President Smith's Pronouncement.
President Joseph F. Smith, until recently the head of God's Church on earth, touched in a discourse the general theme here under consideration. Said he:
"Knowledge is increasing throughout the world, with reference to material things; and all this knowledge that has been restored to the world through science has been inspired of God. ... The men who are led to wonderful discoveries are inspired by the spirit of understanding that cometh from God, that giveth them light and knowledge. ... So, Latter-day Saints acknowledge those men who discovered how to control the lightning, how to control and utilize the power of steam that prevails so universally among men today, and all those who have discovered all the other secrets of nature, like the telegraph, the telephone, and all other means of communication—all these discoveries are by the promptings of the Spirit of God that giveth to the mind and spirit of men understanding." (Improvement Era, July, 1917)
President Smith, however, drew a distinction, as do all orthodox preachers of "Mormonism", between the light that illumines, in greater or less degree, every soul that comes into the world, and the Holy Ghost as a personage, the third in the Godhead. He also differentiated the universal divine spirit, enjoyed to some extent by all men, from the gift of the Holy Ghost, a special endowment reserved for the members of the Church of Christ.