. . . the enemy of righteousness also works in little steps, so small that they are hard to notice if you are thinking only about yourself and how great you are. Just as truth is given to us line upon line and the light brightens slowly as we obey, even so, as we disobey our testimony of truth lessens almost imperceptibly, little by little, and darkness descends so slowly that the proud may easily deny that anything is changing.
Interpretation
This quote warns about the gradual decline into darkness through disobedience, contrasting it with the incremental gain of truth through righteousness.
Henry B. Eyring's quote highlights the subtlety with which negative influences can lead individuals away from righteousness. Just as one may not notice the gradual accumulation of light and truth by following good principles, they may equally fail to perceive the slow descent into darkness caused by pride and disobedience. This gradual process can lead to a significant loss of truth and testimony, emphasizing the importance of being mindful and aware of one's actions and their consequences.
In practice
In a motivational speech about personal growth and self-awareness.
My point is to urge you to find ways to recognize and remember God’s kindness. It will build our testimonies. You may not keep a journal. You may not share whatever record you keep with those you love and serve. But you and they will be blessed as you remember what the Lord has done.
Increased spiritual strength is a gift from God which He can give when we push in His service to our limits. Through the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, our natures can be changed. Then our power to carry burdens can be increased more than enough to compensate for the increased service we will be asked to give.
Whether or not you choose to keep your covenant to always remember Him, He always remembers you.
What all of us long for in our hearts, at Christmastime and always, is to feel bound together in love with the sweet assurance that it can last forever.
We cannot control what others choose to do, and so we cannot force our children to heaven, but we can determine what we will do. And we can decide that we will do all we can to bring down the powers of heaven into that family we want so much to have forever.
It is serving God and others persistently with full heart and soul that turns testimony of truth into unbreakable spiritual strength.
We think of prayer as a preparation for work, or a calm after having done work, whereas prayer is the essential work.
A famously wise old man in a village was once asked how he came by his wisdom. "I got it from my good judgment," he answered. And where did his good judgment come from? "I got it from my bad judgment."
We are all important, but we are not indispensable.
Sometimes it takes darkness and the sweet_x000D_ confinement of your aloneness_x000D_ to learn_x000D_ anything or anyone_x000D_ that does not bring you alive_x000D_ is too small for you.
Increasingly, people seem to misinterpret complexity as sophistication, which is baffling -- the incomprehensible should cause suspicion rather than admiration.
Problems call forth our courage and our wisdom; indeed, they create our courage and wisdom.
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