I have been interested in observing acts of genius and intellectual behavior for many years, I suppose, ever since I first read from the Book of Abraham in respect to Intelligence, its meaning and its distribution in the world: “Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;” (Abraham 3:22) He is referring to us (among all these) as intelligent entities that have always existed and always will exist for we are Gnolaum (eternal). That understanding came from the following: “Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be.” (D&C 93:29)
To know and understand what was revealed to the prophet Joseph Smith has got to be an incentive to any reasonable person. To know that if we are to strive in life to improve ourselves and our knowledge and understanding of things the way they are and even the way they might become and/or ought to be. That revelation stated: “And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.” (D&C 130:19) That same thought is revealed in the parable of the talents given to the disciples by Christ Himself. Those who were able to increase the number of talents that they were blessed with were added onto, and those who did not lose those which they were given. You can ask, what is intelligence? Again the answer lies in the revelations in Latter-day scriptures for “The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.” (D&C 93:36) Light and Truth is the answer that, of course, is the opposite to darkness and those many enticements in life that take us away from light. Light flooded the earth when “…God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” (Genesis 1:3) Every being was born with the light of Christ—and that being above and beyond the light or intelligence that they were conceived with, as an individual intelligence.
We recently visited the Greenwich Village Museum in the London area of England. The museum displayed the chronology of solving the problem of “longitudinal positioning,” making it possible for ships to accurately determine their longitudinal location at sea. The lack of knowing the exact longitudinal positioning was costing trading nations so many lost ships and lives, and it was of great importance that this problem be solved. Trade and commerce was not the only problem, but thousands of immigrants traveling to the new world were lost at sea and were never heard of again by their loved ones at home or from those anxiously awaiting and expecting them in the new world. The story is better explained by the Wikipedia.org entry below:
“Longitude fixes the location of a place on earth east or west of a north-south line called the prime meridian. It is given as an angular measurement that ranges from 0° at the prime meridian to +180° eastward and −180° westward. A ship’s east-west position was essential when approaching land. After a long voyage, cumulative errors in dead reckoning frequently led to shipwrecks and a great loss of life. Avoiding such disasters became vital in Harrison’s lifetime, in an era when trade and navigation were increasing dramatically around the world.
“Many ideas were proposed for how to determine longitude during a sea voyage. Earlier methods attempted to compare local time with the known time at a given place, such as Greenwich or Paris, based on a simple theory that had been first proposed by Gemma Frisius. The methods relied on astronomical observations that were themselves reliant on the predictable nature of the motions of different heavenly bodies. Such methods were problematic because of the difficulty in accurately estimating the time at the given place.
“Harrison set out to solve the problem directly, by producing a reliable clock that could keep the time of the given place. His difficulty was in producing a clock that was not affected by variations in temperature, pressure or humidity, and remained accurate over long time intervals, resisted corrosion in salt air, and was able to function on board a constantly-moving ship. Many scientists, including Isaac Newton and Christiaan Huygens, doubted that such a clock could ever be built and favoured other methods for reckoning longitude, such as the method of lunar distances. Huygens ran trials using both a pendulum and a spiral balance spring clock as methods of determining longitude, with both types producing inconsistent results. Harrison, aided by some of London’s finest workmen, proceeded to design and make the world’s first successful marine timekeeper that allowed a navigator to accurately assess his ship’s position in longitude. Importantly, Harrison showed everyone that it could be done… This was to be Harrison’s masterpiece, an instrument of beauty, resembling an oversized pocket watch from the period. It is engraved with Harrison’s signature, marked Number 1 and dated AD 1759. When longitude at sea is lost, it cannot be found again by any watch. Near the end of his life, he finally received the recognition he was due.”
All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also…” (D&C 93:30) John Harrison, using his exceptional intelligence, acted on his own to save thousands of lives by exercising the intelligence he was conceived with; he was not willing to live a common life as many of us do. There was even a song written in respect to his genius, called “John Harrison’s Hands,” words by Brian McNeill, music by Dick Gaughan:
“That sends the roaring gale.
The stars give their light
For duty or devotion,
But a sailor’s heart needs more than prayer When eye and compass fail
And more than hope to guide his lonely sail. By sea and land John Harrison’s hands Made sure for ever more
That sailors could find longitude
To bring them safe ashore.
Your work was hard,
Your days were driven.
You knew that you could build a clock To marry space and time.
But your one great wrong
Was never forgiven—
For to be better than your betters
Was worse than any crime,
And their envy was a hill you would not climb.
By sea and land John Harrison’s hands
Made sure for ever more
That sailors could find longitude
To bring them safe ashore.
And the prize of thirty thousand pounds
Was more than just a prize.
It was dignity and justice
Over bitterness and lies—
And the longer they denied you,
Attacked you and decried you,
The more you saw the weakness in their eyes.
How many lives,
How many talents,
Were tainted by the poisoned well
Of power from which they drank?
But the wind that drives
The bold top gallants
Was harnessed by a man with
Neither privilege nor rank,
And the sailor lads, they knew and gave their thanks.”
Can we possibly understand now, an era long after the problem has been solved, exactly how the longitudinal problem negatively affected the thousands of mariners and their passengers when they were unsure of their exact position? All the while they were being tossed about in the vast oceans on their tiny wooden vessels.
John Harrison was not only a genius, but he was a hero. There are heroes many, and most are honored for their brawn, but John Harrison was a hero that we ought to honor, even today, for his brain and long term commitment to solving one of the world’s early, but most complex, problems.
It not only solved the problem for mariners in his day, but it solved the same problem that would have been a hazard for those who now navigate ships and airplanes. Planes that were not even a serious thought in man’s mind for another 150 years later. Today, literally thousands of flights are scheduled to destinations all over this planet earth every single day. Flights carry hundreds of thousands of people all over the world with seldom an error or loss of life. Technology has advanced from John Harrison’s days, but his genius set the stage. When I saw his work and read of his challenge, tears rolled down the cheeks of this old man. Tears of respect for a display of genius and determination. John Harrison was given five talents, and when the Master calls him forward His response will be: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.” (Matthew 25:20–21) John Harrison was diligent and sought valuable knowledge for the good of his fellow man. “And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come.” (D&C 130:19) We have a charge to use what we have been given regardless of the number of talents that we have. We must make the most of what “light and truth” we have been blessed with or even that may be taken from us and given to another.