We all have times when darkness surrounds us so much we can’t see any ray of light offering hope for a brighter tomorrow.  That’s life, something all of us experience at one time or another.  Of course, there’s always hope because there’s always Christ.  The Light of the world can light our way so we can see and take the next step in our eternal journey.

The dawn will always come.  The sun will always rise, offering the hope of a new day.  Whatever darkness surrounds us is never permanent.  In this universe created for our journey in mortality, there’s always hope because there’s always Christ.

As great as it feels to step out of darkness into the light, there’s always someone experiencing a dark time, so whenever we sit in sunshine, someone else droops in darkness.  Do we remember our own experience with darkness enough to turn our hearts in compassion towards them?

Sailors looking for the blessed shore in the dark have always sought the lighthouse — the beacon of hope as well as the warning of nearby danger.  No matter our own individual circumstances, we all can lift those who despair in the darkness.  We can be the lighthouse.

In the Sermon on the Mount, the Light of the world taught His disciples to shine their own lights, because “a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light to 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).

Certainly our righteous works can shine the light of example for others to follow.  But our light can shine also from our attitude, our faith, and our hope that the sun will always rise and bring a new day.  We can each believe in the bright and glorious future our Heavenly Father has prepared for each of us in this life.

When we share that attitude, faith, and hope with others, we help them see their full potential.  And seeing that potential is the first step to achieving it.  Reaching out to others also exemplifies what we all must do to press forward towards achieving that potential, since no one achieves anything meaningful in life alone.  We all need a larger community in order to become our best selves and live our best life.

Involving that larger community, however, can present a real challenge. Its greatest blessing is also its greatest bane.  You can’t feel a sense of community unless the action occurs in both directions.

If we aren’t reaching out to each other from both directions, one group will inherently feel disenfranchised.  It’s common to see marrieds reach out to marrieds.  But marrieds also need to reach out more to singles, singles need to reach out more to marrieds, and singles need to reach out more to each other.

A part of that reaching out needs to involve education.  We need to help each other to become aware of the connections we have to one another as fellow citizens of the Kingdom.  Notice I didn’t say responsibilities or duties.  I said connections.  We’re all interconnected, even if we don’t feel we are.  The challenge is for all of us to begin acting in ways that help everyone feel more palpably those already extant connections.

That’s where being the lighthouse can take center stage.  When we stop putting each other into boxes, quit looking through generational lenses, and see each other as God sees us, we both see more clearly our connections to others and provide an example for others to see the same for themselves.

And that’s when the real magic happens.  When you’re part of a community where each member truly cares about everyone, everyone can draw hope and strength from the love that permeates the group.  Everyone both is connected and feels connected.

But that can’t happen until everyone plays their part.  Many marrieds are so caught up in their own world that they aren’t likely to take the initiative towards that wonderful unity of the faith.  That means we singles must make the first move.  We must be the change we seek in the world.

So be the lighthouse.  Shine your light of goodness into the world around you.  Make your unique contribution that can bring hope and encouragement into the lives of others.  When you adopt your own personal ministry to improve the lives of others, you’ll find your own life improved.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.

Long time audience members know I’m not much for social media.  But occasionally I do dip my toe in the pool.  And despite the infrequency of my visits, I do notice trends.  One I observed recently is the continual appearance of memes that claim to know all about real men.

These memes would have us believe real men always follow the natural hunter instincts buried deep within them.  If he wants a woman, so say these memes, a real man won’t hesitate to chase after her.  So, they conclude, if a man isn’t obviously chasing after a woman, then that woman should stop hoping for a relationship with said man because clearly the man isn’t interested.

Seeing something like this once, I just shake my head.  But several appearances make a trend.  And that concerns me more, especially since these folks don’t seem to know much about real men.

Our modern society likes to idealize everything.  But that’s nothing new.  Ancient Greek statues consistently show figures of perfect proportions even though the distribution of body shapes in their society was undoubtedly not very different from our own.  We could say likewise about the Romans.

So it’s no wonder that some would think real men are perfect.  After all, no one dreams of living forever with imperfection.  Everyone dreams of living forever with perfect.

But perfect doesn’t exist in mortality because every mortal is imperfect.  The Brethren have repeatedly taught that the perfect marriage is not the union of two perfect people living happily ever after but rather the union of two imperfect people working together towards perfection.  That means real men are imperfect.

These imperfections will often manifest as some issue.  And that issue could prevent a man from publicly indicating any interest in a woman.  Primordial instincts may make men the hunter gender, but primordial instincts don’t take precedence over the psychological forces of the present day.

Real men have imperfections.  Real men have issues.  Some of the those issues we created in each other.  Women who complain about not receiving any invitations to go out and then reject casual dating invitations have trained many men into inaction.  Likewise men whose actions teach that perfection is a prerequisite to being loved have trained  many women to devalue themselves.

The idea that men always go after what they want can’t possibly describe real men.  That’s an idealized fantasy which makes no allowance for the reality that everyone’s imperfect.  To get to know a real man — I mean, really know him — you need to know his reality: his real hopes, his real dreams, his real challenges, and his real imperfections.

The story has been told of a Latter-day Saint who was inspired to look up a scripture referenced in a sacrament meeting talk.  Having that smartphone handy, this citizen of Zion executed the task right then and there.  Soon thereafter, this same member received an email from a fellow ward member that went something like this: “I used to admire you, but that was before I saw you use your smartphone in sacrament meeting.  I can’t believe you would do something so irreverent.”

Sometimes things are not what they appear to be.  Likewise, real men don’t always display the idealized behavior.  They’re imperfect people with issues.

Everything said here about real men could also be said about real women.  Real women are imperfect and have issues.  And you’ll never know a real woman until you know her reality.

In the end, real people want real — real relationships with real people; real compensation from a real career; and real rewards from a real life that really moves them closer to their goals and dreams.  They recognize the reality of their challenges but also the reality of their potential to grow and conquer those challenges.

Over four years ago, I declared my desire for real.  I still hold that desire today.  I’ve long since tired of the typical LDS singles life that has me doing the same things over and over while moving me no closer to my goals and dreams.  I want real.  And that’s something you’ll never get from social media memes that don’t understand what real really is.

When we see real men and women for what they really are — people with real imperfections and real issues in the real world — we begin to recognize they aren’t all that different from us, because we too have real imperfections and real issues in the real world.  As we come to embrace that reality, we also embrace the beauty found in the wonderful tapestry that’s the core of God’s work in this real world.  And that will bring us more joy in our journey.

Life knocked me down earlier this week.  While waiting for a student who had an appointment to see me, the text I didn’t expect appeared in my phone.  My father announced my mother’s decision to stop eating and drinking.  She just wanted to die.  After reading that message, I just wanted to die.

My mother has been battling a host of medical conditions for a few years now, most prominently anxiety as a mental disorder and mystery pains no one can properly diagnose.  The anxiety turns every mole hill into a mountain.  So her mystery pains have become an insupportable burden.

My mother has several doctors, each one adding (and frequently changing) their contribution to the soup of medications she takes daily.  The bulk of those doctors, overburdened by long patient lists, often seem more interested in processing my mother through a system rather than listening to her and helping her with her concerns.

I can understand why she just wanted to end it all.  Yet it broke my heart to think of her following through on her decision.  Emotionally I felt like a bus had run me over.  I found it hard to do anything productive.  My world seemed at a standstill.

I visited with my mother the next morning.  She seemed worse than ever, but had an appointment to see one of her doctors.  My time being limited, I tried to use what I had to best advantage.

I always hug my mother when I visit, but this time I hugged her tighter, held her closer, and told her how much I loved her.  Then I couldn’t help myself from breaking into tears.  The mere thought of losing her simply crushed me.

Later I learned about her doctor visit.  There’s something about walking into a doctor’s office and asking for help to die that captures the doctor’s attention.  After a lengthy discussion, the doctor was able to convince my mother to submit to some more tests and exercise patience while he searches more intently for a solution to her mystery pains.

I joined with the rest of the family in thanking the Lord for His merciful hand.

As they’ve have played themselves out, these events have highlighted the opportunity for reflection.  Of course, I know my mother will one day die; death comes to everyone.  It’s the thought of it happening so soon that knocks me over.

Many LDS singles are so wrapped up in the pursuit of their own blessings they don’t think about losing the blessings they already have.  They’re so busy looking for that one special love that they let opportunities to strengthen their love for the family and friends already in their life pass by and expire.

That’s not a singles thing; that’s a human thing.  It’s normal to craft a world for oneself and then get lost in that world.  But the events of this week have brought me to question if I’m busy enough with the greater, weightier matters and too busy with matters of lesser importance.

Am I focusing first on those elements that matter most?  Do the people I care most about know I love them in word and in deed?  Or have I been too occupied in other pursuits to attend to those relationships?

My pondering upon recent events leaves me with a few powerful lessons that apply to us all.

1. Schedule regular holistic reviews of your life.  Life has a way of tugging at us with tides that can slowly steer our ship off course into less-than-desired destinations.  Every so often we need a check to make sure we’re putting first things first.
2. Be consistent in your attentions to what matters most.  The expressions of love I gave my mother this week were long overdue.  People need to know they’re loved and to be reminded of that regularly.  My relationship with my mother might have been much more than it is now had I been more consistent.
3. Don’t wait for love.  Too many LDS singles are waiting for that special someone to love when they already have many people to love in their lives.  We need to recognize and take advantage of the opportunities we all already have to give and receive love.

I don’t know when that special someone will become a part of my life.  But I know I already have several someones who are special to me today.  We all do.  When we put first things first, we don’t need to wait for love.  We can feel love in our lives today and every day, no matter how long it takes for that eternal companion to join us.  And that will bring us more joy in our journey.

Many LDS singles feel bereft of hope when they don’t see any obvious opportunities for the eternal marriage they desire.  Fundamentally, their lack of hope doesn’t differ from anyone else struggling to realize righteous desires.  For example, infertility plagues many righteous married couples desiring biological children.

Yet in all cases hope abounds.  If you can’t see the way forward, please consider this question: Are you operating out of your memory or your imagination?  Your focus becomes your reality, so when you focus on the failures you’ve known, your reality becomes filled with more of those failures.  But when you focus on the success you can imagine, your reality becomes filled with possibility.

We all can access redemption in every sense of the word because of Christ and His glorious Atonement.  No matter how dark or bleak your circumstances may appear, you always have reason to hope.  There is always hope because there is always Christ.

How do you feel this great truth when all around you seems dismal?  Almost all of us believe very readily in miracles that Christ performed among a people most of us don’t know in a land far away which most of us haven’t seen.  Yet when it comes to believing in miracles performed in our own lives and in our own backyard, we respond more slowly.  We need to start believing Christ.

What do you do when things you don't want to happen do in fact happen?  Knowing God has apportioned a time when all wrongs will be righted makes patience easier.  Knowing a just God won’t wait to right our wrongs when the time to right them is right also encourages patience.  There is always hope because there is always Christ.

Still, longing can pain the heart in the present moment.  Because your focus determines your reality, focusing on your pains always yields a reality of pain.  Focus instead on the Savior so that He becomes your reality.  Believe Him when He said, “Come unto me . . . and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).  His strength can give you strength.

Christ never taught that all of His promised blessings would be distributed like a buffet lunch — first come are first served and everyone else will just have to wait.  He wants all to enjoy all of His promised blessings.  That means you.

Because you're unique in personality and demeanor, so also are the gifts you've been given to help you achieve your full potential.  Just as in the parable of the talents, all who improve upon what they've been given, whatever that original amount may be, will receive the joy of the Lord.  That joy can fill you now as well as in times to come.  There is always hope because there is always Christ.

Yes, Christ wants all to enjoy all of His promised blessings.  Yet some saints, because of where they are in their life journey, may not be ready for some of those blessings.  So if you're yearning for that special someone and wonder why you don't have the blessing you desire, consider that you might not be ready.  Or maybe your companion isn’t ready.  Or perhaps the time is right for both of you and you simply need to get busy doing the right things.  In any case, Christ can help you take the proper next step.  There is always hope because there is always Christ.

If you operate out of your memory, then you're seeing with no more than your physical eyes.  That means ultimately you'll have no hope, because you don’t physically see the means to achieve your desires.  Even here, there is always hope because there is always Christ.

Christ can help you operate our of your imagination, which means seeing with spiritual eyes.  He can help you to see what’s there but not seen with physical eyes.  What you want may be right in front of you, but because of how you think, you might not recognize it.  Expand your definition of an opportunity, and you’ll see paths you couldn’t see before.

Christ can also help you to see what’s not now in existence because it has yet to be created.  What you desire may be something He creates for you.  Or maybe you need to create it for yourself.  In all cases, Christ will help you to do whatever is needful for you to receive all of the blessings He desires to give to you.  There is always hope because there is always Christ.

Don’t ever stop living for the righteous blessings you desire.  And don’t ever lose hope.  No matter your situation, there’s always something you can do to move forward.  There is always hope because there is always Christ.  When you feel that hope, you’ll have the comfort of knowing the Savior is right by your side to help you along.  And that will bring you more joy in your journey.