Taken from the 1840 theological treatise
“The Fountain of Knowledge” by Parley P. Pratt
1. However sacred and true may be the principles contained in a book of scripture, yet these principles were true before they were written.
2. Each truth was revealed before it was written and consequentially known before it was written.
3. Therefore, it follows that all revealed knowledge was obtained without books and independent of them. On the other hand, no sacred book came into existence without the pre-existence of all the principles of revealed knowledge contained therein.
4. It is, therefore, a self-evident fact that sacred books are the productions of revealed knowledge, and revealed knowledge is not originally produced from books.
5. Hence a book cannot be the fountain or source of knowledge but is, at best, a stream from the fountain.
6. Again: all books written on perishable materials are liable to destruction, but the fountain of knowledge cannot be destroyed. And should all books be destroyed, all knowledge contained in them would still exist, and we might derive the same knowledge from the very same fountain from whence it emanated previous to it being written.
7. O, Mortal! Burst the chains of mortality which bind thee fast. Unlock the prison of thy clay tenement which confines thee to this groveling, earthly sphere of action and – robed in immortality, wrapped in visions of eternity, with organs of sight and thought and speech which cannot be impaired or weakened by time or use – soar amid unnumbered worlds which roll in majesty on high. Ascend the heights; descend the depths; explore the lengths and breadths of organized existence. Learn the present facts, the past history, and future destiny of things and beings: of God and his works; of the organization of angels, of spirits, of men and animals; of worlds and their fullness; of thrones and dominions, principalities and powers. Learn what humanity was before this life and what humanity will be in the world to come. Or, seated high on a throne Celestial, surrounded by the chaotic mass of unorganized existence, search out the origin of matter and mind. Trace them through all the windings of their varied order, till purified and exalted, all nature seeks a grand, sublime repose and enters into rest, to change no more.
8. And thus, with knowledge stored, return to earth, and attempt to write all thou hast seen or heard of heaven and earth, of time and eternity in a book.
9. You will then realize the truth of the language of the poet:
“Could we with ink the ocean fill
Was the whole earth of parchment made,
And every single stick a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above.
Would drain the ocean dry,
Nor could the whole upon a scroll
Be spread from sky to sky.”
10. Again, a sacred book could never contain a millionth part of the knowledge that an intelligent being is capable of receiving and comprehending.
11. It is not then to a book, however true or sacred or useful it may be, that we would point to as the fountain of knowledge; but rather to the great fountain of light and truth enthroned in the midst of the heavens; the revealer of secrets and the author of all truth in existence, whether written or not.
12. Knowledge from this source can only be derived by means of direct revelation.
Verse 9 is a reference to Rabbi Meir bar Yitzchak Nehorai of Orléans (died circa 1095)