Chapter XV.
THE PLAN OF SALVATION.
[Sidenote: Why am I on earth?]
In the preceding chapter the law of evolution was shown to be the cementing law of nature, which explains the destiny of man. To live is to change, and (if the change is right) to grow. Through all the ages to come 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 explain 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 necessary 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 universe can certainly be demonstrated.
[Sidenote: Perfection comes only when matter, spirit and intelligence are associated.]
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 men. The ether of science has been compared with the Holy Spirit of Mormonism. The spirit body may be likened to an ether body of man, and is the condition of his original existence. From the original condition, at 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 material world, which forms an integral part of the universe. 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."[A]
[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 93:33, 34.]
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.
[Sidenote: The fall of Adam necessary to perfect intelligence.]
For the purpose of perfecting the plan, a council of the Gods, or perfected intelligences was called. It was decided to organize an earth from available materials, and place the spirits on it, clothed with bodies of the grosser elements. An essential function of intelligence 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 directly 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 naturally 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 injuriously; 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, subject 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 Adam was indispensable to the evolving of organized intelligences that should have a complete acquaintance 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 fundamental in every system of theology, is rational, can not be denied.
[Sidenote: The atonement was in harmony with natural law.]
However, the bodies given to the spirits continued for only a few years; then they were disorganized in death. Adam's work had been done well. After the death of the mortal body, the spirit was still without a permanent body of matter, that would complete his contact with the elements of the universe. Therefore, it was necessary to bring other laws into operation, that would reorganize these dead material 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 suitable home for eternal intelligence, whereby it might be able, under the law of evolution to attain the greatest conceivable knowledge and power.
The personage who directed the laws that cancelled 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 atonement 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 shedding 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 unknown. 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.
[Sidenote: Earth life is a link in man's evolution.]
The presence of organized intelligences in earth 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 who conforms to the Plan, at last attains 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 somewhere.[A]
[Footnote A: 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.]