Establishing One's Own Testimony

In my last post I discussed the importance of developing a personal testimony of the Gospel, I would like to expand on that point a bit more.  Currently, I am at home on Christmas break.  On Christmas Eve, I attended a Episcopalian midnight church service with my parents.  It was a very nice service as always, and one part of the pastor's sermon really stuck with me.  He spoke to the congregation telling them they needed to find God and His word on their own; they have to read the Gospel for themselves.  Too many rely on their belief which is simply built on tradition or on what church leaders or authorities tell them, not from finding or developing a belief, or testimony, of their own.  I was surprised he was 'calling-out' the congregation in this manner, but I agreed completely, and so does much of the Church of Jesus Christ I believe.  The Church encourages members to find and develop their own testimony of the validity of the Church and the Gospel as a whole.

Often in talks one may hear a member speak of a time when they relied on the testimony of their parents, before they developed their own.  I think this problem is all too common for many people, whether of this Church or of another, one cannot rely on others to find the truth; they must discover it on their own and have it confirmed by the Holy Ghost.  One cannot know or understand the Gospel, or God for that matter, unless they discover and confirm it themselves.  This may sound like a lot of work, and perhaps for some finding a testimony is, but it really is a blessing that we have the freedom to choose to follow the Gospel.  This blessing is our agency.

Agency is our freedom of choice.  It is an essential part of the Plan of Salvation.  We choose to find a testimony or not, but whatever our choice may be it is our own and we must take full personal responsibility.  The concept of agency does not refute or attempt to falsify God's all-powerful or all-knowing nature, in fact, agency is really a testament of Heavenly Father's love for His children.  He still knows what we will choose, and He does indeed have the power to force us to do things, but because of His love, for us, He allows us to make that decision on our own.  One, whether man or deity, cannot establish a testimony for you, that would infringe on the freedom of choice we all have.  Agency is essential, and is why one must develop a testimony on his or her own.  

This agency must also be used in gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon.  Now it is up to the individual whether to test it or not, but if they do decide to seek out its validity, they need to test it themselves through the Holy Ghost, not rely on others beliefs or feelings.

I stumbled upon a page on Catholic.com that is entitled "Problems with the Book of Mormon", well after a title like that I just had to read on.  And I have to say the title was perhaps not best suited for the actual contents of the article.  It talked mostly of ways of 'not getting fooled by the Book of Mormon' and really only two claims of invalidity (I actually might do a post on this article later, just because I like it so much, but for the sake of not getting completely off track, I should move on).  At the end of the article it states, 

Tell the Mormon missionaries: "Look, it is foolish to pray about things you know are not God’s will. It would be wrong of me to pray about whether adultery is right, when the Bible clearly says it is not. Similarly, it would be wrong of me to pray about the Book of Mormon when one can so easily demonstrate that it is not the word of God."

Well firstly one could still pray about adultery if he or she really desired I guess, but the reason we probably don't need to is because it is blatantly commanded that it is a sin.  As for the Book of Mormon part, I don't remember the commandment about God saying scripture is wrong...  Jesus however did warn us "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves," (Matthew 7:15) therefore we should test all things by means of the Holy Ghost if they are indeed true and good.  Without that confirmation we are lost and cannot know the truth.

I urge everyone to read the Book of Mormon earnestly and to truly pray of its validity and if one truly does so I know they will find a testimony of its truth.  And not only is this true for the Book of Mormon but in all things, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him" (James 1:5).  I can truly testify this is the only way one may find truth, and I testify of this in Christ's name. Amen.

Heeding the Voice of the Prophets

We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth. (Articles of Faith 6)
We believe all God has revealed, all He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. (Articles of Faith 9)

One very distinguishing characteristic of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, that sets it apart from 'traditional' Christian churches, is it has modern day prophets and apostles. You can't find that anywhere else, and I have to say it was one of the biggest things that first attracted me to the Church.

The Church is lead by a prophet of God, whom we call the President of the Church. The current prophet is President Thomas S. Monson. We also have a structure of organization and church leadership similar to that of the Primitive Church Christ established here on the earth.

The 'job', or a 'job', of the prophets, apostles, and leaders of the Church is to give the world guidance and tell and help us to live good, prosperous, and Christlike lives. Now this seems to be a popular point of contention by those who have problems with the Church, "I don't need people to tell me how to live my life." Well, I agree none of us need guidance in our lives, but man it sure does help, and we're pretty lucky to have it.

Some look at our Church as being "controlling" and "restrictive", telling us what we can and can't do, or what we can or can't consume. But these rules, commandments, and other forms of guidance we have received in these latter-days, actually does the opposite of "restricts" us, it helps keep us free. It keeps us free from the crutches of addiction to many things (alcohol, drugs, tobacco, eating to excess, pornography, etc.). Freedom is integral part of the Plan of Salvation, without it we cannot practice agency (the ability to have and make free choice). We lose that freedom of choice when we allow outside forces to make decisions for us, addiction being one of them. I know some of you may argue that, "I use my 'agency' to choose to do these things." That may be true when you first start these things it is often because you want to, but there comes a decisive point when a dependency is developed and whether you realize it or not you allow these substances to dictate you, your time, and your finances. Before I was introduced to the Church I had my fair share of addictions. Like most I started these things because I wanted to, deep down I knew they were wrong but I did them "because they were pleasing unto the carnal mind". For example I started drinking once in awhile, maybe a Friday every 2 weeks. Then I wanted to do it more, so every Friday and Saturday. Again, wasn't enough so started doing it after school. Then I started actually doing in school, even in some classes; I would just fill up a water bottle with it and sip it during class. Now did I feel like I needed it? Not necessarily. I realized I craved it when I didn't have it, but I enjoyed it still, it was still pleasing, 'unto the carnal mind'. I realize now that there is a distinct difference from the 'happiness' things such as alcohol brought me and the true happiness I receive from friends, loved ones, and the Gospel. The happiness I received from those were temporary and fleeting, and when I didn't have it I felt bad, at times miserable and depressed, but true happiness, that fills you forever, it stays with you no matter what problems you face; you turn to those things that give you true happiness, not to the bottle or the bowl, and you may overcome any adversity.

Now these addictions to substance is all very different from that of "heeding the voice of the Prophets". I always have the freedom to choose to listen to what they say. I can can choose not to listen to God's commandments, I can choose not to listen to Church leaders, I can choose to do whatever I want. And there in lies the key difference we, as the body of the Church, listen to and obey guidance given to us by our leaders because we choose to, not because we are forced to. And I know that through adherence to both commandments new and old and to guidance given to us by revelation, we will experience rewards greater than we can fathom, and we all will be blessed for doing so.

I am trying to truly heed the guidance we receive from the Church leadership (everything from food storage to trying to remain debt free). Have I been the best at it? No. For awhile I viewed things like not watching R rated or inappropriate movies as something that was maybe for some people but I didn't need to adhere to it. But I ask myself, does it make sense to follow just some of the commandments, just the ones that you like to follow, or are easiest? I think the answer is obvious.

I can't tell you how many times my life has been blessed by listening to guidance from the Church leaders. One recent example is our Ward goal (I really don't know if that is the correct term...) for our Ward Mission was to know the Articles of Faith. Well I didn't go to Primary so I had some memorization to do. I wrote out the Articles on a piece of paper and decided to practice memorizing them during my lunch break at work. One night (I work nights) my boss asked me what I was doing, and I told him I was memorizing scripture for my Church. He asked what scriptures and I told him it was the Articles of Faith. This lead us into a lengthy conversation about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (which he had really never heard of, just knew about the "missionaries on bikes" whom he thought were awesome). As we talked I could tell he liked a lot of the things he heard and was eager to have another conversation about it. Immediately after talking, it clicked in my head, this is why we were given that direction by our Church leadership.

I believe that the continuation of prophetic guidance is not only necessary, but also testifies the love that God has for His children is not fleeting. We in this dispensation are not sheep lost from the flock, doomed to wander in the dark, no, we have a constant torch that stays lit with the power of revelation by Heavenly Father. I testify of these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

True Knowledge of the Gospel

I was speaking with a friend of mine about the Church and she said she believed that I "know more" about the scriptures and such (I don't actually believe I do, she knows a lot more than she gives herself credit for ;) but nonetheless...). But what is "knowledge"? She meant it as I am able to rattle off some scripture, maybe a date or two, and maybe cite some apologetic research about certain things in support of the Book of Mormon. But does that "knowledge" really matter in terms of the Church? Sure it's good to be able to cite a verse or rattle off a few facts, but really is that what gets you into His Kingdom of Glory? No, it's faith.

Now don't get me wrong I still think studying scripture and memorizing and such is a good thing, but only if it is done in accompaniment of the Holy Ghost. Words are empty and meaningless unless they come with the Holy Ghost. So I think the "knowledge" we should put emphasis on is the knowledge of the Spirit. There are plenty that do not know specific facts or scriptures but that does not mean that their faith is any weaker than that of a scholar in matters of the Gospel.

I've heard some great talks by some of the most articulate speakers, and I have heard talks where the diction and vocabulary is not as vibrant, or the words are not always painted into beautiful sentences and many times that talk that is not as polished and refined as the former is so much more powerful; that is because you can feel the person's testimony and faith through the Spirit. It is not about the words, it's what is behind those words that matter.

I really do believe some of the best talks are not from great orators who have studied public speaking for years, it's the timid person who when you look in his or her eye you can feel how powerful their faith is. My aforementioned friend is such a person. She's one of those people who does not always know the answer in Sunday School, or is able to rattle off verses word by word, but she has one of the strongest testimonies I have ever encountered. When she speaks, she speaks directly to the Spirit, and that is what is important. I know she loves the Gospel so much and I hope one day I too can reach that level, that level of faith. So I say to her now, that she is actually, by far, the more knowledgeable one, for I know of few who have as great a knowledge, and companionship, of, and with, the Spirit.