While the early saints from the time that the Doctrine and Covenants was written were not just constructing an institution and building a community, they were also doing the mental work of building testimony—and it looks to me like the process may have been a little different from what we go through today. Where many or most Church members today learn at home from parents or through classes at church — which we hope spark the mental work required to construct our beliefs and faith — the early members largely didn’t have those supports and instead were more dépendant on the scriptures, revelations and what they believed were still valid from their previous religious instruction.

I think the sections of this week’s lesson all address elements of how to construct testimony, i.e., how to do the mental work needed to refine beliefs and construct faith, and perhaps even how to continue doing that work throughout life, since the mental work is never really done—at least not in this life.

I can share my love and testimony of Jesus Christ.

We are frequently taught that one element of building testimony is by sharing it — by telling others what we have come to honestly believe and how we have arrived at that point. I don’t think this is a process of repeatedly telling ourselves something that we don’t believe, in order to force the false belief into life, like some kind of mantra. Instead, speaking out loud what we are thinking and how we have come to understand our thoughts is part of how we process our thoughts—literally how we arrive at understanding. In the best case, speaking makes us organize our thoughts into a coherent form, that we can either accept as true or discard as incorrect, allowing us to move on to another option. Speaking can and should force us to think about what we are saying.

At this point I have little information about the author of this poem, V. H. Bruce. Prayer is very similar to testimony, it’s a way of reviewing and consolidating our thoughts as we try to express them to an audience—who is our Heavenly Father in the case of prayer. In this poem Bruce gives a kind of testimony, sharing by example what he understands and believes, as well as how he has faith.

 

Prayer

by V. H. Bruce

Father in heav’n enthroned on high;

In Jesus’ name we now draw nigh,

In prayer and praise before thy face,

As humble suppliants of thy grace.

Forgive our sins, Father, we pray;

Each wrong in us from day to day;

And let thy spirit now inspire

Our minds, and lead our hearts desire.

We thank thee Lord, for all we have;

For life and health this side the grave;

For food and raiment as we need,

And stores on which our cattle feed;

For flocks that gather to our hand,

Prepared by thee for creature man;

That make our lives more pleasant here,

And fill our hearts with grateful fear.

For dwellings too, we thank thy name,

And for the peace that with us reigns;

For blessings of thy priesthood true,

For prophets standing in our view;

And for they word, through men inspired,

And for all saving gifts required;

That we thy people all may prove,

Together bound by faith and love.

And, while we thank thee for thy grace,

And every blessing in its place;

We still implore they blessing free;

In Jesus’ name, we ask of thee;

When ere temptation shall betide,

And evils urge our steps aside;

Oh fill us with thy spirit true,

That we thy mandates may pursue.

Let health, and strength, spring up around;

And in our borders peace abound;

Our fields, in rich abundance, pour

Their fruits into our present store;

Our flock increase, each in their kind;

And, all things for our good combine;

That we may serve thee, Lord, each hour,

With liberal hand, in priestly power.

Make us, O Lord, while here we stand,

Instruments in they mighty hand,

To wield the sword of truth below;

To brave the contest faithful through;

And bless they faithful heralds, Lord;

Who meekly carry forth thy word

From land to land, from sea to sea;

Bless them where ere their lot may be.

That thousands may be led, to share

The honors of thy kingdom here;

That Zion’s borders may spread forth,

From east to west, from south to north,

That soon, upon her favor’d hills,

We may our missions there fulfil,

As Saviors, to bring up our dead

To reign with Christ, our living head.

1849

 

The scriptures teach of Jesus Christ.

A major source for considering what and how we believe is the scriptures, and they are a source that we share with the early Saints in the Doctrine and Covenants. The scriptures allow us to consider ideas that may be different from what we have previously understood, since each time we read them we can see different ideas, especially if we ponder and question what they are trying to say.

Here poet John Apiti explores what he sees in the scriptures as relevant to the Christmas season and message.

 

The Season’s Message

by John Apiti

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Everyone in these Christmas days

Rejoices in glad tidings given.

Read the scriptures and see what it says.

You’ll find in the Gospel of Matthew,

Count the Gospel of Luke, if you will,

How there came from the east certain wise men,

Revealing a quest to fulfill.

In the heavens a bright star was shining,

Showing those travellers the way.

They knew ’twas the sign of His coming,

Making night as clear as the day.

And they came to the city of Herod,

Seeking Him who was born King of Kings,

And enquired of the ruler of Judah.

Now Herold was displeased with these things

Deep down in his heart he was troubled,

And so with great cunning said he,

“Have courage, go seek for the Infant,

And report this great matter to me.”

Prepared by their Heavenly Father –

Providence comes only to some –

Yea, the wise men were warned at the even

Not to return the way they’d come.

Each shepherd was told of His coming

When watching their flocks on that night,

Yet the wolves that roamed in the darkness,

Even then were quite out of sight.

And the Saviour was born in the manger,

Revealing His glorious plan.

“Glory to God in the Highest,

Peace on earth, good will to man.”

1948

 

My decisions should balance “judgment and the direction of the Spirit.”

I hope above I have made clear that I see gaining a testimony and building faith as a mental process. And I believe that the suggestion that the decisions in these processes should balance “judgment and the direction of the Spirit” is crucial. Our Heavenly Parents have blessed us with minds, apparently expecting that we would use them — so judgment is clearly necessary. This suggests that blind faith and simply following what we are told, even when it seems to come from the Spirit, isn’t the right process. But likewise relying solely on our own judgment is repeatedly condemned in the scriptures, so that isn’t the correct process either.

William Clegg is one of the early English poets who had such a significant impact on LDS literature. Born in 1823 in Hull, England, Clegg was baptized in 1850. His poems were soon appearing frequently in the Millennial Star. He immigrated with his family in 1863, settling in Springville, Utah, where he continued to write, eventually publishing a compilation of his poems, A Galaxy of Gems, in 1900, the year before he died. His poem “Let Earth’s Inhabitants Rejoice” is #53 in our current hymnal.

 

Reason

by William Clegg

Reason, bright gift divine,

‘Tis thy most sacred right to sit enthroned

Amidst the dazzling galaxy of attributes

Which grace the brow of man as with

A glorious crown,-to hold the reins of passion

And of fervent zeal, which else (as ‘t were a

Dangerous sea,) would evil lash to all engulphing

Storms. Thy throne usurped, confusion reigns

For order-strife for peace; and every lust

Unbridled hurls man on till plunged in

Black despair. ‘Tis thine to be as ‘t were a mighty

Crucible, with powers developed and intensified

By truth’s celestial fire, in which enlightened man

May sift and solve all mysteries, and operate till

Thoughts and motives are all analyzed, and Nature’s

Secrets all confessed. But ah, since man, by evil

Acts, shut out thy guiding star, allowed the

Desecration of thy sanctuary-the prostitution of

Thy powers, to find out paths to ruin, and let

Out the floods of sorrow to o’erwhelm mankind,

How feeble is thy sceptre !-how uncertain man’s

Decisions drawn from thy still remaining light!

Thy beams ere long must sink in night, and

Chaos reign again, but for the power and love

Of Him who gave thee; and, by revelation from

His own perfected reason, shall he lead thy steps,

Till thou regain the long vacated centre of thy

Throne, and there shall give thee light and

Strength, till superstition quails and melts

Before thy piercing glance, and, with its parent

Ignorance, depart from earth, enslaving mind

No more; till all the passions in their order

Serving thee shall minister to joy and pleasures

Unalloyed for evermore; till shrivelling attributes

Expand, and man becomes all God would

Have him be.

1859

 

Signs come by faith and the will of God.

Signs are often seen as an evidence of faith—as an effect that comes after faith has been constructed. But I wonder if this is really true. Couldn’t signs also be something that is part of the process of constructing belief and faith?

While Alice Morrey Bailey is giving us another Christmas poem here, it’s also a poem that allows us to think about the role of a sign in building faith. It’s hard to see how the process of seeing the sign wouldn’t affect the faith of those who witnessed it — for good or for error. Bailey was a sculptor and poet whose work spanned the 20th century. As a poet her work appeared in the Relief Society Centennial anthology of 1938, and her 1995 book Rain Shadows was considered for the Pulitzer Prize. Meanwhile, as a sculptor, she was asked by Torleif Knaphus to assist him in sculpting the Handcart Monument that stands on Temple Square. She was also an active member of the Association for Mormon Letters until her death in 1997.

 

Who Watched in Faith

by Alice Morrey Bailey

The Prophets’ cryptic speech, and only faith

Were theirs to span the vast and wordless sea

Back to their father’s land, the time-dimmed wraith

Of Jordan and the blue of Galilee.

And hidden from the far Jerusalem

Were those whose lives were doomed at sunset’s dark.

While Joseph traced the road to Bethlehem,

They watched in faith the day’s descending arc.

And only signs to mark the Savior’s birth

Were promised testaments of their belief,

Yet angel songs above Judean earth

Were not more sweet with joy than their relief

When glory shone through night, and, blazing high,

A new star hung in Zarahemla’s sky.

1950

 

I can be chaste in my thoughts and actions.

In the broadest sense, being chaste is abstaining from evil; so the righteousness of our conduct also has an impact on the processes of building faith and belief. Acting correctly, and processing mentally how those actions have influenced our lives, leads to better understanding the value of our beliefs and how those beliefs lead to our actions.

I think the point is that the mental processing of what we do — wether through simple remembering or journaling or meditation and pondering — helps us to build, as Lula Greene Richards suggests in this poem, character.

 

Building

by Lula Greene Richards

Since there is but one structure you can build,

That may not fail you, oh, ambitious youth!

Build deep, build strong, build high; nor even gild,

Or decorate, with aught but stainless Truth.

 

Have Virtue for your firm foundation stone;

Less solid things, Time’s agents will consume;

But these materials—these two, alone,

Ensure your structure against evil doom.

 

Sometimes, in youthful ardency and haste,

You over-reach; and after, find some flaw;

Rebuild with greater care, nor deem it waste,

If, through the change, you learn some higher law.

 

For each mistake, put true Repentance in;

With evil, cold indifference cannot cope;

Refreshed each morn, your daily tasks begin

With true humility, true faith, true hope.

 

Your Father holds for you each gift and grace,

And he will hand them over as you need;

He knows your wants for every time and place;

He points, he speaks—watch; listen—and take heed!

 

Remember, all that is not true may turn;

A seeming friendship, tested, may prove vain;

A love, o’er which with tenderest thoughts you yearn,

Instead of promised bliss, give intense pain.

 

Lost friends, lost love, with scathing ridicule,

For your mistaken trust; may fling you scorn;

And with no pity for your pain, “O, fool!”

They cry, “you’d better not been born!”

 

You think such mocking jeers are heard; but wait;

Your wounded heart may be o’er sensitive;

You are but learning how to build; with great

And Christ-like charity, forbear—forgive!

 

Hard lessons in your building need be taught;

Heroic still, your structure well endures;

Build patiently; a gem, such as you sought,

Refined, ennobled, shall be truly yours.

 

Yours to enrich and bless and glorify

The structure you would build; admit no doubt;

The prize is yours, you’ll hold it by and by,

Your building would not be complete without.

 

Build bravely on, nor turn to right nor left;

More worthy, for o’ercoming worldly strife;

Though of all chances else at once bereft,

Virtue and Truth will gain Eternal Life.

 

With heart kept pure, and clean, unsullid hands,

Build for all ages, not alone for time;

And lo, at last, your mighty structure stands,

A CHARACTER, chaste, beautiful, sublime!

1900

 

Sacred things should be treated with reverence.

This section of the lesson also leads me to consider a new idea—that showing reverence for the sacred might also be involved in faith and belief-building processes. I’m still thinking about that idea. Regardless, the reverence described by Nettie E. McMurtrey in this poem, and the reverence that the poem itself shows for her mother’s prayers, suggest to me that yes, there is something to the role of reverence in the mental work of testimony. Please tell me what you think.

 

Mother’s Evening Prayer

by Nettie E. McMurtrey

With the evening shadows falling,

And birds to their mates a-calling;

Fancy takes me back to childhood,

Back to home and mother there:

All around us night is creeping,

Stars from out the sky are peeping,

Then I kneel beside my mother,

And in childish wonder listen

While she says her Danish prayer.

Though I knew not what she was saying

All the while that she was praying,

Yet I knew that she was asking

God’s kind blessings on us all.

Thanking him for mercies given,

Asking him for light from heaven

Praying that no harm or evil

On her children may befall.

Sweet and low her voice ascended

On the quiet evening air,

As I kneeled beside my mother,

And in humble silence listened

While she said her Danish prayer.

Oh, that wishes might be granted,

Like old fairy tales enchanted,

Then I’m sure one wish would take me

Back to home and mother there.

And with evening shadows creeping,

Stars from out the blue sky peeping,

I’d kneel softly down beside her,

Bow my head in humble reverence,

While in her own native language

Mother said her evening prayer.

1925