The Matthew Effect and Light

I learned a new term in my Sociology class today, though it referred to a concept with which I was already familiar. The term is "the Matthew Effect," which is, essentially, that the wealthy can invest their money in opportunities to make more money, whereas the less wealthy tend to stay poor or perhaps grow poorer. The name of the term comes from Matthew 13:12 and Matthew 25:29, which both essentially say, "For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath."

But the Lord, as recorded in Matthew, was probably not literally referring to financial wealth when He said that, though He did occasionally use wealth as a symbol in His parables. Rather, I think it's more likely that He was referring to spiritual light. We read in D&C 50:24 that "he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day."

That was the topic, and the inspiration of the title, of  Elder Mark A. Bragg's talk, Brighter and Brighter until the Perfect Day. He encouraged us to seek for light in the church, in the gospel, and in the Lord, Jesus Christ, informing us that "Recognizing the light and seeking after it will qualify us for even more light."

I'm sure that we'd all like to have more spiritual light than we currently have. We all have questions, limitations, weaknesses, and struggles that some additional heavenly light can help us overcome. But, thankfully, the process of gaining spiritual light is simple, if we're following Elder Bragg's model. We simply need to recognise the light and seek more of it, and since each person has a portion of the light of Christ in them, and the light can also be found in the gospel of Jesus Christ and in many churches, it's not hard to find light for is to recognise and seek.

We all need some light to get started, but once we've found some light and have decided to seek after it, it's not hard for the Spirit to lead us toward greater and greater light. The Matthew Effect may be bad for economics, but it's great for spirituality. We all need spiritual light to help us get through this journey, and now, thanks to Elder Bragg, we know where to find some and how to get more. All we really have to do is find some light, latch onto it, and let it lead us to more.