The entire universe functions through cause and effect, though almost all of those relationships lie outside of human understanding. These causes and effects are not arbitrary. They are intrinsic to the system. While “[God] will render to every man according to his deeds” (Romans 2:6), that rendering is not from his arbitrary choice, but through the natural outcomes of those deeds.
God knows all things. “He comprehendeth all things, and all things are before him, and all things are round about him; and he is above all things, and in all things, and is through all things, and is round about all things; and all things are by him, and of him, even God, forever and ever.” (D&C 88:41)
No human will ever encounter a situation that God does not perfectly predict and understand. When we seek to obtain more light and truth, we are seeking to more perfectly understand what God can. We are seeking to more correctly understand cause and effect.
Cause and effect combine both elements of God’s glory: his awareness and his character. The more we understand cause and effect, the more our awareness will increase and the more we will understand the reason God acts as he does.
It is abundantly clear that we are woefully ignorant of both positive and negative consequences in this life. The simplest proof of our lack of understanding is to consider how often people are surprised by what happens in life: by what their children choose to do, by what their circumstances are later in life, by what happens to them at work, or even what happens in a given day.
The degree to which you are surprised by outcomes is a clue as to how much light and knowledge you lack. Surprise is the opposite of the way creation works. God reveals his mysteries to everyone who will listen, and the signal is broadcasting at all times.
One way of understanding the difference between the fullness of light and truth associated with our mortal existence and the amount of light and truth you possess is to realize that a fullness of light and truth would mean that you are perfectly aware of all causes and effects in mortality: all opportunities afforded to you in this life; all actions required to take full advantage of them, and all effects of all alternatives. Joseph Smith said: “Why be so certain that you comprehend the things of God, when all things with you are so uncertain?” (TPJS p. 230) If you are surprised by something, take it as an indication that you lack understanding in that area and that what you currently believe is incorrect or incomplete.
In a sense, reality doesn’t happen to you, it is revealed to you through what happens. The consequences of reality are landmarks that indicate to us where our perspective deviates from things as they really are. Because we reap what we sow, you can use the outcomes in your life as an indication of the correctness of the premises you believe. If you plant a pumpkin seed and a turnip grows, chances are your understanding of the process is mistaken.
Many times, we think of the process of salvation in terms of being refined—of having things removed from you. This is good, but incomplete. The acquisition and assimilation of truth isn't like the game Operation where God takes some forceps and yanks some undesirable quality out of you. Instead, God exposes you to a measure of your ignorance of reality through revealing a little bit more of things as they really are. You then get to choose: Do I ignore this tidbit, do I let it fester, or do I fix it by changing my understanding of myself and the world?
You can choose to fight reality, but you won’t win. Fighting reality is like headbutting a brick wall. It is within your ability to try, but not to succeed.
God’s judgment can be negative, but can also be positive. In either case, it is simply the consequences of reality. It is really just his lifting of the veil and exposing us to the fullness of mortal truth. All hidden things are revealed, and we are perfectly aware of “our guilt” (see Alma 11:43).
We will be perfectly aware of all causes and effects in mortality: all opportunities afforded to you in this life, all actions required to take full advantage of them, and all effects of all alternatives. We will therefore also be perfectly aware of what we lost out on because we would not seek what was placed right into our grasp, would not heed what we were being shown, and would not become what we were meant to become.
Most people flee from light, choosing to ignore what would improve them. The consequences of ignoring new truth go beyond losing out on the benefits of having assimilated it. You will also find that you will suddenly lose some previously accepted truths—either subconsciously, or because they suddenly make no sense to you. Some very few will consistently rejoice in the correction, opting to grow closer to God by embracing more of what it is he knows and becoming more of how he is.
The light reveals what was previously unknown. God said: “if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.” (Ether 12:27)
Reality tends to be awful. It tears us apart. Loved ones die. Innocent people suffer. Pets get cancer. We regard these high intensity bad things as rare, but all things are before God continuously. If you knew all things, like God does, they would have been ever present before you, long before they happened. But there are positive consequences as well. Knowledge removes surprise, doubt, and fear. When all things are before you, you learn systems that overcome those things, and what is rare in the lives of others is something your normal way of being rises above.
The revelation of more truth is not a punishment for those who love God and obey him. It is a gift. If you love and obey God, these things are given because God trusts you and knows that you have the capacity to overcome them and to use them to expose the principles and understanding you lack. The suffering is for a moment, but the benefits last forever if you trust him and turn to him and learn what it is he is trying to teach you.
The consequences of reality are tied to the level of truth you possess. There are different consequences at different levels.
Some progressive consequences of higher truth are positive. The level of truth you possess sanctifies you, or makes you capable of receiving all the blessings reaped as a natural consequence of living the truths at that level: “that which is governed by law is also preserved by law and perfected and sanctified by the same.” (D&C 88:34)
Miracles are an example of consequences of higher order truth. Miracles are not the suspension of natural law. Instead, a miracle is the substitution of higher order consequences into a lower order world. The degree of light and truth possessed by the worker of the miracle determines what level of cause and effect applies to the situation. A caveman would regard the operation of a lighter as a miracle, yet a modern person would see it simply as the cause and effect of a higher order system. In this life, we suffer all the effects of a lower order kingdom, including death. Yet, by acquiring the light and truth of a higher kingdom, Jesus was able to impose consequences from a higher order: through the sacrifice of his perfect life, all men will be resurrected. The cause (Jesus) and effect (resurrection) of a higher order replace the cause (Adam) and effect (death) of a lower one.
As Jesus said, he came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it (see Matthew 5:17), and he did so by acquiring the light and truth necessary to obtain and apply the consequences of a higher order.
In all things, God’s power is bound by law, but the law exists in different degrees of order. Acquiring higher levels of light and truth empowers you to exercise the consequences of the higher order. The Lord demonstrated this practice not only in his consummate act, but throughout his ministry. If you reread the New Testament with this principle in mind, you will find the pages open to you an aspect of the gospel you have never before noticed. For example, when the Canaanite woman begged him for her daughter’s healing, he ignored her the first time, and called her a dog the second. The third time, in response to her extreme trust in him (cause), he was able to substitute a higher order effect by healing her in spite of the fact that doing so violated the lower order law of his being sent exclusively to Israel (see Matthew 15:22-28).
Some progressive consequences of higher truth are negative. The level of truth you act against determines the degree of negative consequences you receive:
35 That which breaketh a law, and abideth not by law, but seeketh to become a law unto itself, and willeth to abide in sin, and altogether abideth in sin, cannot be sanctified by law, neither by mercy, justice, nor judgment. Therefore, they must remain filthy still.
39 All beings who abide not in those conditions are not justified. (D&C 88)
Those who do not comply with the law corresponding to their level of light will have their light taken away. When this happens, they are exposed to more undesirable consequences, but they are not aware of why those undesirable consequences happen. They are no longer exposed to more than they conform to, “they shall return again to their own place, to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received.” (D&C 88:32)
Life, in a sense, is a constant game of gaining better understanding of the rules and playing the game with increased skill. It is essential to learn the actual rules, not just what we think they are. There is a difference between rules and traditions. We waste too much opportunity because someone told us something was impossible when it wasn’t, and too much effort on what is actually impossible because someone told us it was possible.