July 2 – Testimony. 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.”
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For Christians there are no set mandates one must follow when it comes to sharing your testimony. You simply share your story about the things Jesus has done for you, and who He is. For Mormons, it’s a whole other ball game. Their prophet today, (Thomas S. Monson), told members it’s ‘incumbent’ upon them to ‘share their testimony once they have one’. That phrase is like a foreign language to a Christian!
There are a few questions you’ll want to ask the Mormon about the policies they have regarding what they must do to share a testimony.
1.Why do they have to follow a set of rules when sharing their testimony? See Mormon reference below.
2.Do they classify you as a non-Christian?
3.Why did Jesus lie in Matthew 16:18 when He said the gates of hell wouldn’t prevail against the church? In no uncertain terms, the comment about Joe Smith makes it clear they’re teaching that Christianity was nonexistent until he came along.
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Mormon Doctrine, p. 786; “Three great truths must be included in every valid testimony: 1. That Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Savior of the world (D. & C. 46:13); 2. That Joseph Smith is the Prophet of God through whom the gospel was restored in this dispensation; and 3. That The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is “the only true and living church upon the face of the whole earth.” (D. & C. 1:30.)”
Missionary testimonies always remind me of this particular scripture : “Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte , and when he is is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.” (Matthew 23:15)
Missionaries beware!!
And if you should forget the 5 points of your “testimony”, you can get your very own “testimony glove” (at Deseret Books). Each finger represents each of the 5 points of the LDS “testimony”.
No one has the same testimony…we are all unique and different, and a Christian testimony is based on how Jesus changed their life. It’s personal. When I first started researching the claims of the LDS church, I just found it so odd everyone had the same testimony…how does that happen? I thought, Wow, that’s Indoctrination.
If you don’t close your testimony by saying: “I say this in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.”, somebody will say something to you before the sacrament meeting concludes. Church members honestly believe that if you don’t follow certain criteria when giving your testimony, your entire testimony is invalid. Same thing with giving a Priesthood Blessing. If you fail to say certain words in a particular order, your Priesthood blessing becomes invalid. Or, whenever a Priesthood holder is saying the Sacrament Prayer. If the prayer giver mispronounces a word or stutters over another word, the prayer giver has to start the entire prayer all over again. I always felt so sorry for the people giving the Sacrament Prayer, especially if the prayer giver was an older person with wife and kids in the congregation. I believe that Jesus likely shed a tear watching some poor guy being embarrassed in front of his wife and kids because he had to repeat the prayer numerous times. If it had been me, I would not have gone back to church..
The Mormons are so hung up on rules and protocol, that they forget what Jesus said: ” And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” (John 8:32,36)
Jesus died for us in order to set us free from all the wordy rules regarding our relationship with him.