CONDITIONS PRECEDENT.
SPACE.
TIME.
MATTER
INTELLIGENCES.
I.
AS TO SPACE.
The school-boy is told that the idea held by people generally in the days of Columbus was that if the venturesome ships were to sail too far out on the ocean they would fall off into space; and in his silent meditations he often wonders where, in such a case, those ships would have gone. The natural answer to his mind is that they would have gone down; but when he learns later that the words "down" and "up" relate only to the earth, and that in speaking of space, there are no such terms as up or down, or east or west, or north or south, all his ideas of direction are at sea. His conception of space increases, however.
Later in school life he studies with interest the movements of the planetarium, and is surprised to find the earth, whose geographical extent has hitherto seemed so vast, represented by such an insignificant ball, so near the sun. This, however, is only the beginning of his surprises. He is told later that, large as the solar system seems, yet if our sun, viewed from one of the fixed stars, were as large as the orbit of Neptune, it would be eclipsed by a pin-head held at arm's length. And so his ideas of space continue to enlarge as he grows in understanding.
As we study Herschel's diagram of the group of stars in which we dwell and let the mind contemplate with the astronomer the nebulae, supposed by some to be other groups of stars, much more magnificent than our own, the mind is lost in wonder at the immensity of space and the grandeur of the works of God. But even this is simply a beginning.
The Lord gives us a still deeper insight into the situation when He reveals to us the fact that all these vast systems, as well as other systems of which as yet we know nothing, are revolving about other systems which are all controlled from a common centre, His "first creation,"[[3]] the great Kolob.[[4]]
When, therefore, the Lord, standing in the midst of His works, comprehending and controlling them all, speaks to us of the "immensity of space,"[[5]] how shall mortal, finite man, state his conception of space! How far is the philosopher advanced above the school-boy with his query about the ships of Columbus?
So far as reason can answer the question as to the bounds of space, it is answered by Professor Orson Pratt. Discussing the necessity for endless time and boundless space, he says:
"That there must be an endless duration and a boundless space, are necessary truths which cannot possibly be conceived to be otherwise than they are. These are necessary truths, whether any being exists to conceive them as such or not. Indeed, if there were no being in existence, the same unalterable and unchangeable necessity would characterize these truths. Endless space and duration cannot be created nor annihilated by any being, but their continuance has been and must be eternal. These truths do not admit of being proved; for that which has no beginning cannot be preceded by a cause, and where no cause exists, there cannot possibly be any foundation for reasoning. There can be no reason why space and duration are as they are and yet we perceive a necessity for them to be as they are."[[6]]
But we have a more sure word than unaided reason can offer. We are not left without revelation on this subject, meager though the reference may be. The Prophet Joseph Smith, speaking of the light of the sun, remarks:
"The sun has no beginning nor end; the rays which proceed from himself have no bounds, consequently they are eternal."[[7]]
From this simple statement we receive more information than any man in our present condition, uninspired by the Lord, could ever obtain. Indeed, this very question is classed by the philosopher, Herbert Spencer, as among those the answer to which is "unknowable." But when we have this basic fact from which to reason, we are safe in concluding that if there are no bounds to the light of the sun, then it must follow that space is boundless.
II.
AS TO TIME.
Another of the questions of life, the answer to which is classed by Herbert Spencer as among the "unknowable," is time; and of the same mind apparently is Thomas Carlyle, who says:
"The illimitable, silent, never-resting thing called 'time,' rolling, rushing on—this is forever very literally, a miracle, a thing to strike us dumb."
All sorts of ideas have been advanced in all ages of the world as to the mystery of time, and even its very existence has been called into question, as witness the following;
"But the present has no duration and is not time at all. It is but the plane which, without thickness, divides past and future. Time then is not made up of past, present and future, but of past and future only; and, as these do not exist, time itself cannot exist."[[8]]
But the only question that concerns us here, in our search for eternal conditions, is as to the duration of time. As to this, we may again refer to the reasoning of Orson Pratt; and we have, also, an additional and final assurance from the Lord, when He says, in speaking to Abraham:
"If there be two spirits, and one shall be more intelligent than the other, yet these two spirits, notwithstanding 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 gnolaum, or eternal."[[9]]
The inference is plain. If spirits always existed and always will exist, there never was a beginning and there never will be an end, of time.
III.
AS TO MATTER.
Some writer has characterized the passage in Genesis, "God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light," as the perfection of beauty in expression; but we venture to place over against it another, this, however, directly from a Divine source through the Prophet Joseph Smith. What could be more succinct or beautiful or more richly laden with truth respecting conditions precedent than the words, "The elements are eternal?"[[10]]
That expression is worth more to the scientist who will receive it, than all the fine-spun theories of so-called philosophy. An acceptance of this truth would put to rest no end of controversy. Since the earliest times investigators have believed in the transmutation of matter, that if they could only find the secret, they could, for instance, turn silver into gold; and, again, it has been the belief until recent years, that matter could be annihilated.
Now, however, the idea is accepted throughout the entire scientific world that no particle of matter can be destroyed. It may be changed from one form into another, as water is converted into steam, but the elements remain unchanged.
The transmutation theory, however, still haunts the human mind.
"The elements are eternal." The Prophet Joseph Smith adds to this nugget of truth another beautiful thought, when he says:
"Hence we infer that God had materials to organize the world out of chaos—chaotic matter, which is element, and in which dwells all the glory."[[11]]
From which we may be assured that in the Gospel scheme of organization, this life's drama in the large, matter plays no unimportant part.
We, therefore, may conclude:
That all the matter now existing always existed and always will exist.
That there never was any more matter than there is at present and there never will be any more than there is now.
IV.
AS TO INTELLIGENCES.
Notwithstanding the desire for knowledge, the simplicity of truth has ever entailed upon it an unfriendly reception at the hands of men. It seems to be almost a law of the human mind that our preconceived notions, whether true or false, stand in the way of new ideas, and usually our principal effort is put forth in trying to reconcile a new thought with the old theory, rather than in an endeavor to give to each its proper valuation. And this is preeminently the case in relation to our ideas on the eternal existence of personal, individual intelligences. We can easily conceive of eternally existing matter, but not so of spirits.
Perhaps an excuse is afforded us in the fact that God is our Father; but no earthly father who understands the Gospel thinks for a moment that his children had no existence until they were begotten by him. He knows they have existed in the spirit world co-equally with himself. He is their father by reason of having given them a tabernacle in which to dwell, and in the same way did God become our Father.
Man has a spiritual body as well as a body of flesh and bones, or, as Paul has it, "There is natural body and there is a spiritual body."[[12]] This explains the teachings as to the body, the astral body, and the aura, of the Yogis, of India, and is explained by the Lord as follows:
"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 I, the Lord God, had created all the children of men; and not yet a man to till the ground; for in heaven created I them; and there was not yet flesh upon the earth; neither in the water; neither in the air ... And I, the lord God, formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul, the first flesh upon the earth, the first man also; nevertheless all things were before created; but, spiritually, were they created and made according to my word."[[13]]
But the whole scheme of the progress of the spirit is detailed in another revelation from the Lord. This, however, is in the Doctrine and Covenants:
"For by the power of my Spirit created I them; yea, all things, both spiritual and temporal.
"Firstly, spiritual—secondly, temporal, which is the beginning of my work; and again, firstly, temporal—and secondly spiritual, which is the last of my work."[[14]]
That is to say: first, the spirit is clothed upon with a spiritual body, and afterwards with a temporal, or mortal body; secondly the spirit, at the time of the resurrection, is again clothed upon with the same body, just as it is laid down; and afterwards, the body, at the time of the restoration, undergoes a change by which it is not only restored to its proper form in case of malformation,[[15]] but is rendered immune to the disabilities of mortality, as was the case with the Savior when He passed into the room where the Twelve were assembled, though the door was locked, or with the Angel Moroni when he passed up through the ceiling of the room at the close of his first interview with the Prophet Joseph Smith, or made himself visible or invisible at will.[[16]]
Another cause of misconception is the meaning we attach to the word Creator, in describing our relationship to the Lord. We usually take the expression, "He is our Creator," to mean that we had no existence as individuals until He called us into being, and this in the face of His own declaration to the contrary. He says to Abraham, as hereinbefore quoted:
"If there be two spirits, and one shall be more intelligent than the other, yet these two spirits, notwithstanding 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 gnolaum or eternal."[[17]]
The construction of this statement seems purposely designed to negative the doctrine that spirits owe their origin to God, for, in that case, one might well question the justice of the Creator in giving one spirit so much more intelligence than another.
But the fact is, as the Prophet Joseph Smith has said: "God never had the power to create the spirit of man at all. God himself could not create himself."
As if determined so to state the fact that his meaning could not be misunderstood, the Prophet Joseph further says:
"I have another subject to dwell upon, which is calculated to exalt man. But it is impossible for me to say much on this subject. I shall, therefore, just touch upon it; for time will not permit me to say all. It is associated with the subject of the resurrection from the dead, the mind of man, the immortal spirit. Where did it come from? All learned men and doctors of divinity say that God created it in the beginning. But it is not so. The very idea lessens man in my estimation. I do not believe the doctrine. I know better."
Continuing, he adds:
"We say that God himself is a self-existent being. Who told you so? It is correct enough; but how did it get into your heads? Who told you that man did not exist in like manner upon the same principles? Man does exist upon the same principles. The mind or the intelligence which man possesses, is co-equal with God himself."
And again:
"There never was a time when there were not spirits, for they are co-equal with our Father in Heaven."[[18]]
From all of which we may conclude:
That all the spirits now existing always did and always will exist.
That the spirits now existing are all that ever did, or that ever will exist.