--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - J. X. Allen collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 7 number: 9 published: 1904-07 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'J. X. Allen, "Suggestive Thoughts for the Mildly Skeptical," *Improvement Era* 7, no. 9 (July 1904): 680–683.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0709unse 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: improvementera0709unse start_page: 680 end_page: 683 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1904-07) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0709unse 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. --- # Suggestive Thoughts for the Mildly Skeptical SUGGESTIVE THOUGHTS FOR THE MILDLY SKEPTICAL. BY DR. J. X. ALLEN, OGDEN, UTAH. III. Whence does man derive his intelligence? There is an idea prevalent, among skeptics and agnostics, that man is the highest product of nature, that there exists no intelligences higher than man, in any world discovered or undiscovered, that there is not any being in existence that surpasses him in either mechanism or in mentality. Our forefathers believed that this earth was the all-important world of worlds, that the sun, moon and stars were all secondary; that is, were mere adjuncts to this earth, that they were made for our pleasure and convenience —mainly for light and ornamenta- tion. May it not be possible that the first proposition may turn out to be equally fallacious with the second? We now realize that in- stead of being the centre of the solar system, and of the universe, the earth, is on a map of the heavens, something like what a fly speck is on a map of the world, almost too insignificant for seri- ous consideration. As there are worlds hundreds, nay, thousands, of times larger than the earth, is it not possible, yea even probable, that those giant-orbs can be and are inhabited by beings as far in advance of us as we are in advance of the South Sea islanders? If there be anything preposterous in the idea advanced, I, for one, do not see it. And again, many of these mighty, distant worlds are allowed THOUGHTS FOR THE MILDLY SKEPTICAL. 681 to be many times older than is our earth. May not the occupants of those older worlds have a more extended experience than we have? We know that the arts and sciences advance from century to century with us; and, judging the unknown by the known, may we not, without doing violence to reason, suspect that an enlarged •experience in an older, and far more noble world, may result in a superior intelligence ? It is wonderful to contemplate upon the many and great ^changes that have taken place in the thoughts and ideas of men within the space of a few hundred years: When Sir Isaac Newton declared his belief that the sun was as much as five millions of miles distant from the earth, many astronomers thought that his mind was weakening. Five million miles! The distance was too great for the mind to conceive of. We now know that it is nearly twenty times that distance, and it is a very close neighbor, as com- pared with the great majority of the heavenly bodies. Bacteriology was in its infancy, but a short time ago. Today, the microscopist will show you living creatures, both animal and vegetable, a thousand times more minute than the ancients ever conceived of. It being demonstrated beyond all dispute that there are innumerable living creatures, thousands of times more minute than the ancients ever dreamed of, is it not strongly presumptive that there may be living intelligences many times our superiors? And now comes our question: Whence does man obtain his in- telligence, which is so very far in advance of that of all other earthly creatures? Let us look around for a short time. We have seen that there are signs of life and intelligence in the most — minute particles of matter, not necessarily conscious intelligence, but it is there all the same. Somebody has said that all life is the same, differing not in kind but in quantity. May it not be the same with intelligence? A man is not conscious when he is sound asleep, but he is alive, and will shrink from an irritant just as if he were awake. There is much talk just now about sub-consciousness. May there not be a sub-conscious state? May not a sleeping sub-conscious condition obtain in every molecule of matter, seeing that the molecules moor so precisely and methodically in forming crystals of the many ele- mentary as well as compound substances? Yet, we cannot con- ceive of man deriving his superior mind from the mineral kingdom. Neither can we conceive how it can come from the vegetable world; although we know the vegetable to be far in advance of the mineral kingdom. Do we, then, get our superior minds from the brute condition? Thousands of illustrations of animal intelli- gence can easily be called to mind, but it would be, simply, a waste of time and labor to cite them, as every man with a reflective mind knows full well that all good comes from above, and not from below. All life, whether animal or vegetable, is maintained by the supra-mundane trinity — air, rain and sunshine. I take it to be axiomatic that man's intelligence is no exception to the rule. I am aware that one man will tell you that our intellectuality isfrom parents through heredity, while another will say that it is absorbed or manufactured from the food we eat; while another, that it is condensed experience, and that environment is the chief factor in making us what v/e are. I leave these statements to the good sense of my readers, as a discussion of them would be too tedious for these pages. Right here let me propound a few questions, one question un- der varied circumstances. Did you ever know of a boy, wishing an education in the arts, mechanics or the classics, being put under the tutelage of a master more ignorant than himself? Are not children brought up by parents wiser than themselves? Do school- boards employ teachers less advanced then the pupils who are committed to their charge ? In every case, the good is from above. The food we eat is manufactured by the vegetable leaves out of the air, rain and sunshine, with a small admixture of mineral dis- solved in the soil by the waters from above. The very coal that warms us in winter is, metaphorically speaking, crystalized sun- light! The very dews of heaven that make our glorious country so fruitful and Eden- like, although their native home is the vast ocean, before they can administer to our lives and pleasures, are first lifted out of their native depths by the life-giving rays of the father of light, to an elevation miles above terra Jirma, whence they de- scend to happify the children of men. Do we exaggerate when we say that "all good comes from above?" I think not. You go to the spring for water, you know THOUGHTS FOR THE MILDLY SKEPTICAL. 683 that unless there exists a fountain of water higher than the spring, — you will come back as you went without the wherewith to quench your thirst. You know that the spring is but the short arm of an inverted syphon. Your city lady resorts to the hydrant to replenish your water pail; but, were there not a reservoir situated in a more elevated locality, you might twist the faucet until dooms- day, for all the good it would do you. Do you not think that the rule holds good with regard to the human intellect? I opine that there is, and of necessity must be, a fountain of intelligence as much higher than man, as the heavens are higher than the earth, else our efforts to exaltation would be vain indeed. This fountain of goodness we call God! hear some simple one asking: "If there be a God I think I who is so very wise and benevolently disposed, why does he not teach us more ? Why not advance us more rapidly in the scale of being?" etc. While I would not undertake to defend the Father of the human race, who is too powerful to need my feeble arm, nor would I presume to offer excuses for his conduct towards his chil- dren, he being too wise to need my infantile effort, yet, by way of suggestion, I will ask a question: Why don't you put your boy in pants while he is still an infant? Why doii't you start your child in the eighth grade, instead of in the Kindergarten? Why don't you put the roof on your house before you secure the foundation? Why don't you plant your grain before you prepare the ground, or why don't you grind your grain before it is ripe? And there are, 0, so many whys that I must stop, for eternity is too short to ask and answer one tithe of the whys, that spring up all around. Dear reader, I must apologize for so long a talk, but my ex- cuse is, if you will kindly accept it, I feel friendly toward you. God, who made you, loves you, and I want you to believe that he is, and be reconciled to him.