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
The Prophet also taught that this intelligence fills all space, and
that it may appear in various forms, such as heat, light, and
electricity, and that it is eternal, and can neither be created nor
destroyed. These are the very qualities assigned to energy by
scientific workers. This doctrine and its coincidence with the
doctrine of science appears marvelous, when it is recalled that the
Prophet laid down these teachings in 1831, more than ten years before
they were discovered by scientists, and a generation before they were
generally accepted by the scientific world.
The Prophet did not stop with the enunciation of these two fundamental
doctrines. He declared that a refined medium, called the Holy Spirit,
fills all space, whereby intelligence is conveyed from place to place.
In the terms of Joseph Smith, the forces of nature, such as heat,
light and electricity, are simply various manifestations of the
intelligence of the Holy Spirit; in the terms of science, of the
energy of the universal ether. The parallelism is complete. The Holy
Spirit, in "Mormon" theology, corresponds with the ether of science.
This doctrine, too, was enunciated many years before the corresponding
doctrines were established among men of science.
[Sidenote: Cause and effect.]
The Prophet also taught the unchanging relation of cause and effect,
which brings the whole universe under a reign of law, and overthrows
the mysticisms of old. This doctrine was emphasized at a time when the
world was just beginning to insist upon it. He further taught clearly
the manner in which nature's laws may be discovered by man.
[Sidenote: Astronomy.]
The Prophet further taught that all the heavenly bodies are in motion;
that the solar system is but a small part of a greater and grander
whole, controlled by the same laws, and that some of these other
worlds are inhabited. These doctrines, which now form the foundation
of the new astronomy, was discovered and accepted by the world of
science after the days of Joseph Smith.
[Sidenote: Geology.]
He also held clear and modern views regarding time limits in geology,
or the prehistoric ages of the world, at a time when students were not
agreed on the subject.
[Sidenote: The individual.]
Moreover, the "Mormon" prophet declared that the living beings found
on earth were organized from the commonly occurring elements and
forces of nature in such a manner that through them the force of
intelligence might exert itself in the greatest degree. Hence the
individual is only an organized intelligence. This, too, is in perfect
harmony with the results of the latest scholarship.
[Sidenote: The laws for the individual.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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