Keeping the Little Commandments

To set the stage for this blog post, I would like to share a quote by Elder David A. Bednar:

In my office is a beautiful painting of a wheat field. The painting is a vast collection of individual brushstrokes—none of which in isolation is very interesting or impressive. In fact, if you stand close to the canvas, all you can see is a mass of seemingly unrelated and unattractive streaks of yellow and gold and brown paint. However, as you gradually move away from the canvas, all of the individual brushstrokes combine together and produce a magnificent landscape of a wheat field. Many ordinary, individual brushstrokes work together to create a captivating and beautiful painting.

Each family prayer, each episode of family scripture study, and each family home evening is a brushstroke on the canvas of our souls. No one event may appear to be very impressive or memorable. But just as the yellow and gold and brown strokes of paint complement each other and produce an impressive masterpiece, so our consistency in doing seemingly small things can lead to significant spiritual results. “Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great” (D&C 64:33) (More Diligent and Concerned at Home, October 2009 General Conference).

I've seen many who wonder if doing the little things like going to church, reading your scriptures, and saying your prayers can really have a significant impact on seemingly unrelated areas of your life. I have been there myself. Maybe you go to church week after week and feel like you don't get much out of it. Maybe you are struggling to decide whether to pay tithing or make a rent payment and are wondering if God will really pour you down a blessing from heaven so great that there will not be room enough to receive it. (See Malachi 3:10, KJV Holy Bible.) Maybe you feel like your schedule is packed, and you don't know if scripture study is really important enough to make time for. These feelings likely stem from the philosophy that unless we know how results are supposed to stem from the causes, the results probably won't come from the causes. Those of the world frequently preach this false doctrine. They say things such as:

In our scientific age, we must move past believing that something will happen just because the Bible says so. We must let go of these silly fantasies along with Zeus and all other mythologies of ages past. These ideas were for primitive, uneducated people who let their imaginations guide their beliefs.

Honestly, I find such claims to be ridiculous. A scientific view alone will not lead one to reject revealed religion. Rather, it is an atheistic or agnostic world view that will lead one to reject God's teachings. Let me say this again: By itself, scientific data will not lead ANYONE to stop believing in God. So many of the world's leading scientists and mathematicians have been, are, and will continue to be Christians. Unfortunately, many people fall for this doctrine of the Devil. Satan's lie that we must see it to believe it has led far too many good-hearted people to set aside all of the commandments that they don't understand the importance of. My heart weeps for such people, and I hope that they will repent, come unto Christ, and be perfected by His grace.

In reality, even the littlest commandments can lead to blessings so great that we cannot even begin to comprehend them. In Alma 37, Alma gives the plates of brass and the plates of Nephi to his son Helaman and commands him to protect them at all costs. Towards the beginning of his counsel to his son Helaman, Alma says:

Behold, it has been prophesied by our fathers, that [the plates of brass and the plates of Nephi] should be kept and handed down from one generation to another, and be kept and preserved by the hand of the Lord until they should go forth unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, that they shall know of the mysteries contained thereon.

And now behold, if they are kept they must retain their brightness; yea, and they will retain their brightness; yea, and also shall all the plates which do contain that which is holy writ.

Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise.

And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls (Alma 37:4-7, Book of Mormon).

Notice how interesting these promises were. Helaman was given a very small and simple commandment. He was told to keep the records until he got old and then to give them to one of his sons. He was promised that, if he did this, the metal plates would not corrode or oxidize over time, and every family in the world would have the opportunity to read them. Someone who did not have faith in the power of God would probably be thinking that Alma was crazy if he or she had been in Helaman's place. After all, corrosion and oxidation are natural chemical processes. Furthermore, at the time of the Nephites, only a select few people ever got to read the scriptures (or any books for that matter). The claim that every family on the earth would have the opportunity to read the book would have seemed ludicrous at the time. It is no wonder why Alma said, "ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me".

After promising incredible and seemingly unrelated promises for keeping a small and simple commandment, Alma taught Helaman a profound eternal truth:

By small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise. And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.

We now see the fulfillment of Alma's marvelous promises. The plates were preserved, Joseph Smith translated them by the gift and power of God into the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ, and the Book of Mormon is now available online at LDS.org to be read by people all over the world in their native language. A great thing was brought to pass, this great miracle does confound the wise, and the Book of Mormon has brought to pass the salvation of many souls.

The Apostle Paul taught, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him (1 Corinthians 2:9, KJV Holy Bible)." Jesus taught, "If ye love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15, KJV Holy Bible)." How is it that keeping small commandments can lead to blessings greater than anything you have ever witnessed and more marvelous than anything you have ever imagined? (See footnote 1.)

We can better understand this by turning to the work of the famous meteorologist/mathematician Edward Lorenz who founded a new branch of mathematics called "chaos theory". Most meteorologists of his day held the view that it was possible to accurately predict the weather into the future if you knew most of the large-scale weather patterns at the present moment. They applied this view to their statistical weather models. One day in 1961, Edward Lorenz was running weather forecasts on a computer. He noticed that when he entered 0.506 for one of the values, he got a completely different result than when he entered 0.506127. Edward quickly became skeptical of the common notion that little causes should have little effects.

In 1963, Edward published a paper in which he mathematically proved that even the slightest difference in initial conditions can lead to enormous differences in the future weather patterns. (See footnote 2.) In later speeches, he explained his paper's results by explaining that he had proved that a butterfly flapping its wings on one side of the world can cause a tornado to occur on the other side of the world. This is why many people now refer to his work as the "butterfly effect".

Edward Lorenz' completely unexpected results were groundbreaking. He crushed one of the false philosophies of men and proved the doctrine taught by Alma and Paul that small and simple things can and do bring great things to pass and confound the wise.

We, as mortals, have a finite understanding of the world. Because of the butterfly effect, it is impossible for us to accurately predict how our actions may shape our future. A lot of the time, we can get a good idea of how some of our actions may affect us. However, even in those circumstances, we can't know for sure how our future will play out (without the help of God, of course). However, there is One who notices even the sparrows when they fall. God has an infinite understanding of this universe. He knows and controls the motion of every atom, He hears all of your prayers, He weeps with you when you suffer, and He rejoices when you do what is right. He can and does know what will happen to you if you choose to follow His commandments. With Him on your side, you can't go wrong. In Matthew 10 we read:

Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows (Matthew 10:29-31, KJV Holy Bible).

In 2 Nephi, we read that God "doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation (2 Nephi 26:24, Book of Mormon)." We can thus be assured that God will not give you any commandment unless it will bless you. So, next time you are wondering whether you should keep going to church, make time to read your scriptures and say heartfelt prayers every day, pay your tithing, et cetera, remember that greater blessings than you can even begin to imagine will come to you from doing so. I testify of these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Footnote 1: When Paul said "neither have entered into the heart of man" in 1 Corinthians 2:9, he was most likely meaning that no mortal can even imagine something so great. We can come this conclusion when this scripture is combined with a knowledge of the Semitic anatomical understanding. The Hebrews (Israelites) thought that the heart performed the functions that we now understand to be performed by the brain. They thought that the heart is the place that ideas come from.

Footnote 2: Edward N. Lorenz (1963). "Deterministic Nonperiodic Flow". Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences. 20 (2): 130–141

The Knowledge, Power, and Priesthoods of God

CAUTION: This blog post has the potential to forever transform your understanding of the knowledge, power, and priesthoods of God. Do not continue reading past this point unless you are prepared to have your mind blown!

 

For nearly two centuries, leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have taught a large quantity of information regarding the omniscience, omnipotence, and priesthood authority

of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Yet, studies show that there remains confusion among the Church members regarding a noteworthy doctrine: Is God still increasing in knowledge, power, and priesthoods? If so, what is the current scope of his knowledge, power, and priesthoods?

These are questions that have long troubled me as I have diligently studied the writings of the Prophets and Apostles of present and past dispensations. Finally, a couple months ago, I considered this question from mathematical perspective. When I did so, my understanding was enlarged and I saw that some supposed contradictions can actually be harmonized. Now, I am not saying that I definitively know that I am right; I am merely saying that I came to an understanding that seems to me to be consistent with the scriptures and teachings of modern-day Church leaders.

 

As Mormon fundamentalists repeatedly point out, there seems (at least at a first glance) to be two sets of teachings in the Church regarding the extent of God's knowledge and power and whether or not He is progressing in these attributes.

 

In the early Restored Church, basically all of the major church leaders (with the clear exception of the Pratt's) taught that God is still progressing; they argued that, although God is an omnipotent, omniscient Being, He is still gaining more knowledge and power with every passing day. For example, here are quotes by two of the early Presidents of the Church, Brigham Young and Wilford Woodruff:

 

"Brother Orson Pratt has, in theory, bounded the capacity of God. According to his theory, God can progress no further in knowledge and power; but the God that I serve is progressing eternally, and so are his children: they will increase to all eternity, if they are faithful (Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses)."

 

"If there was a point where man in his progression could not proceed any further, the very idea would throw a gloom over every intelligent and reflecting mind. God himself is increasing and progressing in knowledge, power, and dominion, and will do so, worlds without end. It is just so with us. We are in a probation, which is a school of experience (Wilford Woodruff, Blessings of the Saints—Condemnatory State and Conduct of the Christian World, Etc., Journal of Discourses)."

On the other hand, most of the Church leaders since the early 1900s have taught that God's omniscience and omnipotence have necessarily caused Him to become stagnant in His learning. For example, here are quotes by a past President of the Church, Joseph Fielding Smith, and a former Apostle (who was also Joseph Fielding Smith's son-in-law), Bruce R. McConkie:

"It seems very strange to me that members of the Church will hold to the doctrine, 'God increases in knowledge as time goes on.'...But how does anyone know? Where has the Lord ever revealed to us that he is lacking in knowledge? That he is still learning new truth; discovering new laws that are unknown to him? I think this kind of doctrine is very dangerous. I don’t know where the Lord has ever declared such a thing. It is not contained in any revelation that I have read. Man’s opinion unaided by the revelations of the Lord, does not make it so (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation)." 

"There are those who say that God is progressing in knowledge and is learning new truths. This is false—utterly, totally, and completely. There is not one sliver of truth in it. It grows out of a wholly twisted and incorrect view of the King Follett Sermon and of what is meant by eternal progression. 

"God progresses in the sense that his kingdoms increase and his dominions multiply—not in the sense that he learns new truths and discovers new laws. God is not a student. He is not a laboratory technician. He is not postulating new theories on the basis of past experiences. He has indeed graduated to that state of exaltation that consists of knowing all things and having all power. 

"Will he one day learn something that will destroy the plan of salvation and turn man and the universe into an uncreated nothingness? Will he discover a better plan of salvation than the one he has already given to men in worlds without number?...If God is just dabbling with a few truths he has already chanced to learn or experimenting with a few facts he has already discovered, we have no idea as to the real end and purpose of creation (Bruce R. McConkie, Seven Deadly Heresies)."

There appears to be a contradiction. Which school of thought is true doctrine? How can we tell? Bruce R. McConkie gave us the answer. He said:

"Nonetheless, as Joseph Smith so pointedly taught, a prophet is not always a prophet, only when he is acting as such. Prophets are men and they make mistakes. Sometimes they err in doctrine. This is one of the reasons the Lord has given us the Standard Works. They become the standards and rules that govern where doctrine and philosophy are concerned. If this were not so, we would believe one thing when one man was president of the Church and another thing in the days of his successors. Truth is eternal and does not vary. Sometimes even wise and good men fall short in the accurate presentation of what is truth. Sometimes a prophet gives personal views which are not endorsed and approved by the Lord (Bruce R. McConkie, Letter to Eugene England)."

Thus, the key to identifying the truth is to carefully consider a variety of statements made by General Authorities of the past and present against the backdrop of the Holy Scriptures. Although the Standard Works and Holy Spirit definitely take priority, I would argue that math can also assist us in this process. I believe, along with such wise men of history as Pythagoras and Plato, that all truth can be expressed through mathematics.

Before we delve into the scriptures, I would like to consider the mathematical relationship between knowledge, power, and priesthoods. Power is defined as "the capacity or ability to direct or influence the behavior of others or the course of events (Oxford Dictionary)." In order for an individual to have any amount of power, there are at least two requirements: he or she must have sufficient knowledge, and he or she must have adequate resources. Clearly one cannot perform a task when he or she doesn't know how. Furthermore, even when one does know how to accomplish a task, he or she cannot do so without adequate resources. The term "resources" encapsulates such things as time, physical materials, and authority.

Thus, power (P) is a multiplicative function of knowledge (K) and resources (R). However, if you double the amount of available resources while maintaining a constant amount of knowledge or vice versa, the amount of power will not actually double; progression in power can begin to be limited by a lack of progression in either of these two values. Since knowledge and resources can be measured according to any system of measurement we desire, we can pick a system of measurement such that the following equation becomes an approximate model (at least for a given interval):

 

What resources does God need to govern the Universe? We know that time is not a factor, for Alma 40:8 teaches "all is as one day with God, and time only is measured unto men." Physical materials is not a factor either, for "even the winds and the sea obey him (Matthew 8:27)!" The only resource we really need to consider in this equation is authority over the elements.

As the LDS Gospel Topics section on priesthood explains, "priesthood is the power and authority of God. It has always existed and will continue to exist without end (see Alma 13:7–8; D&C 84:17–18). Through the priesthood, God created and governs the heavens and the earth. Through this power, He exalts His obedient children, bringing to pass “the immortality and eternal life of man” Therefore, Deity's fundamental resource is priesthood. The equation above for power can be rewritten as follows where "p" represents the quantity of priesthood authority that is worthily possessed:

An important thing to notice is that this equation shows that, if God progresses in priesthoods or knowledge, He progresses in power as well. With that in mind, we're ready to look at what the scriptures have to say. First, let's consider two verses from the fourth Lecture on Faith. (The Lectures on Faith are the seven doctrinal discourses that made up the doctrinal portion of the 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants.)

"without the knowledge of all things, God would not be able to save any portion of his creatures; for it is by reason of the knowledge which he has of all things, from the beginning to the end, that enables him to give that understanding to his creatures, by which they are made partakers of eternal life; and if it were not for the idea existing in the minds of men, that God had all knowledge, it would be impossible for them to exercise faith in him. 

"And it is not less necessary that men should have the idea of the existence of the attribute power in the Deity. For, unless God had power over all things, and was able, by his power, to control all things, and thereby deliver his creatures who put their trust in him, from the power of all beings that might seek their destruction, whether in heaven, on earth, or in hell, men could not be saved; but with the idea of the existence of this attribute, planted in the mind, men feel as though they had nothing to fear, who put their trust in God, believing that he has power to save all who come to him, to the very uttermost (Lectures on Faith 4:11-12)."

As can be seen, Joseph Smith the Prophet clearly taught that God has all knowledge and all power. This principle is explicitly taught dozens of times throughout the Standard Works. This is the grounds on which many Church leaders have argued that God is not progressing in knowledge and power. After all, how can someone gain more knowledge if they already have all knowledge? The answer to this question depends on what is meant by "all knowledge". The word "all" is very context-specific. For example, if a child were to say that they own all of the toys (and was telling the truth,) the listener would be able to safely assume that the word "all" was used in reference to all toys that were in the room, not in reference to all toys that have ever existed or ever will exist. One instance in which the scope of God's knowledge is given context in Moses chapter one:

"And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying: The heavens, they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me, for they are mine. And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words. For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man (Moses 1:37-39)."

In this chapter, the Lord God appeared unto Moses in the mountaintop, and Moses was shown all of God's creations and was taught about the Plan of Salvation. God continually referenced His omniscience in this chapter. In the quote above, God said that all things in the heavens "are numbered unto me, for they are mine." In other words, He has intimate knowledge of all things in the Universe because they are part of His dominion. God emphasized that all things He showed unto Moses are His multiple times. We may therefore conclude that, when the scripture state that God has "all knowledge", it may mean that God has knowledge about all of His creations. If this is the case, then God will increase in knowledge (and consequently power) if He forms another creation. In the quote above, God clearly stated that He never stops making more creations. Thus, if God's knowledge is limited to His creations, He does increase in knowledge and power.

 

The Doctrine and Covenants teaches us that "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 (Doctrine and Covenants 93:30)." In this section, the term "intelligence" was used in reference to an intelligent being (We can see clearly that humans, angels, and the Savior are all intelligences in Abraham 3, especially verse 19.) In other words, this section was teaching that all intelligent beings are given truth and the ability to act within a given "sphere". Since God is an intelligence, it is completely plausible that His knowledge and power are confined to the sphere of His creations.

This new perspective addresses Bruce R. McConkie's concern that a lack of all knowledge could lead to a failure in the Plan of Salvation. In order to be confident of His plan for His creations' exaltation, God would only need to know all things pertaining to His creations. Thus, He can still be learning new truths while maintaining complete confidence in His Great Plan of Happiness.

A final scripture that can give some additional insight into the extent of God's omnipotence is in Psalms: "[The Lord] telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite (Psalms 147:4-5)." This scripture invites two questions: Is God's knowledge really infinite, and, if His knowledge really is infinite, is it possible for Him to still be learning?

First, does this scripture really mean what it says; is God's knowledge really infinite? To start, we need to understand that the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, not English. Information can get lost in translation and transcription. In the Wentworth Letter, Joseph Smith wrote "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly (Articles of Faith 1:8)." I can't read Hebrew, but I do know that the NIV translation for Psalms 147:5 reads "his understanding has no limit." This can either mean that God's knowledge is currently infinite, or it can mean that there is no limit to how much He can learn. Next, we need to understand that the Hebrew people were far more concerned with concepts than precise numerical values. For example, different accounts give different heights for Goliath the giant, but they all state that he was really tall. In fact, the Hebrews did not even have precise units of distance, area, or weight. Distance, for example, was measured in cubits. A cubit was the length of the forearm which varied from person to person. In most Hebraic literature, hyperbole was abundant. The point is, we can't assume based on this scripture alone that God's knowledge is actually infinite.

Second, if God's knowledge actually is infinite, is it possible for Him to still be learning? In my last blog post, I showed that knowledge tends to increase in an exponential fashion. The simplest exponential function is (where is K is Knowledge, t is time, and e is Euler's Number which is approximately 2.718):

 

This function's graph looks like this:

 

How fast someone is increasing in knowledge at any given time is equal to the slope of the graph at that time. As can be clearly seen, as the time goes to infinity, the amount of knowledge goes to infinity. Also, as time increases, the slope also increases. Calculus can be used to figure out the slope as time goes to infinity. It turns out that, for this function, the rate of knowledge increase is infinite when the time goes to infinity. Thus, at an infinite time, someone who already possesses infinite knowledge can be gaining more knowledge at an infinite rate. But, how can someone still be increasing in knowledge if their knowledge is already infinite? I admit, this seems a little nonsensical from a purely philosophical perspective, but I can understand this using mathematics.

Consider every number from 0 to 1. You can put any series of decimal place digits you want after a 0 and a decimal point (such as 0.32819... or 0.69275...) and you will get some number between 0 and 1. There are an infinite number of possibilities. Thus, between any two integers, there is an infinite amount of numbers. We also have the number set of all integers (...-1, 0, 1, 2, 3,...) There are an infinite number of integers between 0 and infinity. Although you have an infinite amount of numbers in a certain interval, that doesn't mean there are no numbers outside of that interval. Similarly, you can have all knowledge and still be learning.

Before I conclude, I would like to give a clear scriptural example of the Savior progressing in power. Joseph Smith even used this as an example for how the Savior progresses in his King Follett Sermon. When the Savior was resurrected, he gained the power to resurrect all mankind (See 1 Corinthians 15:20-22). After He had ascended to His Father, He appeared to His Apostles and explained to them how things were different now. During this sermon, Christ told them, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth (Matthew 28:18)."

Check out my other blog at https://mormonanswersforlife.blogspot.com/

By Small And Simple Numbers Part 1

Introduction

I have promised for the last couple blog posts that I would talk about the math behind some gospel relationships found in the scriptures. For those of you who have been anxiously awaiting the fulfillment of this promise, you're in luck; that's what this post is all about. However, I will first share a little background on this discovery.

One morning, I was studying the topic of knowledge and intelligence. I noticed an interesting pattern: the scriptures teach that if we increase our knowledge and intelligence, we will be able to continue to increase them at a faster rate. This can be compared to financial investment: the more money you currently have, the quicker you can gain more money.

Those of you who know me really well know that my two favorite things are the Gospel of Christ and math. Seeing a scriptural example of quantities changing in a specific way allowed me to recognize that my two favorite things can be combined. This was the birth of theometry. Within a few minutes, I was coming up with equations to model increases in knowledge and intelligence. Within a few more minutes, I was drawing graphs of the equations and showing them to my missionary companion. (I had been on a proselyting mission for the LDS Church for about six months at the time.) I was ecstatic.

Before long, I had come up with equations for knowledge and intelligence, faith and works, agency, diligence, et cetera. As I began to see the implications of these equations, the words of an ancient prophet named Alma kept coming to my mind. (I will explain why later in this blog post.)

By Small and Simple Things

Near the end of his mortal ministry, the great prophet Alma gathered together his sons Helaman, Shiblon, and Corianton to give them words of counsel. He spoke to Helaman first, and told him that he was going to entrust the spiritual and historical records of the Nephites and Jaredites into his hands. During Alma's explanation to his son of the great importance of these records, Alma said:

"behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise. And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls."

Alma's words were surely fulfilled. Some of the recorded material given to Helaman later became part of what we know today as "The Book of  Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ". This is a book of sacred scripture that members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly referred to as "Mormons") read alongside the Holy Bible. From this book, millions of people around the world have gained a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and a knowledge that God still speaks to His children today through a living prophet. This small and simple book has confounded the wise and brought about the salvation of many souls.



Through small and simple miracles, records of ancient prophets were preserved and became the Book of Mormon.

The doctrine that God brings about immense results through very small means is applicable to so many aspects of Christ's gospel. I have gained a testimony of this as I have involved myself with theometry. The rest of this blog post will show a few gospel relationships that teach the impact of small and simple numbers. If you don't want to learn all the math involved, you can still learn from what I will share by reading the rest of the text and looking at the graphs.

Knowledge and Intelligence

Since I have already talked a little bit about knowledge and intelligence, we will investigate this gospel relationship first. We can easily learn how these two attributes are related by looking in a dictionary. The Google dictionary defines intelligence as "the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills." In other words, the greater your intelligence, the faster you can learn.

Intelligence = Rate at which you can increase your knowledge

We can learn even more about the relation between these attributes by reading the scriptures. Doctrine and Covenants 88:40 teaches:

"For intelligence cleaveth unto intelligence; wisdom receiveth wisdom; truth embraceth truth; virtue loveth virtue; light cleaveth unto light"

The more intelligence, wisdom, truth, or light we have, the faster we can improve at these attributes. Since we can gain knowledge faster by having more knowledge, and since intelligence is our ability to acquire knowledge, an increase in knowledge results in an increase in intelligence.

Increase in knowledge = Increase in intelligence

Now it's time for some math. I will represent knowledge with the letter "K", intelligence with the letter "I", amount of effort being put into studying with the letter "S", and time with the letter "t". For notation, I will have "∝" mean "is proportional to", and adding a "d" before a variable will mean "a change in". For example, if I said "dK ∝ 2", that would mean "a change in knowledge proportional to two".

In order for someone to have an increase in knowledge of a certain amount (dK), they need to have some level of intelligence (I), some amount of effort being put into studying (S), and some time to have elapsed (dt). A formula to model this concept is:

 

We can model the fact that an increase in knowledge naturally leads to an increase in intelligence with the equation:

 

Substituting this equation into the one preceding it, we get:

I will now use calculus to solve for "I" (It's okay if you don't know calculus. Feel free to skip down to the graph of the function I will derive.) I will assume the rate of study is constant over time and will introduce arbitrary constants (c₁, c₂, c₃, c₄, & c₅):

 

Now, since a gain in knowledge yields a gain in intelligence, we can solve for "K"

 

Shown below is a graph of how knowledge or intelligence might change over time assuming a constant rate of studying:

 

Knowledge or Intelligence as a Function of Time



Why is mathematically modeling knowledge and intelligence useful? For me at least, visually seeing the enormous difference that putting forward the effort to gain knowledge can make is motivational. Seeing this graph helps me better understand my divine nature and scriptures such as Doctrine & Covenants 130:18-19:

"Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come."

Increasing doctrinal understanding is crucial because, as Boyd K. Packer taught:

"True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior (Ensign, "Little Children")."

I can bear my testimony that God's hand is found in everything. As we seek for Him in all that we do, He will reveal Himself in ways we may not have expected. Stay tuned for my future blog posts!

"By Small and Simple Numbers" is to be continued.

Check out my other blog that gives Mormon answers for life's great questions at mormonanswersforlife.blogspot.com