The message of the 2022 Light the World campaign for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is simple: “By following Jesus Christ, the true Light of the World, you can bring a little light into the lives of friends, family members, coworkers and even strangers.”

This episode of the Church News podcast focuses on sharing the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ through the Light the World initiative this Christmas season — and throughout the year. Joining the podcast is Elder W. Mark Bassett, a General Authority Seventy and assistant executive director of the Missionary Department, and Aaron Hall, director of finding for the Missionary Department.

Share light as part of this effort by finding a Giving Machine and supporting one of many charities, joining the Church’s kindness conversation on Facebook, and receiving daily prompts. 

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Transcript

Elder W. Mark Bassett: I love that people are doing this and participating to focus more on the Savior Jesus Christ during this season where we recognize His birth. In all that we do we want to remember that is what this is about, and how would the Savior reach out and help people? How would He want to help someone that needs school supplies or a Polio vaccine? He would be focusing on helping these individual people. And this is a way that we can do that, while we are here, acting as His hands. The source of light in the dark world is the Savior Jesus Christ, and He is the solution to this darkness. He is the source of peace, of goodness, and His gospel is what brings light to a darkened world.

1:00

Sarah Jane Weaver: I’m Sarah Jane Weaver, editor of the Church News. Welcome to the Church News podcast. We are taking you on a journey of connection as we discuss news and events of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The message of the 2022 Light the World campaign for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is simple: “By following Jesus, the true Light of the World, you can bring a little light into the lives of friends, family members, coworkers, and even strangers.” This episode of the Church News podcast focuses on sharing light through the initiative, which will turn all our thoughts to the life and example of Jesus Christ.

Joining the podcast today is Elder W. Mark Bassett, a General Authority Seventy, and assistant executive director of the Missionary Department, and Aaron Hall, director of finding for the Missionary Department. They will talk about how we can all “Light the World” this Christmas season. Welcome, brethren into the Church News podcast.

1:59

Elder W. Mark Bassett: Thank you, Sarah.

Aaron Hall: Thank you. We are looking forward to this.

Sarah Jane Weaver: It is so nice to have you with us. This is such a beautiful time of year. I think all of us look forward to the holidays. And I think all of us enjoy the opportunity to think about others and sharing our light with others. So Elder Bassett, let’s just start and can you talk about this year’s initiative and what you want everyone to know about it?

2:24

Elder W. Mark Bassett: Well, the Light the World campaign is really an opportunity to share light with our friends. We have kind of three different focuses or purposes, why we want to do this. And one is just to nurture goodwill — to let people know who we are, and just out of sincerity and just doing good things and spreading the light of Christ throughout the world. And second is to assist members and helping them share the gospel in normal and natural ways. It doesn’t have to be formal. It can be just, “Hey, I was thinking about you,” and just doing something kind. And this provides prompts for members to act, like they would normally would. And then the third way is just to create positive awareness and let others know who we are and see the good that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and particularly the members, are doing in communities and around the world. Because this campaign — this year, we are in 16 different countries.

3:24

Aaron Hall: More countries than that, but we have 16 areas of the world where people can receive daily messages, daily texts, WhatsApp communication, email. So we have expanded this year, but Elder Basset’s point is all about helping members and friends see the light of the Savior in their lives, and, of course, sharing our light with others.

3:49

Sarah Jane Weaver: And this year, the Light the World initiative includes 25 days of kindness. Now, we’re a few days into that. If you haven’t started, don’t worry. You can jump on board and start the 25 days of kindness right now. But, Aaron, tell us how this campaign is different from campaigns we have seen in the past and how you hope people will act or participate in the campaign.

Aaron Hall: It is a wonderful question, because to your point, 25 days of kindness might be during the Christmas season. But the reality is, we want 365 days of kindness. We want this all year round. So one of the things that’s significantly different this year than in years past, is in years past, we provided a daily prescribed activity — something that members or friends could choose to do to bless a loved one. Elder Bassett and I have talked about this. Most years on the 6th of December, it was reached out to mom and dad and let them know that you loved them. And my mom and Elder Bassett’s mom ...

4:48

Elder W. Mark Bassett: Every mother got a phone call the exact same day and she is saying, “Wait a minute, something is up here.” It felt a little less sincere that way.

Aaron Hall: That’s right. So this year, the idea was, “How do we help members share light in a way that is normal and natural to them.” So each day you have the opportunity to identify somebody that you love, that you want to serve, and then you choose how you want to serve them. Of course, we provide daily prompts and ideas of things that you might choose to do. But ultimately, we felt make it less prescriptive, make it more about people following the Spirit, to engage with people that they love.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Christmas initiative encourages participants to provide acts of service during the 25 days leading up to Christmas to help light the world.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

5:32

Sarah Jane Weaver: Well, Elder Bassett, this is a trend we’ve seen in the Church so much recently, including in the Missionary Department, where “Preach My Gospel” changed the way we do missionary work. We also have a new “For the Strength of Youth” guide that focuses on following the example of Jesus Christ instead of on specific rules. Why is it so important that that is how we approach life by just looking and acting like the Savior would act?

5:57

Elder W. Mark Bassett: That’s a really great connection. In addition to the “For the Strength of Youth” pamphlet, for the missionaries themselves, they have a new handbook that they use. It is different from the old white handbook we used to care in our pocket. They have a handbook that’s called “Missionary Standards for Disciples of Jesus Christ.” And it is principle-based. And I think all of us, as we act on principle, and we were desiring to be more like the Savior and do things the Savior would do, then we’ll do things naturally, as opposed to what Aaron said, a prescribed thing. You do this today. And you do this tomorrow. You mentioned the “For the Strength of Youth.” We want our youth to follow the Savior because they love Him, not obey a certain rule because somebody told them that’s the way they should do it. They should want to actually live a higher law than that, as they strive to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Bishop Tim Bird, left, works with Anthony Buchanan, 18, Jordan Johnson, 16, Dio Garcia, 16 and Charlie Taylor, 16, as they unload furnishings collected through the Giving Machine as part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Light the World initiative on Dec. 10, 2021, in San Antonio, Texas.

Thao Nguyen, for the Deseret News

6:52

Sarah Jane Weaver: Well, Aaron, how is the campaign going so far?

Aaron Hall: You know, we do what we refer to as a pre-launch every year. Right around the 15th of November this year, we launched the LightTheWorld.org website; it went live. And that gave us an opportunity to start people engaging. People look forward every year to watching the new video, to seeing what it will be that we’ll invite people to do. December 1st was our official launch date. And we have had well over 100,000 people come to the site, specifically to say “I’m in. I want to be involved.” And, of course, there is many more people that are engaged in a number of ways. One of the things that we look forward to every year is the opportunity for people to sign up for the subscriptions. That’s gone very well this year. As Elder Bassett mentioned, there are 16 nations this year, [from which members] have the opportunity to say, “Will you send me a text, will you send me a WhatsApp message, will you send me an email?” And every day, we send a little helpful reminder that basically says, “How will you serve someone today?” So we’ve seen great participation. And one of the things that that has led to this year, is we have a new Facebook group called “The Official Light the World Facebook Page.” That gives people an opportunity to go in and share every day, something that they feel like is helping them “Light the World” with friends, family and neighbors. So we have seen great participation so far.

8:20

Sarah Jane Weaver: And what type of experiences are they sharing?

Aaron Hall: You know, you will have to go out and check out the site because they’re just fun ideas, honestly. One of the ideas, for example, is as a family; they make a specific shortbread. And they share that with neighbors. That’s one of the ways that they are doing it. One of my favorites – one of the recommendations was: “write a brief note to your mailman.” This sister looked at and said, “Well, I might do that. But you know what? The bus driver comes and picks up my daughter for school every day. And I am gonna write him a note.” And so that is what she did. So you see so many different ways that people are sharing the light of the gospel in the light of the Savior. And this is a great way for people to, of course, share what they are doing on a Facebook page.

9:07

Sarah Jane Weaver: Well, and I hadn’t contemplated before, but there’s real personalization in this year’s campaign —where everyone can say, “How can I share my light, and who in my life needs a little light?”

Aaron Hall: That’s right. That is the beauty of it not being prescriptive. You go with the talents and abilities and the strengths that the Lord has blessed you with, to then share that with others.

9:26

Elder W. Mark Bassett: I was just scanning through the Facebook page myself. And let me just read a couple to you. “Last night I stopped at the gas station near our house and ran inside to grab a couple of things. As I was about pay, I noticed a police officer in the line behind me with two drinks to help him get through his night shift. I paid for his drinks, even though he protested. He seemed very grateful.” And then another one that says, “Today I got a call from someone I hadn’t talked to in a long time. I learned new ways I can bless them and others in their life.” Just random ideas and thoughts and actions that people are doing. And you can read those and say, “Boy, you know what, I need to do the same thing. There’s somebody I need to call. Or I want to look for opportunities to help someone in the community.” So it is a fun thing to just scan through that Facebook page and see what other people are doing.

10:15

Aaron Hall: And the power of that people sharing, power of them commenting, liking — it becomes expansive. Those ideas generate other ideas. I saw people say, “Oh, I love that you do that. Matter of fact, instead of doing shortbread cookies, I am doing muffins.” And so, just great ways for people to serve every day.

10:35

Sarah Jane Weaver: Everyone can read that and then let the Holy Ghost prompt them to do what may work for them or their family.

Elder W. Mark Bassett: Right. And that is good enough. Again, it is not prescribed. It is what works for me, and what works for the people I love. Or how can I reach out to people I care about, and let them know how much I care about them, and particularly, how much the Savior loves them.

10:58

Sarah Jane Weaver: Well, and Aaron mentioned the videos. I love all of the Light the World videos. On TheChurchNews.com, we included an article the very first of December, that says, “Watch all 7 Light the World videos.” And I kind of went down a rabbit hole and watched them over and over and over again — and sent them to my family. I had forgotten how much I enjoy those.

Elder W. Mark Bassett: I love that they have the same music follow each year. And this year, it had a little twist on it. It was more a cappella — people making the musical tones together. It is the same song, but a different feel. And then the message of just what it says, and watching that — woman and the children and the individuals. It really is inspiring to watch.

11:44

Sarah Jane Weaver: Well, I hope you will both respond. I want to know what the phrase, “The world needs your light,” means to each of you.

Aaron Hall: I love that. One of the inspirations that came as we pondered what we might do this year is of course, we went to the scriptures. We went to Matthew 5. Of course, the Savior’s beautiful teaching here on the Sermon on the Mount. This is Matthew 5:16: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” We are given a wonderful invitation from the Savior, to let our light shine. And in doing so, we share our good works. And in the process, we glorify our Father in Heaven. That was really the spirit of why this video was created like it was this year. So that we can let our light shine. Personally for me, as I think about this season, but 365. I am grateful for the Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave us a perfect example of how to share love, and share light, every single day. So it inspires me as I pray in the morning. And I say, “Heavenly Father, who can I bless today?” The Savior and the Holy Ghost inspire me to go out and do simple acts of kindness. Whether it is with my family, in my Church calling, with my peers in my work assignment, or anywhere I happen to be, there is opportunities to share.

13:13

Elder W. Mark Bassett: That is really well said Aaron. I was thinking of the same scripture. You know, the Savior’s Beatitudes. He challenges us to — again, it is not focused on ourselves. But as we let our light shine, then we glorify the Father and His Son. And it’s natural, particularly this time of season, for people to focus on Jesus Christ. It is the Christmas season, and we think of Him. But as we intentionally go out, and share light, share goodness and kindness and love, then, that naturally — particularly in the season — it turns hearts to the Savior Jesus Christ and remembering Him. And it is just — most people consider it a privilege to engage in this type of thing.

 14:03

Sarah Jane Weaver: As we talked about goodwill, as we talk about sharing light, let’s talk about the Giving Machines.

Elder W. Mark Bassett: That is a great topic, a fun one for me. I want you to know that this wasn’t a setup. It was scheduled a couple of weeks ago, that our family was going to the Giving Machines. We went last night.

Sarah Jane Weaver: Wow.

Elder W. Mark Bassett: So now I feel really prepared. The Giving Machines, they are an opportunity for an individual or families or whomever, to go to these machines — if you haven’t seen them — and identify ways that you would want to give to those that have particular needs. Let me tell you about what we did. So we have gathered with our all of our children. We have 10 grandchildren, and we grabbed something really quick to eat and then we went to these machines. And it was fascinating to me to watch children — from ages 9 down to less than 1 — talk about what we were going to do. And then they could look at these little pictures and say, “I want to get this for someone that has a need.” And one instance, I had a little granddaughter that said, “I want to get that duck.” Well, it wasn’t really a duck, it was a little rubber duck sitting on top of books. And it was a scholarship program, for somebody. But they were excited. And then they punch in the numbers and the little card drops out of the vending machine. And it is just a fun thing. I will tell you one thing, that’s kind of fun for me. I have one granddaughter, and she is about 18 months old. For some reason, she has been clinging to mother and won’t go to anyone else recently. She used to come to me regularly. But now she just doesn’t have anything to do with grandpa. So, she is watching all these cousins and her sister do these Giving Machines, and she lunged for me and reached out to me. And this has been a while since this has happened. And she lunged me, and she wanted to participate. And I held her and she looked with these big eyes and chose what she wanted to do. And I helped her with a tiny little finger press the buttons. And I could see this little 18-month-old girl doing something special. And she felt special and she wanted to be involved. And we saw that with all of our adult children and our grandchildren. That it is an opportunity to give and to think outside of yourself and focus on other people.

16:22

Sarah Jane Weaver: We hear stories of youth groups going, of extended families going, of neighbors getting together and going and finding a Giving Machine. Aaron, one of the things I like about the Giving Machines is that there is a focus on local charities.

Aaron Hall: That’s one of our favorite things about the Giving Machines because the local area teams that set these up — we have 28 locations around the world where these are taking place right now. We have national charities. But the important thing is, we have these local charities that we have the opportunity to bless. For example, in New York City, we have the Mariano Rivera (charitable) Foundation. And he is all about giving kids school supplies and gloves and soccer balls and things that they need. So when somebody comes to the Giving Machine, they can say, “You know, I am helping, right here in my backyard.” And that’s what makes it fun with the kids to go, neighbors, anybody that wants to participate, is you can be helping people right in your local area, as well as internationally. You can buy a goat. You can have a well built in a community. You can provide Polio vaccines. You can do so many good things that allow us to work with charitable partners, that the Church works with, to bless mankind. And what a blessing it is to do it locally and internationally.

Sarah Lowe, a volunteer, restocks Light the World Giving Machines, where people can make charitable gifts from vending machines, at City Creek Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022.

Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

 17:45

Sarah Jane Weaver: Well, a few years ago, my dad had Alzheimer’s and went to a local community center every day called Neighborhood House. And it was so fun for my family to walk up and see a charity that actually had touched our lives. And so there is great power in building communities.

Aaron Hall: It really has. And it is not only with the charities, but it is also with our local civic leaders, government leaders, with other religious leaders. We find that the communities really rally around this in a very positive way. And it is special to see communities coming together to support and love one another through this process.

18:22

Sarah Jane Weaver: And, Aaron, we may have gotten a little bit ahead of ourselves on this. But for those who are not familiar with Giving Machines, can you tell us what they are and how they work?

Aaron Hall: Think about it simply as a vending machine. And instead of going in ordering a candy bar, you get to go in and you get to choose a charity of your choice that you would like to donate to. So, just like a vending machine where you have a variety of things to choose from, vending machines — in this case, the Giving Machine — has that same opportunity. So, I can go in and look at international charities that I might want to support — everything from Polio vaccines, to water, to other essential needs — as well as local charities that are blessing individuals and families locally. So you have the opportunity to go up, put in your credit card, choose exactly what you want to order, and you’ll watch it dropped down into the queue. Now you won’t actually take that out, but you will have the opportunity to bless an individual in need. So there are only 28 of these around the world. So you might be saying, “But why isn’t there one of these in my backyard?” That’s probably the best and most frequent question that we get: “How come there aren’t more of these?” Well, to have Giving Machines in every area isn’t possible right now. But, you can go to the LightTheWorld.org website, and you can go to the Giving Machine locations. And that actually allows you to go in and look at those various charities and if you’d like to give a financial donation you can do that. So anyone can participate, even if you don’t have one physically in your city.

20:04

Sarah Jane Weaver: And this year, we also have traveling Giving Machines. 

Aaron Hall: I’m so grateful that you brought that up, we’re trying out a new opportunity this year, these wonderful traveling Giving Machines. This is an opportunity for it to go from city to city. So we’re doing this in the Southeast this year. And it’s traveling from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Charleston, South Carolina; Jacksonville, [Florida], Atlanta [Georgia], and Birmingham, Alabama. So it will hit these cities for four or five days at a time. [It is] opportunity for people to come and to celebrate together, to donate together and to share their life together. We are also doing it in the Phoenix area. It will travel to three cities this year. So we will see how that goes. And if it goes well, we will look at expanding that to additional locations next year.

20:50

Sarah Jane Weaver: And we’ll include a link in the podcast copy that shows people where they can find the Giving Machines and when they will be in their community. Help us understand where the donations go after the people put them in the machine.

Aaron Hall: We have worked very closely with these wonderful charitable organizations, such that 10% of the donation will go towards their administrative costs; 90% will go towards those that we’re trying to bless and serve.

 21:17

Sarah Jane Weaver: And Elder Bassett, is this something that’s obtainable for everyone? How much can we expect to or plan to spend when we go to a Giving Machine?

Elder W. Mark Bassett: Don’t be fearful to take your whole family to participate in the Giving Machine. As large as our family is, it is very practical. The things that you can select are just a few dollars to a few hundred dollars. And there is a range in between. And so you don’t have to have a lot of money to make a contribution. Every small contribution makes a difference.

21:51

Sarah Jane Weaver: Elder Bassett, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is an international church. We have missionaries serving all over the globe. How is this campaign able to be adapted for use by areas or area presidencies around the world?

Elder W. Mark Bassett: We have Giving Machines in areas throughout the world. And so an area presidency, when they’re given that opportunity, they can say, “We would love to have a Giving Machine in our city.” For example, in São Paulo, Brazil. And then the area presidency there goes to the local community, talks to local leaders and community leaders and government officials and charitable organizations to find the best place to put the machine and then what organizations the community would like to have benefit. Just like here in the United States, those local people in São Paulo go to that Giving Machine and they can donate to causes in their community. And so it’s very directed by area presidencies throughout the world.

Women look at a the Light the World Giving Machines, where people can make charitable gifts from vending machines, at City Creek Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022.

Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

23:05

Aaron Hall: In addition to that, what you also find, is is that the local areas tend to edit the content, so it meets the needs of their particular audience. So, as an example, as we were talking earlier about the Facebook page: today, I saw posts from Nigeria, from Uganda, from the U.K. So the wonderful thing is, of course, these principles are universal, in nature. We can all light the world, in our own language, in our own tongue, with our own families, with our own neighbors. But you can do that everywhere. So we do see the local area presidencies, making the changes that are necessary to reflect how that will work best and their particular area of the world.

23:53

Sarah Jane Weaver: I was just in Sweden, covering Elder Jeffrey R. Holland’s ministry visit there. And they were handing out advent calendars that said, “Light the World” in Swedish. And then each day it opened up, and it had a scripture and I thought it was very sweet.

Aaron Hall: A wonderful way to recognize how leadership is globalizing the effort, making it accessible wherever they happen to be in the world.

24:21

Sarah Jane Weaver: I have also seen on social media, a lot of people rallying around the hashtag for the campaign, as well as lending their support.

Aaron Hall: Anybody can use that hashtag #LightTheWorld identifier. What we are able to do at the end of the campaign, is we then can go in and we can see around the world, in various languages, how people are using that as they share light. And so in January, we will collect all of that information and we will get a sense for how many people around the world [participated in the campaign]. Last year, as an example, we had over 40 million people watch the “Light the World” video. So you can see the impact that this might have, as people simply share. It can go viral. And it can get the word out to all of those who want to share the Savior’s light.

25:17

Sarah Jane Weaver: What power in the campaign’s real purpose, which is to connect people to the Savior.

Elder W. Mark Bassett: That’s right. And I love that you like you said, Aaron. We can look at things in January with that hashtag — and now the Facebook page. We can identify ways that we can improve next year. And we will do that. I love that people are doing this and participating to focus more on the Savior Jesus Christ during this season where we recognize His birth. In all that we do, we want to remember: That is what this is about. And how would the Savior reach out and help people? How would He want to help someone that needs school supplies, or Polio vaccine or, you know, contributions to the Alzheimer clinic that your father went to. And He would be focusing on helping these individual people. And this is the way that we can do that, while we’re here, acting as His hands — serving and loving and helping other people as He would.

Jesus declares that he is the light of the world in this scene from a Bible Video.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

26:16

Sarah Jane Weaver: And this is something that we should not just do in the Christmas season, but that we hope everyone will do throughout 2023.

Aaron Hall: It is a wonderful point. It is not 25 days of service, as we said. It is 365 days of service. One of the things that I love from President [Dallin H.] Oaks from the most recent general conference, he talked about the many ways that the Church is involved in humanitarian efforts. But he also linked it to all the wonderful charitable foundations, individuals around the world who are caring for those in need. It inspires us to do more than just what we are doing during the Christmas season. We really want to share this light all year round.

Elder W. Mark Bassett: President Oaks, in that same talk, he encouraged us to serve in the community, and to also reach out and find good causes elsewhere, and get involved. And the other piece that goes 365, is this time maybe helps us a little more, but it’s the principle of love, share and invite. It’s pretty natural to do that during the Christmas season. But we should always be looking outward and saying this is what we’re doing in our congregation, this is what we are doing in our family. Who do I love that I would want to share this with? And might I invite them to participate? That happens 12 months a year, 365 days.

27:37

Sarah Jane Weaver: Yes, certainly the greatest gift we can give the Savior is to testify of Him.

Aaron Hall: Absolutely. One of the great blessings, as we’ve reviewed the Facebook page, or as we see people that are blessing us as individuals or we are blessing others, is that we’re all born with the light of Christ. We all have His light in our eyes. And the opportunity that it gives us to testify of Him, to teach of Him, to consider his ministry, His love for us. What a more powerful way that we have to do this, not only today but every day.

28:12

Sarah Jane Weaver: Well and because we were just talking about President Oaks’ talk, I loved in the talk that he noted that one of the greatest strengths of the Church, is its members and the light that they share.

Elder W. Mark Bassett: Well, and that’s what I’ve seen through this campaign and it just generally. Not just members of the church, but people are good. People want to do good, people want to care for their neighbor and share light and share goodness. And this is just an opportunity to focus on that and to realize that in a dark world, the challenges we face throughout the world and President [Russell M.] Nelson spoke to that in his address at general conference. The source of light in the dark world is the Savior Jesus Christ. And He is the solution to this darkness. He is the source of peace, of goodness. And His gospel is what brings light to a darkened world.

 29:09

Sarah Jane Weaver: And Aaron after working on this campaign for multiple years, I’m wondering if you are willing to share a personal experience that you have had with it?

Aaron Hall: I would love to. I take the opportunity every year with my family to do a “Sub for Santa.” We started this tradition many years ago with my parents. And we go into the community; we work with local leadership to identify a family that is in need. Everyone from the littlest to the oldest, is involved in this effort. We have had so many amazing experiences as we have gone out to bless individuals. As Elder Bassett said, this allows us to turn outward and this turns my family outward. And so, when my kids hear the music, when they watch the video, they know it’s the season when we’re going to go out and bless another family. They get excited about it. As a matter of fact, they asked me the other day, “Dad, what family are we going to be blessing this year?” So it becomes not only something important to my family, it also becomes cultural. It becomes something that we feel will be generational. It started with my parents, we are now doing as parents, and we hope that our children will also carry that tradition forward.

30:24

Sarah Jane Weaver: And this is such a wonderful season for us to not just reflect back, but to reflect forward on all the Savior has done for us. And as we end the podcast, I want to ask the same question that we asked at the end of each Church News podcast. And that is, “What do you know now?” So let’s start with you, Aaron. And I hope you will both also share your testimony of the Savior. But “what do you know now, after working and efforting to light the world?”

Aaron Hall: The first thing is that the Savior Jesus Christ lives. He is the light of the world. He is my Savior. He is my Redeemer. I love the words of Nephi. As Nephi is finishing his writings in the Book of Mormon, and he refers to the Savior as “my Jesus.” I think about that a lot. What Light the World — and what it inspires me to do — is to make sure that I understand, and I fully appreciate that I have a personal Savior, I have a Redeemer. He has atoned for me — for my pains, for my sorrows, for my weaknesses, and, of course, for my sins. I love Him. I know He lives. And so what is the “therefore what?” Light the World, we hope, will inspire all of us to recognize the Savior, Jesus Christ is intimately involved in our lives. His light shines through us. And we have that opportunity to reflect it to others. And I witness that He lives and I share that with you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

31:56

Elder W. Mark Bassett: Amen. Thank you, Aaron. Well, I was just thinking about a couple of verses in the 45th section of Doctrine of Covenants, where it talks about challenges that we are facing in our day to day, In verse 26, of the 45th section, Doctrine and Covenants. It says, “And in that day shall be heard of wars and rumors of wars, and the whole earth shall be in commotion, and men’s hearts shall fail them, and they shall say that Christ delayeth his coming until the end of the earth. And the love of men shall wax cold, and iniquity shall abound.” That’s what a lot of people are facing. They’re seeing wars and challenges and, and even in verse 31, it says, “And there shall be men standing in that generation, that shall not pass until they shall see an overflowing scourge; for a desolating sickness shall cover the land.” It just speaks of what we’ve been through recently with a pandemic and the challenges and commotion. But verse 32, says, “But my disciples shall stand in holy places, and shall not be moved.” I think this is one way we can stand in holy places, our feet firmly planted on the foundation of Jesus Christ. I bear my witness that He lives, that Jesus Christ is an individual Savior. Yes, He is the Savior of the World, but it is about every individual — that His father is our Father, that They love us. And that this opportunity for us to light the world, to focus on the Savior, blesses us as we come to be more like Him, doing the things that He would do. And I am just so grateful that we have this Light in our lives. And now it’s our responsibility to share with others. I bear my witness that Jesus Christ lives that He is the Savior of the world, and that He is the center of all that we do in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

34:03

Sarah Jane Weaver: You have been listening to the Church News podcast. I’m your host, Church News editor Sarah Jane Weaver. I hope you have learned something today about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by peering with me through the Church News window. Please remember to subscribe to this podcast. And if you enjoyed the messages we shared today, please make sure you share the podcast with others. Thanks to our guests, to my producer, KellieAnn Halvorsen and others who make this podcast possible. Join us every week for a new episode. Find us on your favorite podcasting channel or with other news and updates about the Church on TheChurchNews.com