TESTIMONY

Dear Missionary,

One of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon is Mosiah 18:9.  It teaches us that we need to "stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that [we] may be in, even until death..."  So let's talk about how we can be witnesses of Jesus Christ by bearing powerful testimony!

Have you ever wondered if you can really share your testimony and say that you KNOW that this gospel is true? Honestly, it's a valid concern that I think all of us face at some point.  Perhaps this example will help :).

I know this is going to be tough to imagine with all of the technology we have today, but do you remember what a Polaroid picture is?  They are those pictures that get printed right on the spot out of the camera.  The picture starts out dark as night but as you shake it, it starts to light up, little by little.  I remember getting so excited to shake the picture and slowly see how crazy the face I made was :).

   Testimonies are just like Polaroid pictures.  I know, crazy right?!  But think about it.  When you first start the process of gaining a testimony you simply believe.  You can't see much of anything but you hope and believe that it is true.  But as you shake it you begin to see the picture and what it contains.  Do you need to wait until there is absolutely no darkness left to recognize the truth of what the picture contains?  No! The picture lights up ever so slowly and you can begin to discern the truth of it long before it is 100% clear.

 Honestly chances are we won't ever come to the point in our lives when it is 100% crystal clear, but that does not stop us from sharing what we KNOW to be true about the "picture" of the Gospel! But we can't wait on the side-lines like slackers and expect it to just magically appear. We must shake our testimonies like Polaroid pictures! We do this by acting on the word of God day by day.  Through experience and through the whisperings of the Holy Spirit, we will see what our Heavenly Father's picture contains! And we will then be able say with surety that we KNOW it is true!

So once we begin to grow our testimonies and experience a "swelling in our hearts" how do we actually bear our testimony??  What comes to your mind when some says "bear your testimony."?  For me I think of a little whippersnapper up at the pulpit saying "i'd like to bear my testimony, I know this church is true."  Haha gotta love it right?!  Although sharing  your testimony through word is important, I believe there is more to it.

If you look up the word "bear" in the dictionary, you see words like "hold", "carry", and "sustain".  In fact in no part do you ever see the word "tell" or "say".  So does bearing our testimony just mean telling it to the congregation on fast Sunday?  No, there is surely more!  We must "bear" our testimony every day by living what we believe.  In that way we carry, hold, and sustain our testimony so that it can be a light to the world.

The Lord has commanded that we "let [our] light so shine before men, that they may see [our] good works, and glorify [our] Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).  So as we choose to be witnesses of the Good Shepherd through our actions, we are holding the light of the gospel for all to see!

Remember who you are.  You are a Witness.  You are a Missionary.

-- Parker

Will you share your testimony in the comments below? Then commit yourself to bearing that testimony with courage this week!