You have heard this scripture before, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” 1. I want you to momentarily think about your greatest treasure or most prized possession. I am going to come back to that in a few minutes.
Another question for you is why you and I are here today. Why am I willing to complete this assignment? It is not because I enjoy speaking. Some of us may say we are here because it is a commandment or that we were asked to be here to complete an assignment. But really, why are we here? We have a choice. I could have said no or just not shown up. I will explain why I am here using examples from my ancestors.
What makes a young lady at 20 leave England to travel by herself to a new land and find work in New York only long enough to save enough money to continue her travels west? Join a handcart company known as the Willey Company bound for Salt Lake. What makes her walk and pull a cart 1000 miles through heat, rain, mud, snow, ice and bitter cold? To lose part of her feet to frostbite. To witness death every day and each night to lay down wondering if she will wake up the next day. It is a testimony of Jesus Christ.
What makes a boy, after seeing his father tarred and feathered for his beliefs, decide at 17 that he would join the Mormon battalion to march to San Diego and then later cross the plains several times, helping the saints get to Salt Lake? What makes the same young man answer a call from a Prophet to go and rescue saints when they are trapped in Wyoming? It is a testimony of Jesus Christ.
What makes a young father leave his wife and newborn son to join the Mormon battalion? To leave them without much food or shelter on the plains west of the Mississippi, hoping they could make it to Salt Lake. It is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ—a testimony of the Savior.
This wonderful legacy given to me by my ancestors is part of the reason why I am here, but it is not enough or the only reason. Their testimony of the Savior will not get me into Heaven. The responsibility rests on me. I must obtain my testimony. In Matthew, we read of the young rich man who asked the Savior what he must do to obtain the Kingdom of God. The Savior told him to obey all the commandments. The rich man said he had done that all his life. He asked what else he must do. The Savior told him that he must sell and follow all he had. The young man could not do this and left. Now, think of when the Savior came to Peter and asked him to give up his livelihood and follow Him. He left his nets and went straight away. What is the difference between these two men? Again, I ask the question, what is your most prized possession?
I hope it is a testimony of Jesus Christ. Because without it, everything else you have will be lost, all your treasures and great possessions, even your family.
Elder Faust has taught. “Each of us has to receive our witness concerning Jesus as the Christ. We cannot get it second-hand from someone else. I believe that a testimony of our Redeemer comes from a divine source as a spiritual gift. Such a heaven-sent witness gives us a sacred inner peace and strength.”2
If a testimony is vital to us, we might ask how to obtain this witness. First, as Enos said, we must desire to know, “ And my soul hungered.”3. We must want to know. We must study the scriptures, the teachings of Christ, and the words of the Prophets and Apostles.
Obtaining a testimony of Christ is not a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It must be experienced weekly and daily if possible. As we become committed to obeying God's commandments, serving others in our callings, to repent of our sins, and applying the atonement of Jesus Christ into our daily lives, our love and testimony of the Savior will grow and mature.
Why am I here today? Because I know I have a Father in Heaven who loves and cares about me daily. I have seen his hand as He becomes personally involved in the lives and details of his children. As I have served in the temple, there was not a Saturday that went by that I did not see His involvement in individual lives. I have seen atonement work in my life and the lives of others.
I ask again, what is your most prized possession? Where is your treasure? Because that is where your heart will be. I hope it is a burning testimony of Jesus Christ, which is my prayer. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Notes:
- Matthew 6:2
- Elder James E. Faust, “A Testimony of Christ” BYU Devotional March 1979