Testimony

Talks

Quotes

In his talk Spiritual Revival in General Conference of 1992, Glen L. Pace said, “I believe the time has come for all of us to feast on the fruit of our own testimony as opposed to the testimony of another person. The testimony of which I speak is much deeper than knowing the Church is true. We need to progress to the point of knowing we are true to the Church. 

What we do depends upon how we feel about what we know. – Lloyd Davis

The believer in God must explain one thing – the existence of suffering.  The nonbeliever, however, must explain the existence of everything else.  Deniis Prager and Joseph Telushkin

Don’t decide ahead of time what a burning in your bosom will feel like.

Once you have obtained a testimony of the gospel you leave neutral ground.

If a man who had no sense of smell told us a rose had no scent, we would know the defect is in the man, not the flower.  It is the same with the man who says there is no God.

Most of us get a testimony by reading the Book of Mormon.  We also maintain our testimony by reading the Book of Mormon regularly.  The best way to avoid falling away from the church is to consistently read the Book of Mormon and follow the promise in Moroni 10: 4-5.

Don’t be ashamed when you cry – testimonies don’t grow unless they are watered.

“I am one of his witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his feet and in his hands 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.”  Bruce R. McConkie, April Conference, 1985

Strength of the church lies in the collective testimonies of its individual members.

Sometimes when I’m faced with an atheist, I am tempted to invite him to the greatest gourmet dinner that one could ever serve, and when we have finished eating that magnificent dinner, to ask him if he believes there’s a cook.  Ronald Reagan

A testimony is when your heart tells you something that your head doesn’t necessarily understand.

A testimony is like a library – you add a volume at a time.

You’ve got to stand for something or you’ll fall for anything. – Aaron Tippen

Film, to develop, needs time and certain chemicals.  It will fade if not carefully preserved.  Testimony is the same way.  You need time and experience and hard work to preserve it.

You can’t really tell the difference between a strand of cobweb and a strand of powerful nylon cord until some stress is put on the strand.

There are a lot of things that Satan can imitate.  He cannot imitate the burning in the bosom or peace.

Don’t dig up in doubt what you planted in faith.-  Elisabeth Elliot

Dallin H. Oaks once stated,  “Testimony is to know and to feel, conversion is to do and to become.”

We need to ask ourselves whether we are sowing the seeds of apostasy in our individual lives.  Are we among those who criticize church leaders?  Do we complain about principles and programs?  Do we set ourselves up as judges?  Do we belittle others as they strive to serve in the kingdom?  Do we suffer from imagined offenses?  Do we stay away from church meetings?  Do we rationalize about not being active in the church?  Do we fail to pay our tithes and other offerings?  Do we have the spirit of apostasy in other ways?

When our behavior becomes incongruent with gospel teachings we have two options.  We can humble ourselves and repent or blame the church and walk away. Unfortunately, many individuals choose the path of least resistance. – Shannon Williams

Quite often, many people fall out of the church for the same reason they fall out of bed – they’re not in it far enough.  It’s like when we were kids playing on the merry go round on the playground.  Those who were centered in the middle holding on tight were safe.  Those who were hanging over the edge often got thrown off.  – Shannon Williams

Some time ago in South America, a seasoned group of outstanding missionaries was asked, “What is the greatest need in the world?”  One wisely responded, “Is not the greatest need in all of the world for every person to have a personal, ongoing, daily, continuing relationship with Deity?” (Colleen Harrison, He Did Deliver Me From Bondage pg. 5)

“All too often, we Latter-day Saints live our lives so near to Him (through our ordinances and good works) and yet so far from Him (through our emphasis on “good son” busy work and so many other things outside of Him).  At the center or bull’s-eye of everything we do should be our relationship with our Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Unfortunately we are too often firmly entrenched in the circles just outside that bull’s-eye, those circles marked “Church, home, family, spouse.”  These things are all good and most certainly given of God, but, at the same time, they are not God and can never give us the peace and security He can.  They can never supply us with the unfailing support and guidance that only He can.  We must be very careful not to set these things up as lesser or demigods and think service to them will substitute for coming to know the Lord personally.” (Colleen Harrison, He Did Deliver Me From Bondage pg. 58)

“Many of us take the blessings of the gospel for granted. It is as if we are passengers on the train of the Church, which has been moving forward gradually and methodically. Sometimes we have looked out the window and thought, “That looks kind of fun out there. This train is so restrictive.” So we have jumped off and gone and played in the woods for a while. Sooner or later we find it isn’t as much fun as Lucifer makes it appear or we get critically injured, so we work our way back to the tracks and see the train ahead. With a determined sprint we catch up to it, breathlessly wipe the perspiration from our forehead, and thank the Lord for repentance.

While on the train we can see the world and some of our own members outside laughing and having a great time. They taunt us and coax us to get off. Some throw logs and rocks on the tracks to try and derail it. Other members run alongside the tracks, and while they may never go play in the woods, they just can’t seem to get on the train. Others try to run ahead and too often take the wrong turn.

I would propose that the luxury of getting on and off the train as we please is fading. The speed of the train is increasing. The woods are getting much too dangerous, and the fog and darkness are moving in.

Although our detractors might as well “stretch forth [their] puny arm[s] to stop the Missouri river in its decreed course, or to turn it up stream” (D&C 121:33) as try to derail this train, they are occasionally successful in coaxing individuals off. With all the prophecies we have seen fulfilled, what great event are we awaiting prior to saying, “Count me in”? What more do we need to see or experience before we get on the train and stay on it until we reach our destination? It is time for a spiritual revival. It is time to dig down deep within ourselves and rekindle our own light.” – Glen L. Pace

Elder Jeffrey Holland explained: “Some parents may not understand that even when they feel secure in their own minds regarding matters of personal testimony, they can nevertheless make that faith too difficult for their children to detect.  We can be reasonably active, meeting-going Latter-day Saints, but if we do not live lives of gospel integrity and convey to our children powerful, heart-felt convictions regarding the truthfulness of the Restoration and the divine guidance of the church, then those children may, to our regret but not surprise, turn out not to be visibly active, meeting-going Latter-day Saints or sometimes anything close to it.

Moms and dads can do everything right and yet have children who stray.  Moral agency still obtains.  But even in such painful hours it will be comforting for you to know that your children knew of your abiding faith in Christ, in His true church, in the keys of the priesthood, and in those who hold them. Live the gospel as conspicuously as you can.  Keep the covenants your children know you have made and bear your testimony!”