9 Sept 2009: Knowledge is Radiance

KNOWLEDGE IS RADIANCE

Light is “something that makes things visible or affords illumination. It is radiant energy, a spark, a flame. Beyond its literal meaning, it refers to spiritual illumination or awareness, or enLIGHTenment. Three primary properties of light are intensity (or brightness), frequency (or wavelength), and polarization (or direction). Light exhibits properties of both waves and particles. The study of light, known as optics, is an important research area in modern physics. Light is associated with heat, with speed, and communications.

I like the idea of light. It is powerful. My friend, Ryan, does doctoral research with sunlight in Cambodia. Everywhere in the world, thousands die daily from water-borne diseases. They are struggling to get clean water to people to prevent the spread of cholera and other deadly disease. Ryan is working with a team of Swiss scientists to find alternative methods to purify water for people to drink.

Water purifiers are expensive; chemicals can be dangerous. They are now finding that if you paint a black strip on a cheap plastic water bottle, then you can ATTRACT sunlight. After water sits in the sunlight for several hours, it becomes totally purified – better than any man-made chemical combination, or man-made instrument to purify water. Sunlight is no discriminator of persons. It’s free to all of His children – to benefit (or burn) us.

The Light of Christ is like sunlight. Just as sunlight is a natural disinfectant, the Spirit of Christ can cleanse our spirits. There is no darkness in sunlight. Darkness is subject unto it. The sun can be hidden by clouds or by the rotation of the earth, but the clouds will disappear, and the earth will complete its turning. This Light of Christ, which gives life, is within you. The evil one – Satan – will try to obscure it. It can be so clouded with confusion so far as to convince you that it does not exist.

Elder James E. Talmage (1862–1933) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that Light is the Spirit of Christ and the “divine essence” by which the Godhead operates upon people and in nature. (See Articles of Faith, 12th edition (1924), 488, note 3.)

Joseph Smith taught that light is something we seek and we acquire according to obedience: “He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things. Light is glory, intelligence, knowledge and truth. (D&C 93:28, 36).

The scriptures teach us that the Light of Christ is the divine energy, power, or influence that proceeds from God through Christ and gives life and light to all things. The Light of Christ "proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space." Light is in all things, giveth life to all things, and is the law by which all things are governed."

Joseph Smith went to great lengths to try to describe the light the Living Christ:
“His eyes were as a flame of fire; the hair of his head was white like the pure snow; his countenance shone above the brightness of the sun.” Christ is the light, the life, and the hope of the world.

A powerful metaphor of this is the light of sun above – which creates photosynthesis. EVERYTHING grows because of sunlight. We live because of light – literally.

HOW DOES LIGHT HELP ME PURSUE MY PASSION?
Alma wrote of hearts being changed and souls being “illuminated by the light of the everlasting word” (Alma 5:7). He also described the “discernible” nature of light in the following passage: “O then, is not this real? I say unto you, Yea, because it is light; and whatsoever is light, is good, because it is discernible, therefore ye must know that it is good” (Alma 32:35).

Many of the world’s great leaders, scientists, artists, and philosophers have been blessed by the influence of the Light of Christ. In 1978 the First Presidency stated that great religious leaders “such as Mohammed, Confucius, and the Reformers, as well as the philosophers including Socrates, Plato, and others, received a portion of God’s light … to enlighten whole nations.” 4 (. Statement of the First Presidency, 15 February 1978.)

President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876–1970) wrote: “Those who make these discoveries are inspired of God or they would never make them. The Lord gave inspiration to Edison, to Franklin, to Morse, to Whitney and to all of the inventors and discoverers, and through their inspiration they obtained the necessary knowledge and were able to manufacture and invent as they have done for the benefit of the world. Without the help of the Lord they would have been just as helpless as the people were in other ages.” 5 (Doctrines of Salvation, compiled by Bruce R. McConkie, 3 volumes (1954–56), 1:147.)

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WE ARE LIGHTED & DESIGNED TO SHINE

This thirstiness for light, this craving for brightness, is not random. It is “IN” us. God made man in his own image to be stewards over His other creations (Genesis 1:26 -27; Gospel Principles, p.9). We come from the light. We are commanded to kindle our light – to not put it “under a bushel.”

Because we are made in His image (Moses 6:9), we know that God has a body that looks like ours. We have God’s DNA. And, similar to knowing who are parents and ancestors are, people want to know where we came from.

Before I left Boston, the Museum of Fine Arts held a rendezvous of Gaugain’s famous paintings from Tahiti. This French artist’s masterpiece asks the pivotal questions of humanity: D'où venons-nous ? Qui sommes-nous ? Où allons-nous ? “Where did we come from? Who are we? Where are we going?”

As basic as these questions are, they have baffled the world’s philosophers for millennia. For me, knowing that “God is Light” gives me an anchor. Being a child of God gives me an identity as a child of light. Witnessing His light helps me start to grasp my own light. I am more confident in my ability to do good, to become intelligent, and to be happy, because, as my Father, God is more good, more intelligent and more happy than I am. I believe that He cares about my life and He wants me to gain knowledge and make choices that prepare me to return and live with Him.

Being a child of God is no small thing. There is a spark in us. We are sons and daughters of light. (Nibley, 272). James E Faust spoke about this godliness in us as believing blood. He said: “Believing Blood flows from the heart and into the blood vessels... It’s in you.”

As we cultivate our relationship with God, we sense his closeness to us. In Rwanda, the people have a phrase, “Imana irigwa ahandi igatah iRwanda.” It means, “God spends the day all over the world making miracles, but He comes to sleep with us here in Rwanda.” As we try to get closer to Christ, He also gets closer to us. We feel Him all around us. His light contributes to our light and vice-versa. This is glory. It is glorious.