Sunrise

I like to think that there are spiritual messages in just about everything. This is especially true about the rising and falling of the sun. Firstly, the sun is an obvious parallel for The Son, possibly symbolizing His death and Resurrection, and the promise of rebirth we all have because of His. Secondly, the pattern of light and darkness could remind us of the pattern of righteousness and wickedness that we see repeatedly in The Book of Mormon and in the world in general, especially on an individual level. But mostly, the one lesson I want to learn from this cycle is Hope. No matter how dark the night gets, the sun will rise again.

The world has a lot of darkness in it, as does just about every human heart. When this darkness surfaces, it's easy to get cynical, thinking that this darkness represents the person's true nature and/or how the real world really is. When darkness prevails, we sometimes think that the darkness is real and permanent and that the light is fleeting, if not illusory or imagined.

However, the light is just as real as the darkness is, and it always returns. Sometimes things have to get terribly dark before people return to the light, but the light always returns to us when we do. We sin daily, but the Spirit returns to us the instant we repent. There are some evil people, but there are just as many good people, even though that's an over-simplification. No one is all bad or all good. Light and darkness exist in all of us, and they surface in cycles, just like the rising and falling of  the sun.

So, when light prevails, stay vigilant and alert to the threat of rising darkness, and when darkness prevails, hold on to the light inside of you and wait for the sunrise. The world is a dark place right now, but we have God's promise that the sun will rise again.