The following are excerpts from Toward a Mormon Metaphysics: Scripture, Process Theology, and the Mechanics of Faith by Andrew Miles. Words in brackets are my own:
... In this essay I will reference two persons in particular, John A. Widtsoe and Parley P. Pratt. Both of these men sought to create a grand narrative which explained God, the universe, and everything in it.[1] ...
... The Doctrine and Covenants records that “[m]an was . . . in the beginning with God,” then explains that “man is spirit.”[2] ... The Doctrine and Covenants also describes a second material existing alongside eternal spirits by stating that “[t]he elements are eternal, and spirit and element inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy.”[4] ... The Doctrine and Covenants also describes a third aspect of existence, something it calls “intelligence.” “Intelligence,” which it defines as “the light of truth,” is likewise eternal, for it “was not created or made, neither indeed can be.”[5] ... a later revelation declares that “[t]here is no such thing as immaterial matter” and hence “[a]ll spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes.”[6]
... In a book of LDS scripture, the book of Abraham ... [the] text describes Abraham as he learns the secrets of the universe from God. He is told that “there are two spirits, one being more intelligent than the other; there shall be another more intelligent than they; I am the Lord thy God, I am more intelligent than they all.”[7] Later in the same text, however, “intelligence” is used to indicate a distinct consciousness, a type of pre-mortal person. It records that Abraham saw “the intelligences that were organized before the world was,’ and then describes them as “souls” and “spirits” that have the characteristics of being “noble” and “good.”[8] Here “intelligence” is used to express the same idea typically conveyed by “spirit.” Hence the term is used both to refer to a type or primal, spiritual person and to describe the mental capacity of such beings.[9] ... As a synonym for “spirit,” it [an intelligence] refers to a type of being which is composed of the more fundamental material of matter, as noted earlier. Must we then conclude, despite references to the eternality of man, that the elements are the only permanent feature of the universe?
Here Smith’s non-canonical remarks provide useful clarification. On one occasion, Smith taught that “[t]he mind or the intelligence which man possesses is co-equal with God himself.”[10] This suggests a third way that the term “intelligence” can be used, namely as a referent to the cognitive capacities that constitute an individual’s personal essence (as opposed to her material spirit). According to Smith, it is the mind/intelligence of a person, not necessarily the material spirit, that is eternal.
... “Intelligence,” then, can refer to two different aspects of the universe, only one of which, the mindversion, can be considered fundamental. The other referent, the material spirit of a person, is composed of elements and hence cannot be a primary substance. ...
... once the terminological confusion is sorted through, it seems apparent that intelligence, defined as the eternally-existing mind or minds of persons, stand alongside the elements [spirit matter/atoms] as a type of primary material in the universe.
Two important Mormon thinkers, John Widtsoe and Parley P. Pratt, recognized the duality inherent in the fundamental components of the cosmos, and each formulated a metaphysics that sought to incorporate element and intelligence into a coherent narrative. Widtsoe’s approach is the more complete of the two and has had the greatest impact on mainstream Mormon thought. ...
... Matter, which Widtsoe uses interchangeably with the term “elements,” is paired with energy such that “[i]t is not conceivably possible to separate them.” Although Widtsoe is reticent to distinguish too concretely between the two (instead leaving open the possibility that matter is a form of energy or vice versa), he is clear that the two are invariably joined. He is more confident in positing that they are ultimately controlled by a universal intelligence ... he mentions the idea, if only to state that it cannot be affirmed, that “a degree of intelligence is possessed by every particle of energized matter,” an interesting approach that would suggest that the elements have a measure of thinking-capacity and lean more toward an conception of intelligence as being eternally individual. The second idea, which he seems more confident of, is that “energy is only a form of intelligence, and that matter and intelligence, rather than matter and energy, are the two fundamentals of the universe!”[13]
[The Will to Knowledge & Power]
In Widtsoe’s mind, the universe is governed by fixed laws, and primal persons develop by asserting their wills to learn and master the principles by which the cogs of the cosmos turn. This, in turn, increases their power, for as they understand more of the laws, they are better able to manipulate and utilize them.[14] God himself evolves by the same means, and his position as sovereign of the universe is a result of intense effort in ages past that resulted in “a conquest over the universe, which to our finite understanding seems absolutely complete.”[15] God, in turn, offers assistance to less advanced intelligences by conveying the knowledge that they need in order to progress more readily.[16] In the end, intelligences have the capacity to learn all the laws as did God, though “the understanding that will give [them] full mastery over nature will come little by little, yet,” Widtsoe predicts, “in the end, man shall know all that he desires.”[17] For Widtsoe, knowledge is the key development and power, and can be gained by any intelligence that exercises its will toward acquiring it.
Like Widtsoe, Parley P. Pratt envisions a cosmos in which intelligence and elements are fundamental, and in which the former exercises power over the later. In his words, “[t]he whole vast structure of universal organized existence, presents undeniable evidences of three facts, viz. – First. The eternal existence of the elements of which it is composed. Second. The eternal existence of the attributes of intelligence, and wisdom to design. Third. The eternal existence of power, to operate upon and control these eternal elements, so as to carry out the plans of the designer.” [18] Intelligence and power work in concert to form the elements into created works (persons, planets, etc.). In Pratt’s mind, the elements have innate “energies, attributes, or inherent powers” that are the basis for the “love, joy,” and similar emotions that intelligent spiritual beings (which we must remember are composed of matter) enjoy.[19] Presumably Pratt means that the combination of matter in certain ways allows such sentiments to be felt. Pratt does not indicate whether or not he endorses a view of intelligence as the mind of humans, co-eternal with God, for his use of the term in outlining the three fundamental facts of the universe describes intelligence as an attribute. He does adopt a more personal definition later on when he describes man as “an organized individual or intelligence,” but this description better fits the idea of “intelligence” being synonymous with a created and material “spirit.” In any event, he agrees with Widtsoe that these intelligences are meant to progress and are bound by laws, though he does not posit a metaphysical connection between the two, i.e. that laws facilitate advancement. On the contrary, he seems to see them almost as hurdles to be overcome. In his view, laws are imposed by God as a test of obedience. In the end, those pre-mortal persons who obey the laws of God will advance to a mortal probationary period, followed by a post-mortal interim of similar purpose. Having passed all of these tests, they will be placed in a position in which “all the elements necessary to [their] happiness . . . are placed within [their] lawful reach, and made subservient to [their] use.”[20] Having proven themselves worthy, dominance over the elements will be given to them, presumably by God. Thus while Widtsoe views laws as the metaphysicallyfixed mechanisms for advancement, Pratt sees them more as test of a person’s willingness to follow God. It is nonetheless significant that even with these differences, both thinkers fixed on elements and some understanding of intelligence as fundamental, and that both described a relationship of power between them.
... Widtsoe, at least, indicates that the concept of eternal laws provides a means by which the power dynamic can be understood, theorizing that intelligences that learn the laws will be able to manipulate the elements through their use. ...
MORMON METAPHYSICS AND PROCESS THOUGHT
... Fundamental to process [thought] understandings of the universe, unsurprisingly, is the idea that all reality is in process, or in other words, in a state of becoming. ...
... Process thinker C. Robert Mesle explains that for the simplest occasions – e.g. those making up electrons- the “capacity to ‘decide’” might be limited to a choice “between moving this way or that way.” As these simpler occasions combine into “societies of occasions,” more complex beings are formed which in turn develop “the capacity for moral thought and significant moral freedom.” ... Widtsoe states that “man in his primeval as in his present condition, possessing with all other attributes of intelligence, the power of will, exercised that will upon the contents of the universe. The reaction of the will upon the material universe within reach enabled intelligent beings, little by little, to acquire power. By the use of this will upon the contents of the universe, man must have become what he now is.”[26] For Widtsoe, the task of progression is one of domination, of attaining to “an intelligent control of nature.”[27] The universe is filled with “contents” that are to be acted upon. ...
[Mind-intelligences and Bodily Affirmation]
... Widtsoe himself suggests .... Matter, he states, “is always associated with energy,” which energy serves to “vivif[y]” it. This energy might be seen as “only a form of intelligence,” or in other words, as a rudimentary form of self-determination. Thus the idea that “a degree of intelligence is possessed by every particle of energized matter” which he so quickly dismisses as speculative provides a metaphysical means of assigning freedom to the most fundamental components of the universe.[28] Individual intelligences, each joined to an element particle, would have the ability to hear God’s call and freely respond. God’s power could be truly persuasive. The implications of this idea for an LDS metaphysics are profound ...
... The Doctrine and Covenants states as much: “spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy.”[29] ... This fits neatly with another LDS idea, albeit more speculative, that mind-intelligences were housed in material spirit bodies as one step in their progression.[30] Taking material form was seen as an advancement, not a hindrance. Consider also the vision of church president Joseph F. Smith who, in a vision of the afterlife, saw that “the dead . . . looked upon the long absence of their spirits from their bodies as a bondage.”[31] These spirits, though arguably still material beings, nevertheless craved the enhanced sensations that a physical body provided. The underlying theme in all three of these examples is that intelligences and the intelligent beings they grow into are more fulfilled through connection to the elements. ...
[The Will to Growth & Glory]
... Widtsoe also believes in the possibility of self-limitation, for in describing spiritual beings he explains that “[t]hrough the exercise of their wills they grew, remained passive, or retrograded, for with living things motion in any direction is possible.”[33] The same idea is expressed in The Doctrine and Covenants, where a person’s eternal state of glory is determined by his thoughts and actions while on the earth. Those not marrying by priesthood authority, for example, “are appointed angels in heaven,” for they “did not abide [God’s] law; therefore, they cannot be enlarged, but remain separately and singly . . . forever and ever.”[34] In this view, intelligences stop progressing at different points due to choices that they make. ...
... Another possibility is that intelligences are innately limited. Such an approach might be indicated by a passage in the book of Abraham. One verse states that “[t]hese two facts do exist, that there are two spirits, one being more intelligent than the other; there shall be another more intelligent than they.” This description indicates that spiritual beings are not all equally intelligent, the implication being that this inequality creates a gradation of thought capacities and abilities. God governs because he is “more intelligent than they all.”[35] ...
... there is always the possibility that intelligences that end up as lesser beings originally had the potential of infinite progression but early on made choices that severely limited them, and only at that point were they assigned to be the spirits of animals and the like. In either case, whether intelligences are self-limiting or inherently limited, the important point is that the idea of intelligences being limited is not contradicted by LDS scripture and is, indeed, supported by it.
... For our purposes, it is sufficient to note that reasons exist within LDS thought to believe that intelligences can be paired with the elements and, indeed, have a compelling reason for being so joined. More importantly, a union of intelligences with elements provides a metaphysical reason for believing that the universe, down to its smallest intelligence/element pairs, has some degree of freedom.
[Trusting "Spirit Atoms" & God's Righteous Dominion]
... From a basic understanding of faith as trust and the power it apparently possesses, interesting questions arise. How is it that faith/trust relates to power? Can it be seen as a metaphysical mechanism for exercising influence? It is here that the ideas proposed in the previous section offer the greatest illumination. Recall that joining intelligences with particles of matter provides a means of affirming a basic level of self-determination to every component of the universe. This, in turn, allows for a God that works through persuasive influence rather than through domination. Consider the following scenario. God, wanting to “bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man,” decides to assist underdeveloped intelligences in their advancement.[45] Knowing that material existence is the path to progression and enjoyment, he urges an intelligence to join with a particle of some element.[46] The intelligence, at whatever level of thought it is capable of, decides that God is trustworthy. This may be because, as Widtsoe suggests, God “exercised his will vigorously . . . [and] his recognition of universal laws became greater until he attained at last a conquest over the universe” and this mastery reassures it of God’s competence.[47] Perhaps the intelligence also senses that God has its best interest at heart. In any case, it trusts God, so when he gives a command to or offers to pair that intelligence up with an element of matter, it consents. Furthermore, when God decides that several of these pairs need to combine to make more complex molecules and structures, each participating intelligence again decides to trust God, i.e. to have faith in God, and so they combine. (Similarly, if and when God commands the intelligences to break apart or perform some other action, they trust that God knows what is best and comply.) As more and more intelligence/element pairs combine, more complex structures are created to which more advanced intelligences can be joined, and so on up the intelligence chain until we see the formation of organisms that humans would recognize as having some ability to choose, like animals. Yet at no point is the freedom of intelligences circumvented, and they are forever able to choose for themselves. In such a scheme, God surely has power over the universe, but that power comes because intelligences trust and choose to follow him. God’s power comes from their faith in him. This is consistent with other descriptions of influence found in Mormon scripture. Section 121 of The Doctrine and Covenants describes the principles upon which power should be exercised. “[T]he powers of heaven,” it states, “cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness.” Those who “undertake to cover [their] sins, or to gratify [their] pride, [their] vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness” are deemed untrustworthy, and their power is removed. Others, however, realize that “power or influence . . . ought to be maintained . . . only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned,” as well as by “kindness, and pure knowledge.” These attributes, in contrast to the previous set, make a person worthy of trust, and hence others can have faith in him/her. The result for those who so act is a “dominion [that] shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto [them] forever and ever.”[48] Dominion by this definition is never forced, but comes as a voluntary offering of those being governed, persons who are content to obey because they have complete faith in the person they are following. While the principles described in this section are given as a description of mortal power relations, the fact that they can produce results that last “forever and ever” indicates that they also have application in the larger universe. Indeed, they complement the idea of God using persuasive power. If persons will willingly follow another human who displays noble characteristics, is it not reasonable to conclude that they, and all self-determining components of the universe, would be willing to trust and obey the being that possesses those attributes in perfection?
... Thus when Jesus and his disciples were caught in a storm on the Sea of Galilee, they were only seeing nature acting as it normally does. Yet when Jesus arose and “rebuked the wind and the raging of the water,” the pairs recognized him as an authoritative and trustworthy source, chose to comply with his command, and altered their normal activities. In this regard, Jesus’ calming of the seas need not be seen as a violation of natural law, but rather a manifestation of a higher principle. ... the prophet Jacob who said that with “unshaken” faith people can “command in the name of Jesus and the very trees obey [them], or the mountains, or the waves of the sea.”53 This method of exercising faith seems more direct, for the human agent directly commands the natural world with the anticipation that it will respond. In this scenario, intelligence/element pairs respond directly to a human, not to Christ who is acting at a human’s request. ...
