Ether 8:16

And they were kept up by the power of the devil to administer these oaths unto the people, to keep them in darkness, to help such as sought power to gain power, and to murder, and to plunder, and to lie, and to commit all manner of wickedness and whoredoms.

In Satan's unending ploy to usurp God's power, he offers his followers his own brand of power. We access God's power through righteous covenants. Satan offers his followers power through unhallowed oaths. God's power enables us to serve him by serving his children. Satan's power enables his minions to serve him by enslaving and destroying God's children. The fruits of God's power are love, peace, and joy. The fruits of Satan's power are momentary pleasure followed by misery and destruction. The differences between the true power of God and the imitation power of Satan are obvious in the bright light of day.  But Satan does not work in the light. And to the impatient and prideful natural man in each of us, Satan's brand of power can be appealing. May we hold to the light and seek that power that lifts and ennobles and fits us for service in God's kingdom.

Ether 6:3

And thus the Lord caused stones to shine in darkness, to give light unto men, women, and children, that they might not cross the great waters in darkness.

Christ is the rock of redemption and the chief cornerstone, which shines in the darkness of a fallen world so we do not have to navigate mortal life in the dark.

3 Nephi 18:24

Therefore, hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall hold up—that which ye have seen me do. Behold ye see that I have prayed unto the Father, and ye all have witnessed.

Christ is the perfect example in all things. He knows who he is, and he invites us to come to know him and to emulate him in every respect. No one else can claim such loyalty from us. No one else is deserving of such loyalty.

3 Nephi 18:16

And as I have prayed among you even so shall ye pray in my church, among my people who do repent and are baptized in my name. Behold I am the light; I have set an example for you.

We do not appreciate today the importance of light because we take it for granted. We live in a society of electric light available any hour of any day at the flip of a switch. The occasional power outage gives us an temporary glimpse into a dark world, but we endure the inconvenience because we know the lights will eventually come back on. They always do.

In the time of Christ, however, light was not so readily available. When the sun went down, it got very dark for the vast majority of people. Only the very rich could afford to burn oil lamps and tallow candles all night. For the rest, when the sun set, the day was done, and they had to wait for sunrise to receive light again.

Christ offers constant spiritual light. His light will never be dimmed by a blackout. Those who look to Christ will not be trapped by the long night of darkness. The light of Christ is always available at the flip of a switch called faith.

3 Nephi 8:20-21

And it came to pass that there was thick darkness upon all the face of the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen could feel the vapor of darkness; And there could be no light, because of the darkness, neither candles, neither torches; neither could there be fire kindled with their fine and exceedingly dry wood, so that there could not be any light at all;

When a person loses the light of Christ in his life, he can do nothing to create his own light. Christ is the Light, the only Light.

Helaman 5:47

Peace, peace be unto you, because of your faith in my Well Beloved, who was from the foundation of the world.

Faith in Christ brings peace. We cannot be distraught by the calamities of the world if we believe Christ has overcome the world. We cannot despair of life of we believe Jesus is the Life. Our lives cannot seem too dark if we believe Jesus is the Light. Despite the trials, Christ has promised to not leave us comfortless.

Alma 26:3

Behold, I answer for you; for our brethren, the Lamanites, were in darkness, yea, even in the darkest abyss, but behold, how many of them are brought to behold the marvelous light of God! And this is the blessing which hath been bestowed upon us, that we have been made instruments in the hands of God to bring about this great work.

Every day we can be an instrument in God's hands for the work he has placed us here to do. We may not convert a nation of Lamanites, but we can teach a child or help a neighbor or ease the burden of someone or lift a spirit or show someone God's love. Each day we can do something wonderful if we listen for God's whisper in our ear and follow his direction.

Alma 9:19

For he will not suffer you that ye shall live in your iniquities, to destroy his people. I say unto you, Nay; he would rather suffer that the Lamanites might destroy all his people who are called the people of Nephi, if it were possible that they could fall into sins and transgressions, after having had so much light and so much knowledge given unto them of the Lord their God;

Once we have the truth of the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we are under a heavier burden of responsibility than are those who do not have the gospel. God expects more of us: more obedience, more faith, more service, more humility, and more charity. He is not going to just save us, he is going to exalt us. That is a higher standard, which requires a higher level of life.

Mosiah 26:4

And they would not be baptized; neither would they join the church. And they were a separate people as to their faith, and remained so ever after, even in their carnal and sinful state; for they would not call upon the Lord their God.

When we choose to pray, light comes into our life. But when we choose not to pray, the light goes out of our life. It is hard to make good decisions about anything else spiritual when we have decided not to pray.

Second Nephi 11:4

Behold, my soul delighteth in proving unto my people the truth of the coming of Christ; for, for this end hath the law of Moses been given; and all things which have been given of God from the beginning of the world, unto man, are the typifying of him.

Nephi teaches us here to look to all things as evidence of Christ and the plan of salvation that he has worked out through his atonement. Christ is the Light, the Rock, the Living Water. We must develop the eyes to see. The signs are all around us if we learn to look.

Second Nephi 7:11

Behold all ye that kindle fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks, walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks which ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand—ye shall lie down in sorrow.

Whether we walk in the dim light of our own conceit or accept the life-giving Light of the World is our choice. We may think we have light and truth in our intellectual pursuits, but without revelation, we see only sparks. The time will come when we will see what we have missed, and we will be sorry we did not open our hearts to the fullness of the gospel.

Second Nephi 7:10

Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness and hath no light?

Some may appear to keep the commandments and believe in God, yet they may nevertheless ignore the Holy Spirit and refuse to accept revelation. This describes the leaders of the Jews in Jesus’s day. They were zealous towards the Law, and yet they missed the point of the Law and refused the light Jesus offered them. Let us not be Pharisees who refuse the light when it is offered to us.