Let Your Light Shine

By Sydney S. Reynolds

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).

If you’ve ever been afraid of the dark, you know how welcome a ray of light can be. Even a small light makes a big difference.

Jesus Christ taught His followers that they were “the light of the world.” He said that when you light a candle, you should put it on a candlestick so it will give light to everyone in the room. He said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (See Matt. 5:14–16.)

One way of letting your light shine is being a good example to others. When other people see your good example, they will know you love Heavenly Father and they will want to honor Him, too.

We can let our lights shine by keeping the commandments. When we are honest, when we keep the Sabbath holy, when we are kind, we are letting our lights shine. Each small light makes a big difference!

There is another way we can let our lights shine. Elder Henry B. Eyring said he never told one of his friends about the gospel. One day, he heard that his friend had died. Elder Eyring sometimes wonders if he will meet his friend in heaven and his friend will say, “You knew. Why didn’t you tell me?” Now Elder Eyring shares his testimony with people all over the world. (See “A Voice of Warning,” Liahona, January 1999, 37–40.) When we share the gospel with others, we are letting our lights shine.

We can be good examples. We can share our testimonies with others. We can be missionaries now by inviting our friends to Primary. Our faith in Jesus Christ will grow when we let our lights shine.

Instructions

To make a double-puzzle family home evening game, mount page 7 on heavy paper. Fold on the solid line, and glue the backs together. Cut out the puzzle pieces, and put them into a container. Have a family member choose a puzzle piece and pantomime (act out without using words) the action shown on the small-picture side. When someone guesses the action, post the puzzle piece candle-side up. Repeat until the puzzle is finished.

Illustrated by Tadd R. Peterson

Let Your Light Shine
Keep the Sabbath holy
Share my testimony
Invite friends to Primary activities
Be kind to others
Be honest
Let my light shine by …
(Draw a picture of another way you can share the gospel.)

Sharing Time Ideas

Display a large world map. Have a few children choose a place where they might someday serve a mission. Ask what preparations might be helpful no matter where a missionary serves. (Possible answers: cooking, working hard, being kind, sewing, washing clothes, leading music, conducting meetings, reading the Book of Mormon, bearing testimony.) Let each class choose something they think will be important to learn and present it by pantomiming or role-playing. Have the last class include the things we should all be doing every day to be good examples. Conclude by sharing your feelings about the missionary work we do now by example and later by calling.
When Jesus called His Apostles, He said they would be “fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19). Post a piece of blue paper cut to look like a pond. Put paper fish of different sizes, shapes, and colors in the pond. In advance, write the reference of a scripture story about fish or fishers on the back of each fish and assign a teacher to tell each story. (Possible stories: Jonah and the great fish—Jonah 1–2; feeding the 5,000—Mark 6:33–44; the tribute coin—Matt. 17:24–27; calling the Apostles—Matt. 4:18–22; “I go a fishing”—John 21:3–6; broiled fish and honeycomb—Luke 24:36–43.) When a child chooses a fish, have the assigned teacher tell that story. Ask the child what we learn about the gospel from the story. Point to the various colors and sizes of fish and explain that the gospel is for “every nation, kindred, tongue and people” (1 Ne. 19:17). Bear your testimony that we find joy when we are “fishers of men” and share the gospel.