The Power of Testimony

1. The Power of Testimony Why we should share often.

2. John sees the imminent apostasy of the Church—He also sees the war in heaven in the beginning when Satan was cast out—He sees the continuation of that war on earth. Revelation 12:7-10 Chapter heading:

3. 7 And there was awar in heaven: bMichael and his cangels fought against the dragon; and the ddragon fought and his angels,8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in aheaven.9 And the great dragon was acast out, that old serpent, called the bDevil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him

4. Satans weapons: Then and Now • And there came a great shout from heaven saying now is come salvation and the power of our God and the power of His Christ. For the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God, day and night.

5. Our Weapons: Then and Now • 11 And they aovercame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their btestimony; and they loved not their lives unto the cdeath.

6. Joseph Smith’s example of sharing his testimony • At the first organization in heaven we were all present, and saw the Savior chosen and appointed and the plan of salvation made, and we sanctioned it." (Smith, Teachings, p. 181. Italics added.) • I was there! The Prophet Joseph said I was there on that glorious day when the Father called all of his children into the great council What a vast throng that must have been. The memory of that day is gone, obscured by the veil But surely it must have been a time of great rejoicing, of overwhelming emotion. How did I feel, I wonder, when I watched Lucifer, son of the morning, step forward. "Here am I "he said. "Send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind. "Everyone? Could that be possible? "One soul shall not be lost, "he boasted; then he added the condition for such a feat. "Surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor." (See Moses 4:1.)

7. Joseph Smith Continued • What my reaction was to such terrible audacity I cannot help but wonder. And what thoughts filled my heart when our Eldest Brother stepped forward with marked contrast in attitude and bearing. "Father, thy will be done, "he said. And the condition for this? "The glory be thine forever." (See Moses 4:2.) I was there and saw it all; and, according to the Prophet, I sanctioned it. I sanctioned the choosing and appointing of Jehovah as our Savior. When the rebellion erupted under Lucifer's urging, how valiant was I in my stand? Did I sanction the Savior with heart as well as voice? The apostle John says the battle was won by the blood of the Lamb (i.e., the gospel plan which called for the sacrifice of the Son of God) and the word of their (the followers of Christ) testimony. (See Revelation 12:11.) Was my own testimony a weapon of power?

8. The Weapon of Testimony Today • Oh, how I long to remember, to pierce the veil and see myself in those premortal days. But wait. I stand now in the present. What of this day? Do I sanction my Savior here? The war is not yet over but merely moved to mortal battlegrounds. What of the weapon of testimony here? Do I wield it with power in His cause? Of what worth is previous valiance if I falter here? He is God, the Son of God. I sanctioned his appointment then. What of now?

9. Counsel to Missionaries in our day • Doctrine & Covenants 60:2-3 • But with some I am not well pleased, for they will not open their mouths, but they hide the talent which I have given them, because of the fear of man. • Wherefore, if they are not more faithfull I will take the talent from them that I have given them.

10. Doctrine and Covenants 62:3 • Nevertheless, ye are blessed, for you testimony which you have borne is recorded in heaven for thethe angels to look upon; and they rejoice over you, and your sins are forgiven you.

11. Alma’s Choice of Weapons to fight Satan among his people • Alma 4:19 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.

12. The Comforter • So then the Holy Spirit is the person through whom there comes to us the strength and grace of God to enable us to cope with life. Certainly, part of this work is to comfort, but only part. To call the Holy Spirit the Comforter, and to stop there, is to have a limited and rather sentimental view of the Spirit, whereas in the Greek the word is full of power and of the promise of the God-given ability to face and to master any situation in life.

13. How then did this word Comforter get into the English translation of the Bible? It came in with Wycliffe about 1386, and it has stayed ever since. But in the days of Wycliffe it was a perfect translation. The word comfort is derived from the Latin word fortis, which means brave, and originally the word meant someone who puts courage into you. Let us take two other examples of it in Wycliffe. Wycliffe translates Ephesians 6:10 as, “Be ye comforted in the Lord.” And he translates 1 Timothy 1:12, “I do thanksgiving to him who comforted me.” In both cases the word in the Greek is endunamoun, whose root word is dunamis, power, from which the word dynamite comes. In Wycliffe’s day to comfort a person was to fill that person with a power like spiritual dynamite. The Holy Spirit does not simply come and wipe our tears away; he gives us a dynamic power to cope with life (BELOVED BRIDEGROOM, Donna B. Nielson (Introducing the Bible 117).

14. Joseph further stated: • Joseph Smith stated: "Faith comes by hearing the word of God, through the testimony of the servants of God; that testimony is always attended by the Spirit of prophecy and revelation." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 148.)

15. Ammon’s testimony to Lamoni • Ammon was an outstanding missionary. His friendship was permanent and he was sociable. He ingratiated himself into the confidence of King Lamoni by offering to be his servant and then by truly serving. Instead of boasting of his actions in defending the king's flocks, Ammon went to the stables to ready the chariots for the king's journey to his father's feast. (Alma 18:7-10.) When the king was filled with wonderment because of the goodness and greatness of Ammon, the latter took advantage of the situation to preach the gospel to him. (Alma 18:14-43.) Ammon's testimony changed the whole direction of Lamoni's life.

16. Brigham Young’s Witness: • "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 Revelation, 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. You have frequently heard me say that I would rather hear an Elder, either here or in the world, speak only five words accompanied by the power of God, and they would do more good than to hear long sermons without the Spirit. That is true, and we know it." (John A. Widtsoe, comp., Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 330.)

17. (6-9) Brigham Young's Conversion Came Not by Logic or Reasoning, but by the Divine Witness of the Holy Ghost • "If all the talent, tact, wisdom and refinement of the world had been sent to me with the Book of Mormon and had declared in the most exalted of earthly eloquence the truth of it, undertaking to prove it by learning and worldly wisdom, they would have been to me like the smoke which arises, only to vanish away. But 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. I was encircled by them, filled with them, and I knew for myself that the testimony was true." (Brigham Young, cited in Nibley, Brigham Young, p. 6.) • He was deeply touched at his baptism, for "before my clothes were dry on my back [Brother [p.66] Eleazer Miller] laid his hands on me and ordained me an Elder, at which I marvelled. According to the words of the Savior, I felt a humble, child-like spirit, witnessing unto me that my sins were forgiven." (Watson, Manuscript History, 1801-1844, p. 3.)

18. Bear Your Testimony • Book of Mormon Manual p.270 • "I would hope that as Latter-day Saints we can strengthen each other in the way which the Lord provided, by bearing our testimonies often at church meetings, at the end of gospel classes, even at fast and testimony meetings. We should renew our efforts to actually express our testimonies and give something more than a passing reference to the truthfulness of the gospel. With the bearing of testimony comes the spirit of testimony, and all are edified." (Loren C. Dunn in CR, Oct. 1972, p. 97.)

19. Harold B. Lee on our most important asset • The great call has come now in the sermons of the brethren to aid those who are in need of aid, not just temporal aid, but spiritual aid. The greatest miracles I see today are not necessarily the healing of sick bodies, but the greatest miracles I see are the healing of sick souls, those who are sick in soul and spirit and are downhearted and distraught, on the verge of nervous breakdowns. We are reaching out to all such, because they are precious in the sight of the Lord, and we want no one to feel that they are forgotten.. • "You cannot lift another soul until you are standing on higher ground than he is. You must be sure, if you would rescue the man, that you yourself are setting the example of what you would have him be. You cannot light a fire in another soul unless it is burning in your own soul. You teachers, the testimony that you bear, the spirit with which you teach and with which you lead, is one of the most important assets that you can have, as you help to strengthen those who need so much, wherein you have so much to give. Who of us, in whatever station we may have been in have not needed strengthening?" (Lee, "Stand Ye in Holy Places," p. 123. Italics added.)

20. The power of a testimony by the Holy Ghost • To sin against the Holy Ghost, a person must reject knowledge that he has received from the Holy Ghost. As the Prophet Joseph Smith wrote: "He has got to say that the sun does not shine while he sees it...." (Teachings, 358.) Elder Joseph Fielding Smith wrote the following statement about the certainty of knowledge revealed by the Spirit and the seriousness of denying it: • "The testimony of the Spirit is so great, and the impressions and revelations of divine truth so forcefully revealed that there comes to the recipient a conviction of the truth that he cannot forget. Therefore, when a person once enlightened by the Spirit so that he receives knowledge that Jesus Christ is the Only Begotten Son of God in the flesh, then turns away and fights the Lord and his work, he does so against the light and testimony he has received by the power of God. Therefore, he has resigned himself to evil knowingly. Therefore Jesus said there is no forgiveness for such a person. • "The testimony of the Holy Ghost is the strongest testimony that a man can receive. (Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, 4:92.)

21. WHERE TO START • It is not unusual to have a missionary say, "How can I bear testimony until I get one? How can I testify that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, and that the gospel is true? If I do not have such a testimony, would that not be dishonest?" • Oh, if I could teach you this one principle. A testimony is to be found in the bearing of it! Somewhere in your quest for spiritual knowledge, there is that "leap of faith," as the philosophers call it. It is the moment when you have gone to the edge of the light and stepped into the darkness to discover that the way is lighted ahead for just a footstep or two. "The spirit of man," as the scripture says, indeed "is the candle of the Lord." (Prov. 20:27.) • It is one thing to receive a witness from what you have read or what another has said; and that is a necessary beginning. It is quite another to have the Spirit confirm to you in your bosom that what you have testified is true. Can you not see that it will be supplied as you share it? As you give that which you have, there is a replacement, with increase! • The prophet Ether "did prophecy great and marvelous things unto the people, which they did not believe, because they saw them not. • "And now, I, Moroni, … would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." (Ether 12:5-6.) • To speak out is the test of your faith.

22. Elder Boyd K Packer • Now read Elder Boyd K. Packer's testimony as he responded to his call as a member of the Council of the Twelve: • "I have heard one of my brethren declare: `I know from experiences, too sacred to relate, that Jesus is the Christ.' "I have heard another testify: `I know that God lives; I know that the Lord lives. And more than that, I know the Lord.' • "It was not their words that held the meaning or the power. It was the Spirit.'... for when a man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men.' (2 Ne. 33:1.) • "I have come to know that the witness does not come by seeking after signs. It comes through fasting and prayer, through activity and testing and obedience. It comes through sustaining the servants of the Lord and following them.... • "Now, I wonder with you why one such as I should be called to the holy apostleship. There are so many qualifications that I lack. There is so much in my effort to serve that is wanting. As I have pondered on it, I have come to only one single thing; one qualification in which there may be cause, and that is, I have that witness. • "I declare to you that I know that Jesus is the Christ I know that he lives. He was born in the meridian of time. He taught his gospel, was tried, was crucified. He rose on the third day. He was the first fruits of the resurrection. He has a body of flesh and bone. Of this I bear testimony. (CR, Apr. 1971, pp. 123-25.)