Total Eclipse of the Son

On August 21, 2017, we all had the opportunity to witness a solar eclipse, and if you were in the right area of the world at the right time, you had the privilege to see the moon completely black out the sun, leaving the earth in complete darkness.

While those who experienced this phenomenon (which lasted for only a few minutes), were awed and inspired, it made me think about the spiritual eclipses that we personally create in our own lives.

I have found so many analogies in nature, and I believe that the sun is a great analogy for the Son (i.e. Jesus Christ).

The sun provides light for all in the world. Jesus Christ provides spiritual light for all in the world.

Without the sun, we would die (the world would be cold and without light). Without Christ and His Atonement, we would all spiritually die from our sins and have no hope to return to live with our Father in Heaven.

And sometimes, like a physical eclipse of the sun, we create our own spiritual eclipses that take precedence over Jesus Christ in our life, creating spiritual darkness in our lives.

Exodus 20:3 states, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” And while normally we might think that we keep this commandment with totality because we don’t carry around mini gods made out of wood or clay, we have other gods or idols (or what I like to call Son-blockers) in our life today.

The dictionary defines an idol as “a person or thing that is greatly admired, loved, or revered” and that I might add, “we put before God.”

If, then, an “idol” is anything that we put before God, the question to ask yourself is, “What things in my life do I put before God? What do I do that takes time away from developing my relationship with Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father through scripture study, prayer, and attending church?”

Idols can be things or hobbies or jobs or sports or idle time wasters, etc.—anything that we put before God, anything that takes time away from our relationship with God. These idols are not necessarily bad in themselves. In fact, hobbies and jobs and sports can be great things! It is when we put them BEFORE God that they become idols. And when we put these things before God, the Spirit is weakened in our life, and we experience spiritual darkness. We, in essence, block out the Son with our idol…just like an eclipse.

You’ve met these individuals in spiritual darkness before. They are all around. Maybe this individual has even been you at one point. They feel dissatisfied, unhappy, unloved, lonely, in despair, etc. (Not to say that you won’t have low points when you’re doing what’s right. You will. But with faith in the Savior and the Atonement you will also have one of the most powerful things that a human being can have—HOPE.)

In 3 Nephi 8, complete and total darkness covered the land of the Americas after the death of Jesus Christ. In fact, that darkness was so thick that the inhabitants could actually FEEL the darkness “and there could be no light…neither candles, neither torches; neither could there be fire kindled with their fine and exceedingly dry wood, so that there could not be any light at all” (3 Nephi 8:20-21). And the inhabitants didn’t rejoice during this time of darkness like we did during the eclipse. In fact, this immense darkness lasted THREE DAYS! And during that time, “there was great mourning and howling and weeping among all the people continually; yea, great were the groanings of the people, because of the darkness” (3 Nephi 8:23).

Can you imagine being in thick darkness like this for THREE days? And not just in normal darkness but darkness after there had been immense destruction in the land—fire and earthquakes and floods and storms. Three days of stumbling around in the darkness, probably stumbling over fallen buildings and broken up roads. Three days of not being able to find your loved ones—wondering if they’re even still alive. Three days of thinking—because that’s all you could really do—thinking about what you’ve done wrong in your life and what you wish you could change.

It sounds horrible to me when I think about it like that, but, honestly, there are people out there in spiritual darkness just like this right now, and they don’t know what to do or even think that light is possible in their life now. They are stuck in a perpetual spiritual eclipse, not even realizing that the brilliant light of the Son is right beyond their reach.

And perhaps your eclipse is not completely total in your life. Maybe you’ve put something small before God, and it’s only partially blocked out the Son and created that sort of weird greenish light that happens when the sun is half blocked. But it’s still blocking that spiritual light, leaving you living in a life that you feel could be so much more than it is!

The solution to all of these eclipses? The Atonement of Jesus Christ.

In the midst of their thick darkness, the people in 3 Nephi heard the voice of Christ who commanded the people to repent. He said, “Will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?” (3 Nephi 9:13). He simply told them to come unto Him—make the first step, be willing to restart a better relationship with Him. And then…the darkness lifted. And the true miracle really happened. The resurrected Jesus Christ descended out of the heavens and stood in the midst of them, declaring, “I am the light and the life of the world” (3 Nephi 11:11). He invited them to come to him one-by-one and feel the prints of the nails in his hands and feet. He taught them. He healed their sick. He blessed their children. He prayed with them. He instituted the sacrament among them. He called disciples. He did so much among them, and then he left to go back to his Father. And the people were changed. And for over 200 years, the people lived in peace and happiness because they had experienced Christ in their life and really lived what He taught them.

The same can happen for us. The Lord invites us to simply repent and come unto Him, and He will help us cast away our idols and Son-blockers so that we can truly experience the radiant spiritual light that comes from living a life dedicated to Him.

So I invite you to…

1. Identify those eclipses or Son-blockers in your life

2. Repent

3. Have a desire to have a better relationship with Christ

4. Act on that desire by simply picking up your scriptures and saying a simple prayer

I can promise you that as you set aside those Son-blockers in your life, that you will feel the love of God and His light shine in your life, and you will be amazed at how brilliant that light really is!