Isaiah asked if any who fear and obey the Lord walk in darkness. The answer, of course, is “no.” He then stated that those who “walk in the light of [their own] fire and in the sparks which [they] have kindled … shall lie down in sorrow” (2 Nephi 7:11). Many people in our day trust themselves or other people above the Lord; they rely on the arm of their own flesh and follow their own light rather than trusting in God (see D&C 1:19–20; 133:70–74).
The Savior is the Light of the World. It is unwise for us to attempt to replace His light with light that we have created (see 3 Nephi 18:24). President Joseph F. Smith (1838–1918) warned against those who falsely teach, using their own light when preaching “false doctrines disguised as truths of the gospel.” He said they are “the proud and self-vaunting ones, who read by the lamps of their own conceit; who interpret by rules of their own contriving; who have become a law unto themselves, and so pose as the sole judges of their own doings” (Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed. [1939], 373).