1 Nephi 8: 21-23 And I saw numberless concourses of people, many of whom were pressing forward, that they might obtain the path which led unto the tree by which I stood. And it came to pass that they did come forth, and commence in the path which led to the tree. And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness; yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost.
JS-H 1: 15 After I had retired to the place where I had previously designed to go, having looked around me, and finding myself alone, I kneeled down and began to offer up the desires of my heart to God. I had scarcely done so, when immediately I was seized upon by some power which entirely overcame me, and had such an astonishing influence over me as to bind my tongue so that I could not speak. Thick darkness gathered around me, and it seemed to me for a time as if I were doomed to sudden destruction.
President Hinkley taught, “As each man or woman walks the way of life there come dark seasons of doubt, of discouragement, of disillusionment. In such circumstances, a few see ahead by the light of faith, but many stumble along in the darkness and even become lost.”
Kahlil Gibran wrote in his famous work, The Prophet:
For what is evil but good tortured by its own hunger and thirst?
Verily when good is hungry it seeks food even in dark caves,
and when it thirsts it drinks even of dead waters.
Matt. 5: 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
3 Ne. 12: 6 And blessed are all they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled with the Holy Ghost.
The Lord has said: “That which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness.” The adversary is real. He would that he would bind your hearts and eyes from perceiving that the straight and narrow path is at your feet, even prepared for you with a rod of iron to steady your step. However blinding Satan’s machinations can be, darkness is still just an eclipsing of light. Neither does the sun turn off when we cannot see it. This physical law is also a spiritual one: light and darkness cannot occupy the same space at the same time. Light has the greater power to dispel darkness. More importantly, darkness cannot conquer light unless the light is diminished or departs. Likewise when the spiritual light of the Holy Ghost is present, the darkness of Satan departs.
1 Nephi 8:30 But, to be short in writing, behold, he saw other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree.
JS-H 1:16 But, exerting all my powers to call upon God to deliver me out of the power of this enemy which had seized upon me, and at the very moment when I was ready to sink into despair and abandon myself to destruction—not to an imaginary ruin, but to the power of some actual being from the unseen world, who had such marvelous power as I had never before felt in any being—just at this moment of great alarm, I saw a pillar of light exactly over my head, above the brightness of the sun, which descended gradually until it fell upon me.
The Light of Christ is the divine energy, power, or influence that proceeds from God through Christ and gives life and light to all things. The Light of Christ influences people for good and prepares them to receive the Holy Ghost. One manifestation of the Light of Christ is what we call a conscience. Each of us brings such a light into this life, the Light of Christ. “I am the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world,” the Savior said. “The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things.” This light which “inviteth and enticeth to do good continually” is “given to every man, that he may know good from evil.”
All are born seeking the light, longing for more. Some are fed, nourished by the good word, good parenting, illluminating experiences and have clear sight of the goal. Some live miscellaneous lives, obscured by dim vision, competing agendas, living in un-fulfilling homes in which parents are distracted by necessary employment or personal inadequacies/guilt/victim status/substance abuse/or even embraced stupidity. For them, there is a striving for the benefits of the Light, but partake only of pale portions that mimic or satisfy temporarily, having not been taught to fully recognize the true from the counterfeits. This leads to the principle of problem solving: if you know a principle, you can solve right away. If one cannot identify the principle, there is use of trial and error. In desire for the light, being untutored can lead to random experimentation. This is the moral imperative of living and sharing the gospel, as we know principles of light that focus attention on organizing principles that work, variables that matter such as integrity, chastity, love, and charity.
As a very young child, I loved eating sugary candy orange slices. I thought they tasted great, sometimes even better than real oranges! But no matter how many times you can eat of that orange-tasting candy, it will not be an equal substitute to the orange itself. One writer put it this way, “...In your longing for your giant self lies your goodness: and that longing is in all of you. But in some of you that longing is a torrent rushing with might to the sea, carrying the secrets of the hillsides and the songs of the forest. And in others it is a flat stream that loses itself in angles and bends and lingers before it reaches the shore. We reach toward the unknown, but faith lights the way. If we will cultivate that faith, we shall never walk in darkness.”
The Bible Dictionary says, “The light of Christ is just what the words imply: enlightenment, knowledge, and an uplifting, ennobling, persevering influence that comes upon mankind because of Jesus Christ.” President Boyd K. Packer reinforced this truth in saying: “The Light of Christ is also described in the scriptures as ‘the Spirit of Jesus Christ.’ … The Spirit of Christ can enlighten the inventor, the scientist, the painter, the sculptor, the composer, the performer, the architect, the author to produce great, even inspired things for the blessing and good of all mankind.” We are commanded again and again to seek this light, to rise and become. Do we remember the parable of the talents?
2 Pet. 1: 19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.
Matt. 5: 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
“That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day” (D&C 50:23–24). If we are to be an ensign to the nations and a light to the world, we must take on more of the luster of the life of Christ. To become like Him is not a fantasy but a commandment. It is not necessary to be perfect this instant, but it is important to never cease trying. “You are good when you walk to your goal firmly and with bold steps. Yet you are not evil when you go thither limping. Even those who limp go not backward” (Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet, On Good and Evil). “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee” (Josh. 1:9). Our Heavenly Father gives us no commandment that we cannot obey. Neither does He leave us without guidance or His ever present arm.
As the Lord is our example in all things, the Light we embrace from Him can be keenly perceived by others. We never know who may be depending on us. And, as the Savior said, we “know not but what they will return and repent, and come unto me with full purpose of heart, and I shall heal them; and ye shall be the means of bringing salvation unto them.”
In 1949, my grandmother’s younger brother was caught in a riptide one afternoon while swimming alone near the family home on Coronado Island, near San Diego. Johnny was 16, and although a strong swimmer, the ocean current kept him from getting back to shore. For hours he fought to keep from drowning, even as the night drew closer, the sea breezes colder, and the current began to push him northwest out to sea. Then -- the light of the Point Loma lighthouse was visible. With what tired strength he had, Johnny swam for the light. I cannot imagine the pain of his limbs, lungs, and mind for swimming so terribly long. Miraculously, he made it to shore where a kind man drove him from the point all the way home. Although he later died of pneumonia from the water in his lungs that day, Johnny would not have come home had it not been for the directing light across the waves, his family left to grieve.
What of our spiritual lighthouses in hours of need? Are we keeping our own light burning brightly so others can make the way back to shore? How devastating is the lighthouse whose light is unseen! We who have the gift of the Holy Ghost must be true to its promptings so we can be a light to others. We must always be worthy to have the Spirit as our companion. When we do not, we really do endanger more than ourselves.
This week I had the opportunity to remove a tumor from my chest. For the procedure, I had an obligatory IV inserted into a vein in my hand. This allowed for liquid to enter the bloodstream in an easy way, keeping me hydrated and ready for what was to come. Not being terribly fond of IV’s, I spent a great deal of time staring at the clear tube and fiddling with it so it wouldn’t bother my arm too much. I was surprised to hear as I was being wheeled from the hall into the surgery room that sedative had already been administered. Not knowing how much longer I would retain control of my body, I felt pressured to move quickly from the bed to the surgery table. I had just enough time to transfer an increasingly leaden self, crack one joke, and rest my head before the eyes closed and that was that. I wish to call attention to the fact that you cannot see sedative when it mixes with the liquid of an IV drip. However, your body quickly discerns the alien feeling as it builds into a complete stupor. With too much, one will know an end of mortality.
While this was a necessary thing for this particular procedure, there is true danger in sedation of the soul. Do not let the light fade that once filled your soul with hope and moved you to greater acts of service. “What shall I say of these save that they too stand in the sunlight, but with their backs to the sun? They see only their shadows, and their shadows are their laws. And what is the sun to them but a caster of shadows?” (Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet, On Laws)
Elder Robert D. Hales said this:“Unless you are fully engaged in living the gospel—living it with all of your “heart, might, mind and strength” —you cannot generate enough spiritual light to push back the darkness. And in this world, the darkness is never far away. In fact, it is always just around the corner, waiting for an opportunity to come in. “If thou doest not well,” the Lord said, “sin lieth at the door.” It is as predictable as any physical law: if we let the light of the Spirit flicker or fade by failing to keep the commandments or by not partaking of the sacrament or praying or studying the scriptures, the darkness of the adversary will surely come in. “That wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience.” In the scriptures we read that some individuals “grope in the dark without light” and “stagger like a drunken man.” Stumbling along, we may become accustomed to the dimness of our surroundings and forget how glorious it is to walk in the light. There is a way out of the “mists of darkness” and onto the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. The Lord told Isaiah, “I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them.” The prophet Nephi outlined the path: “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism … behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost.”
By using the Light of Christ to discern and choose what is right, we can be led to an even greater light. His light will form a protective shield between you and the darkness of the adversary as you live worthy of it. Then, by obedience to wise counsel, we learn to claim the protective light of the gospel as our own. We make covenants in baptism, in the sacrament, in the temple, and in our private prayers to be renewed that we may not stumble in the darkness, that we may have His light to be with us always. We do our part by striving to make our homes and hearts a haven for Light to reside. We strengthen testimonies with faith and true study of the doctrine, by seeking the truth with real intent. President Spencer W. Kimball said: “The treasures of both secular and spiritual knowledge are hidden ones—but hidden from those who do not properly search and strive to find them. … Spiritual knowledge is not available merely for the asking; even prayers are not enough. It takes persistence and dedication of one’s life.” With this as our course, we orient mind and heart to the Lord, focus on purpose, develop real intent, then proceed. We can take that next step toward purity and perfections.
My favorite poem by Tennyson concludes:
"Though we are not now at the strength
Which in old days moved earth and heaven,
That which we are, we are --
One equal temper of heroic hearts
Made weak by time and fate,
But strong in will to strive, to seek
To find, and not to yield."
I know our Heavenly Father and Christ live, that they really do lift us back to our feet when we fall. We may drink of living waters and walk without blindness in the light. I pray we obey the command to be like Christ. Let us be a voice of reason, an instrument of His peace, a light unto another's path. Let the light not shine on us, but through us. May we never stand in the way and block the light for another. Yield not, our souls, to a dimming of the light. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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