"That which is of God is light" (D&C 50:24)

The phrase: "That which is of God is light" (D&C 50:24) has given me great hope in a time when I have been, what feels like, in an endless darkness. It can, at times, be black and suffocating. When I get like that, I get very uncomfortable and I seem to have a warped sense of what is and is not. It is then that I pray that I may see "...things as they really are, and of things as they really will be" (Jacob 4:13). To have the view of things "as they really are" helps me know that this darkness is temporary. The burden of blackness is not fun in anyway, and it is a great burden to bear. I plead, when it comes, to be gone and to have light again. But sometimes the burden stays longer than I would like.

We all have burdens that we must endure, and some which we may have to bear for a lifetime. As I have pondered this "blackness" that comes, I realize that God is light, not dark. It is one thing to tell myself this and a whole other thing to put it into practice. But I keep practicing. Christ calls us out of darkness: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). My thoughts turn to "light". He say's His yoke is easy, and His burden is light. Perhaps light means something more than just light weight. Perhaps it means- light, as in spiritual light.

Burdens are heavy, but will be made "light" through Christ. They can be a source for us to access His light- the light of truth, as we come unto Him. We are taught, "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 50:24). What God gives us is spiritual light, which leads us out of darkness. President Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, "...Even though we may feel lost in the midst of our current circumstances, God promises the hope of His light- He promises to illuminate the way before us and show us the way out of darkness" (The Hope of God's Light).

Though this burden of darkness sometimes seems overwhelming and can be debilitating, I know that there is great hope and light in this experience. I also know that I must "come unto Christ" (see Matthew 11:28-30) if I want the darkness to dissipate. When darkness hits, or burdens of any kind, the way to get out of darkness is to "begin exactly where you are right now. It doesn't matter how unqualified you may think you are or how far behind others you may feel. The very moment you begin to seek your Heavenly Father, in that moment, the hope of His light will begin to awaken, enliven, and ennoble your soul. The darkness may not dissipate all at once, but as surely as night always gives way to dawn, the light will come" (The Hope of God's Light). 

"That which is of God is light" (D&C 50:24)- not only is it light in weight, but is spiritual light! "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, 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). Christ is there to help us bear our burdens, to guide us through the dark, and to fill us with light, "...and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day" (D&C 50:24). This I testify.

He will make our burdens "light"

Christ is the light of the world

"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)

Okay, I love sugar cookies with frosting that is almost as thick as the cookie. I can usually find these kind of cookies at the store. I could eat about a bazillion of them in one sitting. Well, maybe not a bazillion, but I do eat a lot of them. They are filled with sugar (it's the first ingredient) and bleached white flour, and fat. They are so enticing, looking so pretty with sprinkles on top and have absolutely no substance. But I sure think they taste good, until I eat too many of them. What does eating super fattening cookies have to do with Jesus Christ you may ask? or living the gospel? Well, actually, a lot. Let me explain.

Adam and Eve were created "...and the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:16-17). Eating cookies isn't going to make me die, but it does make me think about what is good. It is my choice to "partake" or not. Just as it was for Adam and Eve to partake or not to partake of the tree of knowledge. This was the plan, for Adam and Eve to have a choice as to whether or not they would partake of the fruit. "...even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter. Wherefore, the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other" (2 Nephi 2:15-16 italics added). Every day we are "enticed" by something, whether for good or bad. The beauty of the whole things is that we get to choose what we want to "eat", whether or not we will be enticed, or yield to those enticings.

Being enticed, what exactly does this mean? Enticed means: "to attract artfully or adroitly or by arousing hope or desire: tempt" (Merriam-Webster). Being enticed is a good thing because "...man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other" (2 Nephi 2:16). The Lord Himself said, "And it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves; for if they never should have bitter they could not know the sweet- Wherefore, it came to pass that the devil tempted Adam, and he partook of the forbidden fruit and transgressed the commandment, wherein he became subject to the will of the devil, because he yielded unto temptation" (D&C 39-40). It is through this process of being enticed that we are able to learn for ourselves what is good and what is bitter (see Moses 6:55), or what is "light" and what is "dark". We get to choose whether or not we want to follow the Light or the dark (see John 8:12). We must be careful to not call dark light, or light dark. We are warned: "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter" (Isaiah 5:20)!

When we have experienced "light" or "tasted this light" (Alma 32:35) there is a difference in the way we can see, behave, think,  and act. Light lets us see, be, think, act good, because "whatsoever is light, is good" (Alma 32:35). Think about when you have been in a room and the lights are brightened ever so slightly. You might notice it at first, but when your eyes adjust, you don't really notice. But, turn the lights out, you are in the dark. Then you really notice the marked difference between the light and the dark. When the lights come back on, you think it is very bright. The Lord has blessed us to be able to discern between good and bitter a little at a time, "line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little" (2 Nephi 28:30) so that we aren't blinded by the light and close our eyes to all truth, for "truth is light" (D&C 84:45). If we eat all the cookies, all at once, we get sick. They wouldn't taste so good. Truth is taught a bite at a time, or a "light" at a time. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (Psalms 119:105). The words of the Lord, or the scriptures are little lights, or cookies if you will, that lead us in our path to Him. They illuminate our way as we read, study, act, follow, as we "taste this light" (Alma 32:35). They will lead us to Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ 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). With these words of hope, He was desiring to entice us to follow Him and walk in light and walk in truth. There will be people we come in contact with the won't be able to discern light, or even be enticed by it, even when it is right before them (see John 8:13). But that isn't our worry or concern. We can choose to "press forward, with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men" (2 Nephi 31:20). We get to choose to be enticed and "taste the light", those wonderful, delicious "cookies" that will fill us up and always make us feel good.