The Seventy's Course in Theology, Second Year: Outline History of the Dispensations of the GospelRoberts, B. H. (Brigham Henry)
Religion
The Seventy's Course in Theology, Second Year: Outline History of the Dispensations of the Gospel
Roberts, B. H. (Brigham Henry)
Latter Day Saint churches -- Doctrines
_3. The Nature of Intelligencies:_ There is in that complex
thing we call man, an intelligent entity, uncreated, self existent,
indestructible, He--for that entity is a person; because, as we shall
see, he is possessed of powers that go with personality only, hence
that entity is "he," not "it,"--he is eternal as God is; co-existent,
in fact, with God; of the same kind of substance or essence with deity,
though confessedly inferior in degree of intelligence and power to
God. One must needs think that the name of this eternal entity--what
God calls him--conveys to the mind some idea of his nature. He is
called an "intelligence;" and this I believe is descriptive of him.
That is, intelligence is the entity's chief characteristic. If this
be a true deduction, then the entity must be self-conscious, and
"others--conscious," that is, he must have the power to distinguish
himself from other things--the "me" from the "not me." He must have
the power of deliberation, by which he sets over one thing against
another; with power also to form a judgment that this or that is a
better thing or state than this or that. Also there goes with this idea
of intelligence a power of choosing one thing instead of another, one
state rather than another. These powers are inseparably connected with
any idea that may be formed of an intelligence. One cannot conceive
of intelligence existing without these qualities any more than he can
conceive of an object existing in space without dimensions. The phrase
"the light of truth" [Doc. & Cov., Sec. xciii.] is given in one of the
revelations as the equivalent for an "intelligence" here discussed; by
which is meant to be understood, as I think, that intelligent entities
perceive the truth, are conscious of the truth, they know that which
is, hence "the light of truth," "intelligence." Let it be observed that
I say nothing as to the mode of the existence of these intelligences,
beyond the fact of their eternity. But of their form, or the manner
of their subsistence nothing, so far as I know, has been revealed,
and hence we are without means of knowing anything about the modes of
their existence beyond the fact of it, and the essential qualities they
possess, which already have been pointed out.
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