that Is calculated to sustain, comfort. Instruct, edify, purify, refine or exalt Intelligences, originated by this science, and this science alone, all other sciences being but branches growing out of this, the root." — Pratt, Key to Theology, chap, 1. JOSEPH'S MISSION AND LANGUAGE. ^ general views of the relations of the forces of the Tiniverse. It is not in harmony with the Gospel spirit that God, except in special eases, should reveal things Man must not ex-that man by the aid of his natural Tatfoo'lnmattrrs P°^«^« ^^^ ^^^^^ f°^ ^^''^- ^he that he can solve Lord spoke to the Prophet as follows : — for himself. " Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought, save it was to ask me; but, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall bum within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right. ' '* Such a doctrine makes it unreasonable to look to the Prophet's work for a gratuitous mass of scientific or other details, which will relieve man of the labor of searching out for himself nature's laws. So well established is this principle that in all probability many of the deepest truths contained in the writings of Joseph Smith will not be clearly un- derstood, even by his followers, until, by the la- borious methods of mortality, the same truths are established. It is even so with the principles to be discussed in the following papers. They were stated seventy years ago, yet it is only recently that the Latter-day Saints have begun to realize that they are identical with recently developed scientific truths ; and the world of science is not yet aware of it. However, whenever such harmony is observed, it testifies of the divine inspiration of the humble, unlearned boy prophet of the nineteenth century. ♦Doctrine and Covenants 9: 7, 8. 2 8 INTRODUCTORY. The Prophet Joseph does not use the language of science ; which is additional proof that he did not The absence of know the science of his day. This may lanSme^thodsbe urged as an objection to the asser- of science In the tion that he understood fundamental proves*'^"""*'"^" scientific truths, but the error of this him unfamiliar view is easily comprehended when it is s'^renceofTirday.recaUed that the language of science is made by men, and varies very often from age to age, and from country to country. Besides, the God who spoke to Joseph Smith, says, ' ' These commandments were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding."* If God had spoken the special language of science, the unlearned Joseph Smith would not, perhaps, have understood. Every wise man explains that which he knows in the language of those to whom he is speaking, and the facts and theories of science can be quite easily expressed in the language of the common man. It is npedless to expect scientific phraselogy in the writings of Joseph Smith. Scientific details are almost wholly wanting in the writings of Joseph Smith. Had the Prophet known the science of his day, his detailed knowledge would have been incorporated somehow in his writ- ings. The almost complete absence of such scientific detail as would in all probability have been used, had the Prophet known of it, is additional testimony that he did not get his information from books. Finally, another important fact must be men- tioned. Men in all ages have speculated about the * Doctrine and Covenants 1 : 24. JOSEPH'S MISSION AND LANGUAGE. 9 things of the universe, and have invented all kinds of theories to explain natural phenomena. In all cases, however, these theories have been supported by experimental evidence, or else they have been proposed simply as personal opinions. Joseph Smith, on the contrary, laid no claim to experimental data to support the theories which he proposed, nor did he say that they were simply personal opinions, but he repeatedly asserted that God had revealed the truths to him, and that they could not, therefore, be false. If doctrines resting upon such a claim can be shown to be true, it is additional testimony of the truth of the Prophet's work. In the following chapters it will be shown, by a series of comparisons, that, in 1833, or soon there- p ,j. after, the teachings of Joseph Smith, following the Mormon Prophet, were in full har- chapters. mony with the most advanced scientific thought of today, and that he anticipated the world of science in the statement of fundamental facts and theories of physics, chemistry, astronomy and biology. THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF THE UNIVERSE. Chapter II. THE INDESTRUCTIBILITY OF MATTER. It was believed by the philosophers of ancient and mediaeval times, especially by those devoted to the study of alchemy, that it vras possible through mystical powers, often of a supernatural order, to annihilate matter or to create it from nothing. Lien with such powers transcended aU known laws of na- Untii recent days ture, and became objects of fear, often many believed £ worship to the masses of mankind. that matter could ^ bo created or Naturally enough, the systems of reli- destroyed. gj^^ became colored with the philo- sophical doctrines of the times; and it was held to be a fundamental religious truth that God created the world from nothing. Certainly, God could do what his creatures, the magicians, were able to do — that part of the reasoning was sound. In support of this doctrine, attention was called to some of the experiences of daily life. A piece of coal placed in a stove, in a short time disappears — it is annihilated. From the clear air of a summer's day raindrops start — created out of nothing. A fragment of gold placed in contact with sufficiently strong acids, disappears — it is destroyed. Towards the end of the eighteenth century, facts THE INDESTRUCTIBILITY OF MATTER. H and laws of chemistry were discovered, which en- ,. .^ , abled scientists to follow in great de- Matter is " eternal, its tail the changes, visible or invisible, to form on iy can -which matter in its various forms is be changed. subject. Then it was shown that the coal placed in a stove unites with a portion of the air entering through the drafts, and becomes an in- visible gas, but that, were this gas collected as it issues from the chimney, it would be found to con- tain a weight of the elements of the coal just equal to the weight of the coal used. In a similar manner it was shown that the raindrops are formed from the water found in the air, as an invisible vapor. The gold dissolved in the acid, may be wholly recovered so that every particle is accounted for. Numerous investigations on this subject were made by the most skillful experimenters of the age, all of which showed that it is absolutely impossible to create or destroy the smallest particle of matter ; that the most man can do is to change the form in which matter exists. After this truth had been demonstrated, it was a necessary conclusion that matter is eternal, and that the quantity of matter in the universe cannot be diminished nor increased. This great generalization, known as the law of the Persistence of Matter or Mass, is the foundation stone of modem science. It began to find general acceptance among men about the time of Joseph Smith 's birth, though many reli- gious sects still hold that God, as the Supreme Ruler, is able at will to create matter from nothing. The establishment of this law marked also the final down- fall of alchemy and other kindred occult absurdities. 12 THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCBPTS. No dootriiio taught by Josoph Smitli is bollor undei-stood by his followers thnn tJiat matter in its Mormonlsm eloiiioiitnJ->' condition is otornal, aiul I'uhrrfgsafo "'** '^^ «'''" neitlier be ini-.roased uor material. diminished. As onrly as May, JS.'t.'t, tlie JVophet declai-ed that "the elemouts are otonial,"* and in a sermon delivcrod iu April, 1844, ho said " Element had an existeiico from tJie time God had. The pure pi-iuciples of element ai-e principles which .j can never be destroyed; they nuiy be organi/.ed and reorganized, but not desti'oyod. They had no begin- ning, and can have no end."t It is thus evident that I'roni the beginning of his work, Joseph Smith was in perfect harmony with the fundamental doctrine of science; and far in advance of the religious sects of the world, which are, even at this time, slowly accepting the doctrine of the per- sistence of matter in a spiritual as well as in a ma- terial sense. Mormonism has frequently been charged with accepting the doctrine of materialism. In one sense, the followers of Joseph Smith plead yes to this charge. In Mormon theology there is no place for immateralism ; i. e. for a God, spirits and angels that are not material. Spirit is only a refined form , of matter. It is beyond the mind of man to conceive of an immaterial thing. On the other hand, Joseph Smith did not teach that the kind of tangible mat- ter, which impresses our mortal senses, is the kind of matter which is associated with heavenly beings. The distinction between the matter known to man •Doctrine and Covenants, 93:83. I The Contributor, Vol. 4, p. 257. THE INDESTRUCTIBILITY OF MATTER. 13 and the spirit matter is very great; but no greater than is the difference between the matter of the known elements and that of the universal ether which forms one of the accepted dogmas of science. Science knows phenomena only as they are as- sociated with matter; Mormonism does the same. Chapter III. THE INDESTRUCTIBILITY OP ENERGY. It is only when matter is in motion, or in the possession of energy, that it is able to impress our senses. The law of the indestructibility and converti- bility of energy, is of equal fundamental value with All forms of that of the indestructibility of matter, energy may bo _A. great variety of forces exist in na- converted into c ■ ^ -j. i.- i each other. ^-^re, as, for instance, gravitation, elec- Energy can not tricity, chemical affinity, heat and light. These forces may all be made to do work. Energy, in fact, may be defined as the power of doing work. In early days these forces were sup- posed to be distinct and not convertible, one into the other, just as gold and silver, with our present knowledge, are distinct and not convertible into other elements. In the early part of the nineteenth century students of light and heat began to demonstrate that these two natural forces were different manifesta- tions of one universal medium. This in turn led to the thought that possibly these forces, instead of be- ing absolutely distinct, could be converted one into the other. This idea was confirmed in various expe- rimental ways. Sir Humphrey Davy, about the end of the eighteenth century, rubbed together two pieces of ice until they were nearly melted. Pre- cautions had been taken that no heat could be ab- stracted from the outside by the ice. The only ten- THE INDESTRUCTIBILITY OP ENERGY. 15 able conclusion was that the energy expended in rubbing, had been converted into heat, which had melted the ice. About the same time, Count Rum- ford, a distinguished American, was superintending the boring of a cannon at the arsenal at Munich, and was forcibly struck with the heating of the iron due to this process. He, like Davy, believed that the energy of the boring instruments had been converted into the heat.* From 1843 to 1849, Dr. Joule of Manchester, England, published the results of experiments on the relation between mechanical energy and heat. Dr. Joule attached a fixed weight to a string which was passed over a pulley, while the other end was con- nected with paddles moving in water. As the weight descended, the paddles were caused to revolve; and it was observed that, as the weight fell and the pad- dles revolved, the water became warmer and warmer. Dr. Joule found further that for each foot of fall, the same amount of heat energy was given to the water. In fact, he determined that when a pound weight falls seven hundred and seventy two feet it gives out energy enough to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit.! This experiment, frequently repeated, gave the same result and estab- lished largely the law of the convertibility of energy. About the same time, it was shown that light can be converted into heat; and later it was proved that electricity may be changed into heat or light. In aU these cases it was found that the amount of energy changed was exactly equal to the amount of energy produced. * The Conservation of Heat — Stewart, pp. 38, 39. f The Conservatism of Energy — Stewart, pp. 44, 45. Re- cent Advances in Pysical Science — Tait, pp. 63, 65. 16 THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS. Thus, by countless experiments, it was finally determined that energy is indestructible ; that, when any form of energy disappears, it reappears imme- diately in another form. This is the law of the per- sistence of force or energy. In more recent days, it has been suggested that all known forces are varia- tions of a great universal force, which may or may not be known. The very nature of force or energy is not understood. In the language of Spencer, "By the persistence of force, we really mean the persis- tence of some cause which transcends our knowledge and conception."* It need hardly be explained that energy cannot exist independently of matter ; and that the law of the persistence of matter is necessary for the existence of the law of persistence of force. Joseph Smith was not a scientist; and he made no pretense of solving the scientific questions of this Universal Intelll- day. The discussion relative to the gence,comparabr8 j.-t.-,-. o ■ » to universal convertibility oi various forms of en- *r*'"^Ju!® '"'*^' ®'"gy was in all probability not known structible, ac- ^. n -n • cording to to him. Still, m his writings is found Joseph Smith. a doctrine which in all respects resem- bles that of the conservation of energy. Joseph Smith taught, and the Church now teaches, that all space is filled with a subtle, though material substance of wonderful properties, by which all natural phenomena are controlled. This substance is known as the Holy Spirit. Its most important characteristic is intelligence. "Its inherent prop- erties embrace all the attributes of intelligence, "f •First Principles, Spencer, 4tli ed., p. 200. ■f Key to Theology, p. p. Pratt, 5th ed., p. 40. THE INDESTRUCTIBILITY OF ENERGY. 17 The property of intelligence is to the Holy Spirit what energy is to the gross material of our senses^ In one of the generally accepted works of the' Church, the energy of nature is actually said to be the workings of the Holy Spirit. The passage reads as follows: "Man observes a universal energy in na- ture — organization and disorganization succeed each other — the thunders roll through the heavens; the earth trembles and becomes broken by earthquakes ; fires consume cities and forests ; the waters accumu- late, flow over their usual bounds, and cause destruc- tion of life and property; the worlds perform their revolutions in space with a velocity and power in- comprehensible to man, and he, covered with a veil of darkness, calls this universal energy, God, when it is the workings of his Spirit, the obedient agent of his power, the wonder-working and life-giving prin- ciple in all nature."* In short, the writings of the Church clearly in- dicate that the various forces of nature, the energy of nature, are only manifestations of the great, per- vading force of intelligence. We do not understand the real nature of intelligence any better than we understand the true nature of energy. "We only know that by energy or intelligence gross matter is brought within reach of our senses. Intelligence or energy was declared by Joseph Smith ia May, 1833, to be eternal: " Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be."t In the sermon already referred to * Compedium, Richards and Little, 3rd ed., p. 150. ^Doctrine and Covenants, 93: 29. 18 THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS. the Prophet said, " The intelligence of spirits had no beginning, neither will it have an end." These quotations, and many others to which at- tention might be called, show clearly that Joseph Smith taught the doctrine that the energy of the universe can in nowise be increased or diminished, though, it may manifest itself in various forms. The great Latter-day prophet is thus shown to be in harmony with the second fundamental law of science. It is not a valid objection to this conclu- sion to say that Joseph Smith did not use the ac- cepted terms of science. Words stand only for ideas ; the ideas are essential. The nomenclature of a science is often different in different lands, and is often changed as knowledge grows. It is hardly correct to say that he was in har- mony with the law ; the law as stated by the world of science was rather in harmony with him. Let it be observed that Joseph Smith enunciated the prin- ciple of the conservation of the energy, or intelli- gence as he called it, of the universe, in May, 1833, ■ten years before Dr. Joule published his famous pa- pers on energy relations, and fifteen or twenty years before the doctrine was clearly understood and gen- erally accepted by the learned of the world. Let it be also remembered that the unlearned boy from the backwoods of New York state, taught with the con- viction of absolute certainty that the doctrine was true, for God had revealed it to him. If God did not reveal it to him, where did he learn it, and whence came the courage to teach it as an eternal truth? Chapter IV. THE UNIVERSAL ETHER. The nature of light has been in every age a fas- cinating subject for study and reflection. Descartes, The modern the French mathematician and philoso- theory of light pher, advanced the hypothesis that only about the light consists of small particles emitted year 1830. ty luminous bodies, and that the sen- sation of light is produced by the impact of these particles upon the retina of the eye. Soon after this emission or corpuscular theory had been proposed, Hooke, an English investigator of great note, stated ^ publicly that the phenomena of light, as he had ob- served them, led him to the belief that the nature of light could best be explained on the assumption that light was a kind of undulation or wave in some un- known medium, and that the sensation of light was produced when these waves struck upon the retina, of the eye. This new hypothesis, known as the theory of undulations, after the great Isaac Newtoa i had declared himself in favor of the corpuscular- theory, was finaly adjudged by the majority of students to be erroneous. About the year 1800, more than a century after the days of Descartes, Hooke and Newton, an En- glish physician, Dr. Thomas Young, who had long experimented on the nature of light, asserted that the emission theory could not explain many of the best known phenomena of light. Dr. Young further 20 THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS. claimed that correct explanations could be made only by the theory of waves of undulation of an etherial medium diffused through space, and pre- sented numerous experimental evidences in favor of this view. This revival of the old theory of undula- tion met at first with violent opposition from many of the greatest scientific minds of the day. Some- time after Dr. Young's publication, a French army officer, Augustine Fresnel, undertook the study of the nature of light, and arrived, almost independ- ently, at the conclusion stated by Dr. Young. Later, other investigators discovered light phenomena which could be explained only on the undiilatory hypothesis, and so, little by little, the new theory gained ground and adherents. Still, even as late as 1827, the astronomer Herschel published a treatise on light, in which he appeared to hold the real merit of the theory of undulations in grave doubt.* Likewise, the Imperial Academy at St. Petersburg, in 1826, proposed a prize for the best attempt to relieve the undulatory theory of light of some of the main objections against it.f It was several years later before the great majority of the scientific world accepted the theory of un- dulatons as the correct explanation of the phenom- ena of light. In brief, this theory assumes that a very atten- uated, but very elastic, substance, called the ether, fills all space, and is found surrounding the ultimate * History of the Inductive Sciences, Whewell, 3rd edi- tion, Vol. II, p. 114. •|- Loo. clt., 117. THE UNIVEKSAL ETHER. 21 particles of matter. Thus, the pores of wood, soil, A subtle sub- ^^^^, gold and the human body, are stance, the ether, filled with the ether. It is quite impos- fills all space. gj^^jg -^^ ^^^ known process to obtain a portion of space free from it. A luminous body is one in which the ultimate particles of matter, the atoms or molecules, are moving very rapidly, and thus causing disturbances in the ether, similar to the disturbances in quiet water when a rock is thrown into it; and, like the water wave, proceeding from the point of disturbance, so the ether waves radiate from the luminous body into space. When a wave strikes the retina of the eye, the sensation of light is produced. This new-found ether was soon used for the explanation of other natural phenomena. The nature of heat had long been discussed when the world of science decided in favor of the Light, heat, undulatory theory of light. One school other'^force9"are ^®^*^ *^^* *^® sensation of heat was forms of ether caused by the cannonading of heat '""^ °"' particles by the heated body; the other school, with few adherents, insisted that heat was simply a form of motion of the ether already adopted in the theory of light. The later discoveries of science proved with considerable certainty that the undulatory theory of heat is right, but it was weU towards the middle of the last century before the emission theory of heat lost its ground. In fact. Dr. "Whewell, in the third edition of his classic book on the History of Inductive Sciences, published in 1859, says that the undulatory theory of heat "has not by any means received full confirmation;" and Dr. •Vol. II, p. 184. 22 THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS. John Tyndall, in a book published in 1880, says, that the emission theory "held its ground until quite re- cently among the chemists of our own day."* To- day, the evidences of modem science are overwhelm- ingly in favor of the undulatory theory of heat. The wonderful developments of the last cen- tury, in electricity and magnetism, led to much spec- ulation concerning the nature of the subtle electrical and magnetic forces. The most popular theories for many years were those that presupposed various electrical and magnetic fluids, which could be col- lected, conducted, dispersed and otherwise con- trolled. In 1867, the eminent English mathematician, Clerk Maxwell, proposed the theory that electrical and magnetic phenomena were simply peculiar mo- tions of the ether, bearing definite relationship to light waves. Later researches, one result of which is the now famous Eoentgen or X-rays, have tended to confirm Maxwell's theory. A recent text-book on physics, of unquestioned authority,t states that the ether theory of electricity and magnetism is now susceptible of direct demonstration ; and another em- inent authority frankly states that "when we explain the nature of electricity, we explain it by a motion of the luminif erous ether. ' 'J Other recent discoveries have hinted at the pos- sibility of matter itself being only the result of pecu- liar forms of this all^pervading substance, the lumin- iferous ether. The properties of the element radium, * Heat, A Mode of Motion, Tyndall, 6th ed., p. 38. ILehrbuch der Physlk, Riecke,(1896), 2ter Band, p. 315. jPopular Lectures and Addresses, Kelvin (1891) Vol. 1, page 334. THE rNn-ERSAL ETHER. 23 and other radioactive elements, as at present under- stood, suggest the possibility of a better understand- ing of the nature of the ether, and of its relation to the world of phenomena. That the present knowledge of the world of science compels a faith in an all-pervading substance, The existence of of marvelous properties, and of inti- certainty of mate relationship to all forms of en- scrence. ergy, is shown by the following quota- tions from Lord Kelvin, who is generally regarded as the world's greatest, physicist: " The lumin- ferous ether, that is the only substance we are con- fident of in dynamics. One thing we are sure of, and that is the reality and substantiality of the lumin- iferous ether." " "What can this luminiferous ether beT It is something that the planets move through with the greatest ease. It permeates our air; it is nearly in the same condition, so far as our means of judging are concerned, in our air and in the inter- planetary space." "You may regard the existence of the luminiferous ether as a reality of science." "It is matter prodigiously less dense than air — of such density as not to produce the slightest resis- tance to any body going through it."* The theory of the ether is one of the most help- ful assumptions of modem science. By its aid the laws of energy have been revealed. There is at the present time no grander or more fundamental doc- trine in science than that of the ether. The nature of the ether is, of course, far from being clearly un- derstood, but every discovery in science demon- strates that the hypothetical ether stands for an im- * Kelvin's Lectures, Vol. 1. pp. 317. 334, 336, 354. 24 THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS. portant reality of nature. Together with the doc- trines of the indestructibility of matter and energy, the doctrine of the ether welds and explains all the physical phenomena of the universe. Joseph Smith, in a revelation received on De- cember 27, 1832, wrote: "The light which now shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your Joseph Smith eyes, which is the same light that taught space is quickeneth your understandings ; which stance^compar" light proceedeth forth from the pres^ able to the ether ence of God to fill the immensity of o science. space. The light which is in all things : which is the law by which all things are governed: even the power of God. ' '* This quotation gives undoubted evidence of the prophet's belief that space is filled with some sub- stance which bears important relations to all natu- ral phenomena. The word substance is used ad- visedly; for in various places in the writings of Joseph Smith, light, used as above in a general sense, means spirit,t and "all spirit is matter, but it is more fine and pure. "J True, the passage above quoted does not fur- nish detailed explanation of the Prophet's view con- cerning the substance filling all space, but it must be remembered that it is simply an incidental para- graph in a chapter of religious instruction. True, also, the Prophet goes farther than some modem scientists, when he says that this universal substance ♦Doctrine and Covenants, section 88: 11-13. 4- Doctrine and Covenants, 84: 46. J Ibid, 131: 7. THE UNIVERSAL ETHER. 25 bears a controlling relation to all things; yet, when it is recalled that eminent, sober students have sug- gested that the facts of science make it possible to; believe that matter itself is simply a phenomenon of the universal ether, the statement of the "Mor- mon" prophet seems very reasonable. The para- graph already quoted is not an accidental arrange- ment of words suggesting an idea not intended by the prophet, for in other places, he presents the idea of an onmipresent substance binding all things to- gether. For instance, in speaking of the controlling power of the universe he says : "He comprehendeth all things, and all things are before him, and all things are round about him; and he is above all things, and in all things, and is through all things, and is round about all things. ' '* That Joseph Smith does not here have in mind an omnipresent God, is proved by the emphatic doctrine that God is personal and cannot be every- where present.f Lest it be thought that the words are forced, far argument's sake, to give the desired meaning, it may be well to examine the views of some of the persons to whom the Prophet explained in de- tail the meanings of the statements in the revela- tions which he claimed to have received from God. Parley P. Pratt, who, as a member of the first quorum of apostles, had every opportunity of ob- taining the Prophet's views on any subject, wrote *lbld, 88: 41. f Ibid, 130: 22. 26 THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS. in considerable fullness on the subject of the Holy Spirit, or the light of truth : "As the mind passes the boundaries of the vis- ible world, and enters upon the confines of the more refined and subtle elements, it finds itself associated with certain substances in themselves invisible to our gross organs, but clearly manifested to our in- tellect by their tangible operations and effects." " The purest, most refined and subtle of all these substances^ — is that substance called the Holy Spirit. ' ' "It is omnipresent." " It is in its less refined par- ticles, the physical light which reflects from the sun, moon and stars, and other substances; and by re- flection on the eye makes visible the truths of the outward world."* Elder C .W. Penrose, an accepted writer on Mormon doctrine, writes, " It is by His Holy Spirit, which permeates all things, and is the life and light of all things, that Deity is everywhere present. * * By that agency God sees and knows and governs aU things."! Such quotations, from the men intimately asso- ciated or acquainted with the early history of the Church, prove that Joseph Smith taught in clearness the doctrine that a subtle form of matter, call it ether or Holy Spirit, pervades all space; that all phenomena of nature, including, specifically, heat, light and electricity, are definitely connected with this substance. He taught much else concerning this substance which science -will soon discover, but * Key to Theology, 5th ed., pp. 38-41. ■(•Rays of Living Light, No. 2, p. 3. THE UNIVERSAL ETHER. 27 whiich lies without the province of this paper to discuss. By the doctrine of the ether, it is made evident all the happenings in the universe are indelibly in- scribed upon the record of nature. A word is spoken. The air movements that it causes disturbs the ether. The ether waves radiate into space and can never die. Anywhere, with the proper instrument, one of the waves may be captured, and the spoken word read. That is the simple method of wireless tele- graphy. It is thus that all our actions shall be known on the last great day. By the ether, or the Holy Spirit as named by the Prophet, God holds all things in His keeping. His intelligent will radiates into space, to touch whomsoever it desires. He who is tuned aright can read the message, flashed across the ether ocean, by the Almighty. Thus, also, God, who is a person, filling only a portion of space is, by His power carried by the ether, everywhere present. The ether of science though material is essen- tially different from the matter composing the ele- ments. So, also, in Mormon theology, is the Holy' Spirit different from the grosser elements. In science there is a vast distinction between the world of the elements, and that of the ether ; in theology, there is an equally great difference between the spiritual and material worlds. Though the theology of Joseph ' Smith insists that immaterialism is an absurdity, yet it permits no overlapping of the earthly and the spiritual. It must not be overlooked that the broad state- 28 THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS. me'nt of this doctrine was made by Joseph Smith, Joseph Smith at least as early as 1832, at a time when Tenceol'a *"'*' t^^ explanation of light phenomena on universe-filling the hypothesis of a universal ether was s%" en'?e"ha5 geT J^t beginning to find currency among eraliy accepted it. learned men; and many years before the same hypothesis was accepted in explaining the phenomena of heat and electricity. The idea of an influence pervading the universe is not of itself new. Poets and philosophers of all ages have suggested it in a vague, hesitating manner, without connecting it with the phenomena of nature, but burdening it with the greatest absurdity of re- ligion or philosophy, that of immaterialism. Joseph Smith said the doctrine had been taught him by God, and gave it to the world unhesitatingly and ration- ally. The men of science, to whom Joseph Smith appears only as an imposter, and who know nothing of his writings, have later discovered the truth for themselves, and incorporated it in their books of learning. Had Joseph Smith been the clever imposter that some claim he was, he probably would not have dealt in any way with the theories of the material world, at least would not have claimed revelations laying down physical laws; had he been the stupid fool, others tell us he was, his mind would not have worried itself with the fundamental problems of nature. However that may be, it is certain that Joseph Smith, in the broad and rational statement of the existence of an omnipresent, material though' subtle substance, anticipated the workers in science. In THE UNIVERSAL ETHER. 29 view of that fact, it is not improbable that at some future time, when science shall have gained a wider view, the historian of the physical sciences will say that Joseph Smith, the clear-sighted, first stated correctly the fundamental physical doctrine of the universal ether. Chapter V. THE REIGN OP LAW. In the seventh book of the Republic of Plato* occurs the following passage : ' ' Imagine a number of men living in an under- ground cavernous chamber, with an entrance open The realities of to the light, extending along the entire known b^y their length of the cavern, in which they effects. have been confined, from childhood, with their legs and necks so shackled, that they are obliged to sit still and look straight forward, because their chains render it impossible for them to turn their heads round; and imagine a bright fire burn- ing some way off, above and behind them, and an elevated roadway passing between the fire and the prisoners, with a low wall built along it, like the screens which conjurers put up in front of their au- diences, and above which they exhibit their won- ders. Also figure to yourself a number of persons walking behind the wall, and carrying with them statues of men and images of other animals, wrought in wood and stone and all kinds of mate- rials, together with various other articles, which overtop the wall ; and, as you might expect, let some of the passers-by be talking, and the others silent. " Let me ask whether persons so confined could have seen anything of themselves or of each other, beyond the shadows thrown by the fire upon the part * Golden Treasury edition, pp. 235, 236. THE REIGN OF LAW. 31 of the cavern facing them! And is not their knowl- edge of the things carried past them equally limited? And if they were able to converse with one another, would they not be in the habit of giving names to the objects which they saw before them? If their prison house returned an echo from the part facing them, whenever one of the passers-by opened his lips, to what could they refer the voice, if not to the shadow which was passing? Surely such person would hold the shadows of those manufactured articles to be the only realities." With reference to our absolute knowledge of the phenomena of nature, this splendid comparison is as correct today as it was in the days of Plato, about 400 B. C. ; we are only as prisoners in a great cave, watching shadows of passing objects thrown upon the cavern wall, and reflecting upon the real natures of the things whose shadows we see. We know things only by their effects; the essential nature of matter, ether and energy is far from our under- standing. In early and mediaeval times, the recognition of the fact that nature in its ultimate form is unknow- e progress able, led to many harmful superstitions, the law of Chief among the fallacies of the early ise and effect, ages was the belief that God at will could, and did, cause various phenomena to appear in nature, which were contrary to all human expe- rience. As observed in chapter 4, a class of men arose who claimed to be in possession of knowledge which made them also able, at will, to cause various supernatural manifestations. Thus arose the occult sciences, so called, — alchemy, astrology, magic, 32 THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS. witchcraft, and all other similar abominations of the intellect. Such beliefs made the logical study of na- ture superfluous, for any apparent regularity or law in nature might at any time be overturned by a per- son in possession of a formula of the black art or a properly treated broomstick. While such ideas prevailed among the majority of men, the rational study of science could make lit- tle progress. In the march of the ages as the ideas of men were classified, it began to be understood that the claims of the de- votees of the mystical arts not only could not be substantiated but were in direct opposition to the known operations of nature. It became clear to the truthseekers, that in nature a given cause, acting upon any given object, providing all surrounding conditions be left unchanged, will always produce the same effect. Thus, coal of a certain quality, brought to a high temperature in the presence of air, will bum and produce heat; a stick held in water at the right angle wUl appear crooked; iron kept in contact with moisture and air, at the right temperature, will be changed into rust; sunlight passed through a glass prism will be broken into rainbow colors; ordinary plants placed in a dark cellar will languish and die. No matter how often trials are made, the above results are obtained; and today it is safe to assert that in the material world no relation of cause and effect, once established, has failed to reappear at the will of the investigator. As this principle of the constancy in the relations be- tween cause and effect was established, the element of chance in natural phenomena, with its attendant THE REIGN OF LAW. 33 arts of magic, had to disappear. It is now well un- derstood by intelligent persons that the law of order controls all the elements of nature. It is true that the cause of any given effect may, itself, be the effect of other causes, and that the first cause of daily phenomena is not and probably can- not be understood. It is also true that very seldom is the mind able to comprehend why certain causes, save the simpler ones, should produce certain effects. In that respect we are again nothing more than Plato's cave prisoners, seeing the shadows of ulti- mate realities. However, the recognition of the prin- ciple of the invariable relation between cause and effect was a great onward stride in the intellectual development of the world. Now, as men began to investigate nature with her forces, according to the new light, numerous re^ «s of nature lations of the forces were discovered — man's srm- ^ number far beyond the comprehen- st expression . „ . many re- sion of the human mind. Then it was id facts. found necessary to group all facts of a similar nature, and invent, if possible, some means by which the properties of the whole group might be stated in language so simple as to reach the un- derstanding. Thus came the laws of nature. For instance, men from earliest times observed the heavenly bodies and the regularity of their mo- tions. Theories of the universe were invented which 3hoidd harmonize with the known facts. As new facts were discovered, the theories had to be changed and extended. First it was believed that the earth was fixed in mid-space, and sun and stars were daily jarried around it. Hipparchus improved this theory 34 THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS. by placing the earth not exactly in the center of the sun's circle. Ptolemy, three hundred years later, considered that the sim and moon move in circles, yearly, around the earth, and the other planets in circles, whose centers again described circles round the earth. Copernicus simplified the whole system by teaching that the earth rotated around its axis, and around the sun. Keppler next showed that the earth moved around the sun in certain curves termed ellipses. Finally, Newton hit upon the wide-embrac- ing law of gravitation, which unifies all the known facts of astronomy.* All the earlier laws were cor- rect, so far as they included all the knowledge of the age in which they were proposed, but were insufiS" eient to include the new discoveries. Laws of nature are, therefore, man's simplest and most comprehensive expression of his knowl- edge of certain groups of natural phenomena. They are man-made, and subject to change as knowledge grows; but, as they change, they approach or should approach more and more nearly to the perfect law. Modem science is built upon the assumption that the relations between cause and effect are invariable, and that these relations may be grouped to form great natural laws, which express the modes by which the forces of the universe manifest themselves. In this matter, science is frankly humble, and acknowledges that the region of the unknown is far greater than that of the known. Forces, relations and laws may exist as yet unknown to the world of science, which, used by a human or superhuman be- * See The Grammar of Science, Pearson, pp. 117, 118. THE REIGN OF LAW. 35 ing, might to all appearances change well-established A miracle is a relations of known forces. That would law not under- be a miracle; but a miracle simply stood. , , , means a phenomenon not understood, in its cause and effect relations. It must also be ad- mitted that men possess no absolute certainty that though certain forces, brought into a certain con- junction a thousand times, have produced the same effect, they will continue to do so. Should a varia- tion occur, however, that also must be ascribed to an inherent property of the forces or conditions, or the existence of a law not understood.* There can be no chance in the operations of nature. This is a universe of law and order. Were it not for the sake of the completeness of the argument running through these chapters, it would Josepii Smith be unnecessary to call attention to the taught the invari. fact that Joseph Smith in a very high able relation i i , ./ & of cause and degree held views similar to those effect. taught by science relative to cause and effect, and the reign of law. From the beginning of his career, the Prophet insisted upon order, or system, as the first law in the religion or system of philosophy which he founded.f Moreover, the order which he taught was of an un- changeable nature, corresponding to the invariable relation between cause and effect. He wrote, " There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated; and when we obtain any blessing * The Credentials of Science, the Warrant of Faith, Cooke, pp. 169, 170. I Doctrine and Covenants, 28 : 13 ; 132 ; 8. 36 THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS. from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated."* No text book in science has a clearer or more positive statement than this, of the fact that like causes have like effects, like actions like results. The eternal nature of natural law is further emphasized as follows: " If there be bounds set to the heavens, or to the seas : or to the dry land, or to the sun, moon or stars; all the times of their revolutions; all the ap- pointed days, months, and years, and all the days of their days, months, and years, and all their glories, laws, and set times, shall be revealed, in the days of the dispensation of the fullness of times, ac- cording to that which was ordained in the midst of the Council of the Eternal God of all other Gods before this world was."t Those who may be inclined to believe that this doctrine was taught in a spiritual sense only, should recall that Joseph Smith taught also that spirit is only a pure form of matter,! so that the principles of the material w6rld must have their counterparts in the spiritual world. Besides, in the last quotation reference is made to such material bodies as sun, moon, and stars. In other places, special mention is made of the fact that the material universe is con- trolled by law. For instance : "All kingdoms have a law given: and there are many kingdoms; * * • * and unto every kingdom is given a law; and unto every law there are certain bounds also and conditions. • * * * ♦Doctrine and Covenants, 130: 20,21. I Doctrine and Covenants, 121: 30-32. t Doctrine and Covenants, 131: 7. THE REIGN OF LAW. 37 And again, verily I say unto you, he hath given a law unto all things by which they move in their times and their seasons; and their courses are fixed; even the courses of the heavens and the earth, which comprehend the earth and aU the planets.* This also is a clear, concise statement of law and its nature, which is not excelled by the defi- nitions of science. There can be no doubt from these quotations, as from many others that might be made, that Joseph Smith based his teachings upon the recognition that law pervades the universe, and that none can transcend law. In the material world or in the domain of ether or spirit, like causes produced like effects — the reign of law is supreme. Certainly the claim cannot be made that Joseph Smith anticipated the world of science in the recog- "Th I w 1 nition of this important principle; but makethyou it is a source of marvel that he should *•"**•" so clearly recognize and state it, at a time when many religious sects and philosophical creeds chose to assume that natural laws could be set aside easily by mystical methods that might be acquired by anyone. In some respects, the scientific test of the divine inspiration of Joseph Smith lies here. Ignorant and superstitious as his enemies say he was, the mystical would have attracted him great- ' ly, and he would have played for his own interest upon the superstitious fears of his followers. In- stead, he taught doctrines absolutely free from mysticism, and buUt a system of religion in which the invariable relation of cause and effect is the cornerstone. Instead of priding himself, to his ♦Doctrine and Covenants, 88:36-33, 42, 43. 8 THE REIGN OP LAW. iseiples, upon his superiority to the laws of nature, e taught distinctly that "the law also maketh you ree."* Herein he recognized another great prin- iple — that freedom consists in the adaptation to iw, not in the opposition to it. However, whatever else the Prophet Joseph mith was, he most certainly was in full harmony 'ith the scientific principle that the universe is DntroUed by law. ♦Doctrine and Covenants, 98:8. THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE. Chapter VI. THE NEW ASTRONOMY. From the dawn of written history, when the first men, watching through the nights, observed the s laws of the i^^^ular motions of the moon and stars, tionsofthe humanity has been striving to obtain 'e^been ° '^^ ^ correct understanding of the relation med very of the earth to the heavenly obdies. First it was believed that the sun, moon, and stars revolved in circles around the earth (which for a time was supposed to be flat instead of spherical). The great Greek philosopher, Hippar chus, after observing the movements of the heavenly bodies, suggested that the earth was not exactly in the middle of the circles. Three hundred years iater, Ptolemy discovered a number of facts con- 3eming the movements of the sun, moon and planets, ivhich were unknown to Hipparchus, and which led lim to suggest that the sun and moon move in cir- jles around the earth, but that the planets move iround the earth in circles, whose centres again move iround the earth. This somewhat complex theory jxplained very well what was known of astronomy n the days of the ancients. In fact, the views of 'tolemy were quite generally accepted for 1300 rears. About 1500, A. D., Copernicus, a Dutch astron- imer, having still more facts in his possession than 40 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE. had Ptolemy, concluded that the simplest manner in which the apparent movements of the sun, moon, and planets could be explained, was to assume that the sun is the center of the planetary system, and that the earth, with the moon and planets, revolves according to definite laws around the sun. This theory, supported by numerous confirmatory obser- vations, was generally accepted by astronomers, and reaUy did explain very simply and clearly many of the facts of planetary motion. Fifty years after the death of Copernicus, the celebrated astronomer, Kepler, proposed extensions and improvements of the Copernican doctrine, which made the theory that the planets revolve about the sun more probable than ever before. He suggested first that the planets move around the sun in closed curves, resembling fiattened circles, and known as ellipses. By assuming this to be true, and assisted by other discoveries, he was also able to state the times required by the planets for their revolutions around the sun, and the velocity of their motions at different times of the year. Later investigations have proved the great laws proposed by Copernicus and Kepler to be true ; and from their days is dated the birth of modem astronomy. After the laws of the motions of the planets liad been determined, it was only natural that men B law of gravi- ^^^'^^^ ^^^ themselves what forces were on is univer- concerned in these motions. The an- ny of^lhlT'"^ ^^^^* philosophers had proposed the idea tlonsof that the sun attracts all heavenly bodies, but the suggestion had not been accepted by the world at large. However, after the THE NEW ASTRONOMY. 41 discoveries of Kepler, the English, philosopher New- ton advanced the theory that there is in the universe an attractive force which influences all matter, be- yond the limits of known space. He further proved that the intensity of this force varies directly with the product of the attractive masses, and inversely, with the square of the distances between them — that is, the greater the bodies the greater the attraction; the greater the distance between them, the smaller the attraction. This law of gravitation has been verified by repeated experiments, and, taken in con- nection with the astronomical theories of Coper- nicus and Eepler, has made celestial mechanics: what they are today. By the aid of the law of gravitation, many astronomical predictions have been fulfilled. Among the most famous is the following incident : In the early part of the last century, astron- omers noticed that the motions of the planet Uranus did not agree with those derived from calculations based upon the law of gravitation. About 1846, two investigators, M. Leverrier, of France, and Mr. Adams of England, stated, as their opinion, that the discordance between theory and observation in the case of the motions of Uranus, was due to the at- traction of a planet, not yet known, and they cal- culated by means of the law of gravitation, the size and orbit of the unknown planet. In the fall of 1846, this planet was actually discovered and named Neptune. It was found to harmonize with the pre- dictions made by the astronomers before its dis- covery. During the days of Newton, the question was 42 THE CONSTITUTION OP THE UNIVERSE. raised if the celestial bodies outside of the solar system obey the law of gravitation. Among the stars, there are some which are called double stars, and which consist of two stars so near to each other that the telescope alone can separate them to the eye. In 1803, after twenty years of observation, William Hersehel discovered that some of these couples were revolving around each other with var- ious angular velocities. The son of WiUiam Hersehel continued this work, and many years later, he dis- covered that the laws of motion of these double stars are the same as those that prevail in the the solar system.* This result indicated not only the universality of the law of gravitation, but also the probability that all heavenly bodies are in motion. Then, early in the nineteenth cetury, a new method of research began to be developed, which was The invention of destined to form a new science of l^idX^foS" astronomy. It had long been known tion of tiie new that white light when passed through as ronomy. ^ glass prism is broken into a colored spectrum, with colors similar to those observed in the rainbow. Now it was discovered that when white light passes through vapors of certain com- position, dark lines appear in the spectrum, and that the position of the lines varies with the chemical composition of the vapors. By the application of these principles, it was shown, towards the middle of the last century, that the chemical composition of the heavenly bodies may be determined. Later, * History of the Inductive Sciences, Whewell, 3rd ed. Vol. I, pp. 467-469. THE NEW ASTRONOMT. 43 it was discovered that by noting the positions of the dark lines in the spectrum, it could be known when a star or any heavenly body is moving, as also the direction and amount of its motion. These un- expected discoveries led to a study of the heavens from the spectroscopic point of view, which has re- sulted in a marvelous advance in the science of astronomy. It has been determined that all heavenly bodies are in motion, and that their velocities are great ... . . compared with our ordinary concep- bodiea are in tions of motion. Most of the stars move motion. g^^. ^j^g y,^^^ ^^j about seven miles per second, though some have a velocity of forty-five miles, or more, per second. Many stars, formerly thought to be single, have been resolved into two or more components. The rings of Saturn have been proved to consist of small bodies revolving about the planet in obedience to Kepler's law.* Clusters of stars have been found that move through space as one body, as possible counterparts of the planetary system.f It has been demonstrated, further, that the sun it- self, with its planets, is moving through space at ' a very rapid rate. Professor Simon Newcomb, per- haps the greatest astronomer of the day, says, "The sun, and the whole solar system with it, have been speeding their way toward the star of which I speak (Alpha Lyrae) on a journey of which we know neither the beginning nor the end. During every * See C. G. Abbott, Report of Smithsonian Institution, for 1901, pp. 153-155. + Light Science for Leisure Hours, Proctor, pp. 42-52. 44 THE CONSTITUTION OP THE UNIVERSE. clock-beat through which humanity has existed, it has moved on this journey by an amount which we can- not specify more exactly than to say that it is probably between five and nine miles per second. The conclusion seems unavoidable that a number of stars are moving with a speed such that the at- traction of all the bodies of the universe could never stop them."* In brief, the new astronomy holds that all heavenly bodies are in motion, and that the planetary system is but a small cluster of stars among the host of heaven. Further, it has weighed the stars, measured the intensity of their light, and determined their chemical composition, and it af- firms that there are suns in the heavens, far ex- celling our sun in size and lustre, though built of approximately the same elements. Sir Robert Ball expresses his views as follows: "The group to which our sun belongs is a limited The solar ^^^- "^^^^ must be SO, even though the system is only group included all the stars in the milky many. way. This unnumbered host is still only a cluster, occupying, comparatively speaking, an expressibly small extent in the ocean of infinite space. The imagination will carry us further still — it will show us that our star cluster may be but a unit in a cluster of an order still higher, so that a yet higher possibility of movement is suggested for our astonishment."! Another eminent astronomer expresses the same idea briefly but eloquently: "It is true that from * The Problems of Astronomy, S. NewGomb, Science, May 21. 1897. ^ The Story of the Sun, R. S. Ball, pp. 360, 361. THH NEW ASTRONOMY. 45 the highest point of view the sun is only one of a multitude — a single star among millions — thousands of which, most likely, exceed him in brightness, magnitude and power. He is only a private in the host of heaven."* And still another student of the stars propounds the following questions: "Does there exist a cen- tral sun of the universe? Do the worlds of Infini- tude gravitate as a hierarchy round a divine focus? Some day the astronomers of the planets which gravitate in the light of Hercules (towards which constellation the solar system is moving) will see a little star appear in their sky. This will be our sun, carrying us along in its rays; perhaps at this very moment we are visible dust of a sidereal hurricane, in a milky way, the transformer of our destinies. We are mere playthings in the immensity of Infin- itude."! It is not strange that men who have learned to look at the universe in this lofty manner should go a step farther, beyond the actually Scientists be- „ lieve that ilea- known, and suggest that some of these venly bodies countless heavenly bodies must be in- by living, habited by living, thinking beings. thinlcing beings, gober, thoughtful truthseekers, who never advance needlessly a new theory, have sug- gested, in all seriousness, that other worlds than ours are peopled. For instance, "What sort of life, spiritual and intellectual, exists in distant worlds? We can not for a moment suppose that our little planet is the only one throughout the whole uni- * The Sun, C. A. Young, p. 11. I Popular Astronomy, C. Flammarion, p. 309. 46 THE CONSTITUTION OP THE UNIVERSE. verse on which may be found the fruits of civiliza- tion, warm firesides, friendship, the desire to pene- trate the mysteries of creation."* Such, then, is in very general terms the view of modem astronomy with reference to the con- stitution of the universe. Most of the information upon which this view rests has been gathered during the last fifty years. Joseph Smith was doubtlessly impressed with the beauty of the starry heavens, and, in common Joseph Smith with all men of poetical nature, allowed taught that all jjjg ti^oughts to wander into the immens- heavenly bodies are in motion. ity of space. However, he had no known opportunity of studying the principles of astronomy, or of becoming famjUiar with the astronomical questions that were agitating the thinkers of his day. Naturally, very little is said in his writings that bears upon the planeta!ry and stellar constitution of the universe; yet enough to prove that he was in perfect harmony with the astronomical views developed since his day. First, he believed that stellar bodies are dis- tributed throughout space. "And worlds without number have I created. "t "And there are many kingdoms; for there is no space in which there is no kingdom. "J He is further in harmony with modem views in that he claims that stars may be destroyed, and new ones formed. "For, behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. "|] "And as one earth shall * The Problems of Astronomy, S. Newcomb. I Book of Moses, 1 : 33. J Doctrine and Covenants, 88: 37. II Book of Moses, 1: 35. THE NEW ASTRONOMY. 47 ass away, and the heavens thereof, even so shall Qother come."* At the time that Joseph Smith wrote, there was )nsiderable discussion as to whether the laws of le solar system were effective with the stars. The rophet had no doubts on that score, for he wrote. And unto every kingdom is given a law ; and unto very law there are certain bounds also and con- itions."t Likewise, his opinions concerning the motions f celestial objects were very definite and clear. He hath given a law unto all things by which they love in their times and seasons; and their courses re fixed; even the courses of the heavens and the arth, which comprehend the earth and all the lanets. The earth rolls upon her wings, and the an giveth his light by day, and the moon giveth her ght by night, and the stars also giveth their light, s they roll upon their wings in glory, in the midst f the power of God. "J In another place the same thought is expressed. The sun, moon or stars; all the times of their avolutions; all the appointed days, months, and ears, and all the days of their days, months, and ears, and all their glories, laws, and set times, hall be revealed. "|| The two revelations from which these quota- ions are made, were given to the Prophet in 1832 nd 1839 respectively, many years before the fact * Doctrine and Covenants, 1: 38. I Doctrine and Covenants, 88: 38. t Doctrine and Covenants, 88: 43,45. II Doctrine and Covenants, 121: 30,31. 48 THE CONSTITUTION OP THE UNIVERSE. that all celestial bodies are in motion was under- stood and accepted by the world of science. The accepted conception that groups or clus- ters of stars form systems which revolve around Joseph Smith some one point or powerful star, was taught that the also clearly understood by Joseph only one of Smith, for he speaks of stars of dif- many — in ad- ferent orders with controUing stars for vance of the astronomers each order. "And I saw the stars that of his day. they were very great, and that one of them was nearest unto the throne of God ; and there were many great ones which were near unto it : and the Lord said unto me: These are the governing ones; and the name of the great one is Kolob be- cause it is near unto me — I have set this one to govern all those which belong to the same order as that upon which thou standest."* That the gov- erning star, Kolob, is not the sun is evident, since the statement is made later in the chapter that the Lord showed Abraham "Shinehah, which is the sun." Kolob, therefore, must be a mighty star gov- erning more than the solar system; and is possibly the central sun around which the sun with its at- tendant planets is revolving. The other great stars near Kolob are also governing stars, two of which are mentioned by name Oliblish and Enish-go-on- dosh, though nothing is said of the order or stars that they control. The reading of the third chapter of the Book of Abraham leaves complete conviction that Joseph Smith taught that the celestial bodies are in great groups, controlled (under gravitational influence) by large suns. In this doctrine, he anti- * Book of Abraham, chapter 3. THE NEW ASTRONOMY. 49 eipated the world of science by many years. It is perhaps less surprising to find that Joseph Smith believed that there are other peopled worlds Joseph Smith than ours. For instance, "The reckon- other worlds arei'^S ^^ God's time, angel's time, proph- inhabited. et's time, and man's time, is according to the planet on which they reside,"* which dis- tinctly implies that other planets are inhabited. An- other passage reads, "The angels do not reside on a planet like this earth, but they reside in the pres- ence of God, on a globe like a sea of glass and fire. ' 't While the idea that the planets and stars may be inhabited is not at all new, yet it is interesting to note that Joseph Smith taught as an absolute truth that such is the case. Probably no other philosopher has gone quite that far. These brief quotations go to show that the doc- trines of the Prophet of the Latter-day Saints are in full accord with the views that distinguish the new astronomy. It is also to be noted that in ad- vancing the theories of universal motion among the stars, and of great stars or suns governing groups of stars, he anticipated by many years the corres- ponding theories of professional astronomers. In various sermons the Prophet dealt more fully with the doctrines here set forth and showed more strongly than is done in his doctrinal writings, that he understood perfectly the far reaching nature of his astronomical teachings. Did Joseph Smith teach these truths by chance ? or, did he receive inspiration from a higher power? * Doctrine and Covenants, 130: 4. |Loc. cit, verses 6 and 7. See also 88: 61. C!liapter VII. GEOLOGICAL TIME. God speaks in various ways to men. The stars, the clouds, the mountains, the grass and the soil, are ,. , . , ^ all, to him who reads aright, forms of The history of ' -,t n \ t.i x the world written divine revelation. Many oi the noblest in the rocks. attributes of God may be learned by a study of the laws according to which Omnipotent WUl directs the universe. Nowhere is this principle more beautifuly illus- trated and confirmed than in the rocks that con- stitute the crust of the earth. On them is written in simple plainness the history of the earth almost from that beginning, when the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Yet,for centuries, men saw the rocks, their forms and their adaptations to each other, without understanding the message writ- ten in them. Only, as the wonderful nineteenth cen- tury approached, did the vision open, and the inter- pretation of the story of the rocks become apparent. How the earth first came into being has not yet been clearly revealed. From the first, however, the Water and heat mighty forces which act today, have ing forces of shaped and fashioned the earth and pre- the earth. pared it for man's habitation. Water, entering the tiny cracks of the rocks, and expanding as, in winter, it changed to ice, crumbled the mighty GEOLOGICAL TIME. 51 mountans; water, falling as rain from the clouds, washed the rock fragments into the low-lying places to form soil ; the water in mighty rivers chiseled the earth with irresistible force, as shown by the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. The internal heat of the earth, aided by the translocation of material by water, produced large cracks in the earth's crust, through which oceans of molten matter flowed and spread themselves over the land; the same heat ap- peared in volcanoes, through which were spurted liquid earth, cinders and foul gases ; as the earth heat was lost, the crust cooled, contracted and great folds appeared, recognized as mountains, and as time went on, many of the mountains were caused to sink and the ocean beds were brought up in their stead. Won- derful and mighty have been the changes on the earth's surface since the Lord began its preparation for the race of men. In the beginning, it appears that water covered the whole earth. In that day, the living creatures The geological of earth dwelt in the water, and it was history of the ^-j^e great age of fishes and other a(iuatic earth is in many ° '=' '■ chapters. animals. Soon the first land lifted itself timidly above the surface of the ocean, and formed inviting places for land animals and plants. Upon the land came, first, according to the story of the rocks, a class of animals known as amphibians, like frogs, that could live both in water and on land. Associated with these creatures were vast forests of low orders of plants, that cleared the atmosphere of noxious gases, and made it fit for higher forms of life. Then followed an age in which the predominat- ing animals were gigantic reptiles, a step higher than 52 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE. the ampMbians, but a step lower than the class of Mammals to which man belongs. During the age of these prehistoric monsters, the earth was yet more fully prepared for higher life. Following the age of reptUes, came the age of mammals, which still per- sists, though, since the coming of man upon the earth, the geological age has been known as the age of man. This rapid sketch of the geological history of the earth does very poor justice to one of the most complete, wonderful and beautiful stories brought to the knowledge of man. The purpose of this chapter is not, however, to discuss the past ages of the earth. It is, of course, readily understood that such mighty chaoages as those just described, and the suc- cession of different kinds of organic life, could not have taken place in a few years. Vast periods of time must of necessity have been required for the initiation, rise, domination and final extinction of each class of animals. A year is too small a unit of measurement in geological time ; a thousand years or, better, a million years, would more nearly an- swer the requirements. It is possible in various ways to arrive at a con- ception of the age of the earth since organic life The earth is came upon it. For instance, the gorge probably mil- e .u t^t- t-i n , . lions of years ^i the JNiagara Falls was begun m com- °'«'- paratively recent days, yet, judging by the rate at which the falls are now receding, it must have been at least 31,000 years since the making of the gorge was first begun, and it may have been near- ly 400,000 years.* Lord Kelvin, on almost purely * Dana's New Text Book of Geology, p. 376. GEOLOGICAL TIME. 53 physical grounds, has estimated that the earth can- not be more than 100,000,000 years old, but that it may be near that age.* It need not be said, probably, that all such calculations are very uncertain, when the actual number of years are considered; but, all human knowledge, based upon the present appear- ance of the earth and the laws that control known phenomena, agree in indicating that the age of the earth is very great, running in all probability into millions of years. It must have been hundreds of thousands of years since the first life was placed upon earth. When these immense periods of time were first suggested by students of science, a great shout of The war con- opposition arose from the camp of the cerning the theologians. The Bible story of crea- hei^ped «?e*olo^g^y ^^'^^ ^^^ been taken literally, that iu and science. six days did the Lord create the heav- ens and the earth ; and it was held to be blasphemy to believe anything else. The new revelation, given by God in the message of the rocks, was received as a man-made theory, that must be crushed to earth. It must be confessed likewise that many of the men of science, exulting in the new light, ridiculed the story told by Moses, and claimed that it was an evi- dence that the writings of Moses were not inspired, but merely man-made fables. The war between the Mosaic and the geological record of creation became very bitter and lasted long, and it led to a merciless dissection and scrutiny of the first chapter of Genesis, as well as of the evidence upon which rests the geological theory of the age of ♦Lectures and Addresses, vol. 2, p. 10. 54 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE. the earth. When at last the din of the battle grew faint, and the smoke cleared away, it was quickly per- ceived by the unbiased on-lookers, that the Bible and science had both gained by the conflict. Geology had firmly established its claim, that the earth was not made in six days of twenty-four hours each ; and the first chapter of Genesis had been shown to be a marvelously truthful record of the great events of creation. Moses, in the first chapter of Genesis, enumerates the order of the events of creation. First, light was The word day brought to the earth and was divided in Genesis from darkness, "and the evening and refers to indef- ' n ■, ,, mi inite time the morning were the first day. Then periods. ^j^g firmament was egtablished in the midst of the waters, ' ' and the evening and the morn- ing were the second day." After each group of creative events, the same expression occurs, "and the evening and the morning were the third [fourth, fifth, and sixth] days." Those who insisted upon the literal interpretation of the language of the Bible maintained that the word day, as used in Genesis 1, referred to a day of twenty-four hours, and that all the events of creation were consummated by an all- powerful God in one hundred and forty-four earthly hours. An examination of the original Hebrew for the use of the word translated "day in Genesis, re- vealed that it refers more frequently to periods of time of indefinite duration.* "When this became clear, and the records of the rocks became better known, some theologians suggested, that as we are * Compare The Mosaic Record of Creation, A. McCaul, D. D., p. 213. GEOLOGICAL TIME. 55 told that a tkousand years are as one day to God, the day of Genesis 1 refers to periods of a thousand years each. This did not strengthen the ar^ment. The best opinion of today, and it is well-nigh universal, is that the Mosaic record refers to indefinite periods of time corresponding to the great divisions of histori- cal geology. Even as late as the sixties and seventies of the last century this question vi^as still so unsettled as to warrant the publication of books defending the Mosaic account of creation.* In 1830, certain visions, given to the Jewish law- giver Moses, were revealed to the Prophet Joseph Joseph Smith's Smith. These visions are now incorpor- teachings con- ^^^^ ^^j^ ^^j^gj. matter in the Pearl of cernmg creation found in the Book Great Price, under the title. The Book of of Abraham. Moses. In chapter two of this book is found an account of the creation, which is nearly identical with the account found in Genesis 1. The slight variations which occur tend only to make the meaning of the writer clearer. In this account, the expression "and the evening and the morning were the first [etc.] day," occurs just as it does in the Mosaic account in the Bible. In 1835, certain an- cient records found in the catacombs of Egypt fell into the hands of Joseph Smith, who found them to be some of the writings of Abraham, while he was in Egypt. The translation of these records is also found in the Pearl of Great Price, under the title. The Book of Abraham. In the fourth and fifth chap- ters of the book is found an account of the creation * For instance Aids to Faith, containing McCaul's most able discussion. The Origin of the World, J. W. Dawson. 56 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE. according to the knowledge of Abraham. The two accounts are essentially the same, but the Abrahamic version is so much fuller and clearer that it illumines the obscurer parts of the Mosaic account. We shall concern ourselves here only with the variation in the use of the word " day." In Genesis 1 : 5 we read, ' ' And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the The Book of flj-g^ day." The corresponding period veys the idea is discussed in the Book of Abraham that the creative 4:5 as follows: "And the Gods caUed perrods included , ,. , .^ tit, , much time. the light Day, and the darkness they called Night. And it came to pass that from the evening until the morning they called night ; and from the morning until the evening they called day; and this was the -first, or the beginning, of that which they called night and day." It is to be noted that in Abraham's version names were given to the intervals between evening and morning, and morning and evening; but abso- lutely nothing is said about a Urst day: the state- ment is simply made, that this was the beginning of the alternating periods of light and darkness which they, the Gods, had named night and day. According to this version, the first creative period occupied an unknown period of time. In Genesis 1 : 8 it further says : "And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day." The corresponding passage in the Book of Abra- ham 4:8, reads, "And the Gods called the expanse Heaven. And it came to pass that it was from even- GEOLOGICAL TIME. 57 ing until morning that they called night; and it came to pass that it was from morning until evening that they called day, and this was the second time that they called night and day." Here it must be noted th^t nothing is said about a second day. It is said that it was the second time that they called day — which leaves the second crea- tive period entirely indefinite so far as time limits are concerned. In Genesis 1 : 13, it reads, ' ' and the evening and the morning were the third day." In Abraham 4 : 13, the corresponding passage reads, "And it came to pass that they numbered the days; from the evening until the morning they called night; and it came to pass, from the morning until the evening they called day; and it was the third time." Here it is explicitly stated that the Gods num- bered the days ; evidently, they counted the days that had passed during the third creative period, and it was the third time that the numbering had been done. Again, the third creative period is left indefinite, as to time limits. Gen. 1:19, reads, "And the evening and the morning were the fourth day." Correspondingly, in Abraham 4:19, is found, "And it came to pass that it was from evening until morning that it was night ; and it came to pass that it was from morning until evening that it was day ; and it was the fourth time." This quotation from Abraham, standing alone, would be somewhat ambiguous, for it might indicate that it was the fourth time that the periods between 58 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE. evening and morning, and morning and evening were called night and day. In the light of previous pas- sages, however, the meaning of the passage becomes clear. Certainly there is nothing in the verse to confine the fourth creative period within certain time limits. The fifth day in Genesis closes as does the fourth ; and the fifth time in Abraham closes as does the fourth. The remarks made concerning the fourth creative period apply to the fifth. Concerning the sixth creative period. Gen. 1 :31, says, "And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day." Of the same period Abraham says, "And the Gods said : "We wUl do everything that we have said, and organize them; and behold, they shall be very obedient. And it- came to pass that it was from morning until evening that they called night; and it came to pass that it was from evening until morn- ing that they called day; and they numbered the sixth time." As in the previous periods, the sixth ended by the sixth period, like those preceding, being inde- the Gods numbering the days of the creative period ; terminate as to time. Repeated reading and study of the Abrahamic account, as revealed through Joseph Smith, make it certain beyond doubt that the intent is to convey the idea that the creative periods included much time, and that, at the end of each period, the measure of night and day, was applied to the period, in order that its length might be determined. "Whether or GEOLOGICAL TIME. 59 not the different creative periods represented days to the mighty beings concerned in the creation, we do not know, and it matters little to the argument of this article.* Now, then, we must remember that Joseph Smith made this translation long before the theolo- gians of the world had consented to admit that the Mosaic days meant long periods of time; and long before geology had established beyond question that immense time periods had been consumed in the preparation of the earth for man. Joseph Smith, the humble, imlearned, despised boy, unfamiliar with books and the theories of men, stated with clear and simple certainty, if his works be read with the eye of candid truth, this funda- mental truth of geological science and the Bible, long before the learned of the world had agreed upon the same truth.f Standing alone, this fact might be called a chance coincidence, a result of blind fate. But re- calling that it is one of many similar and even more * The writer understands the creation, reported in Abraham, 4th chapter, to be spiritual in its nature; but he also believes that this spiritual account is a perfect picture of the actual material creation. If chapter 4 of Abraham represents the Gods planning creation, the measuring of time becomes easily understood. It then means, " How long will it take to accomplish the work?" All this, how- ever, has no bearing upon the present argument, I It may be remarked that other geological doctrines were taught by the Prophet, that science has since con- firmed. One of these was discussed by Dr. J. E. Talmage in the Improvement Era, "Vol. 7, p. 481. 60 THE CONSTITUTION OP THE UNIVERSE. striking facts, what shall be said, Has ever impostor dared what Joseph Smith did? Has ever false prophet lived beyond his generation, if his prophecies were examined? Shall we of this foremost age ac- cept conviacing, logical truth, though it run counter to our preconceived notions? Glorious were the vis- ions of Joseph the Prophet; unspeakable would be our joy, should they be given to us. Chapter VIII. ORGANIZED INTELLIGENCE. The student of the constitution of the universe must take into account living beings. Plants, ani- A complete mals and men are essentially different consider living from the mass of matter. The rock, beings. apparently, is the same forever; hut the plant has a beginning, and after a comparatively short existence dies. Animals and men, likeAvise, be- gin their earthly existence; then, after a brief life, die, or disappear from the immediate knowledge of of living things. Man, the highest type of living things, differs from the rock, moreover, in that he possesses the power to exercise his will in directing natural forces. Animals and even plants seem to possess a similar power to a smaller degree. The rock on the hillside is pulled downward by gravitation, but can move only if the ground is removed from beneath it by some external force. Man, on the other hand, can walk up or down the hill, with or against the pull of gravity. Modem science refers all phenomena to matter and motion ; in other words, to matter and force or Science teaches energy. In this general sense, matter ena^mLrbe""" ^eludes the universal ether, and force referred to mat- includes any or all of the forces known, In'm^Tion!"*'^ or that may be known, to man. To illustrate : the electrician develops a current 62 THE CONSTITUTION OP THE UNIVERSE. of electricity, which to the scientist is a portion oi the universal ether moving in a certain definite man- ner. Wlien the vibrations of the ether are caused to change, light, or magnetism or chemical affinity may result from the electricity. In every case, mat- ter is in motion. The ear perceives a certain sound. It is produced by the movements of the air. In fact, sounds are carried from place to place by great air waves. The heat of the stove is due to the rapid vibration of the molecules in the iron of the stove, which set up corresponding vibrations in the ether. In nature no exceptions have been found to the great scientific claim that all natural phenomena may be explained by referring them to matter in motion. *Variations in the kind of matter and the kind of motion, lead to all the variations found in the uni- verse. By many it has been held that life and its phe- nomena transcend the ordinary explanations of na- ture. Yet, those who have learned, by laborious re- Life is a searches, that the fundamental ideas of certain form the universe are only eternal matter, o motion. eternal energy and the universe-filling medium, the ether, find it very difficult to conceive of a special force of life, which concerns itself solely with very limited portions of matter, and is wholly distinct from aU other natural forces. To the student of science it seems more consist- ent to believe that life is nothing more than matter in motion ; that, therefore, all matter possesses a kind of life ; and that the special life possessed by plants, animals and man, is only the highest or most com- * Tyndall, Fragments of Science, I. chaps. I and II. ORGANIZED INTELLIGENCE. 63 plex motion in the universe. The life of man, ac- cording to this view, is essentially different from the life of the rock; yet both are certain forms of the motion of matter, and may be explained ultimately by the same fundamental conceptions of science. Cer- tainly, such an idea is more beautifully simple than that of a special force of life, distinct from all other natural forces. It is argued by those who uphold this view, that the simple forces of nature are converted by living things into the higher forces that characterize life. For instance, to keep the human body, with its won- derful will and intelligence, in health, it is necessary to feed it. The food is actually burned within the body. The heat thus obtained gives to the man both physical and intellectual vigor. It would really ap- pear, therefore, that heat, which is a well known, simple physical force, may be converted by the an- imal body into other and more complex forces, or modes of motion, such as the so-called life force. Naturally, should science class life as the highest or most complex of the modes of material motion, . the question would arise concerning the organization char-manner in which this conversion were acterizes life. made possible. The answer must be that the ultimate particles of the matter composing the living thing are so arranged or organized that the great natural forces may be converted into life force. It is possible by passing heat through certain substances to make them luminous, thus converting heat into light ; by employing a dynamo, mechanical energy may be converted into electrical energy; by coiling a wire around a rod of soft iron, electricity 64 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE. may be converted into magnetism. In short, it is well understood in science, that by the use of the right machines one form of energy may be changed linto another. It is generally assumed, that the human body is so organized that the forces of heat, light and undoubtedly others, may be converted into higher forms, peculiar to living things.* To substantiate this view, it may be recalled that the fundamental chemical individual in living _ . . thing is a very complex, unstable sub- Protoplasm, a ° , ■' 5 1 T.T 1- • highly organized stance known as protoplasm. Mo iivmg body, la always gg^ g^jg^ without the presence of this associated with life. substance. It is far from bemg known well, as yet, but enough is known to enable science to say that it is composed of several elements, so grouped and regrouped as to transcend all present methods of research.f By means of this highly or- ganized body, it is assumed that the ordinary forces of nature are worked over and made suited for the needs of the phenomena of life. The existence of the complex life-characteristic substance protoplasm, renders probable the view that living things, after all, differ from the rest of creation only in the kind and degre of their organi- zation, and that life, as the word is ordinarily used, depends upon a certain kind or organization of mat- ter,t which leads to a certain kind of motion. As to the origin of the special organization * Compare, Piske, Outlines of Cosmic Philiosophy, chap. XVI. Pearson, Grammar of Science, pp. 404-407. Dolbear, Matter, Ether and Motion, chap. XI, pp. 294-297. I Pearson, Grammar of Science, p. 408. t Tyndall, Fragments of Science. II, chaps. IV and VI. ORGANIZED INTELLIGENCE. 65 called life, science has nothing to say. Science is helpless wheD she deals with the beginning of things. The best scientific explanation of life is that it is a very complex mode of motion occasioned by a highly complex organization of the matter and ether of the living body. There are still some students who prefer to be- lieve in the existence of a special vital force, which is not subject to the laws that govern other forces. This view, however, is so inconsistent with the modern understanding of the contents of the universe that it has few followers. The view that life is a special organization by which the great natural forces are focussed and con- _. . centrated, so as to accomplish the The modern con- ' '^ ceptionof life is greatest works, necessarily implies a very recent. ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ modem laws of nature. Since modern science is of very recent development it was quite improbable for such a conception of life to have been held clearly before modern times. In fact it is within the last thirty or forty years that these views have found expression among scientific investigations. As observed in chapters two and three, Joseph Smith taught that the energy of matter or of ether Joseph Smith is a form of intelligence. If, according taught the ^^ ^j^jg doctrine, matter and ether are universality ' of life. intelligent; then life also must reside in all matter and ether. eHnce everything in the universe is alive. Further, since all force is motion, universal motion is universal life. The difference between rock, plant, beast and man is in the amount and organization of its life or intelligence. For in- stance, in harmony with this doctrine, the earth 66 THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNIVERSE. must possess intelligence or life. In fact the Prophet says "the earth shaU be sanctified; yea, not- withstanding it shall die, it shall be quickened a^ig, and shall abide the power by which it is quickened."* The statement that the earth shaU die and shall be quickened again, certainly implies that the earth possess life, though, naturally, of an order wholly different from that of men or other higher living things. It is an established "Mormon" doctrine that man is coexistent with God. Note the following state- l^g^ .g ments: "Te were also in the beginning coexistent with the Father." "Man was also in with God. ^jj^g beginning with God. Intelligence- or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be."t "Yet these two spirits, notwith- standing one is more intelligent than the other, have no beginning; they existed before, they shall have no end, they shall exist after for they are eternal. ' 'J In the account of the Creation, given in the Book of Abraham, it is clearly stated that the Gods or- Joseph Smith ganized the earth and all upon it from taught that man available materials, and as the fitting IS organized from ' ° matter, spirit and Climax to their labors they "went down Intelligence ^q organize man in their own image, in the image of Gods to form him."§ The creation of man was in part at least the organization of indi- viduals from eternal materials and forces. The na- ture of that organization is made partly clear by the * Doctrine and Covenants 88 : 25, 26. ■j- Doctrine and Covenants 93 : 23 and 29. I Book o£ Abraham 3 : 19. I Book of Abraham, 4th chap. (Note verse 27.) ORGANIZED INTELLIGENCE. 67 Prophet when he says "The spirit and the body are the soul of man. ' '* The spirit here referred to may be compared to the ether of science, vibrating with the force of intelligence, which is the first and high- est of the many forces of nature. The body, similar- ly, refers to the grosser elements, also fired with the universal energy — intelligence. The word Soul, in the above quotation, means man as he is on earth and is used as in Genesis. Man, according to this, is composed of matter; the spirit which may be likened to ether, and energy. The organization of man at the begininng of our earth history, was only the clothing of the eternal spiritual man with the mat- ter which constitutes the perishable body. In con- firmation of this view note another statement, "For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receiveth a full- ness of joy, and when separated, man can not re- ceive a fullness of joy."t Here also it is taught that man is composed of matter, spirit and energy. President Brigham Young has left an interest- ing paragraph that confirms the statement that ac- , .... cording to "Mormon" doctrine, all mat- Intelligence "^ ' Is uni- ter is intelligent, and that man is su- versal. perior only because of his higher organ- ization. "Is this earth, the air and the water, com- posed of life ? If the earth, air and water, are composed of life is there any intelligence in this life?. . . .Are those particles of matter life; if so, are they in possession of intelligence according to the grade of their organization ? We suggest * Doctriae and Covenants 88: 15. I Doctrine and Covenants 93 : 33 and 34. 68 THE CONSTITUTION OP THE UNIVERSE. the idea that there is an eternity of life, an eternity of organization, and an eternity of intelligence from the highest to the lowest grade, every creature in its order, from the Gods to the animalculae. ' '* The statement that man can receive a fullness of joy only when spirit and element are united, is of it- , . self a scientific doctrine of high import. Spirit unaided „, . . , , j, ^^ j ■ i. knows matter This IS a world of matter ; and a spint- with difficulty, ^gj j^^jj^ ^jj^^ jg^ png made only of the universal ether, would not be able to receive fully the impressions that come from the contact of element with element. To enjoy and understand this world, it is necessary for the spirit to be clothed with mat- ter. The ether or spirit world is not within our immediate view ; and it is probable that the material world is far away from purely spiritual beings. This whole doctrine means that God is the or- ganizer of worlds, and all upon them. He is not the „ . , ^. Creator of the materials and forces of God is the Master- the universe, for they are eternal; He builder. jg ^j^g j^aster builder who uses the sim- ple elements of nature for his purposes. It is also plain that, according to "Mormon" doctrine, there is no special life force. The intelligence residing in a stone is in quality, as far as it goes, the same as the intelligence possessed by man. But, man is so or- ganized that a greater amount of intelligence, a full- ness of it, centers in him, and he is as a consequence essentially and eternally different from the stone. President Young also said, "The life that is within us is a part of an eternity of life, and is organized spirit, which is clothed upon by tabernacles, thereby * The Resurrection, p. 3. Ed. of 1884. ORGANIZED INTELLIGENCE. 69 constituting our present being, which is designed for the attainment of further intelligence. The matter comprising our bodies and spirits has been organized from the eternity of matter that fills immensity,"* This doctrine does not permit of the interpreta- tion that a lower intelligence, such as that of an an- A lower intelli- imal, may in time become the intelli- gence can not be- „ ,,T. • i.1, ■ 4.1. come a higher gence 01 a man. It remameth m the intelligence ex- sphere in which I, God, created it."t ganization. The horse will ever remain a horse, though the intelligence of the animal may increase. To make any of the constituent parts or forces of an animal, part of the intelligence of a man, it would be necessary to disorganize the animal; to organize the elements into a man, and thus to begin over again. Men, beasts and plants — those beings that pos- sess the higher life, differ from inanimate nature, Joseph Smith an- SO called, by a higher degree of organ- ticipated science ization. That is the dogma of "Mor- in the modern . ,, j 4.1. j j. ■ j- conception of monism, and the doctrme or science. life- About 1831 Joseph Smith gave this knowledge to the world ; a generation later, scientfic men arrived independently at the same conclusion. The thinkers and writers of "Mormonism" have more or less directly taught the same doctrine. _...., . Apostle Orson Pratt believed that the The thinkers and ^ writers of Mor- body of man, both spiritual and earth- monism have Yj was composed of atoms or ultimate taught the fore- •" ^ going doctrine particles — of the Holy Spirit for the °* ''^*' spiritual body and material elements for the mortal body. It has already been shown that * Journal of Discourses, vol. 7: 285. (Brigham Young.) -j-Book of Moses 3: 9. 70 THE CONSTITUTION OP THE UNIVERSE. the Holy Spirit of "Mormonism" may be compared with the ether of science, vibrating with the greater force of the universe — intelligence. For instance : "The intelligent particles of a man's spirit are by their peculiar union, but one human spirit."* "Sev- eral of the atoms of this spirit exist united to- gether in the form of a person."! Undoubtedly Elder Pratt believed that the living man is simply organized from the elements and elementary forces of the universe. Perhaps the best and safest exposition of the philosophy of "Mormonism" is Parley P. Pratt's Key to Theology. In it he states definitely that the spirit of man is organized from the elementary Holy Spirit. ' ' The holiest of all elements, the Holy Spirit, when organized in individual form, and clothed upon with flesh and bones, contains, etc. "J That the earthly body was likewise organized is equally plain for he says "At the commencement — the elements — were found in a state of chaos. "§ Then man was "moulded from the earth as a brick."** Again, "The spirit of man consists of an organization of the ele- ments of spiritual matter, "ff which finds entrance into its tabernacle of flesh. In another place he de- fines creation by asking ' ' "What is creation ? Merely organization The material of which this earth was made always did exist, and it was only an or- * Absurdities of Immaterialism, ed. 1849, p. 26. I Ibid, p. 29. J Key to Theology, 5h ed., p. 46. § Ibid, p. 49 **Ibid, p. 51. If Ibid, p. 131. ORGANIZED INTELLIGENCE. 71 ganization which took place during the time spoken of by Moses."* Numerous other authorities might be quoted to prove that the above is the "Mormon" view.f In this chapter the intention has not been to ex- plain fully the doctrines of Joseph Smith relating to the nature of man, but to call attention to the fact that the present scientific conception of the nature of living things is the same as that of "Mormonism." That "Mormonism" goes farther than science, and completes the explanation, is to the credit of the Prophet. It must not be forgotten that in stating the doc- trine that man is organized from the eternal ele- ments and elementary forces of the universe, in such a way as to produce the phenomena of higher life, Joseph Smith anticipated the workers in science by nearly a generation. How wonderful was this boy-prophet of "Mor- monism," if all this was orginated within his own mind ! At every point of contact, the sanest of mod- ern philosophy finds counterpart in the theological structure of the Gospel as taught by Joseph Smith. Is the work divine ? * Roberts, Mormon Doctrine of Dlety, pp. 278, 279. I See especially the Prophet Joseph Smith's Sermon, Contributor, vol. 4, pp. 256-268. THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL. Chapter IX. FAITH. For the government of the individual the first principle in Mormon theology is faith. Joseph Faith is the Smith defined faith in the words of the assurance of the Apostle Paul, "Now, faith is the sub- '■thi^ngs^not stance of things hoped for ; the evidence seen." of things not seen." To this the Prophet added "From this we learn that faith is the assurance which men have of things which they have not seen."* On this principle, with this definition, many young persons who have ventured upon the sea of unbelief have wrecked the religion of their child- hood ; for, the human mind, in some stages of its de- velopment, is disinclined to accept as knowledge any- thing that can not be sensed directly. Nowadays, the young doubter who can not ac- cept as the foundation of his religion "things which he has not seen," usually turns for comfort and fu- ture growth to the results of science. There he finds truths upon truths, glorious in their beauty and sus- ceptibility to direct and unmistakeable proof; and soon he declares that in so-called natural science, there is no need of faith, for, if a person has only ad- vanced far enough, every concern of science may be known through one, two or several senses. • Doctrin© and Covenanta, Lecture I, verses 8, 9. FAITH. 73 It is true that ia the beginning of science no faith seems to be required; for every statement is based Such faith lies ^^ experiments and observations that at the formation may be repeated by every student; and of science. nothing is "taken on trust." As the deeper parts of science are explored, however, it is soon discovered that in science as in theology, a faith in "things that can not be seen," is an essen- tial requisite for progress. In fact, the fundamental laws of the great divisions of science deal with real- ities that are wholly and hopelessly beyond the reach of man's five senses. An exposition of the fundamental conception of chemical science will illustrate the nature of scien- Tu. ~ I 1 tific faith. A fragment of almost any Tne molecules ° '' are beyond man's substance may easily be divided into direct senses. ^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ pieces by a stroke of a hammer. Each of the pieces may be broken into smaller pieces and this process of division continued until the powder is as fine as dust. Still, each particle of the dust may be divided again and again, if we only have instruments fine enough to continue the process. A question which philoso- phy asked itself near its beginning was : Is it possible to keep on dividing the dust particles forever, or is there a particle so small that it can not be divided again? Neither science nor abstract philosophy has yet been able to answer this question fully. How- ever, science has learned that if such a process of division occurs, in course of time a particle will be obtained which is so small that if it is divided or broken, the fragments will no longer be of the same nature as the original substance. These smallest par- 74 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL. ticlesinwhich the properties of theorignal substance inhere, are known as molecules. Thus a molecule of sugar, when broken, falls into the elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen; of salt, into sodium and chlorine and of water into hydrogen and oxygen. The size of such a molecule can not be compreh- ended by the human mind; its smallness seems infi- nite. The mortal eye, though aided by the most pow- erful miscroscopes of modem days could not dis- tinguish a sugar molecule or even a pile of thousands of them; placed on the tongue, there would be no sensation of sweetness; though it were hurled against our body with the velocity of lightning we should not feel the impact. To aU our senses, the molecule is wholly unknown and no doubt shaU re- main so while the earth is as it is. Yet, no fact is better established than the existence of the realities that we interpret as molecules. Their relative weights and other properties have been securely de- termined. The existence of such a particle is as cer- tain as is the existence of the sun in the high heavens. Not only does science teach the existence of mole- cules ; it looks within them and reveals their composi- Science teaches ^^on. For instance, a molecule of the the composition sugar known as glucose, and used by of the directly , , • j » • unicnowabia candy makers, is made up of six par- molecuiea. tides of the element carbon, twelve of the element hydrogen and six of the element oxygen. The particles of carbon in the glucose molecule are so small that if one were divided it would no longer be carbon; the same with the particles of hydrogen and oxygen : if divided they would change into some- FAITH. 75 thing else — into what is not yet known to man. These smallest particles are called atoms of the ele- ments charcoal, hydrogen and oxygen. If instead of an atom of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, we write C, H, O, the composition of a molecule of glu- cose would be written CeHjjOs These are also indisputable facts of science. If the molecules are far beyond the range of our senses, the atoms are of course much further removed from the known world. But the chemist does not stop here. He is able to state accurately how the invisible, unsensed atoms Science teaches ^^® arranged within the unknowable the arrange- molecule. In nature are found several atoms within the glucose-like sugars, the molecules of molecules. which contain the same numbers of car- bon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The varying properties of these sugars have been found to result from the different arrangements of the atoms within the molecules. The structure of the molecules of three of the most common sugars are as follows : I II DEXTROSE * LAEVULOSE * III GALACTOSE * H2==C— OH HO-C— H HO-C— H H— 6— 0-H HO-C— H H— C=0 H2=C— H H2=C— OH H O— C— H HO— C— H H C— H I c=o H C=0 HO-G H HC— OH HG— OH ho-6h H— C=0 * Dextrose and laevulose combine to form ordinary cane or beet sugar. Dextrose and galactose combine to form the sugar foimd In milk. 76 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL. Eeferring to the above diagrams it will be ob- served that although each arrangement contains the same number of atoms, yet, because of the difEer- ence in arrangement, they are far from being identic cal. In fact, the difference in the properties of the sugars may be referred to the arrangement of the atoms in the molecules. This truth is one of the most splendid achievements of modern science. All the facts, here briefly outlined, are included in the atomic hypothesis, which is the foundation of the modem science of chemistry. Science asks us to believe in the existence of particles, unknowable to our senses, the molecules; Science requires then to believe in stiU smaller particles, ? ^ult?^ ^^'*'l the atoms, which make up the molecules in things not ' '- seen." but whose relative weights and general properties have been determined. Here, a faith is required in "things that can not be seen," and in the properties of these things. True, the scientist does not pretend to describe the atoms in. detail, he does not need to do that to establish the certainty of their existence. He looks upon them as ultimate causes of effects that he may note with his physical senses. Does theology require more ? Does any sane man in asking us to believe in God, for instance, at- tempt to describe him in detail 1 The scientist goes farther than this, however, for he asks us not only to have faith in the invisible, un- tasteable, unfeelable atoms, but also in the exact manner in which these atoms are arranged within the molecule. True, it is claimed, only, that the relative arrangement is known, yet the faith re- FAITH. 77 quired still leads us far beyond the simple faith in atoms. Has any man asked us to believe that lie can describe the structure of God's dwelling? No prin- ciple taught by Joseph Smith requires a larger faith than this. Not only in chemistry are such transeendant truths required. The fundamental conception of The conception physics requires, if possible, a larger of the ether re- fg^^j^ rpj^ explanations of modem quires large '^ faith. physics rest largely upon the doctrine of the universal ether. This ether is everywhere present, between the molecules and atoms; in fact the things of the universe are, as it were, suspended in the ocean of ether. This ether is so attenuated that it fills the pores of the human body without im- pressing itself upon our consciousness, yet some of its properties indicate that its elasticity is equal to that of steel. As shown in chapter 5, the most emi- nent scientists of the day declare that the existence of this world-ether is one of the few things of which men may be absolutely sure. Yet the ether cannot be seen, heard, tasted, smeUed or felt. To our senses it has neither weight nor substance. To believe the existence of this ether requires a faith which is certainly as great as the greatest faith required by Mormon theology. Numerous other illustrations might be cited, without greatly emphasizing the truth that the great fundamental doctrines of science require a great faith in realities that are beyond the reach of our senses. The great foundations of science have not eome as a "great wakening light," but have come 78 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDXJAL. _ .,, slowly, through a process of normal, Faith comes . "' ' ? J^ „ • . slowly and guided growth. The first experiment naturally. ^g^ made, from which a simple conclu- sion was drawn; the second experiment furnished a second conclusion; the two results combined pro- duced a third conclusion, and so on through thous- ands of experiments and conclusions, until the bril- liant conceptions of modem science were attained. In short, the scientist works very simply by careful observation of nature, "the earth and its full- ness," and by as careful reasoning from the ob- served facts. The mind builds noble structures of the materials the senses bring. The same method may be employed in gaining faith in the principles of theology; and the Apostle Paul tells us distinct- ly that the righteousness of God is revealed from "faith to faith," and that the eternal power of God and the Godhead and "the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, be- ing understood by the things that are made." The scientist, likewise, begins with the things that are made and proceeds "from faith to faith," gaining "here a little, and there a little," until a faith is reached which, to him who has not followed its growth, may seem absurd in its loftiness. Certainly, no man can progress in science unless he has faith in the great inductions of scientific men. Science cannot Faith is as indispensable for scientific out^falth.^ ' progress as for theological advance- ment. In both cases it is the great principle of action. This subject merits more extended discussion, but the exposition of the nature of faith is outside the argument running through these chapters. It FAITH. 79 nmst be sufficient to remark again that Mormonism is strictly scientific in stating as the first principle of the guidance of the individual, that of faith in unseen things ; for that is the basic principle for the beginner in modem science.* * Read for a fuller exposition. We walk by- Faith, Im- provement Era, Volume 3, p. 661. Chapter X. REPENTANCE. The second principle for the government of the individual, according to Mormon theology, is re- pentance. So commonly has this principle been dis- cussed from its relation to moral law that its coun- terpart in all human effort has often been over- looked. To repent is first to turn from old practices. Thus, he who violates any of God's laws renders , , himself liable to certain punishment, Repentance fol- ^ ' lows faith. but, if he repents, and sins no more,^ the punishments are averted. Naturally, such a change of heart and action can come only after faith has been established. No man will change a habit without a satisfactory reason. In fact, all the actions of men should be guided by reason. Repent- ance then is a kind of obedience or active faith ; and is great in proportion to the degree of faith pos- esed by the individual. Certainly, the repentance of no man can transcend his faith, which includes his knowledge. So it is in science. For centuries, wounds of the body were treated according to certain methods. Scientific repent- assumed to be correct ; and, especially ance follows in time of war, large numbers of the scientific faith, patients died. Then it was found that low forms of life — ^the bacteria — infected the wounds, and caused the high mortality. This led to the antiseptic treatment in surgery, which destroys germ life, and leaves the wound absolutely clean. As a consequence the mortality from flesh and other REPENTANCE. 81 wounds has diminished remarkably. The medical profession repented, or turned away, from its former methods, and the reward was immediately felt. However, before antisceptic surgery was finally and fully established, faith in the practice had to be awakened among the members of the profession. A chemist, making refined analysis may apply a cer- tain factor, assumed to be correct in his calcula- tions, but in reality incorrect. As a result, the de- terminations are wrong. When later, the correct factor is discovered, and applied, the results of the work become correct. Repentance from the previous error, changes the chemist's work from wrong to right. In fact, in any department of knowledge, when it is discovered that a law of nature has been violated, it becomes necessary, if further progress is desired, to cease the violation. Shoidd a scien- tist persist in violation of a known law, he knows that the consequences, great or small will certainly follow. To repent is more than to turn from in- correct practices. It implies also the adoption of Repentance ^^'^ habits. The man who has turned means adopting from his sins, may learn of a law, which new habits; not , , • i ^ j j. -i.- t, -e simply turning ^^ ^^^ never violated, yet which ii from old ones. obeyed, means progress for him. If he does not follow such a law, but remains neutral in its presence, he certainly is a sinner. To repent from such sin, is to obey each higher law as it appears. In the spiritual life, it is impossible for the person who desires the greatest joy to remain passive in the presence of new principles. He must embrace them ; live them ; make them his own. Not only must the worker in science turn from 82 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDXJAL.. scientific error; he must also accept new science as it is discovered. When the chemist, working with the best known analytical methods, learns that a more rapid or more accurate method has been found, he must adopt the new fact, in order to make the re- sults of his work more accurate. When the chem- ists of a hundred years ago learned of the atomic hypothesis, it became necessary to adopt it, in order to insure more rapid progress in chemistry. Those who failed to accept the new doctrine worked in greater darkness, and made no material progress. Newton's doctrine of gravitation opened a new method of investigating the universe. Those who did not adopt it were soon outdistanced by their more active colleagues. In every such case, the obedience yielded to the new knowledge is a kind of repentance. When a person, in religion or science, ceases to break law, he ceases from active evil; when he accepts a new law, he ceases from passive evil. No repentance can be complete which does not cease from both active and passive evil. Viewed in this manner, then, repentance is obedience to law and is active faith. The law, be- Repentance !s fore it is obeyed, must be understood — active faith. that is, faith must precede repentance. Therefore, the obedience yielded can increase only with the knowledge or faith of the individual. As the Prophet Joseph Smith stated it, "No man can be saved in ignorance" ajid "a person is saved no faster than he gains intelligence." Repentance is as truly the second principle of action for individuals, in the domain of science as of theology. Chapter XI. BAPTISM. A repentant man turns from previous violation of law, and accepts every new law that may be re- vealed to him. Repentance is obedience; and the repentant person is always ready to obey right- eous laws. Baptism is one of the laws of the Kingdom of God. "Except ye repent and be baptized ye can in nowise enter the Kingdom of God." The repentant person must of necessity accept this law with the others with which he may be familiar. Students of science, who agree that faith and repentance have a place in science, frequently assert The equivalent that the equivalent of baptism is not of baptism found in external nature. This claim science. J^^-y be proved false by examining the nature of law. The chemist must frequently produce the gas hydrogen. To do it, an acid must be poured upon fragments of certain metals. In thus producing the gas, the chemist obeys law. The astronomer who studies the stars discovers that by using a piece of glass properly ground, his powers of vision appear to be strengthened. He therefore prepares such lenses for his telescopes, and thus obeys law. The surgeon uses antsicepties in the treatment of wounds because he has learned that such application will destroy germ life, and thus the surgeon obeys law. 84 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL. The electrician has found that by winding a wire in a certain manner around iron and rotating it near a magnet, electric currents are set up. He builds dynamos according to such principles, and thus shows his obedience to law. It must be noted that the scientist does not know just why acid added to metal produces hydrogen, or why a certain curved lens brings the stars nearer; or why certain chemicals destroy low forms of life or why wire wound in a certain way when rotated in the magnetic field will produce electricity. Nature requires, without volunteering an explanation, that to produce hydrogen, see the stars, destroy germs and produce the electric cur- rent, certain invariable laws must be obeyed. Baptism is essentially of the same nature. To enter the Kingdom of God, a person must be bap- tized. Just why baptism should be the ordinance that opens the door, no man knows. It undoubt- edly has high symbolic value; but the symbolism might be expressed in many other ways. All that man can do is to obey. Men say at times that they will do nothing which they do not ftdly understand, and therefore they will not be be baptized. It would be It IS unreason- able to do only ^ unreasonable tor a man to say that what is fully because he does not fully understand understood. ^j^y ^ certain winding of the wire is neccessary to produce electricity he will not produce this wonderful natural force. All theology and all science contain laws that must be obeyed in order to obtain certain results, although the full reasons for the required combinations are not understood. He who is baptized, enters the Kingdom of God. BAPTISM. 85 He who throws acid on metal enters the kingdom of hydrogen; he who grinds the lens right, enters the kingdom of the stars; he who uses antisceptics right, enters the kingdom of lower life, and he who winds the wire correctly, enters the kingdom of electricity. Yielding obedience to any of these var- ious laws, is a form of baptism, which gives entrance to a kingdom. The essential virtue of baptism is obedience to law. The prime value of any natural law is at- Baptism Is tained only after obedience has been obedience to law. yielded to it. Baptism is conformity to certain details in entering God's Kingdom. Scientific baptism is conformity to certain details in entering the kingdom of science. Only by bap- tism can a man attain salvation; only by using lenses of the right curvature can a man view the stars. Religious success does not rest in the degree to which every law is explained; but rather in the degree to which all known laws are obeyed. Scientific success does not rest upon the degree to which every law is explained; but rather in the degree to which every discovered law is obeyed and applied for man's advancement. In science and in theology man must be content "to see through a glass, darkly." Until the essen- tial nature of infinitude itself shall be understood, man must be content to learn to use unexplained laws. Science is the great explainer, but she ex- plains relations and not the absolute foundations of phenomena. After faith or knowledge has been obtained, the alpha and omega of religious or scientific progress 86 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL. is obedience. The cry of universal nature is, Obedience ! Viewed rationally, therefore, the baptism taught in theology is an ordinance which has its counter- part in every department of science. Joseph Smith was strcitly scientific in classing baptism as the third great principle governing human action. Chapter XII. THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST. Baptism by water is insufficient to open the door to God's Kingdom. The Gift of the Holy Ghost, ob- The gift of the tained by the laying on of Hands by aift^ P!?"?*. '® ^ one having authority, completes the ligence. ordinance. Not only Joseph Smith, but the Savior Himself taught distinctly that to enter the Kingdom of God, a person must be bap- tized by water and by fire ; and the promise is given that those are "baptized by water for the remission of sins, shall receive the Holy Ghost."* Jesus, speaking to His disciples, taught that "the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name. He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."t This clearly implies that the promised gift is essentially a gift of increased intelligence with the added power that results from a more intelligent action. That this is the Mormon view of of the effect of the Gift of the Holy Ghost may be amply demonstrated from the standard works of the Church and from the writ- ings of the leading interpreters of Mormon doct- rine. Parley P. Pratt in the Key to Theology says, "It quickens all the intellectual faculties, increases, enlarges, expands and purifies all the natural pas- * Doctrine and Covenants, 84 : 63, 64. I John 14: 26. 88 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL. sions and affection * * * *. It develops and in- vigorates all the faculties of the physical and in- tellectual man."* The Prophet Joseph Smith de- clared "This first Comforter or Holy Ghost has no other effect than pure intelligence. It is * * * * I)owerful iu expanding the mind, enlightening the understanding, and storing the intellect with present knowledge."! Concisely expressed, therefore, Joseph Smith and the Church he restored, teach that the Gift of the Holy Ghost, is a gift of "in- telligence." If the equivalents of faith, repentance and bap- tism are irrevocable laws for the individual who Science furnishes studies science, the question arises. Is of UiTgift*"* ^^^^^ ^^°' * scientific equivalent for the Holy Ghost, the Gift of the Holy Ghost? Even a superficial view of the matter wiU reveal such an equivalent. To use again the illustrations employed in the preceding chapter, if the chemist has obeyed natural law ia producing hydrogen, that is, has been baptized into the kingdom of hydrogen, he may by the proper use and study of the gas obtained, add much to his knowledge. He may learn that it is extremely light; that it forms an explosive mix- ture with air; that it wUl destroy many vegetable colors, and wUl bum with an almost invisible flame. Thus, the possession of the gas enlarges the knowl- edge and develops the intelligence of the scientist. Is not this another form of the Gift of the Holy Ghost? The man who is baptized into the kingdom of * Key to Theology, 5tli ed., pp. 101, 102. j History of the Church, Vol. Ill, p. 380. THE GIFT OF THE HOLT GHOST. gg heavenly bodies by grinding the lenses right, is en- abled to learn many new facts concerning the na- ture and motions of celestial bodies; and thus re- ceives intelligence. He who obediently winds the vsdre correctly around the iron core, may generate a current of electricity with which many mighty works may be accomplished. Do not these men, as their intelligences are expanded, receive a Gift of the Holy Ghost, as a reward for their obedience to the demands of nature ? It would be possible to carry the comparisons into every scientific action without strengthening the argument. In science, if a person has faith, re- pentance and is baptized, that is obeys, he will re- ceive added intelligence, which is the equivalent of the Gift of the Holy Ghost as taught in theology. The four fundamental laws for the guidance of the individual are identical in Mormon theology, and in modem science. Just why the laying on of hands should be nec- essary to complete the ordinance of baptism is not known, any more than the reasons are known for the results that follow the numberless relations that may be established by mortal man. However, the dogma of the Gift of the Holy Ghost, is logically the fourth step in attaiuing scientific salvation. Thus, each of the minor laws of Mormonsim might be investigated, and be shown to have a scientific counterpart. For the purpose of this vol- ume, however, a more extended consideration of the laws governing the actions of the individual, is un- necessary. Chapter XIII. THE WORD OF WISDOM. It has already been remarked that the nature of the mission of Joseph Smith made it unlikely that references to scientific matters, and much less to isolated scientific facts, obtainable by proper methods of experimentation should be found in the writings of the Prophet. Nevertheless, in a revela- tion given March 8, 1883, statements are made that can now be connected with facts of science, not generally or not at all known, at the time the rev- «lation was received. "Inasmuch as any man drinketh wine or strong The doctrine drink among you, it is not good, * * * KdoSs'to man ^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^°t ^^^ t^« ^^^^ ^"t is scientific. for the washing of your bodies."* At the time this was written, many persons be- lieved that the use of alcoholic drinks was injurious to human health; but more, especially among the imedueated classes, held quite the opposite opinion. Since that day, the question concerning the value of alcohol in any form has been greatly agitated, and much new light has been obtained. This is not the place to examine this famous controversy, but a few quotations from authoritative books, which are not controversial in their nature, will show the coin- cidence between the position of science, and the doctrine of Joseph Smith, in respect to this mat- ter. * Doctrine and Covenants, 89 : 5, 7. THE WORD OF WISDOM. 91 The United States Dispensatory (17th ed.) speaks of the medicinal properties of alcohol as follows, "It is irritant even to the skin, and much more so to the delicate organs ; hence, the various abdominal inflammations that are so frequent in habitual drunk- ards. A single dose of it, if large enough, may produce death. The nervous symptoms caused by alcohol show that it has a very powerful and direct influence upon the nerve-centers. The arterial pressure and the pulse-rate are both increased by moderate doses of alcohol, by a direct influence up- on the heart itself. * * • Taken habitually in excess, alcohol produces the most deplorable results, and is a very common cause of fatal maladies."* Dr. W. Gilman Thompson in his authoritative book on Practical Dietetics, speaking of the constant use of alcoholic beverages, says, "The use of alcohol in any shape is whoUy unnecessary for the use of the human organism in health. * * * * rjn^g ijf^. long use of alcohol in moderation does not neces- sarily shorten life or induce disease in some per- sons, while in others it undoubtedly produces grad- ual and permanent changes which tend to weaken vital organs so that the resistance of the body to disease is materially impaired. * * « * Many persons should be particularly warned against the use of alcohol. * * * * Although alcohol is such a strong force-producer and heat-generator, its ef- fect in this direction is very soon counter-balanced by its stronger influence in lowering the general tone of the nervous system and in producing pos- itive degeneration in the tissues."* * Page 129, art.. Alcohol Bthylicum. • Pages 206, 207. 92 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL. The recent newspaper statements that alcohol has been shown to be a food are based on a com- plete misunderstanding. The experiments demon- strated that alcohol is burned within the body — which is the simplest manner in which the body can rid itself of the alcohol. No more authoritative opinions on this sub- ject can be found than those contained in the two volumes from which quotations have been made — and the strongest opinions are not quoted. In spite of the isolated claims made for alcohol, the fact remains that the knowledge of the world indicates that alcohol is a poison to the human system; that it is not "for the belly." However, the value of the external use of alcohol, for various purposes, has never been denied. On the contrary almost every up to date practitioner recommends the external use of alcohol, as for instance after baths for lower- ing the temperature of fever patients. In this mat- ter, then, Joseph Smith was in perfect harmony with the latest results of science. It is strange that he, unlearned as he was, should have stated what is now known as truth, so clearly and simply, yet so emphatically, more than seventy years ago, before the main experiments on the effect of alcohol on the human organsim had been made. "And again, tobacco is not for the body, neither for the beUy, and is not good for man, but is an that* tobacco^ls ^^^^ ^°^ bruises and all sick cattle, to injurious to Be used with judgment and skill."* Al- scientifio. though tobacco has been used for sever- al centuries by civilized man, the real cause of the ef- * Doctrine and Covenants, 89 : 8. THE WORD OF WISDOM. 93 feet which it has upon the human body was not under- stood until the early part of the last century. In 1809, a chemist separated from tobacco an active principle, in an impure state, some of the properties of which he observed. In 1822, two other chemists succeeded in isolating the same principle, in a pure condition, and found it to be a colorless, oily liquid, of which two to eight per cent is found in aU tobacco. This substance has been called nicotine; later investigations have shown it to be one of the most active poisons known. Tobacco owes its ac- tivity entirely to this poison."* The intensely poisonous nature of nicotine is illustrated by a number of cases on record. One drop placed on the tongue of a cat caused imme- diate prostration, and death in seventy-eight seconds. A smaller drop was placed on the tongue of an- other cat, which resulted in death after two minutes and a half. A third cat to which a similar quan- tity had been administered was dead after seventy- five seconds. A man who was accustomed to smoking took a chew of tobacco, and aiter a quarter of an hour accidently swallowed the mass. An hour later he became unconscious and died. In another case, in which an ounce of tobacco had been swallowed, death resulted in seven hours. In still another case, one ounce of tobacco was boiled in water, and the solution drunk as an remedy for constipation. The patient died in three quarters of an hour.f These, and numerous other cases, illustrate the intensely * Wonnley, Mlcro-chemlstry of Poisons, 2nd ed., pp. 434, 435. I Ibid, pp. 436, 437. 94 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL. poisonous nature of tobacco. The evil effects of the repeated use of small amounts of tobacco, in smoking or chewing are also well understood. It was in 1828, about five years before Joseph Smith's doctrine with respect to tobacco was given, . „ , ^ that nicotine was obtaiaed in a pure Joseph Smith ,, , , ^i i • j. probably did state. Many years later the chemists not l>* monizewith dence and thanksgiving.' • recent scientific This doctrine, which seems self-evi- dent now, also evidences the divine in- spiration of the Prophet Joseph. At the time this rev- elation wasgiven,food chemistry was not understood; and, in fact, it was not until about 1860, that the basis upon which rests our knowledge of food chemistry, was firmly established. "We now know that every plant contains four great classes of compounds: mineral substances, fats, sugars and starches, and protein, or the flesh-forming elements. We further know that no plant can live and grow without containing these groups of nutrients. It is also well understood that these substances are necessary for the food of the animal body, and that animal tissues are, themselves, composed of these groups, though in different pro- portions. In short, it has long been an established fact of science that any plant that does not contain a poisonous principle, may by proper cooking be used as a food for man. ♦Doctrine aad Covenants 89:10,11. THE WORD OF WISDOM. 99 When Joseph Smith wrote, this was a daring suggestion to make, for there was absolutely no fact aside from popular experience, upon which to base the conclusion. The qualifying phrase, "all whole- some herbs," undoubtedly refers to the existence of classes of plants like coffee, tea, tobacco, etc., which contain some special principle injurious to the health. "Yea, flesh also of beasts and of the fowls of the air, I, the Lord, have ordained for the use of The doctrine con- man with thanksgiving; nevertheless ormeltrrs "** *^®y *^® *° ^^ ^^^ sparingly ; and it is scientific. pleasing unto me that they should not be used only in times of winter, or of cold, or of famine. ' '* The breadth of this doctrine lies in the fact that it is not absolutely forbidden to eat meat, as in all probability a fanatic, guided by his own wisdom, might have done; yet it must be observed, the im- plication is clear that it is possible for man to live without meat. Vegetarianism had been taught and practiced long before the days of Joseph Smith; but there had been no direct, positive proof that plants contain all the substances necessary for the sustenance of life. As stated above, it is now known that every class of nutritive substance found in meat is also found in plants. This is in full harmony with the implied meaning of Joseph Smith in the state- ment regarding the abstaining from meat. "All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life. * * « All grain 'Doctrine and Covenants, 89: 12,13. 100 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL. The distinction is goo^ ^oi" t^^ food of man, as also the between the fruit of the vine, that which yieldeth Ts^also" ^"^^'"^ fruit, whether in the ground or above scientific. the ground. Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse, and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field, and barley for all useful animals, and for mild drinks, as also other grain."* The first part of this teaching, that aU grain can be used by man and beast, corresponds to the earlier statement that all wholesome plants may be used by man. The latter part respecting the best grain for certain classes of animals, is of a different nature and merits special consideration. As already mentioned, all plants and plant parts contain four great groups of nutritive substances. The relative proportions of these grains are different in different plants or plant parts. For instance, wheat contains about 71.9 per cent of starch and sugar; corn, 70.2 per cent; oats, 59.7 per cent; rye, 72.5 per cent; and barley, 69.8 per cent. Wheat contains about 11.9 per cent of protein or the flesh-forming elements; com, 11.4 per cent; oats, 11.8 per cent; rye, 10.6 per cent; and barley 12.4 per cent.f It has further been demonstrated that a man or beast doing heavy work, requires a larger proportion of starch and sugar in his dietary than does one which has less work to do. Likewise, different classes of animals require different proportions of the various nu- trients, not only through life but at the various pe- riods of their lives. This principle has been recog- ♦ Doctrine and Covenants, 89: 14, 16 and 17. + The Feeding of Animals, Jordan, p. 424. THE WORD OF WISDOM. 101 nized so fully that during the last thirty-five or forty years the attention of experimenters has been directed toward the elucidation of laws which would make known the best combinations of foods for the various classes of farm animals, as well as for man. It must also be remarked that recent discoveries in science are showing more deep-seated differences in the composition of grains, than those here mentioned, as also corresponding differences in various classes of animals. Science will soon throw more light on this subject, and in all probability will confirm the views of Joseph Smith, with respect to the grain best adapted to certain animals. A thoughtful reading of the above quotation clearly shows that Joseph Smith recognized the fun- damental truth of food chemistry ; namely, that while all plants contain the elements necessary for animal growth, yet the proportions of these elements are so different as to make some plants better adapted thaai others to a certain class of animals. That the ' ' Mor- mon" prophet should have enunciated this prin- ciple from twenty to thirty years in advance of the scientific world, must excite wonder in the breast of any person, be he follower or opponent of Joseph Smith. The discussion of the important statements made in section 89 of the book of Doctrine and Cove- nants, might be elaborated into a volume. The merest outline has been given here. The physiological teach- ings of the prophet concerning work, cleanliness and sleep, might also be considered with profit. To summarize the contents of this chapter: Joseph Smith clearly recognized and taught the 102 THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL. ,_ o xu physiological value of alcohol, tobacco, Joseph smith -^ , .„ anticipated the tea and coffee, at a time when scientific in°the w rd "f"* discoveries were just beginning to re- wisdom, veal the active principles of these com- modities. The probability is that he knew nothing of what the world of science was doing in this direc- tion, at the time the doctrine was taught. Joseph Smith clearly recognized and taught the fundamental truths of food chemistry, and the food relation of vegetable products to man, nearly a generation be- fore scientists had arrived at the same doctrine. Whence came his knowledge ? THE DESTINY OF EARTH AND MAN. Chapter XIV. THE LAW OP EVOLUTION. To every intelligence the question concerning the purpose of all things must at some time present Y/y^ J itself. Every philosophical system has Where? for its ultimate prohlem the origin and the destiny of the universe. Whence ? Where ? — the queries which arise before every human soul, and which have stimulated the truth-seekers of every age in their wearisome task of searching out nature's laws. Intelligent man cannot rest satisfied with the recognition of the forces at work in the universe, and the nature of their actions ; he must know, also, the resultant of the interaction of the forces, or how the whole universe is affected by them ; in short, man seeks the law of laws, by the operation of which, things have become what they are, and by which their destiny is controlled. This law when once dis- covered, is the foundation of religion as well as of science, and will explain all phenomena. It was well toward the beginning of the last century before philosophical doctrines rose above The only rational mere speculation, and were based upon philosophy is ^^ actual observation of phenomena. based on ^ science. As the scientific method of gathering facts and reasoning from them became established, it was observed that in all probability the great laws * Loc. cit, p. 550. I Loc. cit., p. 564. 104 THE DESTINY OP EARTH AND MAN. of nature were themselves controlled by some greater law. While many attempts have been made to formulate this law, yet it must be confessed, frankly, that only the faintest outline of it is pos- sesesd by the world of science. The sanest of modern philosophers, and the one who most completely attempted to follow the method of science in philosophical ^rritings, was Herbert Spencer. Early in his life, he set himself the task of constructing a system of philosophy which should be built upon man's reliable knowledge of nature. A long life permitted him to realize this ambition. Though his works are filled with conclusions which cannot be accepted by most men, yet the facts used in his reasoning are authentic. By the world at large, the philosophy of Herbert Spencer is consid- ered the only philosophy that harmonizes with the knowledge of today. After having discussed, with considerable full- ness, the elements of natural phenomena, such as All things are space, time, matter, motion and force, continually Chang- Mr. Spencer concludes that all evidence rng. — This is the . , foundation of agrees in showmg that every object, evolution. no less than the aggregate of objects, undergoes from instant to instant some alteration of state. ' '* That is to say that while the universe is one of system and order, no object remains exactly as it is, but changes every instant of time. In two directions only can this ceaseless change affect an object; it either becomes more complex or more simple; it moves forward or backward; it grows or decays. In the words of Spencer, "All * First Principles, p. 287. THE LAW OP EVOLUTION. 105 things are growing or decaying, accumulating mat- ter or wearing away, integrating or disintegrating."* This, then, is the greatest known fundamental law of the universe, and of all things in it — that nothing stands still, but either progresses (evolution), or retrogrades (dissolution). Now, it has been found that under normal conditions all things undergo a process of evolution; that is, become more complex, or advance.! This, in its essence, is the law of evo- lution, about which so much has beem said during the last fifty years. Undoubtedly, this law is correct, and in harmony with the known facts of the uni- verse. It certainly throws a flood of light upon the phenomena of nature; though of itself, it tells little of the force behind it, in obedience to which it operates. Spencer himself most clearly realized the insuffi- ciency of the law of evolution alone, for he asks, "May we seek for some all-pervading principle which underlies this all pervading process ?"$ and proceeds to search out this "all-pervading princi- ple" which at last he determines to be the persist- ence of force — the operation of the universal, inde- structible, incomprehensible force, which appears as gravitation, light, heat, electricity, magnetism, chem- ical affinity and in other forms. || A natural question now is. Is there any limit to the changes undergone by matter, and which we designate as evolution? "Will they go on forever? or will there be an end to them?"** As far as our * Loc. cit., p. 292. I Loc. clt., p. 337. t First Principles, p. 408. || Loc. clt, p. 494- *»Loc. cit., p. 496. 106 THE DESTINY OF EARTH AND MAN. knowledge goes, there is an end to all things, a death which is the greatest known change, ajid as far as human experience goes, all things tend toward a _ , ^. _, death-like state of rest. That this rest Evolution does not admit a final is permanent is not possible under the *'*^*^" law of evolution ; for it teaches that an ulterior process initiates a new life; that there are alternate eras of evolution and dissolution. "And thus there is suggested the conception of a past dur- ing which there have been successive evolutions an- alogous to that which is now going on ; and a future during which successive other such evolutions may go on ever the same in principle but never the same in concrete result. ' '* This is practically the same as admitting eternal growth. The final conclusion is that "we can no longer contemplate the visible creation as having a definite beginning or end, or as being isolated. It becomes unified with all existence before and after; and the force which the universe presents falls into the same category with space and time, as admitting of no limitation in thought, "f It is interesting to note the conclusion concern- ing spirit and matter, to which Mr. Spencer is led Spirit and ^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^ evolution. "The mate- matter are rialist and spiritualist controversy is a "' "*'■ mere war of words, in which the dispu- tants are equally absurd — each thinking that he un- derstands that which it is impossible for any man to understand. Though the relation of subject and ob- ject renders necessary to us these antithetical con- ceptions of spirit and matter ; the one is no less than THE LAW OF EVOLUTION. 107 the other to be regarded as but a sign of the Un- known Reality which underlies both."* While the law of evolution, as formulated by Spencer and accepted by the majority of modem thinkers, is the nearest approach to the truth pos- sessed by the world of science, yet there is no dis- position on the part of the writer to defend the nu- merous absurdities into which Spencer and his fol- lowers have fallen when reasoning upon special cases. Many years before Mr. Spencer's day, it had been suggested, vaguely, that advancement seemed Evolution and to be the great law of nature. Stu- donoTnlce^ssariiyde^ts of botany and zoology were go together. especially struck by this fact, for they observed how animals and plants could be made to change and improve under favorable con- ditions, by the intervention of man's protection. In 1859, Mr. Charles Darwin published a theory to ac- count for such variation, in which he assmned that there is a tendency on the part of all organisms to adapt themselves to their surroundings, and to change their characteristics, if necessary, in this at- tempt. He further showed that in the struggle for existence among animals and plants, the individual best fitted for its environment usually survives. These facts, Mr. Darwin thought, led to a process of natural selection, by which, through long ages, deep changes were caused in the structure of animals. In fact, Darwin held that the present-day plants and an- imals have descended from extinct and very different * First Principles, pp. 570 and 572. 108 THE DESTINY OF EARTH AND MAN. ancestors.* The experiences of daily life bear out the assertion that organic forms may be changed great- ly — witness the breeding of stock and crops, prac- ticed by all intelligent farmers — and all in all the theory seemed so simple that numerous biologists im- mediately adopted it, and began to generalize upon it. Having once accepted the principle that the present- day species have descended from very unlike an- cestors, it was easy to asume that all organic nature had descended from one common stock. It was claimed that man, in a distant past, was a monkey; still earlier, perhaps, a reptile; still earlier a fish, and so on. From that earliest form, man had be- come what he is by a system of natural selection. In spite of the absence of proofs, such ideas became cur- rent among the scientists of the day. In this view was included, of course, the law of evolution or srrowth, and thus, too, the law became associate! with the notion that man has descended from the lower animals. In fact, however, the law of evolu- tion is just as true, whether or not Darwin's theory of natural selection be adopted. In justice to Darwin, it should be said that he in nowise claimed that natural selection was alone sufficient to cause the numerous changes in organic form and life; but, on the contrary, held that it is only one means of modification.! Professor Huxley, who, from early manhood, was an eminent and ardent supporter of the Darwin- ian hypothesis frankly says, "I adopt Mr. Darwin's * Origin of Species, p. 6. I Origin of Species, p. 6 ; also Darwin and After Dar- win Romanes, Vol. II. pp. 2-6. THE LAW OP EVOLUTION. 109 hypothesis, therefore, subject to the production of proof that physiological species may be produced by selective breeding; and for the reason that it is the only means at present within reach of reducing the chaos of observed facts to order. ' '* After writing a book to establish the descent of man from apes, Pro- fessor Huxley is obliged to confess that "the fossil remains of man hitherto discovered do not seem to take us appreciably nearer to that lower pithecoid form, by the modification of which he has, probably, become what he is."t This is not the place to enter into this famous controversy. The relation of the theory of natural selection to the law of evolution is not established; that man and the great classes of animals and plants have sprung from one source is far from having been proved ; that the first life came upon this earth by chance is as unthinkable as ever. Even at the present writing, recent discoveries have been report- ed which throw serious doubt upon natural se- lection as an all-sufficient explanation of the wonder- ful variety of nature. The true scientific position of the Darwinian hypothesis is yet to be deter- mined. The moderate law of evolution which claims that all normal beings are advancing, without asserting that one form of life can pass into another, is, how- ever, being more and more generally accepted, for it represents an eternal truth, of which every new discovery bears evidence. Were it not that the law of evolution is of such fundamental value in the understanding of natural * Man's Place in Nature, p. 128. f Loc. cit., p. 183. 110 THE DESTINY OF EARTH AND MAN. phenomena, it would hardly be expected that the calling of Joseph Smith would necessitate any refer- ence to it. Besides, upwards of fifteen years elapsed after the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith before the world of science conceived the hypothesis. Joseph Smith One of the leading doctrines of the eternal growth Church resembles the spirit of the law evolution. of universal growth so nearly that one is forced to believe that the great truth embodied by this doctrine is the truth shadowed forth by the law of evolution. The doctrine of God, as taught by Joseph Smith, is the noblest of which the human mind can conceive. No religion ascribes to God more perfect attributes than does that of the Latter-day Saints. Yet the Church, asserts that God was not always what he is today. Through countless ages he has grown towards greater perfection, and at the present, though in comparison with humankind, he is omniscient and omnipotent, he is still progressing. Of the beginning of God, we have no record, save that he told his servant Abraham, "I came down in the beginning in the midst of all the intelligences thou hast seen."* As told by Joseph Smith, in May, 1833, John the Apostle said of God, Jesus Christ, "And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness ; and thus he was called the Son of God, be- cause he received not of the fulness at first."! Man, likewise, is to develop until, in comparison with his present condition, he becomes a God. For •Book of Abraham, 3: 21. 4- Doctrine and Covenants, 93:12-14. THE LAW OF EVOLUTION. m instance, in speaking of the salvation to which aH men who live correct lives shall attain, the Prophet says, "For salvation consists in the glory, authority, majesty, power and dominion which Jehovah pos- Man will develop sesses;"* and in another place, "Then until he becomes shall they be Gods, because they have no end; therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue; then shall they be above all, because all things are subject unto them. Then shall they be Gods, because they have all power."! That this is not a sudden elevation, but a grad- ual growth, is evident from many of the writings of Joseph Smith, of which the following are illustra- tions. "He that receiveth light and continueth in God, receiveth more light, and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day. "J "For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace. "§ In various sermons Joseph Smith enlarged upon the universal principle of advancement, but few of them have been preserved for us. In a sermon de- livered in April, 1844, the following sentences occur, ' ' God himself was once as we are now, and is an ex- alted Man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens. You have got to learn how to be Gods yourselves, and to be kings and priests to God, the same as all Gods have done before you ; namely, by going from ♦Doctrine and Covenants, Lectures on Faith, 7: 8. I Doctrine and Covenants, 132 : 20. I Ibid., 50:24. § Ibid., 93:20. 112 THE DESTINY OP EARTH AND MAN. one small degree to another, and from a small ca- pacity to a great one ; from grace to grace, from ex- altation to exaltation. ' '* The preceding quotations suffice to show that with regard to man, Joseph Smith taught a doctrine Joseph Smith an- of evolution which in grandeur and ticipated science g^tent surpasses the wildest specula- jn the statement ^ , • • tt- ^ of the iaw of tiona of the scientme evolutionist. Yet evolution. Joseph Smith taught this doctrine as one of eternal truth, taught him by God. There can be no doubt that the truth behind Spencer's law of evolution, and the doctrine taught by the ' ' Mormon ' ' prophet, are the same. The great marvel is that Joseph Smith, who knew not the philosophies of men, should have anticipated by thirty years or more the world of science in the enunciation of the most fun- damental law of the universe of living things. Now, it is true that Joseph Smith did not ex- tend this law to the lower animals; but it must be , . , remembered that his mission on earth Animals are subject to was to teach a system of redemption evolution. f^j. j^^jj Yet, it is an interesting obser- vation that he taught that men and animals had a spiritual existence, before they were placed on earth. "For I, the Lord God, created all things of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth. And out of the ground made I, the Lord God, to grow every tree, naturally, that is pleasant to the sight of man ; and man could behold it. And it became also a living soul. For it was spiritual in the day that I created it; for it re- * Contributor, vol. 4, pp. 254 and 2&5. THE3 LAW OF EVOLUTION. 113 maineth in the sphere in which I, God, created it. ' '* If, in common with men, animals and plants were created spiritually, it may not be an idle speculation that the lower forms of life will advance, in their re- spective fields, as man advances in his. However, a statement in the above quotation must not be over- looked, "It remaineth in the sphere in which I, God, created it." This would preclude any notion that by endless development a plant may become an an- imal, or that one of the lower classes of animals be- come a high animal, or a man. Is not this the place where, perhaps, the evolution of science has failed? All things advance, but each order of creation with- in its own sphere. There is no jumping from order to order. The limits of these orders are yet to be found. Spencer's belief that one period of evolution follows another! is brought strongly to mind in con- templating the doctrine of Joseph Smith that man, and other things, had first a spiritual existence, now an earthly life, then a higher existence after death. Is not the parallelism strong — and may it not be that here, also, the "Mormon" prophet could have shown the learned philosopher the correct way ? Finally, one other suggestion must be made. Spencer, after a long and involved argument, con- _ . . ^, eludes (or proves as he believes) that God IS the com- , „ , . . . peliing power of the great law 01 evolution is a necessity evolution. ^jj^t follows from the law of the persis- tence of force. In chapter two of this series, the ♦Book of Moses, 3: 5 and 9. See also Doctrine and Covenants, 29: 31, 32. •j- First Principles, p. 550. 114 THE DESTINY OF EARTH AND MAN. scientific conception of the persistence of force was identified with the operations of the Holy Spirit, a^ taught by Joseph Smith. This Spirit is behind all phenomena; by it as a medium, God works. his will with the things of the universe, and enables man to move on to eternal salvation, to advance, and be- come a God ; every law is of necessity a result of the operation of this Spirit. Here, again, the "Mormon" prophet anticipated the world of science; and his conceptions are simplier and more direct than those invented by the truth-seekers, who depended upon themselves and their own powers. Marvelous is this view of the founder of "Mor- monism." Where did he learn in his short life, amidst sufferings and persecution such as few men have known, the greatest mysteries of the universe t Chapter XV. THE PLAN OP SALVATION. In the preceding chapter the law of evolution was shown to be the cementing law of nature, which Why am I explains the destiny of man. To live on earth? jg ^ change, and (if the change is right) to grow. Through all the ages to epme righteous man will increase in complexity and will grow towards a condition of greater knowledge, greater power and greater opportunity. "While the great law of evolution may be quite sufficient for the general survey, it does not ex- plain the special conditions amidst which organized intelligences find themselves. Man asks. Why am I on earth? Science is silent. Up to the present time, many scientific men have not found it neces- sary to postulate an intelligent force behind the phenomena of nature, which would explain our earthly existence. The Mormon answer to this question lies in the Mormon doctrine of the plan of salvation. There can be no attempt to harmonize the Mormon plan with that of science, for science has none; but, that the Mormon plan of salvation is strictly scientific, and rests upon the irrevocable laws of the uni- verse can certainly be demonstrated. Fundamental, in the doctrines of Joseph, is the statement that all intelligence is eternal; and that God at the best is the organizer of the spirits of 116 THE DESTINY OF EARTH AND MAN. men. The ether of science has been compared with the Holy Spirit of Mormonism. The spirit body may Perfection comes be likened to an ether body of man, only when mat- ^^^ jg ^j^g condition of his original ex- ter, spirit and ° intelligence are istence. From the original condition, at associated. man's spiritual birth, under the law of evolution he has steadily grown in complexity, which means in power. In the universe are recognized ether or spirit, force or intelligence, and matter. Matter may act upon the ether and the ether upon matter; but ether acts most effectively upon ether, and matter upon matter. The original man, in whom intelligence and other forces acted through a purely spiritual or ether body, could impress matter and be impressed by it only in part. The man was imperfect because he did not touch directly the world of matter, and could know only in part the phenomena of the mater- ial world, which forms an integral part of the uni- verse. In the words of Joseph Smith, "Spirit and element inseparably connected, receiveth a fullness of joy, and when separated, man can not receive a fullness of joy."* For man's perfection, it then became necessary that his spiritual body should be clothed with a material one, and that he should become as familiar with the world of matter, as he had become with the world of spirit. God, as the supreme intelligence, who desired all other spirits to know and become mighty, led in the formulation of the plan, whereby they should obtain knowledge of all the contents of the universe. ♦Doctrine and Covenants, 93: 33, 34. THE PLAN OP SALVATION. 117 For the purpose of perfecting the plan, a coim- eil of the Gods, or perfected intelligences was called. The fall of It was decided to organize an earth to pTrfect"^^'^ ^'^^^ available materials, and place the intelligence. spirits on it, clothed with bodies of the grosser elements. An esesntial function of intelli- gence is free agency ; and that the spirits might have the fullest opportunity to exercise this agency in their earthly career, they were made to forget the events of their spiritual existence. To learn di- rectly the nature of grossest matter, the earth bodies of necessity were made subject to the process of the disintegration called death. To make possible the subjection of eternal, spiritual organized intelligences to perishable, material structures, certain natural laws would nat- urally be brought into operation. From the point of view of the eternal spirit, it might mean the breaking of a law directed towards eternal life ; yet to secure the desired contact with matter, the spirit was compelled to violate the law. Thus, in this earth life, a man who desires to acquire a first hand acquaintance with magnetism and electricity, may subject himself to all kinds of electric shocks, that, perhaps, will affect his body injurious- ly; yet, for the sake of securing the experience, he may be willing to do it. Adam, the first man, so used natural laws that his eternal, spiritual body became clothed upon with an earthly body, sub- ject to death. Then in begetting children, he was able to produce earthly bodies for the waiting spirits. According to this doctrine, the socalled Fall of 118 THE DESTINY OF EARTH AND MAN. Adam was indispensable to the evolving of organized intelligences that should have a complete acquain- tance with all nature, and a full control over their free agencies. If laws were broken, it was done because of the heroism of the first parents, and not because of their sinfulness. Mormon theology does not pretend to say in what precise manner Adam was able to secure his corruptible body; neither is science able to answer all the "whys' suggested by recorded experiences. The doctrines of Joseph Smith maintain, however, that the events connected with the introduction of organized intelligences on this earth, were in full accord with the simple laws governing the universe. That the Mormon view of this matter, so funda- mental in every system of theology, is rational, can not be denied. However, the bodies given to the spirits con- tinued for only a few years; then they were dis- The atonement organized in death. Adam's work had was in harmony ^gg^ ^^^^ ^gH ^|.gj, ^.j^g ,jga,th of the with natural law. mortal body, the spirit was still with- out a permanent body of matter, that would com- plete his contact with the elements of the universe. Therefore, it was necessary to bring other laws into operation, that would reorganize these dead mater- ial bodies in such a way that they would no longer be subject to the forces of disorganization, death and decay. The eternal spiritual body, united with this eternal material body, then constituted a suit- able home for eternal intelligence, whereby it might be able, under the law of evolution to attain the greatest conceivable knowledge and power. THE PLAN OP SALVATION. 119 The personage who directed the laws that can- celled the necessary work of Adam, and made the corruptible body incorruptible was the Savior, Jesus Christ. As Adam, by his personal work, made the earth career possible for all who succeeded him; so Jesus, by His personal work, made it possible for the spirits to possess immortal material bodies. Conditions that may be likened to the atone- ment are found in science. Suppose an electrical current, supplying a whole city with power and light, is passing through a wire. If for any reason the wire is cut the city becomes dark and all machines driven by the current cease their motion. To restore the current, the ends of the broken wire must be reunited. If a person, in his anxiety to restore the city to its normal conditions, seizes the ends of the wire with his bare hands, and unites them, he probably will receive the full charge of the current in his body. Yet, as a result, the light and power will return to the city; and one man by his action, has succeeded in doing the work for many. The actual method by which Jesus was enabled to make mortal bodies immortal, is not known to us. Neither can we understand just why the shed- ding of the Savior's blood was necessary for the accomplishment of this purpose. Like the work of Adam, the exact nature of the atonement is un- known. Still, throughout this plan of Salvation, every incident and accomplished fact are strictly rational. There is no talk of a God, who because of his own will, and in opposition to natural laws, placed man on earth. The presence of organized intelligences in earth 120 THE DESTINY OF EARTH AND MAN. is simply a link in the evolution of man. The plan of salvation is the method whereby the evolution _ ^. ,., . of man is furthered. The intelligence Earth life is a " link in man's who conforms to the Plan, at last at- evoiution. tains salvation, which means eternal life and endless development, directed by the free agency of an organized intelligence clothed with an incorruptible body of spirit and matter. Can any other system of theology produce an explanation of the presence of man on earth, which connects earthly life with the time before and the time after, on the basis of the accepted laws of the universe ? Flawless seems the structure reared by the Mormon Prophet. Had he been an imposter, human imperfection would have revealed itself some- where.* * It must not be assumed that in this chapter has been given a full account of the Mormon doctrine of the Atonement. These essays are not in any sense a full exposition of Mormon theology. THE REGION OF THE UNKNOWN. Chapter XVI. THE SIXTH SENSE. The five senses are the great gateways through which all the knowledge in man's possession has The six senses, been obtained. Examine the matter organ'ize''man'^* ^ ^^ ^^^' *^® *™*^ °^ ^^^^ statement phenomena of persists. By seeing, hearing, smelling, nature. tasting and feeling, only, is man brought into contact with external nature and him- self, and is furnished material upon which the in- tellect can act. True it is, that the sense of feel- ing may be divided into a number of poorly known sub-senses, of which that of touch is the best known, but, probably, these are very nearly related, and we may still maintain the existence of the five senses of man. Wonderful as these senses are, yet, in the pres- ence of many natural phenomena, they are very weak, and require help, in order that the operations of nature may be recognized. Take, as an illustra- tion, the refined sense of sight. Light, coming from a distant star, is readily recognized ; the same quan- tity of light coming from a house, half a mile dis- tant, is even more distinctly sensed by the eye. In both these cases, though the light is recognized, the sensation is not so sharply defined as to produce a distinct image of the star or of the house. To make the images of distant objects distinct, the telescope has been invented; and this instrument is a most important aid to the sense of sight. The micro- 122 THE REGION OF THE UNKNOWN. scope is a similar aid to the eye, by whicli the light- rays coming from minute objects are so bent and arranged that the object appears magnified, and may be sensed in its details by the eye. The ear- trumpet is a similar device for collecting, concen- trating and defining sound waves that ordinarily would be, to the ear, a confusion of sounds. The ear-trumpet is a mighty help to the sense of hear- ing. The light which passes through the lenses of the telescope and microscope, is the light which is ordinarily recognized by the eye. The instruments effect no change in the light; they merely arrange the waves so as to produce a clear and distinct outline of the objects from which the light comes. Likewise, the sound waves entering the ear-trumpet are in nowise changed in their essential nature, but are simply rearranged or concentrated to produce a more definite impression on the ear. Instru- ments similar to those here mentioned are the simpl- est aids to man's senses. With respect to many forces of nature, the un- aided senses of man are helpless. The subtle force of magnetism, for instance, appears incapable of affecting directly any of the senses. A person may hold a powerful lodestone in his hand and feel no influence different from that coming from a piece of sandstone. A person may work near a wire carrying a current of electricity, and, though it is well known that peculiar conditions exist in the universal ether around such a wire, yet, through his five senses, he may never become aware of the existence of this current. A piece of uranium ore, as has been found in recent years, emits various THE SIXTH SENSE. 123 kinds of rays related to the now famous X- or Roentgen rays, yet no indication conies direatly through any of the five senses that such is the case. In fact, men of science worked with the ores of uranium for many years before discovering the emis- sion of ether waves. In the light which comes from the sun are numerous forms of energy that do not directly affect the senses, and therefore remained unknown for many centuries. Numerous other il- lustrations might be quoted to show the existence of natural forces that are beyond the direct recog- nition of man. In the great ocean of the unknown, lie, undoubtedly, countless forces that shall never be known by a direct action upon the senses of man.* As is well understood, however, even these ap- parently unknowable manifestations of nature may be known, if proper aids be secured. In every case the problem is this: To obtain some medium, be it natural or manufactured, which transforms the un- known force into a known force, that is capable of affecting the senses of man. The search for such media is one of the most important labors of science. * The writer is aware of the beliefs held by many students regarding the so-called touch sense, heat sense, magnetic sense, electrical sense, spiritual sense, etc. So little is known of these subdivisions of the sense of feel- ing, that they are not considered in this popular writing. There is, moreover, no evidence that the magnetic sense, as an example, if it exists, is a direct effect of magnetic forces; it is as easily believed that the body somehow con- verts magnetic forces, under certain circumstances, into other forces that may be sensed by man. 124 THE REGION OF THE UNKNOWN. For instance, sunlight has been known from the beginning of the human race, and its nature has The advance been studied by almost every genera- °ll'!r^Jl^^L. tion of thinkers. To the time of New- requires instru- ments that con- ton, it was only white light — or little nh^no"ml"„?'intn Hiore. Ncwtou discovercd that if a pnenomena into intelligible forms, ray of white light be allowed to fall Thus the un- , • i c i m. • known is re- upon a triangular prism o± glass, it is veaied. dispersed or broken into a number of colored rays known as the spectrum. All sunlight, passed through a glass prism, produces this colored spectrum; and the colors are arranged invariably in the same order; namely from violet through the intermediate colors to red. By passing this spec- trum through another prism, white light is pro- duced. Sunlight was thus proved to consist of a number of kinds of colored light. The eye alone is incapable of resolving white light into its elements: the glass prism thus becomes an aid to the sense of sight, by which a new domain of science is laid open to view. Above the red end of the spectrum, obtained from white light, nothing is visible, yet if a delicate thermometer be placed there, the increase in tem- perature shows the presence of certain invisible heat rays, and by moving the thermometer, it may be shown that the invisible heat spectrum is longer than the light spectrum itself. This, again, makes known to man a world that the five senses can recognize only with difficulty; and in this case, the thermometer is the necessary aid. Even more interesting is the violet end of the spectrum. Like the red end, it is invisible. In fact. THE SIXTH SENSE. 125 for centuries it was believed that the light spectrum represented the whole spectrum. During the last century it was found that if a photographic plate be placed below the violet end of the spectrum, it is affected by invisible light rays, which are popular- ly denominated chemical rays. By placing the pho- tographic plate in various positions, it has been discovered that the chemical spectrum is as long as the visible part. Since the days of Newton, there- fore, the known part of the spectrum of sunlight has been trebled in length, and there is no certainty that all is now known concerning the matter. In this particular, the photographic plate has become a means of revealing an unknown world to the senses. If a low tension current of electricity passes through a wire, it cannot be sensed directly by man ; but if a delicately adjusted magnetic needle be placed above and parallel to such wire, the current will turn the needle to one side and keep it there. The magnetic needle then makes known the presence of a current of electricity which has no appreciable effect upon any of man's five senses. Similarly, the magnetic currents passing over the earth are not felt by man in such a way as to be recognized, but a magnetic needle, properly adjusted, will immediately assume an approximately north and south direction, in obedience to the pull of the magnetic currents. In this manner the magnetic needle, again, reveals to man the existence and presence of forces that he can- not sense directly. A piece of glass into which has been incorporated a small amout of the element uranium, is an instru- ment which reveals many wonders of the unsensed 126 THE REGION OF THE UNKNOWN. world. If the uranium glass be brought near the violet end of the spectrum of sunlight, it immediate- ly glows, because it has the power of changing the invisible chemical rays into ordinary, white light rays. With such an instrument, darkness can be literally changed into light. Similarly, many of the class of rays to which belong the X-rays, and which are dark to the eye, and do not directly affect any of the other senses, are converted by uranium glass into visible rays. This glass, then, becomes another means whereby the world which does not directly affect our senses, may be made known. The X- or Roentgen rays have been mentioned several times. It is generally known that thej"^ have the power of passing through the body and various other opaque bodies. The rays themselves are in- visible, both before entering and after leaving the body; moreover, they do not affect any of the other senses of man. Were it not that the power is possessed of changing these rays to light rays, man could know nothing of the Roentgen rays. In fact, a screen, covered with powdered crystals of a chem- ical compound known as barium platinocyanide, is held behind the object through which the rays are passing, and the moment they touch this substance they are changed to light rays, and the screen glows. Or, instead, a photographic plate may be used, for the Roentgen rays affect the materials from which these plates are made. The screen of barium platinocyan- ide is, therefore, another means for revealing the unknown world. Such illustrations might be multiplied, but would add no strength to the discussion. There is, THE SIXTH SENSE. 127 however, another class of instruments which enable the senses to recognize natural forces that do not act "T"ul"^J' *° directly upon the consciousness of man. establish sym- . , pathetic vibra- If a musical note is produced on a violin, of'th '^ 'd ^°f'" ^^^^ ^ piano, the piano string which is explaining the stretched or tuned right, will give out unknown. the same note. The sound waves from the violin penetrate the piano, and the string which is tuned to give out the same note takes up the en- ergy of the sound waves, and is set in vibration, with the result that the same note is given out by the piano. This is known as sympathetic vibrations. It is possible, therefore, to make a piano give out any note within its range, without any solid object touching the instrument. In the universal ether, which surrounds and penetrates all things, are num- berless waves of all kinds, and of all vibrations. If the proper instrument be used, and tuned aright, it is possible to separate from this tumult of waves any desired kind or degree of wave motion, and to con- vert it iDto some known form of energy, say elec- tricity. This principle is used in modem wireless tele- graphy. Electric waves are sent out by the operator with a certain rapidity. These waves radiate into space, in all directions, and are lost, apparently, in the confusion of myriads of other waves. Neverthe- less, if the waves are not by some chance totally de- stroyed, it is possible to obtain them again, by the use of a receiving instrument which is tuned exactly the same as that used by the operator, at the station where the waves are sent out. A message sent from London may be received anywhere on earth where 128 THE REIGION OF THE UNKNOWN. the receiving instruments are tuned aright; at the same time, if the peculiar note or vibration of the message is not known, so that the receivers can not be timed properly, the message, though it be all about it, can never be received. Such aids to our senses do not depend so much upon the nature of the material, as upon the degree to which it is brought into sympathy with the force to be recognized. Now, though our senses are imperfect, and recognize only a small part of the phenomena of na- With proper ture, yet it is very probable that, with aids man's g^gj^ helps as have been described, senses may dis- . ' cover the whole nothing in nature need remain forever of nature. unknovra. The means by which the forces of nature, that cannot be sensed directly, are brought to man's recognition may well be named, collectively, man's sixth sense. The progress of science depends upon the dis- covery of aids to man's senses; a new and vast field is invariably opened whenever a new aid is dis- covered. In the works of Joseph Smith, which teach that there is no real line of demarkation between the nat- Joseph Sm ith uj-al and spiritual worlds, it would be not recognized the . . existence of surprismg to find recognized the scien- media which tific principle, above discussed, that by render the un- -i *• i