Obedience and Becoming a Witness of Christ

December 28, 2008

Sacrament Meeting topic: Obedience

Assigned resource: “Becoming a Witness of Christ” by Todd Christofferson, of

the Presidency of the Seventy, Ensign, March 2008

Ways a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can be a witness of
Christ
• Receive a sure, personal testimony that He lives.
• Live so as to reflect His teachings.
• Help others come unto Him.

What is a witness

wit⋅ness   [wit-nis] Show IPA Pronunciation

–verb (used with object)
1. to see, hear, or know by personal presence and perception: to witness an
accident.
2. to be present at (an occurrence) as a formal witness, spectator, bystander, etc.:
She witnessed our wedding.
3. to bear witness to; testify to; give or afford evidence of.
4. to attest by one's signature: He witnessed her will.
–verb (used without object)
5. to bear witness; testify; give or afford evidence.
–noun
6. an individual who, being present, personally sees or perceives a thing; a beholder,
spectator, or eyewitness.
7. a person or thing that affords evidence.
8. a person who gives testimony, as in a court of law.
9. a person who signs a document attesting the genuineness of its execution.
10. testimony or evidence: to bear witness to her suffering.
11. (initial capital letter) a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
Origin:
bef. 950; (n.) ME, OE witnes orig., knowledge, understanding; see wit 1 , -ness; (v.) ME,
deriv. of the n.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Who can be witnesses?

God needs us all, whether we be in a position of responsibility in the church or a humble
church-goer in between callings.

Elder Christofferson said:

All of us who are baptized and confirmed have taken upon us the name of Jesus Christ
with a commitment “to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all
places” (Mosiah 18:9). It is within the capacity of each of us to become His witness.
Indeed, the Lord relies on “the weak and the simple” to declare His gospel (see D&C
1:19, 23), and it is His desire “that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord,
even the Savior of the world” (D&C 1:20).

Receive a sure, personal testimony that He lives.

“Being a witness of Jesus Christ in the most fundamental sense is to possess a sure,
personal testimony that He is the divine Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer of the
world.” By being baptized and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost we learn that the
things of Christ are true.

(2 Nephi 31:18; emphasis added) “And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which
leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the
commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which
witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath
made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive”.

“Lesson 5: Testimony,” The Latter-day Saint Woman: Basic Manual for Women, Part
A, 37

For some, receiving a testimony is a vivid experience. . . However, for most people, a
testimony comes in a less spectacular way. These testimonies are no less important or
valid. Even prophets and apostles of the Church have received their testimonies in less
spectacular ways. President David O. McKay explained how he received his testimony:
“I listened as a boy to a testimony regarding the principles of the gospel, the power of the
priesthood, the divinity of this work. I heard the admonition that we, too, might get that
testimony if we would pray, but somehow I got an idea in youth that we could not get a
testimony unless we had some manifestation. I read of the First Vision of the Prophet
Joseph Smith, and I knew … what he had received was of God; I heard of elders who had
heard voices; … and somehow I received the impression that that was the source of all
testimony. …

“I remember riding over the hills one afternoon, thinking of these things, and concluded
that there in the silence of the hills was the best place to get that testimony. I stopped my
horse. …

“I knelt down and with all the fervor of my heart poured out my soul to God and asked
him for a testimony of this gospel. I had in mind that there would be some manifestation,
that I should receive some transformation that would leave me without doubt.

“I arose, mounted my horse, and as he started over the trail I … said to myself, ‘No, sir,
there is no change; I am just the same boy I was before I knelt down.’ The anticipated
manifestation had not come. …
“The testimony that this work is divine [came] … through obedience to God’s will, in
harmony with Christ’s promise, ‘If any man will do his will, he will know of the doctrine,
whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself’ (John 7:17)” (“A Personal
Testimony,” Improvement Era, Sept. 1962, 628–29).

President Marion G. Romney explained how he got his testimony: “Sometimes a

testimony comes to a person slowly, over an extended period of time. I do not remember
a testimony coming to me suddenly. … I cannot remember when I did not have a
testimony. It has, of course, been strengthened through the years, but I can never
remember when I did not believe. But whether a testimony comes suddenly or by
degrees, it does something to a person. One is different after he receives a testimony”
(“How to Gain a Testimony,” New Era, May 1976, 11).

No matter how a testimony comes, it will bless our lives and help us as we progress in the
gospel.

Live so as to reflect His teachings.

During His ministry in the Western Hemisphere, the Savior gave this commandment:
“Hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the light which ye shall
hold up—that which ye have seen me do” (3 Nephi 18:24). People should see in us the
qualities that the Savior possessed in his life. We need to be like him.

President Howard W. Hunter spoke in 1994 of how Jesus Christ gently invites us to
follow him.

Howard W. Hunter, “He Invites Us to Follow Him,” Ensign, Sep 1994, 2

Again and again during our Lord’s mortal ministry, he issued a call that was at once an
invitation and a challenge. To Peter and his brother Andrew, Christ said, “Follow me, and
I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19). To the rich young man who asked what he
must do to have eternal life, Jesus answered, “Go and sell that thou hast, and give to the
poor, … and come and follow me” (Matt. 19:21). And to each of us Jesus says, “If any
man serve me, let him follow me” (John 12:26).

The Lord’s invitation to follow him is individual and personal, and it is compelling. We
cannot stand forever between two opinions. Each of us must at some time face the crucial
question: “Whom say ye that I am?” (Matt. 16:15.) Our personal salvation depends on
our answer to that question and our commitment to that answer. Peter’s revealed answer
was “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:16). Many, many
witnesses can give an identical answer by the same power, and I join with them in
humble gratitude. But we must each answer the question for ourselves—if not now, then
later; for at the last day, every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus is
the Christ. Our challenge is to answer correctly and live accordingly before it is
everlastingly too late. Since Jesus is indeed the Christ, what must we do?
Christ’s supreme sacrifice can find full fruition in our lives only as we accept the
invitation to follow him. This call is not irrelevant, unrealistic, or impossible. To follow
an individual means to watch him or listen to him closely; to accept his authority, to take
him as a leader, and to obey him; to support and advocate his ideas; and to take him as a
model. Each of us can accept this challenge. Peter said, “Christ also suffered for us,
leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps” (1 Pet. 2:21). Just as teachings
that do not conform to Christ’s doctrine are false, so a life that does not conform to
Christ’s example is misdirected, and may not achieve its high potential destiny.
....
Righteousness must start in our own individual lives. It must be incorporated into family
living. Parents have the responsibility to follow the principles of the gospel of Jesus
Christ and teach them to their children. Religion must be part of our living. The gospel of
Jesus Christ must become the motivating influence in all that we do. There must be more
striving within in order to follow the great example set by the Savior if we are to become
more like him. This becomes our great challenge.

Our obedience to the commandments is an expression of our love for Heavenly Father
and Jesus Christ. The Savior said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15).
He later declared: "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I
have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love" (John 15:10).

Help others come unto Him.

The three missions of the church are centered around this. Everything we do as members
of the church should be focused on this. Helping others come unto Christ cannot be
effectively done by force, by guilt, by disparagement or pride. We need to look beyond
the person and not judge whether or not they are able to come unto Him. By observing a
person’s outward appearance or even their demeanor we cannot always see what is in a
persons heart. The Lord taught us this through the prophet Samuel who was sent to
anoint a new King after Saul. He was directed to go to the house of a man named Jesse
and it wasn’t until after reviewing all of Jesse’s sons that Samuel found David. As Samuel
was presented one of David’s brothers who seemed by others, for all intents and purposes
to be of greater kingly material, the “Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his
countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him:
for the Lord aseeth not as bman seeth; for man looketh on the outwardcappearance, but
the dLord looketh on the eheart (1 Sam 16:7). If the Lord can do that, then so should we.

Further, our invitations to follow Christ need to be done with Charity, or the pure love of
Christ. This means that we will be long suffering, kind, without envy, not puffed up, not
selfish, not easily provoked. Further we will rejoice in truth, bear all things, believe all
things, hope all things and endure all things.

---------------
"The spirit of giving gifts has been present in the mind of each Christian as he or she
commemorates the Christmas season. Our Heavenly Father gave to us His Son, Jesus
Christ. That precious Son gave to us His life, the Atonement, and victory over the grave.

"What will you and I give for Christmas this year? Let us in our lives give to our Lord
and Savior the gift of gratitude by living His teachings and following in His footsteps. It
was said of Him that He 'went about doing good.' As we do likewise, the Christmas spirit
will be ours."

Thomas S. Monson, "What Is Christmas?" Ensign, Dec. 1998, 5

This is my hope and prayer that we can do this. That we will be blessed with a desire to
be obedient, to have courage to stand as a witness for Christ and to do it with love. As we
look to the new year, I hope that we respectively can renew our commitment to follow
Christ. As Charles Wesley famously penned in the 1700s we read in Hymn 217: [read
hymn and close].