Light

This week's family home evening lesson was on light..how light attracts light, how light banishes darkness, how the Holy Ghost lightens our mind. I am using the wonderful ideas and scriptures and quotes from Daily Closer to Christ. But I adapt them to fit my children's ages a bit better. So this week, we began FHE by turning off all of the lights in the room and talking about how darkness feels. Then I turned on a high powered flashlight and we talked about how the light was banishing the darkness and how the Holy Ghost acts like a light for us, guiding us and helping us to know where to go.

Then we turned on the lights and talked about how we can be a light for others when we do what is right. I shared Matthew 5:16, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." We read the wonderful quote from Albert Schweitzer, "At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” We spoke about times we have felt the Spirit. We read the scripture in D&C 88:40 that reads, in part, "Light cleaveth unto light." We spoke about how people are attracted to the light and goodness they see in us and that we want to be filled with that light. We also read D&C 50:24,"That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day."

We also watched the wonderful video with Elder Bednar, Patterns of Light.

We sang "Lead, Kindly Light" and "The Lord is My Light" and my children wrote about how the Holy Ghost has blessed them.

I feel like we are noticing the Holy Ghost more. It has been such a blessing. My 8 year old is quite shy. Aside from primary programs, I am fairly certain she has only born her testimony in sacrament meeting once. She has a testimony but sharing it is scary for her. But we've talked about doing things that make us uncomfortable, being led by the spirit and listening to its promptings. We had talked about bearing our testimony as being something that might make us uncomfortable but that might help us feel the spirit...and share that spirit with others. Yesterday, during sacrament meeting, my 8 year old asked me to go up with her, bear my testimony and she would bear hers. And she bore a simple, but beautiful, testimony of the gospel. I am so thankful.

I worried a bit that by focusing so heavily on the Holy Ghost, perhaps I wouldn't be teaching them about other topics that they need to learn. The opposite seems to be true. We've talked about contention, obedience, prayer, missionary work, scripture study, the ways the Holy Ghost blesses us, bearing testimony and other topics as we've discussed the Holy Ghost. There are few if any blessings on Earth greater than having the gift of the Holy Ghost. When you consider that we have the privilege of having a member of the Godhead as our constant companion, that is pretty awe inspiring.

This journey has just begun, but it is changing my life in small but profound ways.