I like the way he approaches the story of Joseph Smith seeking answers as a teenager.
Sometimes church members get discouraged by not experiencing marvelous spiritual experiences. {They may even drift away from the church.}
…
Sometimes, rather than sending us a pillar of light the Lord sends us a ray of light, and then another, and another.
Maybe you shared a testimony that you hoped was true, and then you felt that it was.
As I recognize past rays of light I find that I remember more of them.
Perhaps no ray that we receive is powerful enough to constitute a testimony but one ray reinforces another.
Bex needs to listen to/read this talk.
My message is for those who worry about their testimony because they haven’t had overwhelming spiritual experiences. I pray that I can provide some peace and assurance.
The problem is for those who don’t worry about their testimony, they abandon it because they didn’t recognize having received anything.
A “pillar of light” brighter than the sun gradually descends upon him. One personage appears, and then another. Their “brightness and glory defy all description.” The first, our Heavenly Father, speaks his name, “pointing to the other—[Joseph!] This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!”
And with that overwhelming burst of light and truth, the Restoration has begun. A veritable flood of divine revelation and blessings will follow: new scripture, restored priesthood keys, apostles and prophets, ordinances and covenants, and the reestablishment of the Lord’s true and living Church, which will someday fill the earth with the light and witness of Jesus Christ and His restored gospel.
We too have our own desperate needs. We too need freedom from spiritual confusion and worldly darkness. We too need to know for ourselves. That is one reason President Russell M. Nelson has invited us to “immerse [ourselves] in the glorious light of the Restoration.”
One of the great truths of the Restoration is that the heavens are open—that we too can receive light and knowledge from on high. I testify that is true.
But we must be wary of a spiritual trap. Sometimes faithful Church members become discouraged and even drift away because they haven’t had overwhelming spiritual experiences—because they haven’t experienced their own pillar of light. President Spencer W. Kimball warned, “Always expecting the spectacular, many will miss entirely the constant flow of revealed communication.”
President Joseph F. Smith likewise recalled, “The Lord withheld marvels from me [when I was young], and showed me the truth, line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little.”
That is the Lord’s typical pattern, brothers and sisters. Rather than sending us a pillar of light, the Lord sends us a ray of light, and then another, and another.
Sometimes they don’t think they were expecting overwhelming experiences. They don’t believe the Lord even sent rays of light.
And yet, every one of us is different. No two people experience God’s light and truth in exactly the same way. Take some time to think about how you experience the light and Spirit of the Lord.
You may have experienced these bursts of light and testimony as “peace [spoken] to your mind concerning [a] matter” that has worried you.
Or as an impression—a still, small voice—that settled “in your mind and in your heart” and urged you to do something good, such as helping someone.
Perhaps you’ve been in a class at church—or at a youth camp—and felt a strong desire to follow Jesus Christ and stay faithful. Maybe you even stood and shared a testimony that you hoped was true and then felt it was.
Or maybe you’ve been praying and felt a joyful assurance that God loves you.
You may have heard someone bear testimony of Jesus Christ, and it touched your heart and filled you with hope.
Perhaps you were reading in the Book of Mormon and a verse spoke to your soul, as if God had put it there just for you—and then you realized that He did.
You may have felt the love of God for others as you served them.
Or maybe you struggle to feel the Spirit in the moment because of depression or anxiety but have the precious gift and the faith to look back and recognize past “tender mercies of the Lord.”
My point is that there are many ways to receive heavenly rays of testimony. These are just a few, of course. They may not be dramatic, but all of them form part of our testimonies.
Bex needs to feel a joyful assurance that God loves her.
I had that experience of reading a verse and feeling that God had placed that verse for me, and I know that He did.
Brothers and sisters, I have not seen a pillar of light, but, like you, I have experienced many divine rays. Over the years, I’ve tried to treasure such experiences. I find that as I do, I recognize and remember even more of them.
As we recognize, remember, and gather these rays “together in one,” something wonderful and powerful begins to happen. “Light cleaveth unto light”—“truth embraceth truth.” The reality and power of one ray of testimony reinforces and combines with another, and then another, and another. Line upon line, precept upon precept, here a ray and there a ray—one small, treasured spiritual moment at a time—there grows up within us a core of light-filled, spiritual experiences. Perhaps no one ray is strong enough or bright enough to constitute a full testimony, but together they can become a light that the darkness of doubt cannot overcome.
We have to learn to treasure the individual rays because they can be forgotten if we discount them just as they can be rediscovered if we treasure them up.
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