PROVO, Utah — Sister Tamara W. Runia, first counselor in the Young Women general presidency, knows that even the smallest light pushes back darkness. But most things don’t create their own light, she said — they reflect it, like how the moon reflects light from the sun.
“And in a lot of ways, we are the same,” Sister Runia said. “On our own, we sometimes feel dim, afraid, not enough, even overwhelmed. But when we turn towards Jesus Christ, we begin to reflect His light. …
“Letting His radiance shine through you is not about being perfect or even pretending you’re perfect. It means staying close to Him so His light naturally shines in your life.”
Sister Runia spoke about the power of Jesus Christ’s light on Wednesday, April 29, in the Marriott Center at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. She was one of several keynote speakers during the 2026 BYU Women’s Conference, held April 29 through May 1.
BYU Women’s Conference is one of the largest annual gatherings of Latter-day Saint women in the world and has been bringing women together since 1976. The conference celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, with activities and events held on BYU’s campus.
Faith like a muscle
During her keynote address, Sister Runia explored three things that prevent people from reflecting God’s light:
- “Fear that holds us back.”
- “Worry that we’re not enough.”
- “Life’s overwhelming, heavy load.”
Regarding the first point, Sister Runia asked audience members if fear ever overshadows their light because they don’t know what’s ahead.
But faith isn’t static, she said; and to maintain it, a person has to exercise it regularly, just like they have to exercise their physical bodies to stay healthy.
“If life was easy, if everything was effortless, our faith in Christ — like a muscle — would grow weak because we didn’t have to use it,” Sister Runia said. “This is what I have learned: Faith isn’t faith until it is tried, and the moment we need it is the moment we may question it. And this is the moment faith can truly expand. …
“Remember, our imperfect, desperate faith is still faith. And because our faith is centered in Jesus Christ, we don’t have to do this alone.”
Unchanging worth
Regarding her second point, Sister Runia asked audience members if their light ever dims because they think they’re not good enough. Comparisons and competition may be fine in some aspects of life, but they’re not how God sees His children, she said.
“Sometimes we think we earn our worth by being good at life or crossing things off a list,” Sister Runia said. “But I want you to know that is not true, because your worth isn’t something you earn. Our worth never changes. It was given to you by God and it cannot be increased or diminished by what you accomplish or don’t accomplish by the end of the day.”
She also emphasized that Jesus Christ is near even when someone is struggling to hear Him through stress, contention, anxiety, depression or other emotional pain.
“When prophets invite us to hear Him, it’s not pressure,” Sister Runia said. “It’s an invitation — a loving invitation to keep looking for Him, listening for Him and turning toward Him again and again.”
The God of mountains and valleys
Regarding her third point, Sister Runia asked audience members if life ever feels so overwhelming that they don’t have any light left to give.
She said the gospel of Jesus Christ doesn’t prevent pain, but is a resource in the event of pain — pain that can be terribly heavy at times. Thankfully, Christ is both the God of the mountain and the God of the valley.
“It’s been my experience that down in that valley, at rock bottom, when I choose Christ, His light shines on something I may have forgotten was there — a sure foundation,” Sister Runia said. “We have been promised that if we build that foundation on Jesus Christ, the stone of Israel, the rock of heaven, we cannot fall beyond His reach.”
She recalled times in her life when, like Christ’s disciples sailing through a storm, she’s asked, “Carest thou not that we perish?” (See Mark 4:35-40.)
But the Savior never abandoned His disciples in that storm, Sister Runia said.
“It is my witness tonight that you are not alone,” she said. “You’re not just one person fighting by yourself in this beautiful, complicated world. All of us who love, believe and turn to Christ, we are one. And we can let His radiance and His love shine through us because we are His.”
