Darkness and Light

          We live in a world dichotomized by extremes in darkness and light.  Our daily experiences reek of both forces as they battle to take control of our lives.  The difference between the two seems obvious.  Night and day, to be exact.  Yet at the same time it is often difficult for us to distinguish between the two.  Why?

          Maybe part of the reason is because we neglect the light that is within us.

          The light of Christ illuminates the world and gives guidance and direction to all things.  Over time, exposure to the light changes us to the point that there begins to be light within our hearts.  Not the light of Christ, but our own personal light that has formed inside of us through the grace of Christ.  When we stare out at the world we strive to interpret external symbols as either light or darkness so we know what influences to allow into our lives and which decisions to make.  At the same time, it is the light inside of us that is to guide us in the absence of words from heaven.  Luke 11:34 reads, "The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness."

          In other words, if we allow light to permeate our souls, our whole body will be full of light and we will be able to make correct decisions in the absence of immediate inspiration.  However, if we "neglect...that gift that is in [us]" and try to run our lives solely on external light, we will soon find ourselves plunged into darkness.  Elder Oaks quoted William E. Berrett when he said, "Those who pray that the Spirit might give them immediate guidance in every little thing throw themselves open to false spirits that seem ever ready to answer our pleas and confuse us. … The people I have found most confused in this Church are those who seek personal revelations on everything. They want the personal assurance from the Spirit from daylight to dark on everything they do. I say they are the most confused people I know because it appears sometimes that the answer comes from the wrong source.”

          In order to influence others and rear an eternal posterity, at some point we will need to stop being merely consumers of the light and begin to be its producers.  That cannot happen if our actions are just the products of the forces around us, even when those forces include revelation.  The pursuit of perfection is a team effort between ourselves and the Lord:  His inspiration and our agency, neither outweighing the other.  I don't know precisely why it works the way it does or why exactly it is so dangerous to live lives on blind faith, but I do know that the absolute greatest protection against deception is to take in inspiration from God and then act in obedience  according to our own intelligence, light, and agency.

          There is not always only one right answer to a question. The Savior once told Peter, speaking of John's decision to be translated, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? For he desired of me that he might bring souls unto me, but thou desiredst that thou mightest speedily come unto me in my kingdom.

 I say unto thee, Peter, this was a good desire; but my beloved has desired that he might do more, or a greater work yet among men than what he has before done.  Verily I say unto you, ye shall both have according to your desires, for ye both joy in that which ye have desired."

          Peter used his agency one way and John used his another, but they were both acceptable before God because their desires were good.  In a similar way, in terms of decisions of what career to have, who to marry, or what kind of person to become, there may be a variety of answers that are pleasing to the Lord.  Sometimes we just need to strike out upon the water and trust that things will work out in a way that will positively benefit everyone involved.

          I know that the Holy Ghost and the light of Christ are both real.  I know that they are there to help us make decisions that we would be incapable of making correctly on our own.  But they are also tutors, designed to help us to stand up on our own two feet and walk.  The day that we meet the Savior in order to have our own personal interview, it will be our own feet that step across the threshold into His presence.  And that, in reality, is what the Plan of Salvation is all about.