FHE: Testimony

Discussion:
What is a testimony?
A testimony is a spiritual witness of the truthfulness of the gospel and the reality of Heavenly Father & Jesus Christ given to us by the Holy Ghost.  Testimony means to know that something is real.

You can know that this table is real because you can touch it.  You can know that the sun is real because you can see it and feel it's warmth.  But how can you know that something is real when you can't see or touch it?  The Holy Ghost can help us to know that something is true by the way we feel.  When we do what is right or learn about something that is true, we feel good, warm or peaceful inside.  This is the witness of the Spirit that what we're doing or learning about is true.  Even though we haven't seen Jesus Christ, we can know that He is real and that He loves us.

A testimony doesn't come all at once.  President Uchtdorf talked about this in General Conference.  He said that instead of being one big event, gaining a witness or testimony, "often comes in the form of a puzzle--one piece at a time."  (May Ensign, p. 70)  As we learn about the gospel and try to do what is right, the Spirit will witness to us little by little that the things we are learning and doing are true.   

Activity:
How can you gain a testimony and help it grow? (pray, read the scriptures, attend Church, etc.)
Print out a picture from lds.org to cut it into a 9 piece puzzle.  (It could be a picture of the Savior, the First Vision, a child bearing testimony, etc.)
On the back of each piece, write one thing you can do to gain a testimony and help it grow: 
-Pray sincerely
-Read the Scriptures
-Attend Sacrament Meeting & Primary
-Follow the Prophet
-Obey the Commandments
-Try to be like Jesus
-Repent of any wrongdoing (so that you can have the Spirit with you)
-Participate in Family Home Evening
-Share your testimony with others
Then discuss each action as you put the puzzle together.  (You could hide the pieces around the room and reiterate how we gain our testimonies one piece at a time.)

Unlike this puzzle, though, our testimonies are never finished.  We need to strengthen our testimonies throughout our entire lives by continuing to learn and do what is right.

Discussion:
How can you share your testimony?
-There are many ways we can share our testimonies.  A testimony doesn't have to be formal or use certain words.  We can bear our testimony with simple statements.  We may talk about things that we know or believe with our family members or friends.  We can also bear our testimony through our actions--by living in accordance with what we believe or know is true.

-When we bear our testimonies in Sacrament meeting, we should keep them simple and focused on the Savior and the things that we know are true.  Sometimes it is appropriate to share an experience that helped to strengthen our testimony, but we shouldn't tell stories to entertain or draw attention to ourselves.  Testimonies are heartfelt expressions of the things we know to be true.  As we bear pure testimony, we will invite the confirming witness of the Holy Ghost.  Our own testimonies will be strengthened as we bear them.

Activity:
Use this activity from the October 2008 Friend to review the essential parts of a testimony.  You can attach the pictures to a glove, or make them into finger puppets.  Or simply trace a hand and glue the pictures onto the fingers as you discuss what each one represents and how you could share that part of your testimony. 
http://lds.org/friend/2008/10/testimony-glove?lang=eng&query

Each person can try on the glove and tell about the five parts of a testimony or bear their testimony of these things if they'd like to.  (Don't pressure anyone to bear their testimony as they should be heartfelt and personal.)

Testimony:
-Each one of us can gain our own testimonies of the gospel.  As we learn about Heavenly Father & Jesus Christ and try to do what is right, the Holy Ghost will witness to us that the things we are learning and doing are true.
-We can strengthen our testimonies each day as we try to live the gospel.  Little by little, our testimonies will continue to grow stronger throughout our lives.