TESTIMONY BEARING

Although I think about my Thoughts and do some preliminary thinking about what I am going to write during the week, I usually write on Wednesday mornings. On the Wednesday when this Thought was to be written I had a very different experience. I awoke about 3 am in the morning and before I could get back to sleep my brain shifted into the Thought I would be writing today. At 3:30 am I gave up on getting back to sleep so I went down to the computer to write what was going on in my mind.

It wasn’t too long thereafter that as I was reviewing the fourth chapter of Second Nephi that I realize my brain had somehow put some to the words of Alma into the Psalm of Nephi which is one of the ways this chapter is referred to. Now that I have disclosed the frailty of the instrument which attempts to organized and write these Thoughts for a Sabbath Day, I would understand if my readership diminishes.

Once I had my thoughts traveling along the right track and after refreshing myself on what was contained in the Psalm of Nephi and I was once again able to gain what I will loosely call control of my mind. I was impressed with the notion, that although Nephi was trying to subdue the anger of his brothers towards him shortly after his father Lehi’s death, he was doing so by bearing a powerful and strong testimony.

Over the years, as I have studied and listened to what has been taught about bearing testimonies I come to believe in several tenets about the testimonies we have and share with others. As you search the Psalm of Nephi you will easily be able to fit his words into one or more of these categories:

When bearing our testimony of gospel principles our witness will be more powerful if we are specific rather than general in the areas about which we are testifying.

When expressing the challenges we face in life to others we would be wise to use generalities rather than specifics.

Since our knowledge and understanding are constantly in a state of flux our testimonies should reflect that shifting.

We should be careful that we be not deceived into thinking that we have reached our capacity to know the truths of Heavenly Father’s Plan.

There are some spiritual events in our lives that may fall in the category of being so sacred that they should remain in our hearts.

Testimony bearing needs to be adjusted so that it is appropriate to the occasion and the audience to which we are bearing witness.

We should forfeit our personal views about bearing testimony in Sacrament Meeting to the counsel of the Living Apostles and Prophets.

We should be willing to submit to the urgings of the Holy Spirit when prompted to bear our testimony.

The bearing of one’s testimony must never become a means for meeting personal needs or seeking honor or admiration from others

We would be wise to acknowledge in our minds and when appropriate as part of our testimonies our recognition of our miniscule understanding when compared to that of Deity

When the audience of our testimony is limited to communicating with our Heavenly Father it should not surprise us if we find ourselves expressing gratitude and pleading for strength to overcome our weaknesses

One of the indications of something having died is that it has ceased to grow, therefore, it would be wise to keep nurturing our sapling testimonies so that they will continue to grow

Although I didn’t know it at the time, in the spring of 2010 I was teaching what would be my last group of students in a formal classroom setting.
(I like to think of my writing in this last phase of my life as an informal teaching situation.) Anyway, one of the members of the class, my friend, Paul Hansen, had been working on a project which led to the production of a replica of the Book of Mormon plates. As part of his project development he had purchased a device which would print on metal plates as directed by a computer program. As a gift to me he offered to print my testimony on a metal plate which was prepared to resemble a gold plate like those used by Mormon and Moroni as they were abridging the history of Lehi’s descendants in the Americas.

As I was writing this Thought I took a moment to review what I had written and what had been engraved on that plate. I quickly realized two very interesting things as I read; First, that during the last eight years I have had many shifts and hopefully taken progressive steps in the content of my testimony. Second, that although there is permanence to what was engraved on that plate, it in no way is representative of my ever progressing beliefs.

As I finish writing this Thought, my prayer is that you might be motivated to spend your Sabbath Day pondering time doing a searching review of the Psalm of Nephi from the fourth chapter of Second Nephi and perhaps even recording with the written word some of your own testimony.


THOUGHTS FOR A SABBATH DAY – WILLIAM L. RILEY

EDITED BY – KATHLEEN W. RILEY