My testimony is so very precious and dear to me. I strive to do the following to protect it:
Study the gospel. I read the scriptures and good books every day. This protects my testimony and makes it stronger.- Listen to all the wonderful speakers during general conference. I love to hear their testimonies.
Attend Church regularly and fulfill callings.
Pray to my Heavenly Father every day. I ask for help in keeping my testimony and never letting it weaken.
Share my testimony often, especially when I teach gospel principles in Sunday School. I want my class to know I have a testimony of these beautiful truths.
Strive daily to live the gospel and to follow the counsel of our dear prophet. I want my life to be a living testimony.
Reach out and love people.
I thank God every day for giving me this precious testimony. - Hazel Pike, Asheville, N.C.
What we did:
Greatest gifts
I consider my testimony to be one of the greatest gifts my Heavenly Father has given me. It has been a guide and a protection to me all my life. To protect my testimony, I have tried to strengthen it. Along with scripture study, Church attendance and obedience to the commandments, a testimony must be borne to become stronger.
Often in fast and testimony meeting, I wanted to bear my testimony, but I didn't feel I had anything interesting to say - no exceptional story or profound thought - so I would let the desire pass by without expressing my feelings. I have come to know that to help my testimony become stronger I need to bear it. I won't always have a faith-promoting story to relate, but I will always have many blessings to thank my Heavenly Father for. Expressing these blessings will help my testimony grow. - Suzanne Wilcox, Taylorsville, Utah
Spiritual food
In the same way we need food for our physical bodies, we need spiritual food for the protection of our testimonies. I strive to do the following:
Think of the moment when I received a conviction of the truthfulness of the gospel. I continue to thank the Lord for that blessing.
Strive to match my behavior in thought, word and deed to the period leading up to the moment of that conviction. I strive daily to reach such a level of worthiness.
Deal with the matters of the world with an eternal perspective in mind.
Seek opportunities to forgive.
Ask my Heavenly Father for the wisdom I need to survive in this world. I apply wisdom with His guidance.
Think of my potential in the eternities. This makes me feel happy and confident, and I project that to the world. What I receive in return feeds my testimony.
Try hard to see what the Lord wants me to learn when I have a trial.
Most of all, I share my testimony. (See D&C 62:3.) After I have shared my testimony, I usually receive spiritual strength to protect it. - Edna Crabbere, Roanoke, Va.
Attend Church
Thirty-eight years ago, my husband and I bought a dairy farm. One year later, our ward traded time schedules with another ward in our building. It made it impossible for me to go to Sunday School in the morning and sacrament meeting in the evening. The cows had to be milked. We sent our five daughters and one son to Sunday School, but we felt we had work to do.
Two years passed by. One balmy evening, my husband and I were bringing the cows up from the pasture. I said, "I am losing my testimony. We have got to go back to Church." I have never felt so spiritually empty and it frightened me.
We soon realized if we milked earlier in the morning and later in the evening, we could enjoy our Church meetings. The cows blessed us with abundance of milk. Since, then, my testimony has stayed with me and grows stronger. - Lois A. Oates, South Jordan, Utah
Keep journal
We would never purposely starve our bodies for several days, but when we neglect our prayers or scripture study, we are starving our spirits and thus our testimonies are not fed. If a fire in a fireplace is not tended, it slowly goes out. It is the same with our testimonies.
Each commandment is given with our happiness in mind, and the commandment to keep a journal is such a blessing. With each new challenge, especially very difficult ones, reviewing the previous journal entries helps us see how the hand of the Lord has strengthened us in the past.
Protecting your testimony can include something as simple as putting on a cassette of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and feasting upon the uplifting messages in the words of the musical presentations. They teach of the Savior, and this is what our testimonies are based on - His divinity and the restoration of the gospel. - Sharlie Carter, Louisville, Ky.
Needed extra uplift
Prior to my mission, I was required to serve in the Spanish army for nine months. I wondered if my testimony was strong enough to enable me to serve my mission afterward. Being the only Mormon on a base with more than 3,000 people, with different moral laws than mine, I thought I would need a spiritual uplift, something more than my normal scripture study and daily prayer.
I decided to increase my gospel study to an hour every day in order to counterbalance Satan's influence with the Spirit's influence. My testimony got stronger through the study of the scriptures, and as I opened, and now open, my mouth to share my feelings with everyone, my testimony gets even stronger. - Joaquin Torner Chao, Bristol, England
Read patriarchal blessing
You should make a reduced copy of your patriarchal blessing and laminate it. It makes a perfect bookmark. Carry it with you when you go to work, preferably in a Church book or your copy of the current Ensign, New Era, Friend or Church News. On your breaks, read. All of these things will fortify your testimony.
Write these experiences in a journal. You can look back at them when you might be feeling down. - Lori O'Hearn, Syracuse, N.Y.
How to checklist:
1 Live gospel; study scriptures
daily, pray; follow prophet.
2 Attend Church meetings;
fulfill callings, serve others.
3 Share testimony often
in Church and elsewhere.
4 Record spiritual experiences
in journal; refer to them often.
Write to us:
Aug. 29 "How to plan ahead for the different stages of life."
Sept. 5 "How to cope with the sudden loss of employment."
Sept. 12 "How to care for your children when they misbehave in public."
Sept. 19 "How to help young people emotionally prepare for missions."
Sept. 26 "How to make prayer more meaningful."
Oct. 3 "How to strengthen your marriage when your spouse is less-active or non-LDS."
Also interested in letters on these topics: "How to avoid greed," "How to make transition from being newly married to becoming new parents," "How to overcome compulsive eating," "How to avoid the gambling trap."
Had any good experiences or practical success in any of the above subjects? Share them with our readers in about 100-150 words. Write the "How-to" editor, Church News, P.O. Box 1257, Salt Lake City, Utah 84110, send fax to (801) 237-2524 or use internet E-mail: forum@desnews.com. Please include a name and phone number. Contributions may be edited or excerpted and will not be returned. Due to limited space, some contributions may not be used; those used should not be regarded as official Church doctrine or policy. Material must be received at least 12 days before publication date.
