“The Light Is Always There,” Liahona, June 2018
The Last Word
The Light Is Always There
By Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf
Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
From an October 2017 general conference address, when Elder Uchtdorf was Second Counselor in the First Presidency.
Illustrations from Getty Images and Andrew Roberts
During my flights as an airline captain across our planet earth, I was always fascinated by the beauty and perfection of God’s creation. I found especially captivating the relationship between the earth and the sun. I consider it a profound object lesson of how darkness and light exist.
As we all know, within every 24 hours night turns to day and day turns to night.
So, then, what is night?
Night is nothing more than a shadow.
Even in the darkest of nights, the sun does not cease to radiate its light. It continues to shine as bright as ever. But half of the earth is in darkness.
The absence of light causes darkness.
When the darkness of night falls, we do not despair and worry that the sun is extinguished. We do not postulate that the sun is not there or is dead. We understand that we are in a shadow, that the earth will continue to rotate, and that eventually the rays of the sun will reach us once again.
Darkness is not an indication that there is no light. Most often, it simply means we’re not in the right place to receive the light.
Spiritual light continually shines upon all of God’s creation.
It is up to us to be in the right place to see the divine light and truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Even when night has fallen and the world seems dark, we can choose to walk in Christ’s light, keep His commandments, and courageously testify of His reality and His greatness.
Every time you turn your hearts to God in humble prayer, you experience His light. Every time you seek His word and will in the scriptures, the light grows in brightness. Every time you notice someone in need and sacrifice your own comfort to reach out in love, the light expands and swells. Every time you reject temptation and choose purity, every time you seek or extend forgiveness, every time you courageously testify of truth, the light chases away darkness and attracts others who are also seeking light and truth.