Valiant in the Testimony of Jesus

In the most recent general conference, Elder Christofferson spoke about the Prophet Joseph Smith’s vision of the three kingdoms of glory. He summarized what determines which kingdom we will inherit this way: “Those in the celestial kingdom are ‘they who received the testimony of Jesus, … who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant.’ The inhabitants of the second, or terrestrial, kingdom are described as essentially good, including the ‘honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men.’ Their principal limiting trait is that they ‘are not valiant in the testimony of Jesus.’ By contrast, those in the lower, telestial kingdom are those who ‘received not the gospel, neither the testimony of Jesus.’” He made this important observation: “Note that the distinguishing characteristic for the inhabitants of each kingdom is how they relate to ‘the testimony of Jesus,’ ranging from (1) wholehearted devotion to (2) not being valiant to (3) outright rejection. On each person’s reaction hangs his or her eternal future.” Our eternal salvation depends upon our testimony of and commitment to the Savior Jesus Christ. This reminds me of an important question that Jesus asked to his apostles. Matthew recorded, “When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.” He then turned the question to them: “He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?” I believe that our eternal destiny depends on how we answer that question for ourselves individually: “But whom say ye that I am?” We must strive to respond, both in word and in deed, as Peter did: “And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:13-16).  

               Elder Christofferson told a story to illustrate what it means to be valiant in the testimony of Jesus. The account highlights that we must care more about our devotion to Him than anything else, even our own pride. He said, “Years ago, Elder John H. Groberg related the story of a young family living in a small branch in Hawaii in the early 1900s. They had been members of the Church for about two years when one of their daughters fell ill with an undiagnosed disease and was hospitalized. At church the next Sunday, the father and his son prepared the sacrament as they did most weeks, but as the young father knelt to bless the bread, the branch president, suddenly realizing who was at the sacrament table, jumped up and cried, ‘Stop. You can’t touch the sacrament. Your daughter has an unknown disease. Leave immediately while someone else fixes new sacrament bread. We can’t have you here. Go.’ The stunned father searchingly looked at the branch president and then the congregation and, sensing the depth of anxiety and embarrassment from all, motioned to his family, and they quietly filed out of the chapel.” This shocked family went home and the father asked for time in silence as they sat in a circle and pondered what they would do. After 25 minutes, “The father’s clenched fists began to relax, and tears formed. The mother began to cry, and soon each of the children was quietly weeping. The father turned to his wife and said, ‘I love you,’ and then repeated those words to each of their children. ‘I love all of you and I want us to be together, forever, as a family. And the only way that can be is for all of us to be good members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and be sealed by the holy priesthood in the temple. This is not the branch president’s church. It is the Church of Jesus Christ. We will not allow any man or any hurt or embarrassment or pride to keep us from being together forever. Next Sunday we will go back to church. We will stay by ourselves until our daughter’s sickness is known, but we will go back.’” What an incredible, Christlike response! This man was valiant in the testimony of Jesus, choosing the Savior even when it was so hard not to retaliate and become offended. That is the kind of commitment we must have to the Savior in order to be “valiant” as He requires of those who will choose Him in the celestial kingdom. This family was ultimately sealed in the Laie Hawaii Temple and “well over 100 souls call their father, grandfather, and great-grandfather blessed because he kept his eyes on eternity.”

               Perhaps each day we should consider both the Savior’s question and our own testimony of Jesus. We might ask ourselves at the end of our activities whether we have been valiant in our commitment to Him that day. That will be the determining factor for where we will end up in eternity, so our focus should be on our commitment to Him each day. Elder Christofferson ended with this hope for each of us: “I pray that we may all be blessed with a burning testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ, rejoice and be valiant in that testimony, and enjoy the fruits of His grace in our lives continually.”