“How to Testify,” Tambuli, Nov. 1977, 14
How to Testify
What is Testimony?
Sometimes, I’m amazed by the power of a testimony. After all, it s only a few more words than what we would ordinarily say to a person—or so it seems. The power of those words!
For instance, I was speaking to the missionaries at the Language Training Mission, when I suddenly felt impressed to testify of the intrinsic worth of each person there. There was no need to compare oneself with another, that the Lord knew and loved each one as a separate person and had special guidance and power to give in helping each one move on to the next step, etc., etc. Afterwards, several asked me to bear that exact testimony again and to give more explanation, almost as if they desperately wanted to believe it. One was almost overcome with a feeling of relief and joy.
I remember that many times after teaching the gospel to investigators in the mission field, or to members in Church meetings, or to counselees in my office, or to strangers on planes, I felt impressed to witness of the reality and power of the Savior. When I did bear witness I felt like a conduit of light and love and power. Though it seemed so right and normal at the time, afterwards I was often amazed at the almost miraculous effect of one person bearing testimony to another through the Spirit. The testimonies of others have a similar effect on me.
Why is testimony bearing so powerful, so needful? At least three reasons come to mind. First, testifying is the purest form of human communication. The deepest meaning, the deepest conviction of one’s soul is being given to another through the medium of the Holy Spirit. “Wherefore, he that preacheth and he that receiveth, understand one another, and both are edified and rejoice together.” (D&C 50:22.) The Lord wants his children to hear and receive divine truths so they might live by them and receive more.
Second, testimony bearing helps us to feel less like I am a “stranger here.” Undoubtedly, we knew many eternal truths before coming here and “pure testimony” thins the veil sufficiently to remind us of premortal spirit knowledge. To a degree, we feel “home.”
President Joseph F. Smith taught: “Every salient truth which comes so forcibly to the heart and mind of man is but an awakening of the memory of the spirit.” He then asked: “Can we know anything here we did not know before we came here?”
Third, people hunger for something fixed and certain in the universe; something they can deeply believe in and depend on. Perhaps this is true more now than ever before because most everything in the world is changing, including the speed of change itself. (That speed is constantly increasing.) There must be something changeless that is true! Otherwise we tend to resort to defenses such as prejudice and cynicism to keep us from being vulnerable to all the fickle forces that play upon our lives.
A genuine testimony provides its own armor, making such defenses unnecessary (study D&C 27:15–18) and, when borne, a testimony can hold forth hope of that area to the listeners that there is something that is eternal.
How should we bear testimony?
There are probably as many answers as there are people. But there are some underlying ideas that may have general value. Consider these 10 guidelines.
1. Bear testimony by and through the Spirit. Timing is often critical. By cultivating the gift of the Spirit called discernment, by praying specifically for the spirit of a testimony, and by being open and receptive, we will come to know when and how to bear testimony. It is inappropriate, even destructive, to bear testimony when the Spirit isn’t present, when love is not felt, when what we have taught has been vague and confusing, and when our personal lives clearly do not conform to our words.
“And the Spirit shall be given unto you by the prayer of faith; and if ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach.” (D&C 42:14.)
While a testimony certainly contains emotions, it is more than emotions, and we need to guard against unsuitable and excessive emotionalism, which can be self-seeking and insincere. A testimony confirms and tops off our teachings. It doesn’t substitute for them.
Neither should we overdo formal testimony by saying “I know” “I know” every few minutes. That, too, can gradually lose its impact.
We bear our testimony informally by the tone of belief our voice naturally has when we explain gospel principles and by the amount of respect we show to others. (Consider John 13:34–35.)
2. Testify when you feel full of love. In fact, showing love when teaching gospel truths is a form of testimony in itself. People often cannot receive more light and truth except on conditions of being loved in various ways, including teaching and testifying, praying with and for them, encouraging and affirming them, empathizing with and understanding them, and walking with and sacrificing for them. Many parents, teachers, and member missionaries who do the first three and not the last two would be amazed at the power of all five together.
Righteous use of authority comes from character, not position. A testimony from an authority person who uses persuasion, kindness, gentleness, love unfeigned, etc., is many times more powerful and influential than a testimony from one who, lacking strength inside, borrows it from his position. (See D&C 121:41.)
In my opinion, President Kimball “can be” bold and direct in his expressions and testimony primarily because his love and humility and dedication are so obvious to all.
3. Testify to people, don’t rail at them. The purpose is to encourage people, not to condemn them, Even in those instances in scriptural history when pure testimony was being borne against the souls of people, the ultimate motive was to call (shake) to repentance and to bless, not to condemn.
4. Occasionally, as moved by the Spirit, testify of the identity and worth of the other person and of his or her ability, with God’s help, to accept and obey the truth given, and also of the power or freedom to choose to obey. As a mission president, I wrote a letter to each new convert asking for a letter in return outlining the conversion process, including the problems and obstacles that confronted them. About half of the responses indicated that from the very beginning, they never doubted the truth of the message. They doubted themselves. They doubted their worth or their ability to live the truth.
But when people become aware of their own eternal identity, of their godly potential and of their agency or power to choose their response to any set of circumstances, a vital substance is unlocked and released making them stronger.
When we testify of the true identity and worth of another, we give him hope and courage.
5. Testify, as you are inspired of how testimony comes. Testimony comes from the Holy Ghost; it comes to one who is open and seeking and who is trying to be true to the truth he already has. Otherwise, many people carry the cultural notion that the way to truth is intellectual, which is part of it but certainly not the important part. People will come to know the truth to the degree they are true to the truth they have. To find truth, we must begin by being honest. I remember many times teaching people who claimed to be doubting the Joseph Smith story. They were really having problems with smoking or tea (or whatever the Spirit impressed us was their problem). We told them that if they would live the Word of Wisdom they would receive a hidden treasure of knowledge, including a testimony of the prophetic calling of Joseph Smith. “Ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.” (Ether 12:6.) Many of them immediately acknowledged the real problem, then later conquered the habit and experienced a fulfillment of the promise.
6. Occasionally, tell others when you feel the Spirit and feel that they sense it also. Otherwise, many get a wrong idea of what to expect and will continue looking for something more dramatic and mystical, while “looking beyond the mark” (Jacob 4:14) and discounting the sweetness, the harmony, and the quiet reassuring peace of the still small voice.
“My friend, the same sweet peaceful spirit you and I both feel right now is the same spirit you will feel when you prayerfully ponder the Book of Mormon.”
7. Learn to pause when you testify, to give time for the other to think and to feel. I remember watching Elder Boyd K. Packer train his New England missionaries to slow down their presentations, and particularly to pause when testifying in order to give room for the Spirit to work its matchless converting miracle. “Be calm. Be believing. Look them in the eye. Then testify.”
“Be still and know that I am God.” (D&C 101:16.)
8. Use testifying words and expressions that can be understood by the hearers. So many communication obstacles are unnecessarily created by common Church vocabulary that nonmembers might not understand. (For example, “testimony,” “sacrament,” “priesthood,” “family home evening,” and “ward” are all words that could be misunderstood. There are many others.) Just as we wouldn’t hesitate to learn another language, we shouldn’t hesitate to work within the vocabularies of others to communicate our meanings.
The Lord himself is the perfect model of this. So are his prophets. Nephi said, “For my soul delighteth in plainness; for after this manner doth the Lord God work among the children of men. For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding.” (2 Ne. 31:3.)
9. Prepare yourself to testify. Specifically pray for the spirit of testimony. Pray for courage to express it. Humble yourself in fasting and repentance. It’s instructive that the monthly testimony meeting is preceded by fasting and renewing our covenants. Also, bearing testimony in such a meeting is more than expressing appreciation, as beautiful and appropriate as being grateful may be. It involves expressing a conviction, declaring one’s position, expressing the soul’s deepest convictions born of the Spirit that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that Joseph Smith and his successors were called to be prophets, and that the Church is led by Jesus Christ.
The way we live is our clearest testimony, particularly when we are under strain and threat and still live righteously. Over time, it reflects what we really believe. If our actions are in harmony with what we say we believe, the Lord will use us and bear testimony through us in some way to every person we meet.
10. Testify. Testify often. Monthly. Weekly. Daily. Both formally and informally. Like a muscle our ability to testify will grow through sincere use.
Relatively few of our Father in heaven’s children possess testimonies of those precious truths and powers which alone can heal individuals and families and even nations. If the leavening influence of these few is weakened because of impurity or the fear of men, how will the Lord do his vital work? “If the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted?” (See Matt. 5:13.) “But with some I am not well pleased, for they will not open their mouths, but they hide the talent which I have given unto them, because of the fear of man. Wo unto such, for mine anger is kindled against them. And it shall come to pass, if they are not more faithful unto me, it shall be taken away, even that which they have.” (D&C 60:2–3.)