Standing in darkness at noon day - not taking advantage of the Gospel

Joseph Smith said something very similar to, "if Saints will not live below their privileges, the angels cannot be constrained from being their companions".

This is something that Dieter Uchtdorf spoke about in Priesthood session of General Conference. Here's how he concluded that talk:

My dear brethren, may we diligently seek to learn the doctrine of the holy priesthood, may we strengthen our testimonies line upon line by receiving the revelations of the Spirit, and may we find true joy in daily priesthood service. As we do these things, we will begin to live up to our potential and privileges as priesthood holders, and we will be able to “do all things through Christ which strengtheneth [us].”

Notice that it is our privilege to serve and our privilege to bring others to Christ, and in so doing we will have joy and help from above.

The gospel provides access to great help from above. The key to having all of this help is living the gospel fully. Another verse in which the Lord talks about a similar concept is in D.C. 95:

6They who are not chosen have sinned a very grievous sin, in that they are ^awalking in ^bdarkness at noon-day.

This is a verse talking about building the temple prior to being able to "prune the vineyard" or preach the gospel. Remember from Elder Bednar's famous talk on "tender mercies" that we decide through our living if we are chosen or not.

It is important to know the Lord's stance on the temple - if we are not taking advantage of it, then we are choosing to live in greater darkness than is necessary. Certainly attending the temple is one of our privileges, and the Lord and Prophet are going to great lengths and investing much time and money into making sure that there are temples close to every people.

One other example showing how important temples are is the fact that the Prophet always opens conference by talking about the temples that have been dedicated in the last six months. Of all things he could choose to talk about, this is the one consistent item he brings up. It certainly shows its priority.

We should also make attending the temple a priority because without it we are likely standing in darkness at noon day. (I understand some may not live close and some may have difficult obstacles in getting to the temple. Just do your best. :)

Have a good day.