Science and the Mormon Doctrine of the Resurrection

SCIENCE AND THE "MORMON" DOCTRINE OF THE RESURRECTION By Dr. Joseph S. Amussen There is a "star-dust" in our bodies. A glorious substance that is an inheritance from a divine past. It is a material that is immortal and links the eternity of the past with that of the future. It is a "star-dust" which forms the intelligent and organizing principles which compose our real, individual bodies, and which clothes itself with the food substances we assimilate and use temporarily. Joseph Smith was the first to call attention to these particles of matter. He called them the fundamental parts of our bodies. It is interesting to note that scientists are approaching the same conception which was first given to the world by the Prophet. In this article statements made by the prophets of God and by men of science will be compared in an effort to show that science is beginning to support this doctrine of the resurrection as held by the Latter-day Saints. In dicussing the resurrection, Elder Orson Pratt remarked that man's body changes every seven years. The Prophet Joseph Smith who was present, then, made this statement: "There is no fundamental principle belonging to a human system that ever goes into another in this world or the world to come; I care not what the theories of men are. We have the testimony that God will raise us up, and he has the power to do it. If anyone supposes that any part of our bodies, that is, the fundamental parts thereof, ever goes into another body, he is mistaken." — History of the Church, vol. 5, p. 339. While reading The Romance of Chemistry, by J. Arthur Thompson, a I came across these words: "Some biologists hold the view that there is an 'ultimate molecule of life' hidden in the protoplasm, which holds the secret of the endless building up and breaking down. Sir Ray Lankester gives this 'supreme life stuff the name 'plastogen,' and says in regard to its workings that while they can be grouped with the chemical and physical qualities of other bodies, they so far transcend them in complexity and in immensity of result, (the whole creation of plant and animal life) that their appearance constitutes in effect, a new departure, a sudden and to us unaccountable acquirement." This corroborates the teachings of the Prophet, and indicates that men of science are beginning to recognize the doctrine of a "fundamental principle" of matter in our bodies; and some, to give it a name, refer to it in such terms as "the ultimate molecule of life," "supreme life stuff," and "plastogen." oOutlines of Science — The Romance of Chemistry, by Arthur Thompson, vol 3. p. 718.

702 IMPROVEMENT ERA Professor Thompson, in his Morse Lectures for 1924, further states: "With the naked eye we can see a frog's egg dividing into a ball of cells. It is a tenth of an incH in diameter, and with the help of a microscope we can watch the intricate maneuvers that are associated with cell division. Through a still better microscope we can see that the rodlets, or chromosomes within the nucleus of the cell are split longitudinally up the middle, so that each daughter cell gets ;> precise half of each rodlet, or chromosome, which consists of a row of microsomes like beads on a string. Beyond that we ' have not come to the units that are fundamental; the factors which carry the hereditary characters."'' While scientists thus indicate their belief in these fundamental principles of our bodies, yet th.y cannot find them, as professor Thompson admits: "In some cases we know a little about the behavior of these very important and extremely minute bodies; in some cases we can even make a shrewd guess at their size. But see them we cannot, and thus we get another illustration of the limit of the familiar saying, 'seeing is believing.' This inability of men of science to isolate these elements of our body organization wasi foretold by Brigham Young: "Matter may be divided into an infinitude of atoms, until they pass beyond the powers of the microscope to discover them, and the most skill- ful scientist who dwells upon the earth knows not whither they go. My position is, which I declare to the Latter-day Saints, it is beyond the power of man, without revelation from God, with all his science to know whether these particles that compose our bodies go into other creatures to form a component part of their bodies, or whether they merely pass into the already organized body to resuscitate it and contribute to its sustenance. I declare to the Latter-day Saints, and to all living upon the earth who have intelligence to understand that the particles that comprise the component parts of our bodies will never enter into other bodies to form the elements of their bodies, but these very identical particles that now compose our bodies will be resurrected and come together by the power of the trump of God and will re-unite and form the body — :xcepting the blood, which will not be necessary to our existence in an immortal state, and then be prepared to receive the spirit, preparatory to their exaltation." Professor Thompson further states that the conception that the body changes every seven years is only a guess and may not be true at all. This agrees with Brigham Young's teachings: "The question may be asked, Do not the particles that compose man's body, when returned to mother earth, go to make or compose other bodies? No, they do not. Some philosophers have asserted that the human body changes every seven years. This is not correct, for it never changes. That is, the substances of which it is composed do not pass off and other particles of matter come and take their places. Neither can the particles which have comprised the bodies of men become parts of the bodies of other men, beasts, fowl, fish, insects or vegetables. They are governed by a divine law, and though they may pass from the knowledge of the scientific world that divine law still holds, and governs and controls them." bScience and Religion, by J. Arthur Thompson, M. A., L. L. D., Charles Scribners, 1925.

SCIENCE AND THE RESURRECTION 703 We see then that the statements of the Prophet and the state- ments of the scientists harmonize. The Prophet declares: 1. That there are fundamental principles of matter in our bodies. 2. That these particles do not pass off and others come to take their places. 3. That the body does not change every seven years. 4. That science is powerless of itself to isolate and trace the funda- mental particles. Certain scientists state: 1. That there is an "ultimate molecule of life." a "supreme life stuff" that holds the secret of growth, heredity, the building up and breaking down of the tissues, and which is so intelligent and powerful in its actions "that their appearance constitutes in ef- fect, a new departure, a sudden and to us unaccountable acquire- ment." 2. That the concept that the body changes every seven years may not be true at all. 3. That even with the most powerful microscope science has failed to isolate these particles of matter, showing that to the present time Brigham Young's prophecy that science could not find them is true. 4. Like the Prophet the scientist calls these particles the fundamental units of our body. It is a tstimony of the truth of our Prophet's teachings that years ago they announced these things and that today science is en- dorsing them. Science can accompany revelation to the threshold of eternity. Beyond this it cannot go. Science cannot understand the fundamental parts, or know the destiny of life or what becomes of the fudamental principles of our bodies after death. If this is true, then it is just as reasonable to suppose that science cannot know the origin of life or the origin of the fundamental principles of organization of our bodies on this earth. Theories of men that attempt to explain either must, in the nature of things, be wrong for only revelation can give this knowledge. The prophet, advancing farther than science, tells us that these fundamental principles of our body will not be lost or enter into the body of any other living thing to become part of its body. That in the resurrection these elements will come together to form our new body and be clothed with immortality. From all these data, let us see if we can come to certain con- clusions as to the present state of our body and its relation to the resurrection. We have bodies that are composed of bone, muscle, fat, blood, lymph, nerves and tissues. In all these tissues there is a building up and breaking down of complex chemical compounds. These substances are made into tissues. They give form and beauty to the body, and also supply energy. They are derived from the elements in food, drink and air.

704 IMPROVEMENT ERA These are not the fundamental parts of the body, however, for they are used and then discarded, and new substances come to take their place. This is not true of the fundamental parts. They never change. A person may fast for a certain period of time, and become very emaciated, "lose flesh" we say. People may live on their own tissues until they become almost "skin and bone," yet they live and can, when fed again, regain their former form and weight. During the fast, the fundamental parts of the body are not lost, but only the tissues that are taken into the body temporarily. Therefore, we conclude- that there are two distinct classes of matter in our bodies: 1 . The fundamental parts or elements that give the body its organ- ization as such, and are never broken down or cast away in the natural course of events. 2. Nutritive substances, matter that is used by the already organized body to resuscitate it and contribute to its sustenance. This later substance is acquired from the food and water we eat and drink, and the air we breathe; matter used only temporarily and then eliminated. We are not promised this will return to us in the resurrection. It is the fundamental principles of the first classification that form our real body and which we have assurance will be resurrected. The nutritive substances have the same form, as a whole, as the body organization. So that if the fundamental parts were suddenly taken away from the rest, it would leave a shell that would probably, to all appearances, be the same body but without life. It is reasonable to suppose, however, that when we are resur- rected our immortal body will need food material just as does our natural body, although on a spiritual plane, and that it will have stored up in its tissues, matter that will be used temporarily, and eliminated just as is the case with our bodies at the present. Therefore, when a natural body is changed from mortality, "in the twinkling of an eye" and there is no decomposition in death, of the body, then it is also reasonable to suppose that the nutritional elements already in the body tissues will be changed to conform to the new conditions, and be used by the body just as it would be in this life. However, we are not promised that after the body has lain long in the grave and decomposition has taken place, that these nutritional elements will be restored, but only the fundamental principles, and then the body will receive nutritional materials in a way natural to it in its spiritual plane of existence. Paul evidently had this in mind when he spoke of the resur- rection: "But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou so west is not quickened, except it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not the body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or some other grain: but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body."

SCIENCE AND THE RESURRECTION 705 Edison, in answer to a question of what he thought the human soul to be, and if it is immortal, said: "I have stated many times, but no one understands, that man is not the unit of life; that he is as dead as granite; that the unit consists of swarms of billions of highly organized entities which live in the cells. I believe at times> when a man dies this swarm deserts the body — goes out into space — but keeps on earth and enters another, or last, cycle of life The swarms of entities are immortal." The fundamental principles of matter of the Prophet, the funda- mental units of matter of the scientist, the "entities" of Edison — all are one and the same — the divine "star-dust" of our bodies. This leads to another interesting conclusion. A being may be resurrected and yet the old shell of temporarily used matter be in existence on earth. For instance: His mummy may exist, yet the fundamental principles of the body be called out of it and clothed with immortality, and there be no difference in appearance of the mummy. We can see, then, how the resurrection could come upon us "like a thief in the night." Some of our friends may even now be re- ceiving eternal bodies, and we not know of it, because their bodies in the grave could appear the same to us, whether or not the funda- mental principles of matter were present or called out to form the new body. We conclude, therefore, that science and the natural man cannot know the resurrection. Only through revelation can 'such knowl- edge come to man. Santa Monica, Calif. Fairy Night Eastern skies are growing brighter, Silver clouds are lined with gold, Moon comes clad in golden armor As the Fairy Knight of old. Like a sleeping baby's breathing, Wafts the breeze through blossoms white, Bridal-wreathes and orange blossoms, Dainty fairies of the night. Gleaming in the silver moonlight. Softly moving in the breeze, Kissed by wand'ring, sprite-like moonbeams, Stealing through the sleeping trees. All the perfumed air seems magic, Touched by Fairy Queen's white hand. Misty blossoms, clouds and moonbeams Make a mystic fairyland! Scipio, Utah. NONA H. BROWN