A FEW YEARS ago, the youth group of our church decided to hike to the top of Mount Timpanogos, located in Utah.
They decided that it would be an unforgettable experience if they left the trailhead at midnight and got to the top in time for the sunrise.
I offered to watch our small children and my wife and three teenage daughters went on this adventure.
Beforehand, I had gone to a discount store in town and bought four headlamps for their hike.
It turns out that after about 20 minutes of hiking, all of their headlamps went out.
They had to climb the mountain with treacherous cliffs — all without their own light.
At the trailhead, the elevation is 7,360 feet. At the top of the trail, the elevation is 11,749 feet.
It’s a strenuous hike in the daylight. At night, it can be quite dangerous.
As you can imagine, I was very disappointed to find out that the headlamps had stopped working — although, probably not as disappointed as my wife and three daughters.
Luckily, they had others around them with good flashlights.
When the world is dark, sometimes we are the ones with a light for others.
Other times, we are the ones who need the light.
Dark times
In 2018, there was a severe windstorm that came through the Olympic Peninsula.
It took down trees and the entire area was without power.
Some were without power for days.
I remember that we were at my in-laws when the power went out.
They have an old oil lamp that sits on their fireplace mantle, almost more as decoration.
As it grew dark, we lit that oil lamp.
It was the only light that we had other than our phones, which would soon die without a power source.
We put this oil lamp on the kitchen table.
We couldn’t do much, so we sat around the table talking and sharing stories.
My children thought that it was a lot of fun.
We got a fire going in the wood stove, and soon it was warm and we had light.
There was something very comforting about having light.
When Jesus taught the Sermon on the Mount, He said, “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house” (Matthew 5:14-15).
Here this lamp was on the table and, just like in the scripture, it was giving light unto all in the house.
During this particular evening, as the power outage continued, we tried to think of anyone in the neighborhood who might need some help.
We decided to go visit an elderly couple down the street to make sure that they were safe.
We had a lovely visit with them and they appreciated us checking in on them.
We didn’t physically share any light with our neighbors as the other hikers did for my wife and daughters on Mount Timpanogos.
I think that Jesus was teaching more about sharing our inner light than physical light.
We let our light shine before others when we serve others.
When we turn outward and see what we can do for a friend, a neighbor or a stranger, we shine our light.
Each of us is given the light of Christ.
It is in our nature to be kind to others, to help the poor and needy, and to have charity towards our fellow man.
We are not to hide this light under a bushel.
Let us find ways to brighten someone’s day and let your light so shine.
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Issues of Faith is a rotating column by five religious leaders on the North Olympic Peninsula. Bishop Jason Bringhurst is the leader of the Mount Pleasant Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Port Angeles. His email is jasonbring@gmail.com.
