John Colton's blog

I got into somewhat of a gospel-type discussion in my Physics 105 class yesterday, prompted by an anonymous student comment that "There are actually 5 states of matter. All spirit is matter. See D&C 131:7." I think the student was going for humor, but I decided to take the opportunity to get on my soap box a little to tell students to be careful not to put their modern interpretation of scientific terms on words used in the scriptures.

The example I used was D&C 93, where it says, "the elements are eternal".
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/93/33#33

(The following is something I typed up for another student who wanted me to clarify what I had said in class.)

Are the elements really eternal? Einstein predicted that matter can be changed into energy, and in fact during nuclear reactions matter is not only turned into energy, but one element is turned into another. Hydrogen atoms are fused together into helium atoms, for example.

Those two might seem contradictory--but only, I think, if we try to apply *our* definition of elements to the scriptural verse. I looked it up, and the first Periodic Table wasn't published until 1869, and it wasn't published in its current form until 1914. Therefore I strongly doubt Joseph Smith would have meant: hydrogen, helium, lithium, berylium, etc. by the word "element".

One thing I've found helpful from time to time is Webster's 1828 dictionary. Here's an online version:
http://www.cbtministries.org/resources/webster1828.htm
1828 is very much contemporary with Joseph Smith, and the definitions given there probably match Joseph's definitions a lot closer than our preconceived notions.

Looking up the word element, for example
http://1828.mshaffer.com/d/search/word,element
I find that chemical elements like oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, etc., do in fact show up. They are in Def 3--but in the context of atoms "which cannot be any farther divided" (obviously we know that now to not be true). So it's possible Joseph could have been referring to elements in that context in the scripture.

However, there are also several other definitions which might what he meant:
Def 1: "The first or constituent principle or minutest part or any thing; as the elements of earth, water, salt, or wood; the elements of the world; "

Def 2: "An ingredient; a constituent part of any composition"

Def 5: "In popular language, fire,air, earth and water, are called the four elements"

Def 9: "The matter or substances which compose the world. The elements shall melt with fervent heat. 2 Pet.3 "

Given the Bibilical quote, I myself think Def 9 might be the correct one to apply to the D&C (perhaps with "world" replaced by "spirits", given that the verses in D&C 93 are not talking about the whole world), but I'll let you make your own call. At any rate, it's fairly clear to me that the verse in section 93 is not about the chemical elements at all.