Talk: Testimony and Prophets

I was asked to speak in our new ward in California:

In Jacob 4:6 it reads, "wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy, and hacing all these witnesses we gain a hope, and our faith becometh unshaken." I'm going to tell you 3 stories from the scriptures that can help us to gain hope and our own personal witness:

In Acts 4 we read of Peter and John being arrested for healing a lame man and preaching of Christ. The council brings them in for questioning and asks, “By what power, or by what name, have ye done this? Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them…If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” After Peter had given his testimony as to the events in question, the council talked among themselves and “when they perceived the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned men, they marveled…and beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.” So these men couldn’t deny the miracle that had been performed, but they didn’t want the news spreading any farther, so they commanded Peter and John not to tell the story and to no longer preach in Jesus’ name, to which they answered, “Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.” So then the council threatened them some more, but couldn’t find any reason to actually punish them so they let them go.

A similar story is recorded in John 9, where Jesus heals a blind man by making clay to cover his eyes and then telling him to go wash. When the man comes back, his neighbors can hardly believe it, and some say, Well, this guy just looks like our blind neighbor, to which the man says, no, it’s me. He’s taken before the Pharisees and gives testimony concerning the event, and the Pharisees say, “This man (meaning Jesus) is not of God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles?” Then they decided he must not have actually been blind, so his parents are brought in to testify. After they establish he really was blind they say to him, “Thou art his disciple! But we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvelous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind, except he be of God. If this man were not of God, he could do no such thing.”

My last story is recorded in D&C 76, this is a vision given to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon while they were translating St. John’s gospel. The section heading says, “It was apparent that many important points touching the salvation of man had been taken from the Bible, or lost before it was compiled. It appeared self-evident from what truths were left, that Heaven must include more kingdoms than one.” Verses 22-24 contain a portion of the testimony Joseph recorded pertaining to what they had seen. “And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the Father—That by him, and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God.”

These 3 stories are examples of witnesses or testimonies of Christ, and the scriptures are full of similar accounts recorded by ancient prophets. Was Joseph Smith the last to receive revelation from God? Now that the church is restored, are we cut off from God, dependent on the words we find in scriptures?

Elder L. Aldin Porter of the 70 answers this question in a talk called “Search the Prophets,” he says, “Now, you need to understand that this is your day. This is your time. We honor, as we should our forefathers for their enormous sacrifices…but I ask you, ‘Are we only the descendants of great men and women? Do we not have a part to play in the ongoing work of the Lord Jesus Christ?’ The answer is, of course we do. And as our forefathers did not fail in their challenges, we must not fail in ours. They found the light and direction they needed in the living prophets of their day. We will find the light and direction we need in our day from the same source, even the living prophets of today.” To further this thought, Spencer W. Kimball is quoted in teachings of the Presidents as saying, “Neither the Father Elohim nor the Son Jehovah would alienate himself from the children of men. It is they, the men, who cut themselves off it there be estrangement. Both the Father and the Son would gladly commune and associate with men.”

Brigham Young says, that God is not only willing to communicate with us as a church or with his living prophets, but that “It is both the duty and privilege of the Latter-day Saints to know that their religion is true. Let everyone get a knowledge for himself that this work is true. We do not want you to say that it is true until you know that it is; and if you know it, that knowledge is as good to you as though the Lord came down and told you.” As God’s children it is our privilege to know he is real, but as members of His church it is our duty to have a testimony. Whether we are born in the church or baptized later in life, we are all converts. At some point in our life we will finally decide to follow the Lord, so what is it we should have a testimony of?

Harold B. Lee said, “We must know for certainty in our hearts and minds that Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world. We must know that this is indeed the Church of Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God on earth in these last days; and finally we must have a testimony that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God.” So the first things we need to gain a testimony of are: Jesus is our Savior, this is His church, and He has living prophets. But how do we gain a testimony? Brigham Young says, “I do not want men to come to me or my brethren for testimony as to the truth of this work; but let them take the Scriptures of divine truth, and there the path is pointed out to them as plainly as ever a guidebook indicated the right path to the weary traveler…Can they who take this course in honesty and sincerity receive information? Will the Lord turn away from the honest heart seeking the truth? No, he will not; he will prove it to them, by the revelations of his Spirit, the facts in the case…Do his will, and we shall know whether he speaks by the authority of the Father or of himself.” The path to gaining a testimony is simple, search the scriptures, follow the commandments given by prophets of old and our living prophet, and you will learn through revelations of the Spirit that these commandments are all from God. Pay your tithing and you will gain a testimony of its power. Serve your neighbors and you will gain a testimony of service and charity. Read the Book of Mormon, pray about its truthfulness and you will know that its teachings are true. If its teachings are true, then Joseph Smith was a true prophet of God, and that Jesus Christ lives. I love that if you believe one part of the restoration that it leads to a testimony of the entirety of the gospel.

So, what modern revelations have the prophets given us? We can start with Joseph Smith. Through him we received the Book of Mormon, ordinances like baptism, the sacrament and the endowment, the power of the priesthood and the word of wisdom. More revelations for Latter-day Saints include the Pioneers moving to the Utah, food storage, priesthood given to all worthy males, the family proclamation—which was given well before issues with proposition 8—and the lowering of missionary age. But what is the most recent instruction we’ve been given from the Lord, through President Monson? He said, “Love is the very essence of the gospel, and Jesus Christ is our exemplar. His life was a legacy of love. The sick he healed. The downtrodden He lifted. The sinner He saved. At the end, the angry mob took his life. And yet there rings from Golgatha’s hill the words: ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.’ A crowning expression in mortality of compassion and love. There are many attributes which are manifestations of love, such as kindness, patience, selflessness, understanding, and forgiveness. In all our associations, these and other such attributes will help make evident the love in our day to day interactions one with another. All important will be our ability to recognize someone’s need and then to respond.” It was prophesied that in the last days, “Men’s hearts will wax cold.” How poignant it is that we are being asked to be more kind and patient with the people around us. Let’s try the words of the prophet and of all the prophets. I testify that as you attempt to follow the commandments and you search the scriptures and other written records of more modern prophets that you can gain a testimony of Jesus Christ, that this is His church and that we are able to receive personal revelation through the Spirit, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.