There is a continuum of practice and belief going back in time more than two thousand years that runs parallel to the mainstream histories of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam in the West, a continuum of magic and sorcery: a belief in the possibility of the manipulation of hidden powers by ordinary mortals, provided that they only have the technological information at hand, and the right equipment. It is actually a very scientific attitude towards understanding and working with cosmic principles, contrary to the opinions of skeptics and historians. It is a technology that was designed to extend the capability of a person's five normal senses into a sixth realm: a technology that acted as a machine to fine tune the powers of the mind. This technology is so consistent in its general terms and practices that a magician of today can look upon the texts and instruments of his or her counterpart of two thousand years ago and figure out what they were up to. Furthermore, the systems are so internally consistent that we can duplicate these rituals exactly in every way and gradually come to an understanding probably far in excess of what Joseph Smith could be expected to have, as the studies of psychology, psychobiology, and biochemistry were nowhere near as advanced then as they are today. Whereas modern histories of science grudgingly and somewhat sarcastically give credit to the alchemists of old for having created the fundamentals of chemistry, no one credits the ceremonial magicians for their contribution (however, accidental) to modern knowledge concerning psychology and psychobiology.
-PL
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