The Light of the World
By John A. Tvedtnes

[Supplement to Gospel Doctrine New Testament lesson 15]

“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).

The apostle John is the only gospel writer who preserved the concept of Jesus being the light of the world. In the beginning of his account, he wrote of Jesus, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:4-5; cf. D&C 6:21; 11:28-29).

He then added that John the Baptist had come “to bear witness of the Light: (John 1:7) and noted that Christ “was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9).

Unfortunately, not all the earth’s inhabitants accept Christ as their guide. “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God” (John 3:19-21).

John also preserved for us the account of the healing of a man born blind, whom Jesus healed (John 9). Explaining what he was about to do, the Lord told his disciples, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 9:4-5).

Just as the blind man recovered the ability to perceive light, Christ also opens our spiritual eyes to discover truth. “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness” (John 12:46).

John described this spiritual light in one of his epistles: “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:5-7).

The Light and the Life

Alma declared to his son Shiblon, “And now, my son, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me that there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the light of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and righteousness” (Alma 38:9). Many other scriptural passages speak of Christ as the light and the life of the world. [1]

The reason that Christ is the light and the life of the world is “because the world was made by him, and in him was the life of men and the light of men” (D&C 93:9). This is explained in detail in D&C 88:5-13:

Which glory is that of the church of the Firstborn, even of God, the holiest of all, through Jesus Christ his Son — He that ascended up on high, as also he descended below all things, in that he comprehended all things, that he might be in all and through all things, the light of truth; Which truth shineth.

>This is the light of Christ. As also he is in the sun, and the light of the sun, and the power thereof by which it was made. As also he is in the moon, and is the light of the moon, and the power thereof by which it was made; As also the light of the stars, and the power thereof by which they were made; And the earth also, and the power thereof, even the earth upon which you stand.

And the light which shineth, which giveth you light, is through him who enlighteneth your eyes, which is the same light that quickeneth your understandings; Which light proceedeth forth from the presence of God to fill the immensity of space — The light which is in all things, which giveth life to all things, which is the law by which all things are governed, even the power of God who sitteth upon his throne, who is in the bosom of eternity, who is in the midst of all things.

From this, we learn that the power by which Christ created the worlds is light that proceeds from the presence of God throughout the universe — an idea also reflected in Abraham Facsimile 2, Figure 5. Alma explained that “all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator” (Alma 30:44). The same thing is reflected in D&C 88:47-50:

Behold, all these are kingdoms, and any man who hath seen any or the least of these hath seen God moving in his majesty and power. I say unto you, he hath seen him; nevertheless, he who came unto his own was not comprehended. The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not; nevertheless, the day shall come when you shall comprehend even God, being quickened in him and by him. Then shall ye know that ye have seen me, that I am, and that I am the true light that is in you, and that you are in me; otherwise ye could not abound.

The Light of Christ

Among the modern revelations received by Joseph Smith is D&C 93, which draws upon and explains portions of the gospel of John.[2] In verse 2, Christ says, “I am the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” In another revelation, we read that “the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ. And the Spirit giveth light to every man that cometh into the world; and the Spirit enlighteneth every man through the world, that hearkeneth to the voice of the Spirit” (D&C 84:45-46).

also wrote of “the light of Christ unto life” (Alma 28:14). Latter-day Saint leaders have often compared this light, which each mortal possesses, to the human conscience. The idea derives from a sermon delivered by Mormon:

And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged. Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren, that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ (Moroni 7:18-19).

Early Jewish texts also speak of “the light of the Messiah.” According to Midrash Rabbah Genesis 1:6, the words “the light dwelleth with him” in Daniel 2:22 refer to the Messiah. “When R[abbi] Hizkiah was once studying with R[abbi] Eleazar, he asked him: ‘How many lights were created before the world was created?’ He answered: ‘Seven: namely, the light of the Torah, the light of Gehenna, the light of the Garden of Eden, the light of the Throne of Glory, the light of the Temple, the light of repentance, the light of the Messiah” (Zohar, Leviticus 34b). Pesikta Rabbati 36.1 holds that the light created by God in Genesis 1:4 was the Messiah. According to Midrash Rabbah Genesis 1:6, Rabbi Abba of Serungayya said that the words “light is sown for the righteous” in Psalm 97:11 “alludes to the royal Messiah.”

Moses Gaster, in a compilation of “Hebrew Visions of Hell and Paradise,” cited paragraph 20 of the Revelation of Rabbi Joshua ben Levi, in which we discover the belief that only the Messiah can open the gates of she’ol, the realm of the dead. In the passage, we read of “the light of the Messiah” which those in prison realized could free them.[3]

Indeed, the early rabbis spoke of a light that will signal the arrival of the Messiah:

The whole world then shall see a light extending from the firmament to the earth … that light will stand between heaven and earth in the land of Galilee ... and there will he reveal himself ... On that day the whole earth will be shaken from one end to the other, and thus the whole world will know that the Messiah has revealed himself in the land of Galilee (Zohar, Genesis 8b-9a).

Compare this with Joseph Smith’s explanation: “Then will appear one grand sign of the Son of Man in heaven. But what will the world do? They will say it is a planet, a comet, &c. But the Son of Man will come as the sign of the coming of the Son of Man, which will be as the light of the morning cometh out of the east” (History of the Church 5:337).

The idea derives from Jesus’ statement in Matthew 24:26-27, 29-30:

Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be ... Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

After his return to earth, Christ will actually provide light. Describing his vision of the latter-day Jerusalem, the apostle John wrote, “And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof” (Revelation 21:23; see also 7:16; 21:24-25; 22:5).

Sin and the Devil Remove Light

The apostle Paul wrote that “the god of this world [Satan] hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:4-6).

A similar idea is found in D&C 93:36-40:

The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth. Light and truth forsake that evil one. Every spirit of man was innocent in the beginning; and God having redeemed man from the fall, men became again, in their infant state, innocent before God. And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience, from the children of men, and because of the tradition of their fathers. But I have commanded you to bring up your children in light and truth.

The Lord has also warned that “that which doth not edify is not of God, and is darkness. That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day. And again, verily I say unto you, and I say it that you may know the truth, that you may chase darkness from among you” (D&C 50:23-25).

He also declared, “He that keepeth his commandments receiveth truth and light, until he is glorified in truth and knoweth all things. Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be. All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence. Behold, here is the agency of man, and here is the condemnation of man; because that which was from the beginning is plainly manifest unto them, and they receive not the light. And every man whose spirit receiveth not the light is under condemnation” (D&C 93:28-32; cf. D&C 82:3). [4]

On the other hand, “if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things” (D&C 88:67). [5]

Let Your Light So Shine

Having received the light of Christ, we have a special commission, expressed in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount: “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an 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. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16).

When delivering the same sermon to the Nephites in the land of Bountiful, the risen Savior said, “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” (3 Nephi 18:2).

In Joseph Smith’s day, the Lord explained that his followers “were set to be a light unto the world, and to be the saviors of men; And inasmuch as they are not the saviors of men, they are as salt that has lost its savor, and is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men” (D&C 103:9-10).

Nephi explained that it is wrong for mortals to “set themselves up for a light unto the world” (2 Nephi 26:29). For this reason, the Lord commanded, “Wherefore, thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore” (Moses 5:8). It is Jesus we must glorify through our good works, which are inspired by his spirit. “He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death” (Mosiah 16:9).

For additional material relating to this lesson, see John A. Tvedtnes, “The Blind God,” posted on the Meridian web site at http://www.meridianmagazine.com/ancients/050503blind.html

For an introduction to the books of the New Testament and in-depth discussions of each verse in the New Testament, see Kevin L. Barney (ed.), John H. Jenkins, and John A. Tvedtnes, “Footnotes to the New Testament for Latter-day Saints,” go to: http://feastupontheword.org/Site:NTFootnotes

[1] Ether 4:12; D&C; 10:70; 11:28-29; 12:9; 14:9; 34:2; 39:1-2; 45:7-9.

[2] See the discussion on pages 7-13 of my “Introduction to the Gospel of John,” posted at http://feastupontheword.org/images/d/db/10_John.pdf.

[3] Moses Gaster, “Hebrew Visions of Hell and Paradise,” in Gaster, Studies and Texts (1928, reprinted New York: Ktav, 1971), 1.148.

[4] The devil and those who follow him will be cast into “outer darkness,” where they no longer have access to the light of Christ.

[5] Paul wrote that “all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light” (Ephesians 5:13).

Click here to sign up for Meridian's FREE email updates.