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FIRST LAW OF MOTION.

that the seven families wandered a long time in Asia, carrying with them, seeds, corn, beans, peppers, etc., and that their families increased in numbers during their journeyings. Book of Ether (chap. vi, 16) says: “And the friends of Jared and his brother, were in number about twenty and two souls; and they also begat sons and daughters before they came to the promised land; and therefore they began to be many." The extract, from Kingsborough, states that the manuscript of the primitive Indians refers to the Tower as the "Great Wall," | which the lord of the "hollow piece of wood" saw, when it was being built, and beheld with his own eyes the confusion of the language of the people. Votan, it is stated, was a grandson of Noah, and came by express command of the Lord to the people of this land. The brother of Jared did the same; pleading with the

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Lord not to confound the language of Jared, or their friends and families. The seven families, being the same, doubtless, whom Votan led, maintained one language, being not confounded. They formed one company and traveled together many years (104), over rivers, mountains and arms of the sea. So did the colony led by Jared's brother, who was in the wilderness many years and built barges to cross many waters. If the records of the Indians, which survived the vandalism of the Roman Catholic clergy, who followed in the wake of the Spanish conquerors, are reliable, and form, when combined with the traditions of the primitive inhabitants of the land, a chain of facts like those produced even thus far in this series of articles, then who can consistently deny the divine origin of the Book of MorMoses Thatcher.

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FIRST LAW OF MOTION.

THE first law of motion as explained | against a boat, to overcome its inertia, in our text books on philosophy may be thus stated: An isolated material point can not change its state of repose or movement; so that if it is at rest it will always remain at rest; if in motion it will continue indefinitely in motion, with the same velocity and in the same direction.

It is impossible to give absolute proof of this law, but whenever we make any attempts in that direction, we always encounter some resistance, and the more we overcome this resistance, the more nearly do we demonstrate the law, so that if all hindrance could be overcome, we would naturally conclude the law to be demonstrated.

The first part of the law, namely, that in reference to a body in a state of rest, needs no demonstration or illustration, as it is evident to all. The term inertia is very frequently used when referring to bodies in a state of rest or motion, but with a meaning rather indefinite. Thus we are accustomed to say that it requires a certain amount of force, when we push

or tendency to remain at rest. From this it would seem that there is a certain will power in the object, which makes it refuse to move until a sufficient force is applied. The greater the weight of the body, the greater will be the force required to move it, as we plainly see in attempting to move a small boat and a large one.

We can do away with the term inertia here, and explain how these bodies are set in motion to much better satisfaction by noting this one fact, that any force used in moving a body is simply transferred from a body already in motion to the one at rest, and hence, instead of overcoming inertia, it is simply a transfer of motion, as we can plainly see when one marble is made to strike another fairly in the centre, if they are both of the same weight, the one at rest will move forward, and the one in motion will come to rest and so remain.

There are many examples of inertia of rest which may prove of some interest, and may help us to understand better

the law we have under consideration. Here is a very simple experiment any one may try: Place a card on the finger, and on this a coin, then strike the card sharply on the edge, the card will fly away, but the coin will be left on the end of the finger. In this case the motion is communicated to the card, but the slight amount of friction between the coin and the card has communicated but little of the motion to the coin, so little that it is scarcely moved from its position, and hence, when the card disappears, it falls on the finger. If instead of striking sharply so as to remove the card quickly, the blow were a weak one, then there would be time to communicate the motion to the coin, which would then be carried away with the card.

A very common illustration of this we have all noticed, when a carriage or railway train starts, we are thrown back, or more properly, a part of the body is carried forward, and the head and shoulders left behind. Here also the motion is so sudden that there is not time to communicate it to the whole body unless it is connected rigidly with the seat. We have many other common illustrations, as when we move a glass of wine, a cup of tea or a basin of water quickly, the liquid being composed of particles that are not firmly attached to each other, free to move among themselves, is left behind, and falls out on one side of the cup. Another illustration is afforded in the beating of a carpet: here, instead of beating the dust out of the carpet, we might more properly say that we beat the carpet out of the dust, for in striking the carpet we move a large portion of it, as its parts are firmly attached to each other, but the dust particles between the threads not being firmly attached to each other nor to the fibres, are left behind before much of the motion is communicated to them. A heavy weight, suspended by means of a spring or elastic cord, on the deck of a vessel, seems to rise and fall with a motion opposite to the heaving and sinking of the vessel on the waves. In this case, this apparent

motion of the weight is produced by its tendency to remain at rest, and instead of rising and falling, it is really the deck of the ship that rises and falls, thus making the weight appear to recede from and approach the deck. This apparent rise and fall of a heavy weight has at times been put to a good use in working the pumps of the vessel.

One of the principles stated in the law of motion is that a body set in motion will continue to move at a uniform speed. We have no means of demonstrating this portion of the law either, for if we did, we should then solve the problem of perpetual motion, which has been occupying the minds of so many for such a long period of time, but without success. Nor is there any hope whatever that they will be successful in the future, and even if they were, we would have a machine that could be applied to no practical use, for as soon as we should attempt to apply this perpetual motion, an expenditure of force would be required, and this would soon destroy the motion altogether. But even if applicable to no practical purpose, it can not be realized, as there will always be some resistance to overcome, and no matter how small this may be, it will be sufficient in time to put a stop to the motion.

A rock thrown into the air soon comes to rest, both by the attractive force of gravitation which draws it down to the earth and the resistance it encounters in passing through the air. So when we spin a top on the rough ground, it soon stops because of the friction of the peg against the gravel or sand, but if we spin it on a smooth floor or the glazed surface of a plate, it remains standing a very long time, but even here there is considerable friction, no matter how smooth the surface may be, and besides this there is friction of the air, which, although it may seem insignificant, still amounts to considerable, as we may readily see by spinning a top in a vacuum, when it will continue to turn for hours at a time.

Of perpetual motion, or nearly so, we have illustrations in the motions of the heavenly bodies, as the moon around the

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FIRST LAW OF MOTION.

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In all the common motions that take place here upon the earth, the tendency to a constant motion only is seen, of which there are many common examples, as in the case of inertia of rest. Thus, when a horse running rapidly, suddenly stops for some cause or other, the rider, unless he is very careful, will be thrown forward over the horse's head. Here the rider has acquired the forward motion of the horse, and the tendency is to continue in that motion forever, unless some cause interferes to put a stop to it. So, when a person leaps from a carriage or a train of cars in motion, his feet become firmly fixed to the ground, but the upper part of the body moves forward,still withthe same velocity as the carriage or cars, and hence, may be thrown to the ground with great violence. To avoid this,a person so leaping, always starts out running immediatiely on touching the ground, in the direction in which the train is going, and continues to run until he can regain his equilibrium. A hare pursued by a grayhound dodges from one side to the other, but its body being so much smaller, it can easily exercise control over it; the greyhound,on the contrary, having a much larger body, can not stop itself as readily,so as to turn from one side to the other, and hence, in dodging with the hare, he describes larger curves, and thus gives the hare an opportunity to gain time on him. A ship, though moving at a very slow rate, must have an immense amount of motion in it, so when it comes in contact with a rock, resistance is offered only on a very small portion of its surface, the rest moves forward, and thus crushes in the vessel.

A person sailing in a balloon is not sensible of any motion, and considers himself in a state of rest, unless he observes the objects below him on the surface of the earth. So the motion of the

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earth upon its axis, is so steady, and carries the air and all objects upon the surface with it, that we think the earth to be in a state of rest, and the sun and stars to be in motion from east to west. If by any means the earth should be suddenly stopped in its revolution on its axis, everything in the shape of buildings, trees, animals, and perhaps mountains, would be hurled eastward with tremendous force, and jumbled together indiscriminately.

The third part of the law of motion says that it will continue in a straight line. This, of course, like the former, can not be demonstrated absolutely, but the tendency can be seen everywhere.

When a carriage in rapid motion turns a corner suddenly, it is very liable to be tipped over from the tendency it has acquired to move forward in a straight line. The same is seen in a railroad train when moving on a curve of the track.. In order to prevent any accidents, either the train moves very slowly or the track is raised on the outside, and thus throws the centre of gravity of the train nearer to the inner rail of the curve, and hence, a much 'greater force than otherwise, would be required to tip the train over or throw it off the track.

Even in a body whirling around a centre, there is a tendency to move in a straight line, but owing to some force drawing toward the centre, the object is made to take a circular path. Here the force that holds the body toward the centre is called a centripetal, that is a centre seeking force, while the one that would cause the body to move in a straight line is the centrifugal force, that is the one that flies from the centre.

When a boy swings his sling around his head, he becomes sensible of the force necessary to overcome the one that draws away from the centre, and if the string breaks, as it might do if he whirls the sling too rapidly, the rock in it flies off in a straight line with great force.

In a flour mill, when the grain falls from the hopper down between the stones, it is the centrifugal force that carries the pulverized grain to the outer margin of the large and swiftly whirling

millstones. Sometimes the large flywheels in factories, when they are made to turn very rapidly, fly in pieces, as the attractive force of cohesion of the particles in the wheel is not great enough to overcome the centrifugal force produced by the rapid revolution.

In a circus, the rider and horse always lean toward the inside of the ring, and the more rapidly they go, the more they lean, in order to overcome the force that would otherwise throw them outside the ring.

The diameter of the earth, from pole to pole, is about twenty-six miles shorter than the one through the equator; thus we see that at the equator the earth must be very much bulged out, and this can be explained on the supposition that it was at one time in a molten state, and by revolving upon its axis, the centrifugal force generated, caused it to flatten at the poles and swell out at the equator. Plateau, a Frenchman, performed a

very interesting experiment that illustrates this principle. By mixing alcohol and water, he formed a mixture of the same density as oil, and then, by introducing oil into the centre of the liquid, where it would remain without either rising or sinking, and placing a small disk in the large drop of oil in the centre, and then revolving it, at first gently, and then more rapidly, the drop begins at first to flatten out, and then a ring separates from the main body, and afterwards divides into globules, all revolving around the common centre, and as the speed increases, other rings are thrown off and separated into globules as before, thus forming in miniature, a system something like that around our sun. Quebec.

Before honor is humility.-Proverbs, xv, 33.

Heaven, though slow to wrath, is never with impunity defied.—Cowper.

LEAVES FROM THE TREE OF LIFE.

NINTH LEAF.

THE divine fiat has gone forth that, "Except a man be born of the water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God." This is a fixed law. The same certainty that is exhibited in the government of the material universe obtains in the spiritual domain, and is as much a necessity in one as in the other. As man cannot change the revolutions of the planets nor alter the principles that underlie all motion and regulate all matter, so he cannot turn aside the decrees of Jehovah, nor modify, in the least degree, any rule or commandment pertaining to the everlasting Gospel. Neither will He, who reigns in the unseen world, as well as in the sphere perceived by the senses, swerve from His established laws in the former any more than in the latter.

Baptism, or the birth of water in the form and mode already described, is an essential ordinance. There are others equally necessary in their time and

place in the divine plan of human redemption. They must be rightly received and administered, or the blessings that spring from them, as their natural fruit, cannot be enjoyed. As aliens cannot be admitted to the rights and privileges of citizenship in an earthly government, without complying with the naturalization laws in such case made and provided, so aliens from the heavenly kingdom cannot be received into its dominion, nor be adopted into the family of the Eternal King, without obeying the laws set as the conditions of admission.

These laws and ordinances will be made known to the inhabitants of this planet, either in the flesh or in the disembodied condition. They will have the opportunity of receiving or rejecting them on the agency given to man, that a just judgment may be rendered in the great day of accounts. But ordinances, such as baptism, the laying on of hands for confirmation, ordination, marriage, etc., belong

LEAVES FROM THE TREE OF LIFE.

to the corporeal sphere. They are set for the state of probation. Water is an earthly element, or compound of elements, and the blessings ordained to flow from the death, burial and new birth, typified by authorized baptism therein, cannot be secured in any other way. Millions of earth's sons and daughters have passed out of the body without obeying the law of baptism. Many of them will gladly accept the word and law of the Lord when it is proclaimed to them in the spirit world. But they cannot there attend to ordinances that belong to the sphere which they have left. Can nothing be done in their case? Must they forever be shut out of the kingdom of heaven? Both justice and mercy join in answering "yes" to the first and "no" to the last question. What, then, is the way of their deliver

ance?

The living may be baptized for the dead. Other essential ordinances may be attended to vicariously. This glorious truth, hid from human knowledge for centuries, has been made known in this greatest of all divine dispensations. It is indeed light in the midst of darkness. It shines into the depths of the shrouded past, illuminates the mystic future, and reveals the infinite love of God and His tender mercy over all His works. It explains the meaning of Scripture texts long considered difficult and obscure. It links by loving ties the living with their dead. It shows why "the fathers without us cannot be made perfect." It opens the way of redemption for the hosts of departed heathens. It brings together in one all who are in Christ, even though parted by the veil that is drawn between the physical and spiritual spheres. It gives men and women the power to become "Saviors on Mount Zion," Jesus being the great Captain in the army of redeemers.

In God's house all things are done in order. There is a right way and a proper place for the administration of ordinances for the dead. The living relatives of those who have departed without an opportunity of obeying the earthly requirements of the plan of sal

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vation, if they have themselves been born of the water and of the spirit, stand in the name and place of the departed and receive the ordinances to be placed to the credit of the dead. Either sex

represents its own. Men are not baptized for women, nor women for men. The first-born son in each family has rights of priority connected with this vicarious work if he has proven himself worthy. The ordinances must be administered by those having authority, being set apart for the work, and must be duly witnessed and properly recorded. The books on earth must tally with the records in heaven. The place for these administrations is in a Temple built to the Most High God, after the pattern revealed. The baptismal font, like the brazen sea in the Temple of Solomon, is placed in the basement, under the place where the living are wont to assemble, typifying the place for the dead, all things spiritual having their correspondence with things natural. That which is done on earth, according to the divine instructions, is acknowledged in heaven, and is of force and effect in the world to come. Herein is manifest the power of the Holy Priesthood, loosing or binding on earth, and it is loosed or bound in heaven, all according to the commandments and revelations of the Most High through Jesus the Anointed.

This principle of proxy runs like a thread of gold throughout the entire robe of salvation. Christ is the proxy of blood for the whole race of sinners. The Spotless One died in the place of the impure. He is the offering for the deadly sin of Adam, He is the propitiation for the evil deeds of a world. The lamb on the smoking altar, the scapegoat turned into the wilderness, the sprinkling of atonement, all the sacrifices of the old covenant, as well as the infinite one of the new, are based on the doctrine of vicarious action and the divine acceptance of authorized substitutes.

The manifestation of this truth in the last dispensation came from the Prophet Elijah in the Temple built to the Almighty by the Latter-day Saints in Kirtland, Ohio. On the third of April, 1836,

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