Orson Pratt

“ We read that "the earth abideth a law of a celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation, and transgresseth not the law." This would seem to indicate that there is something connected with the earth itself, wherein it has an agency; and that because of the exercise of its agency, and keeping the law, it should be crowned with celestial glory. The materials out of which our earth is formed, are also governed by law. Not only the earth as an organized world, but the very materials themselves, are governed by laws. ”

“ It is not a law of blind materials which have no knowledge or life connected with them, or in them or round about them.
I have been speaking of bodies projected at different angles, and at the mean distance of our earth from the sun. But let us next go still further off into space. We can go away to the orbit of Jupiter, about four times our distance from the sun. Is there any law for projection or a law of velocity that would cause bodies to revolve in orbits, at four times our distance from the sun? Yes. What is the law! It must not have the same velocity that we have. ”

“ When our human machinery is out of order, he understands all about it; and he is the best physician that can be employed; and he also can be employed without money and without price. He imparts to this machinery his Holy Spirit which circulates through the whole body, and promotes health and strength in the individual. ”

“ Why will it not fall with the same velocity up yonder as here? Because the law which God has given in relation to these materials, varies in its intensity of force, according to some law of the distance from the central force. A body will fall, near the earth's surface, about 16 feet and one inch, in one second of time. You take it up 4,000 miles, and it will fall only about four feet in one second of time. This has been demonstrated by the action of the earth upon the moon which is nearly 60 times further from the earth's centre than we are. ”

“ All agents, free agents, who have light and knowledge to know how to act, how to discern good from evil, will be judged according to one law. They are not compelled to obey the law which they hear, but they can act according to their agency, either in obeying or disobeying, receiving the blessings of obedience or the fruits of disobedience. The Lord has given a great many laws, besides those which he has given to free agents, or to intelligent beings; but they differ in their nature, according to the condition and circumstances of the materials to which these laws are given. ”

“ Let God withdraw his law, or let him command adversely, and he will be obeyed; because he has the power thus to direct; and the intelligence which surrounds these materials, the spirit that is in and through all these things, would understand the command and act accordingly. In the same way the Lord heals the sick. He has made the tabernacles of the children of men, and he has organized them according to a law, so that every part of the human system is adapted to every other part. The blood flows through the arteries, and through the veins, and every part performs its proper functions. ”

“ These laws were given of God; and when we search into the laws, not of nature merely, but the laws of God, and the more we comprehend the laws by which materials are governed, the more we understand the laws of God and his operations in the universe.
The earth seems to take one continued course. It has an orbit. It does not deviate from this orbit, unless acted upon by some other force, which may cause some fluctuations or deviations from its apparently destined path. Some, in reflecting upon this might say, that the earth is obliged to follow this course. ”

“ The Latter-day Saints say, that the Lord of Hosts who has given us laws, adapted to our condition as free agents, has also given laws to these material worlds, by which they act and by which they are preserved for a great, and wise and good purpose, to sustain unnumbered myriads of animated beings, who are by numerous other laws adapted to these worlds, and enjoy life therein. ”

“ When any part or portion of this wonderfully constructed being, or, in other words, this almost perfect machine, becomes deranged or out of order, the same Being who first constructed man, with all the different organs, muscles, sinews and skin, can easily mend or regulate the same, and cause every part to work in perfect harmony with every other part, so as to impart health, and life, and vigor to the whole machinery. ”

“ In this ordinance there is more power than in all the medical ability in the world; for there are many diseases which baffle the skill of the wisest physicians, while by the laying on of the hands of the servants of God—not in their own name, but in the name of Jesus Christ—according to the directions given in the Scriptures, we have the promise that they shall be healed; that is, if they are not appointed unto death. ”

“ You would certainly think that a person was not much of a mechanic if, after he had constructed a beautiful clock, and it had run for several years, and got out of order—if when you applied to him for repairs he replied that he could not, you would be apt to say, "You made it in the first place: you certainly ought to know what is the matter, and you can repair and restore it to working order." ”

“ There must, then, have been some great supreme intelligence who organized these worlds and gave them laws of attractive force and adjusted velocities and thus produced the harmonious orbits which we have, and which will preserve themselves, unless interfered with by some extraneous force, for thousands of years to come. ”

“ He has an infinite number of laws; and he can work according to any of them, which are suitably adapted to the circumstances, so as to bring about his righteous purposes and wise designs according to his own good will and pleasure. ”

“ For instance, we will say, that the earth travels a certain distance in one second, which we will call unit distance or 18 miles in a second, in its orbit—we will call this distance one. We go four times further off than our earth is from the sun, and take the square root of four. ”

“ The Lord is a consistent Being in all his doings. He will not condemn the children of men, for not receiving something that they were ignorant of; but, if they are condemned at all, it will be for rejecting something that they have understood, or something that they might have understood, had they improved the opportunity. ”

“ It is, then, an intelligent power that encircles itself through, or over, or round about every particle or every atom, and these atoms act in accordance with the law that is ordained, and do not deviate from it unless commanded by the same authority that gave the law. The same Being, who gave the law to materials by which they act, can counteract the law. ”

“ Did the unconscious materials of nature come together, and undertake to consider this matter? Here are laws that are conducted with great intelligence,—intelligence too, that was not understood for several thousand years preceding the period of Newton. We have no account that the most civilized nations of the earth had any idea of the law of velocity depending on the inverse square root of the distance. Yet this law existed. whether understood by man or not ”