Passing the Test

Apr 2009 Issue

By Lu Ann Brobst Staheli
It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” Although Charles Dickens referred to the period surrounding the French Revolution, people around the world are beginning to sense the worst of times is now. Economic down turns, greed in the workplace, vulgarity on the Internet, television, and movie screens, violent video games filled with debasing images, debauchery and terrorism abounding in the world makes one think perhaps we are living in Sodom and Gomorrah.

Nearly eight years ago, Elder Charles Didier said, “During the last two years, we have seen many significant international political events followed by dramatic consequences and changes for the world and also for the Church. We are also witnessing events that, perhaps not as visible but certainly as tangible, profoundly affect the quality of individual lives and families, followed by even more far-reaching consequences and changes specifically in relation to God, churches, and religious behavior.”

He warned, “If we fail to recognize the personal spiritual challenge of political and economic changes and constant new threats to the moral and spiritual stability of individuals and families, we will fail to recognize the needs and requirements to adapt to these new conditions by finding within ourselves a firm and true foundation that will determine a firm and true behavior.”

That true foundation is a testimony in the Lord Jesus Christ, the basis by which every truth we know will be judged. Elder M. Russell Ballard says,
“Simply stated, testimony—real testimony, born of the Spirit and confirmed by the Holy Ghost—changes lives.” When our lives are changed, we can then go forth to change the world.

So how do we gain the kind of testimony that will help us change our lives? Entertainer Alan Osmond has a favorite saying that might set us on the right path. “The word TEST is the first part of TESTIMONY!” The trials and tribulations in the world today are a part of that test for each of us. Just like we are promised in the Book of Mormon, “dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith (Ether 12:6),” so first we must pass the test.

Gaining a testimony is hard work. Like nurturing a tree to bear good fruit, we must feed and prune, water and weed, “experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe (Alma 32:27).” If we don’t work on strengthening our testimonies, they will die on the vine.

Here are five ways we might strengthen our testimonies to help us pass the test:

Read the scriptures. You can’t believe in something
you don’t know about. Just carrying the scriptures
to and from church won’t teach you the precious
truths inside. Set aside a few minutes each day to read,
even if it’s just one verse. Once you begin, the seed
inside your heart will start to grow.

Have faith in your Father in Heaven. If you’re not sure
about the wonders of God, just take a look around
you. How could the world exist, in all its infinite
beauty without a divine plan?

Pray with true intent. If you find yourself saying the
same things over and over until you’re bored just
listening to yourself, how do you think your Father
in Heaven feels? Try something new. Give your
prayers a fresh approach and see what good it can do.

Pray for the most important things: forgiveness of
your sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and
understanding of how the Lord is working in your life,
now.

Listen for His answer. Surely you can keep yourself
awake for longer than the two seconds it takes to say
‘amen.’ The Lord doesn’t always communicate as fast
as the Internet; show Him you care enough to listen
for His answers.

Act upon His word. If your trial is with money,
live the law of tithing. If you struggle with physical
addictions, follow the Word of Wisdom. If you
struggle with pornography, follow the law of chastity.

Each of these may seem hard at first, but like learning
any new skill, the longer we apply the concept, the
easier it becomes to accomplish.

We will all face trials that test us to the very core of our faith. Elder Heber C. Kimball once said: “Many of you will see the time when you will have all the trouble, trial and persecution that you can stand, and plenty of opportunities to show that you are true to God and his work.” If we expect to make it through, we must have the deep, abiding faith that comes from a testimony rooted in the foundations of the gospel, a faith that we have proven true because we’ve passed the test.

We must know these things for ourselves because, in the words of Orson F. Whitney, “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?”

Will you have the faith necessary to pass the test? The answer will be yes if you’ve done all that you can do to strengthen your testimony.