--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Wootton, A. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 3 number: 5 published: 1900-03 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'A. Wootton, "Revelation by Works and Word," *Improvement Era* 3, no. 5 (March 1900): 335–337.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera35unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera35unse start_page: 335 end_page: 337 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1900-03) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera35unse publication_year: 1900 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1900, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Revelation by Works and Word REVELATION BY WORKS AND WORD. BY A. WOOTTON. "I don't believe in revelation," is an expression common enough in this age of boasted enlightenment and achievement, but it is difficult to conceive of any human knowledge that is not the result of revelation, either second-hand or direct from Deity. The learning of the schools is mostly second-hand knowledge, much of ithaving passed through many hands and consequently become much diluted by mere opinion. The knowledge that is obtained from nature by experiment and observation is far superior to that generally taught in the schools; still many of the schools are now adopting the laboratory method of instruction —that is, the pupil is brought into contact with nature that he may gain knowledge at first hand rather than taking for granted the statements of teachers or books. But, says one, "What has all this to do with revelation?" The answer is, much; for, as the piece of sculpture is only the expression of thoughts formed in the mind of the artist before he struck the chisel, so are all the forms and phenomena of created things the expression of the thoughts of the Creator; and every thought or feeling aroused in the mind of a little child by observation, or in the mind of the most profound philosopher by investigation and experiment, is only a reproduction of the thought of deity expressed in a handwriting more definite and intelligible than the combined powers of all languages of earth. "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard." (Psalm 19: 1-3.) 336 IMPROVEMENT ERA. The astronomer's heart swells with the contemplation of the grandeur of the heavenly bodies, and he experiences delight in observing the perfect harmony, yet diversity, of their movements. God is revealing to him through an unmistakable form of expression some of the thoughts and feelings experienced by him "in the beginning." When viewing the wonders displayed in the chemical or physical laboratory or through the microscope, man is only beginning to learn the alphabet of that language through which God designs to reveal the thoughts he experienced in the acts of creation. The melody and harmony produced by a proper arrangement and blending of musical sounds give joy to the cultivated ear, and cause wonder at the variety and sweetness produced thereby. When viewing the harmonious arrangement and blending of colors and the variety of form in the floral world, the human soul experiences a sense of extreme pleasure, which is intensified by cultivated power to interpret this language. The pleasant odor of flowers fills the soul with delight. All these are revelations to his children, in a slight degree, of the feelings Deity experienced when forming his plans, even before he carried the plans into execution and pronounced all things "good." All the oral or written language on earth could never cause one to realize the scent of the rose, the colors of the rainbow, the taste of an orange, or the sound of a musical instrument. God's spoken words by his own voice or by the voices of angels or prophets, are often misunderstood, not through his inability to give expression to his will, but through our mental incapacity to comprehend, and the inefiiciency of our language as a mode of expression for the thoughts of Deity; but his works are perfect modes of expressing his thoughts as far as man's capability to read them goes. Language has been inadequate to convey fully to man the personality and attributes of God and his relation to the human family, as is witnessed by the diversity of opinion on these subjects even among professed Christians of our own time. As men, through the medium of spoken language, failed to comprehend God, he manifested himself personally to Abraham and to Moses, and, in the meridian of time, sent his Son, a member of the God- REVELATION BY WORK AND WORD. 337 head, to take upon himself a body of flesh and bones. He died, rose from the tomb, manifested himself to his disciples, demonstrated to them that he had taken up the identical body that was nailed upon the cross, and with this body ascended into heaven in their presence; and, although he declared, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father," and Paul declared he was in the express image of the Father, still men will persist in declaring that God is without body, parts or passions. Such notions, fixed in the minds of the people for ages through the teachings of uninspired leaders, indicate plainly the necessity of a repetition in our day of concrete, visible revelation to disabuse the minds of mankind from these erroneous ideas, inasmuch as "this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." To meet this need, the Father and the Son both made themselves manifest to Joseph Smith, in bodily form, as two distinct, separate personalities, showing that they are not one in substance, but only in purpose, in design and in execution of the divine will. After this manifestation Joseph Smith knew more of the personality of the Father and the Son than he could have known by reading volumes of written works on the subject, even if written by those who knew; for knowledge received from others by oral or written language is second-hand at best, and is only belief on the part of the hearer or reader; while those things that are revealed from the Creator, the source of all intelligence, become knowledge independent of the veracity of any intermediate person. The testimony that comes to the true believer through the Holy Spirit is positive to the one receiving it, but no language can convey that testimony to another — must be experienced to be it understood.