Obtaining and Maintaining a Testimony

And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!
--Doctrine and Covenants 76:22

It is a great pleasure to write today concerning how to obtain and maintain a testimony. I hope that these words will be of inspiration to you on this topic.

Testimony Comes of the Spirit

Near the end of his ministry in the Holy Land, the Savior left his apostles words of consolation, that they might be yet strengthened in His absence:

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. --John 14:26

What great joy it gives me to know that the Savior left this Second Comforter for me that I might know, by the power of the Spirit, that He is the Christ, the Savior of all mankind. If we believe in Christ, we must believe that he left the Holy Ghost to teach us all things, and bring all things to our remembrance. But what comprises "all things?"


Our Testimony is in Christ

In Moroni 10: 6-7, we read:

And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is.

And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever.

If I may be allowed interpret this scripture, I believe that it means that knowing "all things" means we know the difference between good and evil, and understand that all those good things come from the Savior, and testify that He is the Savior. We know, by the power of the Holy Ghost, that Jesus is the Christ. But what does this mean, to be "the Christ"?

James E. Talmage, a great saint and Church scholar, wrote the following:

"Christ is a sacred title, and not an ordinary appellation or common name; it is of Greek derivation, and in meaning is identical with its Hebrew equivalent Messiah or Messias, signifying the Anointed One...these several titles are expressive of our Lord's divine origin and Godship."

To be "The Christ" means to be set apart beforehand for a special work, specifically that of saving the people from their sins (see Matt 1: 21). But, why is it that we need to be saved from our sins? Can't we just be sinners and be okay with that?

A Testimony Takes Work

The answer to this lies in the essential, fallen nature of man. We experience hardship, blood, sweat, and tears as a result of the transgression of our first parents, Adam and Eve. This brought about two types of separation (i.e., imperfection) from God: death and sin. We read in Alma Chapter 12 the following:

And we see that death comes upon mankind, yea, the death which has been spoken of by Amulek, which is the temporal death; nevertheless there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead.

...And now behold, if it were possible that our first parents could have gone forth and partaken of the tree of life they

would have been forever miserable, having no preparatory state; and thus the plan of redemption would have been frustrated, and the word of God would have been void, taking none effect.

...Wherefore, he gave commandments unto men, they having first transgressed the first commandments as to things which were temporal, and becoming as gods, knowing good from evil, placing themselves in a state to act, or being placed in a state to act according to their wills and pleasures, whether to do evil or to do good— Alma 12: 24, 26, 31

These passages are rife with true doctrine; I would like to focus on the fact that although we are currently in a fallen state, our days have been prolonged here on the earth that we might prepare. What does preparation feel like, exactly? Well, it involves acting, and not being acted upon.

A great example of this comes from one of my all-time favorite movies. Miracle portrays the true story of the 1980 U.S. Men's Hockey Team, which defied all odds in beating the powerhouse Soviets in route to a gold medal. In one scene, their preparation is made painfully apparent, as they skated "Herbies" (line-to-line sprints, named after their often-callous head coach, Herb Brooks) for hours after tying an under matched Norwegian squad. Although they suffered in that moment, the team suffered as a family, and was eventually able to overcome all hardships that they faced, even playing against the Soviets.

Let Us Be Well-Conditioned Saints

Likewise for us, a testimony takes hard work to obtain and maintain. We must be "well-conditioned", having the Spirit with us at all times, that we may work through the nuances of life as the Lord would have us do. A testimony comes from being our brother's keeper, from fearlessly showing love toward the children of men (see 1 John 4: 16-21) as much as we do for God. The Savior taught that if we truly love him, we will bring about His work and glory, which is to help bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man (see John 14: 15, Moses 1: 39). I know that as we strive to do so, understanding that the refiner's fire does take work to endure, that we will be blessed, and our testimonies will grow, and we will feel closer to the Savior than ever before. Elder Bruce R. McConkie said in the April General Conference in 1985:

"And now, as pertaining to this perfect atonement, wrought by the shedding of the blood of God—I testify that it took place in Gethsemane and at Golgotha, and as pertaining to Jesus Christ, I testify that he is the Son of the Living God and was crucified for the sins of the world. He is our Lord, our God, and our King. This I know of myself independent of any other person.

I am one of his witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears.

But I shall not know any better then than I know now that he is God’s Almighty Son, that he is our Savior and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through his atoning blood and in no other way."

I could never trump Elder McConkie's humble testimony, but I do also know that what he said is true. I know that there comes a purifying power as we repent and apply the Atonement of Jesus Christ in our lives. I have felt that purifying power in my own life, and have felt to sing the song of redeeming love (Alma 5: 26). And I am happy to say that I can feel so now, that today I know that Jesus is the Christ, and that by and through him we may be saved from the first and second deaths, to be brought up in the final day, exalted sons and daughters of God.

Have a great week!