Now, it is true that Joseph Smith did not extend this law to the lower animals; but it must be remembered that his mission on earth was to teach a system of redemption for men. Yet, it is an interesting observation that he taught that men and animals had a spiritual existence, before they were placed on earth. "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 out of the ground made I, the Lord God, to grow every tree, naturally, that is pleasant to the sight of man; and man could behold it. And it became also a living soul. For it was spiritual in the day that I created it; for it remaineth in the sphere in which I, God, created it."[A]
[Footnote A: Book of Moses, 3:5 and 9. See also Doctrine and
Covenants, 29:31, 32.]
If, in common with men, animals and plants were created spiritually, it may not be an idle speculation that the lower forms of life will advance, in their respective fields, as man advances in his. However, a statement in the above quotation must not be overlooked, "It remaineth in the sphere in which I, God, created it." This would preclude any notion that by endless development a plant may become an animal, or that one of the lower classes of animals become a high animal, or a man. Is not this the place where, perhaps, the evolution of science has failed? All things advance, but each order of creation within its own sphere. There is no jumping from order to order. The limits of these orders are yet to be found.
Spencer's belief that one period of evolution follows another[A] is brought strongly to mind in contemplating the doctrine of Joseph Smith that man, and other things, had first a spiritual existence, now an earthly life, then a higher existence after death. Is not the parallelism strong—and may it not be that here, also, the "Mormon" prophet could have shown the learned philosopher the correct way?
[Footnote A: First Principles, p. 550.]
[Sidenote: God is the compelling power of evolution.]
Finally, one other suggestion must be made. Spencer, after a long and involved argument, concludes (or proves as he believes) that the great law of evolution is a necessity that follows from the law of the persistence of force. In chapter two of this series, the scientific conception of the persistence of force was identified with the operations of the Holy Spirit, as taught by Joseph Smith. This Spirit is behind all phenomena; by it as a medium, God works his will with the things of the universe, and enables man to move on to eternal salvation, to advance, and become a God; every law is of necessity a result of the operation of this Spirit. Here, again, the "Mormon" prophet anticipated the world of science; and his conceptions are simplier and more direct than those invented by the truth-seekers, who depended upon themselves and their own powers.
Marvelous is this view of the founder of "Mormonism." Where did he learn in his short life, amidst sufferings and persecution such as few men have known, the greatest mysteries of the universe!