taylor's farewell talk

i won't add much to this post- i'll just say that once again tay did a wonderful job of preparing and giving this talk titled, "Testify of Christ".


Testify of Christ

In answer to the question, “What are the fundamental principles of your religion?” the Prophet Joseph Smith said, “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.” I was asked to speak about testifying of Christ. The first thing I asked myself was what does it mean to testify of Christ? Webster’s Dictionary gives two definitions to the word testify 1. To make a serious declaration to substantiate a fact; bear witness or give evidence and 2. To be evidence of.
To testify of Christ as we should, I believe that we need to address both definitions. We need to be missionaries with the purpose of declaring Christ’s name and we also need to emulate Christ ourselves.
In Doctrine and Covenants 11:21 it says, “Seek not to declare my word, but first seek to obtain my word, and then shall your tongue be loosed; then, if you desire, you shall have my Spirit and my word, yea, the power of God unto the convincing of men.”
So in order to testify of Christ we must study and work to become more Christ like ourselves. Christ like attributes come through righteous living, obedience, and charity. If we want to become great missionaries and examples to our friends who have not yet had the gospel in their lives then we must first embrace the gospel ourselves. To develop interest in our church we can show the light of Christ acting in our own lives.
Ammon was a great example of Christ like attributes. When he went to teach the Lamanites he went as a servant. The King of the Lamanites received him as a servant and asked Ammon to tend to his sheep. When the servants were attacked Ammon knew he had been given his chance to testify to the Lamanites because of his faithfulness. He knew that he had been promised protection by the Lord during his ministry to the Lamanites. So Ammon fearlessly drove away the attackers and showed the Lamanites the power of Christ. The astonished servants excitedly told King Lamoni what had transpired and the King became curious because of Ammon’s bravery and diligence. His heart was opened and Ammon was able to convert him to Christ that day.
Just as Ammon testified of Christ to the Lamanites we can testify to our friends. My favorite part about that story other than the chopping off of arms is that Ammon never tried to force a gospel conversation on King Lamoni. Often we can be a testament to the truthfulness of the gospel through our actions. The Latter Day Saints are a strange people to the world and the world watches us. Often the best way to start missionary work is through actions. An example of this is the commitment of time and talents our youth put into this church. Seminary five times a week at 6am, mutual once a week, three hours of church on Sunday and it is not uncommon for youth to be engaged in a meeting or other extra activities over the weekend. 7+ meetings a week. You really just do not see that anywhere else and I know that the youth open many hearts through their actions and are wonderful at testifying of Christ through their example.
The other thing we must do as latter day saints to properly testify of Christ is to open our mouths and testify when we have the chance. Christ taught not just those who were eager to hear and learn from him but he also taught those who were his enemies. He spoke to everyone who would listen.
In Doctrine and Covenants 100:5-8 it says:
Therefore, verily I say unto you, lift up your voices unto this people; speak the thoughts that I shall put into your hearts, and you shall not be confounded before men; For it shall be given you in the very hour, yea, the very moment, what ye shall say. But a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall declare whatsoever thing ye declare in my name, in solemnity of heart, in the spirit of meekness, in all things. And I give unto you this promise, that inasmuch as ye do this the Holy Ghost shat be shed forth in bearing record unto all things whatsoever ye shall say.
While not every conversation we have with a nonmember needs to be about Christ and our church we need to be open to missionary moments when we have the chance. We know when we have opportunities to testify of Christ and of our church. We just need to have the faith to take advantage of them.
Samuel the Lamanite was a great example of testifying of Christ when it might have been a scary thing to do. He was asked in Helaman 13 that he should return to the Nephites, after he had already been turned away to prophesy the things of his heart. The Nephites even tried to kill him as he preached from the city wall yet he continued to preach the words of God to them. As we know, the Nephites decided to remain wicked but at least Samuel showed a great example of missionary work.
Another example of a prophet being asked to testify to people who he thought would surely turn him away was Jonah. Jonah was asked to call the Ninevites to repentance. He was so opposed to the task that the Lord caused him to be swallowed by a whale before Jonah consented to do what was asked of him. To Jonah’s surprise the wicked Ninevites did repent and the Lord did not need to destroy them.
Both prophets Jonah and Samuel were asked to testify of Christ. When they did they had different results. They were obviously both men of God yet one people received the gospel into their lives and one did not. What I draw from this story is that the Lord may ask you to bear your testimony of the divinity of Christ even though he knows that testimony will not be received. Also, I know that even if I testify with the spirit and the Holy Ghost I may still not be received and that is ok. As long as I do my part and bear my testimony I do not need to be ashamed if a friend does not accept the gospel into their lives.
With all the full-time missionaries of the church it might seem like missionary work is exclusively for missionaries. This is not true. Every member of the church should seek out and pray for missionary opportunities. President Hinckley taught:
“So many of us look upon missionary work as simply tracting. Everyone who is familiar with this work knows there is a better way. That way is through the members of the church. Whenever there is a member who introduces an investigator, there is an immediate support system. The member bears testimony of the truth of the work. He is anxious for the happiness of his investigator friend. He becomes excited as that friend makes progress in learning the gospel.
“The full-time missionaries may do the actual teaching, but the member, wherever possible, will back up that teaching with the offering of his home to carry on this missionary service. He will bear sincere testimony of the divinity of the work. He will be there to answer questions when the missionaries are not around. He will be a friend to the convert who is making a big and often difficult change…. The process of bringing new people into the church is not the responsibility alone of the missionaries. They succeed best when members become the source from which new investigators are found.”
As President Hinckley said, it is a much better situation when members of the church are active missionaries. It is important when investigators come to church gatherings that they have a friend and an outlet to help them feel more comfortable. It is also important to members themselves to reach out and bear their testimonies often.
In Doctrine and Covenants 84:61 it says “For I will forgive you of your sins with this commandment- that you remain steadfast in your minds in solemnity and the spirit of prayer, in bearing testimony to all the world of those things which are communicated to you.”
It is implied in this scripture that the Lord will forgive those who bear testimony of that which the Spirit teaches us. Because it is also written in the scriptures that the Lord cannot look upon sin with the smallest degree of allowance I believe that when we bear our testimonies we are perfected. President Joseph F. Smith said in Doctrine and Covenants 138:12 that “the spirits of the just” were those that “had been faithful in the testimony of Jesus while they lived in mortality.”
In contrast, when describing the terrestrial kingdom in Doctrine and Covenants 76:79 Joseph Smith says, “These are they who are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus; wherefore, they obtain not the crown over the kingdom of our God.” From these scriptures I conclude that it is necessary to engage in missionary work when we can. In order to become perfected in Christ we must be valiant in our testimony of Him. I know that in my lifetime I have felt the regret of passing a possible missionary opportunity and I would not with that feeling of disappointment on anybody.
I have heard that a great talk ends with a challenge. I want my talk to have been great so I challenge you to pray this week for missionary opportunities in the morning and at night every day this week and act on any promptings that may come of it.
(2 Ne. 25:26.)


Tay then bore his testimony to conclude the talk.

i was/am very proud of him!