There are few things as refreshing as a clear, crisp, sunny spring day after a cold, dark winter. Light has the ability to give us hope and happiness in spite of exposure to exceedingly difficult times. Light is not limited to the visible kind. God’s light is in all things and through all things. The more of his knowledge and character we obtain, the more of this light will be within us. Though darkness is thick in this world, and though your awareness of just how pervasive and intense it is will increase as you seek for more joy in your life, it is possible to have such light within you that you can outshine any amount of darkness, even on the darkest day.
You can be a light in the dark. Jesus said he is the light of the world, and inasmuch as we follow him, we will have his light: “...I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” (John 8:12) He said that if we do this, we will also be the light of the world:
13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5)
The first step in becoming a light in the dark is to overcome the darkness within you. You can do this by embracing the light within you to reveal ways you can improve yourself.
You can’t obtain maximal joy without first putting yourself in order. Heaven is not a place that changes you. Rather, it is a physical place you go after your state of mind has changed to prepare you to find it joyful. The transition to heaven after this life is not a change in who you are, but merely a change in who and what is around you. If you want to go to heaven, you have to first become heavenly. You can have heaven here. If you don’t have heaven inside yourself here , you will not have it inside yourself there . If you are miserable now, you will be miserable then:
13 And because of the redemption of man, which came by Jesus Christ, they are brought back into the presence of the Lord; yea, this is wherein all men are redeemed, because the death of Christ bringeth to pass the resurrection...
14 And then cometh the judgment of the Holy One upon them; and then cometh the time that he that is righteous shall be righteous still; he that is happy shall be happy still; and he that is unhappy shall be unhappy still. (Mormon 9)
In order to obtain maximal joy, you have to be happy here and now. You can only be permanently happy when you can be happy independent of your external circumstances.
Jesus said that “the kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 13:28) What did he mean? Lasting joy can’t come from without. It must come from within. It is one thing to absorb joy and happiness from external sources. It is quite another to create joy and happiness from within.
For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory. (D&C 21:6)
Enduring happiness comes from within as we act in accordance with what we know is right. Use the light inside of you—your conscience—and continually expand your knowledge of what is right.
The second step in becoming a light in the dark is to shine the light on others. Darkness is the default state. Though light is everywhere, it is unnatural to see it: “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” (John 1:5)
Through obtaining and sharing tools to deal with the darkness, you can help others step into the light:
And again, verily I say unto you, and I say it that you may know the truth, that you may chase darkness from among you; (D&C 50:25)
When you become heavenly, you project heaven to those around you, even if you aren’t yet physically in heaven. You can show others what heaven is like and why it is desirable before they’ve obtained it themselves. By standing up to the darkness and forging ahead, you can blaze a path that makes it easier for others to do the same:
An old man going a lone highway, Came, at the evening cold and gray, To a chasm vast and deep and wide. Through which was flowing a sullen tide The old man crossed in the twilight dim, The sullen stream had no fear for him; But he turned when safe on the other side And built a bridge to span the tide.
“Old man,” said a fellow pilgrim near, “You are wasting your strength with building here; Your journey will end with the ending day, You never again will pass this way; You’ve crossed the chasm, deep and wide, Why build this bridge at evening tide?”
The builder lifted his old gray head; “Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said, “There followed after me to-day A youth whose feet must pass this way. This chasm that has been as naught to me To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be; He, too, must cross in the twilight dim; Good friend, I am building this bridge for him!” (“The Bridge Builder”, Will Allen Dromgoole)
The vast majority of people will not rise up and fight against their own darkness unless they see someone else do it first.
If you dare to stand against the darkness, the very example of your existence can give others the courage to do the same. They will not have to guess whether or not it is possible, because they will see you and instantly know it is. They will not have to wonder how to do it. You will show them.
Most people prefer to stay in the dark. They will shun any opportunity to shed light on themselves or others. “For they love darkness rather than light, and their deeds are evil, and they receive their wages of whom they list to obey.” (D&C 29:45)
These people will persecute you the more you try to shine light:
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. (John 3)
Be who you are, knowing that most people will hate you for it. You aren’t seeking them. The people who need you need you to be yourself— the fulfillment of your true potential.
When people persecute you, maintain your character at all costs. Always do what you know you have to do. Turn the other cheek and rejoice when you are persecuted, knowing that the people who need you are out there.
The fire in your soul can light up the whole world.