The Glory of God Is Intelligence

"The Glory of God is Intelligence By Henry M. Stark, Student Brigham Young University 9? [Dr. James E. Talmage, one of the regular lecturers on religious topics at the Brigham Young University, Provo, at the opening of the last school year offered a cash prize of $25 to the student who should write the best essay on some religious topic suggested by his lecture. "The Glory of God is Intelligence," by Henry M. Stark, was adjudged the best effort and the prize was awarded in June to him. A like prize is offered this season by Dr. Talmage. The conditions controlling the writing, and judging of the essays and the awarding of the prizes, rest entirely with the faculty. — Editors.] A principle of truth which is rarely accepted and perhaps less understood by the average person in the world today is sum- marized in these few words given as direct revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith, in May, 1833: "The glory of God is intel- ligence, or, in other words, light and truth." And yet the statement is of such frequent occurrence among the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as to have become quite commonplace with them. It has come almost to be considered as an axion of "Mormon" doctrine That we may better understand the statement referred to, let us ask: What constitutes the glory of God? Plainly it is not in self -exaltation, or where would be the function or value of intelligence? In a revelation given to Moses and later to Joseph Smith, the Lord said: "For this is my work and my glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." If, then, God's glory is intelligence and is also man's acquisition of im- mortality and eternal life, it becomes clear that the gaining of intelligence is the all-important factor in bringing to the human race salvation and eternal life. This governing principle must have been operative in the preexistent world as it is in the present; and, no doubt, it will forever continue to stand as a basis by which man's progress or, in other words, his salvation, will be measured. Consider, by way of illustration, that although there is no such thing as absolute predestination, yet different individuals seem to inherit varying degrees of opportunity, and therefore of joy, in this life. We have all noticed the variable nature of the circum- stances under which different individuals are born, some blessed with opportunities of development through continuous labor, while others through lives of ease yield readily to non-progres- sive idleness. Some are born under the protecting folds of the American flag while others must leave their native lands if

1038 IMPROVEMENT ERA ever they are to enjoy the blessings of liberty and peace that this country offers. Some enjoy from birth the blessings of the gos- pel, having been born under the new and everlasting covenant, while others, seemingly through no fault of their own, will never be privileged to so much as hear, in this life, the message of the restored gospel. And were it not for our belief in a pre- existence and in some pre-determining factor being the cause of such varying conditions we might well be justified in question- ing the correctness of the statement of Paul and Peter to the effect that God is no respecter of persons. But these facts are perfectly harmonized by our belief in an eternity' of existence both before and after, and by our faith in the fact that our con- dition of joy or happiness in any stage of being is the result of the operation of just and irrevocable laws. And may we go a step farther and say that the sum total of intelligence that the individual had gained prior to his birth into mortality was the potent factor in determining the status of his earth life? Abraham seems to have received this truth from the Lord in a revelation given to him and recorded in the Pearl of Great Price. In this revelation (Pearl of Great Price, p. 66) the different individuals are depicted as being graded according to the degree of intelligence they possessed; and Abraham is told that because of his intelligence he had been chosen before the foundations of the world to become a prophet of the Lord. God himself is spoken of as being more intelligent than all others, which, of course, accounts for his position of supremacy. Abraham's particular degree of intelligence had fitted him to become a prophet in earth life. AJ1 of the great leaders who have been fore-ordained to positions of trust in this life must have had experience in the life before, which fitted them for their particular positions. In thinking of the principle as applying to our acts in this life, consider the statement of Christ, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Since truth and light are given as synonyms of intelligence, and since salvation has been defined as freedom from the power of our enemies, the Savior must have had the same thought in mind as did Joseph Smith when he said: "No man can be saved in ignorance." Man's salvation in this life seems to be predicated on his degree ©f intelligence, even as it has been in the past. This seems na- tural when we remember that our knowledge is the only part of our earthly acquirements that passes with us into the next stage of existence. "Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. 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

THE GLORY OF GOD IS INTELLIGENCE 1039 advantage in the world to come." (Doctrine & Covenants, 130: 18, 19.) With such a wealth of revelation bearing directly on in- telligence, is it any wonder that the Latter-day Saints have taken such definite and progressive attitude toward education as the record of their achievements show? The leaders of the Church from the beginning must have felt it incumbent upon themselves to promote such developments as would insure that all members of the Church have every possible opportunity for gaining an education. The history of the growth and development of edu- cation and educational institutions among the "Mormon" peo- ple shows that our people have ever been willing to make any sacrifices necessary in order that their children could receive as much intelligence as possible. While the Church had yet only a few members the School of the Prophets was instituted. And in the face of the most bitter persecution the University of Nauvoo was established in that frontier city in Illinois. One of the first things the Saints did on arriving in Utah was to build a school; and as early as 1856 there was established the Univer- sity of Deseret, which has grown into the present University of Utah. Brigham Young must have been acting on his conviction that intelligence is a great saving principle when he founded the Brigham Young University at Provo, which action has given rise to the great chain of Church schools strung throughout this intermountain country. If the degree of intelligence makes it possible for one man to be a prophet of God while another is only an ordinary man; yes, if this principle is the determining factor in making gods of some and only mediocre beings of others, plainly it becomes a responsibility of every individual to acquire as much intelli- gence as possible. Some may answer that it is not their desire to rise to any higher levels but simply to stay where they are and enjoy life; but when we consider the fact that happiness is predicated on ability to serve, and that increased power gives greater opportunities for service, the advantage, even from a selfish standpoint, becomes obvious. And since intelligence comes to us and becomes ours only through our individual efforts, its acquisition stands out plainly as the paramount ob- ject of our mortal existence. The transitory nature of other things, such as wealth, power and fame, relegates them to a place of secondary consideration. These last mentioned items may and usually do come as by-products of the main issue, but they should certainly never be made the aim of life's efforts. If then, the acquiring of intelligence is to play such an important role in our life, we may well ask ourselves the ques- tion: What is intelligence and what knowledge is of most worth? Surely the mere possession of facts to be given forth in encyclo-

1040 IMPROVEMENT ERA pedic style is not to be considered as the supreme goal of life. If so, we will all be forced to render homage to the bookworm whether or not he has performed any real service in the world. Obviously, the application of the principles of truth is quite as important as the acquirement of the facts themselves. It is coming to be a watchword of modern education to "learn by doing." In the greatest of all schools, in God's school of ex- perience, this truth is equally applicable. We cannot hope to realize our highest possibilities through mere acquaintance with abstract principles. Our approach to perfection and to godhood will be predicated on our ability to apply knowledge just as much as on our rate of acquiring it. Knowledge is power it has been said By one now numbered with the dead; But is it power, I ask you, when 'Tis hoarded up by selfish men? To me 'tis power when understood That it must serve this world for good. This harmonizes beautifully with the following definition given by one of our Church writers: "Intelligence may be de- fined as knowledge transmuted into habits of righteousness." But surely among the multiplicity of facts, to acquire which and make our own we need only to "thrust in our sickle and reap" some things are more valuable than others. It would be folly to measure these principles of intelligence, these veritable stepping-stones to salvation, by only quantitative standards. In this age of science and industry and of higher education for the masses, when a college degree has come to spell the epitome of education, and when the continued search for more knowledge seems to be the supreme goal, there is need of having settled the question: What knowledge is of most worth? Engraved on one of the walls of the beautiful memorial church at Stanford Uni- versity are the following words: "There is no narrowing so deadly as the narrowing of man's horizon of spiritual things. No worse evil could befall a man in his course on earth than to lose sight of heaven. It is not civilization that can prevent this ; it is not civilization that can compensate for it. No widening of science, no possession of abstract truth can indemnify for an enfeebled hold on the highest and central truths of humanity. What can a man give in exchange for his soul?" There is a tendency becoming all too prevalent throughout the world to disregard the spiritual side of life. This tendency toward gross materialism has been stigmatized by a recent writer as one of the strongest enemies that are threatening the race today. Particularly is this true of a certain class of college students who think it derogatory to their reputation as scholars to be regarded as being connected with anything of a spiritual

THE GLORY OF GOD IS INTELLIGENCE 1041 nature. But in such conception they are depriving themselves of access to the very highest order of intelligence. The "highest and central truths of humanity" are those spiritual truths em- bodied in the gospel of the Son of God. Eternal life itself is offered as the reward for this type of knowledge in the follow- ing words of our Savior: "And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17:3.) The possession of knowledge of this kind and its direct application in the daily walks of life are the surest means of preparing ourselves for that eternity of progres- sive achievement called salvation. Women Smokers Between Two Fires By Will H. Brown The women who wish to smoke seem to have the best of the men smokers who would prevent them from smoking, espe- cially in public. The United States has equal rights as to the law of the land. Many men who would not raise a hand in favor of legislation to prohibit men from using tobacco, heartily favor laws to keep the weed away from women. The sight of mothers, sisters and sweethearts smoking is repulsive and disgusting to men in general, regardless of their use or non-use of tobacco. Herein may be the entering wedge leading to tobacco prohi- bition— for the women will never permit a double standard in legislation on this question. Men who look ahead feel that, if matters are not checked, the time will probably come when women will also chew tobacco. Just as many men first learn to smoke, and then, when employed where smoking is prohibited, chew tobacco to satisfy the craving produced by smoking, spit- ting in all sorts of places, so will women^ chew when they once become slaves to the habit. In the meantime the newspapers contain frequent reports of women smoking in public. A policeman in New York City saw a well-known society woman smoking on the street, and asked her to throw her cigarette away. She refused to do so, and he knocked it from her hand. He was summoned before his su- periors to explain his actions. About the same time a woman in Kansas City, Kansas, was fined $500 and sentenced to six months in jail for smoking a cigarette in a public park. In Spokane, Wash., the city was thrown into an uproar because a police commissioner made a ruling that girls and women could no longer work behind cigar counters in that city. Oakland, Cal.