My Farewell Talk: Finding A Testimony
Some people were unable to make it to my farewell and asked if I could somehow provide away for them to read it. So here it is... My farewell talk: Finding A Testimony. Enjoy:)
Hello Brothers and Sisters, My name is Devyn Pischer and most of you know that I will be serving a mission. I have been called to serve in the France Paris Mission. I am extremely excited to serve here. I wouldn't be serving a mission or be in the LDS Church, if it wasn't for my Testimony of the Gospel. I wanted to define what a Testimony is, just in case some of you don't know. According to the Topical Guide in the scriptures, it states that a Testimony is "Knowledge and a spiritual witness given by the Holy Ghost. A testimony is a declaration of what a person perceives as truth."
On the church website, lds.org, it states, "The foundation of a testimony is the knowledge that Heavenly Father lives and loves His children; that Jesus Christ lives, that He is the Son of God, and the He carried out the infinite Atonement; that Joseph Smith is the prophet of God who was called to restore the gospel; that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Savior's true Church on the earth; and that the Church is led by a living prophet today." Someone can grow their Testimony through following a few principles that were given on lds.org.
1) A testimony beings with a righteous, sincere desire. I will share out of the Book of Mormon in Moroni, Chapter 10, verses 4-5, " 4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. 5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." This leads me to my next point.
2) Testimonies come from the quiet influence of the Holy Ghost. It's a quiet assurance without a spectacular display of God's power. The Holy Ghost testifies of truths differently for different people. A few examples are a feeling, a thought that isn't your own or it is, or a prompting. In the Doctrine and Covenants, section 6, verses 22-23, it states, " 22 Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things. 23 Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?" For myself, there was an instance when the Holy Ghost testified to me that the church was true. I was very young but I knew by the way that I felt. Before this moment, I just thought the church was true but the Holy Ghost had never straight out testified to me or I had never noticed. It was in Salt Lake City at the LDS temple and that was also my first time being there. My family was doing something on their own, off to the side, and I was alone in front of the temple. I had an overwhelming and unexpected sensation that I was in the right place and had peace. Nothing else mattered in that moment except to know I was doing the right thing to see my Heavenly Father again, He loved me, and I was Home.
3) Testimonies grow gradually through experience. A complete testimony doesn't come all at once. "We can grow our testimonies by showing our willingness to serve in the church, and to study, to pray, and learn. Grows with obedience to God's commandments..." When I was in high school, I had a desire to serve someone in my ward. I had a feeling that I needed to make this older women cupcakes. So I was originally going to make her strawberry swirl cupcakes but I didn't have any kind of strawberry ingredients. However I had raspberries and raspberry extract so I decided to make raspberry swirl cupcakes instead. When I was trying to find this women's house, I just couldn't find it! So I called another Sister in the ward and she told me where this women lived. When I finally found the house, the women so happen to be pulling into her driveway right at that moment! So I decide to drive around the block so I wasn't be right behind her as she was walking into her house. When I had finished doing that, I walked up to the front door,with the cupcakes in hand, and knocked on her door. When she opened that door, she looked really surprised. I said, "Hello! I made cupcakes for you!" Then out of nowhere, she started crying and asked, "How did you know?" I said, "I just had a feeling that I needed to make you cupcakes." She asked what kind they were and I told her. She gasped and said, "Raspberry is my favorite!" This moment testified to me that Heavenly Father works in mysterious way. And the Holy Ghost prompted to me to serve this women because he knows what she was going through and through me I was able to bring her comfort. I am glad that I followed the Holy Ghost's prompting to serve and show one of Heavenly Father's children His love.
In a General Conference talk given by President Uchtdorf in October 2006 titled, "The Power of a Personal Testimony." He gives some suggestions of how to grow or get a Testimony. He says, "First: Desire to believe. Second: Search the Scriptures. and Third: Do the will of God; keep the commandments." I encourage you to go read this talk on your own to know more about how to grow your testimony.
Hello Brothers and Sisters, My name is Devyn Pischer and most of you know that I will be serving a mission. I have been called to serve in the France Paris Mission. I am extremely excited to serve here. I wouldn't be serving a mission or be in the LDS Church, if it wasn't for my Testimony of the Gospel. I wanted to define what a Testimony is, just in case some of you don't know. According to the Topical Guide in the scriptures, it states that a Testimony is "Knowledge and a spiritual witness given by the Holy Ghost. A testimony is a declaration of what a person perceives as truth."
On the church website, lds.org, it states, "The foundation of a testimony is the knowledge that Heavenly Father lives and loves His children; that Jesus Christ lives, that He is the Son of God, and the He carried out the infinite Atonement; that Joseph Smith is the prophet of God who was called to restore the gospel; that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Savior's true Church on the earth; and that the Church is led by a living prophet today." Someone can grow their Testimony through following a few principles that were given on lds.org.
1) A testimony beings with a righteous, sincere desire. I will share out of the Book of Mormon in Moroni, Chapter 10, verses 4-5, " 4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. 5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things." This leads me to my next point.
2) Testimonies come from the quiet influence of the Holy Ghost. It's a quiet assurance without a spectacular display of God's power. The Holy Ghost testifies of truths differently for different people. A few examples are a feeling, a thought that isn't your own or it is, or a prompting. In the Doctrine and Covenants, section 6, verses 22-23, it states, " 22 Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things. 23 Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?" For myself, there was an instance when the Holy Ghost testified to me that the church was true. I was very young but I knew by the way that I felt. Before this moment, I just thought the church was true but the Holy Ghost had never straight out testified to me or I had never noticed. It was in Salt Lake City at the LDS temple and that was also my first time being there. My family was doing something on their own, off to the side, and I was alone in front of the temple. I had an overwhelming and unexpected sensation that I was in the right place and had peace. Nothing else mattered in that moment except to know I was doing the right thing to see my Heavenly Father again, He loved me, and I was Home.
3) Testimonies grow gradually through experience. A complete testimony doesn't come all at once. "We can grow our testimonies by showing our willingness to serve in the church, and to study, to pray, and learn. Grows with obedience to God's commandments..." When I was in high school, I had a desire to serve someone in my ward. I had a feeling that I needed to make this older women cupcakes. So I was originally going to make her strawberry swirl cupcakes but I didn't have any kind of strawberry ingredients. However I had raspberries and raspberry extract so I decided to make raspberry swirl cupcakes instead. When I was trying to find this women's house, I just couldn't find it! So I called another Sister in the ward and she told me where this women lived. When I finally found the house, the women so happen to be pulling into her driveway right at that moment! So I decide to drive around the block so I wasn't be right behind her as she was walking into her house. When I had finished doing that, I walked up to the front door,with the cupcakes in hand, and knocked on her door. When she opened that door, she looked really surprised. I said, "Hello! I made cupcakes for you!" Then out of nowhere, she started crying and asked, "How did you know?" I said, "I just had a feeling that I needed to make you cupcakes." She asked what kind they were and I told her. She gasped and said, "Raspberry is my favorite!" This moment testified to me that Heavenly Father works in mysterious way. And the Holy Ghost prompted to me to serve this women because he knows what she was going through and through me I was able to bring her comfort. I am glad that I followed the Holy Ghost's prompting to serve and show one of Heavenly Father's children His love.
In a General Conference talk given by President Uchtdorf in October 2006 titled, "The Power of a Personal Testimony." He gives some suggestions of how to grow or get a Testimony. He says, "First: Desire to believe. Second: Search the Scriptures. and Third: Do the will of God; keep the commandments." I encourage you to go read this talk on your own to know more about how to grow your testimony.
and 4) Share your Testimony. This can be shared in fast and testimony meeting, and in conversations. In Doctrine and Covenants, Section 62, verse 3 it states, "3 Nevertheless, ye are blessed, for the testimony which ye have borne is recorded in heaven for the angels to look upon; and they rejoice over you, and your sins are forgiven you." I would like to share my Testimony with you at this time. I testify that this Church is true. If I didn't believe that it was, I wouldn't be going on a mission to teach the people of France about Jesus Christ and the love that Heavenly Father has for them. I know that if we follow these principles then our testimonies will grow and your faith in the Gospel will too. I know that Joseph Smith was a prophet and restored the Gospel and that President Thomas S. Monson is the Prophet today. I can't wait to start my journey as a missionary to share the Gospel in France. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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