FAITH.
[Sidenote: Faith is the assurance of the existence of "things not
seen."]
For the government of the individual the first principle in Mormon
theology is faith. Joseph Smith defined faith in the words of the
Apostle Paul, "Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for; the
evidence of things not seen." To this the Prophet added "From this we
learn that faith is the assurance which men have of things which they
have not seen."[A] On this principle, with this definition, many young
persons who have ventured upon the sea of unbelief have wrecked the
religion of their childhood; for, the human mind, in some stages of
its development, is disinclined to accept as knowledge anything that
can not be sensed directly.
[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, Lecture I, verses 8, 9.]
Nowadays, the young doubter who can not accept as the foundation of
his religion "things which he has not seen," usually turns for comfort
and future growth to the results of science. There he finds truths
upon truths, glorious in their beauty and susceptibility to direct and
unmistakeable proof; and soon he declares that in so-called natural
science, there is no need of faith, for, if a person has only advanced
far enough, every concern of science may be known through one, two or
several senses.
[Sidenote: Such faith lies at the formation of science.]
It is true that in the beginning of science no faith seems to be
required; for every statement is based on experiments and observations
that may be repeated by every student; and nothing is "taken on
trust." As the deeper parts of science are explored, however, it is
soon discovered that in science as in theology, a faith in "things
that can not be seen," is an essential requisite for progress. In
fact, the fundamental laws of the great divisions of science deal with
realities that are wholly and hopelessly beyond the reach of man's
five senses.
[Sidenote: The molecules are beyond man's direct senses.]
An exposition of the fundamental conception of chemical science will
illustrate the nature of scientific faith. A fragment of almost any
substance may easily be divided into two or three pieces by a stroke
of a hammer. Each of the pieces may be broken into smaller pieces and
this process of division continued until the powder is as fine as
dust. Still, each particle of the dust may be divided again and again,
if we only have instruments fine enough to continue the process. A
question which philosophy asked itself near its beginning was: Is it
possible to keep on dividing the dust particles forever, or is there a
particle so small that it can not be divided again? Neither science
nor abstract philosophy has yet been able to answer this question
fully. However, science has learned that if such a process of division
occurs, in course of time a particle will be obtained which is so
small that if it is divided or broken, the fragments will no longer be
of the same nature as the original substance. These smallest particles
in which the properties of the original substance inhere, are known as
_molecules._ Thus a molecule of sugar, when broken, falls into the
elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen; of salt, into sodium and
chlorine and of water into hydrogen and oxygen.
The size of such a molecule can not be comprehended by the human mind;
its smallness seems infinite. The mortal eye, though aided by the most
powerful miscroscopes of modern days could not distinguish a sugar
molecule or even a pile of thousands of them; placed on the tongue,
there would be no sensation of sweetness; though it were hurled
against our body with the velocity of lightning we should not feel the
impact. To all our senses, the molecule is wholly unknown and no doubt
shall remain so while the earth is as it is. Yet, no fact is better
established than the existence of the realities that we interpret as
molecules. Their relative weights and other properties have been
securely determined. The existence of such a particle is as certain as
is the existence of the sun in the high heavens.
[Sidenote: Science teaches the composition of the directly unknowable
molecules.]
Not only does science teach the existence of molecules; it looks
within them and reveals their composition. For instance, a molecule of
the sugar known as glucose, and used by candy makers, is made up of
six particles of the element carbon, twelve of the element hydrogen
and six of the element oxygen. The particles of carbon in the glucose
molecule are so small that if one were divided it would no longer be
carbon; the same with the particles of hydrogen and oxygen: if divided
they would change into something else--into what is not yet known to
man. These smallest particles are called _atoms_ of the elements
charcoal, hydrogen and oxygen. If instead of an atom of carbon,
hydrogen and oxygen, we write C, H, O, the composition of a molecule
of glucose would be written C_{6}H_{12}O_{6}. These are also
indisputable facts of science. If the molecules are far beyond the
range of our senses, the atoms are of course much further removed from
the known world.
[Sidenote: Science teaches the arrangements of the atoms within the
molecules.]
But the chemist does not stop here. He is able to state accurately how
the invisible, unsensed atoms are arranged within the unknowable
molecule. In nature are found several glucose-like sugars, the
molecules of which contain the same numbers of carbon, hydrogen and
oxygen atoms. The varying properties of these sugars have been found
to result from the different arrangements of the atoms within the
molecules. The structure of the molecules of three of the most common
sugars are as follows:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I II III
DEXTROSE [A] LAEVULOSE [A] GALACTOSE [A]
H2=C-OH H2=C-O H H2=C-OH
| | |
HO-C-H H O-C-H HO-C H
| | |
HO-C-H H O-C-H HC-OH
| | |
H-C-O-H H C-O H HC-OH
| | |
HO-C-H C=O HO-CH
| | |
H-C=O H C=O H-C=O
----------------------------------------------------------------------
[Footnote A: Dextrose and laevulose combine to form ordinary cane or
beet sugar. Dextrose and galactose combine to form the sugar found in
milk.]
Referring to the above diagrams it will be observed that although each
arrangement contains the same number of atoms, yet, because of the
difference in arrangement, they are far from being identical. In fact,
the difference in the properties of the sugars may be referred to the
arrangement of the atoms in the molecules. This truth is one of the
most splendid achievements of modern science. All the facts, here
briefly outlined, are included in the atomic hypothesis, which is the
foundation of the modern science of chemistry.
[Sidenote: Science requires a strong faith in "things not seen."]
Science asks us to believe in the existence of particles, unknowable
to our senses, the molecules; then to believe in still smaller
particles, the atoms, which make up the molecules but whose relative
weights and general properties have been determined. Here, a faith is
required in "things that can not be seen," and in the properties of
these things. True, the scientist does not pretend to describe the
atoms in detail, he does not need to do that to establish the
certainty of their existence. He looks upon them as ultimate causes of
effects that he may note with his physical senses. Does theology
require more? Does any sane man in asking us to believe in God, for
instance, attempt to describe him in detail?
The scientist goes farther than this, however, for he asks us not only
to have faith in the invisible, untasteable, unfeelable atoms, but
also in the exact manner in which these atoms are arranged within the
molecule. True, it is claimed, only, that the relative arrangement is
known, yet the faith required still leads us far beyond the simple
faith in atoms. Has any man asked us to believe that he can describe
the structure of God's dwelling? No principle taught by Joseph Smith
requires a larger faith than this.
[Sidenote: The conception of the ether requires large faith.]
Not only in chemistry are such transcendent truths required. The
fundamental conception of physics requires, if possible, a larger
faith. The explanations of modern physics rest largely upon the
doctrine of the universal ether. This ether is everywhere present,
between the molecules and atoms; in fact the things of the universe
are, as it were, suspended in the ocean of ether. This ether is so
attenuated that it fills the pores of the human body without
impressing itself upon our consciousness, yet some of its properties
indicate that its elasticity is equal to that of steel. As shown in
chapter 5, the most eminent scientists of the day declare that the
existence of this world-ether is one of the few things of which men
may be absolutely sure. Yet the ether cannot be seen, heard, tasted,
smelled or felt. To our senses it has neither weight nor substance. To
believe the existence of this ether requires a faith which is
certainly as great as the greatest faith required by Mormon theology.
Numerous other illustrations might be cited, without greatly
emphasizing the truth that the great fundamental doctrines of science
require a great faith in realities that are beyond the reach of our
senses.
[Sidenote: Faith comes slowly and naturally.]
The great foundations of science have not come as a "great wakening
light," but have come slowly, through a process of normal, guided
growth. The first experiment was made, from which a simple conclusion
was drawn; the second experiment furnished a second conclusion; the
two results combined produced a third conclusion, and so on through
thousands of experiments and conclusions, until the brilliant
conceptions of modern science were attained. In short, the scientist
works very simply by careful observation of nature, "the earth and its
fullness," and by as careful reasoning from the observed facts. The
mind builds noble structures of the materials the senses bring. The
same method may be employed in gaining faith in the principles of
theology; and the Apostle Paul tells us distinctly that the
righteousness of God is revealed from "faith to faith," and that the
eternal power of God and the Godhead and "the invisible things of Him
from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by
the things that are made." The scientist, likewise, begins with the
things that are made and proceeds "from faith to faith," gaining "here
a little, and there a little," until a faith is reached which, to him
who has not followed its growth, may seem absurd in its loftiness.
[Sidenote: Science cannot progress without faith.]
Certainly, no man can progress in science unless he has faith in the
great inductions of scientific men. Faith is as indispensable for
scientific progress as for theological advancement. In both cases it
is the great principle of action.
This subject merits more extended discussion, but the exposition of
the nature of faith is outside the argument running through these
chapters. It must be sufficient to remark again that Mormonism is
strictly scientific in stating as the first principle of the guidance
of the individual, that of faith in unseen things; for that is the
basic principle for the beginner in modern science.[A]
[Footnote A: Read for a fuller exposition, We walk by Faith,
Improvement Era, Volume 3, p. 561.]