[Footnote A: Book of Abraham, 4th chap. (Note verse 27.)]
[Footnote B: Doctrine and Covenants 88:15.]
[Footnote C: Doctrine and Covenants 93:33 and 34.]
[Sidenote: Intelligence is universal.]
President Brigham Young has left an interesting paragraph that confirms the statement that according to "Mormon" doctrine, all matter is intelligent, and that man is superior only because of his higher organization. "Is this earth, the air and the water, composed of life…..?……If the earth, air and water, are composed of life is there any intelligence in this life?….Are those particles of matter life; if so, are they in possession of intelligence according to the grade of their organization?……We suggest the idea that there is an eternity of life, an eternity of organization, and an eternity of intelligence from the highest to the lowest grade, every creature in its order, from the Gods to the animalculae."[A]
[Footnote A: The Resurrection, p. 3. Ed. of 1884.]
[Sidenote: Spirit unaided knows matter with difficulty.]
The statement that man can receive a fullness of joy only when spirit and element are united, is of itself a scientific doctrine of high import. This is a world of matter; and a spiritual man, that is one made only of the universal ether, would not be able to receive fully the impressions that come from the contact of element with element. To enjoy and understand this world, it is necessary for the spirit to be clothed with matter. The ether or spirit world is not within our immediate view; and it is probable that the material world is far away from purely spiritual beings.
[Sidenote: God is the Master-builder.]
This whole doctrine means that God is the organizer of worlds, and all upon them. He is not the Creator of the materials and forces of the universe, for they are eternal; He is the master buidler who uses the simple elements of nature for his purposes. It is also plain that, according to "Mormon" doctrine, there is no special life force. The intelligence residing in a stone is in quality, as far as it goes, the same as the intelligence possessed by man. But, man is so organized that a greater amount of intelligence, a fullness of it, centers in him, and he is as a consequence essentially and eternally different from the stone. President Young also said, "The life that is within us is a part of an eternity of life, and is organized spirit, which is clothed upon by tabernacles, thereby constituting our present being, which is designed for the attainment of further intelligence. The matter comprising our bodies and spirits has been organized from the eternity of matter that fills immensity."[A]