A Rational Theology, as Taught by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

by John Andreas Widtsoe

**The Feelings.** The sense of feeling is but a poor expression for the one great sense by which man may directly communicate with the region of the unseen. Through this sense, man stands on the border line between earth and the external universe. Those who have communion with the forces about them, because of their greater refinement of feeling, have comfort which is attainable in no other manner.

Moreover, our feelings with respect to our fellow men should be cultivated. We must learn to sympathize with them in their distresses, rejoice with them in their joys, and pity them in their sins. The education of the feelings is a great duty of man.

**The Spiritual Sense.** This sense is closely akin to the feelings. The virtues of man, such as hope, charity, and mercy, can reach high development only on the basis of the conviction that the unseen world may be known. When this conviction grows upon a man, and he reaches out for a fuller understanding of it, his spiritual sense develops, new worlds are opened to him and he conforms to the intelligent love which made the Great Plan possible.

**Symbolism.** Moreover, as man develops, he learns to be content to know eternal truths only in great symbols. That is, he learns to be satisfied to know that he does not fully know. This has already been dwelt upon and need not be further emphasized. The Sacrament, as an ordinance of the Church is one of the great symbols of the suffering and death of Jesus for the sake of mankind, that the Great Plan might be fulfilled. Bread is eaten and water is drunk as symbols of the body and blood of the Savior, given in the atoning sacrifice. Every other ordinance is similarly symbolic. Back of the symbols lies the whole Great Plan in all of its gradations. God demands that the sacrament be partaken of frequently, so that the atoning sacrifice of Jesus may be held before the people continually; so with the other great symbols of the Church. By them the realities of eternal life are held before us.

**Education.** The whole of life is education, or training for further work. No wonder, therefore, that, in the correct philosophy of life, schools and other devices for the training of man's powers are foremost. Education is and must be carried onward fully and abundantly, in the Church of Christ. The support of education is, indeed, a test of the truthfulness of the Church.

CHAPTER 34.

SATISFACTION WITH DAILY WORK.

All must work—in defense if for no other reason. Without some kind of labor, body and mind will deteriorate. Clearly, however, all cannot do the same work, unless each man does practically all the variety of work necessary for the production of the things necessary in his life. In a complex civilization of many needs, that would be impossible or wasteful. The great satisfaction of earth-life is to be content with whatever work may come.

**Variety of Earthly Tasks.** In obedience to God's command, man must devote himself to the work of subduing the earth. This is no simple task, for the earth is an organism of many elements. Moreover, the needs of man are varied and manifold, to the satisfying of which, the subjection of the earth is ordained. There is an endless variety of tasks, for body and mind, to be accomplished by the men and women of earth. These tasks differ greatly; some concern themselves chiefly with the body; others, chiefly with the mind; and yet others with both body and mind. Some deal with this, and others with that, essential need; some with this, and others with that, necessary condition. The vocations of man are almost numberless. Much unhappiness has come to men because they have been obliged in life to follow one vocation when they would rather follow another. If a man thus be unhappy in his daily work the whole of his life is akin to failure, because he does not truly realize the possible joys of life. Occasionally, the discontent is due to the unwillingness of the man to earn his bread in the sweat of his brow. This is due to ignorance. Earnest, sincere labor, requiring steady and full effort, is the source of many abiding joys.

**All Work May be Intelligent.** If intelligence pervades all things, and if all things belong to the Great Plan, including the labors in which man lives and moves, then all tasks may and should be made intelligent and appealing to mind as well as to body. Rational as it is, it is however a relatively new thought, that to every task, if properly illumined by knowledge, many forces of the mind may be applied. As man has gained added knowledge, this has become more and more evident. The fact that intelligence may be made to illuminate the so-called humbler tasks, lifts much of the so-called curse from the labor of man. This is another reason for the education of man into an understanding of the full meaning of the necessary tasks of life. It justifies the support of research into all divisions of nature, and stamps with approval honest study and investigation of every kind. All kinds of work must be done; full preparation for every kind of work is fully justified.