GAINING LIGHT
Teachings from
Laurel Lawrence, wife of Larry Lawrence, Seventy
Many people
think that the purpose of this life is to find our way back to our Father in
Heaven. We didn't come to earth just to return to God's presence. Otherwise,
why would we have left?
We have come
here to be sanctified.
In the 4 fold
mission of the Church, the first one is Perfect the Saints. Sanctification and
Perfection are the same thing and are all about gaining light.
D&C 50:24
- "That which is of God is light;
and he that receiveth light,
and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth
brighter and brighter until the perfect day."
The "perfect day" is when we are like God and comfortable in His
presence.
About LIGHT:
When God
created the heavens and the earth, the first thing he said was, “Let there be light.” At Christmas, we
decorate with lights because light represents Christ as the light of the world.
Samuel the
Lamanite prophesied that the night before Christ was to be born there would
be no darkness and there would be a new
star. The signs were all about light representing Christ. Christ is the light of the world.
The signs of
Christ’s death was 3 days of darkness.
Joseph Smith
was born on December 23, which is the winter solstice – the darkest day of the
year. From that day it gets lighter
and lighter,
symbolic of increasing light he brought as he restored the gospel.
Our progress
is all about how much light
we gained in life.We are bornwith adult spirits. As we grow and are tempted and
sin, we lose light. We need to grow spiritually by feeding our spirits light.
At birth we
were given the Spirit of Christ, which Elder Lawrence calls a “starter light.” It is also called
conscience – we know right from wrong.
If we follow
the light of Christ we will receive more light.
D&C 84:46
- And
the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit
enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the
Spirit.
We need to hearken,
which means listen AND OBEY, to the Holy Ghost’s voice, our conscience. As we
do, we are enlightened.
Moroni 7:16 - For
behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from
evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which
inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the
power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is
of God.
The Spirit of
Christ (conscience) is like a flashlight. When we receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost, it is like having a flood light with a personal guide.
In the temple we
start in a room that is dimly lit, then we go to another room, or more light is
added in the room and we end in the Celestial room that is full of light. It is symbolic of our
progression – adding more light until the “perfect day”.
We know that the final
judgement is AFTER the resurrection. But we are resurrected in order of our
righteousness, so there must be some kind of judgement to know in what order we
should resurrect. The answer is D&C 88:28 - They who are of a
celestial spirit shall receive the same body which was a
natural body; even ye shall receive your bodies, and your glory shall
be that glory by which your bodies are quickened.
29 Ye
who are quickened by a portion of the celestial glory shall
then receive of the same, even a fulness.
30 And
they who are quickened by a portion of the terrestrial glory shall
then receive of the same, even a fulness.
31 And
also they who are quickened by a portion of the telestial glory shall
then receive of the same, even a fulness.
32 And
they who remain shall also be quickened; nevertheless, they shall return
again to their own place, to enjoy that which they are willing to
receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have
received.
Nobody has to actually judge us
all to know when we resurrect; we resurrect according to the light we have
gained.
Children are born with Celestial
light. Children who die before the age of 8 will resurrect right to the
Celestial Kingdom
D&C 93:38 - Every spirit of
man was innocent in the beginning; and God
having redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their
infant state, innocent before God.
39 And
that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience,
from the children of men, and because of the tradition of their
fathers.
Satan takes away our light.
John Diaz was a man who was a lone
survivor of a plane crash. As he laid there waiting to be saved, he actually
saw “lights” leaving the bodies of all the other people in the plane. He said
some lights were brighter than others and children had the brightest lights. This
is one of the reasons we are commanded to become as a little child.
D&C 1:33 - And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the
light which he has received; for my Spirit shall not always strive with man,
saith the Lord of Hosts.
People lose light
through sin.
Ecclesiastes 8:1 Who is as the wise man? and who knoweth the interpretation of a
thing? a man’s wisdom maketh his face to shine, and the boldness of his face shall be changed.
Laurel Lawrence
boils it down by saying, “The more you grow, the more you glow.”
President Benson in
1986 Priesthood meeting gave a talk, “Godly Characteristics of God”. It comes
from 2 Peter, chapter one. This should
be the most marked up scripture that we have. It lists the characteristics that
we need to work on to develop to gain light.
It was at a time,
64 AD, when Nero had zero tolerance for Christians. Peter tried in his writings
to help saints try to sanctify themselves. Many were killed while singing and
smiling.
In 2 Peter 1, he
gives the characteristic. They are as a ladder of Sanctification and we need to
do it in all diligence.
1.
Faith
2.
Virtue
3.
Knowledge
4.
Temperance
5.
Patience
6.
Godliness
7.
Kindness
8.
Charity
To know what we need to work on,
we should ask in prayer “What lack I yet?” If we constantly ask, the Holy Ghost
will tell us. Todd Christopherson said that is a dangerous question. Satan will
want to tell you that you can’t change, “That’s just the way you are.”
1.
Faith. In the Bible, faith is usually
called trust.
2.
Virtue = moral cleanliness, honesty, a
code of living. The temple recommend interview is a test of virtue.
3. Knowledge: this is where people get stuck. This is the
key to keep learning and progressing by reading scriptures, the teachings of
prophets, the Sunday School and Relief Society lessons, attending the temple,
feasting on the Word daily. When we eat, we eat because we are hungry and we
eat until we feel “full”. So how do we know that we are “full” spiritually? The
key is to keep studying until we have an “aha!” moment; when we learn something
new or find something that we need to ponder the rest of the day. We should
also learn other things, every form of things to be prepared. D&C 88 - 6 He that ascended up on high, as also
he descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things,
that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth;
7 Which
truth shineth. This is the light of Christ. As also he is in the sun, and the light of
the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made.
8 As
also he is in the moon, and is the light of the moon, and the power thereof by which it was made;
9 As
also the light of the stars, and the power thereof by which they were made;
11 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;
12 Which light proceedeth
forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space—
13 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.
18 Therefore,
it must needs be sanctified from
all unrighteousness, that it may be prepared for the celestial glory;
20 That
bodies who are of the celestial kingdom may possess it
forever and ever; for, for this intent was it made and created, and
for this intent are they sanctified.
21 And
they who are not sanctified through the law which I have
given unto you, even the law of Christ, must inherit another kingdom,
even that of a terrestrial kingdom, or that of a telestial kingdom.
22 For
he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom
cannot abide a celestial glory.
23 And
he who cannot abide the law of a terrestrial kingdom cannot abide a
terrestrial glory.
24 And
he who cannot abide the law of a telestial kingdom cannot abide a
telestial glory; therefore he is not meet for a kingdom of glory.
Therefore he must abide a kingdom which is not a kingdom of glory.
25 And
again, verily I say unto you, the earth abideth the law of a
celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation, and
transgresseth not the law—
26 Wherefore,
it shall be sanctified;
yea, notwithstanding it shall die, it shall be quickened again,
and shall abide the power by which it is quickened, and
the righteous shall inherit it.
28 They
who are of a celestial spirit shall receive the
same body which was a natural body; even ye shall receive your
bodies, and your glory shall be that glory by which your bodies
are quickened.
34 And
again, verily I say unto you, that which is governed by law is also
preserved by law and perfected and sanctified by the same.
35 That
which breaketh a law, and abideth not by law, but
seeketh to become a law unto itself, and willeth to abide in sin, and
altogether abideth in sin, cannot be sanctified by law, neither by mercy, justice,
nor judgment. Therefore, they must remain filthy still.
4. Temperance: temperance is self-control.
James, the brother of Jesus said to become perfect we need to control the
tongue. We need to have control over anger, language, raised voice, reviling,
appetites, word of wisdom, we need to retire early, care for the boy, avoid
excess of shopping, materialism, use of media, etc.
5. Patience refers to bearing our trials
without complaint. Trials teach us patience. D&C 101:5 “For all those who
will not endure chastening, but deny me, cannot be
sanctified.” Our trials need to include some that are like an Abrahamic
test. When we are going through it, we need to seek the Lord, not blame Him. It’s
usually something that doesn’t seem fair or is totally undeserved. We need to go
to the Lord, stay faithful, go to the temple. A great way to learn patience, we
can study the lives of the modern day prophets to see what they’ve been
through. They are great examples for us in how to handle trials.
6. Godliness: godliness is orderliness,
organization, consistency, unchangeable. That’s how God is. Examples are the
creation, the Priesthood is called the Holy Order”, the Plan of Salvation, etc.
Godly people plan ahead. Harold B Lee said we become most like God when we plan
something; it is making order of chaos. King Benjamin said all things must be
done in order. John Westley was the one who said cleanliness is next to
Godliness. George Q Cannon said that is partly right. He said everything needs
done in an orderly manner. The world now is becoming more and more chaotic.
President Kimball always told us to clean up our yards, mend fences, clean up,
etc. The first command given to Adam was to “dress” the garden. NOTE: While all
those characteristics are good, I disagree with Laurel on this one. I don’t
think Godliness refers to order. The word for Godliness in Spanish is Piedad,
which is Piousness. It refers to being
reverent towards God; to have a reverent attitude, demeanor, and actions.
7. Kindness. This refers to the way we
treat others, doing service, seeking out the friendless, be a good listener,
not judging, not being critical, living the golden rule.
8. Charity. Charity is how you feel about
others. We should try to be kind, but we need to pray for charity. God will bless us to love others. The
definition of charity is 1 Cor 13 and Moroni 7:45. Charity includes all other
of the rungs of the ladder. You can’t gain charity on your own; it is a gift
from God. You have to pray for it and be working on the other rungs of the
ladder.
