Editor’s note: To support personal and family gospel learning, the Church News is publishing articles on messages from October 2025 general conference. It is recommended to listen to or read the full address in addition to reviewing these resources.
About this talk
- “The Eternal Gift of Testimony”
- Elder Kevin G. Brown | General Authority Seventy
- Saturday afternoon session of October 2025 general conference.
- Theme: A sure witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ comes as believers choose Him and take charge of their testimony.
Read the full message here.
Read a summary of Elder Brown’s message here.
Outline
- Truths from the Restoration have blessed Elder Brown’s life. Those truths have guided him on a journey toward a sure witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
1. God is our loving Heavenly Father
2. Agency is the gift to choose and act for ourselves
- Agency is the responsibility to choose well. The purpose of agency is to choose good, Christ and eternal life.
3. Our testimony comes through the power of the Holy Ghost
- The Holy Ghost is the preeminent witness of the Father and the Son. A testimony from the Holy Ghost can come suddenly, gradually or intermittently.
Finding testimony in Jamaica
- While growing up in Jamaica, Elder Brown was criticized for being a Latter-day Saint. While that time was painful, a spiritual experience with the Holy Ghost dulled the pain. The gift and witness of the Holy Ghost are available to all.
- A testimony-building experience occurred after Elder Brown was invited by a sister missionary to read the Book of Mormon. He still knows exactly where and when he received his witness. “That experience changed me.”
- A personal testimony is an eternal gift to be multiplied, not buried. Belief, hope and trust are significant particles of faith toward receiving a sure witness. All Latter-day Saints can pursue the path to testimony and a sure knowledge.
Take charge of your testimony
- While some choose to criticize the Church, choosing to receive the gift of testimony is a wise and powerful way to use agency. Joseph Smith was a prophet of God, and the prophetic mantle continues under Jesus Christ’s direction today.
- As individuals take charge of their testimony and choose to believe, it will be an anchor and a motivator through difficult times.
- The world needs more sure witnesses of Jesus Christ and His gospel. Now is the time to lay hold on this gift.
Reflection questions
What “good gifts” from God have you received?
How can you more intentionally choose Christ in your daily life?
What experiences have personally strengthened your testimony?
What blessings do you see as you “choose to believe”?
Who in your life has had an influence on your testimony?
Speaker quotes
- “A testimony through the Holy Ghost can come in many ways. Like a light bulb in a dark room, it can come on dramatically and suddenly. It can come like the sunrise gradually and over time. It can come like rays of light, intermittent exposure to pure intelligence. Whatever the way, it comes through the Holy Ghost.”
- “Brothers and sisters, a testimony is not given for temporary use. This gift from our loving Heavenly Father is meant to be eternal because the giver is eternal. A testimony should not have an expiration date. It should not weaken or diminish because something in my life has changed or something in the world has changed. It should get stronger because, like the servant’s talents in the parable of the talents, my personal testimony is a gift to be multiplied — not buried.”
- “If you know, you know. I know that I know. We need more sure witnesses of Jesus Christ and His gospel. Get there. Seek it. It is urgent. This is the final dispensation — the dispensation of the fullness of times.”
Reference scriptures
- “But unto him that keepeth my commandments I will give the mysteries of my kingdom, and the same shall be in him a well of living water, springing up unto everlasting life.”
- “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”
- “And again I would exhort you that ye would come unto Christ, and lay hold upon every good gift, and touch not the evil gift, nor the unclean thing.”
Invitations and promises
- “My dear brothers and sisters, let the small seedling of testimony work in you until it springs up to an everlastingly glorious sure knowledge.”
- “I invite you to think about your path to a sure witness of Jesus Christ and His gospel. Take charge of your testimony; use your agency wisely and acknowledge the giver and all His glorious attributes. I bear witness that the power is within you. No one can choose for you. No one can take this gift away. You can choose to believe.”
- “I promise that as you [choose to believe], your testimony will be a ‘well of living water, springing up unto everlasting life’ (Doctrine and Covenants 63:23). It will be an anchor and a motivator, and it will sustain you through difficult times. It will enable you to develop spiritual gifts. It will help you in your personal ministry and service. It will be a weapon against Satan and your adversaries. Your testimony will be a joy as you see it replicated in your children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and in those you love and serve. It will be powerful when you share it and use it to testify.”
Stories
- While growing up in Jamaica, Elder Brown was criticized for being a Latter-day Saint. While that time was painful, a spiritual experience with the Holy Ghost dulled the pain. This occurred after Elder Brown was invited by a sister missionary to read the Book of Mormon. He still knows exactly where and when he received his witness. “That experience changed me.”
- When Parley P. Pratt felt disgruntled with the Prophet Joseph Smith, he chose to criticize the Church. Pratt warned John Taylor not to follow Joseph. Then Taylor said to Parley: “Before you left Canada, you bore a strong testimony to Joseph Smith being a prophet of God. … If Joseph Smith was then a prophet, he is now a prophet.”
From the footnotes
- 3. “Just because God is God, just because Christ is Christ, they cannot do other than care for us and bless us and help us if we will but come unto them, approaching their throne of grace in meekness and lowliness of heart. They can’t help but bless us. They have to. It is their nature” (Then-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “Come Unto Me,” Brigham Young University devotional, March 2, 1997).
- 19. “The spiritual witness I gained from the Holy Ghost ... has not passed away. In fact, it has grown stronger. The things I learned in my youth about the fundamental principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ have been my firm foundation throughout my life” (Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Nourish the Roots, and the Branches Will Grow,” October 2024 general conference).
- 24. “Receiving a gift is not passive but an intentional and meaningful process that goes far beyond merely opening a package. To receive is to appreciate and connect with both the gift and the heart of the giver in a way that strengthens the bonds between the giver and receiver” (Elder Patrick Kearon, “Receive His Gift,” April 2025 general conference).
Additional resources
- Related image: “A Young Woman Praying”
- Related video: “Excerpts From ‘The Living Christ: The Testimony of the Apostles’”
- Related hymn: No. 137, “Testimony”
Recent conference talks on testimony
- President Jeffrey R. Holland: “And Now I See” (October 2025)
- Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf: “Nourish the Roots, and the Branches Will Grow” (October 2024)
- President D. Todd Christofferson: “The Testimony of Jesus” (April 2024)
Who is Elder Brown?
- Elder Kevin G. Brown was sustained as a General Authority Seventy in the April 2025 general conference. Born in Manchester, Jamaica, Elder Brown spent his career with the Church’s Seminaries and Institutes of Religion, where he served as an institute coordinator, division director of training services and associate administrator.
