The Lord instructed Joseph Smith and each of us to seek both spiritual and secular knowledge, to learn of "all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for [us] to understand; of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass" (D&C 88:78-79). Therefore, we should not be hesitant to pursue knowledge in all fields of endeavor, including fields of scientific inquiry. Joseph Smith was a strong advocate for acquiring knowledge, and an excellent example of doing it. In his teachings, the Prophet stated, "A man is saved no faster than he gets knowledge" (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith 217; hereafter TPJS), and "The principle of knowledge is the principle of salvation" (297). As Joseph well understood, we too must realize that all knowledge is not of equal value and "to be learned is good if [we] hearken unto the counsels of God" (2 Nephi 9:29).
We consider that God has created man with a mind capable of instruction, and a faculty which may be enlarged in proportion to the heed and diligence given to the light communicated from heaven to the intellect; and that the nearer man approaches perfection, the clearer are his views, and the greater his enjoyments. (TPJS 51)
Learning from God, the source of all truth, is essential. Indeed, as Brigham Young taught, "God has revealed all the truth that is now in the possession of the world, whether it be scientific or religious" (Journal of Discourses 8:162; hereafter JD), and on another occasion, he said "God is the author of the sciences" (18:359). Although Joseph Smith's calling was of a spiritual nature, God taught the Prophet both religious and scientific principles. Some of the "modern" scientific principles revealed to Joseph will be addressed in this paper, spanning from the law of health, applicable in our everyday world, to the space-time, energy-matter relationships in the relativistic world, to the quantum conditions of the microscopic world.
Concepts of Relativity
Einstein's theory of relativity is based upon a profound interrelationship between space and time (Resnick 3-38). All measurements of space and time depend upon relative motion. The principle of no absolute time was revealed to Joseph Smith in Doctrine and Covenants 130:4-5: "Is not the reckoning of God's time, angel's time, prophet's time, and man's time, according to the planet on which they reside? I answer, yes." The measurement of space and time differs for all observers who are moving through space and time with respect to each other. Anyone moving relative to us is in a different realm of time. We cannot speak meaningfully about space without implying time. Every object, every planet, every star, every galaxy, every person exists in a four-dimensional (four-vector) realm called the "space-time continuum" (Ridley 18-20, 42, 45).
According to Einstein's special theory of relativity, as an object moves by at high speeds, it contracts relative to a stationary observer in the direction of motion in both space and time. As it approaches the speed of light, its length in this direction becomes shorter and shorter, and its time becomes less and less, and at the speed of light, both theoretically disappear. For example, if a space traveler were to travel to the center of our galaxy and back at the speed of light, he would have experienced very little time lapse at all, whereas an observer on earth would have seen thousands of years pass. Thus, if spaceships were available to travel at relativistic speeds, a person could continually look into the future of the development of the earth by taking frequent flights (Hewitt 568-80).
Although most scientists believe that nothing can travel greater than the speed of light and still send out detectable signals, the search continues for such particles called "'tachyons'" (Hewitt 580). According to Einstein's relativistic equations, if a person were to travel faster than the speed of light, his space-time would be inverted relative to the space-time of an earth observer (Leighton 27-39; Bondi 129-46; Hewitt 360-86; Cook and Cook 77-80). In this high-velocity realm, space becomes time, and time becomes space. Joseph Smith was apparently familiar with this concept, since in the explanation of Fig. 1 for Facsimile no. 2 in the book of Abraham a situation like this occurs: "Kolob, signifying the first creation, nearest to celestial, or the residence of God. First in government, the last pertaining to the measurement of time. The measurement according to celestial time, which celestial time signifies one day to a cubit." This suggests the equivalence of time and distance and implies that one can be interchanged with the other.
In revelations to Joseph Smith more than 150 years ago, the framework of doctrine for understanding the theory of relativity is remarkably present. The equivalence of space and time in the celestial sphere is indicated in Doctrine and Covenants 3:2, "For God doth not walk in crooked paths, neither doth he turn to the right hand nor to the left, neither doth he vary from that which he hath said, therefore his paths are straight, and his course is one eternal round." This suggests that the shortest distance between two points in a 4-D world is a curved path, which is a basic concept of Einstein's general theory of relativity.
With respect to the concept of time, Joseph was familiar with Alma's teaching that "time only is measured unto men" (Alma 40:8). In Doctrine and Covenants 88:110, Joseph records, "there shall be time no longer," and in 84:110, "time is no longer." These statements refer to the end of man's mortal probation prior to the end of the Millennium, but might they also have further ramifications about the vanishing of time as suggested by Einstein's special theory when travel velocities reach the speed of light? Other statements in Doctrine and Covenants 88:109-10 and 84:100 may also suggest the vanishing of space as well.
The full possibilities of the theory of relativity involving infinite space-time contractions in a four-dimensional space is clearly evident in D&C 130:7, where Joseph Smith records that angels "reside in the presence of God, on a globe like a sea of glass and fire, where all things for their glory are manifest, past, present, and future, and are continually before the Lord." Speaking of God, Joseph also records, "He comprehendeth all things, and all things are before him, and all things are round about him" (D&C 88:41). Evidently, God is not limited by time and space as telestial man is limited. Being able to see the past, present, and future is a phenomenon associated with travel at very high velocities, approaching and exceeding the speed of light. These conditions are described only for the celestial glory. Although we, as telestial beings, may not comprehend some of these concepts, they are certainly food for thought and keys to further understanding.
Another remarkable result from the theory of relativity is Einstein's law of the equivalence of mass and energy, expressed by the famous equation E = mc2, where "E" is energy, "m" is mass, and "c" is the speed of light. Thus, mass and energy are interchangeable, as well as space and time. The classical law of the conservation of total energy becomes the conservation of mass-energy at relativistic speeds. With regards to this principle, Joseph Smith recorded:
Now, the word create came from the word baurau, which does not mean to create out of nothing; it means to organize; the same as a man would organize materials and build a ship. Hence we infer that God had materials to organize the world out of chaos—chaotic matter, which is element, and in which dwells all the glory. Element had an existence from the time he had. The pure principles of element are principles which can never be destroyed; they may be organized and re-organized, but not destroyed. They had no beginning and can have no end. (TPJS 350-52)
In Doctrine and Covenants 93:29, the Prophet also writes, "Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be." In addition, the Prophet taught, "There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine and pure" (131:7). Combining these teachings, "spirit element," also called intelligence, or the light of truth, has always existed. Through a spiritual birth, this light (energy attributes) is transformed into spirit bodies (pure, refined matter), but it cannot be created nor destroyed. In other words, any change in energy attributes corresponds to a change in mass. It seems the Prophet Joseph clearly understood and taught this principle.
Principles of Light and Quantum Mechanics
In addition to its central role in the theory of relativity, light plays a vital role in our everyday world and in the microscopic world. What is light? Where does it come from? What are its properties? Joseph Smith left us with many interesting insights about light.
Revelations to the Prophet point out that light, truth, intelligence, and spirit are all intimately related. For example, in Doctrine and Covenants 84:45, Joseph records "For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ." Thus, a better understanding of light involves a better understanding of truth and spirit. As already noted, Joseph also associates the primal element called "intelligence" with light:
Ye were also in the beginning with the Father; that which is Spirit, even the Spirit of truth. . . . He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things. Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be. (D&C 93:23, 28-29)
Similarly, in the King Follett Discourse, Joseph taught that our first existence in pre-mortality was as an intelligence:
The mind or intelligence which man possesses is co-equal with God himself. . . . I am dwelling on the immortality of the spirit of man. Is it logical to say that the intelligence of spirits is immortal, and yet that it had a beginning? The intelligence of spirits had no beginning, neither will it have an end. That is good logic. That which has a beginning may have an end. There never was a time when there were not spirits; for they are co-equal [co-eternal] with our Father in heaven. (TPJS 353)
As suggested in the previous section, a possible implication from these statements is that the intelligence of spirits is the spirit element from which spirit bodies were born (Abr 3:17-22). This spirit element is identified as the "light of truth," and since light shines or radiates outward from its source, intelligence apparently radiates truth, which is the "knowledge of things as they are, as they were, and as they are to come" (D&C 93:24). In addition, Joseph points out that intelligence is self-existent with God and cannot be created nor destroyed. However, it can evidently be magnified, and through a spiritual birth process, it becomes a spirit body, or "organized" intelligence (Abr 3:22-23).
Quoting again from Doctrine and Covenants 131:7-8, the Prophet taught that the spirit is made of fine or pure matter: "There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes; We cannot see it; but when our bodies are purified we shall see that it is all matter." Integrating these teachings of Joseph Smith from D&C 93, 131, and the King Follett Discourse, a reasonable conclusion is that the Lord organized spirit matter from light, or intelligence. Consequently, Joseph had some insight into the modern scientific concept of a fundamental relationship between light and matter.
In the revelation known as the "olive leaf" (D&C 88), which was given to Joseph Smith at Kirtland, Ohio, on 27 December 1832, the Prophet records "light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space—The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things" (D&C 88:12-13). This is a very profound, far-reaching statement. Light radiating from God is in all things, gives life to all things, and is the law that governs all things. Consequently, matter is governed by light, and condensed, normalized light vectors are the basic functions of quantum mechanics instead of probability distribution functions based upon the uncertainty principle (Cook and Cook 33-34). God, the super-intelligence of our order (Abr 3:19), radiates light and truth "in all things" and "through all things" (D&C 88:41).
The Savior Jesus Christ is the medium through which this light carrying truth is radiated to our part of the universe, and it is sometimes referred to as the "light of Christ":
He [Jesus Christ] ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things . . . that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth; Which truth shineth. This is the light of Christ. As also he is in the sun . . . and the power thereof by which it was made. As also he is in the moon, and is the light of the moon, and the power thereof by which it was made; As also the light of the stars, and the power thereof by which they were made; And the earth also and the power thereof, even the earth upon which you stand. And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlightenth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings. . . . He comprehendeth all things, and all things are before him, and all things are round about him; and he is above all things . . . and is round about all things; and all things are by him, and of him, even God, forever and ever. And again, verily I say unto you he hath given a law unto all things, by which they move in their times and their seasons. . . . And they give light to each other in their times and in their seasons.
The Lord has complete control over physical light, as well as its ability to enlighten the mind and quicken the understanding. Life itself is the result of special interactions of light in the organizations which God has created. The insights in these revelations given to Joseph Smith are truly inspiring and edifying, and we have only barely begun to understand them.
Through obedience to his Father, the Savior grew "from grace to grace, until he received a fulness" (D&C 93:13). He magnified his intelligence (or mind) until he was filled with light and truth and comprehended all things. Truth is "knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come" (D&C 93:24). This is the state of celestial glory "where all things for their glory are manifest, past, present, and future" (D&C 130:7), which as noted earlier, is possible in reference frames moving at great velocities relative to the speed of light. The Lord told Joseph that "the glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth" (D&C 93:36). "Truth shineth" (D&C 88:7), or radiates outward as light, to other intelligences to convey knowledge of what has been, what is, and what will be.
Following the pattern of the Savior, Joseph taught that those who seek and adhere to the truth and obey divine law will receive the light of truth: "And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things" (D&C 88:67).
This implies that by proper attunement to the source of truth, the knowledge and understanding carried by light from Christ can be absorbed by our bodies through a phenomenon analogous to quantum mechanical resonance. This attunement is like the light-matter interactions producing resonance phenomena in radio, television, and spectroscopy. When attuned to spiritual resonant frequencies through obedience, we receive more and more light (truth) until we are perfected. "That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day" (D&C 50:24). Similarly, the Prophet taught, "He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things" (D&C 93:28), and "the day shall come when you shall comprehend even God, being quickened in him and by him" (D&C 88:49).
Hence, from the teachings recorded by the Prophet Joseph Smith in Doctrine and Covenants 84, 88, 93, 130, and 131, we gain some understanding of light and of its role in (a) the microscopic (quantum) world, (b) the everyday world of learning and development, and (c) the relativistic world of high velocities. Light has been organized by God as the governing law of the universe and the matter in it. It is in all things.
Modern scientific disciplines, such as quantum (wave) mechanics, quantum electrodynamics, quantum field theory, and relativity, are all based upon relationships between light and matter. I have long thought that matter may be formed from light through a phase transition involving the Bose-Einstein condensation of light particles (Benson "Diagrammatic"; Benson, "Self-Consistent," 92-96). Obviously, Joseph Smith was familiar with many fundamental ideas of modern science over 150 years ago, which is truly remarkable.
Conclusions
By examining the writings and teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, we can conclude that God revealed many correct, profound, modern, scientific principles to him which are still being discovered and validated in the scientific world today.
Although he was a man of little formal schooling, the Prophet became familiar with numerous modern scientific principles, ranging from the microscopic quantum world, to the everyday classical world, to relativistic realms as he fulfilled his spiritual stewardship under the tutelage of God. His insights are being found valid today, and they give deeper understanding and provide many basic keys for extending our knowledge of modern scientific concepts. He spoke as a Prophet of God. He is a Prophet of God.
