We cannot live without light

I have always had a Christian foundation, I learned who Christ was at a very young age. I grew in my knowledge of Christ as I grew older and attended church and read the scriptures, I established a relationship with Him as I served as a missionary for my church. I consider myself very blessed to have always had a knowledge that I have a Savior and really cannot imagine life without that knowledge.

On my mission I met a young man who was from the country of China and there he had heard about Christians and that we believed in a man who was called Jesus. As we talked about Jesus Christ, his desire to learn more about Him and his relationship with Christ also increased. One day, in one of our "meetings" or "lessons" we wanted him to find out for himself that Christ was not only the Savior of the world, but that Christ was HIS personal Savior and that Christ loved Him personally. We knew this knowledge would change his life completely.

As we taught this young man, we shared that Christ was a light in our lives and that with Him everything became more hopeful and more bearable. We read the following scripture about Christ that is found in Mosiah 16:9 in the Book of Mormon: "He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death." Then we asked: "What do you understand from this scripture about Jesus Christ" and he responded with words that changed my life and helped solidify my personal relationship with Christ: "We cannot live without light".

Even though his knowledge of Christ was still new and maybe not as clear, he understood the most fundamental truth, just as we cannot live without light, we cannot live without Jesus Christ. I know that the simple statement he was able to share with us is absolutely true, I could not live without Christ in my life. Sure, we can still get around a dark room, sure, we can manage to turn on a little flash light as a temporary solution, but how different would it be to flip on a light switch and let light flood a room?

I know that Christ is our light. Just as an obstacle-filled room wouldn't magically change and be obstacle-free when the light came on, our lives won't magically change and be challenge-free when we rely on Christ, but He will make all challenges bearable. He invites us to let Him help us He says: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30) I know that if we but trust in Christ, believe in Him and most importantly love Him, that our life truly will be filled with light and He will help us bear our burdens.