Do it myself! What child doesn't say at one point or other to his or her parent, "Mommy, I want to do it myself." As parents it is hard to see a less that perfect paper turned in for school or a child with his shoes on the wrong feet. But perhaps there is much value to be learned in teaching children independence. Channeled properly, this desire to be self-reliant has long-lasting effects...particularly when it come to personal testimony..
Personal testimony. We need to experience the personal witness on our own. Reading the experience of others, or the revelation given to them, can never give us a comprehensive view of our condition and true relation to God. Knowledge of these things can only be obtained by experience through the ordinances of God set forth for that purpose. (Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 Vols. 6:50)
Drinking Upstream: Elder F. Burton Howard once related a lesson on the importance of getting your own testimony that he learned from a member of the First Presidency. "On one occasion I was with President Marion G. Romney. He spoke to a large gathering of young people. Afterwards, a returned missionary came up to shake his hand. As he did, he said, "President Romney, when I was a missionary I had a question that no one knew the answer to. Let me take advantage of your time for a moment and ask you." He then asked a rather complicated question, the answer to which could have been found in the scriptures.
President Romney listened attentively for a few moments and then replied, "That is a very good question. When you find the answer, let me know, will you please?" As we left the hall he commented to me, obviously referring to the young man and his question, "My father taught me as a boy that when I wanted a drink I should go to where the spring flowed out of the ground and not downstream where the cattle had been muddying the water. He'll be better off if he finds the answer for himself."
But how easy it is to find someone else with the answers to our questions. How many want to know the mysteries of God without studying the scriptures? How many ask the Lord to do things which they should do for themselves? They forget there is no spiritual attainment without effort. The attitudes we sometimes develop in the world can be spiritually fatal if applied to such things as repentance or eternal marriage or keeping the commandments. Think of the consequences, for example, of asking, "Must I serve a mission?" compared to asking, "Can I serve a mission?" (F Burton Howard)
The lesson of LET. President Harold B. Lee once gave a sermon on the word let. "Let every man learn his duty, and to act in the office in which he is appointed in all diligence." (D&C 107:99) President Packer reminds us that missionaries have to want to thirst to learn. He observes that hundreds of times, it says "ask" in the scriptures. "Ask,and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." (Luke 11:9) The most important things a missionary must learn is learned alone. Some things that cannot be taught must be learned says President Packer. When he was in the military, he carried a Church-owned pocket-size Book of Mormon. It was khaki in color and he read it and became acquainted with hit. It was lonesome and he did not understand much. He is glad that he had to earn his knowledge of that great book. (A Call to Faith, June 27, 2007)
Church History Story: When the 23-year old HEber J. Grant was installed as president of the Tooele Stake, he told the Saints he believed the gospel was true. President Joseph F. Smith, a counselor in the First Presidency inquired, "Heber, you said you believe the gospel with all your heart, ...but you did not bear your testimony that you know it is true. Don't you know absolutely that this gospel is true?"
Heber answered, "I do not." Joseph F. Smith then turned to John Taylor, the President of the Church and said, "I am in favor of undoing this afternoon what we did this morning. I do not think any man should preside over a stake who has not a perfect and abiding knowledge of the divinity of this work." President Taylor replied, "Joseph, Joseph, Joseph, (Heber) knows it just as well as you do. The only thing that he does not know is that he does know it. "
Within a few weeks that testimony was realized, and young Heber J. Grant shed tears of gratitude for the perfect, abiding, and absolute testimony that came into his life. (Heber J. Grant, Gospel Standards and Elder Callister General Conference October 2007 talk)
Family Experience: One day when Jenny was a little girl, she leaned over to her mother in Fast and Testimony meeting and asked "are you going to bury your testimony, Mommy?" What a great lesson from the mouth of a 4 year old...let's not bury our testimony, but let's share it often with our family and in our wards.
Questions:
1. How can you acquire your own testimony?
2. Why is it important to "own" your testimony?
3. What is the significance of the story told by President Romney about pure water upstream from where the cows drink?
4. Share your testimony in Family Home Evening. "A testimony is to be found in the bearing of a testimony (as taught by President Boyd K. Packer).
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