The Light of the World

In Matthew 5:14-16 it reads:
“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
“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.
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

The Lord has given us his gospel and that light has been lit. He has not hid us under a bushel, but has set us upon a hill to be a light unto our brothers and sisters. The light he has given us is meant to shine forth.

3 Nephi 18:24 says, “Therefore, hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up—that which ye have seen me do.”

So what is the light we are to hold up? That which Christ has done--we are to follow his example. Our acts, our good works, are the light.

Proverbs 4: 18 says, “But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”

The path we trod, or the works we do are the light to the world. What causes it to shine more and more unto the perfect day? I believe it is that as our lights shine, others will see it and be drawn to the gospel, then their light will shine forth and more and more until Christ comes to reclaim his kingdom on earth.

So we are to hold our lights up, which we do by doing the works we have seen Christ do.

Christ was the light of the world. If we are told that our light shines by doing good works, we can imagine the light that shone forth from one who was perfect. Matthew 4:16 says, “The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.”

This light is irresistible. In Matthew 4:18-20 it says:
“And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
“And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.
“And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.”

Christ’s light was so great, Peter and Andrew left everything and immediately followed him.

When Christ appeared to the Nephites, they too witnessed this great light and partook of it themselves. In 3 Nephi 19:25 it reads:
“And it came to pass that Jesus blessed them as they did pray unto him; and his countenance did smile upon them, and behold they were as white as the countenance and also the garments of Jesus; and behold the whiteness thereof did exceed all the whiteness, yea, even there could be nothing upon earth so white as the whiteness thereof.”


“The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.” I can imagine the joy of those who sat in darkness for so long to see the light of Christ. When the power goes out in our house, we sit in darkness and wait, not knowing what to do, and we are so relieved when suddenly the lights flash back on and we can see. This sense of relief and appreciation for the light is as nothing compared to the joy that comes from the light of Christ that shines forth out of the darkness. And we are to be the bearers of this light to the world.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in Heaven.”

How does this light of Christ influence others?

I like what the Bible Dictionary says about the light of Christ:
“The light of Christ is just what the words imply: enlightenment, knowledge, and an uplifting, ennobling, persevering influence that comes upon mankind because of Jesus Christ. For instance, Christ is ‘the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world’ (D&C 93:2’ John 1:9). The light of Christ fills the ‘immensity of space’ and is the means by which Christ is able to be ‘in all things, and is through all things, and is round about all things’. . . The light of Christ should not be confused with the personage of the Holy Ghost, for the light of Christ is not a personage at all. Its influence is preliminary to and preparatory to one’s receiving the Holy Ghost. The light of Christ will lead the honest soul who ‘hearkeneth to the voice’ to find the true gospel and the true Church and thereby receive the Holy Ghost.”

This light of Christ shines forth in us. It is through this light that we influence those around us. President David O. McKay taught us about the influence we have on others, saying:

"Every person who lives in this world wields an influence, whether for good or for evil. It is not what he says alone, it is not alone what he does. It is what he is. Every man, every person radiates what he or she is. Every person is a recipient of radiation. The Savior was conscious of that. Whenever he came into the presence of an individual, he sensed that radiation--whether it was the woman of Samaria with her past life; whether it was the woman who was to be stoned or the men who were to stone her; whether it was the statesman, Nicodemus, or one of the lepers. He was conscious of the radiation from the individual. And to a degree so are you, and so am I. It is what we are and what we radiate that affects the people around us.
". . . As individuals, we must think nobler thoughts. We must not encourage vile thoughts or low aspirations. We shall radiate them if we do. If we think noble thoughts, if we encourage and cherish noble aspirations, there will be that radiation when we meeet people, especially when we associate with them.
"The effect of our words and acts is tremendous in this world. Every moment of life you are changing to a degree the lives of the whole world. . . .No matter what you are people will feel and recognize this. You radiate, you can't hide it. You may pretend something else, but that will not affect people."

This echoes the teachings from the scriptures quoted earlier. It is what we think, say and do that makes us who we are. What we are will radiate to others—it is the light we shine forth. Every time we follow Christ’s example our light shines brighter, we radiate more of his goodness, and this uplifting, ennobling, persevering influence. Every time we sin or allow unrighteous thoughts and influences into our life, our light is affected. The thing that strikes me as well is that it is not necessary that people see the good works we do, those good works become part of what we are and that is what is radiated.

I think if you were to sum up all the acts of our Savior in one word it would be service. So since we are to follow Christ’s example and do as he did, if we are to let our lights shine, we too must serve others. We must do good works for others and these acts will show forth the light of the Savior and glorify our Father.

I am supremely grateful for the influence of my Savior, my light.

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

We have been so blessed to have been given this light. Now it is our obligation to let our lights shine forth as we emulate the Savior and perform good works and service to others.

D&C 103:9 says, “For they were set to be a light unto the world, and to be the saviors of men.”

We are to join the Lord in His work by being this light and radiating His goodness and peace.

Pres. McKay implored, “If it be possible, so far as in us lies, let us live peaceably with all men—not overcoming evil by evil, or being overcome by evil, but overcoming evil with good. Then will the Church stand as a light to the world. That is her destiny. . . If we can only maintain the standards of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the future of the Church is secure. Truly, men and women will see a light that is not hidden under a bushel, but one that is set upon a hill, and they will be attracted by it, and will be led to seek the truth more by our acts and deeds and by what we radiate in virtue and integrity, rather than by what we say.”

May we let our lights so shine.