The Nature and Value of Testimony

I am humbled in the presence of this vast assembly. It is the earnest desire of my heart to make at least a small contribution to this great conference of the Church. I recognize, however, that I can hope to do that only through the aid of our Father's Spirit, and I sincerely pray that I may have his Spirit to guide and direct me in the remarks which I shall make. ¶

THE NATURE AND VALUE OF TESTIMONY ¶

I, with you, have listened with great interest and profit to the testimonies which have been borne during this conference, and I have sat under the spell of the inspired words which have fallen from the lips of those upon whom the Spirit of God has been operating. I have thought of the value of testimony, and I should like, with your indulgence, to discuss for a few moments the nature of testimony. What is the testimony of Jesus Christ? I do not have reference to a differentiation between and among the various terms of scripture which are used to designate the testimony of Jesus. I am not particularly concerned that in some instances it may be called the gospel, or faith, or the Holy Spirit, or the Comforter, or ¶

even the Holy Ghost. It is the nature and essence of this Spirit which brings conviction to the hearts of people that has brought me to think and reflect upon it. ¶

MORE THAN JUST A MENTAL STATUS ¶

Is it more than just a mental status, a psychological phenomenon which may be changed with the state of a man's mind, today believing and knowing, and tomorrow forgetting and denying? Has it constituency, essence, and force? These questions have given me food for much thought and reflection. I am persuaded that the testimony of Jesus is something indescribable, but nevertheless some real tangible thing that has force and power, something which serves, when once taken into the structure of a man's life, to work therein a transformation, to change some of the vital elements which are part and parcel of his life. ¶

GREAT SPIRITUAL FORCE ¶

Great physical forces themselves defy the efforts of science to fully describe and comprehend them. Science has not given the constituency *of gravity. What is light? What is electricity? What is heat? As I understand it, we know these great forces of nature only by the effects which they produce. We see their manifestations and we conclude that they exist, but can we describe them? I believe that with all the advancement made in the processes of scientific research and investigation they are yet mysteries to the intelligence of man. Is it unthinkable that just as light, heat and gravity are great forces of nature, bringing to bear upon the whole universe the results and manifestations of their power, that there may be in the world of men a force somewhat comparable, coming from God, which takes lodgment in the very beings of men and there brings about these transformations, these remarkable manifestations, not at all incomparable with those manifestations that come from the operation of the physical forces. ¶

That a transformation is worked in the being of a man into whose heart comes the testimony of Christ is beyond all question. Examples are so numerous that they would, of course, not bear extensive repeating at this time. ¶

THE MIRACULOUS CHANGE WROUGHT BY TESTIMONY ¶

When Saul received into his heart and soul that something which we call a testimony, was he the same man who before had persecuted the Christians. No, he was a changed man. All his ideals, his conceptions, his works were changed by something that came into his life and wrought a miracle within it. When our missionaries go out into their fields of labor, stand upon their feet, and there proclaim the testimonies within them, do they not give expression to a force, a power, which has been operative within the very structures of their lives, and does ¶

not that very force in some way go from them to others to work a miracle? Is it just what they say, or the description which they give of the gospel plan, or their appeal to reason, which touches the hearts of this one and that one, out of great multitudes, and brings someone to say: "I know what they have said is true?"Or is there a transfusion in some indescribable way of a thing of essence from the personality of that humble servant of God into the convert that makes him feel and know? What is it that causes a man who has strayed from the path of truth, who has been inactive in the Church, after years, perhaps, of waywardness, when all at once confronted with the necessity of defending the faith, prompts him to rise and stand up like a man and say: "After all, I know the gospel is true"? Has there not been something ingrained within him that stays with him, a very integral part of his makeup? ¶

TESTIMONY COMPARABLE TO PHYSICAL FORCE ¶

Sometimes I have thought that testimony, this something which has such tremendous force and power in the life of a man, is not uncomparable to those antitoxins which science has discovered to procure immunity from disease. I doubt not that but a few years ago if the world had been told that there were ways of warding off yellow fever, typhoid, smallpox and other highly contagious diseases that there would have been general disbelief. Today these are proven facts. The mere injection of a serum into the blood will procure a substantial immunity which has saved the lives of thousands and hundreds of thousands of people from these diseases which once mowed down the human family in great epidemics, as the machine would mow dowh the ripened grain. May there not be something akin to this in the form of testimony that is injected into the very blood of a man, which wards off the disease of sin and makes a man immune from those microbes that come from the hand of Satan, scattered about among the human family to encourage wrong-doing and departure from the established course of righteousness? I do not know that such a comparison is proper or illuminating, but this I do know, that sin is disease and that the testimony of Christ procures immunity from that disease. Not that man is deprived of his agency, but that while he reacts and responds to the great force and power of testimony, disease in the form of sin has no power over him, and into his life there comes a protection against a more dreaded disease than any of those contagions which have been mitigated by the discoveries of science. This protection, this immunity from disease and sin, is open to all. ¶

THE BLOOD OF ISRAEL SUSCEPTIBLE TO THE INFLUENCE OF THE SPIRIT ¶

It seems to me, however, that there runs in some blood strains a higher susceptibility to the refining and saving influence of testimony than in other strains. I don't know that I understand it, but ¶

I have thought that the significance of the "blood of Israel"is that there is in that great blood strain, following the blessings and promises of God, a susceptibility to the influence of the Holy Spirit, that does not run in other strains. Science has made some rather remarkable discoveries upon the inherited traits and qualities that go with blood strains. I have been reading of late some very interesting material with reference to the development of that phase ' of scientific research. It is pointed out that experiments conducted on very large scales demonstrate beyond substantially any doubt that intelligence is inheritable, and, we with our training, can readily believe it. It would not take much to convince us that there descends from father to son tendencies and traits which make for or against the improvement of the race. These very things are said to run in the blood itself. I believe that testimony runs in the blood. I believe that it is inheritable, and that the tendency to faith may descend from father to son. It seems to me that Paul had that in mind when writing to Timothy, he said in substance: "I do perceive in thee the faith that was in thy grandmother Lois," thus recognizing that this tendency to faith, this susceptibility to testimony, courses along in the very blood strains of the race. ¶

IS TESTIMONY SUSCEPTIBLE TO PROOF? ¶

Is this that we call testimony susceptible of definite, tangible proof? To me it is. I recognize that by the use of my ordinary senses, -- hearing, smelling, seeing, and touch, I demonstrate the existence of things. I prove to my satisfaction their materiality and the operation of the laws of nature so far as I know them. To me the operations of the Spirit of God within the structure of my life are as tangible, as susceptible of definite, concrete proof as the operations of many of the laws of nature. When I respond to this that I call my testimony, my heart warms, my body thrills. I feel the tingle of it. A satisfaction, a peace, a contentment, a joy that transcends description, envelops me. It is the proof to me that it is there, and so I assert it is susceptible of tangible proof and demonstration. Is it susceptible of scientific analysis? Yes, if the scientist will apply the test which is prescribed to demonstrate its truth. We may say to any scientist, to any man who inquires, just what God has said: "If you do my work and my will and keep my commandments you shall know whether it be the work of God or man." Are we justified in taking any other method than the method prescribed to determine the existence of testimony? I leave that thought for the reflection of those who would test the actuality of a testimony, for I know that it will come to every one who applies the prescribed method of attaining it. ¶

TESTIMONY PRODUCES GOOD FRUITS ¶

This testimony which is such an actuality always produces good fruits. Its results never vary. I know that it is said that ¶

monstrous and terrible crimes have been committed in the name of religion. That may be true, but I say that no crime and no offense against the justice of God has ever been committed under the influence of the testimony of Jesus and the Spirit of God. Men who have professed religion in organized or individual capacity have been guilty of heinous sin, but they were not under the influence of the testimony of Christ when they committed such sin. Testimony always brings to pass those things desirable for the race, because it is consistent with truth, being the very spirit of truth. ¶

THE CRIME OF PLACING OBSTACLES IN THE WAY OF OBTAINING ¶

TESTIMONY ¶

This testimony is acquired by many with difficulty. I suppose that we often wish that it could be more easily obtained, and that it would come more generally to the people of the world, but God in his providence has made it somewhat difficult of attainment. Being so difficult to acquire, it seems to me to be a very serious thing to place one obstacle in the way of its attainment. I have wondered how it is that men who profess great learning and intelligence can throw an obstacle into the way of him who seeks the acquisition of this testimony. It may be that it is often done innocently. It may be that those who destroy faith are not fully aware of the consequences of their acts. If it be so, I trust God will be merciful to them, but I cannot think but that the Lord will hold responsible any man or woman who has increased the difficulty of another to obtain this light, this testimony of the divinity of Jesus Christ. ¶

It is a matter of great regret that in our schools and colleges there are those who pass under the designation of educated men and women, who seem to rejoice in the destruction of the testimony and the faith of young people. I warn them that a persistence on their part to destroy faith and to keep this great thing we call testimony from reaching the hearts of students, young men and young women, will constitute an offense in the sight of God for which they shall be held accountable. ¶

LET NOT THE THEORIES OF DOCTORS OF PHILOSOPHY DESTROY YOUR ¶

TESTIMONY ¶

I could wish that the faith of our young folks were so well established as to give them security, even in the face of these dangerous situations. We can say to them, God has revealed the truth, that truth will never change, all the discoveries of science will in the end but serve to confirm it. Therefore, young men, young women, keep your minds open, do not forsake the wisdom of the ages for the theories of a Ph. D. ¶

TESTIMONY INSEPARABLY ASSOCIATED WITH HAPPINESS AND JOY ¶

I thank God that I have a testimony. It is the greatest possession of my own life. It is inseparably associated with all that ¶

makes for happiness and joy. It contemplates with me everything that really makes life worth living -- my intelligence, my priesthood, my relationship to God, to man, to my family, -- all comes from this testimony, that God has been good enough and kind enough to implant within my soul. I know that it exists. I know that it has essence, that it is a real thing, and that it will always be in me. I do not know that I will always respond to it as I ought. I pray to God that I shall always have the courage to do it, because I know that it will always lead me to right and to happiness. ¶

I pray too that everyone may feel the full import and impress of this great and wonderful blessing that God has given, a testimony of the Christ. Would that all. of our young people could know just what happiness it brings and just how it enriches their lives. May the Lord in his mercy make it possible for every young man and every young woman to receive a testimony of Jesus Christ as a bulwark against sin and danger and-temptation, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. ¶

A soprano solo, "Calvary,"was sung by Mrs. Edna Stromberg. ¶