Nature is inexhaustible in the possible number of inter-relations among matter, energy and intelligence. It follows, therefore, that man will forever be able to add knowledge unto knowledge, power unto power, or progress unto progress. This law of progression is the great law of the universe, without beginning and without end, to which all other laws contribute. By adherence to this law the willing, intelligent beings have risen to their present splendid state of manhood, and by further compliance with this law they will advance to a future Godlike state of perfection. The supreme intelligence and perfected will of the universe, God, has attained His position by an obedient recognition of the conditions of the law of progression.
The law of progression gives hope and purpose to those who accept the Gospel. The feeling of security that comes from the knowledge that the elements of the universe are eternal, is made living by the hope established by the great law that there is purpose in all the operations of the universe. Whatever man may do, whatever his life may bring, provided all his faculties are working actively among the things and forces about him, he is acquiring knowledge, thereby power, and, under the law of progression, he is being moved onward to a more advanced position than he now occupies, in which he may do mightier work. Men, discouraged by their failure to accomplish exactly what they desire, often speak of their lives as purposeless, but it is idle talk, for, in fact, no intelligent life which concerns itself vigorously with the things about it, can be said to be purposeless. Such a life adheres, automatically, to the law of progression, and is therefore moving on to the great destiny of supreme power and accompanying joys. The only purposeless life is the one that does not use its faculties. It matters little what tasks men do in life, if only they do them well and with all their strength. In an infinite universe, one cannot possibly learn all or do all, at once. A beginning must be made somewhere, and corner by corner, department by department, space by space, all will be known and conquered. In the end, all must be explored, and whether one begin in the east or the west cannot matter much. The big concern is to what extent a man offer himself, mind and body, to his work. Upon that will growth depend.
**The Law of Development.** The law of progression is then a law of endless development of all the powers of man in the midst of a universe becoming increasingly complex. No more hopeful principle can be incorporated into a philosophy of life.
CHAPTER 6.
GOD AND MAN.
The doctrine of man's pre-existence leads to an understanding of the relationship between God and man, which must lie at the very basis of rational theology.
**Why God is God.** To determine this relationship between God and man it is necessary to discuss, first, the conditions under which God became God. As already said, God is the supreme intelligent Being in the universe, who has the greatest knowledge and the most perfected will, and who, therefore, possesses infinite power over the forces of the universe. However, if the great law of progression is accepted, God must have been engaged from the beginning, and must now be engaged in progressive development, and, infinite as God is, he must have been less powerful in the past than he is today. While it is folly for man to attempt to unravel in detail the mystery of the past, yet it is only logical to believe that a progressive God has not always possessed his present position.
It is clear also that, as with every other being, the progress of God began with the exercise of his will. In "the beginning" which transcends our understanding, God undoubtedly exercised his will vigorously, and thus gained great experience of the forces lying about him. As knowledge grew into greater knowledge, by the persistent efforts of will, his recognition of universal laws became greater until he attained at last a conquest over the universe, which to our finite understanding seems absolutely complete. We may be certain that, through self-effort, the inherent and innate powers of God have been developed to a God-like degree. Thus, he has become God.
God, the supreme Being of the universe, absolutely transcends the human understanding. His intelligence is as the sum of all other intelligences. There can be no rational discussion of the details of God's life or nature. To him we give the most complete devotion, for to us he is in all respects infinite and perfect. His Godhood, however, was attained by the use of his power in simple obedience to the laws he discovered as he grew in experience.
**Many Gods.** During the onward march of the Supreme Being, other intelligent beings were likewise engaged, though less vigorously, in acquiring power over the forces of the universe. Among many intelligent beings thus moving onward, there is little probability of any two attaining exactly the same place, at the same time. There is rather the probability of infinite gradation from the lowest to the highest development. Next to God, there may be, therefore, other intelligent beings so nearly approaching his power as to be coequal with him in all things so far as our finite understanding can perceive. These beings may be immeasurably far from God in power, nevertheless immeasurably far above us mortal men of the earth. Such intelligent beings are as Gods to us. Under this definition there may be a great number of intelligent beings who possess to a greater or less degree the quality of Godhood. The acceptance of the preceding doctrines makes it almost a logical necessity that there are many gods or beings so highly developed that they are as gods, in fact are Gods. This is a fundamental doctrine of the Gospel.