“And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings; which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space—the light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things.”[1]

There is an energy, sometimes called the Light of Christ, which emanates from the presence of God and fills the immensity of space. This light is the connection Christ has with all things.

This light is in all things, through all things, and is the power by which all things are made. It is the power by which all things are animated, energized, and given life. It provides the law by which all things are perpetually governed and by which all things are connected to the mind of God. This is the channel by which God communicates His law and His intelligence to all things.

This light is a vital part of what enables the power by which God is omniscient[2], omnipotent[3], and omnipresent.[4]

It is by this light, which emanates from God, whereby we are given comprehension and understanding. This is also the power by which we receive increased comprehension and understanding. This is the light of inspiration and revelation.

This light enables our connection with God. It is the power by which God speaks to us and reveals Himself to us.

At any given moment, we have the ability, through our moral agency, to face into the light and to choose to follow the inspiration that comes from the light by doing what we inwardly know is right, or what is best, or we can turn away from the light and choose darkness by other than what we inwardly know is right or is best.

Clothed in this mortal flesh, our physical bodies tend to attenuate the light. Especially when we resist or reject the light, the light is dampened and deflected by our flesh and by our negative mental energy which shuns it. The mortal body is unique in this aspect. No other living entity can so effectively attenuate or deflect the light of Christ as a mortal human body. For this reason, demonic spirit entities like to use our bodies to shield themselves from the light, especially as we overtly reject and shun the light by our evil acts.

Inversely, as we consistently face into the light, following the light, doing good, and doing what is right, we become increasingly sensitized, filled, hallowed, and enabled by that light. As this happens, those demonic spirit entities flee away. When those demonic influences come tempting us, we can punish and deflect them by aggressively doing the best good we can think of. Do this often enough and long enough and they will leave you alone.

The scriptures employ an extensive vocabulary in reference to this light. Most commonly, they refer to it as the Light of Christ, the Spirit of Christ, the Light of the Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, and the Light of Truth. Those who are attuned to the Spirit of Truth, by their faithful obedience to the Spirit of Truth, are blessed with an increasing ability to absorb truth, discern truth, articulate truth, and abide that truth which comes from God.

God is the ultimate source of truth. In the strictest sense, He is the only source of truth. Through His light, and by heeding His light, we all have access to that ultimate source of truth. The Light of Truth, which emanates from God, connects us with the mind of God, which communicates pure infallible truth. Very often, though, we confuse and mix that truth with our own erroneous assumptions and false beliefs. It requires a great deal of study, faith, and effort to unravel in our own minds God’s light and truth from our own incomplete, flawed, and confused perceptions. 

To the extent that we favorably respond to the Light of Truth, we become better and better receptors of truth. Learning to receive and process truth, and to filter truth from error, is what we are all about.

God never deliberately withholds the light of conscience from anyone. We can dampen and even block the effects of His light; but that is something we do; it is not God’s doing. He will limit what He reveals for our benefit, but He will not withhold His moral essence from us.

The light of conscience enables our moral agency. Our moral agency is a gift from God. It is the power and ability we have to discern moral truth, discern good and evil, and to choose good and evil according to our own wills. God never does anything to deliberately withhold that essential light; but the more we reject His light, the more we deflect it and become desensitized to it.

If someone you know does not seem to experience even the slightest twinge of guilt, or sadness, or remorse of conscience in consequence of sin, or moral depravity, or wrongdoing, you can be assured that it is not God’s doing; it is their doing. It is the result of long-repeated acts of rejecting God’s light.

Our first priority is to follow the Light of Christ within us. Anything, anyone, and any institution that seeks to displace or replace that first priority of following the Light of Christ is not of God, is not good, but is evil. Governments, churches, authorities, and powers that seek to dominate our lives irrespective of the Light of Christ are fundamentally evil. When we are told that we must follow institutional rules or institutional leaders no matter what, and that we are to give first priority to them, we can be assured that their intent and their influence is fundamentally evil. It promotes lesser value. It promotes negative value. It deflects you from directly following the Light of Christ. And if you shun the Light of Christ by giving priority to them you will find that divine light diminishing in your life.

When an army General tells you, “There is the right way, the wrong way, and then there is the army way; your job is to do things the army way.”—When he says that you know he is anti-Christ, and you must not follow him. The same principle applies if he is a church leader, business leader, or any other kind of leader.

Too many Christians think that obedience to their church leaders or church-imposed rules will cause God to ignore their disobedience to God’s voice within them. Likewise, they think that their devoted participation in religious rituals, rites, ordinances, and activities will somehow, ceremoniously cleanse them or justify them before God. These are egregious mistakes. There is no substitute for strict obedience to the Light of Christ and the voice of Christ within you.

Jesus said, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”[5] I suggest a careful reading of all of Matthew chapter 23.

Years ago, I had a close and dear friend, a bishop, tell me that he rarely feels anything. He said he has a very hard time feeling emotion. And that he has a very hard time receiving inspiration and revelation from God. Now this was a very kind, humble, and good man. He was an effective leader. But deep down he knew that he was lacking the depth of feeling and emotion and joy he knew he really should have in the service of the Lord. He knew something was wrong. He just did not seem to know why. I knew why; but I did not have the depth of understanding, or more likely the courage to tell him. This was not an isolated case. Many institutional leaders feel similarly, and it really bothers them. Their undying loyalty and obedience to their institutions is their demise.

“Wherefore the Lord said: forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, [because] their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men…”[6]

I could write and in fact have written extensively on the topic of churches and church leaders fighting against God, but suffice it to say, there is no substitute for direct faith in Christ. There is no substitute for following the Light of Christ, first and foremost in our lives. Any substitution will do great harm and will diminish the light and joy of Christ in our lives.

Your religion should never be an institution, or church, or following church policies or leaders; it should be, 100%, following the Light of Christ in your life. Make no mistake about it, that is the standard and principle you will be held accountable to at the great and last day when you stand before your Maker at the judgement bar of God.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”[7]

We need to face into the light. We need to actively and aggressively search into the light. As we do this, we need to do our best to be humble, have pure hearts, and to be easily directed and instructed by that light. Casually following the light of conscience will never be enough. We need to actively and aggressively search into the light, seeking knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and direction from God. As we do this, our sensitivity and capacity increase.

This is very important to understand. Our sensitivity and capacity increase as we actively seek to follow this light. Later, we will discuss the high demands of what it means to have faith in Christ and to apply the doctrine of Christ in our lives. These doctrines and these standards will seem impossibly difficult without understanding that God increases our sensitivity, capacity, and ability as we faithfully seek Him. Understanding this is critical!

As we faithfully seek to follow the Light of Christ, this triggers a chain reaction of events. What we can comprehend increases. What we can perform increases. What we can beneficially receive from God increases.

As we shun and reject the Light of Christ, this also triggers a chain reaction of events. What we can comprehend decreases. What we can perform decreases. What we can beneficially receive from God decreases. If continued, this trend will escalate, cascade, and avalanche into complete ruin and dissolution.

God is always inviting us to receive greater light and knowledge, but He does not force it on us.

When we receive new light, it enlightens and illuminates things we were before blind to. Like increasing the luminescence of a lamp in a dark cavern, the increased brightness chases the shadows away and we can see much that was before concealed in the shadows of darkness. Inversely, when we decrease the light within us by disbelief and disobedience and by giving preference to alternative voices and choices, we find we can no longer see or comprehend that which was before obvious to us. I have seen this again and again.

When we reject the greater light in favor of the lesser light, we are still held accountable to the greater light. The choice was ours. But when we choose the lesser light, God does not want to further condemn us by continuing to shine a greater light upon us; rather, He redacts the light according to that which we are willing to receive.

Everything God does is for our benefit. He will not do anything against our benefit.

Our cognitive reality is a function of light and darkness. The more light we receive, the more the darkness is pushed away, and the more our cognitive reality reflects God’s revealed reality. On the other hand, the more light we reject the more our cognitive reality is defined by illusion, delusion, and false beliefs. This is undesirable.

There are very good reasons why God commands us to pray. There are very good reasons why God commands us to search the scriptures. There are very good reasons why we are commanded to first and foremost obey His words and directions as they are revealed by His light and by His voice. These activities, when done rightly, increase the Light of Christ in our lives, dispelling illusion, delusion, and false beliefs.

As we search into the light, we find that God provides evidence that His doctrine and His promises are true. This increases our faith.

Faith is not without evidence. Faith is a function of evidence. Faith is deliberative action based on evidence and intent. We are to exercise our faith based on the light and evidence we have received.

The holy scriptures provide evidence. The testimonies and teachings of Christ’s faithful servants provide evidence. The illumination and increased comprehension of their testimonies and teachings within our minds and hearts provide evidence. The Holy Spirit filling our hearts with hope and our minds with clarity provides evidence. And the blessings of the Lord in our lives as we are faithful provide evidence.

Searching into the Light of Christ is the key to achieving maximum happiness, maximum progression, and maximum value in our lives. This is done by study, prayer, meditation, obedience, and diligence. As we do these things, many more blessings will be received.

---

[1] Doctrine and Covenants 88:11 – 13

[2] Omniscient – having infinite knowledge, awareness, understanding, and insight.

[3] Omnipotent – having all power, or unlimited power.

[4] Omnipresent – being everywhere, seeing everything, and comprehending everything continuously.

[5] Matthew 23:23

[6] Isaiah 29:13

[7] Matthew 6:33

Click here for Table of Contents

.