The Fire of Faith

Yesterday, I talked about the importance of testimony as a defense against evil. In that blog post, I mentioned that there were many messages about how to grow your testimony, implying that such a message would be easy to find with just a search on LDS.org. Apparently, I was wrong.

With yesterday's message still more-or-less in my mind, and suddenly realizing that is Fast and Testimony Sunday, not just Fast Sunday, I wanted to share a message specifically about how to grow our testimonies, or perhaps how to gain the courage to share our testimonies, but I'm not finding enough raw material to use as my sources. There was an Ensign (or New Era) article about testimonies a(n unknown) number of months ago that I really liked. It related testimonies to a flame - an analogy that I've always liked. Maybe I can find it again.

Aha! Here it is! The February 2012 New Era, page 16. Wow, it's a year old. Here, I'll quote a section from the article:

You may have heard a testimony compared to a burning fire before, but think about how a fire is built.
If you try to light a big log, it probably won't catch fire. You have to have some sort of kindling, like smaller sticks or leaves, to get the fire going. Likewise, small experiences can kindle the fire of your testimony.
Sometimes people may put lighter fluid on a log, which makes the flames become bright, but once the lighter fluid is burned, the fire dies back down because it was the lighter fluid and not the log that was burning. Your testimony may sometimes be flamed by a strong spiritual experience, but that may not be enough to maintain a constantly burning testimony.
Even if you have a nice fire burning, it will eventually die if you don't continue to put wood on it. In like manner, you must continue to feed the fire of your testimony so that it doesn't smolder out.

My younger brother would be a better person to share this analogy than I am. He's the master champion of building fires. When I build fires, I have to use a lot of old newspapers and small sticks. Yet, actually, that works out for the analogy pretty well. The second paragraph of the shared section tells us that we need small experiences (and, I assume, quite a few of them) to build our testimonies in the first place. Once we already have a flame of testimony going, we can progress to the larger sticks and logs. I'm not sure what those represent. Deeper doctrine? Maybe?

One of my favorite parts of this analogy is that a testimony must be frequently added to in order to be maintained. If we neglect to feed our testimonies, they will diminish, but if we consistently fuel our testimonies through regular prayer and scripture study, as well as other righteous acts, they will grow.

I also like the ideas of sharing our testimonies as being similar to sharing a flame. Let's say you have a lit candle and your friend has an unlit candle. You can share your flame with them and then you'll both have light. You don't lose anything by sharing your testimony with others. In fact, in the moment your share your light with your friend, your light will become brighter. That's because sharing your testimony is a spiritual experience. It can help your testimony grow.

There's one final thing that I want to share about this analogy. When I think about my testimony as a fire, I like to think about the things a fire is good for, namely light and warmth.

Before electric lights were invented, fire was the primary source of light. Candles, torches and lanterns were all powered by fire. Light is essential to see where you're going and what you're doing. And often, the brighter your light is, the better you can see. Our testimonies can give us faith and direction. Because we know what our Savior is like, we know what traits we should develop ourselves. Because we know what He did, we know what we should do to follow His example. The light of our burning testimonies guide us down the path of righteousness.

This light can also be a source of guidance for others. Just as we can follow the Savior's example, people sometimes follow us. If we try to have our light reflect the light of the Savior, we can lead others on the path of light with us, so they can gain testimonies for themselves.

Our burning testimonies can also be a comfort to us. Often, the world feels harsh and uncaring, or cold. Knowing that our Heavenly Father loves us and desires our happiness can be a great source of warmth and comfort. The truths of the gospel are full of hope and love.

This Sunday, we have the opportunity to hear the testimonies of others and to share our testimonies as well. Let's take advantage of this opportunity to grow our testimonies so our light will be brighter and stronger.