The Glory of God

If there is one word that stands out in Moses 1 it is glory.  The word appears thirteen times in the chapter in various contexts, including the famous verse about God’s “work and glory” to save His children.  It is used to describe both God’s state as well as His works and creations.  God’s glory comes from both who He is as a perfect, exalted Being as well as from what He does to provide a path for His children to reach that same state.  Of all the definitions that I read for glory, I think the one I like best in this context is “a state of great splendor, magnificence, or prosperity” (see here).  We are of course talking about a different kind of prosperity than what the world would think of by that word, for God’s greatness comes from a prosperity of goodness and intelligence and mercy and love. 

                Moses learned something about the glory and greatness of God as he came to understand what it took to be in His presence.  Moses “could endure his presence” only because “the glory of God was upon Moses” (v2).   When that glory “was not upon Moses” then the prophet “was left unto himself, and fell unto the earth” (v9).  This transfiguring experience was then contrasted with what happened when Satan showed up.  Moses realized that He needed no transfiguration to see the devil, and he said, “Where is thy glory, that I should worship thee?  For behold, I could not look upon God, except his glory should come upon me, and I were transfigured before him. But I can look upon thee in the natural man. Is it not so, surely? … His glory has been upon me, wherefore I can judge between him and thee” (v13-14, 18).  Any experience with the Divine lifts us up, edifies us, makes us better, exalts us, refines us—in short, it gives us glory because we become just a little bit more like “the God of glory” as Moses called Him (v20).  But any encounter with the adversary has no such ennobling aspect, for he who one day will “abide a kingdom which is not a kingdom of glory” has no power to give us a glorifying experience (D&C 88:24).     

                This chapter also teaches us that God’s glory involves the creation and progression of His greatest work: us.  The Lord told Moses, “Wherefore, no man can behold all my works, except he behold all my glory” (v5).  Moses was subsequently shown a great vision of the creations of God in which he “beheld the world and the ends thereof, and all the children of men which are, and which were created” (v8).  The greatest of the creations of God are His children, and in some way we are some part of the glory that He has.  His “glory” is to “bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (v39).  As we think about the worldly definition of glory as it relates to personal power and prestige and wealth, God’s glory is exactly the opposite: the progression of His children inspired by His perfect love and selflessness to offer all of them “all that [He] hath” (D&C 84:38).  God’s glory increases at least in part as His children increase in their likeness of Him.  As we seek to bring God glory we need only seek to serve His children and bring them to repentance.