I believe I am correct in the assertion that in all Christian literature prior to the advent of our Church there were to be found no such concepts of the origin, function, and place of intelligence in the universe as come from our modern scripture . . . [commenting on D&C 93:29-30; 130:18-19] since intelligence is co-eternal with God and is the very glory of God, it follows logically that it is the chief investiture of man. Indeed, it is man, for it is that part of his consistuency that persists that is eternal. This knowing, conceiving, illuminating principle of existence lies, at the base of all our powers and potentialities. Without it there would be no virtue and no sin. It alone gives to man his free agency, the power to choose, to will, and to act, conscious of the effects of his decisions and his deeds. It accounts for the place of good and evil in the world and justifies their existence—a philosophical problem that has baffled the minds and the thinking of great scholars of all time.
This conception of intelligence justifies the eternal quest for knowledge, and it does more. It explains the necessity of acquiring knowledge, for it makes knowledge essential to progression and progression in the last analysis is salvation. It places a terrific penalty on ignorance. It lays down a new and very definite gospel doctrine that: “It is impossible for a man to be saved in ignorance” (D&C 131:6). (Where is Wisdom? Addresses of President Stephen L. Richards [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1955], 162-63, comment in square brackets added)