Sunday School Lesson 38: In Mine Own Way

D&C 38:30 I tell you these things because of your prayers; wherefore, treasure up wisdom in your bosoms, lest the wickedness of men reveal these things unto you by their wickedness in a manner which shall speak in your ears with a voice louder than that which shall shake the earth; but if ye are prepared ye shall not fear. This is extremely interesting. It implies that knowledge could be good or bad depending on how we come to it. If you attain knowledge in the wrong way, it could be detrimental to your spiritual development. What types of knowledge? In this case, the knowledge is of a secret plot against them and rumors of wars, indicating that discovering the plot without warning could be detrimental to faith. Are there other kinds of knowledge that could be harmful to faith? I would have to say probably. It is generally accepted that in most religions, the level of religiosity of individuals is inversely proportional to the level of education that individual attains. However, there was a study done in 1984 that found that within the Mormon denomination, the relationship was correlary - the higher the level of education, the higher the level of religiosity. Secularization, Higher Education and Religiosity. It would seem to support the idea that the way you come to knowledge is as important to your spirituality as the knowledge itself. Joseph smith said that a man is saved no faster than he gains knowledge, and that the principles of intelligence we attain in this life will rise with us in the resurrection, but I wonder if, having read 38:30, he might have modified to: a man is saved no faster than he gains knowledge with or by the spirit, and whatever principle of intelligence we attain with or by the spirit will rise with us in the resurrection.