THE PLAN OF SALVATION.
[Sidenote: Why am I on earth?]
In the preceding chapter the law of evolution was shown to be the
cementing law of nature, which explains the destiny of man. To live is
to change, and (if the change is right) to grow. Through all the ages
to come righteous man will increase in complexity and will grow
towards a condition of greater knowledge, greater power and greater
opportunity.
While the great law of evolution may be quite sufficient for the
general survey, it does not explain the special conditions amidst
which organized intelligences find themselves. Man asks, Why am I on
earth? Science is silent. Up to the present time, many scientific men
have not found it necessary to postulate an intelligent force behind
the phenomena of nature, which would explain our earthly existence.
The Mormon answer to this question lies in the Mormon doctrine of the
plan of salvation. There can be no attempt to harmonize the Mormon
plan with that of science, for science has none; but, that the Mormon
plan of salvation is strictly scientific, and rests upon the
irrevocable laws of the universe can certainly be demonstrated.
[Sidenote: Perfection comes only when matter, spirit and intelligence
are associated.]
Fundamental, in the doctrines of Joseph, is the statement that all
intelligence is eternal; and that God at the best is the organizer of
the spirits of men. The ether of science has been compared with the
Holy Spirit of Mormonism. The spirit body may be likened to an ether
body of man, and is the condition of his original existence. From the
original condition, at man's spiritual birth, under the law of
evolution he has steadily grown in complexity, which means in power.
In the universe are recognized ether or spirit, force or intelligence,
and matter. Matter may act upon the ether and the ether upon matter;
but ether acts most effectively upon ether, and matter upon matter.
The original man, in whom intelligence and other forces acted through
a purely spiritual or ether body, could impress matter and be
impressed by it only in part. The man was imperfect because he did not
touch directly the world of matter, and could know only in part the
phenomena of the material world, which forms an integral part of the
universe. In the words of Joseph Smith, "Spirit and element
inseparably connected, receiveth a fullness of joy, and when
separated, man can not receive a fullness of joy."[A]
[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 93:33, 34.]
For man's perfection, it then became necessary that his spiritual body
should be clothed with a material one, and that he should become as
familiar with the world of matter, as he had become with the world of
spirit. God, as the supreme intelligence, who desired all other
spirits to know and become mighty, led in the formulation of the plan,
whereby they should obtain knowledge of all the contents of the
universe.
[Sidenote: The fall of Adam necessary to perfect intelligence.]
For the purpose of perfecting the plan, a council of the Gods, or
perfected intelligences was called. It was decided to organize an
earth from available materials, and place the spirits on it, clothed
with bodies of the grosser elements. An essential function of
intelligence is free agency; and that the spirits might have the
fullest opportunity to exercise this agency in their earthly career,
they were made to forget the events of their spiritual existence. To
learn directly the nature of grossest matter, the earth bodies of
necessity were made subject to the process of the disintegration
called death.
To make possible the subjection of eternal, spiritual organized
intelligences to perishable, material structures, certain natural laws
would naturally be brought into operation. From the point of view of
the eternal spirit, it might mean the breaking of a law directed
towards eternal life; yet to secure the desired contact with matter,
the spirit was compelled to violate the law. Thus, in this earth life,
a man who desires to acquire a first hand acquaintance with magnetism
and electricity, may subject himself to all kinds of electric shocks,
that, perhaps, will affect his body injuriously; yet, for the sake of
securing the experience, he may be willing to do it. Adam, the first
man, so used natural laws that his eternal, spiritual body became
clothed upon with an earthly body, subject to death. Then in begetting
children, he was able to produce earthly bodies for the waiting
spirits.
According to this doctrine, the socalled Fall of Adam was
indispensable to the evolving of organized intelligences that should
have a complete acquaintance with all nature, and a full control over
their free agencies. If laws were broken, it was done because of the
heroism of the first parents, and not because of their sinfulness.
Mormon theology does not pretend to say in what precise manner Adam
was able to secure his corruptible body; neither is science able to
answer all the "whys" suggested by recorded experiences. The doctrines
of Joseph Smith maintain, however, that the events connected with the
introduction of organized intelligences on this earth, were in full
accord with the simple laws governing the universe. That the Mormon
view of this matter, so fundamental in every system of theology, is
rational, can not be denied.
[Sidenote: The atonement was in harmony with natural law.]
However, the bodies given to the spirits continued for only a few
years; then they were disorganized in death. Adam's work had been done
well. After the death of the mortal body, the spirit was still without
a permanent body of matter, that would complete his contact with the
elements of the universe. Therefore, it was necessary to bring other
laws into operation, that would reorganize these dead material bodies
in such a way that they would no longer be subject to the forces of
disorganization, death and decay. The eternal spiritual body, united
with this eternal material body, then constituted a suitable home for
eternal intelligence, whereby it might be able, under the law of
evolution to attain the greatest conceivable knowledge and power.
The personage who directed the laws that cancelled the necessary work
of Adam, and made the corruptible body incorruptible was the Savior,
Jesus Christ. As Adam, by his personal work, made the earth career
possible for all who succeeded him; so Jesus, by His personal work,
made it possible for the spirits to possess immortal material bodies.
Conditions that may be likened to the atonement are found in science.
Suppose an electrical current, supplying a whole city with power and
light, is passing through a wire. If for any reason the wire is cut
the city becomes dark and all machines driven by the current cease
their motion. To restore the current, the ends of the broken wire must
be reunited. If a person, in his anxiety to restore the city to its
normal conditions, seizes the ends of the wire with his bare hands,
and unites them, he probably will receive the full charge of the
current in his body. Yet, as a result, the light and power will return
to the city; and one man by his action, has succeeded in doing the
work for many.
The actual method by which Jesus was enabled to make mortal bodies
immortal, is not known to us. Neither can we understand just why the
shedding of the Savior's blood was necessary for the accomplishment of
this purpose. Like the work of Adam, the exact nature of the atonement
is unknown. Still, throughout this plan of Salvation, every incident
and accomplished fact are strictly rational. There is no talk of a
God, who because of his own will, and in opposition to natural laws,
placed man on earth.
[Sidenote: Earth life is a link in man's evolution.]
The presence of organized intelligences in earth is simply a link in
the evolution of man. The plan of salvation is the method whereby the
evolution of man is furthered. The intelligence who conforms to the
Plan, at last attains salvation, which means eternal life and endless
development, directed by the free agency of an organized intelligence
clothed with an incorruptible body of spirit and matter.
Can any other system of theology produce an explanation of the
presence of man on earth, which connects earthly life with the time
before and the time after, on the basis of the accepted laws of the
universe?
Flawless seems the structure reared by the Mormon Prophet. Had he been
an imposter, human imperfection would have revealed itself
somewhere.[A]
[Footnote A: It must not be assumed that in this chapter has been
given a full account of the Mormon doctrine of the Atonement. These
essays are not in any sense a full exposition of Mormon theology.]
THE REGION OF THE UNKNOWN.