God has greater awareness than any person. He explained that all people have different levels of intelligence, and that his intelligence is greater than anyone else’s:
...These two facts do exist, that [if] there are two spirits, one being more intelligent than the other; there shall be another more intelligent than they; I am the Lord thy God, I am more intelligent than they all. (Abraham 3:19)
Spiritual intelligence is called light because it shows greater detail; a greater awareness. Because God’s awareness is greater than ours, we ought to submit to him in order to receive the greater benefits that accompany a greater awareness: “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.” (Proverbs 3:7) What does it mean to be wise in our own eyes? It means to judge our righteousness based on our own limited awareness.
Far too many people think they see, and therefore will never see more:
39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth. (John 9)
To fear the Lord is to operate under the assumption that his ways are higher than ours because he possesses more awareness than we do. It is to believe that although “all the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes” (Proverbs 16:2), men’s hearts continually desire less than what is best due to ignorance and nature. Wise men do not lean on their own understanding (see Proverbs 3:5) “...because of their humility; because they were not proud in their own eyes.” (Alma 1:20). They do what is right “in the eyes of the Lord.” (1 Kings 15:5) Like the Psalmist, they ask God to instruct them beyond their awareness: “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” (Psalm 119:18)
The Lord makes a distinction between normal intelligence and “the noble and great ones” (Abraham 3:22). How does God distinguish between the intelligence of one vs. another? It comes down to how much light they seek, receive, and live: “Behold, the Lord esteemeth all flesh in one; he that is righteous is favored of God.” (1 Nephi 17:35)
God provides equal opportunity to all his children, but recognizes the fact that our differences in heed and diligence produce unequal outcomes. God provides an equal opportunity to all people, but many do not accept his invitation at all, and very few accept it completely:
18 Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.
19 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. (D&C 130)
Clearly, all people do not exert the same diligence or obedience in searching for and assimilating light and truth. The Lord taught this on multiple occasions.
In the parable of the sower, he indicated that there would be people whose seed was eaten by birds, seed that withered in the sun, and seed that produced thirty, sixty, or one hundred times the quantity of seed planted:
3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. (Matthew 13)
Not everyone perceived the same depth of meaning in the parables, even though everyone heard them equally. Likewise, although the same seed is scattered in the hearts of all men, some bring forth one hundred times the fruit of others, some sixty times the fruit of others, some thirty times the fruit of others, and some don’t respond to it at all.
In the parable of the talents, the Lord taught that there would be people whose efforts reap more rewards, and that some people would not exert any effort:
14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.
17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord’s money.
19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 25)
Mormon wrote the following, making a distinction between “chosen vessels” who are of a “strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness” and “the residue” of men:
30 [Angels show] themselves unto them of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness.
31 And the office of their ministry is to call men unto repentance, and to fulfil and to do the work of the covenants of the Father, which he hath made unto the children of men, to prepare the way among the children of men, by declaring the word of Christ unto the chosen vessels of the Lord, that they may bear testimony of him.
32 And by so doing, the Lord God prepareth the way that the residue of men may have faith in Christ, that the Holy Ghost may have place in their hearts, according to the power thereof; and after this manner bringeth to pass the Father, the covenants which he hath made unto the children of men. (Moroni 7)
It may be offensive to modern sensibilities to recognize that we all possess differing amounts of light and truth, but we should not feel bad about this. Instead, we should be grateful because we can assume that no matter how much truth we have, someone has more.
If we do not accept that one person can have more light than another, we must also believe that the most depraved individual is no different than Jesus Christ himself, who also lived once as a man. In such a blind state, we must suppose that anything goes, and there is no need for repentance or improvement. Even if we believe repentance is necessary, how could we identify the way forward if we believe all people are the same? The very process of repentance consists in a) recognizing some behavior that is more righteous than your own and some bit of light and truth more advanced than what you currently have, and b) implementing it in your life. If one person can't be better than another, you can't recognize superior light and truth to your own, and you can't advance towards God.