. . . 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.
Sometimes you don't know if you're Caesar about to cross the Rubicon or Captain Queeg cutting your own tow line.
Yet it is in our idleness, in our dreams, that the submerged truth sometimes comes to the top.
In order to acquire intellect one must need it. One loses it when it is no longer necessary.
In temptations against chastity, the spiritual masters advise us, not so much to contend with the bad thought, as to turn the mind to some spiritual, or, at least, indifferent object. It is useful to combat other bad thoughts face to face, but not thoughts of impurity.
Being the Stream Meditation is not just a rest or retreat from the turmoil of the stream or the impurity of the world. It is a way of being the stream, so that one can be at home in both the white water and the eddies. Meditation may take one out of the world, but it also puts one totally into it.
Thinking should become your capital asset, no matter whatever ups and downs you come across in your life.
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