One of my favorite sayings is that “the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else.” I have found that this is very true with the Gospel as well: few things will have as positive and as significant an impact on one’s testimony as seeing that of someone who is close to you develop and grow.
Today in Sacrament Meeting, my friend Rebecca stood up and shared her testimony for the first time. As she mentioned, it was one year ago this month that she came to her first Sacrament Meeting with me, and in the time since then and since her baptism in November I’ve been very privileged to see her testimony grow significantly. It meant so much to me to hear her say these words today:
I know that this Church is true. I am so grateful for the Gospel and I think it’s so beautiful, and I know with all my heart that it is true. I know that Heavenly Father loves us and he has a perfect plan for us.
After having known Rebecca for four and a half years now, and having shared the Gospel with her bit by bit the whole time until she began taking the missionary discussions, it is so fulfilling to hear her bear her testimony of the Gospel and to see her take the Sacrament. She is hoping to go to the Temple in November and I wish I could still be here for that, too, but I’ll (hopefully) be on my mission by then. But having seen someone so close to me go from only a passing knowledge about the Church to being baptized, and watching her testimony begin from scratch and seeing it grow and blossom into what she said today, has been an amazing experience and a true blessing in my life.
Those words themselves that she said are nothing unique; they are said (with variations) by countless young men and women, children, and adults, in front of family wards, singles wards, and branches around the world at fast and testimony meeting every month. What’s significant to me about her saying those words is that I was able to witness her progression in her testimony to the point where she can say those words, with such feeling and a glowing countenance that putting them on paper (figuratively speaking) or an audio recording simply can’t convey.
Having that witness has in turn strengthened my own testimony, because only if the Gospel were true could it have touched Rebecca’s life as strongly as it has. One of the things about serving a mission that I am most looking forward to is being able to see that process repeated again and again as I meet and spread the Gospel to as many people as I can. However, my friendship with Rebecca has made this particular experience all the more meaningful, and its effect much more profound to me, and it is one that I know I will cherish forever.
This is my testimony: that Jesus is the Christ, Redeemer and Savior of the world, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church of Jesus Christ on the Earth today; that Joseph Smith was, and Thomas S. Monson now is, a prophet of God; that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true, and the plan set before us by our Heavenly Father is true, perfect, and eternal, and attainable through the atonement of Jesus Christ. I knew these things with a surity even before I met Rebecca, and I know now beyond any doubt or question that they are true. I share these words with the world in the hopes that they may be of use to someone who is writing a talk or lesson about testimony, or who is just investigating the Church for the first time (in which case I encourage you to visit the above links); and I do so in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
(For those not familiar with the Church, on the first Sunday of every month, instead of prepared talks on specific subjects the members of each congregation have the opportunity to share a recent spiritual experience that has personally strengthened their own belief in the Gospel. This post is in lieu of me standing up in Sacrament Meeting today to bear my testimony; I felt very strongly prompted to share these things, but I still have a terrible fear of speech-making and other similar forms of public speaking. I would like to make this a monthly occurrence, so we’ll see if I’m up for doing this again next month. My standard anti-troll warning applies.)
Are Mormons Christians?
“Mormons aren’t Christians.” It’s said time and time again, and yet some members of the Church don’t quite seem to know how to respond. I was posed this statement over Facebook today, and used my standard approach to it; I have found that no successful argument to back up the statement that Mormons aren’t Christians can be made if these facts are set in place up front.
Some recommended reading: Are Mormons Christians? by Stephen E. Robinson, which looks at many of the arguments against Mormons being Christians, and expands on the above and provides numerous other counterarguments; and Mormon.org, a website run by the Church to explain the basic points of doctrine of the Church and answer numerous common misconceptions about the doctrine and practice of the Church.
I am open to having a civil discussion in the comments for this post, and welcome those of all viewpoints; but be advised that your e-mail and IP addresses are recorded when you post here, and I have absolutely no reservations about totally and permanently banning anyone who decides to troll or only wants to be confrontational. (In cases of extreme trolling, your name, e-mail, and IP addresses will be handed over to 4chan. If you don’t know what the implications of that are, you don’t want to find out. Bottom line: don’t troll.)