A
testimony is a personal conviction of gospel truths, based on knowledge
revealed by the Holy Ghost. Most Church
members have a testimony of some principle of the gospel, and on this
foundation a more complete testimony can be built. A testimony motivates us to live righteously,
and righteous living causes a testimony to grow. A testimony of the Savior and his gospel is
essential to our exaltation.
A testimony is really quite simple and has three
main elements as explained by Elder Bruce R. McConkie, who was a member of the
Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: "A
testimony in our day consists of three things:
It consists of the knowledge that Jesus is the Lord, that he is the Son
of the living God who was crucified for the sins of the world; it consists of
the fact that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God called to restore the gospel
truths and be the revealer of the knowledge of Christ for our day; and it
consists of knowing that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the
only true and living Church upon the face of the whole earth, the one place
where salvation is found, the organization which administers the gospel and
therefore administers salvation to the sons of men" (in "Gaining a
Testimony of Jesus Christ," Ensign,
Dec. 1980, 15).
The three elements described by Elder McConkie
are critical for a testimony because they are the foundation for a testimony of
other gospel truths. Everything in the
gospel of Jesus Christ depends on these three elements.
It is important that we know for ourselves that Jesus is our Savior, that Joseph Smith was
called to be a prophet, and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints is the only true church on the earth.
We cannot depend on the testimonies of other people. We can be taught and inspired by them, but
ultimately we can only gain a strong testimony when we feel the witness of the
Holy Ghost ourselves.
"When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea
Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man
am?
"And
they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias [Jeremiah],
or one of the prophets.
"He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I
am?
"And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art
the Christ, the Son of the living God.
"And Jesus answered and said unto him,
Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for
flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in
heaven" (Matthew 16:13-17).
Peter testified of the truth that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of the living God. He
gained this personal knowledge when Heavenly Father revealed it to him through
the Holy Ghost. We know that Heavenly
Father reveals truth through the Holy Ghost because the ancient American
prophet, Moroni Moroni
Peter had walked with Jesus and witnessed the many
miracles that Jesus performed, but he received his testimony just as we can and
do. Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum
of the Twelve Apostles stated: "The
original Apostles were eyewitnesses to the ministry and resurrection of the
Savior (see Acts 10:39-41)….
"[But] an eyewitness was not enough. Even the witness and testimony of the
original Apostles had to be rooted in the testimony of the Holy Ghost. [President Joseph Fielding Smith] has told us
that the witness of the Holy Ghost makes an impression on our soul that is more
significant than `a visitation of an angel'" (Ensign, May 1983, 80).
Each of us can obtain a testimony of Jesus Christ
and his gospel. President Gordon B.
Hinckley stated, "Every Latter-day Saint has the responsibility to know
for himself or herself with a certainty beyond doubt that Jesus is the resurrected,
living Son of the living God" (Ensign,
May 1983, 80).
Another ancient American prophet named Alma
described how we can gain a testimony by likening the word of God to a
seed: "But behold, if ye will awake
and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a
particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this
desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place
for a portion of my words.
"Now, we will compare the word unto a
seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed
may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if
ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the
Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel
these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves - It must needs
be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to
enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me." .
"But
behold, as the seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, then you
must needs say that the seed is good; for behold it swelleth, and sprouteth,
and beginneth to grow. And now, behold,
will not this strengthen your faith?
Yea, it will strengthen your faith:
for ye will say I know that this is a good seed; for behold it sprouteth
and beginneth to grow.
"And now, behold, because ye have tried the
experiment, and planted the seed, and it swelleth and sprouteth, and beginneth
to grow, ye must needs know that the seed is good" (Book of Mormon - Another Testament of Jesus Christ, Alma
Alma continued:
"And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care, that it may
get root, that it may grow up and bring forth fruit unto us. And now behold, if ye nourish it with much
care it will get root, and grow up, and bring forth fruit.
"But if ye will nourish the word, yea,
nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence,
and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root;
and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life" (verses
37 and 41).
Once the word of God has grown in our hearts, we
must nourish it. As we work diligently
and exercise faith and patience, we can develop testimonies of individual
doctrines and principles of the gospel.
Our testimonies can grow to include more gospel truths as we progress
spiritually. Continued righteous living
helps nourish the portion of our testimonies that we have already
obtained. There are many ways that the
Lord has provided for us to experiment on his word and strengthen our
testimonies. [Previous posts have been
about faith, repentance, the gift of the Holy Ghost, prayer, fasting, personal
revelation, patriarchal blessings, scripture study, following the prophet, and
Church service - all principles that help strengthen testimonies.]
As we strengthen our testimonies, our testimonies give
us strength. Elder John B. Dickson of the Seventy presented an example of how
we can gain strength by knowing the truth.
"I am reminded of a little village called Panacaxtlan, situated
where the coastal plains meet the mountains of central Mexico
"A short time later, a meeting was called in
Panacaxtlan at which Church members were given the following options: denounce the Church, leave the village, or be
killed (not an idle threat).
"The members, particularly the women, said
they knew the Church to be true and would not denounce it. They also indicated they had worked just as
hard as the rest of the community to secure their homesteads, and they would
not leave. Boldly stepping forward, they
told their taunters if they were going to kill them, to get on with it. The moment grew tense as machetes were
raised, then finally lowered while the Latter-day Saints stood up for that
which the Spirit had testified to them to be true.
"These Saints eventually learned, as most of
us do, that it is harder to live the gospel day by day than to die for it in an
instant, but their early commitment came because the Spirit had touched their
hearts and changed their lives. Their
conversion process had taken place as the Book of Mormon helped build their
faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God" ("The Incomparable
Gifts," Ensign, Feb. 1995, 7).
The fact that the Saints in Panacaxtlan had the
courage to stand up for the Church testifies of their testimonies. They obviously had received confirmation
through the Holy Ghost or else they would not have stood firm. We can follow the example of the Saints in
Panacaxtlan when we stand up for the gospel and the Church in whatever
situation we may encounter.
Most members of the Church will not be asked to
die in defense of their beliefs, but we are all asked to "live the gospel
day by day" as Elder Dickson said.
Daily life presents many obstacles to everyone. Choosing to live the gospel takes much more
courage that choosing to die for it.
Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve
Apostles explained one way we can strengthen our testimonies: "Share
your testimony …. Let others know
that you know. Bear your testimony in
fast meeting. Tell your family; tell
your friends. You will find when you
share your testimony it becomes stronger, and there are many others around you
who also want to embrace the truth" (Ensign,
Nov. 1994, 22).
President Gordon B. Hinckley stated, "None
of us ever need hesitate to speak up for this Church, for its doctrine, for its
people, for its divine organization and divinely given responsibility. It is true.
It is the work of God" (Ensign,
Nov. 1996, 51).
I can
say that I know for myself that we have a loving Father in Heaven who sent His
Son, Jesus Christ to earth to atone for our sins. I know that they live! I also know that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God called to restore
the gospel truths and be an instrument in the hands of God in revealing the
knowledge of Christ in our day. I know
that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true and
living Church upon the face of the whole earth.
I know that the Book of Mormon -
Another Testament of Jesus Christ is the word of God. I know these truths because I studied them
out, asked God if they were true, and received confirmation from the Holy Ghost
that they are true. I invite you to read
the Book of Mormon - Another Testament of
Jesus Christ and learn the truth for yourself.
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