Testimonies
Posted by Yam on December 3rd, 2006
It’s a Fast & Testimony Sunday, so testimonies are on my mind (I haven’t been thinking much about fasting since dinner).
There are areas in which my own testimony isn’t particularly strong, but that’s okay. Right now, I’d like to bear my testimony of testimonies. They’re not something to worry about. I know that I have the testimony which Heavenly Father sees fit to bless me with at this point in time, and that I will gain a testimony in other areas as I study, learn, and pray, and as Heavenly Father deems it necessary. Those areas of my testimony that are strong have grown because I’ve done these things and waited patiently for the right time. Testimonies are not unimportant, but they do not need to be a source of stress and anxiety.
My knowledge of this is rooted in my experiences getting to know adult converts to the church. They often start out with no testimony at all. And that’s completely appropriate and acceptable; we don’t push them to grow a testimony, we don’t make it something to be anxious about. Instead, we invite them to join us, to talk with us, to observe us, and to ask themselves whether what they witness is good; and if it’s good, we invite them to let their testimonies grow. I think most missionaries have made use of Alma 32, in which this process of growth is described; I think each of us can apply this to our own testimonies, by looking at what the church does and teaches and asking ourselves whether it is good, and when we see that it is good, letting our faith in that goodness grow.
We might ask ourselves why something is good and let our faith rest on that intellectual understanding, but this really isn’t a very secure foundation for faith. If your faith is something like, “I believe such-and-such because of this miraculous event that happened,” and then evidence comes out that the event really wasn’t as miraculous as you might have thought, you can lose faith in the such-and-such. It’s better to observe the such-and-such directly, note whether it’s good, and from there come to know it, to feel it, and let your testimony ride on that. That past miraculous event can certainly support your testimony, as can trying to understand Heavenly Father’s purposes, but for true strength, the testimony must be sustained by simple faith.
“Wait,” you say, “That sounds like the opposite of what Moroni says, in Ether 12:6. What’s up?” I actually think it’s the same thing–that if your testimony rests on proof, then it can be undermined, and can fail, but if your testimony is based on faith, hoping that there is a reason why something is good even if you don’t know what it is at this time, your testimony will be unshakeable.
So, if there’s an area where you don’t have a testimony, relax. Observe the world around you. See what is good. Don’t worry so much about the why, just notice what feels holy and right to your soul. There’s your testimony. Simple, eh?
I agree that you need not dispare if you’ve sought a testimony of some aspect of the gospel, and it has not come. Some things can take up to decades. But we are not justified if we are just a bit too lazy and really don’t try very hard. What we obtain to cheaply, we esteme to lightly. We must try hard sometimes, and along the way we will gain testimony of many other aspects of the gospel, if not a full testimony of the thing we seek.
For me, logic, facts, consistency, and reason usually are important elements of a strong testimony on a given subject, but those are quite empty without spirit, emotion, and faith that help to complete the whole. I’ve known many people who couldn’t reason their way out of a bag, but still had burning conviction of true principles anyway even if they didn’t know why or couldn’t articulate why.
Spiritual trumps temporal and secular.
Speaking of testimonies, I attended Glenn Beck’s Christmas show in Salt Lake yesterday, and it was beautiful. If you didn’t know, he has a 3-million daily radio audience, and is a 110% committed Latter Day Saint as I discovered yesterday (I knew he was LDS, but from the way he talks sometimes I thought maybe he wasn’t fully committed. I was wrong).
He did a special “for SLC only” to tell his conversion story to an audience that could relate. His story is truly amazing. There’s a guy with a testimony!
I posted the story he related to us on my own site as a regular blog post, and as a pdf, which I like better because it has pictures. Like Paul of old, this guy could be the most effective missionary of modern times! So it may be worth brushing up on how he came to a knowledge of the truth.
Different subject: That “Tribes in the Earth” post was pretty interesting, and for those of you who followed that, I just posted something you may find interesting. Where it’s died down, I thought I’d mention it.
Mike
Comment # 1 left by Mike Brown - LatterDayLogic.com on December 4th, 2006
Nice thought Yam.
I have been a member all my life, and have been very active the entire time. Even hyper-active on occasions. But in all honesty there are only about 4 or 5 things I feel I have a ‘testimony’ of. The rest of the stuff of the church and gospel are good things that I appreciate.
I sometimes cringe when I hear people say they have a testimony of something like boy scouts. Yick. Does one bad experience at scout camp then ruin your testimony? Or someone with and Eagle Scout who falls away?
I believe there are a small number of core things that someone ought to gain a testimony of eventually. But to patiently seek it is probably a good approach.
Comment # 2 left by Eric Nielson on December 4th, 2006
I like that you add in that it’s also when Heavenly Father wills it. We all have times when we persevere because it is the right thing (because it’s up to us to do the right thing whether we feel His guiding, comforting, assuring hand or not). Often after such times is the truth of the principle that we were practicing made known to us.
Relax, do your best, and let it come. That’s good advice. Live from the testimony that you have. Yeah…
Comment # 3 left by Naiah Earhart on December 4th, 2006
Testimonies are not unimportant, but they do not need to be a source of stress and anxiety.
I find it unfortunate that we are all so quick to compare ourselves to others. Rather than being a competition against who we were yesterday, we look at others and compare ourselves (our testimonies, skills, networks, salaries) to their current status.
Life isn’t a race. We’re not hear to be better than Susie or Chris. We’re here to beat ourselves. We’re here to be better each day, comparing ourselves only to ourselves. It’s when we compare ourselves to others that we begin to feel stress and anxiety set in.
Simple, eh?
Yup, as it should be!
Comment # 4 left by Connor Boyack on December 4th, 2006
Mike–I think you get it, but just for other readers… I don’t mean that you don’t need to try hard; just that it doesn’t need to be unpleasant work. If you enjoy running, training for a marathon will be hard, but fun, and something you’ll do naturally; if you have to force yourself, maybe you should do something else. So find another way to work on your testimony, which might mean just relaxing and praying and waiting happily until it comes; not ignoring Heavenly Father and the church, but not worrying about it either.
I’ll have to keep my eyes open for Glenn Beck; thanks!
Naiah–definitely. I think that’s part of not forcing it; you’ll get it when the time is right.
(BTW–the picture is a sun pillar. If you don’t know what causes it, it looks miraculous; if you know that it’s an effect of ice crystals in the atmosphere, you can brush it off as just a reflection of light… but, you know, it still looks miraculous.)
Comment # 5 left by Yam on December 4th, 2006