Ah! The Bliss of Learning...

So have you ever thought about how long eternity really is? The dictionary says that eternity is infinite time. If I have infinite time, then what am I going to be doing for eternity? Well, what am I doing now? I am taking classes. I am living on my own (without my parents that is.) I am making new friends. But at the core, what is all of this in simple terms? Learning. All day long I am learning. I am expanding my knowledge in physics, music, dance, art, and the scriptures as I attend my daily classes. I am learning how to manage my money and balance my time while living away from home. I am making new friendships and learning something new from each person I meet. Life is all about learning. And in 2 Nephi 9: 15 it reads, “And it shall come to pass that when all men shall have passed from this first death unto life, insomuch as they have become immortal. . .” This scripture states that life begins when we die. (What a true paradox.) Therefore, if I am going to be living after I die and become immortal, and I am learning now while I am living on earth as a mortal, then I will be learning FOREVER after I die, for eternity. (It was my best friend Gills that initially got me thinking on this subject.) After thorough contemplation, I decided I will enjoy the journey of learning that will take me from this life, to the next, and on through eternity.
In 1 Nephi 1:1 Nephi tell us that he “was taught somewhat in all the learning of [his] father.” Are we not also taught somewhat in the learning of our parents? From the time of our birth until the time we leave our homes, our parents (or any parental figures) are our greatest influence. It is natural for parents to teach their children the things that they know. We have all been taught at least one thing from our parents. Maybe it was how to tie a shoe, write the letter g, or how it is polite to smile and be kind to others. But why is it important to learn from our parents? Well, our parents teach us the basics of how to function as a human being. We watch everything that they do and we copy or we modify slightly to fit our likes and dislikes. I have learned from my father how to show integrity in all things. I watched his example as he worked his hardest on whatever task was presented him each day and how he did it with all his might. I learned how to have integrity in my work because of him. I have learned from my mother how to serve others by even small deeds. For example, I saw her give people notes, or money, and she always gave her smiles. I learned how to serve others because of her. These were things I noticed I had learned from my parents closer to the time that I left home, but the point is, that we can learn from our parents just as Nephi learned from his father and we should be grateful for the opportunity to do so.
Learning is important because “it is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance (D&C 131:6).” Adam and Eve are a perfect example of this scripture. Had they not partaken of the fruit, they would have stayed in a state of innocence and ignorance forever. They would have been naked in the garden, living in bliss with the animals. Then we would not be here and nobody would be saved. This is a sad thought but we don’t have to worry because they did, in fact, partake of the fruit. Adam and Eve made it possible for us to progress, to learn and not die in ignorance. For an example, all the people who have not heard about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints or learned the gospel before death in this life will have the chance to learn it in the next. This way they have the same opportunity as people who did receive the knowledge of the gospel, then giving them the fair chance to choose it. So we can all be saved if we choose to learn it and accept it! Joseph Smith said, ‘The principle of knowledge is the principle of salvation. This principle can be comprehended by the faithful and diligent; and every one that does not obtain knowledge sufficient to be saved will be condemned. The principle of salvation is given us through the knowledge of Jesus Christ.” Simply, we will not gain salvation if we are ignorant. (So learn as much as possible!)
So exactly how much knowledge is sufficient? Do I have to stay at college my whole life learning in order to be saved? D&C 130:18 reveals the answer saying that “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.” This leaves us with a choice. We can choose to learn as much as we can in this life and expand the horizons of our intellect, or we can be idle, lazy, and not worry about how much we are or aren‘t learning. God has said in this scripture that if we do gain more knowledge in this life, (although it may be a hard task at times), we will be better off later when it really counts. Some people may think that learning is too much work so they might skip their classes to play. This is easy to do considering we can’t really see the advantage of learning in an instant (unless we are readily applying what we have learned.) But if we are diligent at studying and learning we will have the advantage in the life to come because God promises that to us in this scripture. And honestly, who doesn’t like having an advantage. Everyone has watched a football game and if you have the ball, you have an advantage. Just the same as this scenario, if we gain the knowledge, we will also have the advantage.
Well, what are learning, knowledge and intelligence? “The glory of God is intelligence or, in other words, light and truth (D&C 93:36).” Truth is something that is undeniable. Kind of like history. There is no denying that there has been a vast history on this earth, and a history of eternity. Later in D&C 93:53 God tells Joseph to “obtain a knowledge of history, and of countries, and of kingdoms, of laws of God and man, and all this for the salvation of Zion.” So if we want to be intelligent, we need to learn about all things that are true. And there are many. For instance, we can learn about bugs, airplanes, our personal gifts, the theory of relativity, jujitsu, politics, the Renaissance, and so many more it is infinite. There are endless amounts of things we can be learning. And even when we have learned something we can learn it again and again and soon become a master of it by truly knowing about it, whatever it may be. For instance, I am a dancer. I have been dancing almost every day for five years. I do the same moves over and over again even though I have already learned how to do them. This is because I am perfecting my skill. I am perfecting my knowledge. If I keep practicing what I have learned over and over again, I will become close to perfect at it. I believe God wants us to perfect our knowledge.
Even so, sometimes we may have questions that are unanswerable; things that we want to learn but we are having trouble finding the answers to. Some questions I have recently thought about is what my life will be like when I am a Goddess. I know that the day is a long time away (or short in the scope of eternity) but I still wonder. How many children will I have? How many worlds will I help create? Who will I be sitting next to? What do our bodies look like glorified and in perfection? Will my worlds look the same as this earth planet or different? These are questions that I cannot answer on my own. But God knows the answers. He is the greatest source of knowledge. So if I ever have a question that no man can answer for me, then I know I can bring my question to God. Mathew 7:7 reads, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” Therefore, God will answer my questions. This doesn’t necessarily mean I will get an answer right away, but he promises to give me an answer. And my part of the promise is that I will be patient in waiting for the answer.
There is so much knowledge in this life available for us to learn. We just have to be willing to put the effort into learning it. If we do this we will be so blessed in this life and even more blessed for eternity. Learning is an eternal principle. By learning we will be gaining knowledge. Our Heavenly Father is all knowing, so if we are learning, we are becoming more like him. And this is what we are here on earth to do. I am here to become more like my father in Heaven. I love him. I know that he is a real being and that he has “mucho” amounts of knowledge that he wants to share with us. And he gives us much of it now on earth. Knowledge is attainable on earth, here, for us to learn. He wants his children to be learned as he is. If we strive to learn and be like him, we will find true happiness and blessings in our lives. In President Monson’s conference talk “To learn, to do, to be” his first advice was to “Learn what we should learn.” What great and simple advice from a prophet of the Lord. I hope that you can find a love for learning just as I have and keep it throughout your life. I truly cherish my opportunity to learn and I will for eternity.

Works Cited
1. Book of Mormon
2. Doctrine and Covenants
3. New Testament
4. Teachings of Presidents of the Church, Joseph Smith
5. LDS.org, General Conference talks
6. Dictionary.com