The beginning of each semester at BYU felt like magic to me.
I love learning new things, and so the prospect of walking across campus and sitting down in various classes to learn from people who are experts in these subjects was just fascinating to me.
Looking at a syllabus to see how we could fill an entire semester with hours of learning about different facets of one subject was exhilarating.
Call me a nerd, I know.
And it’s not like I totally loved the act of reading every assigned book and writing every research paper.
But ultimately, I felt the spirituality that was inherently intertwined with learning.
Gaining knowledge was spiritual to me.
The thing that made me sad though were some of my fellow classmates who learned from the same classes that I did and eventually reasoned their way out of their gospel beliefs.
Gaining knowledge had become a worldly pursuit that pulled them further from God.
“The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.” D&C 93:36
The ultimate glory of God is intelligence.
Intelligence is vital and it is championed by God.
And what is intelligence?
It’s not just knowledge. It’s not just getting a good test score.
Intelligence is light and truth.
Intelligence is the light of Christ, the presence of the Spirit, at the same time as the acquisition of truth.
It’s learning under the influence of the Spirit.
And then it leads to intelligent action that is completely congruent with what we’ve learned.
We are created to crave learning.
Maybe it’s math. Maybe it’s music. Maybe it’s recipes. Maybe it’s emotional strategies. Maybe it’s history. Maybe it’s education pedagogy. Maybe it’s public service. Maybe it’s the scriptures.
When we are truly aligned in our spirituality, when we are inviting the Spirit into our lives with every action and thought, I believe that our curiosity is ignited.
There is so much knowledge out there.
And God is looking for righteous, spiritual individuals who are going to learn and then act.
I want to hear— when YOU are aligned spiritually, what is an area you feel your curiosity is led toward?
Happy Studying!
-Cali Black
6 Responses
I’ve been lead in various directions at different times in my life. Initially music, next math technology science (worked on space shuttle) then turned to emotional health mixed in with social work and the science of human behavior. Not sure where else I’ll be lead to next. Im a covert of more than 50 years and are still amazed by all our Father wants us to discover so that we can become more like him.
That’s awesome you’ve had the opportunity to learn in so many different areas! Thanks for sharing!
I can’t get enough of all the knowledge being taught in the Come Follow Me program. When I am aligned spiritually I want to listen to podcast after podcast and get EVERYBODY’S way of teaching for the subject that week. All of it is light and knowledge, but different parts of it stand out to different people and they are each passionate about something different. I feel a new excitement in everybody who is spiritually aligned!
I love that! Thank you for sharing!
Relationships. For me it always comes down to that. When I’m aligned, I find myself wanting further light and knowledge, and sharing that light and knowledge. It comes in many ways, professional, family, sports, callings, and sometimes in huge waves. The light received is always enhanced by relationships, or the light of others. Christ gathers in light, us, and I feel “lighter” when I do the same.
I love that! Thank you for sharing!