Pure and Simple Testimony

       Growing up in the LDS church, I have been given many opportunities to be the speaker and a listener in religious settings.  Some of these include attending EFY, serving in the Nauvoo Pageant and the play Savior of the World, going to youth conferences and girls’ camp, and attending mission transfer meetings, Sacrament meetings, and General, Stake, and Regional conferences.  It is hard for me to narrow down my experiences with ‘Mormon Oratory’ to the few most important and influential ones.  A few, however, stand out clearly in my mind and were written about in my journal so I could be reminded of their impact on me. 

       Over this last summer, I went on splits with the local missionaries a lot.  I quickly became good friends with the missionaries, local converts and investigators, and other member missionaries through the spiritual experiences we had together.  One day, near the beginning of the summer, I was very nervous about participating in the first discussion with a new convert.  I didn’t know the missionaries or the young man teaching with them very well, and I had never met the convert.  During the discussion, the missionaries asked Aaron to share a personal, spiritual experience.  He agreed.  As I sat in Cecilia’s dimly-lit home, listening to Aaron’s sincere story and testimony, I was touched and inspired in a unique way.  He shared his story in a very personal way, as if he was talking just to me.  The way he spoke was informal, but educated, so I almost felt as if we were in a casual conversation.  I felt that I could trust him, and that he spoke nothing but the pure and simple truth. 

       Another time when I was touched in a similar way was during a large missionary transfer meeting.  Our mission president and his wife were being released, so we were given the opportunity to hear their testimonies along with all the other departing missionaries.  The form of this meeting was new to me.  One missionary after another got up to the podium and bore their sure and simple testimonies about the truth of Gospel doctrine.  I had never heard such short and direct testimonies!  I knew by the end of that special meeting that my testimony had grown, along with the converts and investigators that were in attendance, because of the unique way we were able to hear others’ testimonies.