The Admonition from the Savior in the Sermon on the Mount to let our light shine to the world is one that still holds great weight today. To fully understand what is required of us to let our light shine, we will examine a number of scriptures that relate to the parts of this admonition.
Matthew 5:14-16 (KJV)
“Ye are the light of the world”
“A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.”
“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 (KJV)
15 Neither do men light a acandle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16 Let your alight so shine before men, that they may see your good bworks, and cglorify your Father which is in heaven.
“Ye are the light of the world”
45 For the aword of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is blight, and whatsoever is light is cSpirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.
Light and truth forsake the evil one.
When the scriptures use the word World it means people or humanity. The word earth means the actual planet.
“A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.”
A city is a gathering place. A place of organization.
“On a hill” - a defensible position.
Mountains are symbolic in many cultures, and in the scriptures especially, of the meeting of heaven and earth. Mountains are symbolic of Temples, where God can communicate with Man.
Hills are less than mountains, but still above the earth.
Keep in mind that Sodom and Gomorrah were known as two of the “Cities of the Plain” (see Genesis 19:25-29).
“Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel”“The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly.” (Prov. 20:27 emphasis added)
Hebrew tradition is that thoughts emanate from the heart, and feelings (or emotions) come from the bowels, or the belly.
So another way to say the proverb above is to say that the Spirit of Man becomes the shared Light from the Lord, searching (or pondering and understanding) and enlightening the innermost feelings.
A bushel is a unit of measurement. We can interpret this as a container or a basket of a certain size to measure grain. Grain is the staff of life or the requirements of worldly survival.
When the Light of Truth from the Lord gives enlightenment and understanding to thoughts and emotions, the physical requirements of the world cannot hide or overcome that Light.
Remember Parley P. Pratt reading The Book of Mormon for the first time.
“I opened it with eagerness, and read its title page. I then read the testimony of several witnesses in relation to the manner of its being found and translated. After this I commenced its contents by course. I read all day; eating was a burden, I had no desire for food; sleep was a burden when the night came, for I preferred reading to sleep.
“As I read, the spirit of the Lord was upon me, and I knew and comprehended that the book was true” (Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt, p. 20).
“But on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.”
Candlesticks are witnesses. There are two candlesticks mentioned in Revelation 11:4, and seven candlesticks in Revelation 2. (see also Bible Dictionary: Candlestick)
In the Old Testament, the candlestick in the Temple of the Lord was of beaten gold, all in one piece. It included several components, but they were all crafted from the same piece of gold (see Exodus 25:31-37). There were no seams. It was not several pieces, crafted separately and then brought together; it was of one piece. We can interpret this symbolically, “That which gives Light is not divided, but is one.”
To give light or truth to all who are in the house is to continually share truth and understanding and enlightenment with those who are closest to you.
“Let your light so shine before men”
This is the admonition from the Savior to let your light, or the light of truth which has place in you, so shine before men.
“That they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in Heaven.”
Already you are not hidden. They (the world, those around you) know who you are, and they know what you are. Do good, that they may be brought to know the truth, or, barring that, know that you know the truth.
In this way our Heavenly Father is glorified. His work and His glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of all men (Moses 1:39).
This starts with a single light shining in the darkness, awakening that divine spark in those who are asleep.
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