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Testimony and the
Challenge to Become
1. "A testimony is
personal knowledge of spiritual truth obtained by revelation.... Testimony
brings increased personal accountability and is a source of purpose, assurance,
and joy.... Fundamental components of a testimony are knowing that Heavenly
Father lives and loves us, that Jesus Christ is our Savior, and that the
fulness of the gospel has been restored to the earth in these latter days.... Testimony
is a point of departure; it is not an ultimate destination.... Testimony alone
is not and will not be enough to protect us in the latter-day storm of darkness
and evil in which we are living. Testimony is important and necessary but not
sufficient to provide the spiritual strength and protection we need"
(David A. Bednar, October 2012 General Conference).
Q Why is testimony
alone insufficient to obtain salvation or for the challenges we face in life?
2. "Thou believest
that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But
wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?" (James
2:19-20).
3. "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. Therefore whosoever
heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise
man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods
came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was
founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and
doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon
the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and
beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it" (Matthew
7:21, 24-27).
4. "In contrast to
the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of
Jesus Christ challenges us to become something.... the Final Judgment is not
just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil acts—what we have done. It
is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts and thoughts—what we have
become. It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions. The
commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel are not a list of
deposits required to be made in some heavenly account.... The gospel of Jesus
Christ is the plan by which we can become what children of God are supposed to
become. [A] spotless and perfected state will result from a steady succession
of covenants, ordinances, and actions, an accumulation of right choices, and from
continuing repentance" (Dallin H. Oaks, October 2000 General Conference).
5. "[Jesus] gave us
His gospel, a pearl beyond price, the grand key of knowledge that, once
understood and applied, unlocks a life of happiness, peace, and fulfillment....
It is not enough merely to speak of Jesus Christ or proclaim that we are His
disciples. It is not enough to surround ourselves with symbols of our religion.
Discipleship is not a spectator sport. We cannot expect to experience the
blessings of faith by standing inactive on the sidelines any more than we can
experience the benefits of health by sitting on a sofa watching sporting events
on television and giving advice to the athletes. And yet for some, “spectator
discipleship” is a preferred if not a primary way of worshipping. Ours is not a
secondhand religion. We cannot receive the blessings of the gospel merely by
observing the good that others do. We need to get off the sidelines and
practice what we preach" (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, April 2009 General
Conference).
Q In what ways can we
be more than spectators of the gospel?
Q What blessings have
come to you by doing more than just surrounding yourself with good people and
the symbols of our religion?
Consistency
God
knows we're not going to become perfect all at once, that we grow step by step
through consistent action and commitment.
Q What are the
consequences of consistently trying to live the gospel? What blessings are lost
if we only seek to live the gospel sporadically?
·
We
receive a consistent stream of blessings when we consistently live the gospel.
Q What helps you to live
the gospel more consistently?
Q What other things
help you to become more Christlike?
·
Consistently
living the gospel (growing faith, repenting, keeping covenants (including obeying
the commandments and serving family members and others), and inviting the Holy
Ghost to be with me.
Priorities
Our
priorities influence how consistent we are in living the gospel.
6. "When things of
the world crowd in, all too often the wrong things take highest priority. Then
it is easy to forget the fundamental purpose of life. Satan has a powerful tool
to use against good people. It is distraction. He would have good people fill
life with “good things” so there is no room for the essential ones"
(Richard G. Scott, April 2001 General Conference).
Q What should our top
priorities be and why?
·
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and
great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself" (Matthew 22:37-39). "He that hath my
commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me" (John 14:21).
·
Growing
our faith, repenting, keeping our covenants (including obeying the commandments
and serving family members and others), and inviting the Holy Ghost to be with
us. This allows us to access the power and blessings of the atonement of Jesus
Christ:
o Forgiveness of sins, assurance
of salvation, godly character/divine attributes, comfort, joy, peace,
happiness, overcome weaknesses, knowledge, strength, personal healing.
·
Keep
the commandments, take Christ's name upon us (be like Him), and remember Jesus
Chirst (D&C 20:77). These things allow us to always have the fruits of the
Spirit into our lives.
o "The fruit of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Meekness, [self control]" (Galatians 5:22-23).
o "Nothing in this
life is of greater worth than the supernal gift of the Holy Ghost. It is the
source of joy, peace, knowledge, strength, love, and every other good thing.
With the Atonement, it is the power by which we may be changed and made strong
where we are weak. With the priesthood, it is the power by which marriages and
families are sealed together eternally. It is the power by which the Lord makes
Himself manifest unto those who believe in Him. Every good thing depends on
getting and keeping the power of the Holy Ghost in our lives. Everything
depends on that" (Lawrence E. Corbridge, General Conference October 2008).
Q How can we prevent
less important things from taking priority over more important things?
·
Do
the most important things first.
·
Recognize
when our culture and other influences lead us to break God's commandments
7. "We should not
allow ourselves to be engulfed by the culture which surrounds us. We seldom
realize the extent to which we are a product of the culture of our place and
time.... All too often, we are like puppets on a string, as our culture
determines what is “cool.”....
"It
was wonderful to sit in the celestial room [of the Manhattan temple] and be
there in perfect silence, without a single sound to be heard coming from the
busy New York streets outside. How was it possible that the temple could be so
reverently silent when the hustle and bustle of the metropolis was just a few
yards away?
"The
answer was in the construction of the temple. The temple was built within the
walls of an existing building, and the inner walls of the temple were connected
to the outer walls at only a very few junction points. That is how the temple
(Zion) limited the effects of ... the world outside. There may be a lesson here
for us. We can create the real Zion among us by limiting the extent to which
[the world] will influence our lives" (David R. Stone, April 2006 General
Conference).
Church Attendance
Q Why is it important
to consistently attend church every Sunday?
·
Church
attendance is the foundation for faith, repentance, keeping covenants, and inviting the Holy Ghost into our lives. These
principles invite the power and blessings of the atonement of Jesus Christ into
our lives. The church also reminds us which things matter most.
Q What blessings do we
miss if we don't attend all 3 hours of church?
"My
father could remember the very day, even the very hour, that his family—father,
mother, and four children—left the Church, many never to return again in this
life. He was 13 years old, a deacon, and in those days families attended Sunday
School in the morning and then sacrament meeting in the afternoon. On a
beautiful spring day, after returning home from Sunday morning worship services
and having a midday family meal together, his mother turned to his father and
asked simply, “Well, dear, do you think we should go to sacrament meeting this
afternoon, or should we take the family for a ride in the country?”
"The
idea that there was an option to sacrament meeting had never occurred to my
father, but he and his three teenage siblings all sat up and paid careful
attention. That Sunday afternoon ride in the country was probably an enjoyable
family activity, but that small decision became the start of a new direction which
ultimately led his family away from the Church with its safety, security, and
blessings and onto a different path....
"We
should strive to attend all of our Sunday meetings. I promise that blessings of
great joy and peace will come from worship during our three-hour Sunday meeting
schedule.
"Our
family has committed to attend all of our Sunday meetings. We have found that
this strengthens our faith and deepens our understanding of the gospel. We have
learned that we feel good about our decision to attend our Church meetings,
especially as we return to our home and continue to observe the Sabbath. We
even attend all of our Sunday meetings when we are on vacation or traveling....
"We
each have many choices to make as to how we observe the Sabbath day. There will
always be some “good” activity that can and should be sacrificed for the better
choice of Church meeting attendance. This is in fact one of the ways that the
adversary “cheateth [our] souls, and leadeth [us carefully] away.” He uses
“good” activities as substitutes for “better” or even “best” activities....
"My
father was fortunate to marry a good woman who encouraged him to come back to
the church of his youth and begin again to progress along the path. Their
faithful lives have blessed all of their children, the next generation of
grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren.
Just
as the simple decision to attend or not attend one of their Sabbath day worship
meetings made a significant difference in the lives of my grandparents’ family,
our everyday decisions will impact our lives in significant ways. A seemingly
small decision such as whether or not to attend a sacrament meeting can have
far-reaching, even eternal, consequences.
"May
we choose to be diligent and gain the great blessings and protections that come
from gathering together and keeping covenants" (Kevin S. Hamilton, October
2013 General Conference).
Conclusion
8. One of the most
popular and attractive philosophies of men is to live life your own way, do
your own thing, be yourself, don’t let others tell you what to do. But the Lord
said, “I am the way.” He said, “Follow me.” He said, “What manner of men ought
ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.”....
We
might think we can’t really follow Him because the standard of His life is so
astonishingly high as to seem unreachable.... Don’t ever believe that. While
the standard of the Lord is the highest, don’t ever think it is only reachable
by a select few who are most able.... No institution, plan, program, or system
ever conceived by men has access to the redeeming and transforming power of the
Atonement of Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Therefore, while the
Lord’s invitation to follow Him is the highest of all, it is also achievable by
everyone, not because we are able, but because He is, and because He can make
us able too. “We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind
[everyone, living and dead] may be saved, by obedience to the laws and
ordinances of the Gospel.”
The
Lord’s way is not hard. Life is hard, not the gospel. “There is an opposition
in all things,” everywhere, for everyone. Life is hard for all of us, but life
is also simple. We have only two choices. We can either follow the Lord and be
endowed with His power and have peace, light, strength, knowledge, confidence,
love, and joy, or we can go some other way, any other way, whatever other way,
and go it alone—without His support, without His power, without guidance, in
darkness, turmoil, doubt, grief, and despair. And I ask, which way is easier?....
Life
is hard, but life is simple. Get on the path and never, ever give up. You never
give up. You just keep on going. You don’t quit, and you will make it. There is
only one way to happiness and fulfillment. Jesus Christ is the Way"
(Lawrence E. Corbridge, General Conference October 2008).
Key talks about becoming more Christlike can be found at
Key talks about full conversion to the
gospel can be found at
Key talks about the importance of consistency can be found
at
Key talks about priorities can be found at
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