For those of you unfamiliar with LDS services, we meet each Sunday for THREE hours. The first hour and ten minutes is spent in family worship. All are together for hymns, prayers, the sacrament, and talks by members of the congregation. Yes, regular old members. Ours is a lay ministry, meaning we are a volunteer army and no one gets paid for their service (in fact, we even pay 10% in tithing to the church!).
When I was a little girl my Dad was the Bishop for a number of years. This put him in the role of pastor or father to the congregation. All the while, he continued to practice dentistry to support our family. We do not expect the Bishop to deliver a sermon each week. Instead, under his direction, members of the congregation are asked to prepare what we call a talk on an assigned topic.
Today there were three speakers. The first was a young man about to leave for his first year of college. I was the second speaker. The third speaker was an attorney, the husband of a good friend of mine and a father of two.
We were all asked to speak about building a testimony. I was told to plan on taking about 12 minutes. When I speak, I generally spend a good portion of time reading in the scriptures and other church materials on the topic. Then I put together an outline, and pretty much speak as inspired at the moment, based on my outline.
Yesterday, when I sat down to gel my thoughts for this talk and make my outline, I felt inspired to do things differently. I wrote the whole talk out. I have since realized that this is because I feel like this is a talk I am supposed to share. So I am.
If you are unfamiliar with some parts of LDS doctrine, the following background information may be helpful in understanding parts of my talk:
1. We have a prophet and apostles. Just as Jesus called 12 apostles when he was on the earth, we have a prophet and 12 apostles on the earth today.
2. A General Authority would be someone in a position of leadership over the whole church.
3. We believe that after Christ left the earth and sometime after his apostles died, that the authority to organize and direct Jesus Christ's church was lost from the earth. In 1820, Joseph Smith, confused about the number of churches with contrasting teachings, knelt before God asking in sincere prayer which church he should join. In answer to his humble prayer, Joseph saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. He was called as a prophet and given the authority to restore the church of Jesus Christ to the earth, with the fulness of his gospel. As part of the restoration, Joseph translated The Book of Mormon by the gift and power of God from ancient records kept by prophets who lived in the Americas.
4. Nephi is one of those prophets. Laman and Lemuel were his brothers. Lehi was his father. Lehi was also a prophet.
5. Mormon was another one of those prophets. He compiled and abridged a number of different records into one complete record. Because of his efforts, the book has been called The Book of Mormon.
6. We also accept the King James Version of the Bible in our canon.
7. Lucy Mack Smith is the mother of Joseph Smith.
8. As I mentioned, we have a lay ministry. We all accept church assignments and refer to them as callings. Until two weeks ago, I was serving as the Primary Chorister, which means I taught music to the children ages 3-11 every Sunday. I would have 20 minutes each with the older and younger ones, plus lead the music for our opening exercises. I love that calling, and have been able to do it twice. This time I was in the position for about 2.5 years.
9. Any questions? Feel free to leave a comment, or if you are more comfortable, email me at mindthemommy@gmail.com.Now a picture just to give your eyes a rest as this is a lot of text for one post!!
Keep in mind that this was written to be spoken aloud, not to be read silently. And I do have sources for the quotes, even if I didn't put them down.
How to Build a Testimony
Sacrament Meeting Talk by Kristin
June 13, 2010
"Do not fear what may happen tomorrow. The same loving father who cares for you today will care for you tomorrow and every day. Either He will shield you from suffering, or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace, then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginings."
-St. Francis of Assisi
My cousin-in-law Mandy’s husband Travis was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus in February of 2008. This past Thursday hospice was called in. It has been quite a battle for this family with four young children.
I raised money for Travis and Mandy in running the IL Marathon last month. I have prayed for them. Fasted for them. Cried for them. And yet it is I who have benefitted from our interactions over the last couple of years.
I cannot begin to express how much I admire them. They have shown unyielding optimism, grace, and courage with a steadfast faith in Jesus Christ. There have been some very very difficult times through this cancer. I believe Mandy has exhibited more faith than she even thought she had. This was possible because of the many years that these devoted saints cultivated their testimonies of Jesus Christ and their faith in his plan for us.
When times were good, they were obedient. And when times were hard, they were also obedient. They have seen the hand of the Lord in their lives, even though his will at this time is not what we had hoped it might be.
And they have felt an underlying peace amidst the turmoil.
We can be like Mandy and Travis. Many of you are. Many of you have been, but maybe you need encouragement to step up your game again. In Alma 5:26 we are asked, “And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?”
And still others may just be beginning to build their testimonies. Whatever point we may be at, we are all in this journey together and we all have room to grow.
What is a testimony?
According to apostle Elder Robert D. Hales, “A testimony is the spirit of prophecy. It is a personal revelation from God, revealing the truthfulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.” I love this doctrine of our church. The doctrine which says that we can know for ourselves. In fact, that we should and we must know for ourselves.
God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared to the boy prophet Joseph Smith. He was only 14 years old. After pondering what he had read in the Bible along with the words of local preachers, Joseph knelt before his maker with a firm testimony that his prayer would be answered.
And it was in a most remarkable way. I have not seen what Joseph saw, but I know that he saw it. I have visited the Sacred Grove. I have read the story. I have studied Joseph’s life. I have heard others testify. But that is not why I know.
As Elder Hales explains, “A testimony comes through the Holy Ghost; it makes a deep and lasting impression on the soul.”
I know that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ and that he is the prophet of the restoration because the Holy Ghost has testified of these truths to my soul.
I find the accounts in 1 and 2 Nephi of Lehi and his family most interesting. Laman and Lemuel saw miracles. And yet they remained hard-hearted and unconverted. They did not receive of the Holy Ghost.
Nephi tells us that he has “seen many afflictions in the course of [his] days” yet, he also says that he has “been highly favored of the Lord in all his days;” Why does he consider himself highly favored though he goes through such extreme trials?
He answers: “Yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God.”
Nephi calls himself favored of God because he recognizes the gift of his testimony. The absolute gift of having the Holy Ghost witness to him “great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God.”
Now Laman and Lemuel would probably consider themselves picked on by God. They recognized that they didn’t have what Nephi had. Yet, when they complained about not understanding their father’s words, Nephi asked “Have ye inquired of the Lord?” They had not. The Lord will not drop a testimony in our laps when we have not sought for one.
So how do we build it? What do we do?
Today I’d like to present a six step plan for you based on the words “Desire peace.” Due to recent events with Travis, the greatest blessing of true testimony to me at this time is peace, so it only seems a fitting tribute to his example of faithfulness.
First, desire. We must desire a testimony. Even if our desire is small. Even if we only desire to desire a testimony. It has to start with us. We have agency and God respects this gift he has given us. We must approach the building of a testimony with a desire for the witness of the Holy Ghost in our hearts.
And now we’ll cover peace, letter by letter.
P is for ponder and pray over the messages of the gospel.Lucy Mack Smith said of her son Joseph that he was “less inclined to the perusal of books than any of the rest of our children, but far more given to meditation and deep study.”
We must seek the words of the Lord through the scriptures, attendance at church meetings and family home evenings, and media such as that found on the church website or in the Ensign, particularly the General Conference editions. But merely reading or listening to these words will not sufficiently build our faith and testimonies. We must ponder over the meaning of what we’ve learned, even when it might be difficult. We can and should pray for understanding.
Nephi heard the words of his father Lehi in describing the vision of the tree of life. In 1 Nephi 11:1-3:
“For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, as I sat pondering in mine heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain, which I never had before seen, and upon which I never had before set my foot.
And the Spirit said unto me: Behold, what desirest thou?
And I said: I desire to behold the things which my father saw.”
I LOVE this. Absolutely love this example. At this time Nephi is not yet a prophet. He is a member of the church. He has a great desire. He has faith. He seeks the word of God. He ponders over it, and he wants to know for himself. He goes before the Lord and receives his own amazing witness.
E is for expect the Lord to answer, and expect that we are capable of receiving those answers.Brothers and sisters, I testify that special and sacred spiritual experiences accompanied by the witness of the Holy Ghost are not reserved for General Authorities or those in positions of leadership. We all can have powerful experiences which leave that deep and lasting impression on our soul as Elder Hales described.
Whether we serve in the nursery or as a family history worker. Whether we have ancestors that knew Joseph or whether we are newly baptized as the first convert in our family. Whether we are primary-aged or a great-grandparent. Male or female. We can expect the Lord to answer. We can expect the Holy Ghost to testify of these truths to our hearts.
As I shared in my last week as the Primary Chorister with the Senior Primary, Mormon was only 10 years old, TEN, when Ammaron pulled him aside and called him to be the keeper of the sacred records. He was given some years to continue his preparation, being told that he would take this responsibility on at age 24, yet he still received this calling when he was only 10. He had a solid testimony at the age of 10.
We are not perfect parents, but in our home we began a nightly devotional a few months before our oldest child was born which we have faithfully continued through the present day. We read in the scriptures, sing a church song, and hold family prayer each night before bed.
We teach our children that God knows them, and expect that they are capable of understanding more about the gospel than I believe many people expect that children can understand. We do not read a set amount of verses or pages. We do stop often along the way and discuss and explain and teach so our children can better understand what we have read.
A is for accept truth revealed and build on it. The Lord has many ways to confirm the choice of a marriage companion. The witness I received that the Lord wanted for Dave and I to be married was truly powerful beyond my ability to adequately describe it.
A family member of mine was adamantly opposed to my choice to marry Dave, and wore me down over the months of our engagement. Because of my very close relationship with this person, I began to doubt the truth that had been revealed to me. It was a difficult time. A few weeks before our wedding day, I checked myself in to the Comfort Inn with inspirational music, my journal, and my scriptures as I needed to commune with God alone.
I obviously went through with the wedding. Nearly 12 years and five children later my only regret is that I did not hold fast to the truth which I had been given to know. I rejected the strong witness I had been given, desiring to have greater and additional, almost continual witnesses. And so I back-pedaled and experienced a great deal of darkness.
Though this example does not illustrate truth about a specific doctrine, I think it accurately shows what happens when we do not accept the truth we have been given through personal revelation and build on it. We will back-pedal and the light we had will be diminished rather than made brighter.
C is for course correct as necessary.As we learn more about the principles of the gospel and God’s commandments, we must make course corrections in our lives so that we are living in harmony with the light and knowledge we have been given. Testimonies are built through obedience.
We cannot expect God to answer when we have not done our part to be worthy of such answers. Of course we will make mistakes. God does not expect perfection from us in this life. But when we recognize such mistakes, we must take action to utilize the Atonement, repent of our past sins, and strengthen our resolve against future sin.
On a related note, if we are struggling to build our testimony of a particular principle or commandment, from tithing or Sabbath day observance, to temple attendance or modesty, we must live the teaching first, and then the witness of the Holy Ghost will come and testify that it is true. Remember John 7:17, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God.”
E is for express your testimony and share it with others.Bear your testimony in church and to your family. Bear it to your friends, maybe just explaining about a particular principle of the gospel which has blessed your life.
Make written records. Nephi, after explaining that he had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God ended that first verse of 1 Nephi with “therefore, I make a record of my proceedings in my days.”
I testify that if you will make and share a record of the experiences that build your testimony, of thoughts and ideas which sink deep into your soul through the power of the Holy Ghost that they will be a blessing to those who read your words. They will strengthen your children. They will strengthen your friends, and they will strengthen you at times when you are struggling.
Building a testimony is vitally important to our eternal salvation. It is a lifelong pursuit. I challenge you to proactively desire peace by choosing one thing you can do better to build your testimony this week and then in the words of President Spencer W. Kimball, “Just do it.” To review the ideas I’ve shared:
1. Desire for your testimony to be strengthened.
2. Ponder and pray over the messages of the gospel.
3. Expect the Lord to answer, and expect that we are capable of receiving those answers.
4. Accept truth revealed and build on it.
5. Course correct as necessary.
6. Express your testimony and share it with others.
In conclusion, may I share these thoughts of Elder Hales:
“Most of us will not see God, as the prophets have, but the still, small promptings of the Spirit—the thoughts and feelings that the Holy Ghost brings into our minds and hearts—will give us an undeniable knowledge that He lives and that He loves us.
Gaining this knowledge is ultimately the quest of all God’s children on the earth....The strength and peace that come from knowing God and having the comforting companionship of His spirit will make your efforts eternally worthwhile.”
I testify that this is true. That Jesus Christ is real and that we are blessed with the opportunity and responsibility to know of the truthfulness of his gospel for ourselves. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
