In a broadcast to BYU–Pathway Worldwide students around the globe on Friday, Aug. 1, Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles bore witness of the happiness, peace and joy that come from the Light of Jesus Christ.
In a message titled “You Belong in the Light of Christ,” Elder Kearon testified that “light does overcome darkness. It can for you.”
He assured: “I pray that it is or, if it has not yet, that it will.”
To emphasize his message, Elder Kearon recorded his address from the floor of an empty arena.
“It is vast. It is silent. It is as if it is waiting,” Elder Kearon said of his surroundings.
Like an arena without sports games, concerts or public events, the world without the gospel, without Christ, without His light, feels meaningless, Elder Kearon said. “It is empty. It is joyless. It is lacking any kind of connection.”
In contrast, when the arena is full of people, it feels alive and purposeful — “filled with community and excitement and energy.”
As an example of light dispelling darkness, Elder Kearon shared of Joseph Smith in the Sacred Grove. The Prophet Joseph described experiencing a thick darkness before being filled with the light of the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ — “the ultimate in terms of going from darkness to light.”
In Doctrine and Covenants 45:7, the Lord calls Himself “the light and the life of the world — a light that shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehendeth it not.”
Elder Kearon noted: “The gospel is perfect. The love of God, exquisite and perfect. The atoning gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, equally perfect.”
The Church, however, is full of imperfect people, and even when the arena is full of energy and light, there will be struggles, Elder Kearon said. Like a sporting event, there will be “conflict and discouragement and imperfection.”
But the Light of Christ is found in all of God’s children. “Everyone is born with divine light,” Elder Kearon taught. “We sense this with newborn babies and young children. For those of you who may have lost some of this light, I pray that you will find it again. I pray that you will come to a better understanding of repentance: turning around, trying again, finding a new beginning.”
He then shared Luke 1:78-79: “Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Like the scripture, individuals are to help “guide” others from darkness toward the light. “My own journey began with a sense of joy as I met members of the Church,” said Elder Kearon, who joined the Church when he was 26 years old. “Joy in Christ changed everything for me as I discovered along the way that He does bring light and life into our lives.”
Elder Kearon invited listeners to “wear the colors of your team comfortably and happily. Show who you cheer for. Believe in a way that will have others around you want to join you in your faithful life.”
Looking around at the thousands of vacant seats in the arena, Elder Kearon said: “This empty arena is unsettling. It is like life without gospel light. It is directionless and literally cold; yet, we live in gospel light, and, if we are not there now, we can.”
President Russell M. Nelson has said, “The increasing darkness that accompanies tribulation makes the Light of Jesus Christ shine ever brighter” (“Hear Him,” April 2020 general conference).
There will be distractions and trials, Elder Kearon noted. “But so will joy and so will light, and the gospel brings connection, hope and excitement ⎯ and that will displace the darkness.”
Elder Kearon told listeners: “I pray that you will find this light, this joy, this peace, perhaps for the first time. If the light has slipped away from you a little, or more than that, I pray that you will rediscover it. I pray that you will live in a way that will help you feel it and be blessed by it. I pray that if you have it brightly with you now that you find wonderful, comfortable ways to share it.”
