Light In My Vessel

“Light In My Vessel”
By Tamara Kelm

As a young single sister, I have learned the importance of seeking for more light in my life. Light is equal to hope, and what sister getting older in a singles ward can’t use a bit more hope? For anyone, life is full of ups and downs. My goal this year has been to make the ups raise me up higher than the downs ever bring me down. This way I am always in constant motion upward, even when life is tough. Several months ago I sat in a leadership meeting and a sister, and dear friend of mine, shared her experience of finding joy in life because she was filled with light. I asked myself, is what I am missing? Can I have more light in my life? It has been a blessing to learn how to bring more light in my life so I can bare the downs with more hope and faith in my Savior.

There are three ways I have learned to bring more light in my life. The first is simply to ask Heavenly Father for more light. One day I was studying Ether chapter 2. I was feeling like “mountain waves” were dashing around me and life was rocky. Like the Brother of Jared and the 16 stones used to light up the dark vessels on his journey, sometimes we need to present things to the Lord and ask Him to enlighten them. He said, “…therefore touch these stones, O Lord, with thy finger, and prepare them that they may shine forth in darkness” (Ether 3:4). After reading this, I wrote down sixteen stones of my own and carried them to the Lord in prayer and asked him to touch them. These stones were talents to develop, service I could give more faithfully in my calling, and changes I could make in my daily routine. Sooner than I had expected, I began to see one by one that each stone was slowly shining brighter and bringing more light into my life. I believe that bringing offerings such as these shows the Lord that we are willing to put effort into changing our lives. The Lord manifested himself unto the Brother of Jared because of his faith. Likewise, when we ask the Lord to make us shine, we can see the Savior’s power manifested unto us and touch us in very personal ways. “Every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am; and that I am the true light that lighteth every man” (D&C 93:1).

Second, to have more light we need to bare one another’s burdens. When we “come unto the fold of God”, we covenant to “bear one another’s burdens”, “mourn with those that mourn”, and “comfort those that stand in need of comfort” (Mosiah 18:8-9). In the October 2007 General Conference, Bishop Richard C. Edgley said, “All are there to administer comfort and show compassion in times of need…What happens to one, happens to all. We endure together”. Our relationship with the Savior should be our first refuge in times of trial. However sometimes we need to share our burdens with other saints, as they need to share their burdens with us. This means we need to call our visiting teachers when we are having a bad day and not wait for them to turn into mind readers. It also means need to be willing to spring into action when we find out a sister we visit teach is in need. Sometimes all we can do is offer a prayer, be a listening ear, or let them use our shoulder to wipe their tears on. When we show compassion we become more like Christ and invite others to come unto Him. Compassion adds light to our vessels.

Finally, unselfish service brings a light into our souls. How often are we counseled to go serve when we are feeling down? This is an important principle, however there is an even great purpose in serving. When we serve unselfishly, with the recipient’s needs uppermost in our minds, we show true charity. Charity will bring us unimaginable light. I learned this lesson from my friend Ellen.* It had been a hard year and she was experiencing some serious health issues. I had tried to be aware of my dear friends needs and had been leaving treats in her bag on Sundays. On this particular Sunday the thought popped into my head that I needed to do something for her that day. I thought, are you kidding me, again? I feared she would be getting tired of me by now. However, I followed the Spirit and before I went to church I grabbed a box and filled it with her favorite chocolate Easter candy. Church started and Ellen came in late and sat beside me. From her body language I could tell she was not her normal self. Something was wrong. I let her keep to herself for half of the meeting. When we started singing the rest hymn I leaned over to her and said, “you look like it has already been a long day, are you alright?” She told me she was having a migraine and it had been a rough morning. I had planned on sneaking the candy into her bag sometime that day, but desperate times call for desperate measures! I reached in my bag and gave her the chocolate. Instantly her demeanor changed. She relaxed and she seemed immediately happier, like a burden had been lifted. Ellen couldn’t resist and opened the candy. She would pop a chocolate in her mouth, pat the box, and then pat my leg. She did this every time she popped more in her mouth- pat the box and then pat my leg. She leaned over and said, “I don’t know which I love more?” After sacrament meeting we started to go our separate ways. Then she stopped and gave me a big hug. It took me by surprise. She squeezed me hard and whispered in my ear, “you were just what I needed today, thank you”. I immediately felt joy swell in my heart.

In serving, we are guided more fully by the Spirit when we take ourselves out of the equation. The chocolate was soley about Ellen. Unselfish serving is true charity, and charity is the pure love of Christ. The light that unselfish service brings warms the soul and burns bright. It teaches us to be more Christ-like and allows us to feel love and to give love.

We can find more light by asking the Lord to make brighter things already surrounding us, by bearing other’s burdens, and by serving unselfishly. Paul taught, “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ…We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:6, 8-9). The Savior Jesus Christ lives, and because he lives we can be filled with light, have hope, and be not troubled. You can have light in your vessel to hold you up when life’s “mountain waves shall dash upon you” (Ether 2:24). With Him as my guiding light, I have nothing to fear.