Monday, August 3, 2015

D&C 93:36-38 -- On Light and Truth and Forsaking Evil

"The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth.
Light and truth forsake that evil one.
Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state, innocent before God."
Doctrine and Covenants 93:36-38


I love the idea that we are made from light and truth.  In Abraham 3:22, we learn that we are intelligences, and in D&C 93:29 we learn that we were in the beginning with God.  There are tons of other scriptures about this too, but the basic idea is that we are *made* from goodness, and here it tells us that the light and truth we are made from forsake the evil one... that we start out good, and innocent.
Sometimes I think we need to step back and remember that part... that there is an eternal core inside us that is good, that shines and that shies away from any kind of falsehood or darkness.  If we actually would listen to that part of ourselves, we would realize that we need to heal where we have hurt and we need to be better and kinder and more loving, because that is who we are.  Who we *all* are.  And no matter what we've done or how we've poisoned ourselves in this world, as long as we are alive some part of us is still crying out for that goodness, yearning for God.  Learning from God helps us to understand that part of ourselves and get in tune with it again.  Sometimes we try to handle that part of ourselves by suppression... pretending it isn't there, or trying to desensitize ourselves to spirituality because we feel guilt or regret.  And that often works for long periods of time.  Throw enough blankets on top of your conscience, and it takes a lot to hear anything out of it.  But that sort of thing damages us because it makes us less sensitive overall, and deadens us to so many good things.
We can have peace with that part of ourselves, but it takes some work, and sometimes some sacrifice.  It's kind of like going to to the doctor.  We're sick, and we don't want to be sick any more.  We want to feel better, but sometimes the remedy isn't fun.  Sometimes it could be a shot that scares us and hurts, and in more serious cases it requires surgery to remove part of ourselves that is causing us pain.  God's gospel is the answer, and the cure for all spiritual ills, but we have to let go sometimes of habits, or relationships, or parts of ourselves that are causing us pain.  God is the doctor, and luckily for us he is never wrong.  We'll never be misdiagnosed... but as with all doctors, if we ignore his advice, he can't cure us.
Today, let's remember that we have goodness within us.  Let's tap into it, no matter how long it has been.  Let's talk to God about making things right, and restoring our souls.

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