Glory of God

by Autumn Dickson

Section 93 is full of truth that revolves around how eternity works. It speaks of light, knowledge, and application. It speaks of our eternal nature. Here is one important, eternal principle.

Doctrine and Covenants 93:36 The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.

Here is a quote from Joseph Smith that is enlightening. He taught:

God has created man with a mind capable of instruction, and a faculty which may be enlarged in proportion to the heed and diligence given to the light communicated from heaven to the intellect; and that the nearer man approaches perfection, the clearer are his views, and the greater his enjoyments, till he has overcome the evils of his life and lost every desire for sin…

When I was on my mission, I taught a lot of Chinese students who had come to the United States for an education. Many of these students had backgrounds in Buddhism, and I learned a bit about their beliefs as I worked with them. Forgive me if I get a bit of their beliefs wrong, but I’m going to try and describe a bit of their understanding.

Buddhists believe that suffering is something that occurs because of our nature here on earth. They believe that suffering can be ended, and that you overcome suffering by letting go of attachments and cravings for things that are not permanent (we would probably say eternal). Eventually you reach a state called enlightenment where I would repeat what Joseph Smith described. You receive truth, approach perfection, your views become clearer, and your enjoyments grow deeper until you overcome all the evils that are holding you back.

I grew to love many of their perspectives and found that they held a lot of truth. The gospel according to Autumn believes that they once received truth but apostasized just like many of the Western religions; they just went in the opposite directions. Where many Western religions left behind the idea of personal progress in exchange for faith-only based salvation, Buddhism went to the other side of the spectrum. You grow and grow and receive more and more joy, but they lost the incredible aspects of Christ and His grace. There is truth there, just not all of it.

And though they lost that essential portion of salvation, I believe that they hold perspectives that can add to our understanding of the truth.

Part of salvation is receiving light, growing, overcoming natural tendencies and cravings, and eventually arriving at a state where you can enjoy all the eternities have to offer. I know of many people who have walked further in their path of enlightenment, and they truly enjoy much.

Section 93 speaks of truth, and one of the truths that can add to our understanding of this section is that wickedness never was happiness. There is innate suffering with clinging to things that are not eternal. When we can school our thoughts, desires, and loves to cling to the things of eternity, we let go of the wickedness that binds our soul to unhappiness.

Christ can cleanse us and keep us in the Celestial Kingdom all He wants. However, if we continue to cling to unhappiness we cannot partake in the fullness of salvation because salvation is the epitome of deepest joy. How can you experience the deepest joy if you still love unhappiness?

So we work and overcome and walk towards enlightenment, or more accurately, towards exaltation where we are in a state where we can actually receive a fullness of joy. All the while, Christ keeps us continually clean until that beautiful day that He no longer has to. We rejoice and worship Him for making our journey mean something, for paying the price so that all the suffering we caused others can be made up, for paying the price so that we can be cleansed and cleansed so we can stand in the presence of our beloved Father. We rejoice and get to enjoy being around Him.

The Institute Manual shares a quote from President Joseph F. Smith. He teaches, “…Intelligence is the glory of God; and no man can be saved in ignorance.”

You can’t be saved in ignorance because salvation is not just about cleanliness and innocence. You can’t be saved in ignorance because you can’t fully enjoy all there is to enjoy without intelligence, and salvation is the epitome of joy.

We believe in receiving light and truth. We believe in overcoming the natural man so that we no longer cling to unhappiness. We believe in Christ’s atonement that saves. We believe in a fullness of joy, a fullness of salvation.

I testify of a Savior who has so much more to give. I testify that He yearns to give it as soon as we are ready to receive it. I testify that His salvation includes His cleansing and healing; I also testify that His salvation includes His knowledge and power and glory that we can progress towards.

 

Autumn Dickson was born and raised in a small town in Texas. She served a mission in the Indianapolis Indiana mission. She studied elementary education but has found a particular passion in teaching the gospel. Her desire for her content is to inspire people to feel confident, peaceful, and joyful about their relationship with Jesus Christ and to allow that relationship to touch every aspect of their lives. Autumn was the recipient of FAIR’s 2024 John Taylor Defender of the Faith Award.

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