Day 9: Let Your Light Shine

Elder Neal A. Maxwell explains briefly in one of his speeches, that the Tree of Life, being The love of God, is most profoundly expressed to us in the gift of Jesus as our Redeemer. To partake of the Love of God is to partake of Jesus' atonement and the emancipation (freedom from bondage) and joys which it can bring. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoso believeth in Him should no perish, but have everlasting life!" John 3:16

I took this reading passage and assignment in a different direction today, to make it personal for me. In the passage and talk that I read today, I thought about God's work and glory, which is to bring our immortality and eternal life to pass. I thought about the role that Christ plays in helping God fulfill His work and glory, and about our role. "The Lord has made it clear that each of us has a responsibility to exert an influence for good in the lives of those who share this mortal experience with us. We cannot live in isolation from others and still fulfill the purpose of our existence. Our actions, our words, our thoughts, and our values will inevitably affect the souls of those whose lives brush against ours. If fact, the Lord himself said that this influence may continue to reverberate long after we have departed, even to the ensuing generations. (See Mosiah 13:13.) This is an awesome prospect. When we contemplate the power we have for perpetrating both good and evil in the lives of others, we have good reason to search for careful understanding of this power." Dean L. Larsen

If you have never experienced the Love of God like Lehi explains; "it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy", pray with all the energy of heart that you might be filled with this love (Moroni 7:48). Our Father bestows this love upon all who are true followers of His Son, so that we may become the sons (and daughters) of God. I believe that we cannot influence others without love, because without charity, the pure love of Christ, we are nothing! I also believe that we cannot love anyone with Christ's love without first feeling it ourselves. 1 John 4:19