Trust the scriptures! Gaining a true testimony.

[Gatsby]

I'm inactive right now and my testimony wasn't as strong as I once thought.

I have a friend who I view as a father figure, who is a former bishop and he and I have long talks about the gospel.

You can't look at it logically, you just can't. Some stories in the scriptures sound bogus and made up but I guess I have to trust the words that are written in the scriptures and then I'll be able to believe.

I'll be honest, I admire a lot teachings of the Mormon church, like the Word of Wisdom and the 13 articles of faith. Other chruches sell hope and the LDS doesn't. Everything about it is perfect expect for it's members, they're human-beings with flaws and short comings.

I'm not looking for advice. I just figured that the only way that I'm going to believe in God, in the book of Mormon and really accept Jesus Christ as my savior, it's going to be by trusting the words written in the scriptures.

I don't think that God and his son are going to appear to me like they did with Joseph Smith. I would really like that but it's all done by faith.

Thank you.

Edited February 25, 2009 by Gatsby
typo

[Hemidakota]

Our testimony should be one of first hand witness as Paul, Nephi, and others have done in the past. If we have that type of testimony, it is the 'bedrock foundation' that can never be denied and supported during crisis in life.

You have every right to receive the same as Joseph did. Even Joseph was teaching this principle to those of the early church in obtaining such visitation. However, I disagree, it is not done by faith alone but through a rebirth of the spirit by the Holy Ghost.

[Dove]

Hello, Gatsby,

Thanks for letting us know a little about yourself. I struggle with being inactive, too.... I'm praying more now. I have a strong testimony of the "spirit" surrounding the Book of Mormon as I read it. Priesthood blessings help, a strong sense of the Holy Ghost being with me day by day, is very comforting.

I agree with you about not being able to look at it "logically," or being able to prove it in a scientific sense. I think it's set up that way, so that going about finding the truth of it is done in God's way, through the Spirit and faith.

I do have some favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon, that you might like to read. 2 Nephi, chapters 31 through 33 talk about why it was necessary for the Saviour to be baptized. They also talk about receiving the "words of Christ" through the Holy Ghost. Let me know if your read them, and what you think. :-)

Dove

[Gatsby]

Our testimony should be one of first hand witness as Paul, Nephi, and others have done in the past. If we have that type of testimony, it is the 'bedrock foundation' that can never be denied and supported during crisis in life.

You have every right to receive the same as Joseph did. Even Joseph was teaching this principle to those of the early church in obtaining such visitation. However, I disagree, it is not done by faith alone but through a rebirth of the spirit by the Holy Ghost.

Thank you for that.

[Gatsby]

Hello, Gatsby,

Thanks for letting us know a little about yourself. I struggle with being inactive, too.... I'm praying more now. I have a strong testimony of the "spirit" surrounding the Book of Mormon as I read it. Priesthood blessings help, a strong sense of the Holy Ghost being with me day by day, is very comforting.

I agree with you about not being able to look at it "logically," or being able to prove it in a scientific sense. I think it's set up that way, so that going about finding the truth of it is done in God's way, through the Spirit and faith.

I do have some favorite chapters in the Book of Mormon, that you might like to read. 2 Nephi, chapters 31 through 33 talk about why it was necessary for the Saviour to be baptized. They also talk about receiving the "words of Christ" through the Holy Ghost. Let me know if your read them, and what you think. :-)

Dove

I'll check out 2 Nephi 31-33 some time and let you know what I think.

[rameumptom]

Gatsby, remember that scripture is given to us to teach us Doctrine. Only true doctrine can teach us the things we need to know to be saved through Christ's atonement. History is/was not the object of writing any of the scriptures, and so some stories may not be perfectly accurate nor historical in all ways. That's okay. They still become a teaching tool for us, to increase our understanding of how God works with man, and how we can learn to work with God.

[Guest missingsomething]

Gats...

You know what... I thought once that I was so strong in the gospel that I would never be inactive - I went 7 years with only missing ONE sunday - the "model" saint. But you know... God laughs when we use the words "always" and "never". I went inactive for 3 years and struggled during this time. I have now been re-activated for 6 years.

The thing about a testimony is that if you are not challenging it - studying, pondering, praying to gain further insight - you are loosing your testimony.

The fact that you are posting... you are willing to read and exchange ideas... well, that tells me you are a good person!

I know you werent asking for advice or anything - I just wanted to share. :)

[Jamie123]

I've never totally understood what Mormons mean by the word "testimony". For most Christians, the act of "giving one's testimony" means telling the story of one's conversion, which is often quite lengthy and involved. For Mormons, it's a simple statement like "I know JS was a prophet" or "I know the church is true". Rarely any elaboration, apart from vague statements about "revelation" or "the Spirit".

During my investigation of Mormonism I was often asked: "Did you feel the Spirit?" to which I'd reply "I don't know - what does the Spirit feel like?" The church member would usually mumble something about "burnings in the breast" (whatever that means) but promptly add that it's not necessarily like that for everyone. The bottom line was always: "You'll not mistake it when it happens". However, if I ever complained that I hadn't felt the Spirit, the response was usually "Well, what were you expecting to feel?" We'd just go round in circles.

Having said that, the idea of "trusting the scriptures" in order to "gain a testimony" (that the scriptures are true) is a classic example of begging the question - so I would agree that it's difficult to look at this question logically.

Edited February 27, 2009 by Jamie123