Brigham Young on Harmonization

Brigham Young

Our religion embraces chemistry; it embraces all the knowledge of the geologist, and then it goes a little further than their systems of argument, for the Lord Almighty, its author, is the greatest chemist there is. Will any of the chemists tell us what the Lord did with the elements in Wisconsin, and in Chicago, Illinois, last Fall? They made a flaming fire of the heavens, the elements were melted with fervent heat. This was a chemical process, but can any of our chemists tell how it was brought about? I think not. But there were certain elements which lost their cohesive properties, and a change occurred, and the result was this terrible fire. So it will be when, as the Scriptures foretell, “the elements shall melt with fervent heat.” The Lord Almighty will send forth his angels, who are well instructed in chemistry, and they will separate the elements and make new combinations thereof, and the whole heavens will be a sheet of fire. Well, our religion embraces this; and we know of no laws, no ordinances, no gifts, no principles, no arts, no sciences that are true, but what are embraced in the religion of Jesus Christ, in this Priesthood, which is a perfect system of government.

Journal of Discourses, vol 15, page 127, Liverpool, England: Latter-day Saints’ Book Depot, 1873

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More from Brigham Young

These are the mysteries of the Kingdom of God upon the earth, to know how to purify and sanctify our affections, the earth upon which we stand, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the houses in which we dwell and the cities which we build, that when strangers come into our country they may feel a hallowed influence and acknowledge a power to which they are strangers.

We talk to the Latter-day Saints a great deal, and we wish them to become a thinking people, a people that will reflect and begin to systematize their lives, and know the object of their existence here.

We are not going to wait for angels, or for Enoch and his company to come and build up Zion, but we are going to build it.

Now about the rib: as for the Lord taking a rib out of Adam’s side to make a woman of, he took one out of my side just as much. “But, Brother Brigham, would you make it appear that Moses did not tell the truth?” No, not a particle more than I would that your mother did not tell the truth when she told you that little Billy came from a hollow toadstool. I would not accuse your mother of lying any more than I would Moses.

The origin of life whether human or inferior, must be lodged in some character whom I have not seen! Follow it back, no matter whether it be for six thousand years, six millions, six million millions, or billions of years, the figures and numbers are immaterial, I must have come from some source, my natural philosophy teaches me this. But, leaving the natural philosophy of the child free from false tradition, let us inquire.