What's the meaning of this?: A svithe

Today we had one of the best church lessons I've heard in years. The person who taught it is (I believe) an English professor by trade, and he had such a fresh perspective.

For instance:

"I'd like to bear my testimony..."

What does that really mean? To bear your testimony? There are 33 definitions for the word bear. Not all of them are applicable, but goodness, there were a lot that were. Here are a few of my favorite:

1. To hold up; support
2. To give birth to
3. Endure (maybe we should say, "I'd like you to bear my testimony" hahahahahaha)
   
4. To be fit for or worthy of
5. To carry in the mind or heart
6. To give
7. To accept or have, as an obligation
8. To possess as a quality or characteristic
9. To move in a course or direction

These give that phrase new life, now don't they?

Here are some other highlights of the lesson:

"Having a testimony is vital. But of even greater importance is being valiant in our testimony." (Ezra Taft Benson, Valient in the Testimony of Jesus," Tambuli, Jun 1987, 2)

The phrase "I have a testimony" is a little misleading. A testimony is not an object of permanence like your keys. It's not something you put in your pocket when you leave the house. A testimony is something you are.

"We bear testimony not only through our words but also through our lives." (James E. Faust, "The Importance of Bearing Testimony," Ensign, Mar 1997, 2)

There are two ways to teach truth. One is through our words. The other is through our lives. At some point we will have to possess the truth as a quality or characteristic and not just give or say what we know to be truth.

When Nephi speaks truth (or bears his testimony to his brothers), they have a hard time accepting it.

"Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear...I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth...the guilty taketh the truth to be hard." (1 Neohi 16:1-3)

They couldn't endure his words. Sometimes the truth is hard to hear, accept, or obey. That doesn't make it any less true. We each have different challenges, and we are all sinners. We may each have times that we take the truth to be hard. The question is are we willing to give up our pride, our necessity to be "right" in order to have the Truth? We have to give up the lies we are living, the excuses we are making. We often deceive ourselves; we hold onto self-justifications and excuses for why we are exempt from particular commandments and prophetic counsel, but have to give them up to truly know God, and have a testimony of his truth and of his Atonement.

"[If we are] enlightened by the Spirit of truth, we will then be able to pray for the increased ability to endure truth and not to be made angry by it...Gone are the little lies of self-defense. In the depths of such a prayer, we may finally be led to that lonesome place where we suddenly see ourselves naked in all soberness. We are shocked to see our many deficiencies, our lack of gratitude for the smallest things. We are now at that sacred place that seemingly only a few have courage to enter, because this is that horrible place of unquenchable pain in fire and burning...This is the place where suddenly the atonement of Christ is understood and embraced...We will never be happy anymore just by being ourselves or living our own lives. We will not be satisfied until we have surrendered our lives into the arms of the loving Christ..." (F. Enxio Busche, "Truth is the Issue," Ensign, Nov. 1993, 25-26)

We have to give up (sacrifice) our pride. We need to give up our anger of our own accord.

"Therefore, blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is he that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of heart..." (Alma 32:16)

This scripture is a good definition of faith. To believe in the word of God = action (humility) without compulsion, without stubbornness.