Check Out The Sun!

One day as I was walking home from the bus stop, I came across a woman standing on a corner with her child in a stroller. As I was approaching her, she called out to me, pointing at the sun, "Hey, check out the sun! Isn't it bright and silver?!" I replied, "Probably, I can't look at it directly." Then she said "There's God! It's too bright, huh?"
Aside from my astonishment at her willingness to look directly at the sun, I was intrigued by what she said. "There's God! It's too bright, huh?" Yet she was looking directly at it.

While the sun is too bright to look at without the possibility of causing damage to your eyes, we can liken the "sun" to the "Son." Sometimes we take for granted the teachings of the Church and don't pay much attention to the details. We often don't realize how glorious the Gospel is unless we look directly into the light.
Daily scripture study is a great way to focus on the light of Christ. Also praying to God the Father in Jesus' name, going to church regularly, all great ways to follow the light. Following in His footsteps, namely, performing charity, showing the pure love of Christ, is the icing on the cake. If we keep the commandments and strive daily to become more like Him, we will never lose sight of the "sun," and we will more often appreciate the light He shines on us all.
Let's take a lesson from this woman, and "Check out the sun" more often. It may seem too "bright" or too much for us to handle at times, but by doing so, we will be able to say without hesitation, "There's God!" and we will have Him as our constant companion as we continue on in our journey to exaltation.

Spiritual Adhesive

An adhesive is something that, when used properly, causes one thing to adhere, or stick, to another. Today at work, my boss was talking about the adhesive that's on the stickers we put on the boxes that our product goes in. She was saying that the adhesive is really strong, and it has to be to be able to ensure that the box stays sealed shut. But sometimes, on certain boxes, if we have to peel a sticker off, it pulls part of the box off with it because of how sticky it is.

Our Heavenly Father has given us the most powerful adhesive in existence. The Atonement of His Son, Jesus Christ. When we apply the Atonement in our lives,it works as the binding agent that seals us to Him for Eternity, or allows us to return to His presence. When we use the Atonement incorrectly, or try to remove its effect from our lives by ignoring its importance, minimizing its necessity, or even justifying ourselves by thinking that the Atonement takes away all responsibility from us, it becomes insufficient for us, and does not cover those sins we do not repent of. Jesus has said "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." (Doctrine and Covenants 82:10)

With the stickers at work, I can pull them off the box easily if I want, but the box won't stay sealed shut. In the same way, we can choose not to adhere to, or keep God's commandments, but the Atonement won't have any effect on us. We have the ability to choose to follow or not to follow God, because of agency. But the only way to ensure that the power and mercy of the Atonement has full effect in our lives is to follow Him who made the Atoning sacrifice for us.