As a young girl, I came home from
primary with a desire to share a copy of the Book of Mormon with a friend of
mine. Neither of us were old enough to
know how to read, and yet, I carefully wrapped the Book of Mormon and my mom
helped me tie a ribbon around it. I
remember feeling excited to give it to her.
I watched her open it, and even as a young girl, I could sense that she
was disappointed in my gift. It was a
natural reaction, I suppose. I had just
given a girl who doesn't even know how to read, a chapter book with very few
pictures in it. Even though she was
disappointed, I still felt confident that I had done something good.
As an older child, I often invited
another friend to my primary activities.
For a while, she loved going. I
invited her to the Easter Pageant, and afterward she became very interested in
the church because of an experience she had had while attending the
pageant. Her mom grew uneasy about her
daughter's interest, and eventually, she no longer allowed her daughter to
attend any more activities. Still, I
knew that I had done something good. I
had followed the promptings that I had felt, and it felt good to share the
gospel with my friend.
Yet, as I grew older, somehow
missionary work became more uncomfortable to me. I had come to believe that in order to be a
missionary, I either had to serve a full-time mission, or I needed to talk very
openly about the restored gospel to strangers that I sat by on airplane rides
to and from BYU. While these are both
good, they are not the only ways in which all members of the restored church
can enjoy the opportunities of sharing the gospel.
The way we live, what we believe
in, our very discipleship, how we defend our faith, should all be a light unto
the world. It begins with our desire to
live so that others can see our Savior through our actions. As we live the commandments, and as we
lovingly take a stand on moral issues, we are testifying to those around us
about what we believe in. Our belief in
the gospel of Jesus Christ, must resonate through our actions. And it is not always easy. We may be ridiculed, or taunted.
Last conference, Elder Holland
said, "With
admiration and encouragement for everyone who will need to remain steadfast in
these latter days, I say to all and especially the youth of the Church that if
you haven’t already, you will one day find yourself called upon to defend your
faith or perhaps even endure some personal abuse simply because you are a
member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Such moments will
require both courage and courtesy on your part."
We defend our faith through our testimonies.
Consider for a moment, these verses found in D&C 88. Here we find a revelation given to Joseph
Smith while in Ohio. This revelation was
given after high priests at a conference prayed “separately
and vocally to the Lord to reveal his will {unto us} concerning the upbuilding
of Zion.” The Lord says in verse 81,
Behold, I sent you
out to testify and warn the people, and it becometh every man who hath been
warned to warn his neighbor.
Then, it goes on to further
talk about the sharing of our testimonies.
Notice how the Lord calls upon the faithful living in the latter days to
bear witness of the truth to our neighbor prior to signs of His second coming.
84 Therefore, tarry ye, and labor diligently, that
you may be perfected in your ministry to go forth among the Gentiles for the
last time, as many as the mouth of the Lord shall name, to bind up the law and
seal up the testimony, and to prepare the saints for the hour of judgment which
is to come;
87 For
not many days hence and the earth shall tremble and reel to and fro as a
drunken man; and the sun shall hide his face, and shall refuse to give light;
and the moon shall be bathed in blood; and the stars shall become exceedingly
angry, and shall cast themselves down as a fig that falleth from off a fig
tree.
Now, in these next verses, notice how the Lord warns us
that after we have shared our testimonies, after we have gone forth and
declared the restoration of the gospel to those around us, the earth will then
bear testimony of the coming of our Savior.
88 And
after your testimony cometh wrath and indignation upon the people.
89 For
after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes, that shall cause
groanings in the midst of her, and men shall fall upon the ground and shall not
be able to stand.
90 And
also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of
lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea
heaving themselves beyond their bounds.
91 And
all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men’s hearts shall fail them; for
fear shall come upon all people.
Isn't it interesting that the Lord uses the word
"testimony" to describe the events of the last days, the warning
signs of His coming? The Lord is
hastening His work and we are living in the last days. I can feel the hastening, the earth is in
commotion. Are we bearing our
testimonies? Are we living the standards
of righteousness? Can others around us
see our faith by the way we live our lives?
Open gospel discussion is good, but are we bearing testimony through our
actions?
My sister in law, Michelle, recently told me of an
experience she had. She is serving in
the Young Women's program in her ward in Mesa.
One Sunday, there was only one girl in attendance. Half-way through the lesson, the other leader
turned to Michelle and asked her if she had anything to add to the lesson. She went on to relate to me how she felt
impressed to bear a very powerful testimony to this young girl. She told me how she looked her straight in
the eye and told her that there will come a day when a some trial will come
into her life. It will shake her and it
will feel like her very world just got rocked.
She told her to build her foundation now, so that when those trials do
come, she will be able to stand and say, I
believe. She tearfully told this
young woman about her son Gavin, and how when her 14 month old son died, her
own world was rocked. She testified how
she was thankful that she had had that sure foundation to fall back on.
After she bore her testimony, she felt much anxiety
about it. She was sure she had come off
way too strong and emotional. She told
me that she stressed about it for days.
Then, one day, while she was contemplating her experience, a thought
came to her mind. The Holy Ghost
impressed upon her to replace the word "talents" in the parable of
the talents with the word "testimonies".
The parable of the talents is found in Matthew 25,
beginning in verse 14. It says, For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country,
who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
We know that he gave one servant 5 talents (or
testimonies), to another he gave 2, and to another he gave one. Later, when the man comes back, he inquires
of his servants to see what they have done with the talents (or testimonies) he
had given them. The one who had 5, went
out and shared what he had and was able to get 5 more. The man who was given 2 talents (or testimonies)
used what he had and gained 2 more. To
them the Lord replies,
23...Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a
few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of
thy lord.
We know what happens to the man who
was only given 1. Afraid of losing his 1
talent, he buries it deep in the earth, but he ends up losing it anyway. If we liken that parable to missionary work,
and we were to replace the word talent with testimony, we discover that when we
share our testimonies, it strengthens and multiplies it. When we don't share it, we end up losing
it.
After contemplating this thought,
Michelle told me that her anxiety was replaced with gratitude. She had offered her testimony to the Lord, by
sharing it with another. The thought
that was impressed upon her mind was that the Lord was pleased with her
offering.
When we share our testimonies with
others, it is important to be genuine and sincere. When we have a concern for our fellow man,
and we are filled with Christ-like love for our eternal brothers and sisters,
the Holy Ghost will guide our thoughts and help us speak the words that will be
most beneficial. Consider the love that
filled Enos as he prayed to our Heavenly Father,
4 And my soul
hungered; and I kneeled down before my Maker, and I cried unto him in mighty
prayer and supplication for mine own soul; and all the day long did I cry unto
him; yea, and when the night came I did still raise my voice high that it
reached the heavens.
5 And there
came a voice unto me, saying: Enos, thy sins are forgiven thee, and thou shalt
be blessed.
6 And
I, Enos, knew that God could not lie; wherefore, my guilt was swept away.
7 And I said:
Lord, how is it done?
8 And he said
unto me: Because of thy faith in Christ, whom thou hast never before heard nor
seen. And many years pass away before he shall manifest himself in the flesh;
wherefore, go to, thy faith hath made thee whole.
9 Now, it came
to pass that when I had heard these words I began to feel a desire for the
welfare of my brethren, the Nephites; wherefore, I did pour out my whole soul
unto God for them.
In Alma 6:6, the
saints are commanded to pray mightily for the welfare of the souls who not God. This
commandment applies to us today. Nevertheless the children of God were
commanded that they should gather themselves together oft, and join in fasting
and mighty prayer in behalf of the welfare of the souls of those who knew not
God.
Do we have a love for our
neighbor. We ought to desire to share
what we know with those around us because we see them as our brothers and our
sisters and we would want them to have all of the blessings available to them
that our Father in Heaven would bestow upon them. That is what it means to have an anxious desire
for the welfare of their souls.
In his conference address, The
Kingdom of God, L. Tom Perry states:
We have the obligation when we
accept the teachings of the gospel to demonstrate by our lives that we, indeed,
keep God’s commandments. We know His son, Jesus the Christ, stands at the head
of this Church, and mankind has not been left alone to find the way by himself
in a troubled world. There is great joy, satisfaction, and fulfillment in
living God’s law as He has declared it and will continue to declare it to His
children here on the earth.
The scriptures have instructed us
to set the example of living the higher law. Nephi declared:
“Wherefore, ye must press forward
with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore,
if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the
end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.
“And now, behold, my beloved
brethren, this is the way; and there is none other way nor name given under
heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God.” (2 Ne.
31:20–21.) When we press forward with a love of God and of all men, we will
want to share the gospel.
Sister Linda S. Reeves of the
Relief Society general presidency, submitted the following words to the Church
News this past September. "According
to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are over 7 billion of our Father's children
upon the earth. With over 15 million members of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints, each member represents approximately one in every 477
people. I have often wondered, “What if our Heavenly Father gave each of us the
responsibility of leading and guiding the other 476 people back home to His presence?”
{...} As we {...} boldly testify of our Father's Plan and act as the keeper of
the lighthouse {...} His sons and
daughters can feel the power of the Holy Ghost testifying of the truths of the
Plan of Salvation, {...} truths that
each one of our Father’s children embraced in our pre-mortal life. As our
Father’s children come to know, accept, and live it, they will know how
to qualify to return to our Father’s presence and receive all that He has
prepared for them that love Him. How grateful we will be as we feel our
Savior’s embrace and fall at His feet in reverence, gratitude, and love,
knowing that we have helped to lead our brothers and sisters back home."
I like how she compared those who
belong to the Lord's church as keepers of the lighthouse. Again, the way we live, what we believe in,
our very discipleship, how we defend our faith, should all be a light unto the
world. It truly begins with our desire
to live so that others can see our Savior through our actions. That is what missionary work is all
about. We don't hide what we believe
in. We let it shine. With compassion and love we defend our faith,
no matter what worldly repercussions we will have to face. When others see our sincerity, then will they
be more receptive to hearing about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.
In high school, I was a member of
the school's dance company. As a member
of the dance company, I was often faced with peer pressure to compromise my
modesty. The night before one concert, I
made the choice to wear something entirely different than the other dancers
because I believed that the outfit the others had chosen to wear was
inappropriate. I remember feeling a
little embarrassed that I was wearing a different dress. I remember trying to rationalize my choice
before I made it. But, ultimately, I
decided to hold true to the standards that I had set for myself. A few of the other dancers were upset with
me, and they let me know it. I
questioned whether or not I had made the right choice. Was it really that big of a deal? Then, a few years later, after I had
graduated from high school and was attending college, I ran into a younger
sister of a friend of mine. She
approached me and asked if I had really chosen to wear something different for
a dance concert because I wanted to be modest.
I told her I had. She then told
me that my choice had left a significant impact on her, and that she often
thought of my choice when she faced similar issues. I had no idea that my choice to take a stand
for modesty had any positive impact on anyone but myself. But, this younger sister had been watching
me. My actions had been a testimony of
my convictions.
Surely the Lord is hastening His
work. We must stand as a witness of
God. Now is an exciting time to live.
In a conference report way back in
1980, Elder Bruce R. McConkie said, “The
vision of the future is not all sweetness and light and peace. All that is yet
to be shall go forward in the midst of greater evils and perils and desolations
than have been known on earth at any time.
As the Saints prepare to meet their God, so those who are carnal and
sensual and devilish prepare to face their doom. As the meek among men make their calling and
election sure, so those who worship the God of this world sink ever lower and
lower into the depths of depravity and despair.
We see evil forces everywhere uniting to destroy the family, to ridicule
morality and decency, to glorify all that is lewd and base. … Satan reigns in
the hearts of men; it is the great day of his power. But amid it all, the work of the Lord rolls
on. … Amid it all, there are
revelations and visions and prophecies. There are gifts and signs and miracles.
There is a rich outpouring of the Holy Spirit of God. Amid it all believing souls … prepare
themselves to dwell with God and Christ and holy beings in the eternal kingdom. Is it any wonder that we both rejoice and
tremble at what lies ahead? Truly the
world is and will be in commotion, but the Zion of God will be unmoved. The
wicked and ungodly shall be swept from the Church, and the little stone will
continue to grow until it fills the whole earth” (in Conference Report, Apr.
1980, 99; or Ensign, May 1980, 72–73).
In closing, I add my testimony to his, the work of the Lord rolls
on. It is our duty, and our pleasure to
participate in the sharing of the Lord's gospel. And, this we must do. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
