John Andreas Widtsoe

“ How the earth first came into being has not yet been clearly revealed. From the first, however, the mighty forces which act today, have shaped and fashioned the earth and prepared it for man's habitation. Water, entering the tiny cracks of the rocks, and expanding as, in winter, it changed to ice, crumbled the mighty mountans; water, falling as rain from the clouds, washed the rock fragments into the low-lying places to form soil; the water in mighty rivers chiseled the earth with irresistible force, as shown by the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. ”

“ These eternal realities, no doubt, in their essence, lie beyond the full understanding of man, just as time and space transcend human understanding. This conception, carried far enough, leads to a gospel or life philosophy which is unshakable, because it rests upon eternal certainty. Without certainty, man is, in the great affairs of life, merely the driftwood of existence, moved hither and thither by the wind of doubt. ”

“ And still another student of the stars propounds the following questions: "Does there exist a central sun of the universe? Do the worlds of Infinitude gravitate as a hierarchy round a divine focus? Some day the astronomers of the planets which gravitate in the light of Hercules (towards which constellation the solar system is moving) will see a little star appear in their sky. This will be our sun, carrying us along in its rays; perhaps at this very moment we are visible dust of a sidereal hurricane, in a milky way, the transformer of our destinies. ”

“ Every personal philosophy makes the man the center. To love our neighbor equally well—"that's the rub." His will is not our will; his ways, not our ways. Yet, only by the progress of all, can each gain the greatest advancement. The fundamental conceptions of a universe filled with eternal matter and forces, and a host of individual intelligent beings, make it clear that only by complete harmony of all intelligent beings can the interests of each be served, in the work of subjugating, by intelligent conquest, the forces of universal nature. ”

“ Truth is truth forever. Scientific truth cannot be theological lie. To the sane mind, theology and philosophy must harmonize. They have the common ground of truth on which to meet.
Thus, on every hand, from the highest to the lowest, from the force of forces and the law of laws to the fundamental laws governing the operations of the universe, and the actions of the individual, the philosophy of the "Mormon" Prophet is consistently referred back to matter, energy and law. In its completeness, it transcends the philosophy of science. ”

“ The very essence of things must forever be the goal, towards which intelligence strives. Nevertheless, man also knows that to approach by slow degrees, but steadily, the full knowledge which gives unmeasured power over natural forces, is the way of progress. So he is content to let each day speak one new word of the unknown meaning of the universe.
The universe is one. All things in it are parts of one whole. The dominating spirit of the vastness of space and of its contents is the dominating spirit of the least part of that which constitutes the whole. ”

“ Along with this fundamental principle, science holds the doctrine of the indestructibility of energy. Matter of itself is dead and useless; it is only when it is in motion or in the possession of energy that it can take part in the processes of nature. Matter without energy is not known to man; however inert it may be, it possesses some energy. The ultimate particles of all things,—rock and plant, and beast and man—are in motion; that is, they possess energy. The immediate source of energy for this earth is the sun, though the ultimate source of universal energy is not known. ”

“ Man is at the head of the creations on earth. It is his duty to make proper use of them all. Whoever teaches that any part of the universe is not for the benefit of man, is in error.
**Man's Conquest of Nature.** It is the simplest of present-day doctrines that the vastness of nature makes it impossible for man to comprehend more than the minutest part of it. Yet, in the true philosophy of life, nothing is more certain than that the greatest mystery of nature may at some time be understood. The great purpose of man's existence is a complete understanding of all the mysteries of nature. ”

“ 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. ”

“ This wide dissemination of the truth, in all ages, explains the fact that practically every life philosophy proposed by man contains some of the truths of the Gospel. In every system of theology and in every sect there is a certain measure of truth, for all have drawn from the one fountain. All, no doubt, seek for truth, and believe that they have found it; but, in fact, they have only fragments, picked up here and there and worked into a system. The full truth must encompass the complete philosophy of man and the universe, including the authority to act for God in the working out of the Plan. ”

“ According to Darwin and his followers, man and animals advance. Only those who progress, persist; those who retrograde, die. Creation as a whole grows and develops, and must of necessity do so. By this law, the purpose of the earth and the universe is explained to be endless growth. The law of evolution is the great cementing law of science. Even so, in the philosophy of Joseph Smith, the doctrine is taught that all things advance; that man shall continue to advance, in intelligence, and all pertaining to it, until he shall become as God is now. ”

“ If so much work is done, so much time and energy expended and so much care bestowed upon the salvation of the dead, how much more should we help and support and love the living. The living must always be man's first concern. This principle, carried into our daily lives, means that we must continually and at our own sacrifice help each other. Then only will the sacrifice for the dead not be in vain.
Work for the dead is no doubt symbolic of the great universal law that things of the universe move onward together, not singly. ”

“ Thus, by countless experiments, it was finally determined that energy is indestructible; that, when any form of energy disappears, it reappears immediately in another form. This is the law of the persistence of force or energy. In more recent days, it has been suggested that all known forces are variations of a great universal force, which may or may not be known. The very nature of force or energy is not understood. In the language of Spencer, "By the persistence of force, we really mean the persistence of some cause which transcends our knowledge and conception." ”

“ It matters not then, to what a man give himself. In everything and anything may the riddle of the universe be read, if the search be continued long enough. Modest in his possessions, yet courageous in his hope of ultimate conquest, he stands before the things of his life, small or great, knowing of a surety that in them lie the truths that overwhelm the universe. ”

“ Certainly it is that these two men who historically hold the responsibility for bringing the Latter-day Saints here, did not know, by the world's learning, that the valleys of Utah are filled with the richest soil, waiting only to yield manifold to the husbandman; for the world did not yet know, and had no means for predicting it. These men were not scientists. They had no laboratories in which, by long hours, over long drawn fires, and among a hundred fumes, to draw out for themselves the law of the fertility of arid soils, which has but recently become the property of modern science. ”

“ The one way to draw out of life the keen joys of life, is to think little of tomorrow, but to live mightily today.
**Tomorrow.** Yet, surely, there will be a tomorrow. The sun sets, and we sleep, and we awaken to a new day. Forever there shall come new days. Today is our great day; but there will be another great, a greater day. What tomorrow shall be, depends measureably upon today. At least, the beginning of tomorrow will be as the evening of today. As we spend today, so will the hope of tomorrow be. The ages do not come in leaps, but step by step do they enter into the larger life. ”