When Young Women General President Bonnie H. Cordon was 10 years old, her family had the honor of hosting Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles at their farm in Idaho Falls, Idaho, while he was on assignment in the area.
At the end of the day, President Cordon’s family and the Perrys sat down in the living room to enjoy some apple pie while Elder Perry told stories about Latter-day Saints around the world.
Young Bonnie was enthralled in Elder Perry’s stories when her mother called her into the kitchen. “Bonnie, did you feed the chickens?” Her heart fell. She hadn’t.
Moments later Elder Perry entered the kitchen and asked in his booming, enthusiastic voice, “Did I hear someone needs to feed the chickens?” He and his son offered to help, and she eagerly ran to get her big yellow flashlight.
In a new Church inspirational message video — titled “Shine Your Light So Others May See” and released on Thursday, Nov. 4 — President Cordon narrated what happened as she led the way through the dark with her flashlight. She described this experience in her April 2020 general conference talk “That They May See.”
After crossing the corn patch and passing through the wheat field, President Cordon instinctively jumped over the small irrigation ditch — oblivious to Elder Perry’s efforts to keep up on an unfamiliar path.
He could not see the steady light from her flashlight and stepped directly into the water.
With a soaked leather shoe, Elder Perry helped President Cordon feed the chickens. Before returning on the path home, he lovingly said: “Bonnie, I need to see the path. I need the light to shine where I am walking.”
“I was shining my light but not in a way that would help Elder Perry,” President Cordon recalled. “Now, knowing that he needed my light to safely navigate the path, I focused the flashlight just ahead of his steps and we were able to return home with confidence.”
As she has pondered this experience over the years, President Cordon said the Lord’s invitation to “let our light so shine” is not just about randomly waving a beam of light and making the world generally brighter.
“It is about focusing our light so others may see the way to Christ. It is an earnest invitation from the Lord to be more intentional about helping others see the next step forward in making and keeping sacred covenants with God.”
Read more from President Cordon’s talk “That They May See.”
