Joseph Smith as Scientist: A Contribution to Mormon PhilosophyWidtsoe, John Andreas
Religion
Joseph Smith as Scientist: A Contribution to Mormon Philosophy
Widtsoe, John Andreas
Smith, Joseph, Jr., 1805-1844
How wonderful was this boy-prophet of "Mormonism," if all this was
orginated within his own mind! At every point of contact, the sanest
of modern philosophy finds counterpart in the theological structure of
the Gospel as taught by Joseph Smith. Is the work divine?
THE LAWS GOVERNING THE INDIVIDUAL.
Chapter IX.
FAITH.
[Sidenote: Faith is the assurance of the existence of "things not
seen."]
For the government of the individual the first principle in Mormon
theology is faith. Joseph Smith defined faith in the words of the
Apostle Paul, "Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for; the
evidence of things not seen." To this the Prophet added "From this we
learn that faith is the assurance which men have of things which they
have not seen."[A] On this principle, with this definition, many young
persons who have ventured upon the sea of unbelief have wrecked the
religion of their childhood; for, the human mind, in some stages of
its development, is disinclined to accept as knowledge anything that
can not be sensed directly.
[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, Lecture I, verses 8, 9.]
Nowadays, the young doubter who can not accept as the foundation of
his religion "things which he has not seen," usually turns for comfort
and future growth to the results of science. There he finds truths
upon truths, glorious in their beauty and susceptibility to direct and
unmistakeable proof; and soon he declares that in so-called natural
science, there is no need of faith, for, if a person has only advanced
far enough, every concern of science may be known through one, two or
several senses.
[Sidenote: Such faith lies at the formation of science.]
It is true that in the beginning of science no faith seems to be
required; for every statement is based on experiments and observations
that may be repeated by every student; and nothing is "taken on
trust." As the deeper parts of science are explored, however, it is
soon discovered that in science as in theology, a faith in "things
that can not be seen," is an essential requisite for progress. In
fact, the fundamental laws of the great divisions of science deal with
realities that are wholly and hopelessly beyond the reach of man's
five senses.
[Sidenote: The molecules are beyond man's direct senses.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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