The Light of Christ is a doctrine of the

Latter Day Saint movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

, including

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church), that is defined as "the divine energy, power, or influence that proceeds from God through Christ and gives life and light to all things.""Light of Christ"
churchofjesuschrist.org. The Light of Christ is "the law by which all things are governed in heaven and on earth" and is often said to bestow

conscience Conscience is a cognitive process that elicits emotion and rational associations based on an individual's moral philosophy or value system. Conscience stands in contrast to elicited emotion or thought due to associations based on immediate sens ...

upon people."Light of Christ"
''True to the Faith'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: LDS Church, 2004) p. 96. The doctrine teaches that the light of Christ is given to every person.

Doctrine and Covenants The Doctrine and Covenants (sometimes abbreviated and cited as D&C or D. and C.) is a part of the open scriptural canon of several denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. Originally published in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants of the Chur ...

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John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

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Care is often taken to distinguish the light of Christ from the

Holy Ghost For the majority of Christian denominations, the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, is believed to be the third person of the Trinity, a Triune God manifested as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, each entity itself being God.Grud ...

Boyd K. Packer Boyd Kenneth Packer (September 10, 1924 – July 3, 2015) was an American religious leader and educator who served as President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church), president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jes ...

"The Light of Christ"
'' Liahona'', April 2005.Brent Bulloch
"I Have a Question: What is the difference between the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Christ, and the Light of Christ?"
''

Ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

'', June 1989. The Holy Ghost is believed to be a divine spirit personage and a member of the Godhead who can exert spiritual influence on mortals. The light of Christ is not a personage and is more ubiquitous and universal: "Wherever there is human life, there is the Spirit of Christ." Any person can feel the Holy Ghost from time to time, but only people who have been

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

and

confirmed In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

by the appropriate priesthood authority can have the Holy Ghost with them always. The light of Christ guides people to the gospel of Jesus Christ and prepares them for the time that they will receive the Holy Ghost through confirmation. A writer in an LDS Church magazine acknowledged that "There is still much that we do not know about the nature and power of the Holy Ghost and the Light of Christ."

Notes

{{reflist Latter Day Saint belief and doctrine Latter Day Saint terms

See also

Notes