HURON — The Church of Latter Day Saints is building upon the solid foundation set during last year’s event and is promoting a second round of the service program “Light the World.”
Two young men serving the church in the Huron area, Elder Alviso and Elder Fullmer, explained how the program began and its focus during the holiday season.
“Light the World started last year,” Elder Alviso said. “Officers at the LDS global offices came up with the idea and shared it throughout the organization.”
In a nutshell, “Light the World,” encourages participants to show the same light as Jesus, whose birth is celebrated in December, by following His example and serving others.

“It incorporates the teachings into everyday life and brings joy by spreading the spirit of the season,” Elder Fullmer said. “And if someone can do it through the holiday season, perhaps it is something they are willing to continue to do in the future.”
A calendar for Light the World can be found at Mormon.org, with each day highlighted by a verse from either the Bible or the Book of Mormon. Biblical verses are mostly taken from the Gospel of Matthew. Each day has a video to coincide with the service message of the day
“After the success of the program last year,” Elder Alviso said, “it was brought back for this season.”
He said that during the inaugural season of Light the World, more than 8 million views of the video were shown.
“In addition,” Elder Fullmer said, “People can ask for visits from local missionaries — we call them referrals — on the website. Last December, the number of referrals were greater than the rest of the year.”
People are also encouraged to not only offer themselves in service, but to record their actions and add it to the site using the hashtag #lighttheworld.