All the colors will bleed into one

A friend of mine recently shared this video with me, which I found incredibly touching. Maybe it was something about the earnest spirit conveyed in this cover, maybe it was because my perspective had changed since the last time I paid attention to the lyrics, but I noticed a line I’d never heard before.

The third verse begins: “I believe in the kingdom come, then all the colors will bleed into one.” I don’t know who told Bono to write that, but it’s probably one of the deepest ideas I’ve ever heard expressed in contemporary music. It’s a very poetic description of the redemption of the world.

“That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him” (Ephesians 1:10).

Christ is the truth. All things coalesce and come together in Him. He is the fulfillment of the law, and of all prophecy. He is the sum of the scriptures, and all that is good, true, and beautiful.

This is why the testimony of Jesus is the sprit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10). Prophecy is more than predicting the future—it is to speak the truth: “for the Spirit speaketh the truth and lieth not. Wherefore, it speaketh of things as they really are, and of things as they really will be” (Jacob 4:13).

Reality is organized in fractal patterns that flow out of God’s character. To speak to any of portion of this truth is to testify of God. “The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator” (Alma 30:44). This is why Jacob says that “none of the prophets have written, nor prophesied, save they have spoken concerning this Christ” (Jacob 7:11). You cannot prophesy—that is, you cannot speak truth—without testifying of Christ in some degree or fashion.

All of the disparate parts of reality are one in Christ. He is the “kingdom come,” the redemption of the world, and the prototype of a saved being. He is what the world must become in order to be redeemed. As people become more and more like Him, all things will come together. This is what the gathering of Israel is about. The ascent in light towards that which is greatest causes all independent bodies to converge in one.

One way we can think about this pattern is the idea of a mountain. At the bottom, things are desperate and spread apart. As you move closer to the top, all sides come together.

The further you are from God, the more separate ideas seem. The gentiles have put all of these things into different buckets (e.g. biology, physics, psychology, religion, economics, philosophy, music, art, history, etc). The closer you come to God, the more you see that all truth can be circumscribed into one great whole. His Spirit provides a top-down perspective, wherein all things can be perceived as one.

In the end times, as the kingdom comes, all colors will bleed into one. All that is good, true, and beautiful will be gathered together in one in their ascent towards Christ.

The invitation of the gospel is to become like He is. As you ascend in light and truth, the kingdom will be a little more manifest, and the world will be a little more redeemed.

God noted to Noah that the rainbow was a symbol of the covenant He made regarding the “kingdom come.” Anciently, the rainbow was understood to represent the bridge (or ladder) to heaven (e.g. Thor and the bifrost). It was the path of ascension. To Noah and his posterity, it represents the ultimate convergence of heaven and earth that is in Christ.

21 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant, which I made unto thy father Enoch; that, when men should keep all my commandments, Zion should again come on the earth, the city of Enoch which I have caught up unto myself.
22 And this is mine everlasting covenant, that when thy posterity shall embrace the truth, and look upward, then shall Zion look downward, and all the heavens shall shake with gladness, and the earth shall tremble with joy;
23 And the general assembly of the church of the firstborn shall come down out of heaven, and possess the earth, and shall have place until the end come. And this is mine everlasting covenant, which I made with thy father Enoch. (JST Genesis 9:21-23)

Don’t hesitate, don’t waste any time; come to Him today. Repent of all your sins, live in unity with Him, and seek out His character in greater clarity. Those who do so, pursuing this path to its end, will overcome the world. There is no other way, nor name given under heaven, whereby man can be saved.

Even as I, or your Father in heaven is perfect

“Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect” (3 Nephi 12:48).

There are some who will quote the above verse to support the idea that perfection can only be attained after this life. Therefore, you ought not to worry about doing so here, because your nature and desire to sin will change in the resurrection. This differs from the message of the scriptures.

Alma taught that the resurrection is a restoration: “the meaning of the word restoration is to bring back again evil for evil, or carnal for carnal, or devilish for devilish—good for that which is good; righteous for that which is righteous; just for that which is just; merciful for that which is merciful” (Alma 41:13).

As a matter of fact, this popular line of thinking overlooks the premise of the issue, which is that Jesus led a life of perfect obedience. There is a reason Christ did not include Himself in this category until after the resurrection, and it doesn’t have anything to do with His ability to keep the commandments.

Joseph Smith taught, “[Christ] descended in suffering below that which man can suffer, or, in other words, suffered greater sufferings, and was exposed to more powerful contradictions than any man can be. But notwithstanding all this, he kept the law of God, and remained without sin: Showing thereby that it is in the power of man to keep the law and remain also without sin. And also, that by him a righteous judgment might come upon all flesh, and that all who walk not in the law of God, may justly be condemned by the law, and have no excuse for their sins” (Lectures on Faith 5:2).

Those who teach that such obedience is an achievement only attainable in the afterlife actually work against Christ and His purposes—however well intentioned they may be: “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in” (Matthew 23:12). They are, in a word, antichrist.

Complete submission and perfect obedience is the narrow path that leads to perfection. The Savior’s injunction to be perfect as He and His Father are is an invitation to get on the path and persist to its end (as He did).

12 And I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace;
13 And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness;
14 And thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the fulness at the first.
15 And I, John, bear record, and lo, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove, and sat upon him, and there came a voice out of heaven saying: This is my beloved Son.
16 And I, John, bear record that he received a fulness of the glory of the Father;
17 And he received all power, both in heaven and on earth, and the glory of the Father was with him, for he dwelt in him.

19 I give unto you these sayings that you may understand and know how to worship, and know what you worship, that you may come unto the Father in my name, and in due time receive of his fulness.
20 For if you keep my commandments you shall receive of his fulness, and be glorified in me as I am in the Father; therefore, I say unto you, you shall receive grace for grace.
21 And now, verily I say unto you, I was in the beginning with the Father, and am the Firstborn;
22 And all those who are begotten through me are partakers of the glory of the same, and are the church of the Firstborn. (D&C 93:12-17, 19-22).

Christ was the first to walk this course to the end—but the day will come when every person who wishes to enter celestial glory must become like He is, or else not be saved.

In not many days hence there will be 144,000 servants with the Father’s name written in their foreheads—144,00 who have the image of God engraven in their countenances (compare to John 14:8-12). They will gather as many as will come into the Church of the Firstborn—and such a ministry will not cease until the earth is full of celestial glory.

The path forward is to repent of all your sins (Alma 22:16), retain a remission of your sins (Mosiah 4:11-12), and grow from grace to grace until you are made perfect in Christ (Moroni 10:32-33).

“Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God” (2 Nephi 31:20-21).

Tall branches, deep roots, and the renaissance of Mormonism that is soon to be

At my wife’s insistence, I gave the Exodus roundtable series led by Jordan Peterson a listen—and what a superb recommendation that was. I haven’t found better content from public figures like this in a long time, if ever. It has been very inspiring.

The content is gated, but well worth the cost of the DailyWire+ subscription. It’s an extremely small sacrifice in the grand scheme of things—maybe the cost of a lunch out. I’ll include a sample clip below.

As a general disclaimer, I do not necessarily agree wtih every idea presented or discussed in this series.

What’s so deeply moving to me about this is that the concepts and ideas they’re discussing are proportional to the depth with which they’re being treated. They understand its concrete practicality—not as abstract theological trivia, but as the meaty stuff of life.

By contrast, I’m grieved by churches, preachers, and the local Christian YouTuber who talk about religious ideas and phrases in a sort of arbitrary way. Most Christians I hear talk about “salvation” (for example) as though it were a pretend game they’re trying really hard to believe in. It often sounds like they’re bad actors reading cheesy lines from a script they didn’t write. They draw near with their lips, but their hearts are far from God (Isaiah 29:13).

In Jacob 5, we read of the Master’s grief at the corruption in his vineyard with an interesting insight: “Who is it that has corrupted my vineyard? And it came to pass that the servant said unto his master: Is it not the loftiness of thy vineyard—have not the branches thereof overcome the roots which are good? And because the branches have overcome the roots thereof, behold they grew faster than the strength of the roots, taking strength unto themselves. Behold, I say, is not this the cause that the trees of thy vineyard have become corrupted?” (Jacob 5:47-48).

The cause of the corrupted fruit on the tree was that the branches had grown taller than the roots were deep. Though they were aware of many religious concepts, phrases, and ideas, their depth and meaning had not reached equally far down into their hearts. Instead, they were just arbitrary rules, weird stories, and an imaginary reward. This is the condition that produces corrupt fruit.

It’s been said that you should beware of wisdom you have not earned. Much of the burden modern Christianity labors under is this: Christ is the greatest revelation of truth this world can know. All truth, prophecy, beauty, goodness, and scripture culminate in His person. We have his life and his teachings. However, such a great revelation is as much a burden as it is deliverance. If we don’t comprehend the depth of what we’ve been given, dialogue and devotion can easily become rote and insincere.

This becomes particular true for “Mormonism” as well—which is a higher-resolution revelation of Christ. The revealed person of Christ is the testimony and doctrine of Joseph Smith. They are among the highest branches the world has access to. As such, those whose roots are not equally deep will either a) seem like they’re acting even more, or b) perceive its doctrines as being even stranger than the rest of Christendom. Situation A often perpetuates situation B.

Instances where religious people go crazy, or are led down some dark trail of deception (like Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell) showcase examples of corrupt fruit caused by shallow roots and tall branches. The spiritual emptiness of modern churches is another example.

When someone is going through a faith crisis, it’s inevitably because their branches are taller than their roots (and they are/are tasting bad fruit). Taller branches are heavier branches. Trying to maintain a belief in ideas that seem so far removed from the way you experience reality can feel like a massive burden. It will feel like trying to defend something that seems indefensible. This is the weight of having access to revelation you have not yet earned.

As Christ said, “I am the head of the corner. These Jews shall fall upon me, and shall be broken. And the kingdom of God shall be taken from them, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof; (meaning the Gentiles.) Wherefore, on whomsoever this stone shall fall, it shall grind him to powder” (JST Matthew 21:52-54).

Every tree which bringeth forth evil fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Though the wicked feel they are separating themselves from faith, the reality is that they are being pruned from the tree (Jacob 5:65-66).

All that being said, the beginnings of our Western religious revival are springing up in places where where roots and branches are equal in strength (Jacob 5:73). People like Jordan Peterson have certainly been a big part of that. In many ways, they’re emblematic of the larger shift taking place among atheist/agnostic types moving towards religion (example; it’s also interesting reading through the comments section on videos like these).

As this revival continues, and branches and roots grow in equal proportion to one another, greater truth will be embraced by a wider number of people. Those who are living according to the light being publicly dispensed now will grow from one degree to another until they come into a fulness.

This wave of revival is currently entering Christianity generally. The time will come, in not too many years, when the roots will grow to be equal in strength with the branches “Mormonism” offers, and will then exceed it. This wave will see the ministry of the end time servant, and all truth will be gathered together in one. Then the work of the Father will commence unto the fulfilling of his covenants to His people—the house of Israel.

The character of Christ is the fulfillment of all truth, prophecy, and covenant. He fulfilled the prophecies and promises made to the house of Israel in His life—and by so doing paved the way that others might do the same. When the seeds of His atoning sacrifice reach full maturity, there will be tens of thousands of people who likewise embody the fulfillment of truth, prophecy, and covenant. This is one reason why the patterns of the prophecy of Isaiah are applied to Christ’s day and the last days.

What we’re beginning to witness now is the work of redemption suddenly reaching its boiling point.

The Master is at work in the vineyard.

Making Sense of “Mormonism” | Part 2

Building on the framework of the last episode, I describe what ideal we must worship and attend to in order to escape nihilism and overcome our endemic capacity for self-destruction. We all have an innate desire for life, and a moral sense for what promotes it. By exploring the phenomenological patterns surrounding that conception in heroes and other examples, we can begin mapping out the course we must walk to obtain abundant and meaningful life.

Have ye spiritually been born of God? Can ye feel so now?

“And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?… And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?” (Alma 5:14, 26)

It’s important that when we are reflecting on our obedience to God, we do so holistically. If there is some temptation or sin that “doth so easily beset [us],” we would be most benefited by seeing it as a symptom of our heart rather than a a mere behavioral problem.

The most important question we need to ask ourselves is, “Am I willing to obey and submit to God in all things?” This is the strait gate, and it is a binary condition. When you are in it, you walk “keeping yourselves blameless before God” (Alma 5:27). You are stripped of pride and envy (v. 28-29). You do not make a mock of your brother, or heap persecutions upon him (v. 30). You do not set at defiance the commandments of God (v. 18), but can rather look up to God with a pure heart and clean hands (v. 19).

If you have made this commitment once, but find yourself overcome by the world again, do not spend your energy trying to fix one behavior at a time. If you do not pluck the whole thing up by its roots, it will continue to have a hold on you. Instead, view the change in circumstance as a revelation of your heart. Turn to the Lord and give Him all you have without exception. Yield to the upward pull of His Spirit from moment to moment. This level of commitment will open a channel whereby heaven’s power can flow down to you, filling you, and changing your heart.

In my experience, it’s much less about the wrong you’re doing, and much more about the right you’re not doing. Sin is not intended to be the focus of your attention, but feedback towards what you’re heart is set upon. Uncover the deeper desire behind temptation, bring it into the light, and let Christ’s love melt away your chains.

Press forward with a steadfastness in Christ. Give every moment and desire to Him. Look to Him in every thought; when He is at your right hand, you cannot be moved. Seek after and feast upon His words, light, love, and character. Let it change you til your whole body is full of light, and there is no darkness left. “O then, my beloved brethren, repent ye, and enter in at the strait gate, and continue in the way which is narrow, until ye shall obtain eternal life” (Jacob 6:11).

My Yoke is Easy

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

The Lord’s Burden

“For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

“Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.” (Isaiah 53:2-10)

“And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men.” (1 Nephi 19:9)

“For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men… Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me.” (D&C 19:16-19, 23)

The Lord’s Rest

“Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:32-33; emphasis added)

“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.” (John 15:18-20)

“I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

“Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me… Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:18-24, 27)

“Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing… As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” (John 15:4-5, 9-11)

New Wine and Old Bottles

Only they that have ears to hear will hear,
til the Lord God make bare his holy arm in the eyes of all nations;
For the glory of God is to conceal a thing:
but the honour of kings is to search out a matter.

But when the Lord God shall make bare his holy arm in in the eyes of all nations,
the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together:
then shall kings shut their mouths at him;
for that which had not been told them shall they see;
and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

False structures only persist in darkness
and so my Lord will send one mighty and strong,
clothed with light for a covering, a fountain of truth,
to set in order the house of God,
to arrange by lot the inheritances of the righteous.

Light shall break forth among them that sit in darkness,
and that which was hid shall be made plain,
then shall the elements melt with fervent heat,
and every man’s work be made manifest:
for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire;
and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

The wisdom of their wise shall perish,
and the understanding of their prudent shall be hid;
that which is not of truth cannot abide the day,
for it shall burn as an oven;
and all the proud, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble;
for whatsoever things remain are of truth; and whatsoever things are not by truth shall be shaken and destroyed—
cut off from the Lord, and his house, and his people.

Yet his servant shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver,
and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver,
that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.
For as many as repent and abide in truth,
shall be numbered among the remnant of Jacob
and joined to the house of Israel.
Not in old wineskins, but new,
assisting the Lord’s people, and forming the holy city.
For when that which is new is come,
the old is ready to be put away.

The “Science” of Sanctification

For the last five months or so, I’ve spent almost all of my spare time on writing an essay I hope to publish as a video, or maybe a series. It’s taken greater priority for me than posting anything on this blog, but every now and then I have moments of clarity that I feel would be worthwhile to stop and share with others along the way. I hope this is coherent enough to be helpful, and that I’m able to lay out the prerequisites clearly and succinctly.

Once one has passed through the strait gate, and come into a state of justification, the real journey of coming to Christ begins. However, I think it would be helpful to first build the framework so that the next step follows naturally.

Hierarchy of Values, Priority, and Attention

It’s been said that people are aiming creatures. Everything we do has a purpose or a “why.” Behind every action, there is a target. Behind every target, there is a bigger target. You may be studying microbiology to pass tomorrow’s test, so that you can pass the course, so that you can graduate, so that you can become a dentist, etc. At any given moment, you can determine your motives and purpose in something by stopping and asking yourself, “why?”

When you follow those answers back as far as they go, you’ve discovered the higher ideals you’re attending to—in essence, the god (or gods) you worship. Worship and attention are tightly knit. This is why in Hebrew, “work” and “worship” are the same word. The thing all your work is “for,” whether it be comfort, or power, or money, or love—that is what you worship. The question is not “do you believe in God?”, only, “which god do you worship?”

Everyone has a hierarchy of values and attention. The higher you go in the hierarchy, the more it impacts the fundamental direction of your life. Becoming a dentist, for example, will dictate whether you go to school, what you go to school for, which classes you take, what you fill your time studying, and other sacrifices you will make along the way.

Wherever there is attention, there is sacrifice. As it’s been noted by psychologists, you can only ever think of one thing at a time. Giving your attention to one thing, whether in a single moment (like reading a book), or more generally (like pursuing a degree) means that you are not focusing on other things. You get to decide what you’re going to worship, or attend to. You get to decide what you’re going to think about—but you can only pick one thing at a time. Every decision in every moment is a sacrifice. Every decision in every moment is one of worship. “I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved” (Psalm 16:8).

An Eye Single to His Glory

Many people who say they worship God do so in word only, drawing near with their lips, though their hearts are far from Him (Isaiah 29:13). “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). There are also people who don’t explicitly believe in God, or Christ, but whose every action can be traced back to love (albeit at a lower-resolution).

Passing through the strait gate is a matter of reconciling your entire value structure to Christ. This is what repentance is all about. It’s more than just feeling bad and wanting to do better (although those are important first steps). It’s considering everything you do, all of your habits, routines, and values, and cutting out those things that can’t be traced back to God. It’s consecrating everything you have to the end of bringing forth His kingdom on earth.

Like the brazen serpent Moses set up, setting our attention on Him alone is the only thing that will save us.

Additionally, this is why you cannot serve both God and mammon. Though it may be the Lord’s will that you become a dentist, you must do it for Him. Though you may make money at your job, you recognize that these are all things that are His, and must still be used for His purposes. This is why will it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. You cannot seek money and build the kingdom at the same time. Everything must be on the altar, all the time. This is the only way life can flow through us.

Expanding Our Vision

Yet frequently, it is the case that after passing through the strait gate, after giving our whole lives and wills over to God, there are moments that pull our attention away from Him. Like Peter walking out onto the water to Christ, being overcome with fear by the wind and the waves, we begin to sink. Circumstances in life may arise, a scenario calculated to distract us may unfold, and the moment our attention is pulled away from the Savior, we begin to sink.

Sin, by definition, is to “miss the mark.” It is what happens when we are distracted from our highest ideal. It is what happens when the winds of adversity push against us, and the waves of chaos shift under our feet. As was mentioned earlier, you can only look at and think about one thing at a time. This becomes difficult when we wade out into the world trying to focus on Christ, but are bombarded with a million other things that pull our attention away from Him—some smaller, some greater. How can we keep our attention on Him amidst this world’s persistent vicissitudes? How can we look to Him in every thought (D&C 6:36) and “pray always, that [we] may come off conqueror” (D&C 10:5), when our daily situations seem to distract us from this?

This brings us to an interesting truth.

We may only be able to think about one thing at a time, however, what happens when a collection of things are organized in such a way that we recognize them as one singular object? For example, when you see a couch, you see a variety of things. There are feet, cushions, perhaps a wooden structure holding it together. Not to mention, the cushions, legs, and structure are already a collection of several components and materials themselves. And yet, when you approach the couch, you don’t begin by examining each individual particle before doing the math and realizing it’s a couch. You perceive it all at once.

As odd as it may sound, this is the glory of God.

Light organizes. It creates structure. It turns a sound into a word, words into a sentence, and sentences into paragraphs. It is the power by which the world was organized. When you possess light, you perceive the structure of things that before looked like independent particles. An ant cannot perceive a couch, but a dog can. A dog cannot perceive the complexities of language, but a child can. A child cannot perceive our economic and political structure, but someone of greater maturity can. The greater light you possess, the greater structure you can “see” or perceive in the world.

God is truth. He is the structure of reality. He framed the world, and the course of its history. Whereas we use sounds and pictures to convey who we are, He uses everything in the cosmos. He has organized all that has happened throughout time like words in a sentence, declaring His nature. Just as an ant cannot perceive a house as one thing, so the natural man cannot perceive all creation as one thing flowing out from Him. He does not readily see how all things are organized together to convey a higher meaning, and that reality is fundamentally good (Romans 8:28).

When you increase in light, you increase in your ability to encounter anything while still keeping your attention on the Savior, because you see how it is all organized around who He is. The winds and the waves do not deter you, because you recognize that they are an extension of Him. You see that He is in all things and through all things, the light of truth (D&C 88:6).

“And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things” (D&C 88:67).

The reason we fall is because we cannot keep our aim and focus on Christ. We encounter things that seem outside of Him—that split our attention. We get lost in the details of our jobs, distracted by the things of this world, and overcome by suffering.

The solution is that we come to know Him better than we already do. We seek out greater revelations of His light and truth so that we see the higher order of things, and can keep our focus on Christ. The goal is that we see there is nothing we can encounter that is not part of Him.

To do this, we must turn to Him. Our attention cannot be on our weakness, but on His nature. We must soften our hearts and receive His light in greater degrees, and let it fill our mind and soul until all darkness is dispelled. We reconcile our hearts to what we have, and seek out more—greater revelations of His light and love.

Because He is truth, coming to know Him in any way is also a revelation about the structure of reality. The Spirit can expand our view via insights, connections, and new perspectives. At a higher resolution, visions also allow us to perceive multiplicity as unity. For example, when Nephi desired to understand his father’s dream about the tree of life, he was shown a vision of the Savior’s birth, which then allowed him to perceive its meaning. This expanded understanding then gave way to a vision of several other things, allowing him to perceive God in many things yet to unfold.

As the picture comes into view, there will eventually be nothing in this world that can deter our attention from Him, because we see how He is in all things and through all things. This is what Alma means by knowing the mysteries of God “in full” (Alma 12:10). You cannot perceive the fulness of His glory without perceiving how all creation is ordered and organized by God. Like Moses, we can be quickened by the Spirit such that we perceive the whole earth, not excepting one person or particle (Moses 1:27-29). Like the brother of Jared, we can behold everything that has been and shall be, “even unto the ends of the earth” (Ether 3:25).

“And in that day that they shall exercise faith in me, saith the Lord, even as the brother of Jared did, that they may become sanctified in me, then will I manifest unto them the things which the brother of Jared saw, even to the unfolding unto them all my revelations, saith Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of the heavens and of the earth, and all things that in them are” (Ether 4:7).

The scriptures say that the fulness of His glory is glorious rest indeed (D&C 84:24; cf. Isaiah 11:10). Obtaining it (or rather, obtaining Him) is the only way we can overcome the world and find true rest. For this reason, the fulness of His glory is the law of the Celestial kingdom:

“They are they into whose hands the Father has given all things—They are they who are priests and kings, who have received of his fulness, and of his glory… Wherefore, as it is written, they are gods, even the sons of God—Wherefore, all things are theirs, whether life or death, or things present, or things to come, all are theirs and they are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. And they shall overcome all things. Wherefore, let no man glory in man, but rather let him glory in God, who shall subdue all enemies under his feet. These shall dwell in the presence of God and his Christ forever and ever” (D&C 76:55-62).

“For they perceive not the light”

I think the attitude of every light bearer is something like this:

“In the absence of an enemy
You think me the enemy
In the presence of an enemy
I am your greatest friend”

It’s becoming more and more clear to me that one’s ability to discern light is proportional to the degree of darkness they perceive. People hold on so tightly to their current structures because they haven’t yet faced the earthquakes that reveal their insufficiencies. Nobody who thinks Babylon has all the answers will see those insisting on exodus as friendly. It’s only after the apocalypse (Greek pun intended) that people have a better idea of what’s valuable, and what isn’t.

“The things of God are of deep import, and time and experience and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only find them out. Thy mind, O Man, if thou wilt lead a soul unto salvation, must stretch as high as the utmost Heavens, and search into and contemplate the lowest considerations of the darkest abyss, and expand upon the broad considerations of eternal expanse; he must commune with God.”