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| The Work and Glory of God |
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In Mormon theology, the most frequent concept applied to the work describes Him as an organizer. In a universe of Eternally Existent matter and Intelligences, God organized them into more complicated patterns. God's organizing efforts are so intertwined with mankind that there are no clear scriptures which will generalize any purpose other than mankind. However, a reading of those passages will help clarify the nature of God's work. The clearest statement is found in the Pearl of Great Price: "For behold, this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (PofGP 1:39). This scripture defines two things, God's work and his glory. This tells us not only what He does, but it defines that work as contributing to the glory of God. When God goes to work, he works to 'bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man'. There are two important observations on this part of the scripture. The first is that both immortality and eternal life are concepts which apply to mankind only after this earth life has ended. They both await us in the future, so God's work is not yet done, but is still in progress. The second observation is that there are two terms which might be confused an appear to be the same thing. Both immortality and eternal life refer to states after the end of this life, but immortality merely refers to our resurrection. For Mormons, "eternal life" bears a qualitative connotation, and refers to our exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom. Taken as a whole, and paraphrasing the text in the Pearl of Great Price, the work and glory of God is to see to the exaltation of man. This is not a single event, but a long process which began ages ago, and concludes some ages in the future. During this process, we walk the path God walked; He who once was a man, and now is God. This long process of God's work helps us place the proper context to another scripture from the Doctrine and Covenants. To fully understand this passage, we must restate a few verses we have already examined. Below is Doctrine and Covenants Section 93:29-37. 29. Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be. 30. All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence. 31. Behold, here is the agency of man, and here is the condemnation of man; because that which was from the beginning is plainly manifest unto them, and they receive not the light. 32. and every man whose spirit receiveth not the light is under condemnation. 33. For man is spirit. The elements are eternal, and spirit and element, inseparably connected, receive a fulness of joy; 34. And when separated, man cannot receive a fulness of joy. 35. The elements are the tabernacle of God; yea, man is the tabernacle of God, even temples; and whatsoever temple is defiled, God shall destroy that temple. 36. The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth. In the context of all of these verses, verse 36's proclamation that the 'glory of God is intelligence' takes on new meaning. Surely an omniscient God does not glory in his own knowledge. Nor does our mental capacity assure us that we will ever reach eternal life, which is clearly defined as God's glory in the Moses 1:39. In this set of scriptures, the term "intelligence" is still used in its context as a building block for the Great Organizer. The Glory of God is Intelligence in the same way that the Glory of God is the eternal life of Man. Intelligence, as a form of eternally existing matter, is the stuff on which God works. It is possible that the popular confusion of this use of Intelligence with mental capacity comes from the aside which follows the statement. Verse 36 states that "The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth" (italics added). Since we usually use truth as a concept rather than an entity, most have assumed that the term intelligence also refers to a concept easily linked with truth. What better definition of real intellect than that which is imbued with truth? The sentiment is good, the principle is right, but the interpretation of this particular verse is wrong. Light and truth in verse 36 must be the same concept as the "light of truth" discussed in verse 29. There, intelligence is defined as the "light of truth", rather than "light and truth". These may simply be two phrases which were thought to mean the same thing. In either case, the nature of truth as an entity rather than a concept appears in the beginning of verse 30, where "all truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself...". It is not clear from these verses, nor from any other source of which I am aware, exactly how the personified truth fits into the scheme of things. Verse 30 appears to make it a separate entity from Intelligence, but it is typically used as an alternate definition of Intelligence. From all evidence available, it appears best to see verse 30 as a stylistic device to emphasize the agency of the Intelligences rather that to create another category of eternally existing matter. What does God do when He goes to work? He takes existing matter and organizes it. More than a Creator, God is an Exalter. God takes what is there and organizes it into higher forms. While mankind is his ultimate work and glory, the organization of all of the elements into a higher order of existence appears to be part of that greater work. Surely, a God who marks each sparrow's fall has had a loving hand in its creation. |
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| by Brant Gardner. Copyright 1998 |
To properly understand
ourselves, we must comprehend what God does. Mainstream Christianity has historically portrayed God as the Creator.
Depending upon the definition of the term, it is an accurate description. It is misleading, however, if Creator
is deemed to create from nothing. Mormon doctrine officially and adamantly eschews the concept of creatio ex
nihilo(creation out of nothing). For Mormons, God created order from chaos, using matter which has always
existed as His building blocks.|
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