Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Mission: Lighties vs Darkies--My talk before departure

The following is a rough summary of a talk I gave in church on September 18th, 2011

Thoughts and promptings can come from the Godhead or Satan, and we must choose who to believe and what to act on.

I've dubbed thoughts from Satan "darkies" because when I think about or choose to believe them, I feel dark feelings of despair, doubt, worry, distress, discouragement, sadness, despair, etc. "Lighties" are those thoughts or promptings from the Holy Ghost that, when I choose to believe and act on them, fill me with light through peace, love, calmness, assurance, happiness, faith, etc.

I've come to realize that acting on promptings of the Holy Ghost can be a choice as much as a physical action. "I feel darkness when I believe this thought, so I choose to not believe it. I choose to replace it with believing in Gospel doctrine." For example, I can replace darkies such as "God did this to me" "Nobody loves me, no one will ever love me"  "There is no solution to this problem" and "Maybe that family member will die today" with thoughts like "I am a daughter or son of Heavenly Father, who loves me, and I choose to love and trust Him."

Also, for those times when we choose to believe Satan, thus distancing ourselves from the Godhead, we can always choose to belief the Godhead and return to Heavenly Father through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He can heal, purify, and sanctify us, making us whole.

Last Fall I believed a darkie that told me I wasn't going to serve a mission. I've wanted to serve since I was little and believing that thought filled me despair, doubt in myself, and discouragement. It was a personal Fall of my own. Months later, a speaker in a church meeting ended his talk with "Go on a mission, it will bless your life" and I felt THRILLED from head to toe, filled with light, a beautiful feeling. I started working on my mission application but couldn't reconcile the darkie and the lightie. I testify it is impossible to believe two completely opposite messages, and trying to do so indicates two sources of information. My head felt like it was divided against itself. My stake president counseled me to study CH 4 in Preach My Gospel which teaches how to recognize promptings of the Holy Ghost. That was when I understood that members of the Godhead cannot instill feelings of darkness, which would be against Their nature. They can withdraw so that we feel darkness, but Gods of light cannot produce feelings of darkness.

That night I chose to believe that the thought I'd heard last Fall was authored by Satan. I chose to fully believe my Father, His Son, and the Holy Ghost. I repented for believing Satan. For the first time in over five months, I felt whole.

I testify that our Savior Jesus Christ lives and loves us. He can bring us out of any darkness into His light. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen. :)

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