Joseph Smith as Scientist: A Contribution to Mormon Philosophy Part 3

No matter how often trials are made, the above results are obtained; and today it is safe to a.s.sert that in the material world no relation of cause and effect, once established, has failed to reappear at the will of the investigator. As this principle of the constancy in the relations between cause and effect was established, the element of chance in natural phenomena, with its attendant arts of magic, had to disappear. It is now well understood by intelligent persons that the law of order controls all the elements of nature.

It is true that the cause of any given effect may, itself, be the effect of other causes, and that the first cause of daily phenomena is not and probably cannot be understood. It is also true that very seldom is the mind able to comprehend why certain causes, save the simpler ones, should produce certain effects. In that respect we are again nothing more than Plato's cave prisoners, seeing the shadows of ultimate realities. However, the recognition of the principle of the invariable relation between cause and effect was a great onward stride in the intellectual development of the world.

[Sidenote: Laws of nature are man's simplest expression of many related facts.]

Now, as men began to investigate nature with her forces, according to the new light, numerous relations of the forces were discovered--in number far beyond the comprehension of the human mind. Then it was found necessary to group all facts of a similar nature, and invent, if possible, some means by which the properties of the whole group might be stated in language so simple as to reach the understanding. Thus came the laws of nature.

For instance, men from earliest times observed the heavenly bodies and the regularity of their motions. Theories of the universe were invented which should harmonize with the known facts. As new facts were discovered, the theories had to be changed and extended. First it was believed that the earth was fixed in mid-s.p.a.ce, and sun and stars were daily carried around it. Hipparchus improved this theory by placing the earth not exactly in the center of the sun's circle.

Ptolemy, three hundred years later, considered that the sun and moon move in circles, yearly, around the earth, and the other planets in circles, whose centers again described circles round the earth.

Copernicus simplified the whole system by teaching that the earth rotated around its axis, and around the sun. Keppler next showed that the earth moved around the sun in certain curves termed ellipses.

Finally, Newton hit upon the wide-embracing law of gravitation, which unifies all the known facts of astronomy.[A] All the earlier laws were correct, so far as they included all the knowledge of the age in which they were proposed, but were insufficient to include the new discoveries.

[Footnote A: See The Grammar of Science, Pearson, pp. 117, 118.]

Laws of nature are, therefore, man's simplest and most comprehensive expression of his knowledge of certain groups of natural phenomena.

They are man-made, and subject to change as knowledge grows; but, as they change, they approach or should approach more and more nearly to the perfect law. Modern science is built upon the a.s.sumption that the relations between cause and effect are invariable, and that these relations may be grouped to form great natural laws, which express the modes by which the forces of the universe manifest themselves.

[Sidenote: A miracle is a law not understood.]

In this matter, science is frankly humble, and acknowledges that the region of the unknown is far greater than that of the known. Forces, relations and laws may exist as yet unknown to the world of science, which, used by a human or superhuman being, might to all appearances change well-established relations of known forces. That would be a miracle; but a miracle simply means a phenomenon not understood, in its cause and effect relations. It must also be admitted that men possess no absolute certainty that though certain forces, brought into a certain conjunction a thousand times, have produced the same effect, they will continue to do so. Should a variation occur, however, that also must be ascribed to an inherent property of the forces or conditions, or the existence of a law not understood.[A] There can be no chance in the operations of nature. This is a universe of law and order.

[Footnote A: The Credentials of Science, the Warrant of Faith, Cooke, pp. 169, 170.]

[Sidenote: Joseph Smith taught the invariable relation of cause and effect.]

Were it not for the sake of the completeness of the argument running through these chapters, it would be unnecessary to call attention to the fact that Joseph Smith in a very high degree held views similar to those taught by science relative to cause and effect, and the reign of law.

From the beginning of his career, the Prophet insisted upon order, or system, as the first law in the religion or system of philosophy which he founded.[A] Moreover, the order which he taught was of an unchangeable nature, corresponding to the invariable relation between cause and effect. He wrote, "There is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated; and when we obtain any blessing from G.o.d, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated."[B] No text book in science has a clearer or more positive statement than this, of the fact that like causes have like effects, like actions like results.

The eternal nature of natural law is further emphasized as follows:

[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 28:13; 132; 8.]

[Footnote B: Doctrine and Covenants, 130:20, 21.]

"If there be bounds set to the heavens, or to the seas: or to the dry land, or to the sun, moon or stars; all the times of their revolutions; all the appointed days, months, and years, and all the days of their days, months, and years, and all their glories, laws, and set times, shall be revealed, in the days of the dispensation of the fullness of times, according to that which was ordained in the midst of the Council of the Eternal G.o.d of all other G.o.ds before this world was."[A]

[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 121:30-32.]

Those who may be inclined to believe that this doctrine was taught in a spiritual sense only, should recall that Joseph Smith taught also that spirit is only a pure form of matter,[A] so that the principles of the material world must have their counterparts in the spiritual world. Besides, in the last quotation reference is made to such material bodies as sun, moon, and stars. In other places, special mention is made of the fact that the material universe is controlled by law. For instance:

[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 131:7.]

"All kingdoms have a law given: and there are many kingdoms; * * * *

and unto every kingdom is given a law; and unto every law there are certain bounds also and conditions. * * * * And again, verily I say unto you, he hath given a law unto all things by which they move in their times and their seasons; and their courses are fixed; even the courses of the heavens and the earth, which comprehend the earth and all the planets."[A]

[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 88:36-33, 42, 43.]

This also is a clear, concise statement of law and its nature, which is not excelled by the definitions of science. There can be no doubt from these quotations, as from many others that might be made, that Joseph Smith based his teachings upon the recognition that law pervades the universe, and that none can transcend law. In the material world or in the domain of ether or spirit, like causes produced like effects--the reign of law is supreme.

[Sidenote: "The law also maketh you free."]

Certainly the claim cannot be made that Joseph Smith antic.i.p.ated the world of science in the recognition of this important principle; but it is a source of marvel that he should so clearly recognize and state it, at a time when many religious sects and philosophical creeds chose to a.s.sume that natural laws could be set aside easily by mystical methods that might be acquired by anyone. In some respects, the scientific test of the divine inspiration of Joseph Smith lies here.

Ignorant and superst.i.tious as his enemies say he was, the mystical would have attracted him greatly, and he would have played for his own interest upon the superst.i.tious fears of his followers. Instead, he taught doctrines absolutely free from mysticism, and built a system of religion in which the invariable relation of cause and effect is the cornerstone. Instead of priding himself, to his disciples, upon his superiority to the laws of nature, he taught distinctly that "the law also maketh you free."[A] Herein he recognized another great principle--that freedom consists in the adaptation to law, not in the opposition to it.

[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 98:8.]

However, whatever else the Prophet Joseph Smith was, he most certainly was in full harmony with the scientific principle that the universe is controlled by law.

THE CONSt.i.tUTION OF THE UNIVERSE.

Chapter VI.

THE NEW ASTRONOMY.

[Sidenote: The laws of the motions of the heavenly bodies have been learned very slowly.]

From the dawn of written history, when the first men, watching through the nights, observed the regular motions of the moon and stars, humanity has been striving to obtain a correct understanding of the relation of the earth to the. First it was believed that the sun, moon, and stars revolved in circles around the earth (which for a time was supposed to be flat instead of spherical). The great Greek philosopher, Hipparchus, after observing the movements of the heavenly bodies, suggested that the earth was not exactly in the middle of the circles. Three hundred years later, Ptolemy discovered a number of facts concerning the movements of the sun, moon and planets, which were unknown to Hipparchus, and which led him to suggest that the sun and moon move in circles around the earth, but that the planets move around the earth in circles, whose centres again move around the earth. This somewhat complex theory explained very well what was known of astronomy in the days of the ancients. In fact, the views of Ptolemy were quite generally accepted for 1300 years.

About 1500, A. D., Copernicus, a Dutch astronomer, having still more facts in his possession than had Ptolemy, concluded that the simplest manner in which the apparent movements of the sun, moon, and planets could be explained, was to a.s.sume that the sun is the center of the planetary system, and that the earth, with the moon and planets, revolves according to definite laws around the sun. This theory, supported by numerous confirmatory observations, was generally accepted by astronomers, and really did explain very simply and clearly many of the facts of planetary motion.

Fifty years after the death of Copernicus, the celebrated astronomer, Kepler, proposed extensions and improvements of the Copernican doctrine, which made the theory that the planets revolve about the sun more probable than ever before. He suggested first that the planets move around the sun in closed curves, resembling flattened circles, and known as ellipses. By a.s.suming this to be true, and a.s.sisted by other discoveries, he was also able to state the times required by the planets for their revolutions around the sun, and the velocity of their motions at different times of the year. Later investigations have proved the great laws proposed by Copernicus and Kepler to be true; and from their days is dated the birth of modern astronomy.

[Sidenote: The law of gravitation is universal and explains many of the motions of celestial bodies.]

After the laws of the motions of the planets had been determined, it was only natural that men should ask themselves what forces were concerned in these motions. The ancient philosophers had proposed the idea that the sun attracts all heavenly bodies, but the suggestion had not been accepted by the world at large. However, after the discoveries of Kepler, the English, philosopher Newton advanced the theory that there is in the universe an attractive force which influences all matter, beyond the limits of known s.p.a.ce. He further proved that the intensity of this force varies directly with the product of the attractive ma.s.ses, and inversely, with the square of the distances between them--that is, the greater the bodies the greater the attraction; the greater the distance between them, the smaller the attraction. This law of gravitation has been verified by repeated experiments, and, taken in connection with the astronomical theories of Copernicus and Kepler, has made celestial mechanics what they are today.

By the aid of the law of gravitation, many astronomical predictions have been fulfilled. Among the most famous is the following incident:

In the early part of the last century, astronomers noticed that the motions of the planet Ura.n.u.s did not agree with those derived from calculations based upon the law of gravitation. About 1846, two investigators, M. Leverrier, of France, and Mr. Adams of England, stated, as their opinion, that the discordance between theory and observation in the case of the motions of Ura.n.u.s, was due to the attraction of a planet, not yet known, and they calculated by means of the law of gravitation, the size and orbit of the unknown planet. In the fall of 1846, this planet was actually discovered and named Neptune. It was found to harmonize with the predictions made by the astronomers before its discovery.

During the days of Newton, the question was raised if the celestial bodies outside of the solar system obey the law of gravitation. Among the stars, there are some which are called double stars, and which consist of two stars so near to each other that the telescope alone can separate them to the eye. In 1803, after twenty years of observation, William Herschel discovered that some of these couples were revolving around each other with various angular velocities. The son of William Herschel continued this work, and many years later, he discovered that the laws of motion of these double stars are the same as those that prevail in the the solar system.[A] This result indicated not only the universality of the law of gravitation, but also the probability that all heavenly bodies are in motion.

[Footnote A: History of the Inductive Sciences, Whewell, 3rd ed. Vol.

I, pp. 467-469.]

[Sidenote: The invention of the spectroscope laid the foundation of the new astronomy.]

Then, early in the nineteenth century, a new method of research began to be developed, which was destined to form a new science of astronomy. It had long been known that white light when pa.s.sed through a gla.s.s prism is broken into a colored spectrum, with colors similar to those observed in the rainbow. Now it was discovered that when white light pa.s.ses through vapors of certain composition, dark lines appear in the spectrum, and that the position of the lines varies with the chemical composition of the vapors. By the application of these principles, it was shown, towards the middle of the last century, that the chemical composition of the heavenly bodies may be determined.

Later,it was discovered that by noting the positions of the dark lines in the spectrum, it could be known when a star or any heavenly body is moving, as also the direction and amount of its motion. These unexpected discoveries led to a study of the heavens from the spectroscopic point of view, which has resulted in a marvelous advance in the science of astronomy.

[Sidenote: All heavenly bodies are in motion.]

It has been determined that all heavenly bodies are in motion, and that their velocities are great compared with our ordinary conceptions of motion. Most of the stars move at the rate of about seven miles per second, though some have a velocity of forty-five miles, or more, per second. Many stars, formerly thought to be single, have been resolved into two or more components. The rings of Saturn have been proved to consist of small bodies revolving about the planet in obedience to Kepler's law.[A] Cl.u.s.ters of stars have been found that move through s.p.a.ce as one body, as possible counterparts of the planetary system.[B] It has been demonstrated, further, that the sun itself, with its planets, is moving through s.p.a.ce at a very rapid rate.

Professor Simon Newcomb, perhaps the greatest astronomer of the day, says, "The sun, and the whole solar system with it, have been speeding their way toward the star of which I speak (Alpha Lyrae) on a journey of which we know neither the beginning nor the end. During every clock-beat through which humanity has existed, it has moved on this journey by an amount which we cannot specify more exactly than to say that it is probably between five and nine miles per second. The conclusion seems unavoidable that a number of stars are moving with a speed such that the attraction of all the bodies of the universe could never stop them."[C] In brief, the new astronomy holds that all heavenly bodies are in motion, and that the planetary system is but a small cl.u.s.ter of stars among the host of heaven. Further, it has weighed the stars, measured the intensity of their light, and determined their chemical composition, and it affirms that there are suns in the heavens, far excelling our sun in size and l.u.s.tre, though built of approximately the same elements.