What once was so clear has again become blurred, hazy and distant.

“The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)

President Uchtdorf uses this scripture in his talk this past conference. He says that, “ if we remove ourselves from the light of the gospel our own light begins to din – not in a day or a week but gradually over time – until we look back and can’t quite understand why we had ever believed the gospel was true. Our previous knowledge might even seem foolish to us because what once was so clear has again become blurred, hazy and distant.”

This is the way it happened to me after my husband died. I suppose I was in shock, but I stopped progressing for a while. I still went to Church, still read scriptures and said my prayers. They were rote prayers, without fervor or feelings, more out of habit than out of admiration and praise. One day I woke up and realized I was not where I wanted to be. I began the road back as slowly as I had traveled away. I’m still not where I used to be, but I’m closer. It is a process. Knowing that Jesus is the Christ is not enough, because Lucifer also knows he is the Christ.

President Uchtdorf goes on to say. “The Church is a place of welcoming and nurturing, not of separation or criticizing… In the end, we are all pilgrims seeking God’s light as we journey on the path of discipleship. We do not condemn others for the amount of light they may or may not have; rather, we nourish and encourage all light until it grows clear, bright and true.”   

I have to amend his words a little. I would say we Should not condemn others, and when we are wounded by our imperfect Brothers and Sisters we should forgive them as they perfect themselves. President goes on to say, “Let us acknowledge that most often gaining a testimony is not a task of a minute, and hour, or a day. It is not once and done. The process of gathering spiritual light is the quest of a lifetime.”