The Love of Light and Learning…

Scripture and reason and revelation, as well as the very awareness within us, all attest to man’s eternal continuance. Since this is so, since men are immortal, how should we best use our time, what should we most try to acquire?

The answer to this calls for another question: What can we take with us when we leave this life; what can we take with us into eternity?—the reward of our works; the love of loved ones; memory; the knowledge of truth; intelligence; our own indestructible identity—and the power to progress.

Since this is so, what men learn, what they think, what they know, how they live, what they are inside themselves, is of everlasting importance. And this places a premium on the pursuit of knowledge, on the love of learning, on acquiring true and timeless things within ourselves. This places less of a premium on mere things, and more on what we could carry with us—anywhere—wherever we went—even if we had to flee for our lives—even if we lost our lives.

This places a premium on learning, not as narrowly defined, not merely as academic credits and credentials, but learning in the largest, sincerest sense, with the assurance that “whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.”

This places an obligation upon us to improve our minds, to feed our souls, to seek, and never to be smugly satisfied, and never to starve the spirit, and never to pursue the search along too narrow lines—but to feed each side of ourselves and acquire acquaintances with great truths, great books, great minds, great men; with scripture and with things of the spirit, as well as the tangible physical factors—in short to seek out everything “…virtuous, lovely, or of good report of praiseworthy…”—to seek knowledge, truth, and understanding for the present and everlasting life, for “The Glory of God is intelligence…”—and intelligence leads to light and truth.

All this makes learning and the sincere love of learning, the love of truth and light, not only an opportunity but an obligation.