Gaining a Personal Testimony -- given October 2007

In the April 2007 General Conference, Elder Glenn L. Pace of the Seventy gave a talk entitled: Do You Know? He opened with a story about a girl who was the only member of the church in her high school. He asked what the hardest thing about it was for her, and she responded, “believing something is true when everyone else believes it is false, and believing something is wrong when everyone else believes it is all right.” He then asked her in relation to the truth of the restored gospel the same question that he posed to all of us in his talk: Do you know?

This is the question that I want to explore in more detail today: Do you know? Do I know? Do each of us know for ourselves the truthfulness of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ?

The importance of knowing for one’s self, of gaining a personal witness or testimony of the truth, cannot be overstated. In our most recent General Conference, Elder Callister put it this way: “In the genius of the gospel plan, there ultimately only has to be one witness, but that witness must be you. The testimony of others may initiate and nourish the desire for faith and testimony, but eventually every individual must find out for himself… If you want to know that you know, a price must be paid. And you alone must pay that price. There are proxies for ordinances, but none for the acquisition of a testimony.”

President Hinckley has counseled us: “Every Latter-day Saint has the responsibility to know for himself or herself with a certainty beyond doubt that Jesus is the resurrected, living Son of God.”

Similarly, Elder Heber C. Kimball taught: “The time will come when no man nor woman will be able to endure on borrowed light. Each will have to be guided by the light within himself. If you do not have it, how can you stand?”

This principle is precisely what the Savior was teaching us in the parable of the 10 virgins: we cannot make it on borrowed light. At the end of the day, when our lives are over, when our testimonies are put to the test, and ultimately when the Savior returns – and the bridegroom cometh – there will be one test of whether we will be invited in, ready and able to attend the Lord’s feast, do we have our own light? Or, in Elder Pace’s words: Do we know?

Hence, the question “Do you know?” becomes a question of greatest eternal significance and worth our highest consideration.

To begin considering whether we know, I would ask you to ponder personally with me a series questions posed by Elder Richard G. Scott. He says, quote: “Honestly evaluate your personal life. How strong is your testimony? Is it truly a sustaining power in your life, or is it more a hope that what you have learned is true? Is it more than a vague belief that worthwhile concepts and patterns of life seem to be reasonable and logical? Such mental assent will not help you face the serious challenges that will inevitably come to you. Does your testimony guide you to correct decisions? To do so, fundamental truths must become part of the very fiber of your character. They must be an essential part of your being, more treasured than life itself.”

We each may find our testimony at various places throughout our lives. When you listened to Elder Scott’s words, did you wonder how strong your testimony really is? Did you recognize that there is more you need to do? Did you feel that your testimony is firm, but worry about keeping it that way into the future? Did you even wonder if you even have a testimony at all? Wherever your personal, honest assessment places you along this continuum, the eternal importance of obtaining or strengthening your testimony applies to you.

Having studied this topic, I have found that the pattern for gaining and the pattern for maintaining a testimony are the same. Testimonies are very personal, so the life experiences and personal revelation that are part of an individual’s process of gaining a testimony will differ, but the steps that must be gone through to acquire and strengthen a testimony are universal.

These steps are most eloquently set forth in the seminal address on this topic given by Alma. In Alma Chapter 32, Alma compares the word of God, or the truth, to a seed.

First Alma says one must desire to know.

“If ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words.”

Desire is a critical element because, as Alma says, it helps to provide a place in which a testimony can grow. Alma’s agricultural metaphor is very instructive. It is easy to understand why ground that is completely overrun with other plants and weeds and has no available room would not be a conducive place to plant a fragile, tiny seed. Similarly, the hardened, closed, or even distracted person who does not have enough of a desire to know the truth to make room for it within, will never be able to effectively nourish a testimony.

Second, once a sincere desire is present, the next step is to “exercise faith.”

Faith is the first principle of the gospel and the first principle of testimony because it helps us move from the condition of not knowing to knowing. As Alma states: “faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore, if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” So it is with each of us, in the beginning there is always something we do not know, some matter upon which our knowledge is not perfect, but with faith we engage in the necessary actions required to test whether it is true. As Alma says, this exercise of faith is like planting a seed. We may not be certain that a seed will actually grow into a plant, particularly if we have never planted one before, or we may not be certain of what type of plant may be produced from the seed we have. Other people may be able to tell us that they have seen seeds grow into plants, but initially we must hope that the seed will actually grow and believe in it enough to decide to try planting it. Similarly, with gospel truth, we can listen to the witnesses of others and we can trust in them some, but in the end we have to exercise sufficient faith in the truthfulness of their words to try them out for ourselves if we are ever going to gain a testimony.

Once we are ready to, as Alma says, “plant the seed,” or test the word of God in our lives, we must understand the full meaning of what Alma means when he instructs us to “plant the seed.”

Just as a seed could not grow if we placed it in dirt and then hid it in the basement for two weeks, but must receive water and sunlight and nourishment to begin to sprout, so it is with our testimonies. Interestingly, Christ himself taught us in metaphor that he is both “the light of the world” and “living water.” The two life-sustaining, absolutely essential elements to life and growth of a testimony are literally the light and water referenced by the Savior.

How do we access the life-sustaining and enlightening power of Christ? The two primary methods are prayer and scripture study. After this discourse of Alma’s that we are presently discussing was delivered, many of the people present did not fully understand how they were to go about this process of planting the word in their lives. Alma then gave more specific instructions on how this was to be accomplished, admonishing the people to: pray in all circumstances, read and understand the scriptures, and believe in the Son of God (Alma 33).

Through prayer, we, like a plant, turn towards the source of light, draw near unto it, and are promised that He will then “draw near unto us.” We seek guidance and inspiration through this method of direct communication with Deity in the name of the Son, and enlightenment is promised. Our prayers to know must be sincere; they must be intent; they cannot be formulaic or rote. Like Enos, we must “wrestle” before the Lord, denoting a deep, soul-wrenching intensity. Elder Eyring has also taught that prayer that leads to a knowledge of truth must include a humble intention to obey the direction that comes.

We drink deeply and thoroughly of living waters and feast on the nutrient rich word of God through scripture study. It is here that we can gain substance and nutrients necessary for strength.

If we want to know, if the gospel is true, if the Book of Mormon is the word of God, if Joseph Smith was a prophet, if Christ is truly our redeemer, the one and only source of this information, the essential element is a study of the scriptures themselves which witness to each of these points.

Elder Eyring has promised: “The Spirit will testify the truth to [your] hearts every time [you read] in the scriptures which came to us through the Prophet Joseph Smith. And the Spirit will confirm again that God spoke through His prophet…ponder the scriptures every day, with faith that [you] will be taught by the Spirit….You…will receive the word of God by obeying it.”

Third, once the seed is fully planted and receiving the necessary nourishment, then the next step is to observe.

Alma says: “the [good] seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow.” We are taught in scripture that we can recognize that which is good by looking at the fruit it brings forth and that that which inviteth and enticeth to do good is of Christ. Similarly, we must be observant to the result of prayerful study and searching of the gospel in our lives. What are the feelings that come? What sort of changes do we begin to see in our lives, are they good? Do we feel enlarged? Alma says we may say that the principle or truth we have made room for in our hearts, “beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it enlighteneth my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.” Through these signs we can recognize truth.”

As we work to develop our testimonies, it is important to be clear about how we can expect to gain the answers we are seeking. Sometimes we can question our testimonies or fail to recognize them because we expect to get answers in ways they are unlikely to come. We may try to reason everything out in our minds or wait for a new and dramatic witness. However, the witness of truth, particularly as related to God the Father and Jesus Christ, is always the Holy Ghost. It is through the whisperings of the spirit that we will come to know truth. Therefore, we can expect to know through both quiet and poignant feelings of peace, comfort, enlightenment, and joy.

In a 1988 address entitled The Soil and Roots of Testimony Elder John Carmack, taught: “Testimony isn’t achieved by logic and study….I don’t believe it was ever intended that the gospel be proven true by physical or documentary evidence acceptable to all. In this life, the believer must come to his witness by faith, not by logic and proof alone.”

Shortly after Jeffrey was baptized, I had a time when I questioned the strength of my testimony. I had watched his testimony grow. I had seen it change his life, but for me I had not had any similar, defining single moment in my own life when my testimony was obtained. I began to wonder whether I really knew for myself, or whether I simply had been taught something all my life and believed it because my parents believed it. It seemed like many people could point to one time, a defining moment as a missionary, convert, or in personal study, when they knew that they knew. As I searched for answers to the question of whether I really knew, part of the answer I needed came from the teachings of the prophet David O. McKay. President McKay relates the following about his own experience discovering his testimony:

“Somehow in my youth I got the idea that we could not get a testimony unless we had some manifestation. I read of the first vision of the Prophet Joseph Smith…I heard my father’s testimony of a voice that had come to him, and somehow I received the impression that that was the source of all testimony. I hungered for it; I felt that if I could gain a testimony, all else would indeed seem insignificant….I remember riding over the hills of Huntsville one afternoon, thinking of these things and concluding that there in the silence of the hills was the best place to get that testimony. I stopped my horse, threw the reins over his head, withdrew just a few steps, and knelt by the side of a tree…. I knelt down and with all the fervor of my heart poured out my soul to God and asked him for a testimony of this gospel. I had in mind that there would be some manifestation; that I should receive some transformation that would leave me absolutely without doubt. I got up, mounted my horse, and as he started over the trail, I remember rather introspectively searching myself and involuntarily shaking my head, saying to myself, ‘No, sir, there is no change; I am just the same boy I was before I knelt down.’ The anticipated manifestation had not come….” President McKay then goes on to say the sure, undisputable testimony he sought as a boy did come, but it came over time and as the result of years of living the gospel and doing his duty.

Reading President McKay’s account at that time filled me with a reassurance. If a prophet of God’s testimony was gained over time, not in a single miraculous moment, mine could and would be too. Knowing that the Lord will speak to us consistently in small whisperings that over time will accumulate into an unyielding knowledge of the truth is important in recognizing the growth and power of our own testimonies.

Elder Pace explains some of a similar principle in this manner:
“When seeking a testimony, those of you born into the Church may be looking for some spectacular spiritual feeling different than anything you have ever felt before. You may have heard converts testify of their conversion and wonder if you’re missing something. One reason it seems so spectacular to them is that it is new. You have had the same feeling your whole life during family home evenings, youth testimony meetings, seminary classes, scripture reading, and on many other occasions…. Spiritual witnesses come at a young age to those who are exposed to spiritual experiences…Once you recognize those feelings for what they are, your faith in them will increase. Soon you will find that you have developed a spiritual sixth sense which cannot be misled.”

Knowing what the Spirit feels like and recognizing it in our personal lives will help us to know when the Lord is testifying to us of truth. Once we have observed in our own lives the goodness of the gospel, then we are ready for Alma’s final step.

Fourth, we must nourish with great care.

Alma instructs: “And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit unto us.”

I love the imagery of nourishing WITH GREAT CARE. This involves lovingly, tenderly doing all that is required to keep our testimonies alive. It is this aspect of on-going growth that is so essential to really knowing. Of course, the two first and most important aspects of this ongoing nourishment are those that we already discussed: prayer and scripture study.

An excellent example of the continual need for prayer and scripture study comes from the prophet Joseph Smith. He did not stop at one manifestation. He did not think it adequate to know for a surety only about the nature of God and Jesus Christ or to get an answer to his first question. It was continual prayer and study and pondering that brought about every other revelation and blessing of this dispensation, from the Book of Mormon to the restoration of the Priesthood, to temples and the sealing power. If God did not just give information to the prophet Joseph without his effort, if personal searching and contemplative beseeching was required for him, if truths were not all unfolded at once, but one at a time, as he was prepared, why should we believe that it would be any different with us?

President McKay’s experience also demonstrates that it is actually living the gospel, testing the principles over time, that allows our testimonies to flourish. The Savior taught “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” (John 7:17) It is impossible to gain a testimony of a doctrine that you are not living. It is through continued, sustained righteous living, that an immovable testimony of the gospel is gained.

Alma emphasizes this continual process of growth by reminding us to exercise “great diligence” and “patience.” Ongoing, concerted effort is critical to having a vibrant testimony of the gospel. Elder Scott explained: “Your testimony may begin from an acknowledgement that the teachings of the Lord seem reasonable. But it must grow from practicing those laws. Then your own experience will attest to their validity and yield the results promised. That confirmation will not all come at once. A strong testimony comes line upon line, precept upon precept. It requires faith, time, consistent obedience, and a willingness to sacrifice.”

It is our cumulative personal experience that creates a personal testimony. We come to see over time the consistency with which the Lord answers our prayers and grow in our knowledge that He lives, loves us, and will answer prayers. We notice all of the times we feel a deep spiritual stirring while studying the scriptures or worshiping in church. When we observe, and as we have often been counseled record and remember, what we have known and how we have felt throughout our lives, we can build a foundation for spiritual strength.

In this process of truly coming to know, Alma gives us several another valuable piece counsel. He teaches: “if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the sun cometh and scourcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away…Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree.”

It is possible for a testimony to die due to neglect. It is also possible for it to be over-taken if weeds and rocks and thorns are allowed rampant in its soil. We must be careful that we both nourish and stand guard against that which can destroy. Because the Holy Ghost is the conveyor of testimony, being clean and worthy of His companionship is essential. Anything that would cause the Holy Ghost to withdraw from us would also weaken and neglect our testimonies.


In the end, a testimony is built over a lifetime. If we want to truly know for ourselves, it will require a lifetime of care. Then, “because of your diligence and your faith and your patience with the word in nourishing it…by and by ye shall pluck the fruit thereof, which is most precious, which is sweet above all that is sweet, and which is white above all that is white, yea, and pure above all that is pure; and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.”