In his talk “The Power of Personal Testimony” Elder Dieter F Uchtdorf speaks about how our testimony will help us change and help others. He opens his talk by sharing the story of Nephi being commanded to build the boat. Elder Uchtdorf says that Nephi demonstrated his testimony when he faithfully began to build the boat when he had no knowledge of how to do so.
Elder Uchtdorf then shares his story of learning to speak English. He uses this story to demonstrate that our actions are influenced by our motives. He was motivated to learn English when he realized that he needed to do so in order to become a pilot. This motivation helped him to overcome the difficulties he had had previously. Similarly a testimony can motivate us to live righteously.
Elder Uchtdorf then asks what is a testimony. He answers:
“For members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the term testimony is a warm and familiar word in our religious expressions. It is tender and sweet. It has always a certain sacredness about it. When we talk about testimony, we refer to feelings of our heart and mind rather than an accumulation of logical, sterile facts. It is a gift of the Spirit, a witness from the Holy Ghost that certain concepts are true.
A testimony is the sure knowledge or assurance from the Holy Ghost of the truth and divinity of the Lord’s work in these latter days. A testimony is the ‘abiding, living, [and] moving conviction of the truths revealed in the gospel of Jesus Christ’ (Marion G. Romney, “How to Gain a Testimony,” New Era, May 1976, 8; emphasis added).”
Elder Uchtdorf then speaks about the steps we need to take in order to gain a testimony. He points out that we must work to gain a testimony, our efforts directly correlate to the strength of our testimonies. In order to gain a testimony we need to have a desire to obtain one, search the scriptures, do the will of God, and ponder, fast and prayer. As we do these steps we will be able to gain a testimony of the gospel.
Elder Uchtdorf concludes his talk by emphasizing the fact that a testimony will help us to want to live a righteous life. It will give us the strength to do so. This is a wonderful talk and it lays out the basics on why a testimony is so important to have. Elder Uchtdorf does an excellent job explaining the steps that you need to do in order to gain a testimony.
I am grateful for my testimony. It really does motivate me to live a good life. It gives me hope and helps me through my times of trial. I am grateful for the experiences that led me to gain my own testimony of the gospel. I hope that you will take the time to read this talk, and to gain a testimony of the gospel.
Related Articles:
The Power of Example
Read the Instructions!
Standing as a Witness of Christ