A SUMMARY RESTATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES.
Chapter XIX.
[Sidenote: Philosophy and its methods.]
In its broadest sense, philosophy includes all that man may know of the universe—of himself and of the things about him. To be worthy of its name, a system of philosophy must possess certain comprehensive, fundamental principles, which if clearly understood, make intelligible to the human mind any or all of the phenomena in the universe. The simpler these foundation principles are, the greater is the system as a philosophy. In the words of Spencer, "Philosophy is knowledge of the highest degree of generality," or "completely unified knowledge."[A]
[Footnote A: First Principles, pp. 133 and 136.]
It is to be observed, that the great laws of nature are inferred only from a number of lesser laws that have been gathered by man. A generalization which is not built upon numerous confirmatory observations, is at best an uncertain guess, which can be accepted only when demonstrated to be correct by numerous isolated experiences. The rational philosopher proceeds from the many to the few; he groups and groups again, until the wide, fundamental laws have been attained.
In olden days, and at times today, this method was not pursued. A philosopher, so called, would assume that a certain statement or idea were true. Upon this idea an elaborate, speculative, philosophical superstructure was reared. If by chance, and the chance usually came, the fundamental notion were shown to be false, the whole system fell with a crash into the domain of untruth.
It is the glory of modern science that by its methods, innumerable facts, correct so far as present instruments and man's senses will allow, have been gathered; and, that present day philosophy is built upon these certain facts. The errors, if any exist, of this philosophy lie not in the foundation stones, but in the inferences that have been drawn from them. Modern philosophy rests upon the truths of the universe, and not upon the wild speculations of men.
[Sidenote: The fundamental conceptions of scientific philosophy.]
The philosophy of science, which is the basis of all rational philosophy, rests upon the doctrine of the indestructibility of matter. Matter cannot be destroyed, and it is unthinkable that it ever was created. True, matter may appear in various forms: the tangible coal may escape through the chimneys as an intangible gas; water may vanish into vapor; gold may unite with acids to form compounds entirely unlike gold. However, the weight of the coal in the gases passing through the chimney is the same as the weight of the coal fed into the stove; the water vapor in the air weighs precisely as much as the water that was in the vessel; the gold in the compound weighs the same as the metallic gold used; in every case matter has been changed into another form, but has not been destroyed.
Along with this fundamental principle, science holds the doctrine of the indestructibility of energy. Matter of itself is dead and useless; it is only when it is in motion or in the possession of energy that it can take part in the processes of nature. Matter without energy is not known to man; however inert it may be, it possesses some energy. The ultimate particles of all things,—rock and plant, and beast and man—are in motion; that is, they possess energy. The immediate source of energy for this earth is the sun, though the ultimate source of universal energy is not known.
Energy may appear in various forms, as light, heat, electricity, magnetism, gravitation and mechanical motion; and each of these forms of energy may be changed into any of the others. In every change, however, there is no loss, but simply a change of condition. That which men call energy, the vivifying principle of matter, is indestructible. It has never had a beginning, and shall never have an end.
To the mind of man, however, a motion independent of something in motion, is inconceivable. An ocean wave without water is nonsense. It is equally difficult to conceive of energy which is immaterial, passing from the sun to the earth, through empty space. There must be something between the earth and the sun, which carries the energy. Such reflections have led the thinkers to the belief that all space is filled with a subtle medium, now called the ether, through which energy passes in the form of waves. Today, few doctrines of science are so well established as that of the universal ether. The ether is a refined kind of matter which fills all space, and permeates all things. It is in the table on which I write; in and through the ink; between the ultimate particles of the glass of the ink bottle. This earth, and all heavenly bodies, are simply suspended in the all-and-ever-present ocean of ether. By the agency of the ether, energy is carried from the sun to the earth, and may be carried anywhere in space. Light, heat, electricity, magnetism and gravitation are all various manifestations of ether motion. Many scientists believe that this world—ether is the original matter from which the various elements have been made.
On these three doctrines, the indestructibility of matter, the indestructibility of energy, and the existence of the universal ether, rest primarily the explanations of the phenomena of nature. Hand in hand they stand, an almost perfect example of the greatness of the human mind.
[Sidenote: "Mormonism" and science have the same fundamental laws.]
The religion founded by Joseph Smith rests upon the same or similar laws. To the very beginner in "Mormon" theology, it is a familiar fact that Joseph Smith taught that matter is eternal, and has not been nor can be created. Matter is coexistent with God. God, himself, is material, in the sense that His body is composed of a refined kind of matter. In the fundamental laws that underlie all nature, there is perfect harmony between science and "Mormonism". Few religions can say as much. In most systems of theology, it is assumed that the ruling power, God, can create matter. In "Mormon" theology he can only organize it.
It is not quite so well understood that the doctrine of the indestructibility of energy lies also at the foundation of "Mormon" theology, and was taught by Joseph Smith. It was clearly comprehended by the Prophet and his associates that intelligence is the vivifying force of all creation—animate or inanimate—that rock and tree and beast and man, have ascending degrees of intelligence. The intelligence spoken of by the Prophet corresponds fully with the energy of science.
That the Prophet did not use the word current among scientific men at that time does not destroy the validity of this claim. Different words have no quarrel when they mean the same.
The Prophet also taught that this intelligence fills all space, and that it may appear in various forms, such as heat, light, and electricity, and that it is eternal, and can neither be created nor destroyed. These are the very qualities assigned to energy by scientific workers. This doctrine and its coincidence with the doctrine of science appears marvelous, when it is recalled that the Prophet laid down these teachings in 1831, more than ten years before they were discovered by scientists, and a generation before they were generally accepted by the scientific world.
The Prophet did not stop with the enunciation of these two fundamental doctrines. He declared that a refined medium, called the Holy Spirit, fills all space, whereby intelligence is conveyed from place to place. In the terms of Joseph Smith, the forces of nature, such as heat, light and electricity, are simply various manifestations of the intelligence of the Holy Spirit; in the terms of science, of the energy of the universal ether. The parallelism is complete. The Holy Spirit, in "Mormon" theology, corresponds with the ether of science. This doctrine, too, was enunciated many years before the corresponding doctrines were established among men of science.
[Sidenote: Cause and effect.]
The Prophet also taught the unchanging relation of cause and effect, which brings the whole universe under a reign of law, and overthrows the mysticisms of old. This doctrine was emphasized at a time when the world was just beginning to insist upon it. He further taught clearly the manner in which nature's laws may be discovered by man.
[Sidenote: Astronomy.]
The Prophet further taught that all the heavenly bodies are in motion; that the solar system is but a small part of a greater and grander whole, controlled by the same laws, and that some of these other worlds are inhabited. These doctrines, which now form the foundation of the new astronomy, was discovered and accepted by the world of science after the days of Joseph Smith.
[Sidenote: Geology.]
He also held clear and modern views regarding time limits in geology, or the prehistoric ages of the world, at a time when students were not agreed on the subject.
[Sidenote: The individual.]
Moreover, the "Mormon" prophet declared that the living beings found on earth were organized from the commonly occurring elements and forces of nature in such a manner that through them the force of intelligence might exert itself in the greatest degree. Hence the individual is only an organized intelligence. This, too, is in perfect harmony with the results of the latest scholarship.
[Sidenote: The laws for the individual.]
On the basis of the fundamental laws, above defined, what does science require of its devotees? How does it affect the actions of the individual? As in theology, the scientific worker must have faith in the principles that have been discovered. It is not possible in one lifetime for a man to repeat all the work of preceding workers, to demonstrate the accuracy of their results. Much must be taken on trust; though at any time, should it be necessary, the earlier work may be repeated. Besides requiring faith in the principles discovered and enunciated by others, science demands that its every worker shall believe in things that lie far beyond the reach of man's senses.
In theology, at least in the system established by Joseph Smith, a similar faith is required of the individual. God and angels have been seen by very few individuals. These realities must be accepted by faith. In the words of the Prophet Joseph, "Faith is the assurance which men have of the existence of things which they have not seen, and the principle of action in all intelligent beings." With respect to the first principle of science and theology, "Mormonism" is in entire accord with the best philosophy. The individual, whether scientist or theologian, must base his work on faith.
The scientist who has acquired faith in a law of nature will no longer transgress that law. He will obey it. If he establishes the faith that a wire connected in a certain way with the electric dynamo carries a current sufficiently strong to destroy life, he will not wantonly seize that wire in his hands. Before this faith came to him, he probably came near losing his life, by the careless handling of the charged wire. To conform to the laws of nature is scientific repentance. Faith in science or religion is a high form of intelligence and is opposed to ignorance. Repentance is the use of this intelligence for the benefit of man.
In "Mormonism" the second principle of action for the individual is repentance. If faith in God has been attained and his laws have been made clear, the believer will no longer violate those laws; he will obey them. That is repentance. Not by a jot or tittle does this kind of repentance differ from the repentance taught by science. True, science does not speak of repentance, but it thinks it. In the matter of the great principle of repentance, governing the action of workers in science or theology, "Mormonism" is eminently sane and philosophical. Faith does not compel men to repent; but it is a necessary precedent. The man who does not repent in science or theology, after he has acquired faith, renders himself liable to injury and retards his own progress.
In the system of theology taught by Joseph Smith, baptism is the third great principle to be obeyed by the individual; that is, unless baptism follows faith and repentance it is impossible to enter the kingdom of God. In science there is a counterpart of baptism which is the third principle of scientific progress.
A man who has attained faith in electricity resolves to refrain from violating any of the laws of electricity. If he desires to produce a current of electricity, he winds a wire around a piece of iron, and revolves the coil in the field of a magnet, and the current is produced. If the wire has not been wound in a certain definite manner, and has not been placed in the proper relation to the magnet, no current can be produced. The scientist may rail and object that it is all nonsense to insist that the work be done just so to produce the current. Nature is inexorable. The man to enter the kingdom of the electric current must yield obedience to the order of nature; he must receive a scientific baptism.
The baptism taught by the theology of Joseph Smith is nothing more than obedience to law. Just why it is necessary to be buried in the water to enter the Church, perhaps no man fully knows. Nor does any one know just why the wire must be wound, just so, to produce the current of electricity. Of one thing every thinker may be certain, that the essential principle of baptism is as necessary in science as in theology. In this matter also, then, Joseph the Prophet is eminently philosophical.
The fourth principle in "Mormon" theology teaches that after baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost is conferred which enlightens the mind, clears the intelligence, and brings man nearer the presence of God. So also in science, to the man who obeys the law of nature, come greater power and intelligence, to him who winds the wire right, the electric current comes, with all its latent powers. Thus is the Holy Ghost conferred in science; and thus, also, in a more subtle and greater degree is it conferred in the Church. The dogma of Joseph Smith and the teachings of science harmonize perfectly in the examination of the fourth fundamental principle of the philosophy governing the individual.
[Sidenote: Evolution.]
It is becoming fairly well demonstrated that the ceaseless changes and transformations in nature cause a greater and greater complexity in nature. This, in other words, means that the earth and all on it are developing and progressing. According to Darwin and his followers, man and animals advance. Only those who progress, persist; those who retrograde, die. Creation as a whole grows and develops, and must of necessity do so. By this law, the purpose of the earth and the universe is explained to be endless growth. The law of evolution is the great cementing law of science. Even so, in the philosophy of Joseph Smith, the doctrine is taught that all things advance; that man shall continue to advance, in intelligence, and all pertaining to it, until he shall become as God is now. Meanwhile, our God will also increase in his fulness, and ever be a God to us. Through this doctrine, all the principles of the Gospel are made coherent. All the requirements of man have in view his eternal growth. Man's presence here on earth is simply that he may better learn to understand the nature of gross matter, and thus to develop and progress more completely.
It is remarkable that Joseph Smith taught the law of evolution as an eternal truth, twenty or more years before Darwin published his views.
[Sidenote: God.]
Above the law of laws is the force of forces—or the central force of the universe. Science has little to say of God. It is content to accept the laws of nature as they are found. Yet, at times, in some branches of science, a knowledge of the beginning of things is desired. Usually science answers, "I do not know;" but it nevertheless affirms that there must be a central force, unknown and unnamed, to which the manifestations of all other forces may be referred. Science, which is essentially orderly, is chaotic when the question of the beginning of things is raised. The "Mormon" Prophet left no such weakness in his philosophy. He, too, realized the necessity of a controlling universal force. This he named God. God is an organized, material being, filled with the form of energy known as intelligence. "The glory of God is intelligence." All other forces of nature may be converted into intelligence; and from intelligence all other forces may be obtained; God is the center of these forces, and their directing power. Because of this centralization, nature is orderly. Natural laws are not, as supposed by some philosophers, accidental relations of phenomena, observed and recorded by man. The force of intelligence controls all phenomena; there is mind behind the operations of nature. God, himself a part of nature, is not the creator of nature, but the organizer and director of it. What a beautifully reasonable climax that is to the wonderful philosophy of Joseph the Prophet!
The intelligence of God is organized; therein lies his individuality and life. Man is organized intelligence; therein lies his life. Through obedience to law, intelligence grows; by the violation of law, which is sin, it decays. It is the degree of organized intelligence that ultimately distinguishes one man from other men; men from beasts, beasts from plants, and plants from rocks. Since intelligence, as defined by Joseph Smith, corresponds with the main form of energy of the universe, the doctrine of God, and all other beings, and of life, finds expression in terms of energy. That is exactly what science demands.
[Sidenote: Theology and science agree.]
Is it any wonder that workers in science, who have been taught the doctrine of an immaterial God who is able to create something from nothing, and to transcend all laws of nature, depart from the faith of their childhood? Truth is truth forever. Scientific truth cannot be theological lie. To the sane mind, theology and philosophy must harmonize. They have the common ground of truth on which to meet.
Thus, on every hand, from the highest to the lowest, from the force of forces and the law of laws to the fundamental laws governing the operations of the universe, and the actions of the individual, the philosophy of the "Mormon" Prophet is consistently referred back to matter, energy and law. In its completeness, it transcends the philosophy of science. Wherever the doctrines of "Mormonism" and science meet, they agree. No discord has yet been found between them. Science is daily confirming the truth of the universe—embracing philosophy of the unlearned founder of "Mormonism."
Back of the revelations of the greatness of the Prophet's knowledge that come to all who enter upon such a discussion, stands the eminent fact that "Mormon" philosophy is plain, simple, and easily understood. There is no need and no room for mysteries in the teachings of Joseph the Prophet. Similarly, the philosophy of men, based upon nature, is essentially simple, and easily understood. Only untruth needs to hide itself in mysteries.
One hundred years have passed since Joseph, honored and chosen of God, entered the school of life. Face to face with God, Joseph learned the Gospel, planned before the foundations of the world were laid, and he taught it to a careless world. It is not Joseph Smith's philosophy; but God's code of fundamental laws, which the world is laboriously deciphering in the beautifully written pages of nature. Is it any wonder that the philosophy is perfect?
Of simple brilliancy must have been the mind of the Prophet which was able to discover in the forgotten corners of thought the priceless gems of controlling, universal truth.