Our testimonies gives us the faith that we need to endure adversity and resist temptations, they give us the humility and courage that we need to follow Christ and the leaders of His church in all things.
I know that the leaders of the church are chosen by God; from Adam to Thomas S. Monson. Whether it is by God's own voice or by the voice of His servants, it is the same. I trust God, because of His omnipotent wisdom and power and perfect love. When I know that a leader in the church is chosen and ordained of God, I can follow their lead without hesitancy or reservation. I haven't been asked to give all that I have to the church, but I have been asked to be willing to sacrifice all that I possess, even my own life if necessary, for the building up the Kingdom of God on the earth and for the establishment of Zion.
There have been many times throughout my life when I was in so much pain, physical and/or emotional, that the only person that could give me comfort was Christ. I made it through those times and every time I did, my faith became a little bit stronger. So far, none of my trials have been more than I could handle. But I am still living. I will have many more experiences that will try my faith. God will try His people. If you haven't already been tried beyond what you think is your limit, you will be. I will be. God wants us to be faithful, holy, humble and contrite and He knows that trials, exercising faith in our trials, is how we get there.
Because of my experiences, I can stand with Peter to testify, "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." Peter 1:7
Adversity was a topic that was talked about by 9 speakers during General Conference week this month. My Patriarchal Blessing warns me that I will be tried to the extent that it will appear that I will fall by the wayside. I can't imagine right now what that would take. It has always been easy for me to follow the leaders of the church, even blindly sometimes; knowing that they are being directed by God. Will that ever change? No! Never. We are promised that God will never allow His prophets and apostles to lead us astray.
Will I be able to do whatever it takes to follow the Prophets at all times and in all circumstances? Will I stay loyal to my Father in Heaven when things get tougher than I think I can handle? We are promised that we will not fall by the wayside if we remain faithful to our Father in Heaven.
I have stories; personal and borrowed to support everything that I believe about Christ and His gospel and the power of his atonement. My testimony is strengthened when I hear others tell of how they know that God lives and loves them, because the Spirit of God witnesses to me that what they are saying is true. And in some cases, my stories have helped others to believe. I love hearing and sharing testimonies, because of the Spirit that is felt.
What is a testimony? Is it what one believes or does it have to be knowledge based on experience to qualify as a testimony. When I hear the word testimony, I think of one who testifies at a court of law. Witnesses are asked to testify of something that happened or did not happened, in efforts to sort out the truth for conviction or release from conviction. If that witness said; "I believe that he or she ___, because someone told me ____"; that would not hold too much validity in court. But if that witness said; "I know that he or she ____, because I was there, I witnessed it myself". That would hold validity and with some kind of evidence, likely frame the one being accused. Believing is good. Testimonies start with belief, but until one knows without a doubt, there is room for faltering.
Are we witnesses of Christ's love? We experience His tender mercies and witness His miracles as answers to our prayers. Are we willing to share our testimonies with others for their sake and for the sake of furthering our Father's work? We testify to others to build their faith, bringing them closer to Christ. And when things arise in our own lives that test our faith, we don't fall away or even waiver. We stay strong in the face of adversity because we know, we learn from experience that we, with Christ's help are bigger than our circumstances.
