Tuesday, December 21, 2021

The Tanners in "Mormonism: Shadow or Reality?" (1964): Belief in an Inhabited Sun and Moon were Held Among many Scholars and Intellectuals of the Time

In the 1964 edition of Mormonism: Shadow or Reality? the Tanners admit that it was a popular belief, even among scholars, to postulate that the sun and/or moon were inhabited:

 

Many years ago the Protestant writer Adam Clarke made this observation concerning the sun and the moon:

 

"OF THE SUN

 

"On the nature of the sun there have been various conjectures . . . Dr. Herschel's discoveries by means of his immensely magnifying telescopes, have, by the general consent of philosophers, added a new HABITABLE WORLD to our systems, which is the SUN. . . .

 

OF THE MOON

 

"There is scarcely any doubt now remaining in the philosophical world that the moon is a HABITABLE GLOBE. The most accurate observations that have been made with the most powerful telescopes have confirmed the opinion. Tee moon seems in almost every respect to be a body similar to our earth; to have its surface diversified by hills lakes, and seas." (Clarke's Commentary, Vol. 1, page 35)

 

Today, we look at this and smile, for we realize that Adam Clarke was influenced by the views of his time. The leaders of the Mormon Church were also influenced by the views of their times.

 

"Who call tell us of the INHABITANTS of this little planet that shines of an evening, called the MOON? When we view its face we may see what is termed 'the man in the moon,' and what some philosophers declare are the shadows of mountains. But these sayings are very vague, and amount to nothing; and when you inquire about the INHABITANTS of that sphere you find that the most learned are as ignorant in regard to them as the most ignorant of their fellows. So it is in regard to the INHABITANTS OF THE SUN. Do you think it is inhabited? I rather think it is. Do you think there is any life there? NO QUESTION OF IT: IT WAS NOT MADE IN VAIN". (Journal of Discourses, v. 13, p. 271)

 

In the Journal of Oliver B. Huntington JOSEPH SMITH is recorded as saying the following concerning the inhabitants of the moon:

 

INHABITANTS OF THE MOON

 

"'The INHABITANTS OF THE MOON are more of a uniform size than the inhabitants of the earth, being about 6 feet in height.

 

They dress very much like the quaker style and are quire general in style, or the fashion of dress.

 

They live to be very old; coming generally, near a thousand years.'

 

This is the description of them as GIVEN BY JOSEPH THE SEER, as he could 'See' whatever he asked the father in the name of Jesus to see." (Journal of Oliver B. Huntington, Vol. 2, page 166 of typed copy at the Utah Historical Society)

 

It should be noted that there is a difference between Adam Clark's statement that the moon is inhabited and Joseph Smith's description of the inhabitants. Adam Clarke claimed that he received his information from the evidence of his time. Joseph Smit, on the other hand, claimed (according to Oliver B. Huntington) that he received his information by revelation from God. We can overlook Adam Clarke's statement and enjoy the rest of his commentary. In those days the telescopes were not as powerful as the one's we have today. Adam Clarke can be forgiven for making a mistake that any one of us could make if place in similar circumstances. Joseph Smith's supposed to have come from God, and a revelation given in Joseph Smith's day should be as reliable today as it was then. (pp. 89-90)

 

It should be noted that the Tanners, unlike later editions of the book, admit that belief in the sun and moon being inhabited was an acceptable view among intelligent people of Joseph Smith’s and Brigham Young’s time. However, they are misreading the Huntington journal. While Oliver imputes some level of inspiration to Joseph’s words, even in Huntington’s (late [1881]) entry, Joseph does not present his comments as inspired.

 

Here is a scan of the relevant pages (click to enlarge):

 



For a good overview of this issue, see:

Question: Did Joseph Smith state that the moon was inhabited, and that it's inhabitants were dressed like Quakers?


Kerry Shirts (who has now gone full atheist) wrote the following response to the Tanners on the issue of "moon men" in his A Marvelous Work? The Tanners Wonder (Chapter 1):

 

I notice the Tanners apparently feel it is important to establish that Joseph Smith, none other, was the first to say and believe that men lived on the moon. This is quite important for the Tanners to establish apparently. They spend their entire update of this chapter trying to show they have found more sources, blessings in early Mormonism, etc., rather than showing they understand the wider context of Mormon cosmology. How they go about it is quite revealing in my opinion. It is also totally useless in my opinion, but then again, as I have noted, I am a Mormon, so obviously things like this I wish to dismiss. But, there are reasons why I want to show they are worth dismissing because they really don’t make the point which the Tanners wish to make.

 

I will give them credit for one thing to be sure. They didn’t stoop so stupidly low in their argument to actually proclaim this idea was a prophecy. Other anti’s have said this, but of course, without the slightest evidence.

 

Well, O.K., as a scientist friend of mine has always told me, what is the assumption in an argument? The argument is only as strong as the assumptions upon which it is based. In this case, the assumption appears to me to be the utter silliness of a prophet of God believing that people live on the moon. It is impossible, and wrong, and therefore the Prophet shouldn’t have believed it. This shows the Prophet to be false. That is the assumption of this argument, so far as I can see. I am willing to be corrected if I am wrong.

 

So what of it? Well the first thing to note is there is simply no first hand material which demonstrates Joseph Smith actually taught this. It all comes from later secondary sources. Now secondary sources have their value I must admit, as I use them heavily in many areas of my own research. However, conclusions based on secondary sources simply must be understood to be tentative and not firmly established fact. They are indicators, so to speak, not the law. This is why in my own use of secondary sources, I seriously try to get primary sources as well. This is crucial to do for sound historical research.

 

Context is another area that the Tanners need to sincerely work on. Once we realize that the context of the Prophet’s time was such that even astronomers and Bible scholars were indicating belief in life on the moon, the anomaly disappears. Now it might be assumed that a Prophet is supposed to teach total truth and not fall prey to the times he or she lives in, but all records, whether the Bible, Book of Mormon, D&C, PofGP, Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads, Quran, etc., indicate this is not necessarily the case.

 

One very good book showing how Joseph Smith’s understanding was expanded with further light and knowledge, is Robert J. Matthews book on the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible. Another is Gary James Bergera, "Line Upon Line," showing that full and complete concepts are not automatically bestowed upon prophets just because they are prophets. A prophet can be mistaken in his or her belief. This has nothing to do with whether the office is true or not. There is no freedom taken away from believing something incorrect when one becomes a prophet.

 

But there is another approach to this topic as well. When even the followers of Joseph Smith believed in inhabitants on other planets and even in the sun, this is used as total incredulity for the Tanners. This is just too silly for words! The sun? Yeah right, as if we could exist on such a hot sphere. Notice the assumption here though. The assumption is that it is human inhabitants with flesh and blood living on the sun. Nowhere does Brigham Young say such. Do the Tanners not believe in other types of living beings besides humans? What of spiritual beings? Now it is well known that Joseph Smith taught that God dwells in everlating burnings. Heaven is hot. The angels come from realms of light according to many ancient sources. They are associated with light, heat, glory, etc. Who is to say what kind of beings Brigham Yong was talking about? Emanuel Kant, the great philosopher even noted that the universe is inhabited with many kinds of beings, and in fact our own moon and Jupiter, etc., as well as the sun are such!15

 

Does this prove though, to the Tanners then, that Science itself is a phony enterprise? If it proves it for Mormonism, why not for philosophy, science and religion in general? It just honestly appears to me to be a double standard based on the Tanner’s hope of making Mormonism look just plain stupid with stupid teachings. But it backfires when context is understood. In fact, the Medieval Cabalist Johann Reuchlin even noted that the "Hashamayim", is always translated in the plural, as "the heavens," a plurality of heavens and worlds the eyes have not seen yet.17

 

Another area which is relevant to this idea is understanding the Mormon Cosmology ideas. There is no wasted space nor planets. This was an Early Christian theme such that there was a continuous creation and destruction of worlds, and the inhabitants of them as Hugh Nibley has so remarkably demonstrated.18 The dovetailing concept of God involved with all his creatures throghout the immensity of space with inhabitants on other planets, even the moon and sun, makes much more sense with a wider view and understanding. Some of those inhabitants may very well be human, others may be spirit. We just don’t know. Nibley has shown how in the Enoch literature, the world moans and groans and quakes, and the entire cosmos shares in its fate. Nay even "inhabitants in other worlds weep too." This carried on right up into early Christian times as their writings describe it.19

 

Notes for the Above:

 

15. Kerry A. Shirts, "Terminating some Terminology Problems Between Evangelical Christians and Mormon Christians," in FARMS Review of Books, 12/1 (2000): 323-334.

 

16. Michael J. Crowe, The Extra-Terrestrial Life Debates: 1750-1900: The Idea of a Plurality of Worlds from Kant to Lowell, Cambraidge Univ. Press, 1988, p. 53f.

 

17. Johann Reuchlin, De Arte Cabalistica, translated by Martin and Sarah Goodman, On the Art of the Kabbalah, Univ. of Nebreaska Press, 1983, p. 345.

 

18. Hugh Nibley, "The Expanding Gospel," and "Treasures in the Heavens," in Nibley on the Timeley and Timeless, Truman Madsen ed., Religious Studies Center, BYU, 1978, chs., 2, 3. Also see Hugh Nibley, "Unrolling the Scrolls – Some Forgotten Witnesses," in Old Testament and Related Studies, FARMS/Deseret, 1986, ch. 6.

 

19. Hugh Nibley, Enoch the Prophet, FARMS/Deseret, 1986, p. 14. See especially pp. 236-248!