Book of Mormon: Day 76: Testimony

Today’s Reading:  2 Nephi 33:1-9

And I know that the Lord God will consecrate my prayers for the gain of my people. And the words which I have written in weakness will be made strong unto them; for it persuadeth them to do good; it maketh known unto them of their fathers; and it speaketh of Jesus, and persuadeth them to believe in him, and to endure to the end, which is life eternal.

There is power in pure testimony of the Lord, His gospel, and His prophets.

I remember a time when I wrote a blog post on the prophet, Joseph Smith.  I don’t normally receive a lot of comments on my posts, so you can imagine my excitement when I saw a notification that someone had left a comment.  With anticipation I started to read what someone had so kindly taken the time to write.  I was devastated.  Instead of leaving positivity and encouragement, this person had chosen to bash the prophet Joseph Smith and tell me that I should reconsider my feelings about him.  With each word I read, my soul was left with deep, angry bruises.  I love Joseph Smith and I have a testimony that he is a prophet of God.  I echo his words when he said,

“[For I had seen a vision]; I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it.” [i]

I have not had a powerful vision like Joseph Smith had, however, I have had the Holy Ghost witness unto me that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God.  I cannot deny that witness.

After taking a few moments to digest the hurtful words, I started to wonder what course of action I should take.  Should I respond or leave it alone?  I certainly cannot fault this person for leaving his or her opinion on my blog.  Despite the harshness of the words, they were actually written in a manner that was respectful and I do not have the authority to take away someone’s right of free speech.  I knew that I did not want to respond that very second- the pain was too fresh and I definitely would have said something harsh and unkind.  No, I needed to allow myself time to process the information and pray to know what God would have me do and say.

After several hours, I felt that I should counter the hurtful words with my simple testimony of the prophet Joseph.  As I sat at my computer, I felt a rush of power flow through my fingers as they typed my testimony.  They were shaking so badly that I kept having to backspace and had problems finding the right keys.  The pounding of my heart made my chest hurt and I felt physically drained of all energy.  My response was short, respectful, and simple, but I felt it packed a powerful punch.  They were words written in my weakness, but they were made strong through the power of the Lord.

Going back to this block of scriptures in 2 Nephi, I feel that Nephi knew the power of pure testimony.  I also get the sense that his testimony was his most prized possession and so it should be with us.  We should “speak of Jesus”, “persuade people to believe in him”, and “endure to the end.”

As we “speak by the power of the Holy Ghost”, that power will carry our words “unto the hearts of the children of men.” (verse 1)  If those children have not hardened their hearts “against the Holy Spirit”, then their hearts cannot help but be touched. (verse 2)  In his talk, “The Power of a Personal Testimony” [ii], President Dieter F. Uchtdorf shares these powerful words…

“Testimonies of things how ‘they really are’ are bold, true, and vital because they have eternal consequences for mankind.”

Let us never be ashamed of our testimonies.  They are forged in the fires of faith and experience and they will help us stand firm in these latter days.  Let us always “glory in plainness, truth, and most especially, let us glory in our Jesus for he hath truly redeemed our souls from hell.” (verse 6)

testimonies

This week in Howard W. Hunter:  Chapter 5- Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Restoration

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *