In the doctrine and theology of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, there are two foundational spiritual realities we recognize and seek to make operational in our life. These two realities are the Light of Christ and the Holy Ghost. We will begin by referencing both from official church doctrine sources. Then I will attempt to expand our understanding by sharing some personal experiences of these two realities as I have encountered them in my own life. I hope to show by this combined doctrinal and experiential approach not only how important this subject is but also that this is…‘a dimension of gospel truth that too few understand.’
The Light of Christ:
…from the Church’s website:
“The Light of Christ is the divine energy, power, or influence that proceeds from God through Christ and gives life and light to all things. The Light of Christ influences people for good….One manifestation of the Light of Christ is what we call a conscience…This power is an influence for good in the lives of all people. In the scriptures, the Light of Christ is sometimes called the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Christ, or the Light of Life…It is not a personage”.
The Holy Ghost
…from the Church’s website:
“The Holy Ghost is the third member of the Godhead. He is a personage of spirit, without a body of flesh and bones. He is often referred to as the Spirit, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of the Lord, or the Comforter. The Holy Ghost works in perfect unity with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, fulfilling several roles…He “witnesses of the Father and the Son” and reveals and teaches “the truth of all things.” We can receive a sure testimony of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ only by the power of the Holy Ghost…He is the Comforter. Through His power, we are sanctified as we repent, receive the ordinances of baptism and confirmation, and remain true to our covenants.” (emphasis added)
It has always been the case that the Lord wants his people, individuals and families, to understand the importance of their being empowered by their own vision and testimony of the Gospel. This only happens through personal revelation by receiving the spirit. Russel M. Nelson, at the very first General Conference he presided over as President of the church, gave a talk entitled Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives. In that message the word ‘revelation’ was mentioned 16 times and 11 of those times referred to revelation for individuals for their own lives. His words included the following:
“If we will truly receive the Holy Ghost and learn to discern and understand His promptings, we will be guided in matters large and small…Pray in the name of Jesus Christ about your concerns, your fears, your weaknesses—yes, the very longings of your heart. And then listen! Write the thoughts that come to your mind. Record your feelings and follow through with actions that you are prompted to take…I urge you to stretch beyond your current spiritual ability to receive personal revelation…In coming days, it will not be possible to survive spiritually without the guiding, directing, comforting, and constant influence of the Holy Ghost…My beloved brothers and sisters, I plead with you to increase your spiritual capacity to receive revelation…Choose to do the spiritual work required to enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost and hear the voice of the Spirit more frequently and more clearly.”
Surely this is one of the most emphatic teachings ever given by any Apostle in any General Conference of the Church…emphasizing the individual’s right and need for personal revelation.
Another example comes from the Old Testament.
One of my favorite episodes of sacred history occurred when the great Prophet Moses had led the people of Israel out of bondage in Egypt to their promised land. It came about that the Lord revealed himself in vision and prophecy to Moses and he was directed to share his vision with the people. We read in Numbers Chapter 11 that the Lord directed Moses:
“…gather unto me seventy men of the Elders of Israel…and bring them unto the tabernacle” …and “the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it unto the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease”
Then something happened that left a lesson for all time:
But there remained two of the men in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad: and the spirit rested upon them; and they were of them that were written, but went not out unto the tabernacle: and they prophesied in the camp.
And there ran a young man, and told Moses, and said, Eldad and Medad do prophesy in the camp.
And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My lord Moses, forbid them.
And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them! (emphasis added)
‘Would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!’ Amen! This episode of sacred history, along with President Nelson’s inaugural teaching to do the work to receive personal revelation emphasizes the Lord’s desire and expectation that we, his children, all, individually qualify to receive the spirit.
Yet it remains to ask, do we sufficiently understand what is meant to receive the spirit and to hear the voice of the spirit?
While neither I (nor anyone else) can claim to have a perfect knowledge of these fundamental spiritual realities, I can claim to have a store of relevant experience which I deem beneficial to share. It is worth remembering that we are, all of us, yet children in our understanding of heavenly things. Sometimes we may need to unlearn some things, in order to advance to receive the fullness of learning the Lord desires to bless us with.
The perspective with which I approach this subject is one of recognizing that our Heavenly Father positively wants us, his children, to seek personal inspiration from him and he has given guidance and guardrails for us to accomplish this. I hope that sharing some personal experiences facilitates this.
You might have some empathy with me, as my follow-on thoughts were a bit like this: as if I were looking up to heaven and saying, ‘Ok, thank you Heavenly Father. Umm, I already knew that. Is there anything else?’ There was nothing more said…only ‘THIS IS IMPORTANT!’
Once again, I went on with my life, certain I had received a definite revelation from God but leaving me somewhat puzzled as to how I should regard it and what to do about it.
Time went on and then sometime later I came across an address by Boyd K. Packer, the acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. His address was titled ‘The Light of Christ.’ The reader will appreciate that I was instantly interested and riveted by his address.
Quoting now from President Packer’s address:
“Most members of the Church have a basic understanding of the Holy Ghost. Most have experienced its promptings and understand why the Holy Ghost is called the Comforter…. But many do not know that there is another Spirit—“the light of Christ” (D&C 88:7)—another source of inspiration, which each of us possesses in common with all other members of the human family…
The Holy Ghost and the Light of Christ are different from each other. While they are sometimes described in the scriptures with the same words, they are two different and distinct entities. It is important for you to know about both of them.” (emphasis added)
Despite my own experiences and thoughts about the subject, (as outlined above) I still found it striking that President Packer said that “many do not know that there is another Spirit—“the light of Christ—another source of inspiration”. It appears that President Packer was seeking to correct a mistaken ‘perspective’ that had ‘somehow’ grown up among ‘many’ members of the Church. Was he asking us to unlearn something so we would be more prepared to learn the fullness the Lord wanted to bless us with?
Continuing to quote from President Packer’s address:
Regardless of whether this inner light, this knowledge of right and wrong, is called the Light of Christ, moral sense, or conscience, it can direct us to moderate our actions—unless, that is, we subdue it or silence it… The Spirit of Christ can be likened unto a “guardian angel” for every person. (emphasis added)
It is noteworthy that he said ‘it (the light of Christ) can direct us to moderate our actions…” and act as a “guardian angel”. This ‘moderating’ influence is surely of crucial and urgent importance at the present time when so much civil discourse is anything but civil and is often full of animosity and even hatred. Surely, we need the moderating influence of the Light of Christ to guard the civility of our social discourse.
Continuing again to quote from President Packer’s address:
The Spirit of Christ can enlighten the inventor, the scientist, the painter, the sculptor, the composer, the performer, the architect, the author to produce great, even inspired things for the blessing and good of all mankind. (emphasis added)
An example of how the Light of Christ can enlighten and inspire the composer and the performer for our blessing and good, surfaced in my own life this past Christmas. On my YouTube feed for no reason I could see, a performance appeared by the 1970’s disco group Boney M, titled Mary’s Boy Child, a marvelous musical telling of the birth of Jesus Christ. I had the lyrics turned on and although I knew of this song from many past Christmases, on this occasion I was spiritually electrified by this talented and inspired telling of the birth of our Savior. Along with the amazing singers led by Liz Mitchel, and the musicians, there were many children dressed in white and waving their arms depicting angels, and shepherds and Mary and Joseph. (Who cannot be deeply touched by the faces of those children?!) The lyrics are truly inspiring – and I was deeply blessed and affected as the spirit of God carried this superb rendition deep into my heart. Truly this was a memorable personal experience for me.
Returning again to President Packer’s message:
“Every man, woman, and child of every nation, creed, or color—everyone, no matter where they live or what they believe or what they do—has within them the imperishable Light of Christ. In this respect, all men are created equally. The Light of Christ in everyone is a testimony that God is no respecter of persons (see D&C 1:35). He treats everyone equally in that endowment with the Light of Christ.” (emphasis added)
Echoing President Packer’s teaching of that equal endowment of the Light of Christ, sometime ago a prompting or impression of the spirit came upon me. While I understood this prompting to be true and of God, I did not immediately understand why I was being given this impression. (yes, again!) The spirit impressed upon me several times over a few days the thought that ‘each person is significant in the eyes of God.’ Those were the words that came into my mind from the spirit. Once again, I was a bit puzzled. I already knew that and I was left pondering why the Lord was doubling down with me on something I very well knew. I now believe it was to prepare me to bear testimony of this sublime truth:
‘each individual person IS significant in the eyes of God – or – to put it more directly, in the eyes of an embodied and infinitely perfected and exalted personage of light and glory who presides over worlds and galaxies without number and who is endowed with infinite, intimate awareness of each person, in the eyes of that personage of light and glory, in the eyes of God, each person IS significant.’
Think about that. There are no insignificant people and there never can be. Each person is a child of God, endowed with the Light of Christ and the potential for righteous action and infinite advancement. A stunning and marvelous reality!
Thus, while it can be said there is an important institutional hierarchy pertaining to scope of responsibility that we covenant to sustain, we have no reason to assume there is a hierarchy of significance of people or groups of people in the eyes of God…for God is no respecter of persons . Here it is important to recall the words of Apostle Paul in Acts 17:26 that God, “hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.” It is ‘one blood’, even the blood of Jesus Christ that redeems all men and women from death and provides opportunity based on faith and repentance for all to progress to a degree of eternal joy and glory. For further emphasis: “The Church proclaims that redemption through Jesus Christ is available to the entire human family on the conditions God has prescribed. It affirms that God is “no respecter of persons” and emphatically declares that anyone who is righteous—regardless of race—is favored of Him.”
Could there be something here we need to unlearn in order that we be more prepared to receive the fullness the Lord is offering us?
Let us consider one other unlearning we may need to experience in order to receive the ‘fullness’ the Lord intends for us. Once again quoting from President Packer:
When “the shadow of apostasy settled over the earth. The line of priesthood authority was broken. But mankind was not left in total darkness or completely without revelation or inspiration. The idea that with the Crucifixion of Christ the heavens were closed and that they opened in the First Vision is not true. The Light of Christ would be everywhere present to attend the children of God; the Holy Ghost would visit seeking souls. The prayers of the righteous would not go unanswered. (emphasis added)
Is it possible some of us have mistaken the teaching of the great apostasy to be more restrictive on our non-member neighbors, friends, family members than was intended? Is it possible we may need to revisit and relearn the universal and equal endowment of the Light of Christ? This is something to think about. Thinking is not only permitted in the plan of salvation…it is positively encouraged!
Quoting again from President Packer:
“The Spirit of Christ is always there. It never leaves. It cannot leave.”
This is a crucial teaching. If the Light of Christ ‘never leaves…cannot leave’ this strongly supports the broad policy-doctrine-inclusive missionary mandate of the Lord’s Church. As written in the Articles of Faith, “We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.” (emphasis added)
Continuing with President Packer’s address:
“…Once a person has received that gift of the Holy Ghost and can cultivate it together with the Light of Christ, which they already have, then the fulness of the gospel is open to their understanding. The Holy Ghost can even work through the Light of Christ.” (emphasis added)
May it not be concluded that if we do not ‘cultivate’ the Holy Ghost and the Light of Christ together, we do not have access to ‘the fullness of the Gospel?’ Surely this is an error we would want to avoid. The ‘fullness of the Gospel’ is the righteous direction we want to face in order to build a Zion-like society that values the dignity and rights of each individual person. These rights arise from the God ordained gift of freedom including religious freedom.
Again, from President Packer:
“…why should we marvel at the promise that the Light of Christ is in all of us and that the Holy Ghost can visit any of us? It should not be difficult, therefore, to understand how revelation from God to His children on earth can come to all mankind through both the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Ghost.” (emphasis added)
The importance of this ‘understanding’ – that the Light of Christ can give revelation from God to…‘all’ mankind – is underscored by the increasing secularization that is imposed in the institutions of our society. Secularism is defined as “…the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion” and “indifference to or rejection or exclusion of religion and religious considerations.” Denying the spiritual foundations of society leaves us vulnerable to the perilous geo-political and social circumstances of the end-times, circumstances that war against faith and freedom. A belief in the availability of a degree of divine inspiration to each individual and the practice to obtain such, is the ultimate safeguard against authoritarianism and tyranny. This is pre-eminently the role and the domain of the Light of Christ.
“The pulse of the human heart beats to the drum of freedom.”
It is precisely because of the innate reason, conscience and judgment that God has placed within each individual person that we are able to ‘search diligently in the light of Christ’ and avoid being pawns of mass propaganda. As we combine our inborn and innate intelligence with a humble and sincere heart, exercise faith and cherish freedom, a prosperous and secure society can arise and be maintained. Yet this is not guaranteed. It needs safeguarding and constant nourishment.
However discomforting it may be, there can come a time when it is necessary to understand that circumstances can devolve to the point that biased media and government entities may not be reliable sources for accurate reporting on threats to our freedom. Instead, they may become purveyors of artificially constructed appearances whose veiled purpose is to subvert freedom and advance authoritarianism. This subversion endeavors to persuade us to think we are better off than we really are and to place our trust in materialistic solutions in preference to our real need which is to return to God.
These threatening circumstances do not arise overnight or without warning. But they can arise ‘in the space of not many years.’ The danger consists in the gradual promotion and acceptance of artificial appearances that persuade us to rely exclusively on material (i.e. secular) considerations. This secular influence is in direct opposition to the vigorous discernment of reality that is grounded in and originates from the Light of Christ residing within each person.
In our day, people of great renown motivated by corrupt desires to seek ‘power and gain’ acquire vast wealth and corporate power. This power is often used to promote trust in state or corporate sponsored influence exclusively oriented toward materialistic solutions. Again, this is in direct opposition to the claims our Father in Heaven has over us through the innate light of Christ and the revelations of God through the Holy Ghost. We cannot but wonder if we are not seeing prophecy fulfilled in the most stark and dangerous ways when we hear reports of such power being exercised in proximity to immorality and murder. How far we allow this combination of state and corporate deterioration to progress is a serious question every conscience guided person should consider. We have been warned.
Elder Christoffersen spoke of this danger in his October 2020 General Conference address:
“Trusting in the arm of flesh is to ignore the divine Author of human rights and human dignity and to give highest priority to riches, power, and the praise of the world (while often mocking and persecuting those who follow a different standard)…. I think we would all agree that those who profess no religious belief can be, and often are, good, moral people. We would not agree, however, that this happens without divine influence. I am referring to the Light of Christ. The Savior declared, “I am the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” Whether aware of it or not, every man, woman, and child of every belief, place, and time is imbued with the Light of Christ and therefore possesses the sense of right and wrong we often call conscience. Nevertheless, when secularization separates personal and civic virtue from a sense of accountability to God, it cuts the plant from its roots. (emphasis added)
The Book of Mormon teaches the same transcendent principle of the light of Christ in connection with human rights and dignity, even the freedom God has ordained for his children. In Alma 61 verse 15 we read these striking words: the Spirit of God… is also the spirit of freedom…
Yes…The Spirit of God IS…the spirit of freedom. This verse does not talk about the Holy Ghost. It is talking about the light of Christ which is another name for the spirit of God. It is important to understand that freedom is not a trivial matter. It is not merely political theatre, superficial lip service, social club networking or fanatical chest pounding. Rather, it is a crucial spiritual matter inseparable from the spirit of God.
In recent history and current geo-political discourse, we see the abominations of fascism, nazism, communism etc, rising again to capture the uninspired imaginations of masses of people. Never has the need for the Light of Christ which is also the spirit of freedom been in greater need. We need to cultivate the Light of Christ and the Holy Ghost together to discern and resist some of the false but sophisticated arguments against human rights and human dignity. It is important to recognize that threats against human freedom can originate from either side of the so-called political spectrum. Some of the ideas presented – some even in the name of Christianity – need to be seen for what they are – an effort to undermine human rights and dignity and subvert our free and democratic society.
For example, the false idea that women, who comprise one half of human society, should give up or be denied the right to vote in a so-called Christian Nation. If such were to be the case, (it is not but if it were) and we apply the concept to the larger context of sacred history, which woman should top the list to be denied the right to vote? How about our glorious mother Eve who stood by and provided wise counsel to Father Adam and endured almost unimaginable disappointment and grief with her offspring committing the first murder and forsaking the faith, yet she endured to fulfill, with stunning grandeur, her foreordained role as the mother of the human family…the mother of billions of Heavenly Fathers children. Should she be denied the right to vote? Or how about Sarah the wife of Abraham and mother of Israel who held the mission to Egypt in her hand, a mission which shook the ancient world? Should Sarah be denied the right to vote? What of that most marvelous of all the daughters of God, even Mary, the mother of the Son of God? Should we deny her the right to vote? She who was there before there were any Apostles and who met the messenger of God with the stunning words, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord. Be it unto me according to thy word.”? She who held the future of the cosmos nestled in her arms and suckling at her breast, she who was there at the beginning and there at the end when the blood was dripping down from the cross? Shall we deny her the right to vote?
Men have filled the world with blood for thousands of years and denying the right to vote to women – whose religious and/or spiritual impulses are equal to and often superior to those of men – will insure another thousand years of blood. The courage and inspiration to resist such dangerous distortions are found in a correct understanding of the principles of revealed religion, chief among which are the Light of Christ and the Holy Ghost.
To draw this discourse to a close, a final quote from President Packer’s important address, The Light of Christ:
“If we understand the reality of the Light of Christ in everyone we see and in every meeting we attend and within ourselves, and understand the great challenge that we have—the surroundings in which we live, the danger which sometimes besets us—we will have courage and inspiration beyond that which we have known heretofore. And it must be so! And it will be so! All of this is a dimension of gospel truth that too few understand.”