“Sharing Time: We Can Testify of Jesus Christ and His Gospel,” Liahona, Sept. 1999, 2
Sharing Time:
We Can Testify of Jesus Christ and His Gospel
“Remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation” (Hel. 5:12).
How can we gain a testimony of the Savior and the gospel? When we pray, read the scriptures, keep the commandments, and follow the living prophets, Heavenly Father will give us a testimony through the Holy Ghost.
What is a testimony? It is the knowledge given to those who seek it that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are real, that the prophets speak in Their name, that the scriptures are the word of God, that the Church is true, and that the Lord restored it through Joseph Smith in our day.
Moroni gave us a special promise about gaining a testimony of the Book of Mormon. He said we should study the Book of Mormon, then ask God if it is true. If we do this with a sincere heart and with faith in Christ, He will manifest the truth of it unto us by the power of the Holy Ghost. Many people have tested this wonderful promise in Moroni 10:3–5 [Moro. 10:3–5] and have found out for themselves that the Book of Mormon is true. We, too, can testify that the Book of Mormon is true when we study it and ask God. We, too, can receive the witness of the Holy Ghost.
When we know the Book of Mormon is true, we know other important things as well: We know that Jesus is the Christ—this is the most important message of the Book of Mormon—and we know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God and that he translated the Book of Mormon under the direction of God.
We can testify of these things.
Instructions
Mount page 3 on heavy paper; then cut out the two disks. Place the disk with the large picture on top, and insert a paper fastener through the center of both disks. Turn the top disk and read the words that appear. Decide which of the two questions each statement answers, and write the statement under that question.
The First Vision, by Del Parson; Christ and the Book of Mormon Children, by Del Parson
I Can Testify of Jesus Christ and His Gospel
What Is a Testimony?
I know God lives
I know Jesus Christ is my Savior
I know Joseph Smith is a prophet of God
I know the Book of Mormon is the word of God
How Can My Testimony Grow?
My testimony grows when I read the scriptures
My testimony grows when I keep the commandments
My testimony grows when I share it
My testimony grows when I pray and listen
Sharing Time Ideas
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Have a child select one of the following objects: a hymnbook with “I Know My Father Lives” (Hymns, number 302) marked, a copy of the Book of Mormon, and pictures of Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith, and President Gordon B. Hinckley. Discuss how each object is important to a testimony. Possible discussions: hymnbook—sing “I Know My Father Lives”; Book of Mormon—sing “Book of Mormon Stories” (Children’s Songbook, 118–19), and ask “Of whom do all the prophets in the Book of Mormon testify?”; Jesus Christ—ask “What did He do for us?” “What did He teach us?”; Joseph Smith—ask “What happened when he prayed in the Sacred Grove?”; living prophet—ask “What can we do to follow him?” Help the children understand the feelings they have when the Holy Ghost testifies to them (see Gal. 5:22–23; D&C 6:22–23).
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Have each class present a role-play situation. Possible situations: (1) You are wearing a CTR ring. A friend asks what the letters mean; (2) You have a friend who is discouraged. You help her understand that Heavenly Father loves her; (3) During a Sharing Time presentation, you share an experience your family had in which prayers were answered; (4) A visitor comes to your house and sees a Book of Mormon. He or she asks what it is about. Remind the children that we can share our testimonies in testimony meeting, when we sing, when we are with our friends, whenever we are prompted by the Spirit, and at all times by our examples.
Christ the Consolator, by Carl Heinrich Bloch/Superstock; The Bitter Cup, by Simon Dewey