THE SIXTH SENSE.
[Sidenote: The six senses, need help to reorganize many phenomena of
nature.]
The five senses are the great gateways through which all the knowledge
in man's possession has been obtained. Examine the matter as we may,
the truth of this statement persists. By seeing, hearing, smelling,
tasting and feeling, only, is man brought into contact with external
nature and himself, and is furnished material upon which the intellect
can act. True it is, that the sense of feeling may be divided into a
number of poorly known sub-senses, of which that of touch is the best
known, but, probably, these are very nearly related, and we may still
maintain the existence of the _five_ senses of man.
Wonderful as these senses are, yet, in the presence of many natural
phenomena, they are very weak, and require help, in order that the
operations of nature may be recognized. Take, as an illustration, the
refined sense of sight. Light, coming from a distant star, is readily
recognized; the same quantity of light coming from a house, half a
mile distant, is even more distinctly sensed by the eye. In both these
cases, though the light is recognized, the sensation is not so sharply
defined as to produce a distinct image of the star or of the house. To
make the images of distant objects distinct, the telescope has been
invented; and this instrument is a most important aid to the sense of
sight. The microscope is a similar aid to the eye, by which the
lightrays coming from minute objects are so bent and arranged that the
object appears magnified, and may be sensed in its details by the eye.
The ear-trumpet is a similar device for collecting, concentrating and
defining sound waves that ordinarily would be, to the ear, a confusion
of sounds. The ear-trumpet is a mighty help to the sense of hearing.
The light which passes through the lenses of the telescope and
microscope, is the light which is ordinarily recognized by the eye.
The instruments effect no change in the light; they merely arrange the
waves so as to produce a clear and distinct outline of the objects
from which the light comes. Likewise, the sound waves entering the
ear-trumpet are in nowise changed in their essential nature, but are
simply rearranged or concentrated to produce a more definite
impression on the ear. Instruments similar to those here mentioned are
the simplest aids to man's senses.
With respect to many forces of nature, the unaided senses of man are
helpless. The subtle force of magnetism, for instance, appears
incapable of affecting directly any of the senses. A person may hold a
powerful lodestone in his hand and feel no influence different from
that coming from a piece of sandstone. A person may work near a wire
carrying a current of electricity, and, though it is well known that
peculiar conditions exist in the universal ether around such a wire,
yet, through his five senses, he may never become aware of the
existence of this current. A piece of uranium ore, as has been found
in recent years, emits various kinds of rays related to the now famous
X- or Roentgen rays, yet no indication comes directly through any of
the five senses that such is the case. In fact, men of science worked
with the ores of uranium for many years before discovering the
emission of ether waves. In the light which comes from the sun are
numerous forms of energy that do not directly affect the senses, and
therefore remained unknown for many centuries. Numerous other
illustrations might be quoted to show the existence of natural forces
that are beyond the direct recognition of man. In the great ocean of
the unknown, lie, undoubtedly, countless forces that shall never be
known by a direct action upon the senses of man.[A]
[Footnote A: The writer is aware of the beliefs held by many students
regarding the so-called touch sense, heat sense, magnetic sense,
electrical sense, spiritual sense, etc. So little is known of these
subdivisions of the sense of feeling, that they are not considered in
this popular writing. There is, moreover, no evidence that the
magnetic sense, as an example, if it exists, is a direct effect of
magnetic forces; it is as easily believed that the body somehow
converts magnetic forces, under certain circumstances, into other
forces that may be sensed by man.]
[Sidenote: The advance of knowledge requires instruments that convert
natural phenomena into intelligible forms. Thus the unknown is
revealed.]
As is well understood, however, even these apparently unknowable
manifestations of nature may be known, if proper aids be secured. In
every case the problem is this: To obtain some medium, be it natural
or manufactured, which transforms the unknown force into a known
force, that is capable of affecting the senses of man. The search for
such media is one of the most important labors of science. For
instance, sunlight has been known from the beginning of the human
race, and its nature has been studied by almost every generation of
thinkers. To the time of Newton, it was only white light--or little
more. Newton discovered that if a ray of white light be allowed to
fall upon a triangular prism or glass, it is dispersed or broken into
a number of colored rays known as the spectrum. All sunlight, passed
through a glass prism, produces this colored spectrum; and the colors
are arranged invariably in the same order; namely from violet through
the intermediate colors to red. By passing this spectrum through
another prism, white light is produced. Sunlight was thus proved to
consist of a number of kinds of colored light. The eye alone is
incapable of resolving white light into its elements: the glass prism
thus becomes an aid to the sense of sight, by which a new domain of
science is laid open to view.
Above the red end of the spectrum, obtained from white light, nothing
is visible, yet if a delicate thermometer be placed there, the
increase in temperature shows the presence of certain invisible heat
rays, and by moving the thermometer, it may be shown that the
invisible heat spectrum is longer than the light spectrum itself.
This, again, makes known to man a world that the five senses can
recognize only with difficulty; and in this case, the thermometer is
the necessary aid.
Even more interesting is the violet end of the spectrum. Like the red
end, it is invisible. In fact, for centuries it was believed that the
light spectrum represented the whole spectrum. During the last century
it was found that if a photographic plate be placed below the violet
end of the spectrum, it is affected by invisible light rays, which are
popularly denominated chemical rays. By placing the photographic plate
in various positions, it has been discovered that the chemical
spectrum is as long as the visible part. Since the days of Newton,
therefore, the known part of the spectrum of sunlight has been trebled
in length, and there is no certainty that all is now known concerning
the matter. In this particular, the photographic plate has become a
means of revealing an unknown world to the senses.
If a low tension current of electricity passes through a wire, it
cannot be sensed directly by man; but if a delicately adjusted
magnetic needle be placed above and parallel to such wire, the current
will turn the needle to one side and keep it there. The magnetic
needle then makes known the presence of a current of electricity which
has no appreciable effect upon any of man's five senses. Similarly,
the magnetic currents passing over the earth are not felt by man in
such a way as to be recognized, but a magnetic needle, properly
adjusted, will immediately assume an approximately north and south
direction, in obedience to the pull of the magnetic currents. In this
manner the magnetic needle, again, reveals to man the existence and
presence of forces that he cannot sense directly.
A piece of glass into which has been incorporated a small amout of the
element uranium, is an instrument which reveals many wonders of the
unsensed world. If the uranium glass be brought near the violet end of
the spectrum of sunlight, it immediately glows, because it has the
power of changing the invisible chemical rays into ordinary, white
light rays. With such an instrument, darkness can be literally changed
into light. Similarly, many of the class of rays to which belong the
X-rays, and which are dark to the eye, and do not directly affect any
of the other senses, are converted by uranium glass into visible rays.
This glass, then, becomes another means whereby the world which does
not directly affect our senses, may be made known.
The X- or Roentgen rays have been mentioned several times. It is
generally known that they have the power of passing through the body
and various other opaque bodies. The rays themselves are invisible,
both before entering and after leaving the body; moreover, they do not
affect any of the other senses of man. Were it not that the power is
possessed of changing these rays to light rays, man could know nothing
of the Roentgen rays. In fact, a screen, covered with powdered
crystals of a chemical compound known as barium platinocyanide, is
held behind the object through which the rays are passing, and the
moment they touch this substance they are changed to light rays, and
the screen glows. Or, instead, a photographic plate may be used, for
the Roentgen rays affect the materials from which these plates are
made. The screen of barium platinocyanide is, therefore, another means
for revealing the unknown world.
[Sidenote: "Tuning" to establish sympathetic vibrations is a form of
the aids for explaining the unknown.]
Such illustrations might be multiplied, but would add no strength to
the discussion. There is, however, another class of instruments which
enable the senses to recognize natural forces that do not act directly
upon the consciousness of man. If a musical note is produced on a
violin, near a piano, the piano string which is stretched or tuned
right, will give out the same note. The sound waves from the violin
penetrate the piano, and the string which is tuned to give out the
same note takes up the energy of the sound waves, and is set in
vibration, with the result that the same note is given out by the
piano. This is known as sympathetic vibrations. It is possible,
therefore, to make a piano give out any note within its range, without
any solid object touching the instrument. In the universal ether,
which surrounds and penetrates all things, are numberless waves of all
kinds, and of all vibrations. If the proper instrument be used, and
tuned aright, it is possible to separate from this tumult of waves any
desired kind or degree of wave motion, and to convert it into some
known form of energy, say electricity.
This principle is used in modern wireless telegraphy. Electric waves
are sent out by the operator with a certain rapidity. These waves
radiate into space, in all directions, and are lost, apparently, in
the confusion of myriads of other waves. Nevertheless, if the waves
are not by some chance totally destroyed, it is possible to obtain
them again, by the use of a receiving instrument which is tuned
exactly the same as that used by the operator, at the station where
the waves are sent out. A message sent from London may be received
anywhere on earth where the receiving instruments are tuned aright; at
the same time, if the peculiar note or vibration of the message is not
known, so that the receivers can not be tuned properly, the message,
though it be all about it, can never be received.
Such aids to our senses do not depend so much upon the nature of the
material, as upon the degree to which it is brought into sympathy with
the force to be recognized.
[Sidenote: With proper aids man's senses may discover the whole of
nature.]
Now, though our senses are imperfect, and recognize only a small part
of the phenomena of nature, yet it is very probable that, with such
helps as have been described, nothing in nature need remain forever
unknown. The means by which the forces of nature, that cannot be
sensed directly, are brought to man's recognition may well be named,
collectively, man's sixth sense.
The progress of science depends upon the discovery of aids to man's
senses; a new and vast field is invariably opened whenever a new aid
is discovered.
[Sidenote: Joseph Smith recognized the existence of media which render
the unknown, known.]
In the works of Joseph Smith, which teach that there is no real line
of demarkation between the natural and spiritual worlds, it would be
not surprising to find recognized the scientific principle, above
discussed, that by the use of proper instruments, the world outside of
the five senses, may be brought within man's consciousness.
According to the story of Joseph Smith, he was first visited by an
angel, September 21, 1823, when the Prophet was less than eighteen
years of age. Among other things, the angel told the boy that "there
was a book deposited, written on gold plates," giving an account of
the former inhabitants of the American continent; "also, that there
were two stones in silver bows--and these stones, fastened to a
breastplate, constituted what is called the Urim and
Thummim--deposited with the plates; and the possession and use of
these stones were what constituted 'Seers' in ancient or former times;
and that God had prepared them for the purpose of translating the
book."[A] This reference to the Urim and Thummim, and their purpose,
makes it clear that the Prophet, at the beginning of his career,
recognized (whether consciously or unconsciously we know not), the
existence of means or media by which things unknown, such as a strange
language, may be converted into forms that can reach the
understanding.
[Footnote A: History of the Church, vol. 1, p. 12.]
[Sidenote: The Book of Mormon was translated by such aids--the Urim
and Thummim.]
When the actual work of translation began, the Urim and Thummim were
found indispensable, and in various places the statement is made that
the translation was made, "by means of the Urim and Thummim."[A] On
one occasion, when the Prophet, through the defection of Martin
Harris, lost a portion of the manuscript translation the Urim and
Thummim were taken from him, and the power of translation ceased. Upon
the return of the instruments the work was resumed.[B] While it is
very probable that the Prophet was required to place himself in the
proper spiritual and mental attitude, before he could use the Urim and
Thummim successfully, yet it must also be true that the stones were
essential to the work of translation.
[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 10:1.]
[Footnote B: History of the Church, vol. 1, p. 23.]
[Sidenote: Revelations were received by such aids.]
The Urim and Thummim were not used alone for translation, but most of
the early revelations were obtained by their means. Speaking of those
days, the Prophet usually says: "I enquired of the Lord through the
Urim and Thummim, and obtained the following."[A] The "stones in
silver bows" seemed, therefore, to have possessed the general power of
converting manifestations of the spiritual world into terms suitable
to the understanding of Joseph Smith.
[Footnote A: History of the Church, vol. 1, pp. 33, 36, 45, 49 and
53.]
The doctrine of the use of the Urim and Thummim is in perfect harmony
with the established law of modern science, that special media are
necessary to bring the unknown world within the range of man's senses.
To believers in the Bible, the use of the Urim and Thummim can offer
no obstacles, and to those who possess a rational conception of
God--that he is the Master of the universe, who works his will by
natural means--it cannot be more difficult to believe that God's will
may appear through the agency of special "stones in silver bows," than
to concede that invisible ether waves, become luminous when they fall
upon a piece of uranium glass. The virtue possessed by the latter
glass is no more evident than is the virtue claimed by Joseph Smith to
be possessed by the Urim and Thummim.
It is a noteworthy fact that the Prophet does not enter into an
argument to prove the necessity of the use of the Urim and Thummim.
Only in an incidental way, as he tells the straightforward story of
his life, does he mention them; and with a simplicity that argues
strongly for his veracity, does he assume that, of course, they were
necessary and were used as he recounts. A shrewd imposter, building a
great theological structure as is the Church founded by Joseph Smith,
would have appreciated that difficult questions would be asked
concerning the seer stones, and would have attempted to surround them
with some explanation. Joseph Smith offers no defense for the use of
these instruments; neither does the scientist excuse himself for using
uranium glass, in the study of certain radiations.
[Sidenote: As the Prophet placed himself in tune with the unknown, he
became less dependent on external aids.]
The Prophet did not always receive his revelations by the assistance
of the Urim and Thummim. As he grew in experience and understanding,
he learned to bring his spirit into such an attitude that it became a
Urim and Thummim to him, and God's will was revealed without the
intervention of external means. This method is clearly, though
briefly, expressed in one of the early revelations:
Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would
give it unto you, when you took no thought, save it was to ask me;
but, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your
mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right, I
will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you
shall feel that it is right; but if it be not right, you shall
have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought,
that cause you to forget the thing which is wrong.[A]
[Footnote A: Doctrine and Covenants, 9:7-9.]
[Sidenote: The "testimony of the spirit" is scientific.]
The essence of this statement is that if a person will concentrate his
powers so as to come into harmony with God, truth will be revealed to
him; and is not that like the tuning of a coil of wire so that it can
take up the waves of certain lengths, that may be passing through the
ether? If an inert mass of iron can be so tuned, can anyone refuse to
believe that man, highly organized as he is, can "tune" himself to be
in harmony with the forces of the universe? The universal ether of
science is like the Holy Spirit, and the waves or energy of the ether
is like the intelligent action of that Spirit controlled by God. Heat,
light, magnetism, electricity, and the other forces, become, then,
simply various forms of God's speech, any of which may be understood,
if the proper means of interpretation is at hand.
In the Book of Mormon, the Prophet states that "When ye shall receive
these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal
Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye
shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in
Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the
Holy Ghost; and by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth
of all things."[A]
[Footnote A: Moroni 10:4, 5.]
This involves the principle discussed above. By placing oneself in
harmony with the requirements of the subject in hand, the truth must
become known, even as an instrument properly tuned must feel the
influence of the ether waves with which it is in harmony.
Again, then, the conceptions of the Mormon Prophet rise to equal
heights with the best theories of the scientists. In simple phrases,
apparently unconscious of the philosophical meaning of the doctrines,
Joseph Smith recognized the various means whereby man's senses may be
enabled to seize upon and comprehend the natural forces which to man's
unaided senses must remain unknown forever.
It cannot be justly claimed that the Prophet anticipated the world of
science in the recognition of this principle, but reading his works in
the light of modern progress, it cannot be denied that he placed a
greater value upon the aids to man's senses, with respect to the
subtle forces of the universe, than did any of his contemporaries.
That acknowledgment is a wonderful tribute to the powers of an
unlearned boy.
Evidence crowds upon evidence, and testimony upon testimony, until the
opposition of logic falls away; and Joseph Smith rises above the fog
of prejudice, a mighty prophet of our God.
THE FORCE OF FORCES.