The Light of the Restoration

This semester in my Foundations of the Restoration religion class, we were asked to choose a semester long project that would help us apply the Restoration of the Gospel to ourselves. This Restoration was completed through Joseph Smith, a prophet led by God to restore His truths on the Earth. It all started when he had a question about what path he should follow and he asked God about it. I decided for my project that I wanted to try to express my feelings of the Restoration by taking pictures of things that represent my testimony.

Here is the first picture:

To me, the first thing that came to my mind when thinking about the Restoration was light. The Restoration brings light to my life and provides enlightenment for my understanding.

Not only does the Restoration bring light to my life, but it brought and still brings light to the rest of the world. Joseph Smith found himself in darkness and confusion as to which church was the right one, but upon finding out that none of them were and that he would be called to restore the true church like the one Christ established, the Earth would never again be the same. Light was restored, and it never will be removed from the Earth again.

When I saw this sunset, I sat in my car for a few minutes admiring it and its beauty. I find myself doing the same with the Restoration (or the gospel in general); I catch myself in small moments contemplating the purpose that the gospel brings to my life and wondering what it would be like if I did not have it. The gospel defines me and has shaped me, but most of the time, I do not consciously recognize and appreciate its beautiful influence on me. However, I always appreciate when those small moments come and I am reminded with all I have been blessed with and how I have been guided in my life.

God lives. He wants to guide us, and has provided us many ways to find light in our lives. Like the light at the end of the tunnel, He guides us through the darkness, taking our hand and walking with us step by step, until we find the light. And I think that is a process that happens multiple times in our lives when we have to rediscover the light. At least that is what has happened in my life, and I am grateful for each and every time.