everywhere present, all the operations of nature, from the simplest to the most complex, are the products of intelligence. We may even conceive that energy is only intelligence, and that matter and intelligence, rather than matter and energy, are the two fundamentals of the universe!

**Eternal Intelligence.** Throughout the universe are found, in addition to indestructible matter, everlasting energy and universal intelligence pervading space.

"Man was also in the beginning with God." The doctrine that man is an eternal being leads to untold possibilities. Eternal man lived a personal life before the earth-life began, and he continues a personal existence hereafter.

**The Eternal Relationship.** The phenomena of the universe result from the interaction of matter, energy and intelligence. These fundamental, universal elements are forever acting upon each other to produce the infinite variety of the universe. Nevertheless, space is not filled with disorder; chaos does not prevail. On the contrary, the universe, so far as known, is essentially orderly. This comes from the great law of cause and effect. If energy acts on matter in a given way, a definite effect is obtained. Under like conditions, the same cause will forever give the same effect. Where, therefore, like conditions are permanently operating, like results will always be found. This law lies at the foundation of the orderliness of nature. "There is a law irrevocably decreed in heaven upon which all blessings are predicated, and it is only by obedience to this law that any blessing may be obtained."

**An Eternal Plan.** The Gospel itself, the so-called plan of salvation, or Great Plan, in obedience to which men guide their earth-lives, is eternal. It is not a temporary or transient thing, made primarily for the handful of men and women on earth, but it is an eternal plan based upon the everlasting relationship of the elements of the universe—a plan which, in some form, is adapted everywhere and forever, for the advancement of personal beings. This must be so, for it leads to a definite end, and in accordance with the law of cause and effect, it must have a universal meaning.

**Eternalism.** The Gospel is founded on tangible and eternal things and relationships. These eternal realities, no doubt, in their essence, lie beyond the full understanding of man, just as time and space transcend human understanding. This conception, carried far enough, leads to a gospel or life philosophy which is unshakable, because it rests upon eternal certainty. Without certainty, man is, in the great affairs of life, merely the driftwood of existence, moved hither and thither by the wind of doubt.

The Gospel may be said to be The Philosophy of Eternalism. The Gospel is immersed in the ocean of eternity.

CHAPTER 4.

THE WILL OF MAN.

The doctrine of the eternal nature of man is most characteristic of the Gospel. It is a doctrine which gives great satisfaction to all who have accepted the Gospel.

**The Primeval Condition.** All that is really clear to the understanding is that man has existed "from the beginning," and that, from the beginning, he has possessed distinct individuality impossible of confusion with any other individuality among the hosts of intelligent beings. Through endless ages, man has risen by slow degrees to his present state. Possibly, with respect to the coming day, man understands as little as did the spiritual beings with respect to present day conditions.

**The Intelligence of Man.** To speculate upon the condition of man when conscious life was just dawning is most interesting, but so little is known about that far-off day that such speculation is profitless. Nevertheless, of some things pertaining to the beginning we are fairly certain. The being which later became man, even in the first day possessed intelligence. That is, he was able to become aware of the external universe, to learn, and by adding knowledge to knowledge, to learn more. Then, as now, the universe was filled with matter acted upon by many forces, and an intelligent being in the midst of the interaction of forces and matter, must have become aware, measurably, of what was going on. From the beginning, the ego of man has been a conscious being, saying to itself, "This is I; that is not I. This life is apart from the life of all the rest of the universe."

**The Will of Man.** In addition to his power to learn and his consciousness of his own existence, the spiritual personality possessed, from "the beginning," the distinguishing characteristic of every intelligent, conscious, thinking being—an independent and individual will. No one attribute so clearly distinguishes man as does the intelligent will or the will to act intelligently. It was by the exercise of their wills that the spirits in the beginning gathered information rapidly or slowly, acquired experiences freely or laboriously. Through the exercise of their wills they grew, or remained passive, or perhaps even retrograded, for with living things motion in any direction is possible.

Naturally, the original spirit, possessing, with all other attributes of intelligence, the power of will, exercised that will upon the contents of the universe. The exercise of the will upon the matter and energy within reach, enabled the intelligent beings, little by little, to acquire power. By the use of his will upon the contents of the universe, man must have become what he now is.

**Value of the Will.** The above doctrine involves the idea of self-effort. It is only when the will is exercised in a certain direction that the support of other forces may be invited so that progress in that direction may be accelerated. From the beginning, the deliberate use of the will has moved personal beings onward; and in this latest day of our existence, it is the will that moves men into greater lives. Undoubtedly, the will of man will determine the completion of the structure built through all ages into a perfected man.

The Gospel, resting upon eternal, indestructible principles, maintains the living supremacy of the will of man. The culture, training and use of the will, for good or for evil, determine primarily the direction of an individual life.

CHAPTER 5.

THE GREAT LAW.

The innumerable interactions of the matter, energy and intelligences of the universe, must be held together by some great law. This universal law to which all lesser laws contribute, must be of real concern to the man who seeks a true philosophy of life.

**Increasing Complexity of the Universe.** It has already been said that a universe controlled by intelligence and under the reign of the law of cause and effect cannot be conceived to be in confusion. Man is absolutely certain, if his knowledge is rational, that, whether it be yesterday, today or tomorrow, the same act, under the same conditions, will produce the same result. Under a set of given conditions, a ray of sunshine passed through a glass prism will always be broken into the same spectrum, or a straight stick standing in water will always appear crooked. Whether in the physical, mental or moral world, the law of cause and effect reigns supreme.

Quiescence in the universe can not be conceived, for then there would be no universe. Constant action or movement characterizes the universe. The multiplicity of actions upon each other, of the various forms of matter, energy and intelligence, composing the universe, must cause an equal multiplicity of effects. Moreover, increasing intelligent wills, acting upon matter and energy, must and do produce an increasing series of reactions among the forces of the universe.