If art and science can contribute to the happiness of man, it should not seem unusual that God would teach these subjects in a heavenly vision. The Pearl of Great Price records two such panoramic visions, one given to Moses and another given to Abraham.
The outcome of these visions was that Moses and Abraham became geniuses in the sciences. Usually we connect visions with the calling of a prophet, or the bestowal of a strictly spiritual knowledge. Yet it is apparent that in vision Moses and Abraham were also being immersed in such things as astronomy and atomic processes.
Latter-day Saints that pursue education tend to be more active in their faith. This fact seems counterintuitive; faith in things not seen and knowledge in all things seen would seem to be at opposite ends of the learning spectrum. Yet if truth exists in the secular arts and sciences, and it enlightens and builds up the human family, then it is of God (Alma 5:40). I believe all useful and true knowledge is ultimately spiritual, and the more we are immersed in truth, even that which is considered secular truth, the more likely we are to feel the presence of God.
Besides, dividing different types of knowledge into a multitude of classifications is strictly a modern invention. The day existed when little division was made between the arts and sciences, or liberal education and religion. Pythagoreans saw mathematics in sacred music. Newton saw God’s creative genius in chemical reactions.
Christ says, “All things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal; neither any man, nor the children of men; neither Adam, your father, whom I created” (D&C 29:34). It seems Newton and his fellows were on the right track, for they actively approached science as a great recovery of the ancient sacred wisdom that God gave to Adam. They believed this wisdom had become scattered after the Fall, and they were embarking on a vast enterprise to recover this knowledge before the Second Coming of Christ.
Abraham in Egypt
According to the ancient Greeks, if one wanted knowledge, that seeker needed to go to Egypt. Egypt was considered the intellectual center of the world, where learning in all the arts and sciences surpassed all other nations. Plato studied in Egypt for years, and Aristotle’s most famous pupil founded Alexandria, a city in northern Egypt where the Greeks and Egyptians exchanged knowledge that would one day shape Western thought.
Over the span of many dynasties, it was the regular practice of the Egyptian pharaohs to entertain scholars at court to instruct the royal classes. If a scholar had enough to offer, he could expect to be vaulted into the inner circles of the court. Great Egyptian scholars such as Imhotep and Amenhotep, though commoners, became intimate friends of the pharaoh due to their knowledge. They were masterful teachers in mathematics, languages, sciences, sacred texts, and religious ordinances. Through the centuries, their fame among the people of Egypt even surpassed the pharaohs’ because of the knowledge they possessed.
Abraham received his knowledge not only in Egyptian libraries but in a vision from God. Abraham looked through a urim and thummim and “saw the stars, that they were very great.” He was shown how the planets and stars were governed and how they orbited around other greater planets and stars. After this, the Lord appeared to Abraham. It is singular that the Lord, though he eventually taught many things, began by teaching Abraham an astronomy lesson:
And he put his hand upon mine eyes, and I saw those things which his hands had made, which were many; and they multiplied before mine eyes, and I could not see the end thereof. And he said unto me: This is Shinehah, which is the sun. And he said unto me: Kokob, which is star. And he said unto me: Olea, which is the moon. And he said unto me: Kokaubeam, which signifies stars, or all the great lights, which were in the firmament of heaven. (Abraham 3:11–13.)
The Lord then directed Abraham to declare all that he had been taught to the Egyptians for their benefit (Abr. 3:15). When Abraham arrived in Egypt, it is apparent that his learning was recognized as superior to any previous teacher, as signified by Joseph Smith’s inspired explanation of Facsimile 3 in the Book of Abraham:
Abraham [sat] upon Pharaoh’s throne, by the politeness of the king, with a crown upon his head... reasoning upon the principles of Astronomy, in the king’s court. This honor must have been the supreme sign of royal regard. Because of the Egyptian court’s long tradition of respect for learning, Abraham’s intelligence exalted him to kingship under Pharaoh; this claim goes along with some modern scholarship that identifies Abraham as a king of Egypt and master teacher of astronomy to Pharaoh Amenhotep I.
Moses and Atomism
In the current issue of BYU Studies, E. Douglas Clark compares the Book of Moses to ancient sacred Jewish texts and traditions. In his research, he noticed a tradition that had continued from ancient times up through the Middle Ages, which held that Moses was “the greatest universal genius and master of” — as well as “founder of” — “all the arts and sciences.”
Clark writes, “Indeed, even scientists of the stature of Sir Isaac Newton traced the idea of atomism—of matter as composed of atoms—to the Hebrew prophet Moses.”
This tradition connecting Moses to atomic theory can be supported by Joseph Smith’s translation, when Moses “cast his eyes and beheld the earth, yea, even all of it; and there was not a particle of it which he did not behold, discerning it by the spirit of God” (Moses 1:27). “Similarly,” Clark adds, “in the pseudepigraphical source named Ezekiel the Tragedian, Moses recounts that while on Mount Sinai in the presence of the Almighty, ‘I gazed upon the whole earth round about; things under it, and high above the skies.’
Likewise in the Zohar [an ancient Jewish text], when God spoke to Moses before the Exodus, Moses beheld properties of matter ‘which were concealed from all others but revealed to him,’ things which ‘are hidden, and Moses alone perceived them.’”
Seeing through a Sacred Lens
The prototypes of Moses and Abraham point us to a new way of looking at how to obtain further light and knowledge. I believe, whether it is in science or the liberal arts, our knowledge will always be greatly restricted unless we become more expert in the principle of revelation.
The greatest discoveries are yet to come, if we are willing to see all useful things through a sacred lens. When scientists combine the classic scientific method with an intense spirituality and longing for revelatory contact with God; when the laboratories of medicine and the conservatories of music also become institutions of prayer; when brilliant creative types align their talents with the infinite genius of God’s creativity; when artists are motivated by charity for mankind and a yearning to understand God’s character and work; then will knowledge and happiness vastly multiply beyond our present measure.
Inspiration through artists and scientists is happening today, and has been for thousands of years — many of the greatest artists and scientists admit to feeling that God is working through them. But what if faith and holiness among these people were much deeper?
Perhaps the following example is just fanciful dreaming, but imagine a musician so faithful and pure that he or she is caught up to heaven and receives detailed instruction regarding music that ennobles the human spirit. What would that music sound like? What new instruments would we need to invent in order to play that music? My conclusion could only be that the music and instruments would be highly superior to anything we have had in all the history of the world.
Progress is being hampered by secularism found in sundry modern institutions, where a great chasm has been artificially placed between religion and the liberal arts. Latter-day Saints have a unique opportunity to carry on the hope of Newton’s generation, that of rediscovering the ancient thaumaturgy of God, “by study and also by faith” (D&C 88:118).
We, who believe all valuable knowledge is spiritual
and not temporal, should of course seek the world’s knowledge
that has been amassing over the centuries, but then have the bravery
to break with secular restraints and add to our various disciplines
the principle of pure revelation. If this happens, I believe unimaginable
wonders will begin to unfold.
