Origin and Nature of Man, from the Standpoint of Revelation and Reason

ORIGIN AND NATURE OF MAN, FROM THE STANDPOINT OF REVELATION AND REASON, BY ELDER JOHN NICHOLSON.

I.

On a beautiful morning in June, 1898, three men were seated on one of the benches provided for the accommodation of visitors to Liberty Park, situated in the south-eastern suburb of Salt Lake City. One was a pleasant-looking gentleman, whose face was somewhat pale, and had a thoughtful and religious or reveren- tial expression. Indeed, he was a devout believer in the divine mission of Jesus of Nazareth. The second of the trio was more robust, and his general aspect was more worldly than that of his companion already referred to. He was a deist, although not rooted in that belief. He had not, as yet, been able to bring him- self to the conviction that God had ever given, or would give, any specific revelation to mankind. The third, so far as outward indi- cations suggested, was a characteristic combination of his com- panions. He had a bright countenance and particularly expressive eyes. He was a Latter-day Saint. The gentlemen, who had casually met, were engaged in earnest conversation upon religious subjects. He who was first described presented views characteristic of the standpoint of professing Christians who claim to believe in the revelations given by God to man in past ages, and a subsequent necessary and permanent

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abolition of direct communication from the Creator to the creature. His averments were decidedly unsatisfactory to the second of the three, who declined to accept of anything claimed to be rev- elation, unless it were shown to be in harmony with reason and what he termed demonstrated truth. The third made some statements which created great interest in the minds of the others. One of these was in relation to the origin and nature of man. He took the ground that man had an individualized pre -existence, and that his mortal state is simply a change of condition in the order of his eternal progression. His theories were so novel and interesting to his listeners that they, having the necessary leisure time at command, entered into an arrangement with him for a more complete explanation of his views. They made this proposition with the full understanding that he was a believer in the divine mission of Joseph Smith. The interviews, which were to be as numerous as might be needed, were to be held in the office of the gentleman who is men- tioned as the third of the trio. The subjects were to be selected by the first and second parties, who were to have the privilege of interposing with such questions and statements of differences of views as might be deemed by them to be proper. At the appointed time for the first meeting, all were present, and there we present them to the reader ready for the discussion. The three are now respectively designated as Messrs. Wondon, Tudor and Tree. The first subject selected was, "The Origin and Nature of Man." Mr. Wondon. — I shall expect Mr. Tree to sustain such posi- tions as he may assume, by declarations of scripture, or the revealed word of God. Mr. Tudor.— I anticipate, in addition, that he will support his. arguments by reference to demonstrated truth as observable in nature, and to what has been proved to be true in the experience of man. Mr. Tree.— The"task I have undertaken is somewhat difficult,, seeing I am required to maintain my position by two distinct kinds of evidence— the facts of scripture or revelation; and truth as observed in nature, and that which is shown in the experience of

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man to be true. I affirm that man, as a spirit, an individual being, existed, thought, acted and passed through progressive exper- iences before his advent upon the human stage. There ought to be no attempt on the part of one who believes in the Bible todeny that Jesus Christ lived with God before he made his appearance upon this planet as a mortal to give himself as a sacrifice for the redemption of man. He thus,'himself expressed this important truth: "I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.* In case it might be claimed that there exists the slightest shadow of ambiguity as to the meaning of these words, the follow- ing statement of the divine Master should dissipate it: "And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was."f Surely nothing could be clearer than these statements. In combination they convey this meaning: That Christ lived before he appeared on earth, in the presence of the Eternal Father. He occupied, in that ante-mortal state, a position of honor and glory. After coming into the world and accomplishing his mission in mor- tality and receiving his immortalized body, he left the world and returned to the dwelling place of the Being who commissioned him as the Redeemer of mankind, and he anticipated there, in his former home, to enjoy a resumption of the glory he had previous to the creation or organization of this world. That he realized the aspiration embodied in his petition to the Eternal Father is evident from his communication to his disciples subsequent to his ascension into heaven. "All power is given unto

me in heaven and in earth."! This authority had evidently been committed to him, as the second person in the Godhead and the executive of the plan formulated by the Father for the redemption of the world. Mr. Wondon. — admit that the position seems clear I in rela-

tion to the Savior, but you must remember that he was more than

• John 16: 28.

t John 17: 5. % Matt. 28: 18.

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man. He was the Son of God. What is desired is the evidence of revelation, if there be any, that man had a pre-existence. Mr. Tree. — I will come to that directly. If you admit that Christ had a pre-mortal existence, because of his relationship to the everlasting Father, if it can be shown that man had a joint spiritual parentage with him, it would be strong proof of his exist- ence being of the same character as that of the Savior. Informa- tion upon this point is embodied in the statement of Christ to Mary immediately subsequent to his resurrection. "Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to [my Father; but !go to my brethren, and say to them, I ascend unto my Father and to your Father; and to my God and to your God."* Those to whom this message was directed were men. They claimed to be nothing more; therefore their origin and source of existence are those of the human race. But not only is the fact of the relationship of the creature to the Creator specifically given in the language of New Testament Scripture, but likewise the precise nature of it: "Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: Shall we not rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live." The only inference that can be taken from this statement is that individual man is the spiritual son of God. It is also in unison with the opening sentence of the "Lord's Prayer." Mr. Wondon. —You have not yet given a specifically direct instance wherein man is positively declared to have had an indi- vidual existence prior to the present life. What you have given appears only to point —though with great clearness— inferentially in that direction. Mr. Tree. — Seeing that man such a wonderful being, superior is

to and distinct, under God, from all others, so far aswe know, if such an instance as you suggest could be found, would you concede that it would, so far as revelationis concerned, fix the status of

mankind, as a whole, on the subject involved? Would it not be a case in which the defined exception proves the rule?

• John 20: 17.

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Mr. Wondon. — If it be positively declarative and definite, it

would. — Mr. Tree. I frankly admit that I desire, in order that the matter may be clear to you, that you, to some extent, commit yourself in advance. Hence I ask, somewhat paradoxically: Do you believe that anything can, in any way, be disposed of unless it has existence at the time of such disposal? Mr. Wondon. — do I not. I should say that you cannot dispose of nothing because there is nothing to dispose of. Mr. Tree. — Here is the well-defined instance, the Prophet Jeremiah being the subject: "Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou earnest out of the womb I sanctified thee and ordained thee a prophet unto the nations."* Jeremiah was ordained previous to his existence in mortal form; hence his ordination occurred prior to his physical life, because, as you admit, otherwise it would have been an impossi- bility. Your admission that the definite, clearly proved instance establishes the rule, makes the evidence complete, man being one kind of being. It doubtless appears to you, Mr. Wondon, from what has already been said, that I believe in a personal God. The state- ments of Scripture are so self-evident on this subject, that I wish that point, or to know if you are prepared to raise a question on whether you accept of the pointed declarations of the Bible to the effect that man was made in the image of God, and that Christ hav- was in the "express image" of the Father's "person." Christ ing come into the world, showed himself to be in the same form as. of his Father, the man, and as he was in the [personal likeness Father, the Son and man are similar in personal form. But Eternal I shall if the position of Scripture upon this point be questioned, at once proceed to give abundant proofs of it. — Mr. Wondon. I raise no question upon that subject. Al- of faith" though it does not coincide with the Protestant "articles

• Jeremiah 1 : 5.

—

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in relation to the Godhead, it is evidently in accord with what has

been revealed. Doubtless Mr. Tudor is prepared to interrogate you upon what to me appears remarkably clear as you have eluci- dated it. Mr. Tudor. —Have you anything to present, aside from scrip- ture, tending to support the theological theory that man is dual a spirit within a physical body? — Mr. Tree. Psychologists do not take a positive position upon this question- They have been unable to decide it. There is one quality, however, — that of memory which they hold does not appear to belong to physical matter. It is virtually admitted that

there is something within man —the intelligent part—that is not physical. There is a class of evidence upon this point, however, which, although not scientific, ought not to be lightly thrown aside —the testimony of a host of credible witnesses throughout the ages who have asserted that they have seen the disembodied spirits of men, as tangible to the sight as if in mortality, and in the form of man. This evidence has not come exclusively from religious people, but has likewise proceeded from persons who had no belief on the subject until meeting the experiences which gave them the information. Mr. Tudor. —You have shown very clearly the position of revelation in regard to man's ante-mortal existence. I desire other evidence. The subject is decidedly interesting. Mr. Tree. —Bishop Joseph Butler, author of "The Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed, to the Constitution and Course of nature," in reasoning analogically upon the indestructibility of the intelligent part of man and the certainty of a future life, sup- ported the theory of man's pre-existence. He perhaps did this unwittingly. His arguments in favor of a future life are self- evidently logical. The editor of the revised edition of 1893, of the work named, introduces the following interpolation: An objection has been raised against Bishop Butler, to the effect that his arguments, when fairly carried out, tend to prove a pre-existent eternity, as well as a future one. We will grant this; and yet this fact does not invalidate the point on which he lays the great- est stress — our future eternity of existence." Schopenhauer, a German philosopher, commenting upon the

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theological speculations of his day as to what would be the character of the future life of man, said: "After death you will

be what you were before your birth." He probably did not believe in an after life, as he likely had no idea of a former existence. But the principle he wished to exhibit was, that if there were no pre-existent life there would be no life following this. Logically it would be proper to assume from such a premise, that if there were a past life there would also be a future one. If the one could not be without the other, the axiom is strongly in favor of a prior existence, because of the reasonable certainty, even aside from scriptural evidence, that the process of death cannot put an end to such a being as man. It can be shown with conspicuous clearness that such an extinguishment of the most glorious and — progressive organism under God would be one of the most stupendous violations of the law of economy, natural and divine,

that could be perpetrated. But this theme necessarily belongs to a future stage of our enquiry. Professor Tyndall and Mr. Dallinger have, by scientific experi- ment, proved, beyond doubt, that the theory of the spontaneous generation of life is a fallacy. They have demonstrated that no life can appear without antecedent life.

The late Henry Drummond, scientist and theologian, in his

celebrated work— "Natural Law in the Spiritual World," maintains that there are no two sets of laws, but that those which govern in the spiritual world, project downward into the natural. He there- the fore announces, on the basis of the scientific discovery of correctness of biogenesis, that there is no spiritual life without antecedent spiritual life. Although he does not directly apply his conclusion with sufficient breadth to include man as a pre-existent organism, it logically harmonizes with the statements of revelation on that subject. He says: "At the beginning of natural life, we find that natural life can only come from pre-existent natural life;

and in the beginning of spiritual life, we find that spiritual life can

only come from pre-existent spiritual life." Yet more pointedly in favor of the pre-existent theory of revelation is the following, from the same author: "The lines of and it was natural to expect that when the spiritual existed first, to frame the the 'Intelligence resident in the unseen' proceeded

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material universe, he should go upon the lines already laid down. He would, in short, project the higher laws downward, so that the natural would become an incarnation, a visible representation, a working model of the spiritual." No antecedent form of spiritual life could conform to this statement of the case with such perfect harmony as the spiritual life delineated by revelation — an antecedent world inhabited by intelligent spiritual organisms in the form of man, who thought, acted and progressed, and who, for the purpose of gaining new experiences and obtaining additional facilities for development, came down into the physical world. This is indeed "An incarna- tion, a visible representation" of the "spiritual." It is not "a working model," but a migration of spiritual organisms to, and a genuine incarnation in the physical world, the antecedent spiritual life being in an advanced condition of development in its original sphere.

At this point, Mr. Tree stated that a pressing business en- gagement necessitated a suspension of the discussion of the subject until another interview, when he expected to exhibit further evi- dence of the relationship of man to his Maker, and to introduce some of the declarations of modern revelation upon the subject of man's pre-existence. After settling upon a date for the next interview, the trio separated.