Early Morning
This morning the boys and I were up bright and early to attend our Stake Priesthood session. I would like to report to all that it was a good meeting. The Stake Presidency did what they were intending to do, well at least for me. I have started taking a better look at myself and what I am doing, where I am, and where I want to be.
One of the talks was about faith and how we need to exercise it more. We need to do more than just believe. We need to get up and do something, otherwise, we will never get where we want to be. He talked about Joseph Smith and the first time that he actually vocalized his prayer. We have all heard that story. Some of us could probably tell it from memory.
The thing that got stuck in my minds eye and I have been pondering off and on today is the moment of despair he was in before the light entered his vision. He could feel the darkness surrounding him. He could felt his imminent doom trying to overcome him. Then the light came.
Have you ever felt that way? Like your life was doomed, that everything around you was caving in and giving way to darkness? That no matter how hard you try, you just don't seem to be moving forward from this heavy shadow that surrounds you?
I know that I have. The comment that was made was that suddenly there was light. And we know that darkness cannot live in the light. Was there just light? I think that we need to go back a few steps and think about it again. Joseph was trying to move forward. He was going in a direction that the forces of evil did not want him to go. When this happens, suddenly there is opposition. The forces of evil will through everything they have at you to distract, depress, or turn you from your course. Joseph did not stop moving forward. He did not get distracted. He did not get depressed.
I wonder how many people get on the path and are then detoured from their goal because of these forces. I wonder how many times I have given in. How many times have I stopped moving to the light or seeking it? How about you?
I start thinking about how hard it would be to remove light from a room. Have you ever tried that before? I have. It is next to impossible. I wanted to know what it would have been like at the time of Christ's death on the American Continent. I tried plastic, duct tape, cardboard, towels, and more. I hit every little nook and cranny I could find. Then when the lights are out and my eyes adjust, they always seem to find the light. Isn't that interesting? No matter how dark our surroundings, our eyes seek the light, they make the adjustments needed for us to see it.
Today I started thinking about the opposite. When we turn on the lights what happens to the darkness? Does it go away or is it just hiding from the light? Look around. Look at the shadows, the darkness is just sitting there waiting for us to to slip up. It will come out as soon as our light fades.
So, the question is how do we fill every nook and cranny of our lives with light? How much light would you need to make the shadows go away? Are you lighting more candles or energizing more lights? What do you do to fill your life with that light? It is not something that just happens. Joseph did not just wait, he keep going. We must keep lighting the lights, energizing our lives with light. How? Exercising faith, reading scriptures, praying, making the atonement real in our lives, teaching, exercising or using the priesthood, serving...etc. There are so many different ways. Each one light a different flame or energizes a different light.
These things are not to be done passively. They all require effort. I have been motivated today to exert more effort in my life. I hope you will too. I hope that you will not let the darkness detour you.
One of the talks was about faith and how we need to exercise it more. We need to do more than just believe. We need to get up and do something, otherwise, we will never get where we want to be. He talked about Joseph Smith and the first time that he actually vocalized his prayer. We have all heard that story. Some of us could probably tell it from memory.
The thing that got stuck in my minds eye and I have been pondering off and on today is the moment of despair he was in before the light entered his vision. He could feel the darkness surrounding him. He could felt his imminent doom trying to overcome him. Then the light came.
Have you ever felt that way? Like your life was doomed, that everything around you was caving in and giving way to darkness? That no matter how hard you try, you just don't seem to be moving forward from this heavy shadow that surrounds you?
I know that I have. The comment that was made was that suddenly there was light. And we know that darkness cannot live in the light. Was there just light? I think that we need to go back a few steps and think about it again. Joseph was trying to move forward. He was going in a direction that the forces of evil did not want him to go. When this happens, suddenly there is opposition. The forces of evil will through everything they have at you to distract, depress, or turn you from your course. Joseph did not stop moving forward. He did not get distracted. He did not get depressed.
I wonder how many people get on the path and are then detoured from their goal because of these forces. I wonder how many times I have given in. How many times have I stopped moving to the light or seeking it? How about you?
I start thinking about how hard it would be to remove light from a room. Have you ever tried that before? I have. It is next to impossible. I wanted to know what it would have been like at the time of Christ's death on the American Continent. I tried plastic, duct tape, cardboard, towels, and more. I hit every little nook and cranny I could find. Then when the lights are out and my eyes adjust, they always seem to find the light. Isn't that interesting? No matter how dark our surroundings, our eyes seek the light, they make the adjustments needed for us to see it.
Today I started thinking about the opposite. When we turn on the lights what happens to the darkness? Does it go away or is it just hiding from the light? Look around. Look at the shadows, the darkness is just sitting there waiting for us to to slip up. It will come out as soon as our light fades.
So, the question is how do we fill every nook and cranny of our lives with light? How much light would you need to make the shadows go away? Are you lighting more candles or energizing more lights? What do you do to fill your life with that light? It is not something that just happens. Joseph did not just wait, he keep going. We must keep lighting the lights, energizing our lives with light. How? Exercising faith, reading scriptures, praying, making the atonement real in our lives, teaching, exercising or using the priesthood, serving...etc. There are so many different ways. Each one light a different flame or energizes a different light.
These things are not to be done passively. They all require effort. I have been motivated today to exert more effort in my life. I hope you will too. I hope that you will not let the darkness detour you.
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