The presence of organized intelligences in earth is simply a link in the evolution of man. The plan of salvation is the method whereby the evolution of man is furthered. The intelligence who conforms to the Plan, at last attains salvation, which means eternal life and endless development, directed by the free agency of an organized intelligence clothed with an incorruptible body of spirit and matter.
Can any other system of theology produce an explanation of the presence of man on earth, which connects earthly life with the time before and the time after, on the basis of the accepted laws of the universe?
Flawless seems the structure reared by the Mormon Prophet. Had he been an imposter, human imperfection would have revealed itself somewhere.[A]
[Footnote A: It must not be assumed that in this chapter has been given a full account of the Mormon doctrine of the Atonement. These essays are not in any sense a full exposition of Mormon theology.]
THE REGION OF THE UNKNOWN.
Chapter XVI.
THE SIXTH SENSE.
[Sidenote: The six senses, need help to reorganize many phenomena of nature.]
The five senses are the great gateways through which all the knowledge in man's possession has been obtained. Examine the matter as we may, the truth of this statement persists. By seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and feeling, only, is man brought into contact with external nature and himself, and is furnished material upon which the intellect can act. True it is, that the sense of feeling may be divided into a number of poorly known sub-senses, of which that of touch is the best known, but, probably, these are very nearly related, and we may still maintain the existence of the five senses of man.
Wonderful as these senses are, yet, in the presence of many natural phenomena, they are very weak, and require help, in order that the operations of nature may be recognized. Take, as an illustration, the refined sense of sight. Light, coming from a distant star, is readily recognized; the same quantity of light coming from a house, half a mile distant, is even more distinctly sensed by the eye. In both these cases, though the light is recognized, the sensation is not so sharply defined as to produce a distinct image of the star or of the house. To make the images of distant objects distinct, the telescope has been invented; and this instrument is a most important aid to the sense of sight. The microscope is a similar aid to the eye, by which the lightrays coming from minute objects are so bent and arranged that the object appears magnified, and may be sensed in its details by the eye. The ear-trumpet is a similar device for collecting, concentrating and defining sound waves that ordinarily would be, to the ear, a confusion of sounds. The ear-trumpet is a mighty help to the sense of hearing.