followHIM - How do I gain my testimony and keep it? • followHIM Favorites • Dec. 26 - Jan. 1

Episode Date: December 22, 2022

Hank Smith and John Bytheway answer a question from this week's Come, Follow Me study.Show Notes (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese): https://followhim.coFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/followhimpodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/followhimpodcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/FollowHimOfficialChannelThanks to the followHIM team:Steve & Shannon Sorensen: Executive Producers, SponsorsDavid & Verla Sorensen: SponsorsDr. Hank Smith: Co-hostJohn Bytheway: Co-hostDavid Perry: ProducerKyle Nelson: Marketing, SponsorLisa Spice: Client Relations, Editor, Show NotesJamie Neilson: Social Media, Graphic DesignWill Stoughton: Video EditorKrystal Roberts: Translation Team, English & French Transcripts, WebsiteAriel Cuadra: Spanish TranscriptsIgor Willians: Portuguese Transcripts"Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise" by Marshall McDonaldhttps://www.marshallmcdonaldmusic.com/products/let-zion-in-her-beauty-rise-piano

Hello, my friends. Welcome to Follow Him Favorites. If you've been following Follow Him for the last two years, you know that we do these little side tidbits called Follow Him Favorites. It's where we take just a small portion of each week's lesson and talk about it so we can post this on Instagram or Facebook or wherever you get your little tidbits of social media. John, this week's lesson is called, I am responsible for my own learning, or we are responsible for our own learning. The question is, how do I gain and keep my own testimony? What would you say to someone who's maybe coming home off a mission and saying, I've gained a testimony. How do I keep it? Wow. I wish we had more time. Lots of thoughts come to mind. One of them is the parable of the sower. But I think the parable of the sower, that's the kind of soil you have. That's if your heart's open. But then you get to Alma and he plants the word. And everybody knows after you plant a seed, are you done? No. Faith, diligence, and patience. I call it FDP

fertilizer. Faith, diligence, and patience, Alma says. You got to take care of it. And he says, if it doesn't grow, that's not because the seed wasn't good. It's because your ground is barren. The analogy of riding a bicycle is a good one because once you know, you just know how to ride a bike. You never have to think about it again. And the testimony is not like that. It's like a tree. It's used Jesus's example and Alma's example that it's like a tree it's used jesus's example and alma's example it's like something that you grow and to keep it has to keep being nurtured and watered and getting the nutrients out of the ground it's an active thing that you keep growing i love to use those metaphors that the scriptures use about keeping it growing and faith, diligence, patience.

What else would you say, Hank, is part of keeping it growing? I like what you're saying here because sometimes we say, oh, I lost my testimony as if I had it and I lost it, but you can't lose a tree. No one goes outside to a tree they'd planted a long time ago and goes out there and says, well, where'd the tree go? I lost my tree. Someone took it as if we're not the one to blame. No, if we lose a testimony, really what we mean is I let it die. I didn't nurture it. I didn't water it. I didn't prune it. I didn't work on it at all. And the tree slowly all by itself, of course, if it's left alone, it's going to die. I remember James Faust talking about taking a white hot coal out of a fire. If you were to take a hot

coal out of a fire, it doesn't take long for that coal to cool off and become just a piece of charcoal. But he said, if you take it and you put it right back in that fire, it actually doesn't take long for it to heat right back up again. So part of what we're saying here, I think, is to stay involved and to be where you're supposed to be. Stay reading and praying and go into your meetings. These are simple answers, but they really are the truth to gaining and keeping a testimony is staying active in that testimony.

That's the FDP that Alma talks about. Because of your faith, your diligence, and your patience, it'll grow and it'll become a tree of life. It'll be a tree in you. And even says tree of life, which I think is the fourth part of the metaphor is Lehi's dream. You'll be able to constantly enjoy the fruit of it, but you have to take care of it. And it's a wonderful process because Hank, as you and I have learned, and I'm so thankful for this, we get to taste things we have never tasted every time we get together and interview somebody and go, wow, I never thought of that. My testimony,

just a little line upon line thing. It just grew a little bit. And so you're where you're supposed to be. But I think if you wanted to put all that under one heading, be where the Holy Ghost is, be in places where the Holy Ghost is, and you'll be taught. That's that fire of the coals. If I was going to talk to anybody who said, how do I get a testimony and keep it? I'd say you follow the example of Joseph Smith in that you work hard for it. You go to your meetings. He read scripture. He prayed.

He pondered. He did all these things, and it wasn't just a short while. He did them for a long time. Then when he had his experiences, he didn't deny ever having those experiences. And he didn't let anybody ever take them away from him saying, well, that didn't really happen to you. He said, no, it did happen. I knew it. I knew that God knew it and I couldn't deny it. And then he stayed active in the church, in the gospel. He was constantly daily working for the Lord, doing the Lord's work. And his testimony remained strong until the day he

died. There's something about his example that if you want to know how to get and keep a testimony, you follow the example of the prophet. I think when I was a bishop, I'd have people, oh, I'm struggling with my faith or with this. And we would just start to write down. We'd go and write it on a chalkboard. What are some things that you feel like you do know? Well, I know I feel better when I do better. Oh, write that down. What else do you know? Tell me an example of that. What else do you know? Well, I know the scriptures are different than other books. Really? You got a favorite verse? Let's write that down. And what else do you know? Well, I know that God answers prayers. How do you know that? And we'd write that to tell each other experiences and amazing how the spirit would change. And it's kind of like that hymn, count your blessings.

It will surprise you what the Lord has done. You start talking about all the things that you do know. It'll surprise you. But you write them down like you just said. And it kind of reminds you. And you're saying, wait a minute. I do know this. I think that's why we keep a journal. President Eyring says, document the hand of God in your life and then you've got

it forever. And if you ever feel like you're not strong, go back and read that and remind yourself, wait a minute, I really have felt this. And that's, I think what you just said, Joseph said, I knew it. I knew that God knew it. And something else just to add is in the world of it's someone else's fault. Just realize I love the heading of this week is I am responsible for my own testimony. I work out my own salvation with God. It's not up to my parents. It's not up to the church. It's not up to my leaders. I shouldn't have the expectation that someone else is going to give me my testimony. I should have the expectation that I have to get it myself, that this is between me and the Lord and he wants to talk to me personally. Yeah. Last general conference, take charge of your own testimony. President Ballard repeated

President Nelson saying, take charge of your own testimony. So it's a good way to do it. You can't ask somebody else to give that to you. You got to take charge. Well, we hope you'll join us for our full podcast. It's called Follow Him. We're interviewing Dr. Stephen Harper this week, and you're going to love everything he has to share. And then come back next week and join us for another Follow Him Favorites. favorites.