Among the great underlying truths of the restored gospel is that we continue to learn throughout our lives, and that this endless process will bring us closer to our father in heaven.

Indeed, we can hardly pick up any book of scripture without finding in it a divine injunction to learn and increase our knowledge. We are told that only in knowledge can we be saved, with the implicit understanding that once we have knowledge we will be moved to act righteously.

As humans, we cannot help learning. The capacity is built into us by our Creator as part of our eternal heritage. Our acts create within ourselves the guidelines to our futures. We perform, learn, adapt and improve. In that way we become more like our Father in Heaven as we follow His plan of endless progression.

In the last century, revelations to Joseph Smith became some of this dispensation's most important insights into the learning relationship between man and God. "The glory of God is intelligence, or in other words, light and truth," said the Lord. (D&C 93:36.) Alone, that scripture is both bold and remarkable, but the Lord expanded on it in later instructions: "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," He instructed the Church. (D&C 130: 18-19.)

Commenting on these revelations, President Ezra Taft Benson noted that "intelligence, or light and truth, becomes the vital force in our eternal journey. It is the one attribute above all others that links us to our divine parentage, for if `the glory of God is intelligence,' intelligence is likewise the glory of His offspring - man." (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 302.)\ The gospel, in fact, embraces all truth. Brigham Young was fond of making that point to the early colonizers of Utah, who were isolated in the western deserts and in danger of losing touch with the great intellectual awakenings that were building the foundation of modern society. "We are the children of that Being who lives in the heavens, who is filled with all intelligence, and possesses all power," he said in remarks at Tooele, Utah, in 1867. "We cannot be prepared to dwell with Him unless we instruct our minds and sanctify ourselves in all things." Speaking of the children then, he added, "Let them be educated in every useful branch of learnings, for we, as a people, have in the future to excel the nations of the earth in religion, science and philosophy."

Those early exhortations by the prophets Joseph Smith and Brigham Young continue to the present. President Benson, speaking in an April 1958 welfare meeting as part of general conference, noted, "I know of no people anywhere that have a deeper, more fundamental interest in education. It extends to all fields of education. . . . Everything that has to do with man's life here on the earth and his eternal welfare is the concern of the Church and kingdom of God." (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 319.)

It's clear from these inspired instructions that we are not to become one-dimensional in our learning. And whether our knowledge comes from practical experience, formal schooling or prayerful insights of the Spirit, we should take delight in the simple task of learning.

One problem, of course, is what are we to learn? No simple answer exists. With the explosion of knowledge throughout the world today, no one person in a mortal lifetime can hope to acquire it all. One guide may be the hope that we will contribute our own insights for future generations to learn.

As far as the gospel is concerned, Elder James E. Talmage invoked another guideline: wisdom. "It becomes, therefore, the part of wisdom to direct our efforts to the investigation of that field that promises results of greatest worth. All truth is of value, above price indeed in its place, yet, with respect to their possible application some truths are of incomparably greater worth than others," he advised in his great work, "The Articles of Faith." (Chapter 1, page 4.)

Just as a businessman must know the basis of commerce, said Elder Talmage, "so too is a personal knowledge of God essential to the salvation of every human soul that has attained to powers of judgment and discretion."

In other words, as we go about our business of learning, we neglect the study of God and our relationship to Him at our peril. The truth of the gospel is that we must learn in order to grow, and we must grow in order to fulfill the promise of our eternal legacy.