Faith - Seeds of a Testimony

...faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things: therefore, if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen which are true.
~Alma 32: 21

Last night I spoke at a New Beginnings. My topic and scripture reference was Alma 32: 28-43, regarding faith, likening the word of God to a seed and developing a strong rooted testimony.
I started out with the excitement I felt when I recently visited a few of our stores and there were seeds out for sale. The spring bug hit and I can't wait to dig in the dirt! The containers, the soil, fertilizer, the garden and hand tools, fun colored gloves.... a "want to be" gardeners dream! There is learning and preparation before planting seeds, which involved; how, where, when, how deep, how far apart. Then there is great care: enough sun, not too much sun, how much and how often to water, the weeding and fertilizing, and having faith that these seeds would grow. With diligence and patience, we look forward to the fruits of our labor. It is so important to care and nurture the small plants, so they will grow strong and be rooted deep to have a good foundation.

The small acorn can grow into a mighty oak tree, if it gets the right and constant care. Same is true with our testimony. A seed is planted in our heart, we nurture it, to grow and be rooted. Our testimonies will develop and have a strong foundation. However, it take constant effort, to nurture, weed out those things that will weaken and destroy our testimony. We cannot throw the seeds out and relax under the shade tree and expect our seeds to take root and produce fruit on their own.

"If we do not have a deep foundation of faith and a solid testimony of truth, we may have difficulty withstanding the harsh storms and icy winds of adversity which inevitably come to each of us.

Mortality is a period of testing, a time to prove ourselves worthy to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father. In order for us to be tested, we must face challenges and difficulties. These can weaken our roots, and the limbs of our souls may crack and break, -- that is, if our foundations of faith and testimonies of truth are not deeply rooted within us. We can rely on the faith and testimony of others for only so long. Eventually we must have our own strong deeply rooted foundation, or we will be unable to withstand the storms of life, which will come." paraphrased ~Pres. Thomas S. Monson

♥ Connie

* I am not in any way a great speaker, but I am grateful for the opportunities given to me to study and strengthen my testimony through my calling in the Lord's church. I know He lives, He hears my prayers, He knows my weaknesses and forgives me. He loves me and gives me strength to accomplish things when my faith in myself is weak.