"I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12).

After coming upstairs and realizing that I had left a light on and needed to go back downstairs to turn it off, it came to me what I needed to share about today. Light! Especially when there seems to be such an energy crisis and the need to save and turn out light. I like light. I don't want to be in the dark, it isn't much fun stumbling around in the dark trying to avoid stubbing my toes or breaking something. So, what is this all powerful "light that shineth in a dark place" (2 Peter 1:19)?

This light that we never need to worry about turning off, leaving on too long, or burning out is called "the Spirit of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:19). The Spirit of Jesus Christ can also be called the "light of Christ" because "the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ. And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit" (D&C 84:45-46). The "light of Christ is given to every man (and woman), that [they] may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge (or in my words, how to make good choices or determine between right and wrong); for everything which [invites] to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God" (Moroni 7:16). If anything leads us to believe in Christ, it is from God. If anything leads us away from Christ, it is not from God. It is that simple....putting it into practice, now that takes, well, practice.

For example, if we find that our kids, or perhaps even our husbands or wives, or maybe our friends, aren't doing what we think they should be doing, we need to keep in mind that honey is sweeter to the taste (see Psalms 119:103) than, well...dung (see Ezekiel 4:15). Spread honey. In Isaiah it talks about putting on "the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness" (Isaiah 61:3). When our loved ones have messed up, they don't need more heaviness put upon them (or dung for that matter). They could use some heaviness taken off and given some "light", (see Matt 11:30) and this is what we do for someone when we give them praise rather than more heaviness or criticism. (Spread on the honey.) Not false praise, but focus on the positive, rather than the negative. It isn't easy when they have disappointed or hurt us. But this is the "Spirit of Christ" that invites us to do good and persuades us to believe in Christ" (Moroni 7:16). It is the power that changes our hearts and the hearts of our loved ones. It is good practice to wear "the garment of praise" for it is Light, both in weight and in illumination, both physically and spiritually.

The Spirit of Christ is also "truth" and "light" (see D&C 84:45). In our lives today we need as much "light" and "truth" as we can get. There are so many different voices telling us what is wrong and what is right that it can be very difficult to know "if any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall [we] know it" (Joseph Smith-History 1:10)? The [light] of Christ is given to "every man (and woman), that they may know good from evil" (Moroni 7:16). As parents who love our children and want to help them make good choices and guide them, or want to make our marriages and relationships better, or improve our personal lives, we all need help to "overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). So, why not ask and receive "intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth" (D&C 93:36)? This kind of intelligence is one "light" that we don't want to turn off, and we don't need to worry about conserving energy, because this is "everlasting light" (Isaiah 60:20). We do need to "watch [ourselves], and [our] thoughts, and [our] words, and [our] deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith" (Mosiah 4:30) because we don't want to "perish" in the dark from lack of light or truth, especially if we have haven't asked (see 2 Nephi 32:4).

Christ is there, full of Light, wanting us to "ask" so the He can give and we can "receive", because we keep His commandments (see 1 John 3:22). [Christ] is the life and light of the world" (Alma 38:9). He said: "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12). We can have light all the time. We don't need to turn off any lights, for Christ is the Light of the world. This I testify is how to keep the Lights on all the time.