I gave this talk in the Willow Brook ward, August 2015

The theme we were assigned is ‘filling your home with light and truth’ based on a talk by Sister Cheryl A. Esplin. What a timely and important topic to think about.

The world is getting darker.

Every day we see news reports about global warming, terrorism, hate crimes - but the real threat to humanity is occurring in homes and in families. Some homes are full of light; others are gray; while others are in complete darkness. 

We’re in the “new and improved” Dark Age that was prophesied of in DC 45: 26. It reads:

And in that day shall be heard of wars and rumors of wars, and the whole earth shall be in commotion, and men’s hearts shall fail them.

It’s great dichotomy of our time – as a result of the immediate access to information people feel more enlightened. Yet, on all spiritual fronts the world is in darkness.

Light and truth are being extinguished at an alarming rate. This is nothing new – this world has always fought against the light of the Gospel. But today’s dark campaign feel smarter, better organized, and celebrated by the powers of the world. 

As darkness grows, it becomes more important for us to learn how to combat the darkness. Make no mistake – the battle is raging. Not on war fronts, but on door fronts. The battle is not physical, it’s spiritual. At risk are not men’s lives, but men’s souls. The weapons are not guns and missiles, but light and truth.

The world offers light, but its sources are fake, weak, and fleeting.  There is no truth in them; they are distortions of truth at best. The enemy is everywhere – the TV, devices, billboards, movie theaters, newspapers, magazines, websites. The enemy is in schools, running for office, entertaining us, employing us. They are beautiful, tantalizing, funny, charming, articulate, convincing.

But if you measure their light, it has the distinct feel of a glow stick – it’s chemically generated, offers no heat, and fades over time. 

Contrast that light with the Light of the Gospel, provided by Christ. He said:

I will be a light unto them forever (2 Ne. 10:14 )

I am the law, and the light (3 Ne. 15:9 )

I am the light which ye shall hold up (3 Ne. 18:24 )

I am the light which shineth in darkness (D&C 6:21)

I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12.)

The light of the Gospel is connected to a power source that can never be put out of our lives, except by our own free will. It illuminates us and gives us vision to see truth from error. With it we have the ability to see beyond the Photoshopped, airbrushed, teleprompter view that the world gives us to recognize our enemy in their true form.

And so with these options we need to decide: which light source do we trust? Which is right for our family?

It’s our decision to make. But there are consequences for making a wrong choice.

It reminds me of a scripture in Mark 3: 27.

“No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.”

I love this scripture – I see myself in it. I see you in it. We’re the strong man. And no one can overpower our home unless we let them. No one can spoil our home unless we let our guard down. No one binds us without first gaining our permission.

I imagine each of our homes is a castle. Not a fairy tale version, but a real castle – built to defend and protect. It has tall walls. It has a moat that circles it. It has strong gates and high turrets for turning away marauders.

We must see our homes as a castle, and must learn to be as vigilant in defending our homes from spiritual darkness as if we were being threatened physically. Filling them with light and truth is the modern equivalent of digging moats, raising walls, and elevating turrets. This is the only way to fight the dark agendas that can seep into our homes.

Sister Cheryl A. Esplin said, “Satan knows that in order for us and our families to withstand the pressures of the world, we must be filled with light and gospel truth. So he does everything in his power to dilute, distort, and destroy the truth of the gospel and to keep us separated from that truth.”

Though our enemy is strong, we have a great advantage. The light of the Gospel is real. It’s full of energy. It’s powerful. Our enemies flee from it. It’s illuminating.  It’s beautiful. Think of the night sky – sometimes it’s cloudy, like in Washington, and impossible to see the stars - so no one looks up. But when the clouds are gone, our eyes are naturally drawn up – not to see the darkness, but to see the light. The contrast is what amazes us. It’s the same with our homes.

Homes that are filled with the light of the Gospel feel different.

Our realtor in Seattle said to us when she visited the first time, “I go into a lot of homes…but your home feels different. There’s something special here.” We heard that time, and time again from people who were not of our faith.

Sister Esplin says, “Families are the Lord’s workshop on earth to help us learn and live the gospel. We come into our families with a sacred duty to help strengthen each other spiritually.”

Both parents and children have roles to play.

Parents must set a great example and be disciplined in teaching the Gospel. We must take the lead in ensuring that the Gospel principles are taught, and re-taught. It’s our job to raise the bar and point out with increasing directness how to discern light from darkness. We take great thought for what we feed them – going out of our way to make sure we buy “Organic”. Are we as thoughtful about what they are spiritually fed?

Rosemary Wixom said, “The world will teach our children if we do not, and our children are capable of learning all the world will teach them at a very young age.” We need to be thoughtful about how and when we teach our children, recognizing that Satan is starting earlier than ever to “endarken” our youth.

Children and youth have an important role to play in filling our homes with light and truth. They must be willing to listen and learn. They must be patient with their parent’s efforts. Filling our homes with light and truth is not only a top down effort, owned by Mom and Dad, but can as easily be a bottom up effort that the children and youth can lead.   

I think of my own little family. Like you, many weeks we get busy and forget to plan Family Home Evening. Thankfully, our kids will step in and not only remind us to have FHE, but also plan and teach the lesson themselves without being asked. The best lessons come from our children.

Sister Esplin continued, “Strong eternal families and Spirit-filled homes do not just happen. They take great effort, they take time, and they take each member of the family doing his or her part.”

Sometimes we lose hope as we contemplate the growing darkness. We ask: “with so many dark forces in the world, can we really win? Or are we fooling ourselves?”

I believe that if we do our part – if we do what we can to fuel the flames of faith in our home, we can win. Even if our efforts are weak, or our attempts half-hearted, God will make up the difference. He is Oxygen that if added to a weak spark will create a great flame.  Let me illustrate with a personal example.

When I was about 8 years old, my parents divorced and my Mom was left to raise seven children – ranging from a newborn to 15.  She took this on against great odds. The world was stacked against her – and us. Here’s what I mean:

Financially, we were broke. Though educated, she never had a meaningful job – she worked in a school kitchen, she slung ice cream at Dairy Queen, she took care of other people’s kids, even while she had her own running around. Really, she did what she knew to make ends meet – she knew how to take care of kids, and she knew how to prepare food. But, let’s face it - no matter what she did, we lived our life in poverty. Thankfully with assistance from both government and Church, we squeaked by.

Our home was a wreck – all 1300 sq ft of it. It was a tight place for 8 people to live. Chaos ruled.

We lived and were schooled in a rough area of Michigan, where the best you could hope for was to work at an automobile plant.

My poor Mom suffered mentally as well – likely the result of both the stress of the enormous challenges facing her and her own biology.

We had nothing. We were nothing.  

But, in these circumstances my mom made a decision to plant her family in the light of the Gospel.

For the better part of 20 years she drove us, one-by-one, to early morning seminary, often during hair-raising winter conditions. And in so doing, she gave us light.

Week by week she drove us to Church in a tiny, rusty four-seater Ford Escort. It was crazy – it would be illegal today. There were kids sitting on kids, not a seat belt snapped among us. But in so doing, she gave us light.

She encouraged us to work hard at Young Women’s and Boy Scouts. She encouraged us to attend all of our Church activities. And in so doing, she gave us light.

We didn’t read the scriptures every day, but when we did she would teach us with deep feeling the Word of God – introducing us to great prophets and helping make the scriptures come alive to us. And in so doing, she gave us light.

We did the basics and little by little, she flamed the light of the Gospel.

Honestly, many times the light in our home was no more than a few hot embers, barely giving off any light. But my Mom did the only thing she knew – she did her best, and relied completely and utterly on God to add Oxygen.  

Once she had a particularly dark time, when the light of the Gospel was very faint in our home. My Dad had left, she was alone to raise us, and she was concerned about how she could be everything to us. A dark cloud hung over her. So she began to plead with God.

In her words, she prayed to God and said: “my children are little…they are vulnerable…I’m doing my best, but my children need a father.”

Her prayer was raw. She was weak. Alone. Desperate.

That’s when she heard a voice – whether in her head or in her ears, she doesn’t know.

That voice said to her, “I will be their Father.”

In that moment God stepped forward and said, as he will for any who puts their life in his hand: “I will be your light.”

God became our light. He sent Bishops, Young Men and Young Women leaders, Home teachers, and other great men and women to step up and make the difference. He put forward opportunities that we shouldn’t have had to help us grow. He made miracles happen, large and small, for each of us. We still had nothing – but we had the Gospel.

It was enough. My mom sent all 7 of us on missions. All of her boys are Eagle Scouts and my sisters earned their Young Women award. All are married in the temple. She has 30+ grandkids, many who have or are serving missions. Her kids have successful careers and are doing good things in their families, the Church, and the world.

In the scheme of things, our home was nothing. But illuminated by the light of the Gospel, we flourished. The roots of faith sprouted and are bearing fruit. All because of the light of the Gospel.

C.S. Lewis said, “Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is fixing the drains and stopping the leaks in the roof; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But then He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is God up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing up a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little house: but He is building a castle. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

And so, as we plan how we can fill our home with light and truth, we recognize that our efforts are not enough. They never were – they never will be. In our efforts to fill our homes with the light and truth of the Gospel, we see our own weakness and inability. We know all to well where we fail. But if we’re wise, we turn to God. He will take all of our feeble efforts and make them greater than we could have ever imagined. It’s his specialty and promise. He will shine the light, because He is the only true light of the world. I so testify in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.