What does it mean to stand as a witness? To stand as a witness you first need to have a testimony of the Gospel and what it teaches. You also need a testimony of the scriptures and the knowledge that comes from reading them. If you don't, you need to pray for these testimonies and when you do the
Holy Ghost will testify to you the truthfulness of them. As you grow your faith and testimony of these things you will begin to stand as a witness of Jesus Christ.
How do I stand as witness? Stand up for what you believe to be true and good. I remember when I was in high school I had a few instances where I had to stand up to what I believe. One day in my science class, a classmate asked me if I wanted to do with her and her friends to get a cup of coffee. I politely declined simply stating that I didn't drink coffee. She was baffled, how could I not drink coffee! She pushed, would take a sip of it? I said, no, I have no desire to drink or take a sip of it. This then turned into a discussion on the word of wisdom and other classmates began to chime in. I knew that if I stood my ground they would begin to accept my standards, which they did and admired me for it.
Another instance was Senior Prom. Living in California, the option for modest dresses was minimal. I bought a dress with spaghetti straps. It was a beautiful dress, but to me it was still missing something, sleeves! I asked one of my aunts to make me a jacket that I could wear with it. The jacket completed the dress.
Then, while at the dance a girl had approached me asking why I had a jacket with my dress and if I was going to take it off? (side note: she had the same dress but in pink, haha) I told her no, that it would stay on all night. In fact I had safety pinned the jacket to the straps so that I wouldn't be tempted to take it off. She looked at me as if I had horns on my head. I smiled at her and then walked away. I had made the decision as a young girl to dress modestly which is something that I still care about today.
The 13th Article of Faith is a great reminder of how to be a witness.
We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul - We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.
How do I show others to stand as a witness? When we live what we believe, we reflect the goodness and light of Jesus Christ. We draw other to us who want to know more about how we live and believe. When "we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ" (2 Nephi 25:26) we bring the spirit that others can feel. Standing as a witness, we want other to see that so they too can know of the love their Heavenly Father has for them. We want them to rejoice in the atonement of Jesus Christ!
As a mother, I want my children to stand as a witness of God. I want them to be a light to those around them. I want them to be good examples to their friends. Every day I pray for that, as I'm sure my parents did for me. If I want them to be a witness, I need to show them through my examples. I need to be reading my scriptures, praying and going to the temple. I need to show love and respect to my husband and the priesthood that he holds. I also need to serve others, just like Christ served. I need to love my neighbors. I know that if I do these things, my children will follow my examples.
Standing as a witness is big and important job as a member of the Church, I don't take it lightly, but I do rejoice in it as I know that my testimony shines through my actions.
Let us all strive to stand as a witness at ALL times!
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