What does it mean to bear testimony?
Show video: LDS.org “Testimony of Thomas S Monson”
What is funny about this cartoon? (Image from The Redheaded Hostess)
You have to know for yourself.
Richard G Scott: “Honestly evaluate your personal life. How strong is your own testimony? It is truly a sustaining power in your lie, or is it more a hope that what you have learned is true?… Does your testimony guide you to correct decisions?”
Answer questions on “Where do I stand with my own personal testimony?” found here.
- It is OK to answer “Not Yet”. Testimonies come a little at a time.
* For most, receiving a testimony takes time, it doesn’t come overnight. We might be doing all the right things and still feel like we don’t have a testimony or that our testimony is not strong enough. Don’t get discouraged. Someone who is 6’4” didn’t become that height overnight, nor do talented piano players play Bach’s Minuet in G their first day. Remember that sometimes when we are seeking our testimonies, it’s not that we’re not doing the right things, we just haven’t done the right things long enough. (“How” John Hilton III & Anthony Sweat)
“You can say ‘I Know’” Brad Wilcox
“I don’t like it when people stand in testimony meetings and say, ‘I know,’” said one teenager. “You can’t know stuff like that. You can believe or have faith, but you can’t know!”
Really? But what about when Jesus said, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3), or when He said, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32)? We can know, but there are different kinds of knowledge: knowledge through experience, knowledge through study, and knowledge through revelation. Though we may sometimes feel like our knowledge is incomplete, that doesn’t mean that we don’t know. Just because a gas tank isn’t full doesn’t mean it’s empty. With every new drop of experience, study, and revelation, we fill our tanks—we can say, “I know.”
Knowledge through Experience
We gain a testimony through experience as we participate in the Church and interact with other members. We attend classes and activities. We go to sacrament meeting, where we partake of the sacrament. We worship the Savior and learn of Him. We sing hymns, prepare and give talks, and participate in interviews. We know what it is like to live as Latter-day Saints because we have experienced it firsthand. And though we may not always recognize it, the Spirit is there, which helps us receive knowledge.
Even the youngest Primary children can legitimately bear a strong testimony based on experience. Christ taught, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine” (John 7:17). Young people who “do” by being active in the Church know much more than they give themselves credit for. Even if they have not yet received an intense spiritual witness, they can still stand and bear testimony from their experience.
(“How?” John Hilton III & Anthony Sweat) There are many levels of testimony:
I hope it’s true . . .
I think it’s true . . .
I believe it’s true . . .
I know it’s true . . .
Example, if I told you that your ring finger is less flexible than your other fingers?
Do you hope, think, believe, or know that is true?
What is the only way to move from I hope to I know? We must experiment and test it out.
Do the following:
1. Put your hands together, palm to palm
2. Keeping your palms together, see if you can separate your pointer fingers. Can you do it? Good, now keeping your palms together fold your pointer fingers over.
3. With your palms together and pointer fingers folded over, try to separate your pinkey fingers. Can you do it? Good. Now fold those over.
4. What about your thumbs, and your middle finger? Good. Fold those over.
5. Now with your palms firmly pressed together and all your fingers folded over except your ring finger, try to separate your ring fingers from each other. Interesting, isn’t it?
So how many of you now know your ring finger is less flexible than your others?
Gaining a witness of spiritual things is much the same: When we first experiment and act in obedience, then the testimony comes.
Knowledge through Study
A testimony obtained through study is gained as we learn the revealed word of God and find answers to our questions (see Alma 17:2). Again, the Spirit is there through this process, though we may not always recognize it. For instance, people who study the gospel with the missionaries often start to gain a sense that all the puzzle pieces are finally fitting together. They see ideas confirmed that they have always felt to be true and discover a broader perspective.
While serving as young missionaries in Chile, my companion and I were walking down a street in the city of Los Andes. Across the way, a lady leaned out of her window to shake a blanket and said, “Good morning, elders.” She then disappeared into her house. I was surprised by her greeting. I walked up to the door, knocked, and when the woman answered, I asked, “How did you know us?”
She invited us in and explained that she and her husband had been two of the first people baptized in that community many years earlier. They had loved the Church until they had been offended. They now attended another church. “Now we know the Mormon Church is not true,” she said, retrieving a book titled something like Everything You Want to Know about the Mormons and written, of course, by a non-LDS author.
I glanced at the first few pages. I wasn’t an expert in Church history, but I knew Joseph Smith did not claim to see two angels named Urim and Thummim! “Not all this is true,” I said to the woman. “Look, if you want to know about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, talk to us. We’ll help you.”
That was the beginning. In the weeks that followed, my companion and I watched the members of this family add to their testimony tanks through study. They became active in the Church, but relying only on experiences in the Church was not enough to see this sister and her family through when the going got rough. Now, because they had also studied hard and found answers on their own, they each could say, “I know.”
Knowledge through Revelation
The third level of testimony comes through revelation—when the Holy Spirit bears witness to our spirits and we recognize it. President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876–1972) said, “When a man has the manifestation from the Holy Ghost, it leaves an indelible impression on his soul, one that is not easily erased. It is Spirit speaking to spirit, and it comes with convincing force” (Answers to Gospel Questions [1979], 2:151).
One evening, after a testimony meeting at an Especially for Youth, a young man with tears streaming down his face approached me and said, “I know. I know. I have learned for myself.”
I was struck by what he said because it was almost exactly what Joseph Smith said when he walked out of the grove and into his home in 1820. As Joseph leaned against the fireplace, his mother asked what the matter was. He replied, “Never mind, all is well—I am well enough off.” He then said, “I have learned for myself” (Joseph Smith—History 1:20).
Joseph had received a testimony by revelation. Yet, even his powerful and world-changing testimony came by degrees. Before the grove, there was the groundwork. Before the pillar, there was the prayer. Before the revelation, there was the reading. Joseph’s experiences and study had built the faith, humility, and obedience necessary for him to receive a perfect knowledge of God’s existence. The gauge of his testimony tank was on full.
But even without a vision, we can all stand with President Joseph F. Smith (1838–1918) and declare, “I have received the witness of the Spirit of God in my own heart, which exceeds all other evidences, for it bears record to me, to my very soul” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph F. Smith [1998], 201).
The Right to Say, “I Know”
Whether knowledge comes from experience, study, or personal revelation, you have the right to say, “I know.” Your gauge may not measure a full tank, but you are not on empty, either. No one gets to a full tank of gas without adding to the tank along the way. And just as cars don’t run forever on a single tank of gas, testimonies, like gas tanks, must be filled and refilled regularly. It’s up to you. When it comes right down to it, each of us puts gas in his or her own tank—or, better said, puts oil in his or her own lamp (see Matthew 25:1–13).
A Testimony Is a Testimony
“A testimony is a testimony, and it should be respected, whether it is small or large. We become taller in our testimony like we grow in physical stature and hardly know it is happening, because it comes by growth.
“I know that the gospel is true; the Spirit is there. …
“You’d think there would be a better way for one of the Twelve to bear testimony, but we’re left to bear it in the same way our little grandkids do in Primary—just to say we know it’s true.”
President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “How Does the Spirit Speak to Us?” New Era, Feb. 2010, 3.
Worksheet from Redheaded Hostess: Write what they learn about bearing testimony from the following sources:
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“The Power of Testimony”
Alma 4:18-20
18 Now Alma did not grant unto him the office of being high priest over the church, but he retained the office of high priest unto himself; but he delivered the judgment-seat unto Nephihah.
19 And this he did that he himself might go forth among his people, or among the people of Nephi, that he might preach the word of God unto them, to stir them up in remembrance of their duty, and that he might pull down, by the word of God, all the pride and craftiness and all the contentions which were among his people, seeing no way that he might reclaim them save it were in bearing down in pure testimony against them.
20 And thus in the commencement of the ninth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, Alma delivered up the judgment-seat to Nephihah, and confined himself wholly to the high priesthood of the holy order of God, to the testimony of the word, according to the spirit of revelation and prophecy.
Alma 11:39-41
39 And Amulek said unto him: Yea, he is the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth, and all things which in them are; he is the beginning and the end, the first and the last;
40 And he shall come into the world to redeem his people; and he shall take upon him the transgressions of those who believe on his name; and these are they that shall have eternal life, and salvation cometh to none else.
41 Therefore the wicked remain as though there had been no redemption made, except it be the loosing of the bands of death; for behold, the day cometh that all shall rise from the dead and stand before God, and be judged according to their works.
Alma 12:1
Now Alma, seeing that the words of Amulek had silenced Zeezrom, for he beheld that Amulek had caught him in his lying and deceiving to destroy him, and seeing that he began to tremble under a consciousness of his guilt, he opened his mouth and began to speak unto him, and to establish the words of Amulek, and to explain things beyond, or to unfold the scriptures beyond that which Amulek had done.
Alma 15:12
And Alma baptized Zeezrom unto the Lord; and he began from that time forth to preach unto the people.
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“Testimony”: True to the Faith
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.
The glove represent the Holy Ghost.
"All other things fit into the (five points)” in discussing Heavenly Father, prayer can be discussed.
- I know that God is our Heavenly Father and He loves us.
- I know that His Son, Jesus Christ, is our Savior and Redeemer.
- I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. He restored the gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth and translated the Book of Mormon by the power of God.
- I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s Church on the earth today.
- I know that this Church is led by a living prophet who receives revelation.
I made each student a glove with the following pictures. I just used first aid gloves.
Obtaining and Strengthening a Testimony
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you have the sacred opportunity and responsibility to obtain your own testimony. Having obtained a testimony, you have a duty to nurture it throughout your life. Your happiness in this life and throughout eternity depends largely on whether you are “valiant in the testimony of Jesus” (D&C 76:79; see also verses 51, 74, 101). As you work at this process, remember the following principles:
-The quest for a testimony begins with a righteous, sincere desire.
Your Heavenly Father will bless you according to the righteous desires of your heart and your efforts to do His will. Speaking to a group of people who did not yet have testimonies of the gospel, Alma taught: “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” (Alma 32:27).
-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; 36:8, 22).
-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.
-Your testimony will increase as you share it.
Do not wait for your testimony to be fully developed before you share it. Part of a testimony’s development comes when it is shared. In fact, you will find that when you give what you have of your testimony, it will be returned to you—with increase.
Testimony Bearing
In fast and testimony meetings and in conversations you have with family members and friends, you may feel prompted to share your testimony. In such instances, remember that you do not need to share a long, impressive discourse. Your testimony will be most powerful when it is expressed as a brief, heartfelt conviction about the Savior, His teachings, and the Restoration. Pray for guidance, and the Spirit will help you know how to express the feelings in your heart. You will find great joy as you help others share in the hope and assurance the Lord has given you.
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“Bearing testimony Frequently”: Preach My Gospel
A testimony is a spiritual witness and assurance given by the Holy Ghost. To bear testimony is to give a simple, direct declaration of belief—a feeling, an assurance, a conviction of gospel truth. Sharing your testimony often is one of the most powerful ways of inviting the Spirit and helping others feel the Spirit. It adds a current, personal witness to the truths you have taught from the scriptures. An effective missionary teaches, testifies, and invites others to do things that build faith in Jesus Christ. This includes making promises that come from living true principles. For example, a missionary might say, “I know as you keep the Sabbath day holy, you will find more peace in your heart.”
“Regarding one’s testimony, remember, that which one willingly shares he keeps, while that which he selfishly keeps he loses. … Teach and testify. There is no better combination.”
–Elder Thomas S. Monson
Pathways to Perfection [1973], 100–101
For your testimony to have convincing power, you must be sincere. Powerful testimony is not dependent on eloquence or the volume of your voice but on the conviction of your heart. Strive daily to strengthen your understanding and conviction of the doctrines and principles you are to teach. Bear testimony often to seal the truth of the principles or doctrine you are teaching. As often as possible, teach, then testify, and testify as you teach.
Your testimony may be as simple as “Jesus Christ is the Son of God” or “I have learned for myself that the Book of Mormon is true.” You may also share a brief experience about how you gained this knowledge. Bear testimony several times in each lesson, not just at the end. Bear testimony that what your companion has taught is from God. Bear testimony that the principle you are going to teach will bless the investigators’ lives if they will follow it. Talk about how living a principle has blessed your life.
People may sometimes intellectually question what you teach, but it is difficult to question a sincere, heartfelt testimony. When you testify, pray that those you are teaching will feel the confirming witness of the Holy Ghost. When you testify, you help create an environment for investigators to feel the Holy Ghost confirming your witness of the truth. This prepares them to accept the commitments you will extend.
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“Teaching with Testimony”: Teaching No Greater Call
“The crowning, convincing, converting power of gospel teaching is manifest,” said Elder Bruce R. McConkie, “when an inspired teacher says, ‘I know by the power of the Holy Ghost, by the revelations of the Holy Spirit to my soul, that the doctrines I have taught are true’” (The Promised Messiah [1978], 516–17).
President Brigham Young learned this truth before he was baptized a member of the Church. The testimony of a humble missionary helped him feel the converting power of the Holy Ghost. He later recalled, “When I saw a man without eloquence, or talents for public speaking, who could only say, ‘I know, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that the Book of Mormon is true, that Joseph Smith is a Prophet of the Lord,’ the Holy Ghost proceeding from that individual illuminated my understanding, and light, glory, and immortality were before me” (in Journal of Discourses, 1:88).
President Young was reminded of the power of testimony in his early days as a missionary. He observed: “I had only traveled a short time to testify to the people, before I learned this one fact, that you might prove doctrine from the Bible till doomsday, and it would merely convince a people, but would not convert them. You might read the Bible from Genesis to Revelations, and prove every iota that you advance, and that alone would have no converting influence upon the people. Nothing short of a testimony by the power of the Holy Ghost would bring light and knowledge to them—bring them in their hearts to repentance. Nothing short of that would ever do” (in Journal of Discourses, 5:327).
What Is a Testimony? It is important to understand what a testimony is and what a testimony is not. First, it is not an exhortation, a call to repentance, a travelogue, a sermon, or an instruction. It is a simple, direct declaration of belief—a feeling, an assurance, a conviction. It is usually stated in the first person, I, followed by a strong verb expressing belief, such as “I know that …,” “I testify that …,” “I bear testimony that …,” or “I have a strong assurance that …” You probably have heard special witnesses of Jesus Christ use the words “I give you my witness that …” or “I witness that …” Testimonies are often most powerful when they are short, concise, and direct.
Consider the following examples from the scriptures. Note that these testimonies appear in the context of other messages—at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end.“This is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—that by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God” (D&C 76:22–24; italics added).“I know of myself that whatsoever I shall say unto you, concerning that which is to come, is true; and I say unto you, that I know that Jesus Christ shall come, yea, the Son, the Only Begotten of the Father, full of grace, and mercy, and truth” (Alma 5:48; italics added).“And now, behold, I will testify unto you of myself that these things are true. Behold, I say unto you, that I do know that Christ shall come among the children of men, to take upon him the transgressions of his people, and that he shall atone for the sins of the world; for the Lord God hath spoken it” (Alma 34:8; italics added).“For I do know that whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day” (Alma 36:3; italics added).Other examples are found in Jacob 7:12, Alma 7:8 andAlma 36:30, and Joseph Smith—History 1:25.Making Testimony a Part of Your Teaching
To be able to teach by the convincing, converting power of the Holy Ghost, you must have a testimony of what you are teaching. President David O. McKay said: “It is your duty to teach that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer of the world, that Joseph Smith was a Prophet of God, and that to him in this last dispensation there appeared God the Father and his Son in person. Do you believe it? Do you feel it? Does that testimony radiate from your being? … If so, that radiation will give life to the people whom you go to teach. If not, there will be a dearth, a drought, a lack of that spiritual environment in which the Saints grow. … You can teach effectively only that which you yourselves feel” (Gospel Ideals [1953], 190).You can obtain a testimony and continue to strengthen it by (1) studying the scriptures and the teachings of latter-day prophets, (2) praying, (3) fasting, and (4) obeying God’s commandments. You will also see that your testimony becomes stronger as you continue to share it. As you prepare to teach each lesson, pray for the Spirit to help you know when to share your most sacred feelings. You may be prompted to bear testimony several times during a lesson, not just at the conclusion.Testimony Inspires Testimony. In bearing testimony by what you say and do, you help motivate others to strengthen their own testimonies. A full-time missionary wrote the following letter to a man who had been his teacher the year before he began his missionary service:“I know you are a person who doesn’t seek any praise, honor, or recognition. But I hope you will allow me to express heartfelt thanks for our class in which we studied the Book of Mormon. I recall time and time again your testifying that although many discard the Book of Mormon because they suppose it to be poorly written or inferior in its ideas, the Book of Mormon has inherent beauty and unequaled depth. In the class and in my personal study I came to love this book. I remember sitting in your class, just waiting for you to bear testimony of some plain and simple truth. I remember when we studied Alma 32 and you bore your testimony of how the seed of truth can grow in all of us. When you bore your testimony, you allowed the Spirit to witness to me the truth of the principle.“Now here I am, one month into my mission, and I have a burning testimony of the Book of Mormon. What I have received is not merely spiritual reserve which will waste away. You led me to the tree of life. Like Lehi, you wanted nothing more than to help others partake of it. That’s what touched me so much—I could see the blessings of the fruit in your life.”
Refer to “The Power of Personal Testimony” often to help build & strengthen your testimony.
(bottom half of the "Where do I stand with my Personal Testimony" worksheet?)
“There is absolutely nothing in this world that will provide more comfort and happiness than a testimony of the truth. … If you feel that you do not yet have the depth of testimony you would wish, I admonish you to work to achieve such a testimony. If it is strong and deep, labor to keep it that way. How blessed we are to have a knowledge of the truth.” - President Thomas S. Monson
Handouts I made. The Testimony Tank was designed after the CD cover of Brad Wilcox's audio cd "Filling Your Testimony Tank".
