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VIEW PERSONAL BELIEFS
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POSTED BY:
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skalenfehl
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DATE:
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03.09.2008 |
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SUBJECT:
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Testimony and how it helps me |
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LOCATION:
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Utah, United States
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This was a talk I gave today during sacrament meeting:
Testimony and how it helps me through difficult times
First we must ask ourselves what is a testimony? I believe a testimony is the knowledge or witness of something that is true.
According to lds.org, a testimony is a spiritual witness given by the Holy Ghost. The foundation of a testimony is the knowledge that Heavenly Father lives and loves His children; that Jesus Christ lives, that He is the Son of God, and that He carried out the infinite Atonement; that Joseph Smith is the prophet of God who was called to restore the gospel; that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Savior's true Church on the earth; and that the Church is led by a living prophet today. With this foundation, a testimony grows to include all principles of the gospel.
Elder M. Russell Ballard has said that a “Personal testimony is the foundation of our faith. It is the binding power that makes The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints unique in the lives of its members, as compared with all other religious denominations of the world. The doctrine of the Restoration is glorious in and of itself, but the thing that makes it powerful and imbues it with great meaning is the personal testimonies of Church members worldwide who accept the Restoration of the gospel and strive to live its teachings every day of their lives.”
Elder Richard G. Scott tells us that “A strong testimony is the sustaining power of a successful life. It is centered in an understanding of the divine attributes of God our Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. It is secured by a willing reliance upon them. A powerful testimony is grounded in the personal assurance that the Holy Ghost can guide and inspire our daily acts for good.
A testimony is fortified by spiritual impressions that confirm the validity of a teaching, of a righteous act, or of a warning of pending danger.”
Some of the key words in these previous quotes are “foundation”, “successful”, and “grounded”. So how can we be successful? How can our testimonies be grounded on a firm foundation? The Savior likened this to a wise man, not just a man, but a wise man who built his house upon a rock.
In Matt. 7: 24-27 we read:
24 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:
25 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.
26 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:
27 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.
We can compare the rain and the floods and the winds with the attacks of the adversary. Our testimonies must be strong enough to withstand Satan’s buffetings. They must also be strong enough to endure the trials that our Father in Heaven would see fit to place upon us to test our faith.
My testimony has been a work in progress since the time I was a very young boy when my mother and father helped me to lay a solid foundation. My mother was always faithful in preparing family home evenings, teaching us from the scriptures, sharing experiences from her mission, and making sure we said our evening prayers. As I grew older my testimony grew as a house built upon a rock would, brick by brick and stone by stone.
As a contractor for seventeen years, I have built my share of houses. Today, houses that are built are subject to many building codes. There are safety codes, fire codes, seismic codes and so on. When followed these codes ensure that a solid and sound structure is built from the bottom of the foundation to the top of the roof so that it can withstand as much as possible terrible fires, fierce winds, damaging floods and other forces of nature.
Similarly the Lord has given us commandments and gospel principles that, when applied, will build and strengthen our testimonies so that we are well fortified when trials befall us.
I have always strived to build and strengthen my testimony so that I remain steadfast in the Lord. A great example of one of my most recent trials is how much the floundering economy has hurt the mortgage and housing industry. People are losing their homes and contractors are starving for work. Just recently a lady knocked on my door asking if I was planning to sell my home. It turned out that she was going door to door as a real estate agent in an effort to earn some business.
I have managed to stay busy in the last month, but I have had to drive approximately eighty-five miles to and from three job sites just to stay busy and the hour and a half to two hour drive each way has definitely given me plenty of opportunities to ponder my blessings and just how lucky I am to have work, and I have not complained. I have been very thankful for the work because there are very few contractors out there who are also staying busy. A former employee of mine told me that temporary staffing services have had to turn away people who are trying to find work. Recently I spoke with a friend of mine who is also in the construction business and is going through as difficult time as I am. He told me he was paying his tithing and trying to do everything he is supposed to. He then asked, “What am I doing wrong?”
That question haunted me and I wondered, did he really do anything wrong? Has anyone who is struggling done anything wrong? It took some pondering to realize that this was the wrong approach. I found myself asking if we truly have a testimony, are we doing ALL that the Lord has commanded? How intently do we adhere to the Lord’s council?
Consider the current economy and its impact on most people today. How well have we prepared? How well had we prepared against a day of emergency? I once watched President Hinckley interviewed on television and he was asked what he thought he would be most known for. He answered by saying that he would be known as the prophet that nobody listened to. That statement has bothered me to this day because I felt he was talking about me. It wasn’t until recently, and coincidental to preparing this talk that I found out what he meant.
He gave an address at the Priesthood Session of General Conference in October 1998 and he said:
“Now, brethren, I want to make it very clear that I am not prophesying, that I am not predicting years of famine in the future. But I am suggesting that the time has come to get our houses in order.
So many of our people are living on the very edge of their incomes. In fact, some are living on borrowings.
We have witnessed in recent weeks wide and fearsome swings in the markets of the world. The economy is a fragile thing. A stumble in the economy in Jakarta or Moscow can immediately affect the entire world. It can eventually reach down to each of us as individuals. There is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed.
I hope with all my heart that we shall never slip into a depression. I am a child of the Great Depression of the thirties. I finished the university in 1932, when unemployment in this area exceeded 33 percent.
My father was then president of the largest stake in the Church in this valley. It was before our present welfare program was established. He walked the floor worrying about his people. He and his associates established a great wood-chopping project designed to keep the home furnaces and stoves going and the people warm in the winter. They had no money with which to buy coal. Men who had been affluent were among those who chopped wood.
I repeat, I hope we will never again see such a depression. But I am troubled by the huge consumer installment debt which hangs over the people of the nation, including our own people…
He went on to say:
“President Heber J. Grant spoke repeatedly on this matter from this pulpit. He said: “If there is any one thing that will bring peace and contentment into the human heart, and into the family, it is to live within our means. And if there is any one thing that is grinding and discouraging and disheartening, it is to have debts and obligations that one cannot meet” (Gospel Standards, comp. G. Homer Durham [1941], 111).
We are carrying a message of self-reliance throughout the Church. Self-reliance cannot obtain when there is serious debt hanging over a household. One has neither independence nor freedom from bondage when he is obligated to others.
In managing the affairs of the Church, we have tried to set an example. We have, as a matter of policy, stringently followed the practice of setting aside each year a percentage of the income of the Church against a possible day of need.
I am grateful to be able to say that the Church in all its operations, in all its undertakings, in all of its departments, is able to function without borrowed money. If we cannot get along, we will curtail our programs. We will shrink expenditures to fit the income. We will not borrow.
One of the happiest days in the life of President Joseph F. Smith was the day the Church paid off its long-standing indebtedness.
What a wonderful feeling it is to be free of debt, to have a little money against a day of emergency put away where it can be retrieved when necessary.”
Those were the words of the prophet ten years ago. As I wrote this it occurred to me that I had not attended that session because at that time I was working an average of eighteen hours a day on the job and building my own house at the same time, spending every waking moment, including Saturdays and sometimes Sundays to dry in my home and finish the exterior before the freezing temperatures and winter snow hit. Had I chosen to take a few hours that Saturday off to attend that session instead of work on my house, I would have been able to listen to the prophet’s strong admonition. I can only speculate then if I would have listened to him as he predicted many wouldn’t in his television interview much later. I have, however, managed to stay out of debt as much as possible, running a business, and doing all the things that I’m supposed to be doing, but saving up against a time of emergency did not seem to be a priority. Had I prepared against this time of need a little better, my testimony would still be as firm and unshakable as ever, for my foundation is solid, but I might have been better prepared. I surely would have made different choices.
But not once have I questioned the Lord. I do not doubt that the Lord has been mindful of me. Because of my testimony of the gospel, I have been able to weather the storms in my life because I know without a doubt that there is a God in heaven who even now is watching over me and taking care of my family. I know as much as ever that Jesus Christ lives. No amount of trials and tribulations will ever change those facts.
I’m still getting by, but it is my testimony that has given me the strength that I need in spite of the trials that I am enduring that resulted from the choices that I have made in my life. There were vacations and toys that I thought were more important than building a food storage. Instead of building a savings account I spent a little here and a little there. My food storage has always been sufficient and my savings adequate, but this has been a very poignant lesson for me. My priorities in life have once again shifted and my feet are placed on even firmer ground than before. This experience has truly served to reinforce my testimony that there is a loving Father in Heaven who watches out for us and will do everything that He can for us including warning us of coming storms. It is His will that we succeed in life and that we return to Him. We only need to submit to that will. When we do and do so completely without question, I know that is when we will be happiest.
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