It was a memorable stake conference because of the energy that Elder Brown brought to his talk. I knew that he not only knew the church was the true church of Jesus Christ but also that he wanted everyone else in attendance to know it as well.

Because of that memory, I wasn’t surprised when I heard the way Elder Brown spoke at the general conference of the church earlier this month, and I was glad that members of the church across the world got to hear the power and conviction that I heard at that one stake conference.

Elder Brown’s talk was titled “The Eternal Gift of Testimony.” In his address, as recorded on the church’s website, he explained that he had “been reflecting on three powerful truths from the Restoration,” which he said had “profoundly blessed” his life. His goal, he said, was to explain how those truths guided him on his “journey toward a sure witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

The three truths, Elder Brown said, were:

1. “God Is Our Loving Heavenly Father”
2. “Agency Is the Gift to Choose and Act for Ourselves”
3. “Our Testimony Comes Through the Power of the Holy Ghost”

‘God Is Our Loving Heavenly Father’

Ryan Comer, Standard-Examiner

Elder Brown explained that God “is omniscient and omnipotent” and that “His influence is everywhere.”

He added that “It is in His nature to bless us” and that God “gives us every good gift, each with His eternal perspective and vision in mind.”

‘Agency Is the Gift to Choose and Act for Ourselves’

Elder Brown stated that “agency is a sacred gift” because “Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price for that privilege with His precious blood.”

There’s a tendency, Elder Brown said, to “believe that agency means doing whatever we want,” but that agency is “the responsibility to choose well.”

The reason we have agency, Elder Brown continued, is “to choose good,” “to choose Christ” and “to choose eternal life–again and again.”

‘Our Testimony Comes Through the Power of the Holy Ghost’

Elder Brown called a testimony from the Holy Ghost “greater than sight,” and he said there are many ways to obtain such a testimony.

“Like a light bulb in a dark room, it can come on dramatically and suddenly,” Elder Brown said. “It can come like the sunrise gradually and over time. It can come like rays of light, intermittent exposure to pure intelligence. Whatever the way, it comes through the Holy Ghost.”

Elder Brown’s testimony

Elder Brown explained how he found his testimony in his native Jamaica.

It wasn’t easy, Elder Brown noted, because in high school, friends and classmates were not able to understand his choice to be a member of the church.

“‘How could you join that church?’ they would ask,” he said. “‘How could you believe that story?’–referring to the First Vision. ‘How could you read that book?’–referring to the Book of Mormon. ‘Do you really believe all that?’ And ‘Why are you wasting your life away?’

“It was painful, especially when it came from people I cared about.

“But what they didn’t know was this: I had an experience with the Holy Ghost. As that testimony filled my heart, it dulled the pain of days, and ‘for one brief moment, heaven’s view [appeared] before my gaze.'”

Elder Brown noted that such a testimony can be obtained by everyone and that it shouldn’t fluctuate.

“Brothers and sisters, a testimony is not given for temporary use,” he said. “This gift from our loving Heavenly Father is meant to be eternal because the giver is eternal. A testimony should not have an expiration date. It should not weaken or diminish because something in my life has changed or something in the world has changed. It should get stronger because, like the servant’s talents in the parable of the talents, my personal testimony is a gift to be multiplied–not buried.”

Elder Brown emphasized how his testimony is something he knows for himself.

“I not only believe, hope, or trust, even though these are significant particles of faith on the pathway to a sure witness,” he said. “I commend you for making your own way by asking questions, studying, praying, fasting, and pondering. Please don’t stop. It is worth every effort to pursue this path to testimony. Who or what will you allow to take that away? ‘What greater witness can you have than from God?’

“Every son or daughter of God can gain a deeper, firmer, and surer knowledge for themselves. Like Joseph Smith, who affirmed his testimony despite opposition, we can boldly say, ‘I knew it, and I knew that God knew it, and I could not deny it, neither dared I do it.’

“My dear brothers and sisters, let the small seedling of testimony work in you until it springs up to an everlastingly glorious sure knowledge.”

Speaking to members of the church who may be struggling with their testimonies, Elder Brown counseled to remember the sacramental prayer promise “That they may always have his Spirit to be with them.”

He said that because of that promise, “each of us can pursue the path to testimony and a sure knowledge.”

Taking charge of our testimony

Elder Brown emphasized that although a testimony is available to all, a choice needs to be made to receive it.

“Saying ‘I choose to believe’ makes it easier to receive a witness from God,” he said. “If we find our testimony weakening, remember that it is the choices we make that diminish the power of the testimony. But the testimony has not gone anywhere. We just need to choose to reconnect with it.

“Choosing to believe is a wise and powerful way to use our agency.

“I cannot see a better way to use my agency than in defense of my testimony.

“President Nelson taught: ‘I plead with you to take charge of your testimony. Work for it. Own it. Care for it. Nurture it so that it will grow. Feed it truth.’

“To me, the words take charge, work, care, own, nurture, and feed sound like an agent given stewardship for something precious and important.”

Elder Brown then discussed an example from church history where Parley P. Pratt warned John Taylor not to follow Joseph Smith. It was ironic because Pratt had taught Taylor about the church, but Pratt had become upset with Smith. Elder Brown quoted Taylor’s words to Pratt, saying:

“‘Before you left Canada, you bore a strong testimony to Joseph Smith being a prophet of God, … and you said you knew these things by revelation and the gift of the Holy Ghost.

“‘… I now have the same testimony that you then rejoiced in. If the work was true six months ago, it is true today. If Joseph Smith was then a prophet, he is now a prophet.'”

Elder Brown testified that Smith was God’s prophet, the prophetic mantle given to him continues today and that Jesus Christ directs The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“I invite you to think about your path to a sure witness of Jesus Christ and His gospel,” he said. “Take charge of your testimony; use your agency wisely and acknowledge the giver and all His glorious attributes. I bear witness that the power is within you. No one can choose for you. No one can take this gift away. You can choose to believe.”

He promised blessings that will come because of having a testimony and stressed the urgency of it.

“I promise that as you do this, your testimony will be a ‘well of living water, springing up unto everlasting life,'” he said. “It will be an anchor and a motivator, and it will sustain you through difficult times. It will enable you to develop spiritual gifts. It will help you in your personal ministry and service. It will be a weapon against Satan and your adversaries. Your testimony will be a joy as you see it replicated in your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren and in those you love and serve. It will be powerful when you share it and use it to testify.

“If you know, you know. I know that I know. We need more sure witnesses of Jesus Christ and His gospel. Get there! Seek it! It is urgent! This is the final dispensation–the dispensation of the fulness of times.”

Closing his talk, Elder Brown said:

“Jesus Christ declared this truth: ‘Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.’

“Brothers and sisters, a testimony of Jesus Christ was never meant to be a temporary gift. Nothing about it is temporary–not the giver, not the gift itself, not the deliverer of the gift, not who the gift is about. May your testimony be described in this same way. Though ‘heaven and earth shall pass away,’ your testimony and witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ will not pass away. Now is the time to lay hold on this precious gift.”

Contact Ryan Comer at rcomer@standard.net.