Show TESTIMONY within the ranks of the church of jesus jesu s christ of latter day saints are thousands who say that they know the gospel is true that its principles are eternal and will do all that Is claimed boothem torU foo hem them such a strong testimony implies perfect knowledge but unfortunately la Is not possessed by all we find various degrees of faith ranging from the perfect anc strong to that which Is so weak and feeble that it is scarcely perceptible and still worse some will even deny that there exists any redeeming virtues in these principles the questions might be asked what is a testimony and why do I 1 mens testimonies testimonies onles differ in their degrees of assi assurance trance A testimony of the ex istance of V jesus christ and his plan of redemption is essentially spiritual knowledge it is knowledge and intelligence pure and simple but it Is spiritual and is of such a character as to give perfect assurance to the human mind that ke he does live and Is all that ile he claims to be ile he who has a testimony is in po session of that degree of 0 spiritual hiow knowledge ledge corresponding to the strength of the testimony in answer to the question why do mens testimonies differ varying from the strong to the weak it Is simply because men differ in their possession of spiritual knowledge and in answering why do men differ in their spiritual knowledge we divulge one of the basic natural laws that govern both on earth and in the eternal worlds beyond it is simply that anything we wish to gain can be attained only through effort and moreover effort directed along lines that nature has laid down tor for bringing success it if we wish to make mon ey we must study the laws of f anan nan i cl ering it if we wish to gain an education we must follow the course laid down by the veterans of secular learning if we wish to obtain a testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel we must do spiritual work then we will know of a surety that jt estrue we must follow the only I 1 iati iway y tha that a t leads to ta s lajet and intelligence and when we have obtained the knowledge we jve have gained a testimony A testimony Is indicative of spiritual effort Is it strong full of hope arid and confidence to the exclusion of all possible doubt we know that man Is an energetic worker and is valiant in his efforts tor for truth Is his testimony weak and faltering or has he be no faith at all his energies are not being directed along spiritual lines his life is not one of sacrifice and devotion to the sacred cause Is this sound reasoning Is it truth let us see by taking the church of jesus christ of latter day saints as an example where do we find the strongest testimonies and deepest convictions Is it among those who are doing little or nothing to sustain the cause or Is it among those who are bearing the heat and burden of the day invariably we find the brightest best and most glowing tes ies timotes existing in thos whose whole soul and energies are directed toward forwarding zion they are working for god and grandly are they receiving their reward from him the great paymaster who was never known to fail all receive spiritual reward from him la in proportion to their faithfulness lie ile who can slow show an unbroken record of half a century or more of staunch devotion to the cause towers tar far above the half hearted bearded and wavering one la in spiritual light intelligence power power and happiness such are our veteran leaders spiritual knowledge in some respects is the same as other forms of knowledge it remains bright and increases in depth and scope as long as exertion and effort Is continued but he who slackens his pace and finally comes to a halt wandering into the bypaths and indifference indifference will very quickly note a change in his feelings and in his testimony testimony what at one time he declares he knew as a fact now appears tinctured with doubt and the mists of uncertainty cloud and dim his spiritual light As the suns bright glory on summer days is quickly changed to sombre gloom by gathering storms so can a bright testimony fade into the darkness of spiritual night when effort to retain it has ceased Iii instances stances of this kind are found in haywa wayward rd young men who respond to the missionary call and in the field strive long and hard for the masters c cause ause with the result great spiritual blessings were showered upon them they went out humble and weeping bearing precious seed and returned bringing the splendid spiritual shea ve acs s they had received as a work of their faithfulness then follows the same old story a lapse into indifference and with it a return to spiritual ignorance Iga orance this conc condition lillon one may deny his former testimony mOnT and become an actual of the truth some who tor for years have been faithful we woi 1 hers have fallen by the wayside and proclaim their former faith a delusion and a snare does this renouncing of testimony prove that the gospel Is not true far from it christ and the plan of redemption are eternal and anything man may do or say will not effect the existence of these great facts the dental denial of the faith Is always the result of negligence of spiritual duty tor for the moment that begins one is on the highway to anything non or antl anti spiritual this applies equally to secular lea ning for the scholar whose work is not hard and continuous will forget and lose knowledge and fall into grevious error the testimony of faithful latter day saints liay lay not convince the world but that Is not surprising for the world Is slow to receive truth of any kind the veteran scientist who for many long iong years has tolled in the laboratory and finally discovers some important truth or fact and proclaims it to the world his statements are received with derision and time alone can convince the world that his testimony was vas true he who ascends the mountain heights and views vast shining glories brilliant great and strong may sing of wonders to those tar far below who ony mock at his inspiring song |