1991
Lay Hold upon Every Good Thing
March 1991


“Lay Hold upon Every Good Thing,” Ensign, Mar. 1991, 70

The Visiting Teacher:

“Lay Hold upon Every Good Thing”

The prophet Mormon addressed his words to “you that are of the church, that are the peaceable followers of Christ.” (Moro. 7:3.) He then asked the members of Christ’s church this question: “How is it possible that ye can lay hold upon every good thing?” (Moro. 7:20.) The answer he gave, simply and significantly, is faith: “And thus by faith, they did lay hold upon every good thing.” (Moro. 7:25.)

In a world where there is so much confusion and where so many people are seeking answers, this answer is worthy of serious consideration.

How can you use the scriptures to provide answers to your questions?

Faith Builds Personal Testimony

Mormon explained that “they who have faith in [the Savior] will cleave unto every good thing.” (Moro. 7:28.) One fruit of our faith is that we seek the most important things in life. Another fruit is that we are empowered by the Spirit to accomplish all we need to do. Mormon quoted the Savior: “And Christ hath said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is expedient in me.” (Moro. 7:33.)

One sister discovered how building her personal testimony helped her overcome a challenge she faced at work. Her immediate supervisor belittled her publicly because of her Church membership. She was troubled daily by his derogatory comments and decided not to participate in office discussions because they often precipitated much of her supervisor’s criticism.

However, after several weeks of prayer, seeking strength from the Lord, she rejoined her colleagues in discussing the issues important to their work. Although the derogatory remarks continued, she found that they no longer troubled her. She discovered that her testimony was rooted in faith and that through faith she had been able to “lay hold” upon a “good thing.”

How has your faith helped you overcome a challenge?

“Ye Shall Have Hope”

Mormon asked another important question of the Saints: “How is it that ye can attain unto faith, save ye shall have hope?” (Moro. 7:40.) To build personal testimony, we must have both faith and hope. Mormon taught, “Wherefore if a man have faith he must needs have hope; for without faith there cannot be any hope.” (Moro. 7:42.) Thus, faith and hope work together, strengthening each other and enabling personal testimony to grow and flourish.

How are your actions changed because you have hope?

Build a Personal Testimony

Building personal testimony is a matter of desire and of making choices that increase our faith and hope. As we desire to “lay hold upon every good thing,” we of necessity choose actions that increase our faith:

  • We set aside meaningful time for prayer.

  • We remember and renew our covenants regularly through partaking of the sacrament and visiting the temple.

  • We use the scriptures as a personal road map to guide us in our actions.

  • We cultivate friendships with people who help us build our testimonies.

  • We make service part of our daily routine.

Building a testimony is not always easy. In the process, we may have moments of discouragement. But as we seek to develop faith and hope and learn to appreciate the challenges of mortality, we build our testimonies.

How can we continue to build a testimony even when we are discouraged?

Illustrated by Ron Peterson