--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Widtsoe, John A. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 9 number: 2 published: 1905-12 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'John A. Widtsoe, "Joseph Smith as Philosopher," *Improvement Era* 9, no. 2 (December 1905): 123–135.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0902unse 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: improvementera0902unse start_page: 123 end_page: 135 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1905-12) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera0902unse publication_year: 1905 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 1905, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Joseph Smith as Philosopher JOSEPH SMITH AS A MAN. 121 Washington, Lee, Greene, and other noted generals, are called great not because of their opportunities, but because of what they did in spite of lack of opportunities. Their true leadership con- sisted in the strength and devotion of their followers in the face of difficulties the most appalling. Judged from this standpoint, the work of Joseph Smith stands pre-eminent. As in the darkest night the dimmest stars are visible and brightest, so in the darkness of the times in which he labored, is the devotion of his followers the most manifest and touching. And the quality by which he held them to him, and deserved and gained their unfaltering trust and devotion, constituted him one of the world's greatest leaders. Whether personal magnetism, inherent strength and goodness, or inspiration, it is called, or all these together, Joseph Smith pos- sessed the quality of leadership to a marked degree. Of his naturalness and true humility, mention has already been made. This trait made him great in the work to which he was called; for, next to pronounced spirituality, it was the characteristic most needed to fit a man to stand at the head of the Latter-day Dispensation of the gospel. No task looking to the comfort and advancement of his people, was too menial for him to perform; no hardship too severe for him to share with his friends. In work and in play, in joy and in sorrow, in prosperity and in adversity, he was one of the people. Their hopes were his hopes, their hard- ships his hardships, their toil his toil, and his were their joys and their sorrows. 'He that is great among you, let him be the ser- ' vant of all. ' No leader has more nobly followed this admonition ' of Jesus, than Joseph Smith. A humble, submissive servant of God, he was, whenever occasion offered, the devoted servant of God's people. And this brings us to his great, crowning, overruling charac- teristic, the one which dominated all his work, and shaped not only his own life but the destiny of his people: — his spirituality and willingness to be guided by inspiration. It was a trait much needed in the age in which he lived and labored. The era of ma- terialism was setting in, and its influence was sweeping the land like a flood. The time was opportune for the coming of a man with the mission of restoring the true spiritual faith, and of leading men's minds to it. To perform this mission, he must himself incline 122 IMPROVEMENT ERA. toward the spiritual element in life, and be dominated by it. This requirement Joseph Smith met fully and perfectly. How well he was fitted for this great spiritual work, let the results of his lab- ors testify. And yet, we do not need to depend entirely upon his followers for a testimony of this wonderful trait in the character of our Prophet. A writer for the New York Herald, who saw Joseph Smith at Nauvoo, in 1842, speaks thus of him: In the present infidel, irreligious, ideal, geological, animal-magnetic age of the world, some such singular prophet as Joseph Smith is required to preserve the principle of faith, and to plant some new germs of civilization that may come to maturity in a thousand years. While modern philosophy, which believes in nothing but what you can touch, is overspreading the Atlantic states, Joseph Smith is creating a spiritual system, combined also with morals and industry, that may change the destiny of the race. We certainly want some such prophet to start up, take a big hold of the public mind —and stop the torrent of materialism that is hurrying the world into infidelity, immorality, licentiousness, and crime. This is a sincere tribute to the spirituality of Joseph Smith, from one, upon meeting him, who recognized that as one of his great characteristics. In the realm of the spiritual he labored. It was his natural element. From the fateful spring morning, when, in answer to his fervent prayer, he saw the spiritual efful- gence, and then looked upon the Father and the Son, through all the scenes of his life, he found his greatest work, and his chief solace in the spiritual. And in his communion with the heavenly beings who vouchsafed him visitations, and in his rapt contempla- tion of visions of glory, and in his enjoyment of the fulness of spiritual power, he manifested the highest, the greatest, the most blessed of all the traits God can give to his children, the power to comprehend the spiritual, and to enter into communion with it. An incomplete, unsatisfactory character-sketch of the man, Joseph Smith, is presented above. Indeed, it were difficult for any person to make a complete characterization of such a man as he. His character is portrayed in the work he founded; and as it grows and flourishes, and spreads its beneficence abroad, in it will be seen the reflection, more plainly than man can portray it, and growing clearer and brighter as the years roll on, of the wonderful per- sonality of the great leader, and the gentle, bold, and noble man who was its earthly founder. Salt Lake City, Utah. JOSEPH SMITH AS PHILOSOPHER. BY DR. JOHN A, WIDTSOE, DIRECTOR DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY. INTRODUCTION. In its broadest sense, philosophy includes all that man may- know of the universe — of himself and of the things about him. To be worthy of its name, a system of philosophy must possess certain comprehensive, fundamental principles, which, if clearly understood, make intelligible to the human mind any or all of the phenomena in the universe. The simpler these foundation prin- ciples are, the greater is the system as a philosophy. In the words of Spencer, 'Philosophy is knowledge of the highest degree of generality, " or "completely unified knowledge."* It is through the possession of general natural laws, around which all minor laws cluster and find explanation, that man ob- tains power over nature, and a full understanding of her ways. For example, it would be a herculean labor, involving infinite pains, to trace out in detail the motions of each heavenly body. If the law of gravitation is understood, it is really unnecessary to attempt such a labor, for the law of gravitation explains all the motions of planetary or stellar bodies. The law of gravitation is a philosophical principle of great generality. It is to be observed, that the great laws of nature are inferred only from a number of lesser laws that have been gathered by man. A generalization which is not built upon numerous confirm- atory observations, is at best an uncertain guess, which can be ac- cepted only when demonstrated to be correct by numerous isolated * First Principles, pp. 133 and 136. 124 IMPROVEMENT ERA. experiences. The rational philosopher proceeds from the many to the few; he groups and groups again, until the wide, fundament- al laws have been attained. In olden days, and at times today, this method was not pur- sued. A philosopher, so called, would assume that a certain state- ment or idea were true. Upon this idea an elaborate, speculative, philosophical superstructure was reared. If by chance, and the chance usually came, the fundamental notion were shown to be false, the whole system fell with a crash into the domain of untruth. It is the glory of modern science that by its methods, innu- merable facts, correct so far as present instruments and man's senses will allow, have been gathered; and, that present day philosophy is built upon these certain facts. The errors, if any exist, of this phi- losophy lie not in the foundation stones, but in the inferences that have been drawn from them. Modern philosophy rests upon the truths of the universe, and not upon the wild speculations of men. The purpose of this article is, first, to point out the general- izations that modern philosophy accepts as explaining all that hap- pens in the universe; then, to show that the fundamental doctrines laid down by Joseph Smith are identical with those of modern phil- osophy, and that in many cases the Prophet anticipated the scien- tists in the full and correct statement of many of these laws. If the argument is convincing, it will certainly be a strong evidence of the divine nature of the work of the Prophet Joseph Smith. For nearly six thousand years the philosophers of the world guessed at the fundamental truths of the universe, without hitting upon the truth as revealed by science. If Joseph Smith did succeed in building a true philosophy, as judged by the modern light of knowl- edge, he was certainly something more than the greatest thinkers of the age preceding him— he was inspired of God. As in other fields, so in the domain of philosophy, "Mormonism" will drive all other "isms" to cover. In no sense does this brief article at- tempt to outline thevy^hole of ''Mormon" philosophy. THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTION OF THE UNIVERSE. The philosophy of science, which is the basis of all rational philosophy, rests upon the doctrine of the indestructibility of mat- ter. According to science, matter cannot be destroyed, and it is — JOSEPH SMITH AS PHILOSOPHER. 125 unthinkable that it ever was created. True, matter may appear in various forms: the tangible coal may escape through the chimneys as an intangible gas; water may vanish into vapor; gold may unite with acids to form compounds entirely unlike gold. However, the weight of the coal in the gases passing through the chimney is the same as the weight of the coal fed into the stove; the water vapor in the air weighs precisely as much as the water that was in the vessel; the gold in the compound weighs the same as the metallic gold used; in every case matter has been changed into another form, but has not been destroyed. Along with this fundamental principle, science holds the doc- trine of the indestructibility of energy. Matter of itself is dead and useless; it is only when it is in motion or in the possession of energy that it can take part in the processes of nature. Matter without energy is not known to man; however inert it may be, it possesses some energy. The ultimate particles of all things, — rock and plant, and beast and man are in motion; that is, they pos- sess energy. The immediate source of energy for this earth is the sun, though the ultimate source of universal energy is not known. , Energy may appear in various forms, as light, heat, electricity, magnetism, gravitation and mechanical motion; and each of these forms of energy may be changed into any of the others. In every change, however, there is no loss, but simply a change of condi- tion. That which men call energy, the vivifying principle of mat- ter, is indestructible. It has never had a beginning, and shall never have an end. To the mind of man, however, a motion independent of some- thing in motion, is inconceivable. An ocean wave without water is nonsense. It is equally difficult to conceive of energy which is immaterial, passing from the sun to the earth, through empty space. There must be something between the earth and the sun, which carries the energy. Such reflections have led the thinkers to the belief that all space is filled with a subtle medium, now called the ether, through which energy passes in the form of waves. Every new discovery in science has tended to establish the correctness of this theory. Today, few doctrines of science are so well established as that of the universal ether. The ether is a refined kind of matter which fills all space, and permeates all 126 IMPROVEMENT ERA. things. It is in the table on which I write; in and through the ink; between the ultimate particles of the glass of the ink bottle. This earth, and all heavenly bodies, are simply suspended in the all-and- •ever-present ocean of ether. By the agency of the ether, energy is carried from the sun to the earth, and may be carried any- where in space. Light, heat, electricity, magnetism and gravita- tion are all various manifestations of ether motion. A word is spoken. The physical act of producing sound causes a disturbance in the ether, which is carried on in the form of ether waves. On through all space, radiating from the place where the word was spoken, they go. The spoken word can never die. The ether ocean has it in its keeping. Thus it is with all our earthly deeds. Marconi disturbs the ether with his instru- ments; the ether waves fly with lightning speed into the whole universe. With another instrument, properly tuned, anywhere on this earth, one of the escaping waves may be caught, and the mes- sage read. when the proper receiving instrument is dis- So, also, covered, may the spoken word be read. The ether ocean is an imperish- able and absolutely faithful record of all that happens in the universe. On these three doctrines, the indestructibility of matter, the indestructibility of energy, and the existence of the universal ether, rest primarily the explanations of the phenomena of nature. Hand in hand they stand, an almost perfect example of the greatness of the human mind. Does the religion founded by Joseph Smith rest upon the same or similar laws? "Mormonism" claims that it embraces all knowl- edge; that there is no essential difference between matter and spirit, between the physical and the spiritual. If so, that which is funda- mental in all external nature must be fundamental in theology. To the very beginner in ''Mormon" theology, it is a familiar fact that Joseph Smith taught that matter is eternal, and has not been nor can be created. Matter is coexistent with God. God, himself, is material, in the sense that his body is composed of a refined kind of matter. In the fundamental laws that underlie all nature, there is perfectharmony between science and "Mormonism." Few relig- ions can say as much. In most systems of theology, it is assumed that the ruling power, God, can create matter. In "Mormon" theology he can only organize it. JOSEPH SMITH AS PHILOSOPHER. 127 It is not quite so well understood that the doctrine of the inde- structibility of energy lies also at the foundation of "Mormon" theology, and was taught by Joseph Smith. It was clearly com- prehended by the Prophet and his associates that intelligence is the vivifying force of all creation — animate or inanimate— that rock and tree and beast and man, have ascending degrees of intel- ligence. The intelligence there spoken of by the Prophet corres- ponds fully with the energy of science. That the Prophet did not use the word current among scien- tific men at that time does not destroy the validity of this claim. Different words have no quarrel when they mean the same. The Prophet also taught that this intelligence fills all space, and that it may appear in various forms, such as heat, light, and electricity, and that it is eternal, and can neither be created nor destroyed. These are the very qualities assigned to energy by scientific workers. This doctrine and its coincidence with the doc- trine of science, appear marvelous, when it is recalled that the Prophet laid down these teachings in 1831, more than ten years before they were discovered by scientists, and a generation before they were generally accepted by the scientific world. The Prophet did not stop with the enunciation of these two fundamental doctrines. He declared that a refined medium, called the Holy Spirit, fills all space, whereby intelligence is conveyed from place to place. In the terms of Joseph Smith, the forces, of nature, such as heat, light and electricity, are simply various man- ifestations of the intelligence of the Holy Spirit; in the terms of science, of the energy of the universal ether. The parallelism is complete. The Holy Spirit, in "Mormon" theology, corresponds with the ether of science. This doctrine, too, was enunciated many years before the corresponding doctrines were established among men of science. The establishment of a system of theology which rests upon such perfectly scientific laws, of itself, if men would read with unprejudiced minds, would entitle Joseph Smith to a high position among the rational philosophers of earth. THE INVARIABLE LAWS THAT GOVERN THE INDIVIDUAL. On the basis of the fundamental laws, above defined, what does science require of its devotees? How does it affect the ac- 128 IMPROVEMENT ERA. tions of the individual? As in theology, the scientific worker must have faith in the principles that have been discovered. It is not possible in one lifetime for a man to repeat all the work of pre- ceding workers, to demonstrate the accuracy of their results. Much must be taken on trust; though at any time, should it be necessary, the earlier work may be repeated. Besides requiring faith in the principles discovered and enunciated by others, science demands that its every worker shall believe in things that lie far beyond the reach of man's senses. The universal ether can neither be felt, seen, heard, smelled, nor tasted, yet the phenomena of nature compel us to accept its existence as indisputable fact. The science of chemistry is built upon the theory that all matter is composed of ultimate particles of matter called atoms. So small are these particles, that man shall not be able in this life, to bring them within the reach of any of the senses. Yet thousands of well established facts of chemis- try tend to prove the existence of the atoms. In the faith of the scientist must be an absolute, unquestioning belief in realities that are represented to the human mind by the conception of atoms. The crystallographer, by a simple examination of a glass- like crystal, can state with certainty that the ultimate particles are built up in certain definite ways. These particles can never be seen by mortal man, yet no sane person, who studies the modern science of crystallography, fails to believe the correctness of the doctrines of the structure of crystals. Many other illustrations might be quoted to show that science demands a faith in unseen, and, as far as direct action upon our senses goes, unknowable things.Such faith is indispensable to the worker who accepts the results of modern science. It is also to be remembered that without faith in the conception of science, it is quite impossible to make any scientific progress. In theology, at least in the system established by Joseph Smith, a similiar faith is required of the individual. God and angels have been seen by very few individuals. These realities must be accepted by faith. In the words of the Prophet Joseph, "Faith is the assurance which men have of the existence of things which they have not seen, and the principle of action in all intelli- gent beings." With respect to the first principle of science and JOSEPH i^MITH AS PHILOSOPHER. 129 theology, ' 'Mormonism' ' is in entire accord with the best philosophy. The individual, whether scientist or theologian, must base his work on faith. The scientist who has acquired faith in a law of nature will no longer transgress that law. He will obey it. If he establishes the faith that a wire connected in a certain way with the electric dynamo cttrries a current sufficiently strong to destroy life, he will not wantonly seize that wire in his hands. Before this faith came to him, he probably came near losing his life, by the careless hand- ling of the charged wire. To conform to the laws of nature is scientific repentance. Faith in science or religion is a high form of intelligence and is opposed to ignorance. Repentance is the use of this intelligence for the benefit of man. In ' 'Mormonism' the second principle of action for the individual ' is repentance. If faith in God has been attained, and his laws have been made clear, the believer will no longer \nolate those laws; he will obey them. That is repentance. Not by a jot or tittle does this kind of repentance differ from the repentance taught by science. True, science does not speak of repentance, but it thinks it. In the matter of the great principle of repent- ance, governing the action of workers in science or theology, "Mormonism" is eminently sane and philosophical. Faith does not compel men to repent; but it is a necessary precedent. The man who does not repent in science or theology, after he has acquired faith, renders himself liable to injury and retards his own pro- gress. In the system of theology taught by Joseph Smith, baptism is the third great principle to be obeyed by the individual; that is, unless baptism follows faith and repentance, it is impossible to enter the kingdom of God. Many religious men, who can partly grasp the philosophical meaning of faith and repentance, fail to understand the necessity of baptism. To many, it is nothing more than an idle form which has no meaning. If, however, baptism is a true requisite for entrance into the Church of Christ, it must have its counterpart in all systems of true knowledge. Suppose that man has attained faith in electricity. He then resolves to refrain from violating any of the laws of electricity. Suppose, further, that he desires to produce a current of electric- 130 IMPROVEMENT ERA. itv. He winds wire around a piece of iron, and revolves it in the field of a magnet, and the current is produced. If the wire has not been wound in a certain definite manner, and has not been placed in the proper relation to the magnet, no current can be produced. The scientist may rail and object that it is all nonsense to insist that the work be done just so to produce the current. Nature is inexorable. The man to enter the kingdom of the elec- tric current must yield obedience to the order of nature; he must receive a scientific baptism. The chemist learns that the gas known as hydrogen is found in all acids, and may desire to obtain a supply of the gas. To do this he must bring the acid into contact with a suitable metal, such as zinc. The chemist may insist that he should get hydrogen by pouring the acid on wood. He soon finds that hydrogen may not be produced in that way. Inexorable nature again speaks up, ' 'To enter the kingdom of hydrogen, the acid must be thrown on a metal." The chemist obeys; hydrogen is evolved; the chemist has been baptized. The astronomer learns that a piece of glass ground according to the proper curvature will enaTale him to study the stars. The beginner says, "It is all nonsense to use a curved lens, I will use ' a piece of flat glass. ' He learns that nature never yields, and finally adopts the curved lens for his telescope. The young man has been baptized into the kingdom of the stars. The baptism taught by the theology of Joseph Smith is nothing more than obedience to law. Just why it is necessary to be buried in the water to enter the Church, perhaps no man fully knows. Nor does any one know just why the wire must be wound, just so, to produce the current of electricity, or the acid brought upon a metal to yield hydrogen, or glass be ground to a certain curvature to bring the stars nearer the human vision. Of one thing every thinker may be certain, that the essential principle of baptism is as necessary in science as in theology. In this matter also, then, Joseph the Prophet is eminently philosophical. The fourth principle in ''Mormon" theology teaches that after baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost is conferred which enlightens the mind, clears the intelligence, and brings man nearer the pres- ence of God. So also in science, to the man who obeys the laws ' JOSEPH SMITH AS PHILOSOPHER. 131 of nature, come greater power and intelligence, to him who winds the wire right, the electric current comes, with all its latent powers. To the chemist who throws acid on the metal, hydrogen is yielded, with which many wonders may be performed. To him who gazes into the heavens through a properly ground lens, many of the myster- ies of space are revealed. Thus is the Holy Ghost conferred in science; and thus, also, in a more subtle and greater degree is it conferred in the Church. The dogma of Joseph Smith and the teachings of science harmonize perfectly in the examination of the fourth fundamental principle of the philosophy governing the indi- vidual. So, one by one, the great principles of ''Mormon" theology may be shown to have a scientific, philosophical counterpart. It is a matter of great note that the philosophy of Joseph Smith com- pares so closely with the philosophy of nature. It is even more notable that the ''Mormon" prophet taught these things as absolute truth long before science had proclaimed many of them invariably correct. THE UNIFYING LAW OF LIFE. Without examining further the numerous principles of "Mor- mon" theology, let us investigate the law, under the influence of which the whole of creation moves, first according to science, and, ' secondly, according to ' 'Mormonism. It is becoming fairly well demonstrated that the ceaseless changes and transformations in nature cause a greater and greater complexity in nature. This in other words means that the earth and all on it are developing and progressing. According to Dar- win and his followers, man and animals advance. Only those who prosper persist; those who retard, die. Creation as a whole grows and develops, and must of necessity do so. By this law, the pur- pose of the earth and the universe is explained to be endless growth. The law of evolution is the great cementing law of science. Even so, in the philosophy of Joseph Smith, the doc- trine is taught that all things advance; that man shall continue to advance, in intelligence, and all pertaining to it, until he shall become as God is now. Meanwhile, our God will also increase in his fulness, and ever be a God to us. , Through this doctrine, all 132 IMPROVEMENT ERA. All the require- the principles of the Gospel are made coherent. ments of man have in view his eternal growth. Darwin suggested, and his followers have taught, that one class of creation, by the law of evolution, can pass into another class. No proof has been found for this teaching. Joseph Smith taught that every class of creation is subject to eternal progression within the sphere in which it has been placed. This is a rational view of evolution, and a view to which biologists are rapidly coming. Joseph Smith taught the law of evolution as an eternal truth, twenty or more years before Darwin published his views. It is certainly remarkable that the ''Mormon" Prophet should enunciate so clearly, in advance of science, the law of laws, which explains the destiny of man, and all pertaining to him. 'Mormon' and scien- ' ' tific philosophy are thus identical, with respect to the great, govern- ing, universal law. Joseph Smith is here also seen to be a sane philosopher, in full accord with the best that recent years have brought. THE FORCE OF FORCES. Above the law of laws is the force of forces — or the central force of the universe. Science has little to say of God. It is con- tent to accept the laws of nature as they are found. Yet, at times, in some branches of science, a knowledge of the beginning of things is desired. Usually science answers, "I do not know;" but it nevertheless affirms that there must be a central force, un- known and unnamed, to which the manifestations of all other forces may be referred. Science, which is essentially orderly, is chaotic when the question of the beginning of things is raised. The 'Mormon' Prophet left no such weakness in his philosophy. He, ' ' too, realized the necessity of a controlling universal force. This he named God. God is an organized, material being, filled with the form of energy known as intelligence. 'The glory of God is ' ' intelligence. ' All other forces of nature may be converted into intelligence; and from intelligence all other forces maybe obtained; God is the center of these forces, and their directing power. Be- cause of this centralization, nature is orderly. Natural laws are not, as supposed by some philosophers, accidental relations of phe- nomena, observed and recorded by man. The force of intelligence ' —