The Weber Literary Journal to preside over. Did not Joseph Smith teach that the solar system which we know about is only one of many and that this earth was only a chip of other planets and to the extent that we progress on this earth we are rewarded in the next? In the Doctrine and Covenants, Section 132, is a statement similar to this, "Then shall they be Gods, because they have no end, therefore shall they be from everlasting to everlasting, because they continue, and all things will be subject unto them because they shall be Gods and will have all power and that the angels also will be subject unto them." It also states that because of the righteousness of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob they have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods. Science also affirms that the hereafter is a step in eternal progression. Here is what Dr. Wallace asserts: "It is when we look upon man as being here for the very purpose of developing diversity and individuality, to be further advanced in a future life, that we see more clearly the whole object of our earth-life as a preparation for it and inasmuch as every spirit has been derived from the Deity, only limited by the time at the disposal of each of us. In the spirit world death will not cut short the period of educational advancement. The best conditions and opportunities will be afforded for continuous progress to a higher status." This is a typical statement of the conclusions being voiced by many of the more progressive scientists of our day. With the scientific view that thousands of years are only as a day compared with the vast time of the world's history, they are coming more and more to the belief that this life is but a step in eternal progression. Not only do science and Mormon ism agree as to the reality of a hereafter. Both explicitly affirm that the individual degree of glory in the hereafter will depend entirely upon one's excellence in the flesh. What one does in this world determines what one will be in the next. The Doctrine and Covenants says that there is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundation of this world, upon which all blessings are predicated and when one obtains any blessing 18 The Weber Literary Journal from God it is by obedience to that law upon which it is dependent. Science maintains that in order to progress in this world we must obey laws governing life. The astronomer who studies stars discovers that by using a piece of glass properly ground his power of vision seems to be strengthened. He therefore prepares lenses for his telescope, obeying law. The surgeon uses an antiseptic in the treating of wounds because he knows that it destroys germ life. Thus he obeys laws. The electrician has discovered that by winding a wire in a certain manner around a piece of iron and rotating it near a magnet, electric currents are started. He builds dynamos after such principles and this demonstrates his obedience to law. You must remember that the scientist does not know why certain curved lenses bring the stars nearer, or why certain antiseptics destroy germ life, or why wire, wound in a certain way when rotated in the magnetic field will produce electricity. But Mormon ism teaches that certain invariable laws must be obeyed and science, in so far as it progresses, honors those laws. But Mormonism, because of revelation from on High, can advance more rapidly than science. While scientists are discovering laws which govern this world the greatest Scientist of all the Creator has been giving to the Mormon people laws which, if righteously obeyed, will mean that they shall reap the fruits of those laws in the next world. Mormonism knows that through revelation God reveals His laws to His people and that unless they obey His laws they will never be able to progress to the fullest extent. Mormons know that baptism is obedience to the law of God and that only by this means can man attain salvation. As in science, only by using lenses of the right curvature can man more clearly view the heavenly bodies. Mormons respect the same principle of obedience to law, in temple marriages, for God has said, "If a man marry a wife in the world and is not married by me, nor by my word, the covenant which they took is of no force when they are dead; but if a man marry a wife by my word, which is my 19