Ensign, “Patience, a Key to Happiness”, May 1987, 30; “We should be patient in developing and strengthening our testimonies. Rather than
expecting immediate or spectacular manifestations, though they will come when needed, we should pray for a testimony, study the scriptures, follow the counsel of our prophet and other Church leaders, and live the principles of the gospel. Our testimonies then will grow and mature naturally, perhaps imperceptibly at times, until they become driving forces in our lives.” — Joseph B. Wirthlin
2 Timothy 1:12; “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”
How long is long enough Mr. Wirthlin?
Some people wait a lifetime on ‘gaining a testimony’, and regrettably, die while doing so.
Why should someone keep paying 10% of their income if they don’t have a testimony?
Why should someone think they don’t have a proper testimony if they’re not totally sold out to the Church?
Why is questioning the ‘powers-that-be’ a bad thing in Mormonism? Isn’t investigating, studying, and analytical thinking good building blocks for strengthening a testimony?
While the Church says members should study the scriptures, those scriptures are very restrictive. They don’t allow outside sources to be used for study, nor do they encourage people to do anything but ‘follow the prophet’.
How is this a model for gaining a testimony?
The testimony you’d be gaining is that of someone else (namely Joseph Smith), and isn’t an independent standard of personal conviction.
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