Joseph Smith as [Non-] Scientist

In 1908 soon-to-be Apostle John A. Widtsoe published his book, Joseph Smith as Scientist. Originally published as independent essays in the Improvement Era, the purpose of the book was to show that, "in 1833, or soon thereafter, the teachings of Joseph Smith, the Mormon Prophet, were in full harmony with the most advanced scientific thought of today, and that he anticipated the world of science in the statement of fundamental facts and theories of physics, chemistry, astronomy and biology."

I haven't read the whole book and a detailed discussion of its arguments are beyond the scope of this post. Briefly, although Widtsoe makes some of Joseph's teachings appear impressively on the mark, other reconciliations fall flat. This is particularly so when, for example, Widtsoe invokes the luminous ether, a concept that would be discarded within twenty years of the book's publication. (This example serves as a warning that reconciling science and religion can be a "dubious achievment.")

More interesting to me in the context of John Walton's statement that scripture does not provide new scientific perspectives are some of Widtsoe's introductory remarks, which would seem to undercut the thesis of the book. I find them to be striking--especially the last one--and I quote them below without further comment.

The mission of Joseph Smith was of a spiritual nature; and therefore, it is not to be expected that the discussion of scientific matters will be found in the Prophet's writings. The revelations given to the Prophet deal almost exclusively with the elucidation of so-called religious doctrines, and with such difficulties as arose from time to time in the organization of the Church. It is only, as it appears to us, in an incidental way that other matters, not strictly of a religious nature, are mentioned in the revelations.

While on the one hand, therefore, it cannot reasonably be expected that Joseph Smith should deal in his writings with any subject peculiar to natural science, yet, on the other hand, it should not surprise any student to find that the Prophet at times considered matters that do not come under the ordinary definition of religion, especially if they in any way may be connected with the laws of religion. Statements of scientific detail should not be looked for in Joseph Smith's writings, though these are not wholly wanting; but rather, we should expect to find general views of the relations of the forces of the universe.

It is not in harmony with the Gospel spirit that God, except in special cases, should reveal things that man by the aid of his natural powers may gain for himself....Such a doctrine makes it unreasonable to look to the Prophet's work for a gratuitous mass of scientific or other details, which will relieve man of the labor of searching out for himself nature's laws. So well established is this principle that in all probability many of the deepest truths contained in the writings of Joseph Smith will not be clearly understood, even by his followers, until, by the laborious methods of mortality, the same truths are established.

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