How Can I
Strengthen My
Testimony?
What is a
testimony?
A
testimony is a
spiritual witness of
the truth given by
the Holy Ghost.
Our Sacred
Opportunity &
Responsibility
 As
members of the
Church, we have
sacred opportunity
and responsibility
to obtain our own
testimonies.
How do we obtain a testimony?
 James
1:5
1
Nephi 10:19
1
Nephi 15:11
3
Nephi 18:20
 Moroni
10:4-5
Obstacles to gaining a testimony
 Mosiah
26:3
 Alma
12:11
 What
does it mean to harden your heart?
 From
the index:
Contention ; Doubt ; Hate ; Pride ; Rebel ;
Resist ; Soften ; Stiffnecked ; Stubbornness
; Unbelief ; Wicked ;
Quest for a testimony
 The
quest for a testimony begins with a
righteous, sincere desire. Your Heavenly
Father will bless you according to the
righteous desires of your heart and your
efforts to do His will. Speaking to a group of
people who did not yet have testimonies of
the gospel, Alma taught:
(Alma 32:27-29 next slide)
How do I start? Alma 32:27-29
27 But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your
faculties, even to an experiment upon my words,
and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can
no more than desire to believe, let this desire work
in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye
can give place for a portion of my words.
28 Now, we will compare the word unto a
seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed
may be planted in your heart, behold, if it
be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not
cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist
the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to
swell within your breasts...
We must study for ourselves before we ask!...

7 Behold, you have not understood; you have
supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took
no thought save it was to ask me.

8 But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it
out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right,
and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn
within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right.

9 But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings,
but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause
you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you
cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you
from me.
The Power of the Holy Ghost
Testimony comes through the quiet influence of the Holy
Ghost.
The results of a testimony can be miraculous and life
changing, but the gift of testimony usually comes as a
quiet assurance, without spectacular displays of God’s
power.
Even Alma, who had been visited by an angel and had
seen God sitting on His throne, needed to fast and pray
so he could receive a testimony through the power of
the Holy Ghost (see Alma 5:45–46; 36:8, 22).
We need the Holy Ghost
 If
we seek a testimony through study, prayer, and
living the gospel, the Holy Ghost will help us know
for ourselves that the gospel is true.
 John
 “Its
7:17
convincing power is so great that there can
be no doubt left in the mind when the Spirit has
spoken. It is the only way that a person can truly
know that Jesus is the Christ and that his gospel is
true.” (Joseph Fielding Smith)
I don’t know very much!
 Sometimes
learning about the gospel can
seem hard, especially when you talk with
people who have been studying the gospel for
decades. Does that mean you don’t have a
testimony just because you don’t know as
much as another person? Of course not!
Gaining a testimony of all the principles of the
gospel at once is impossible. A testimony is
meant to grow “line upon line, precept upon
precept” (2 Nephi 28:30) throughout your life.
But there is a place you can start to build your
testimony....
Foundation of a testimony
The foundation of a testimony is:
1) Heavenly Father lives and loves us
2) Jesus Christ lives, that He is the Son
of God, and that He carried out the
infinite Atonement
3) Joseph Smith is the prophet of
God who was called to restore the
gospel
4) We are led by a living prophet
today; and
5) The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latterday Saints is the Savior’s true
Church on the earth.
Your testimony will grow over time
 Your
testimony is like a tree that grows
over time. It first grows with a few main
branches, and then it develops from
there.
How will my testimony grow?
Your testimony will grow gradually through your
experiences. No one receives a complete testimony all
at once. Your testimony will grow stronger through your
experiences. It will expand as you show your willingness to
serve in the Church, wherever you are called.
It will increase as you make decisions to keep the
commandments. As you lift and strengthen others, you will
see that your testimony continues to develop. As you
pray and fast, study the scriptures, attend Church
meetings, and hear others share their testimonies, you will
be blessed with moments of inspiration that will bolster
your testimony. Such moments will come throughout your
life as you strive to live the gospel.
Live it, Be truly converted
 True
conversion is more than merely having
a knowledge of gospel principles and implies
even more than just having a testimony of
those principles. It is possible to have a
testimony of the gospel without living it.
Being truly converted means we are acting
upon what we believe and allowing it to
create “a mighty change in us, or in our
hearts.(“Be Ye Converted” Bonnie Oscarson)
Share your testimony
Your testimony will increase
as you share it. Do not wait
for your testimony to be
fully developed before you
share it. Part of a
testimony’s development
comes when it is shared. In
fact, you will find that when
you give what you have of
your testimony, it will be
returned to you—with
increase.
Having obtained a
testimony, you have a
duty to nurture it
throughout your life.
Your happiness in this
life and throughout
eternity depends
largely on whether you
are “valiant in the
testimony of Jesus”
(True to the Faith)
Nurture your testimony
 Testimony
requires the nurturing by the prayer of
faith, the hungering for the word of God in the
scriptures, and the obedience to the truth.
(Henry B. Eyring)
Don’t become overwhelmed
 Some
people may occasionally feel
overwhelmed because they think they need to
have a strong testimony of every gospel
principle right now. Or they may think they don’t
have a testimony just because they don’t
understand everything about the gospel.
Start small...
 You
don’t need to know everything about the
gospel to have a testimony. Start with a few key
doctrines and branch out from there.