What is the Work and Glory of God?

Okay, I've gotten enough hints that I need to put a new blog up here, so I'm going to do my best here to see what I can do. The problem is that I'm not quite sure how I want to say this all because of the many insights that I've had on the topic.

There are I believe two scriptures that will effectively set the basis for my discussion right now. You might pull your own scriptures out to mark them with any thoughts that you might have. The first is in Moses 1:39:

For behold, this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man

Basic Seminary scripture there - my Seminary teacher would be proud of me that I did that from memory. Okay not really - everyone and their nursery kids know that scripture from memory. The second scripture that I will present however, I believe adds a great deal of depth into our potential understanding of the first - Doctrine and Covenants 93:36:

The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.

We put the two together and we see that the work and intelligence / light / truth of God is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. Okay? Clear as mud right? Now, here's where it gets interesting...

1) Prior to our existence as spiritual beings, we were intelligences. Abraham 3: 22 clearly states this, reading: Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was... In other words, we were beings of a lesser form of pure light and/or truth.

This notion is further cemented with the words "here is matter unorganized" and its following story for those that are familiar with the phrase. Where else do we read about this? The 131st Section of the Doctrine and Covenants!:

There is no such thing as immaterial matter. All spirit is matter, but it is more fine or pure, and can only be discerned by purer eyes. (Verse 7)

Modern-day scientists actually have this concept right when they state that matter cannot be created or destroyed - only organized or put into chaos. Concurrently - we were the organized creation of God the Father, and are beings of intelligence in His likeness. Now, hold onto that thought for a few minutes as you read more...

2) As we turn back one section from the last, to the 130th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants, we read in the 18th and 19th verses:

18. Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. 19. 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.

The words "unto" and "and" in the previous passage are KEY words that help us to understand the meaning of these scriptures. We will perhaps understand the first part - about the attaining of intelligence by cross-referencing to 2 Nephi 9:13:

O how great the plan of our God! For on the other hand, the paradise of God must deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body is restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible and immortal, and they are living souls, having a perfect knowledge like unto us in the flesh, save it be that our knowledge shall be perfect.

Thus - intelligence becomes translated to mean perfection in this case. In other words - whatever principle of perfection we reach in this life, we carry with us to the next. This is backed up in the later phrase referring to knowledge and intelligence. Thus - knowledge is our faith, the imperfect knowledge which we gain in this life which eventually evolves into a charitable celestial knowledge and eventually into intelligence.

3. As if we need further backing for this insight - consider the phrase the "light of Christ" We know from above that the glory of God is intelligence...or in other words light and truth Hmmm - so if intelligence is to mean perfection and intelligence is also light and truth - then perfection is to be light and truth also. (Hence the dwelling place of God is in Exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom).

Further: For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil...wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. (Moroni 7:16)

There we have the term "perfect knowledge" again - which is to say intelligence. Thus, what we glean from all this, especially after cross-referencing other scriptures (which I will not attempt to do here) is that every mortal soul upon this earth has a measure of perfection within them at birth and throughout their lives. The Fall of Adam and Eve was such that imperfection - the partaking of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil - was brought into a temple of perfection and therefore one could not behold the other in their presence, and the imperfections were cast out - in this case Adam and Eve out of the Garden.

While we cannot hope to obtain complete perfection or intelligence in this life, we can build upon the intelligence inherently within ourselves as Spirit children of Divine beings and Spirit brothers and sisters of a perfect Brother.

Our attaining of immortality and eternal life will not be Hurculean and nature like Disney's film was, but it will largely be determined in this life by the choices we make. As we push ourselves to grow and we seek for further light and knowledge from Father - just as Adam did when he was cast out of the Garden, we will one day return to the presence of our God and present to him the elements of our perfected countenances and accept our judgment accordingly (that'll be a future blog btw!) There's some stuff for you to think about there!