More Precious Than Rubies

One of the messages of the Proverbs is that we should seek after wisdom and knowledge and understanding more than we seek after riches and possessions. We read, “Incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God” (Proverbs 2:2-5). We should seek after wisdom and understanding with that same zeal that the worldly seek after a hidden treasure. The next chapter continues, “Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her” (Proverbs 3:13-15). Wisdom is of more value to us than any material possession we might obtain because it will continue with us in the next life, whereas all our possessions will be left behind when we leave this mortal life. The world focuses a lot on what we “get” in this life, from the kind of car we have to the size of our salary to the price of our house, but the writer of Proverbs encourages us to get wisdom and understanding first: “Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding” (Proverbs 4:5-7). We should love knowledge and wisdom and understanding, particularly of the plan of God, far more than we desire the things of the world.

                These ideas are consistent with the messages of modern scriptures given to us in this dispensation. The Lord said through the Prophet Joseph Smith: “Seek not for riches but for wisdom, and behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich” (Doctrine and Covenants 6:7). He repeated this same message in another revelation to Hyrum Smith (see Doctrine and Covenants 11:7). In another section He condemned those who did not follow this counsel: “Now, I, the Lord, am not well pleased with the inhabitants of Zion, for there are idlers among them; and their children are also growing up in wickedness; they also seek not earnestly the riches of eternity, but their eyes are full of greediness” (Doctrine and Covenants 68:31). We are not to seek greedily after the things of this world; rather His invitation to us is this: “Seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:118). And why seek after knowledge and wisdom? Joseph Smith taught: “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” (Doctrine and Covenants 130:18-19). The knowledge and wisdom we gain on earth will stay with us in the next life, but riches will remain as Alma taught his son: “Seek not after riches nor the vain things of this world; for behold, you cannot carry them with you” (Alma 39:14).  

            I love the summary of Doctrine and Covenants 70 that describes the special conference of the leaders of the Church in 1831 where the publication of the revelations was discussed. We read, “In the last of these assemblies, the great importance of the revelations that would later be published as the Book of Commandments and then the Doctrine and Covenants was considered. This revelation was given after the conference voted that the revelations were ‘worth to the Church the riches of the whole Earth.’” Indeed the knowledge of the gospel that we have through ancient and modern prophets is worth more than all worldly wealth, and if we can gain a knowledge of the mysteries of God and come to know Him we are rich beyond anything the world can offer. We should desire as the father of King Lamoni who prayed to God, “If thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day” (Alma 22:18). To come to know Him and understand His gospel and plan for us is indeed of far greater worth than all the silver and gold and rubies the world has to offer.