Sabbath Devotional :: Dawn

It’s a new year, a time of new beginnings. I enjoy setting goals and creating plans for accomplishing them. I feel pretty ambitious at this time of year and can sometimes overwhelm myself with my idealistic goals. As I have gotten older, I have learned to temper my goal setting to suit the reality of being me.

No matter how ambitious or simple my New Year resolutions, I am guided by a reassuring hope that positive things are just around the corner.

It is a new dawn, a new day, and I am drawn to the promise of light.

The “Spirit giveth light to every [person] that cometh into the world” (D&C 84:46). When we embrace the light we are born with, we receive “more light; and that light grow[s] brighter and brighter until the perfect day” (D&C 50:24).

As I get to know myself, I can see the light that is already within me. Then when I set goals, they might seem small, but they are tailor-made to help me gradually receive more light and grow in light. Knowing myself has helped me to improve and thrive. I have surprised myself with what I have accomplished by consistently doing little things. And when I fail or fall, I am very forgiving with myself and try again. Over time, I have seen real personal growth and promised blessings come with my small efforts.

We each have light. Light dims and goes out under a bushel, but when it’s out in the open, it thrives. Light is meant to be shared. “Ye are the light of the world. . . . Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).

This idea of being the light of the world can also be overwhelming. We have so many expectations for ourselves. I appreciated this insight from Jesuit Priest Father Gregory Boyle, who has dedicated his life to working with gang members in East Los Angeles:

“Jesus says, ‘You are the light of the world.’ I like even more what Jesus doesn’t say. He does not say, ‘One day, if you are more perfect and try really hard, you’ll be light.’ He doesn’t say ‘If you play by the rules, cross your T’s and dot your I’s, then maybe you’ll become light.’ No. He says, straight out, ‘You are light.’ It is the truth of who you are, waiting only for you to discover it.”

I have sometimes set my expectations so high that I can only see my failures and miss the truth of who I already am. At one point on my mission, I was struggling. I was training a new missionary and I felt like I had to have all the faith, all the work ethic, all the obedience, all the love, and all the desire for both of us. I was working so hard and praying so much but we weren’t having any success. I was worn down. I didn’t have anything more to give.

After receiving a priesthood blessing, I was led to this scripture: “He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death” (Mosiah 16:9).

I know we are commanded to let our light shine, which I was desperately trying to do. That verse helped me realize that I have limits, but Christ does not. He is the light and his light is endless. Refocusing and relying on the Savior’s light helped me to rediscover my own light.

When visiting the people in the Book of Mormon, Jesus expanded on the idea of being the light of the world. “Therefore, hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up” (3 Nephi 18:24).

We are not left alone to try to shine in darkness. Jesus is the light of the world. He is the light that we are to hold up. His light is endless and can never be darkened. His light is a gift to each person who comes into the world and it is His light that will shine through the darkness of this world.

There is a lot of good in the world. I see so much light. But there is also so much darkness. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland reminded students at BYU that maybe the negativity has “always been so down through time . . . But it doesn’t have to be!” He went on, “So go out there and light a candle. Be a ray of light. Be your best self and let your character shine. Cherish the gospel of Jesus Christ and live it. The world needs you, and surely your Father in Heaven needs you if his blessed purposes for his children are to prevail. . . . If correcting all the world’s ills seems a daunting task, so be it. Go out there and be undaunted.”

As the new year begins, I feel inspired for the future. I am filled with hope that there is more light ahead and that I can gradually shine brighter.

I am also reassured that the Lord isn’t relying on my little flickering light alone. Good people trying to make the world a better place are all around us sharing their light. And Jesus Christ, the endless Light of the World, will shine through us.

“When day comes, we step out of the shade,

Aflame and unafraid.

The new dawn blooms as we free it,

For there is always light,

If only we’re brave enough to see it,

If only we’re brave enough to be it.”

–Amanda Gorman “The Hill We Climb”

Happy New Year!