That is the Lord’s typical pattern, brothers and sisters. Rather than sending us a pillar of light,
the Lord sends us a ray of light,
and then another,
and another.
Those rays of light are continuously being poured down upon us.
The scriptures teach that Jesus Christ
“is the light and … life of the world,”
that His
“Spirit giveth light to every man [and woman]
and that His light “fill[s] the immensity of space,”
The Light of Christ is literally all around us.
And yet, every one of us is different.
No two people experience God’s light and truth
in exactly the same way.
Take some time to think about how
you experience
the light and Spirit of the Lord.
You may have experienced these bursts of light and testimony as
“peace [spoken] to your mind concerning [a] matter”
Or as an impression—a still, small voice—that settled
“in your mind and in your heart”
and urged you to do something good,
such as helping someone.
My point is that there are
many ways to receive heavenly rays of testimony.
These are just a few, of course.
They may not be dramatic, but all of them
form part of our testimonies.
Brothers and sisters,
I have not seen a pillar of light, but, like you,
I have experienced many divine rays.
Over the years, I’ve tried to treasure such experiences.
I find that as I do,
I recognize and remember even more of them.
Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if itstruggle to feel the Spirit in the moment
because of depression or anxiety
but have the precious gift and the faith
to look back and recognize past
“tender mercies of the Lord.”
You have had your own experiences
—your own light-filled bursts of testimony.
As we recognize, remember, and gather these rays
something wonderful and powerful begins to happen.
“Light cleaveth unto light”—“truth embraceth truth.”
The reality and power of one ray of testimony reinforces and combines with another,
and then another,
and another.
Line upon line, precept upon precept,
here a ray and there a ray
—one small, treasured spiritual moment at a time—
there grows up within us a core of
light-filled, spiritual experiences.
Perhaps no one ray is strong enough or bright enough
to constitute a full testimony,
but together they can become a light
that the darkness of doubt cannot overcome.
“O then, is not this real?” Alma asks.
“I say unto you, Yea, because it is light.”
“That which is of God is light,” the Lord teaches us,
“and he that receiveth light,
and continueth in God,
receiveth more light;
and that light groweth brighter and brighter
until the perfect day.”
Alma 32:35
that in time and through “great diligence,”
we too can have our own pillar of light—one ray at a time.
And in the midst of that pillar,
we too will find
a loving Heavenly Father calling us by name,
pointing us to our Savior, Jesus Christ,
and inviting us to
“Hear Him!”
And it came to pass when they heard this voice,
and beheld that it was
not a voice of thunder,
neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise,
but behold,
it was
a still
voice of perfect mildness,
as if it had been a whisper,
and it did pierce even
to the very soul—
Helaman 5:30
I bear witness of Jesus Christ, that He is the
light and life of the whole world
—and of your personal world and mine.
May we recognize and receive His glorious light
and then choose Him over the darkness of the world —always and forever. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
and then another,
and another.
“Spirit giveth light to every man [and woman]
and that His light “fill[s] the immensity of space,”
giving “life to all things.”
The Light of Christ is literally all around us.
