Eric Poulin

Posts Tagged ‘obedience’

There is no such thing as darkness. Darkness is not a tangible thing you can touch, create, manipulate or otherwise perceive. There is only the absence of light, which we call darkness. Similarly, there is no such thing as emptiness… only lack of substance.

We can attempt to fill the void with false hope, temporary satisfaction or instant gratification, but, it will leave the soul after a short time, hungering again, desiring something that will last. The spark of light from a match will quickly burn out.

If we feel empty or dark, we simply need to fill our lives with the Light of Truth. Light dispels darkness… Does it take a while for darkness to disappear when light it present? No. Darkness isn’t a thing that needs to be moved out of the way, its just a word to describe the absence of light. Once light is present, darkness is no longer present – instantly.

In our minds, when we describe ourselves as having dark thoughts its really just a lack of Truth. The Light of Truth can rid our minds of darkness instantly. And what is the Light of Truth? Intelligence. (D&C 93:36). The scriptures tell us that the “… wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth through disobedience” (D&C 93:39). Thus disobedience, or sin, diminished our light and truth, or in other words, reduces our access to infinite intelligence.

Satan’s goal is not to bring darkness, but rather to take away the light, or more specifically, to take us away from the light by causing us to be disobedient. However, we also read that “Light and truth forsake that evil one” (D&C 93:37). Or in other words, intelligence separates one from Satan. When Moses beheld the Saviour, and then was confronted by Satan, he said “where is the glory, for it is darkness unto me” (Moses 1:15) Or in other words, he did not have nearly the light or lustre that Christ has.

As we go though life we, at times, experience what feels like tangible darkness. But always it is simply a lack of light.

For example, imagine a beautiful blue sky, with some scattered fluffy white clouds. The sun shines bright. Think clearly about the colors, the pureness of the blue sky, the billowing white clouds, as though they where pure white snow or soft clean cotton balls.
Now imagine the sunset and the onset of night on that scene. Darkness falls over the world and now at midnight, what color is the sky? Now, what color are those clouds?
In fact, the sky is still blue, and the clouds are still white – they are as fluffy and pure as they were during the day, you just can’t see it, because the light of the sun is not shining on them for you to see clearly.
Sin is like voluntarily having the color taken from life, by turning from the light – inviting darkness to cover the beauty of Gods creations – the beauty of your soul, the clarity of your mind and spirit. But your mind, soul and spirit have not changed color. They are only clouded by darkness, a darkness which can be dispelled with an invitation of light.

When darkness is descending on me, can I see the light in that darkness? Can I believe deep enough to realize that in any time, in any place, God’s love can reach me, if I reach for it? How can I choose it when the darkness seems to overwhelm me – when my body strains to enter the darkness and my spirit takes a backseat.

The light of Christ, through repentance, is ever willing to shine upon you to restore you to your full beauty. The gospel of Christ is that He has overcome our sin, paid the price and made it possible for us to return to Him. His light is contingent on our asking for it, in submitting our will to Him – the only true gift we can offer to God. Under your individual clouds of darkness, you are beautiful, and pure and clean. Christ invites us to come unto him by repenting of our sins, and by doing so His light will shine upon us, our darkness will disappear and we will be restored to full color, to our full beauty.

Never come to believe that you are inherently ugly or dark. We only ever lack the light of the Lord to dispel any darkness on our soul.

Too many of us live our lives in the twilight… Where the sun is just below the horizon; we still see the light, but there are many shadows and not everything is seen as it really it.
As we open the door to redemption, we can look up at the blackened sky and exclaim as the lyricist:

night descends
could I have been a better person?
if I could only do it all again
and the sky is filled with light
can you see it?
all the black is really white
if you believe it
as the time is running out
let me take away your doubt
we can find a better a place
in this twilight

Come forth from the twilight of your life and invite the Light of Christ into your heart. Let His light shine forth upon you and live your life lit by the noon day glory of Jesus Christ.
I invite the light of the Lord to shine upon me. May I recognize, even in my own personal darkness, that any blackness I see is really white if I but choose to move into the light. May the light of the Lord ever shine upon us all, and may we ever choose to make that happen.

...the Lord Spake unto me saying: Thou shalt construct a ship.

1 Nephi 17:8

Lets get all metaphoric for a moment. The many waters (ocean) separate Nephi and family from the promised land. They can represent a trouble or challenge in our life separating us from our metaphorical “promised land”. The Lord wants to help us overcome this trouble and in fact, he comes right out and shows us how to do it. It saves not only us, but our family too.

If only life were that easy! If only God would show us how to overcome our financial troubles! Oh, wait a minute… He did 🙂 Read the rest of this entry »

1 Nephi 2:20

“And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall prosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.”

Obedience brings long-term prosperity. While you may profit in the short-term from dishonesty or breaking other commandments, it will never last. The only way to long-term success and prosperity is obedience. This relates to both commandments of the Lord and to the system of finance in which we live. Read the rest of this entry »