So here it is, my very first Sacrament Meeting talk.
Testimony
Sunday 21st October 2013
By Valerie Hannan-Beattie
Good afternoon Brothers and Sisters. This is my first talk in Sacrament so I hope you will excuse how nervous I am.
When Brother Fairfield asked me to be the first speaker today, he told me that people run away when they see him coming because they know he is the one who asks members to give a talk. I hope he was joking and that people don't actually run away ! Anyway, I did not know this, but I will next time !
Brother Fairfield said the talk could be on any subject, and did not have to be anything too complicated and I could keep it simple and just bear my testimony.
What Brother Fairfield probably does not realise, is that although that might be quite simple for most people here, I have not, up until now, verbally shared my Testimony with anyone.
That being the case, I thought I would use these few minutes to talk about Testimony.
Other converts to the church may be able to share my initial thoughts on Testimony, because although I understand the definition of giving a Testimony I found it a bit confusing when applied to the church.
My first ever Sunday in this church was a Fast and Testimony Sunday, and so my Missionaries had told me what to expect.
I had also discussed with the Missionaries on perhaps their first or second visit that in this restored church we do not use set prayers, and it was only the sacred ordinances that had a fixed text.
I was quite surprised then to hear people come to the pulpit on Fast Sunday and give their Testimony using almost the same exact words.
I was not really sure of the purpose of this and a few months later I even joked with the Missionaries that I had half expected someone to hand me a piece of paper with the words written on it and say “here you go Valerie, this is what you say at Testimony”
I had never heard people giving Testimony in church before. It certainly did not happen in the churches I had been to, so I wondered if it was Latter Day revelation.
But then I read this scripture from Moses, cited in a talk by Dallin H. Oakes.
In the beginning, God commanded Adam, “Thou shalt do all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore.” (Moses 5:8.) Then the Holy Ghost, “which beareth record of the Father and the Son,” came upon Adam and Eve, and they “blessed the name of God, and they made all things known unto their sons and their daughters.” (Moses 5:9, 12.)
Later, Enoch described how God had taught Adam that all must repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, whose atoning sacrifice made possible the forgiveness of sins, and that they must teach these things to their children. (See Moses 6:52–59.)
And so our first parents established the pattern, receiving a testimony from the Holy Ghost and then bearing witness of the Father and the Son to those around them.
The original Apostles were eyewitnesses to the ministry and resurrection of the Savior. (See Acts 10:39–41.) He told them, “Ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8; see also Acts 10:42–43.) However, he cautioned them that their witnessing would be after they had received the Holy Ghost. (See Acts 1:8; see also Luke 24:49.)
OCTOBER 1990 WITNESSES OF CHRIST
So no, giving a Testimony was not new, it was in fact in place from the beginning.
I decided that I needed to understand better what Testimony meant, because I had heard people talk about gaining a Testimony, growing a Testimony and nurturing a Testimony. I had also heard church leaders talk about having a small Testimony as a child and a strong Testimony as adults. These statements are not necessarily easy to understand.
A talk I found by M Russell Ballard in General Conference 2004 has helped me to understand it a bit better.
A testimony is a witness or confirmation of eternal truth impressed upon individual hearts and souls through the Holy Ghost, whose primary ministry is to testify of truth, particularly as it relates to the Father and the Son. When one receives a testimony of truth through this divinely appointed process, it immediately begins to have impact on that person’s life. According to Alma the Younger, “it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves … the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me” (Alma 32:28).
A testimony of the reality of Heavenly Father’s love, of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, and of the effect of His Atonement on every son and daughter of God brings about the desire to repent and live worthy of the companionship of the Holy Ghost. It also brings a confirmation to our soul of the Restoration of the gospel in these latter days. Real testimony of these precious truths comes as a witness by the Holy Ghost after sincere and dedicated effort, including teaching in the home, prayer, scripture study, service to others, and diligent obedience to Heavenly Father’s commandments. To gain and forever hold on to a testimony of gospel truths is worth whatever price in spiritual preparation we may be required to pay.
Pure Testimony
M. Russell Ballard October 2004 General Conference
The talk by Elder Ballard was very powerful and effectively moving, which is what I expect he was hoping for. I think as a new convert these kinds of talks make a big impression because I have never heard anything quite like them. But I can also see how they would help keep the passion bright for long standing members.
The next thing I am going to read for you is from Douglas L Callister and is called ‘Knowing What We Know’.
It is much simpler, but it really spoke to me, and it shows that a much simpler message can be just as effective.
Years ago a man was accused of a serious crime. The prosecution presented three witnesses, each of whom saw the man commit the crime. The defense then presented three witnesses, none of whom had seen its commission. The simple jury was confused. Based on the number of witnesses, the evidence seemed to the jury equally divided. The man was acquitted. It was irrelevant, of course, that untold millions had never seen the crime. There needed to be only one witness.
In the genius of the gospel plan, there ultimately only has to be one witness, but that witness must be you. The testimony of others may initiate and nourish the desire for faith and testimony, but eventually every individual must find out for himself. None can permanently endure on borrowed light.
The restored gospel is not truer today than when a solitary boy walked out of the Sacred Grove in 1820. Truth has never been dependent on the number who embrace it. When Joseph left the grove, there was only one man on earth who knew the truth about God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. It is necessary, however, that each find out for himself and carry that burning testimony into the next life.
We should be on our knees every morning and night pleading with the Lord that we never lose our faith, our testimony, or our virtue. There only has to be one witness, but it must be yourself.
OCTOBER 2007 KNOWING THAT WE KNOW
And so I am guessing that is why the words are repeated over and over again in Sacrament and in our auxiliary meetings. Each person has the desire to share their own simple witness of the truth. It does not have to be too complicated as Brother Fairfield said.
I could probably have gone on for 40 days and 40 nights reading what the church leaders have had to say about Testimony. Because it is an important issue it has been written about and spoken about, many many times over.
But I will end with these words written by Bruce R McConkie because I felt that they captured both the passion and the simplicity of not only bearing a Testimony but also living a Testimony.
To be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is to “come unto Christ, and be perfected in him”; it is to deny ourselves “of all ungodliness,” and “love God” with all our “might, mind and strength.” (Moro. 10:32.)
To be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is to believe in Christ and his gospel with unshakable conviction. It is to know of the verity and divinity of the Lord’s work on earth.
But this is not all. It is more than believing and knowing. We must be doers of the word and not hearers only. It is more than lip service; it is not simply confessing with the mouth the divine Sonship of the Savior. It is obedience and conformity and personal righteousness. “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 7:21.)
To be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is to “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men.” It is to “endure to the end.” (2 Ne. 31:20.) It is to live our religion, to practice what we preach, to keep the commandments. It is the manifestation of “pure religion” in the lives of men; it is visiting “the fatherless and widows in their affliction” and keeping ourselves “unspotted from the world.” (James 1:27.)
To be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is to bridle our passions, control our appetites, and rise above carnal and evil things. It is to overcome the world as did he who is our prototype and who himself was the most valiant of all our Father’s children. It is to be morally clean, to pay our tithes and offerings, to honor the Sabbath day, to pray with full purpose of heart, to lay our all upon the altar if called upon to do so.
To be valiant in the testimony of Jesus is to take the Lord’s side on every issue. It is to vote as he would vote. It is to think what he thinks, to believe what he believes, to say what he would say and do what he would do in the same situation. It is to have the mind of Christ and be one with him as he is one with his Father.
OCTOBER 1974 BE VALIANT IN THE FIGHT OF FAITH
And so that only leaves me to tell you what I think.
I am eternally happy that I chose to be a member of this church. Being a member has enabled me to not just endure trials and tribulations, but to learn from them. The gospel has helped me to have a better perspective on life. - I love this Gospel.
With great joy I know my Heavenly Father loves me,
I know that my Savior lives, and that He is a resurrected, glorified personage of perfect love. He is my hope, my Mediator, and my Redeemer.
I am growing my Testimony with the peace and the power of the Spirit of God the Father, and these things I say in the name of his beloved Son Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Valerie
xxx
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