--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - John A. Widtsoe collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 7 number: 8 published: 1904-06 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'John A. Widtsoe, "Joseph Smith as Scientist. VIII," *Improvement Era* 7, no. 8 (June 1904): 561–569.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0708unse 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: improvementera0708unse start_page: 561 end_page: 569 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1904-06) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0708unse publication_year: 1904 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 1904, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Joseph Smith as Scientist. VIII Vol. VII. JUNE, 1904. No. 8. JOSEPH SMITH AS SCIENTIST. BY DR. JOHN A. WIDTSOE, DIRECTOR OF THE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION, LOGAN, UTAH. VIII— THE SIXTH SENSE. The five senses are the great gateways through which all the knowledge in man's possession has been obtained. Examine the matter as we may, the truth of this statement persists. By see- ing, hearing, smelling, tasting and feeling, only, is man brought into contact with external nature and himself, and is furnished mate- rial upon which the intellect can act. True it is, that the sense of feeling may be divided into a number of poorly known sub- senses, of which that of touch is the best known, but, probably, these are very nearly related, and we may still maintain the existence of the five senses of man. Wonderful as these senses are, yet, in the presence of many natural phenomena, they are very weak, and require help, in order that the operations of nature may be recognized. Take, as an illustration, the refined sense of sight. Light, coming from a dis- tant star, is readily recognized; the same quantity of light coming from a house, half a mile distant, is even more distinctly sensed by the eye. In both these cases, though the light is recognized, the sensation is not so sharply defined as to produce a distinct image of the star or of the house. To make the images of distant objects distinct, the telescope has been invented; and this instru- ment is a most important aid to the sense of sight. The micro- scope is a similar aid to the eye, by which the light-rays coming from minute objects are so bent and arranged that the object ap- pears magnified, and may be sensed in its details by the eye. The ear-trumpet is a similar device for collecting, concentrating and defining sound waves that ordinarily would be, to the ear, a con- fusion of sounds. The ear-trumpet is a mighty help to the sense of hearing. The light which passes through the lenses of the telescope and microscope, is the light which is ordinarily recognized by the eye. The instruments effect no change in the light; they merely arrange the waves so as to produce a clear and distinct outline of the objects from which the light comes. Likewise, the sound waves entering the ear-trumpet are in nowise changed in their essential nature, but are simply rearranged or concentrated to produce a more definite impression on the ear. Instruments similar to those here mentioned are the simplest aids to man's senses. With respect to many forces of nature, the unaided senses of man are helpless. The subtle force of magnetism, for instance, appears incapable of affecting directly any of the senses. A person may hold a powerful lodestone in his hand and feel no influence different from that coming from a piece of sandstone. A person may work near a wire carrying a current of electricity, and, though it is well known that peculiar conditions exist in the universal ether around such a wire, yet, through his five senses, he may never become aware of the existence of this current. A piece of uranium ore, as has been found in recent years, emits various kinds of rays related to the now famous X- or Roentgen rays, yet no indi- cation comes directly through any of the five senses that such is the case. In fact, men of science worked with the ores of uranium for many years before discovering the emission of ether waves. In the light which comes from the sun are numerous forms of en- ergy that do not directly affect the senses, and therefore remained unknown for many centuries. Numerous other illustrations might JOSEPH SMITH AS SCIENTIST. 563 be quoted to show the existence of natural forces that are beyond the direct recognition of man. In the great ocean of the unknown, lie, undoubtedly, countless forces that shall never be known by a direct action upon the senses of man.* As is well understood, however, even these apparently un- knowable manifestations of nature may be known, if proper aids be secured. In every case the problem is this: To obtain some medium, be it natural or manufactured, which transforms the unknown force into a known force, that is capable of affecting the senses of man. The search for such media is one of the most important labors of science. For instance, sunlight has been known from the beginning of the human race, and its nature has been studied by almost every generation of thinkers. To the time of Newton, it was only white light — or little Newton discovered that if a ray of white more. light be allowed to fall upon a triangular prism of glass, it is dis- persed or broken into a number of colored rays known as the spec- trum. All sunlight, passed through a glass prism, produces this colored spectrum; and the colors are arranged invariably in the same order; namely, violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red. By passing this spectrum through another prism, white light is produced. Sunlight was thus proved to consist of a number of kinds of colored light. The eye alone is incapable of resolving white light into its elements: the glass prism thus becomes an aid to the sense of sight, by which a new domain of science is laid open to view. Above the red end of the spectrum, obtained from white yet if a delicate thermometer be placed light, nothing is visible, there, the increase in temperature shows the presence of certain invisible heat rays, and by moving the thermometer, it may be * The writer is aware of the beliefs held by many students regard- ing the so-called touch sense, heat sense, magnetic sense, electrical sense, spiritual sense, etc. So little is known of these subdivisions of the sense of feeling, that they are not considered in this popular writ- ing. There is, moreover, no evidence that the magnetic sense, as an example, if it exists, is a direct effect of magnetic forces; it is as easily believed that the body somehow converts magnetic forces, under certain circumstances, into other forces that may be sensed by man. shown that the invisible heat spectrum is longer than the light spectrum itself. This, again, makes known to man a world that the five senses can recognize only with difficulty; and in this case, the thermometer is the necessary aid. Even more interesting is the violet end of the spectrum. Like the red end, it is invisible, and for centuries it was believed that the light spectrum represented the whole spectrum. During the last century it was found that if a photographic plate be placed below the violet end of the spectrum, it is affected by invisible light rays, which are popularly denominated chemical rays. By placing the photographic plate in various positions, it has been discovered that the chemical spectrum is as long as the visible part. Since the days of Newton, therefore, the known part of the spectrum of sunlight has been trebled in length, and there is no certainty that all is now known concerning the matter. In this particular, the photographic plate has become a means of revealing an unknown world to the senses. If a low tension current of electricity passes through a wire, it cannot be sensed directly by man; but if a delicately- adjusted magnetic needle be placed above and parallel to such a wire, the current will turn the needle to one side and keep it there. The magnetic needle then makes known the presence of a current of electricity which has no appreciable effect upon any of man's five senses. Similarly, the magnetic currents passing over the earth are not felt by man in such a way as to be recognized, but a mag- netic needle, properly adjusted, will immediately assume an ap- proximately north and south direction, in obedience to the pull of the magnetic currents. In this manner the magnetic needle, again, reveals to man the existence and presence of forces that he cannot sense directly. A piece of glass into which has been incorporated a small amount of the element uranium, is an instrument which reveals many wonders of the unsensed world. If the uranium glass be brought near the violet end of the spectrum of sunlight, it imme- diately glows, because it has the power of changing the invisible chemical rays into ordinary, white light rays. With such an in- strument, darkness can be literally changed into light. Similarly, many of the class of rays to which belong the X-rays, and which JOSEPH SMITH AS SCIENTIST. 565 are dark to the eye, and do not directly affect any of the other senses, are converted by uranium glass into visible rays. This glass, then, becomes another means whereby the world which does not directly affect our senses, may be made known. The X- or Roentgen rays have been mentioned several times. It isgenerally known that they have the power of passing through the body and various other opaque bodies. The rays themselves are invisible, both before entering and after leaving the body; moreover, they do not affect any of the other senses of man. Were it not that the power is possessed of changing these rays to light rays, man could know nothing of the Roentgen rays. In powdered crystals of a chemical com- fact, a screen, covered with pound known as barium platinocyanide, is held behind the object through which the rays are passing, and the moment they touch this substance they are changed to light rays, and the screen glows. Or, instead, a photographic plate may be used, for the Roentgen rays affect the materials from which these plates a^e made. The screen of barium platinocyanide is, therefore, another means for revealing the unknown world. Such illustrations might be multiplied, but would add no strength to the discussion. There is, however, another class of in- struments which enable the senses to recognize natural forces that do not act directly upon the consciousness of man. If a musical note is produced on a violin, near a piano, the piano string which is stretched or tuned right, will give out the same note. The sound waves from the violin penetrate the piano, and the string which is tuned to give out the same note takes up the energy of the sound waves, and is set in vibration, with the result that the same note is given out by the piano. This is known as sympathetic vibra- tions. It is possible, therefore, to make a piano give out any note within its range, without any solid object touching the instrument. In the universal ether, which surrounds and penetrates all things, are numberless waves of all kinds, and of all vibrations. If the proper instrument be used, and tuned aright, it is possible to sep- arate from this tumult of waves any desired kind or degree of wave motion, and to convert it into some known form of energy, say electricity. This principle is used in modern wireless telegraphy. Electric waves are sent out by the operator with a certain rapidity^ These waves radiate into space, in all directions, and are lost, ap- parently in the confusion of myriads of other waves. Neverthe- less, if the waves are not by some chance totally destroyed, it is possible to obtain them again, by the use of a receiving instru- ment which is tuned exactly the same as that used by the oper- tor, at the station where the waves are sent out. A message sent from London may be received anywhere on earth where the re- ceiving instruments are tuned aright; at the same time, if the peculiar note or vibration of the message is not known, so that the receivers can not be tuned properly, the message, though it be all about it, can never be received. Such aids to our senses do not depend so much upon the na- ture of the material, as upon the degree to which it is brought into sympathy with the force to be recognized. Now, though our senses are imperfect, and recognize only a small part of the phenomena of nature, yet it is very probable that, with such helps as have been described, nothing in nature need remain forever unknown. The means by which the forces of nature, that cannot be sensed directly, are brought to man's recog- nition may well be named, collectively, man's sixth sense. The progress of science depends upon the discovery of aids to man's senses ; a new and vast field is invariably opened whenever a new aid is discovered. In the works of Joseph Smith, which teach that there is no real line of demarkation between the natural and spiritual worlds, it would not be surprising to find recognized the scientific princi- ple, above discussed, that by the use of proper instruments, the world outside of the five senses, may be brought within man's consciousness. According to the story of Joseph Smith, he was first visited by an angel, September 21, 1823, when the Prophet was less than eighteen years of age. Among other things, the angel told the boy that "there was a book deposited, written on gold plates,'^ giving an account of the former inhabitants of the American con- tinent; "also, that there were two stones in silver bows and these — stones, fastened to a breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and Thummim— deposited with the plates; and the posses- JOSEPH SMITH AS SCIENTIST. 567 sion and use of these stones were what constituted 'Seers' in an- cient or former times; and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the book."* This reference to theUrim and Thummim, and their purpose, makes it clear that the Prophet, at the beginning of his career, recognized (whether consciously or unconsciously we know not), the existence of means or media by which things unknown, such as a strange language, may be con- verted into forms that can reach the understanding. When the actual work of translation began, the Urim and Thummim were found indispensable, and in various places the state- ment is made that the translation was made, "by the means of the Urim and Thummim."t On one occasion, when the Prophet, through the defection of Martin Harris, lost a portion of the manuscript translation, the Urim and Thummim were taken from him, and the power of translation ceased. Upon the return of the instruments, the work was resumed. $ While it is very probable that the Prophet was required to place himself in the proper spiritual and mental attitude, before he could use the Urim and Thummim suc- cessfully, yet it must also be true that the stones were essential to the work of translation. The Urim and Thummim were not used alone for translation, but most of the early revelations were obtained by their means. Speaking of those days, the Prophet usually says: "I enquired of the Lord through the Urim and Thummim, and obtained the fol- owing."§ The "stones in silver bows" seemed, therefore, to have possessed the general power of converting manifestations of the spiritual world into terms suitable to the understanding of Joseph Smith. The doctrine of the use of the Urim and Thummim is in per- fect harmony with the established law of modern science, that special media are necessary to bring the unknown world within the range of man's senses. To believers in the Bible, the use of the Urim and Thummim can offer no obstacles, and to those who pos- "^ History of the Church, vol. 1, p. 12. t Doctrine and Covenants, 10: 1. X History of the Church, vol. 1, p. 23. § History of the Church, vol. 1, pp. 33, 36, 45, 49 and 53 sess a rational conception of God — that he is the Master of the universe, who works his will by natural means — it cannot be more difficult to believe that God's will may appear through the agency of special "stones in silver bows," than to concede that in- visible ether waves, become luminous when they fall upon a piece of uranium glass. The virtue possessed by the latter glass is no more evident than is the virtue claimed by Joseph Smith to be possessed by the Urim and Thummim. It is a noteworthy fact that the Prophet does not enter into an argument to prove the necessity of the use of the Urim and Thummim. Only in an incidental way, as he tells the straight- forward story of his life, does he mention them; and with a sim- plicity that argues strongly for his veracity, does he assume that, of course, they were necessary and were used as he recounts. A shrewd impostor, building a great theological structure as is the Church founded by Joseph Smith, would have appreciated that would be asked concerning the seer stones, and difficult questions would have attempted to surround them with some explanation. Joseph Smith offers no defense for the use of these instruments; neither does the scientist for the use of uranium glass, in the study of certain radiations. The Prophet did not always receive his revelations by the as- sistance of the Urim and Thummim. As he grew in experience and understanding, he learned to bring his spirit into such an atti- tude that it became a Urim and Thummim to him, and God's will was revealed without the intervention of external means. This method is clearly, though briefly, expressed in one f the early reve- <. lations: Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought, save it was to ask me; but, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right, I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right; but if it be not right, you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought, that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong.* * Doctrine and Covenants, 9: 7-9. JOSEPH SMITH AS SCIENTIST. 568 The essence of this statement is that if a person will concen- trate his powers so as to come into harmony with God, truth will be revealed to him; and is not that like the tuning of a coil of wire so that it can take up the waves of certain lengths, that may be passing through the ether? If an inert mass of iron can be so tuned, can anyone refuse to believe that man, highly organized as he is, can "tune" himself to be in harmony with the forces of the universe? The universal ether of science is but the Holy Spirit, and the waves or energy of the ether is the intelligent action of that Spirit controlled by God. Heat, light, magnetism, electricity, and the other forces, become, then, simply various forms of God's speech, any of which may be understood, if the proper means of interpretation is at hand. In the Book of Mormon, the Prophet states that "when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost; and by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.'"'* This involves the principle discussed above. By placing one- self inharmony with the requirements of the subject in hand, the truth must become known, even as an instrument properly tuned must feel the influence of the ether waves with which it is in har- mony. Again, then, the conceptions of the Mormon Prophet rise to equal heights with the best theories of the scientists. In simple phrases, apparently unconscious of the philosophical meaning of the doctrines, Joseph Smith recognized the various means whereby man's senses may be enabled to seize upon and comprehend the natural forces which to man's unaided senses must remain un- known forever. It cannot be justly claimed that the Prophet anticipated the world of science in the recognition of this principle, but reading his works in the light of modern progress, it cannot be denied that he placed a greater value upon the aids to man's senses, with re- * Moroni 10: 4, 5.