Bishop's Office

A Precious Testimony
by Bishop Alana Andrus

My Dear Brothers and Sisters, the most important knowledge you can obtain in this life is a testimony of the Saviour Jesus Christ and of His restored Gospel. All other truths necessary for your earthy and eternal happiness are contained therein. It is vital that one have a clear understanding of what a testimony is, and what it is not. To that end, I have compiled some thoughts on testimony that I wish we all might understand and discuss with our children.

Brigham Young stated, “Your testimony will grow gradually through your experiences. No one receives a complete testimony all at once. Your testimony will grow stronger through your experiences. It will expand as you show your willingness to serve in the Church, wherever you are called. It will increase as you make decisions to keep the commandments. As you lift and strengthen others, you will see that your testimony continues to develop. As you pray and fast, study the scriptures, attend Church meetings, and hear others share their testimonies, you will be blessed with moments of inspiration that will bolster your testimony. Such moments will come throughout your life as you strive to live the gospel.”

A valid testimony of the gospel is based on the following three factors:

1. A spiritual conviction. The individual must have a true spiritual confirmation and revelation that the Church is true…one knows that the gospel is true through the power of the Holy Ghost.

2. A practical conviction. The gospel must work in the life of the individual so that he actually enjoys the gifts and fruits of the Spirit. In other words, one knows the gospel is true because it works when he lives it.

3. An intellectual conviction. There must be a rational consistency between the theology, religion, scriptures, and prophets, both living and dead. In other words, one knows the gospel is true because it’s reasonable and makes sense.

“A testimony is a spiritual witness given by the Holy Ghost. The foundation of a testimony is the knowledge that Heavenly Father lives and loves us; that Jesus Christ lives, that He is the Son of God, and that He carried out the infinite Atonement; that Joseph Smith is the prophet of God who was called to restore the gospel; that we are led by a living prophet today; and that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Savior’s true Church on the earth. With this foundation, a testimony grows to include all principles of the gospel” (True to the Faith, Testimony, 178–79).

“Testimony comes through the quiet influence of the Holy Ghost. The results of a testimony can be miraculous and life changing, but the gift of testimony usually comes as a quiet assurance, without spectacular displays of God’s power. Even Alma, who had been visited by an angel and had seen God sitting on His throne, needed to fast and pray so he could receive a testimony through the power of the Holy Ghost (see Alma 5:45–46; Alma 36:8, Alma 36:22). - Brigham Young

“Remember these saying, for many of you will live to see them fulfilled. The time will come when no man nor woman will be able to endure on borrowed light. Each will have to be guided by the light within himself. If you do not have it, how can you stand?” (Life of Heber C. Kimball, pp.446, 449-450)” (Harold B. Lee in CR, 1965, p.128).

A valid testimony includes belief in the following truths:

1. God is a glorified and exalted man who is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient with a body of flesh and bones and who lives in the family unit and we are literally His spirit children.

2. Jesus Christ is the literal Son of God in the flesh and therefore had the capacity to perform the atonement and, through His literal resurrection all who pass through mortality will likewise be resurrected, soon or late, with literal, perfect, physical bodies. A testimony of Christ hinges on the resurrection: “I believe that a testimony of Jesus Christ hinges on a belief in the resurrection. If Jesus rose from the dead, he is the Son of God! If he is the Son of God, his gospel is true! If his gospel is true, men must believe or disobey at their peril!” (Bruce R. McConkie, “Gaining a Testimony of Jesus Christ, Ensign 10 (December 1980): 11).

3. Joseph Smith’s First Vision was a real historical event during which he literally saw the Father and the Son.

4. The Book of Mormon chronicles historical reality and is true as are the other Standard Works of the Church and was translated by the gift and power of God by the Prophet Joseph Smith.

5. Joseph Smith was a prophet of God through whom the modern gospel dispensation was restored and over which he presides today.

6. Because of the baneful effects of the Great Apostasy, the priesthood and its keys have been restored by heavenly messengers and are operative in the Church today.

7. The plan of salvation or the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true and contains the principles, ordinances, and covenants which give access to the full blessings and graces of the Atonement.

8. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is “the only true and living Church upon the face of the whole earth, with which I, the Lord, am well pleased” (see D&C 1:30) and as the earthly Kingdom of God it will triumph in all nations in preparing a people for the millennial reign of Christ.

9. The keys of the kingdom were transferred by Joseph Smith to the Quorum of the Twelve in March, 1844 and have been held by every man who has presided over the Church to the present day.

10. President Monson is a living prophet of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Do not exhort each other; that is not a testimony. Do not tell others how to live. Just tell how you feel inside. That is the testimony. The moment you begin preaching to others, your testimony ended. Just tell us how you feel, what your mind and heart and every fiber of your body tells you” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 158).

“Oh, if I could teach you this one principle. A testimony is to be found in the bearing of it! Somewhere in your quest for spiritual knowledge, there is that ‘leap of faith,’ as the philosophers call it. It is the moment when you have gone to the edge of the light and stepped into the darkness to discover that the way is lighted ahead for just a footstep or two. (President Boyd K. Packer, Ensign, Jan. 1983, 54–55).

“Testimony meetings are some of the best meetings in the ward in the whole month, if you have the spirit. If you are bored at a testimony meeting, there is something the matter with you, and not the other people. You can get up and bear your testimony and you think it is the best meeting in the month; but if you sit there and count the grammatical errors and laugh at the man who can’t speak very well, you’ll be bored, and on that board you’ll slip right out of the Kingdom. Don’t forget it! You have to fight for a testimony. You have to keep fighting! Every month the First Presidency and the Twelve meet with all the General Authorities in the temple. They bear testimony... Why do the General Authorities need a testimony meeting? The same reason that you need a testimony meeting. Do you think that you can go three, and six, and nine, and twelve months without bearing your testimony and still keep its full value? Some of our good people get so terrified at triteness that they try to steer around and away from their testimonies by getting out on the fringes. Don’t you ever worry about triteness in your testimony? When the President of the Church bears his testimony, he says, “I know that Joseph Smith was called of God, a divine representative. I know that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.” You see, the same thing every one of you says. That is a testimony. It never gets old, never gets old! Tell the Lord frequently how much you love him. A testimony is not an exhortation; a testimony is not a sermon; it is not a travelogue. You are there to bear your own witness. It is amazing what you can say in 60 seconds by way of testimony, or 120, or 240, or whatever time you are given, if you confine yourselves to testimony. We’d like to know how you feel… Do you love the Lord?” (Spencer W. Kimball, “President Kimball Speaks Out on Testimony,” New Era, Aug. 1981, 4)

Finally, men captained by Christ will be consumed in Christ. To paraphrase President Harold B. Lee, they set fire in others because they are on fire. (Stand Ye in Holy Places, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1974, p. 192.)