BYU-Pathway Worldwide Devotional

"Education: An Invitation to Benefit from God’s Glory and Intelligence"

Elder I. Raymond and Sister Comfort Egbo

General Authority Seventy

October 03, 2025

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Elder Egbo: Hello, BYU-Pathway students. I am Elder I. Raymond Egbo, and I am here with my wife, Comfort. I want to spend a few minutes to share with you the blessings of education, especially with BYU-Pathway.

Sister Egbo: So, during COVID, I made one of the best decisions of my life by choosing to enroll in BYU-Pathway. I thought to myself, what would I be doing during this period? And then I thought, this would be the best thing for me to do. And honestly, I have not regretted that.

During this period I came across a talk given by Elder Gilbert. He quoted C.S. Lewis on his talk on education in wartimes. Our lives have different challenges, and we might think this is not the best time for us to continue with this program. We might want to walk away because of lack of money or other life challenges. ^{i

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See Clark G. Gilbert, “On Learning in Wartime” (BYU-Pathway Worldwide devotional, Apr. 28, 2020), byupathway.org/speeches} But I promise you, if you stay on, you’ll be happy for it. BYU-Pathway solves many problems in your life, and I’m happy that I am one of those.

Elder Egbo: In Doctrine and Covenants 93:36, we read, “The glory of God is intelligence, or in other words, light and truth.” To Abraham, the great Patriarch, God said, “I am the Lord thy God, I am more intelligent than they all.” ^{ii

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Abraham 3:19} And to the prophet Isaiah, God reiterated, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” ^{iii

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Isaiah 55:8–9}

We find evidence of God’s glory and intelligence everywhere in the galaxy — the works of His hands — a demonstration of His glory and intelligence. Consider how God introduces His creation to Moses: “And worlds without number have I created; and I … created them for mine own purpose.” ^{iv

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Moses 1:33}

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf explained, “And while we may look at the vast expanse of the universe and say, ‘What is man in comparison to the glory of creation?’ God Himself said we are the reason He created the universe! … In other words, the vast expanse of eternity, the glories and mysteries of infinite space and time are all built for the benefit of ordinary mortals like you and me. Our Heavenly Father created the universe that we might reach our potential as His sons and daughters.” ^{v

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Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “You Matter to Him,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 20}

Alma, a Book of Mormon prophet, marveled at the wonder of the creation so much that he wrote, “And all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all [the] things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.” ^{vi

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Alma 30:44}

“This is a paradox of man: compared to God, man is nothing; yet we are everything to God. ... We have the incomprehensible promise of exaltation — worlds without end — within our grasp. And it is God’s great desire to help us reach it.” ^{vii

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Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “You Matter to Him,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2011, 20}

And this is not all. God also taught Moses more truths. He said, “And by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten.” ^{viii

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Moses 1:33} Not only Moses testified of these things. John also testified, “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” ^{ix

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John 1:3}

Paul writing from prison to the Church in Colossae — to a people and a community he had never met — introduced them to Jesus in these marvelous words: “Who is in the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” ^{x

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Colossians 1:15–17} Paul’s testimony proved Jesus’ absolute supremacy and knowledge over God’s creation and all human wisdom related to it.

How did Jesus receive the glory and intelligence of His Father? Well, Jesus teaches us in the Doctrine and Covenants about John’s experience in these words: “I, John, saw that he received not of the fulness at first but received grace for grace. And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received [the] fulness. And thus he was called the Son of God, because he received not of the fulness at the first. And I, John, bear record that he received a fulness of the glory of the Father.” ^{xi

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Doctrine and Covenants 93:11–13,16}

Through His perfect example, Jesus proclaims the following: “I give unto you these sayings that you may know and understand 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.” ^{xii

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Doctrine and Covenants 93:19} Jesus Christ is the pattern for learning and growth. His invitation to all is, “Follow me and do the things which ye have seen me do.” ^{xiii

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2 Nephi 31:12}

God’s intelligence is the foundation of true education. To be educated is to study and understand His divine intelligence. All that we gain through secular learning is, in reality, a discovery of God’s knowledge. Every solution found to humanity’s challenges; every idea; every invention in business, science, or the arts is not something new; it is simply another step toward uncovering the glory and intelligence of God already woven into His creation.

President Thomas S. Monson explained, “God left the world unfinished for [men and women] to work [their] skill upon. He left the electricity in the cloud, the oil in the earth. He left the rivers unbridged and the forests unfelled and the cities unbuilt. God gives to [us] the challenge of raw materials, not the ease of finished things. He leaves the pictures unpainted, the music unsung, and the problems unsolved, that [we] might know the joys and glories of creation.” ^{xiv

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Thomas S. Monson, “In Quest of the Abundant Life,” Ensign, Mar. 1988}

Sister Egbo: As stated by President Monson, God intends mortality to be a learning experience. We came here to learn and grow from grace to grace until we receive a fulness of God’s glory like Jesus Christ.

The Savior invites us: “Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand;  Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations⁠, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms — That ye may be prepared in all things when I shall send you again to magnify the calling whereunto I have called you, and the mission with which I have commissioned you.” ^{xv

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Doctrine and Covenants 88:78–80}

Elder Egbo: As we consider this invitation, we realize that education means acquiring knowledge, developing skills, fostering personal growth in return. It includes self-directed learning, formal instructions, and practical experience. Through the study of the unfinished creation, we develop critical thinking aimed at problem-solving through interaction with things above, on, and beneath the earth. We learn how to acquire skills to contribute to finishing a small portion of the creation. By making this effort we add value and sharpen our understanding of the complexities of nations and countries.

At BYU-Pathway, your education is preparing you not only to magnify your future calling in mortality but to receive the fulness of God’s glory and intelligence in the eternities.

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught, “Knowledge does away with darkness, [anxiety], and doubt; for these [things] cannot exist where knowledge is.” ^{xvi

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Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Two Principles for Any Economy,”Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2009}

I testify that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world. He is the source of all knowledge and all intelligence linked to God our Father in Heaven. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Sister Egbo: Amen.