FILLING OUR DARK SPOTS WITH LIGHT

Nothing is more constructive than a
good, powerful, and pure personal life.

I'm reading Jeffrey R. Holland's "Broken Things to Mend" and have loved every page I've read. This is what I've been working on and praying about lately, and I wanted to share it with you so we can all individually shine.

"What we are shines more brightly than anything we say or do. If we are to fill the world with light, we must first face any tattered remnant of darkness that remains in our souls. Our work is to divide the light from the darkness by lighting more and more candles in our personal lives. I can think of a few ways we could begin to do that. First, let us be clear about the holder of the candles. I find it interesting that the first thing light reveals when a candle is lit is the hand that's holding it. The Lord made this fascinating observation about personal light in Luke 11:34-36. The candles we hold up for others to see ought to be extensions of the light within ourselves. I invite you to join me in regularly turning inward to confront there anything we wouldn't want others to see. It may not be pornography, but it may be impatience, vanity, jealousy, hatred, or any number of other flaws we need to remedy. Whatever it is, let us trim our lamps, add oil, and make those changes necessary that allow us to hold up a brighter candle and a purer light. Each of us must be the best person we can be in every way we can. In order to do this, we have to focus on the dark and hidden things about ourselves that others might not be able to see. Since darkness is the absence of light, surely the most powerful way to confront the darkness is to fill it with light. As Elder Robert D. Hales has observed: 'Light and darkness cannot occupy the same space at the same time, whether a tiny or large amount of space. Light dispels darkness and when light is present, darkness is vanquished and must depart.' More importantly, the darkness we find in ourselves was only able to conquer the light because we let our light diminish or depart in one of our characteristics or beliefs. If we simply stop doing something, or refrain from going places, we still are not FILLING THE VOID WITH LIGHT. We all have heard about the gospel principles which are able to light up our lives, and we are also aware of the number of principles we need to strengthen in order to fill our spots of darkness with light. We all have spots of darkness, yet we all have been invited to stand in confidence with Christ. My prayer is for us to fill our dark spots up with the light of our Savior."

~Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

(Let me know if you want page numbers of things he said because
I mixed a couple of my thoughts in with his thoughts,

and then let me know how excited you are to go buy his book!!)