How do I know if I know...

How do I know if I know???

If you want to strengthen your testimony and have a new perspective on things you need to read this book.  I gave my lesson last week about it. 
Our lesson was on Sister Cheryl A. Esplin of the Primary General Presidency.  Her talk was called "Filling our homes with Light and Truth,"  She made a quote that really stuck out to me..."Many of us have been baptized and have received the gift of the Holy Ghost, whose role is to reveal and teach the truth of all things.  However, with the privilege of that gift comes the responsibility to SEEK TRUTH, to LIVE THE TRUTH we know, and to SHARE and DEFEND the truth.
And this quote got me thinking about the book by John Bytheway. 
But before I share a few thoughts about the book, here is a great object lesson...
She had this presented to her at a training meeting.  The Young Women leader held up 2 cans of soda.  In one she held a can that was empty and in the other hand a can that was unopened and full of soda.  First, she squeezed the empty can; it began to bend and then collapsed under the pressure.  Next, with her other hand, she squeezed the unopened can.  It held firm.  It didn't bend or collapse like the empty can---because it was full.  We can liken this demonstration to our individual lives to to our homes and families.  When filled with the Spirit and with gospel truth, we have the power to withstand the outside forces of the world that surround and push against us.  However, if we are not filled spiritually , we don't have the inner strength to resist the outside pressures and can collapse when forces push against us. 

We all know Satan---and he does everything in his power to dilute, distort, and destroy the truth of the gospel and to keep us separated from that truth!!  He discourages us!!  Makes us feel unworthy!!  Makes us doubt!!  And those are just a few!!!

What are the biggest problems facing the members of the Church today?  Immorality?  Pornography?  Drugs?  Worldliness?  Idleness?  No!!  Those are secondary problems.  Those temptations lose much of their power if we solve the real problem.  The real problem is WEAK TESTIMONIES!!!
What the members of the Church need, more than anything else, are strong testimonies of Jesus Christ and the gospel He restored.  They need to know.  And they need to know that they know!!!
The first syllable of the word testimony is "test"!!!  and yes, there is a test in acquiring the knowledge you seek!!  SEEK!!  But whatever youdo, please don't be discouraged on this quest!  The Lord wants to send His Spirit to you---He wants you to know!!  But He also wants you to act in faith and to move forward even when you don't know.  SO the important thing is that you KEEP TRYING!!
I could go on and on.  This book is so encouraging.  It makes us all think that we can get there someday!!
One more idea...Is a testimony an all-or-nothing proposition?  No..  There are different levels of testimony and our testimonies can grow or dwindle based on our experiences, our circumstances, and our choices.
A testimony is a mixture of things we know, things we feel, things we believe, things we hope for, and maybe even things we doubt!!!  Perhaps this is why the man seeking a blessing for his son told the Savior, :Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief."  (Mark 9:24)  This man, like many of us, believed some things for sure, but he also had some doubts, or some "unbelief."  Most important, he wanted help, and he went to the Savior---he wanted to believe more!!!  If you have some doubts, or some "unbelief", we should got o the Savior too!!!
Love the book.  It gave me such a different outlook on things.  If you read it, I hope it does the same for you!!!
Get Sister Esplin's talk...One of the last quotes is "Don't bury your testimony in the ground!!"  Read it!!