In the fourth chapter of the book of Ether, after recording on the plates "the very things which the brother of Jared saw" (Ether 4:4), Moroni writes the words that the Lord "commanded" him related to this vision. In the middle of Christ's words to Moroni, He makes a most interesting declaration: "For behold, I am the Father, I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world" (Ether 4:12). It is intriguing here that Christ applies to himself four connected titles: the title "Father" (of the world) [or Creator of the World], the title "the Light . . . of the World," the title "the Life . . . of the World and the title "the Truth of the World." The association of these four titles here is unique in the Book of Mormon. One might ask, Why? The answer might be found in the writings of Richard Ingebretsen, a noted researcher in Physics and Biophysics.
According to Ingebretsen, the actual nature of light and its interactions with the universe has challenged scientific geniuses through the centuries. One of the first of these was Isaac Newton. He pictured light as a virtually infinite multitude of small particles traveling through space. This was the accepted idea for many years following Newton. However, through the years, this concept of light hit many obstacles and was met with disfavor.
In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries many experiments demonstrated that light also had the properties of waves. It was determined that light is one form of wave-like radiation called "electromagnetic radiation" because it is associated with changing electric and magnetic fields that travel through space and transfer energy from one place to another. But just as scientists began thinking of light in terms of waves, along came Albert Einstein in the early part of the 20th century, and showed that light actually is both. In other words, light has a dual character and is both particle and wave-like in its composition. This is the current scientific view. These light particles have been given the name "photons." So now, we think of light as little particles (called photons) traveling through space in waves.
Apart from providing the ability to see, it has long been known that light transfers energy as well. This amazing fact is evidenced by the warmth we feel when out in the sun and the ability of solar cells to convert light energy into electric energy. Life on earth continues to be dependent on the energy in sun light for photosynthesis. In fact, all biologic activities are dependent on the energy-transfer capabilities of light. It was not until James Clerk Maxwell in the late 1800's and Albert Einstein in the early 1900's that we understood how light was able to transmit energy. It is the individual photon that is responsible for the energy transfer capabilities of light. These small particulate bundles are like a packet of energy, whose strength is directly proportional to its frequency. As we shall see, the ability of light to transfer energy was essential in the formation of the universe.
Initially, the universe was a flood of energetic light. The formation and release of photons was essential, for it provided the power and energy necessary for the formation of matter. The creation of matter from light happens in a special way that involves both matter and a curious type of substance called anti-matter, which is the exact opposite of matter. If you take antimatter and matter and bring them together they cancel each other out and their annihilation releases their energy as photons. In reverse, if two photons collide with enough energy they form matter and antimatter. This business of forming matter from energy was one of the startling conclusions of Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity. This states that mass and energy are equivalent according to the famous equation E = mc2. This equation states that matter and energy are the same, but exist in two different forms. Thus when matter is seen after photons collide, it represents nothing more than the transformation of energy into another form--matter.
So the production of matter from light plays a key role in the very young universe. When the universe was in a very hot state, photons indeed had enough energy in their collisions to form protons and antiprotons. As the newborn universe began to cool, other types of matter were formed such as electrons and a particle called a positron, which is the "anti-matter" particle to an electron. For reasons that are unclear, in time, most of the antimatter was annihilated, leaving only "matter" made up of protons, electrons and neutrons, which are the building blocks of atoms and matter.
By the time the universe was three minutes old, it had cooled to a point where protons and neutrons could form deuterium, which is the nucleus of "heavy" hydrogen. Then when the universe was about 30 minutes old, it had cooled sufficiently that the particle formation from photons stopped. At that time, about 25 percent of all matter that was formed was helium, and the remainder was the all important hydrogen atom.
For the next million or so years, the universe was dominated by this particle radiation and gasses. These gasses and radiation continued to cool and began to form neutral atoms which scientists call "matter." With the universe cool enough, the long reaching force of gravity took over and matter collected into clouds of dust and eventually gave birth to galaxies, stars, and planets. Thus, the universe was believed to have come about first with the formation of light, then with energetic photons of light colliding, using their energy to form matter. Clearly, the role that light played in the formation of the universe can not be understated.
Now the fact that light can manifest in different contexts is a well known phenomena. Of the whole electromagnetic spectrum, only a small part is perceptible to the human eye. The vast majority of the spectrum, including radio waves, ultraviolet light and infrared light, is perceived by other mechanisms. In this perspective, it is not difficult to imagine that a so-called spiritual side of light is also manifest every day in the modern world. This "light of Christ" brings men to the truth.
Science tells us that light was the power of the creation, that it fills the void of an expanding universe, and that it is necessary for life as we know it. Still, science has yet to explore the spiritual nature of light. Thus, the absolute nature of light remains a mystery. But we have in front of us scriptures that allow us to further our knowledge of what is one of the most intriguing of all of God's creations. [Richard Ingebretsen, Joseph Smith and Modern Astronomy, pp. 18-19, 24-26, 33-34] [See the commentary (Ingebretsen) on 1 Nephi 1:3]
Note* If Ingebretsen is right, then the insertion of these titles for Christ into the setting of the brother of Jared's vision might imply that the brother of Jared was allowed to see the creation of the earth among other things. In other words, he was able to witness what Abraham and Moses saw as recorded in the Pearl of Great Price. The fact that Moroni records that "there never were greater things made manifest than those which were made manifest unto the brother of Jared" (Ether 4:4) seems to bolster that proposition. [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes] [See the commentary on Ether 4:4]