Growing and Maintaining a Testimony

One’s testimony of the Church and the gospel of Jesus Christ is not a static thing.  It can grow or fail, depending on how one nurtures it.  The following is a reflection on the nature of testimony, written by Aaron.  At the time Aaron wrote this, he was a student at the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies:

A remarkable feat of engineering is the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, U.S.A. The bridge was part of an initiative to alleviate ferry traffic and make the flow of people and materials easier to get around the San Francisco area. It was first opened in 1937, and at the time was the largest suspension bridge in the world, measuring 2.7 kilometers.. It was painted a beautiful vermillion orange to enhance its visibility in the fog as well as protect it from the high salt content in the air. Festivals commemorating the opening lasted for 7 days with speeches from city leaders, music, dancing, and parades.

For the next 30 years this architectural achievement, which became a symbol of the city, stood virtually untouched. By 1968 it was clear that the bridge was suffering from massive amounts of corrosion. A program was put into effect to completely repaint the structure. Since that time a permanent crew of 17 iron workers and 38 painters work continuously to stop the corrosion and maintain the integrity of the bridge. Without this constant maintenance, it is most certain that this structure would succumb to the corrosive salt, powerful winds, and the constant pull of gravity.

In many ways the Golden Gate Bridge is analogous to our testimonies. It takes a great deal of time, effort, and patience to build a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and if one is not careful in protecting it from corrosive elements, it will fall.

Building our Testimonies

It was not a simple task to create the Golden Gate Bridge. Likewise our testimonies are often built in pieces. Elder Richard G. Scott, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, said, “Testimony is the very essence of character woven from threads born of countless correct decisions. Those choices are made with trusting faith in things that are believed and, at least initially, are not seen.”

It is an interesting thing that we obey because we have a testimony, but to gain a testimony we must obey. It is for this reason that Mormon missionaries are directed to give require commitments of those who investigate The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This is the most effective method of conversion, because it brings people out of the world. They themselves must make the choice to believe, to follow the promptings of the holy spirit and the direction of the missionaries. They must choose to enter into the cycle of obeying and building a testimony — building a testimony and obeying the commandments of God.

In my life this has very much been the case. I cannot think of a time I gained elements of my testimony without first obeying. I can remember the specific time of day, and who was there when I received a strong witness that keeping the Sabbath day holy was a true commandment. I was thirteen and sitting in the back seat of our family car as we were driving to visit my older brother and his family. As we were driving, I looked out the window and saw all the people shopping, working, and going about their daily lives. I mentioned to my mother up front that I was glad we as a family and church set aside Sunday as a special day of worship. My mother turned to me and said, “that is because you have a testimony of that gospel principle”. I remember having a unique feeling of peace in that car as the Holy Ghost witnessed to me that it was true, that the law of the Sabbath is a commandment from God. If I didn’t have a testimony before, I most certainly did after that car ride. Since that day, I have come to obey the law of the Sabbath, not because it was a family tradition, but because I had felt that confirmation from God through the Holy Ghost, that I should obey.

Elder John K. Carmack, of the First Quorum of the Seventy of the Mormon Church, explained the principle of obeying and receiving this way in a talk given in 1988: “When I declare that I know this gospel is true, that Christ lives, and that Ezra Taft Benson is God’s prophet, I am saying, in effect, that doing and serving have brought me the conviction that this work is true.”

I love it. I love that gaining a testimony is that simple. We simply obey and receive. Anyone can do that!

Growing up I always felt that the Church was true. I felt like I had a fairly normal upbringing. I went to LDS seminary and church meetings. I read the Book of Mormon and felt excited to serve a mission. When I got into the Missionary Training Center, however, I felt overwhelmed. As I was learning about the doctrines that I would be teaching the next two years (the Atonement of Jesus Christ, Restoration of the gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith, and commandments of God) I began to worry. I was worried that my testimony would not be strong enough to bring the spirit to those I would be teaching. I began to pray and fast that I would be blessed with a strong testimony to teach from. As I prayed one evening, I received the feeling that I had been given enough and needed to just press forward. That was not the answer I wanted or expected. However, I continued to work hard in my studies at the MTC and pray with faith. Toward the end of my stay, I was in the celestial room of the Provo Utah Temple. As I was praying, I looked up and saw the painting of the Savior. At that moment I felt an overwhelming love for the Savior and his Atonement. At that moment it felt so real to me! I felt that I was not just one of billions of God’s children but that I was an individual whom God loved and cared for deeply. I often would reflect on that powerful spiritual experience as I would testify to those whom I was teaching. God did answer my prayer.

Maintaining a Testimony

Just like the Golden Gate Bridge, if a person leaves his or her testimony untouched, it will rust, deteriorate, and become useless in the moment the person needs it the most.

Instead of focusing on how to maintain a testimony, let’s look at it from the other side, that is, how to destroy a testimony. Elder Charles Didier of the Quorum of the Seventy gives an easy-to-follow 6 step program:

“Do not pray: the door to revelation will be closed. Do not be humble but listen to your own superior voice. Do not participate in the ordinances of the gospel, but follow the practices of the world. Do not follow Church leaders but be critical of them. Do not listen to the prophets and follow their counsel but interpret their declarations according to your own desires. Do not obey the commandments but live according to your own appetites and desires.”

It is not coincidence that the process of gaining a testimony is the same process of maintaining one. So perhaps my analogy of a testimony being like the Golden Gate Bridge is not perfect, since we are never done building our testimony and thus maintaining our testimonies. Elder Carmack of the Seventy explains in his conference address “I have a whole box of unanswered questions, none of them threatening to my testimony. New questions enter that box regularly. Others come out of the box, yielding to both study and experience.”

If a General Authority has unanswered questions that he works on through study and experience, then I for sure have unanswered questions that I need to work on! The Lord promises that someday those who keep His commandments will know all things:

For thus saith the Lord—I, the Lord, am merciful and gracious unto those who fear me, and delight to honor those who serve me in righteousness and in truth unto the end. Great shall be their reward and eternal shall be their glory. And to them will I reveal all mysteries, yea, all the hidden mysteries of my kingdom from days of old, and for ages to come, will I make known unto them the good pleasure of my will concerning all things pertaining to my kingdom. Yea, even the wonders of eternity shall they know, and things to come will I show them, even the things of many generations (Doctrine and Covenants 76:5 – 8).

It is my hope that I will continually be building and maintaining a strong testimony that will become the anchor of my life. Something that will help me and those around me come closer to God, and be the sustaining force of a successful life.  This is my wish for every member of the Church, especially new converts.

This article has been used on the following website: http://www.meetmormonmissionaries.org/833/growing-and-maintaining-a-testimony