http://www.latterdayconservative.com/articles/ezra-taft-benson/i-testify
In October of 1988 President Ezra Taft Benson gave a talk entitled "I Testify". Considering this was his final spoken message to the saints in General Conference, this talk could be considered his final testimony. The following is an abridged version of his testimony (see link at top for full article).
"As a special witness of Jesus Christ, and as His humble servant, it is now my obligation and privilege, as the Spirit dictates, to bear pure testimony and witness to that which I know to be true..."
"I testify that we are the spirit offspring of a loving God, our Heavenly Father... that God reveals His will to all men through the Light of Christ... that throughout the ages God has spoken to His children through His prophets... that a world so wicked that it killed the Son of God soon began killing the Apostles and prophets and so plunged itself into a spiritual dark age... that God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, appeared to Joseph Smith... bringing to an end the long night of apostasy... that through the Book of Mormon God has provided for our day tangible evidence that Jesus is the Christ and that Joseph Smith is His prophet... America will be a blessed land unto the righteous forever..."
"I testify that wickedness is rapidly expanding in every segment of our society. It is more highly organized, more cleverly disguised, and more powerfully promoted than ever before. Secret combinations lusting for power, gain, and glory are flourishing. A secret combination that seeks to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries is increasing its evil influence and control over America and the entire world."
"I testify that the church and kingdom of God is increasing in strength. Its numbers are growing, as is the faithfulness of its faithful members. It has never been better organized or equipped to perform its divine mission."
"I testify that as the forces of evil increase under Lucifer’s leadership and as the forces of good increase under the leadership of Jesus Christ, there will be growing battles between the two until the final confrontation. As the issues become clearer and more obvious, all mankind will eventually be required to align themselves either for the kingdom of God or for the kingdom of the devil. As these conflicts rage, either secretly or openly, the righteous will be tested. God’s wrath will soon shake the nations of the earth and will be poured out on the wicked without measure. But God will provide strength for the righteous and the means of escape; and eventually and finally truth will triumph."
"I testify that it is time for every man to set in order his own house both temporally and spiritually... that not many years hence the earth will be cleansed. Jesus the Christ will come again, this time in power and great glory to vanquish His foes and to rule and reign on the earth... I testify to you that a fulness of joy can only come through the atonement of Jesus Christ and by obedience to all of the laws and ordinances of the gospel, which are found only in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."
"To all these things I humbly testify and bear my solemn witness that they are true, and I do so in the name of Him who is the head of this church, even Jesus Christ, amen."
Showing posts with label Ezra Taft Benson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ezra Taft Benson. Show all posts
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Oh, What Songs of the Heart
"The spirit world is not far away. From the Lord’s point of view, it is all one great program on both sides of the veil. Sometimes the veil between this life and the life beyond becomes very thin. This I know! Our loved ones who have passed on are not far from us." ~ Ezra Taft Benson
Sandy’s granddaughter, who lives in North Carolina, is visiting for three weeks. Today in the car Savannah, who is eleven years old, asked Sandy about an event that happened several years ago when Savannah was four. She can’t remember it, but her dad has shared the story with her.
Our mother passed away in May of 2001 (We've posted two pictures of Mom - the first one was taken when she was in her early twenties. The second one was taken a few months before she died).
Shortly after her death, Savannah told her daddy (Sandy’s son, Bill) that she wanted to visit with “my daddy’s grandma,” as Savannah called her. At first Bill would try to change the subject or divert her attention to something else, because how do you explain death to a four-year old? Savannah was persistent, however, in her request to see her daddy’s grandma; so Bill sat her down and asked her if she remembered when our family gathered together to say goodbye to his grandma (at her funeral). He explained that we wouldn't see his grandma for a long time, because she now lives very far away. Savannah had never gone to church up to this point in her life, so the next 
words out of her mouth stopped Bill in his tracks. She said, “No sir, Daddy. Your grandma visits me in my “special” bed at night. She told me that families can be together forever and that she lives with Jesus now.” Mom visited Savannah several times. One evening Savannah came out of her room and her daddy asked her what she was doing. Savannah responded, “I’m playing with your grandma in my “special” bed.” Bill said at the time that there was a different, reverent feeling in his house during those days. We wondered if referring to her bed as “special” was the only way for a four-year-old to communicate the sacred aura in her bedroom during those visits.
Talking to Savannah about this today reminded us of how thin the veil is between our mortal lives and the spirit world. Sandy explained to Savannah that our deceased loved ones are just as concerned about us now, if not more so, as they were when they lived in mortality. Who better to be our guardian angels than our family members who have graduated to the other side? Savannah asked Sandy what she will do when she sees her mother again. The answer that came to mind is expressed in the hymn, Oh What Songs of the Heart:
Sandy’s granddaughter, who lives in North Carolina, is visiting for three weeks. Today in the car Savannah, who is eleven years old, asked Sandy about an event that happened several years ago when Savannah was four. She can’t remember it, but her dad has shared the story with her.
Our mother passed away in May of 2001 (We've posted two pictures of Mom - the first one was taken when she was in her early twenties. The second one was taken a few months before she died).
Shortly after her death, Savannah told her daddy (Sandy’s son, Bill) that she wanted to visit with “my daddy’s grandma,” as Savannah called her. At first Bill would try to change the subject or divert her attention to something else, because how do you explain death to a four-year old? Savannah was persistent, however, in her request to see her daddy’s grandma; so Bill sat her down and asked her if she remembered when our family gathered together to say goodbye to his grandma (at her funeral). He explained that we wouldn't see his grandma for a long time, because she now lives very far away. Savannah had never gone to church up to this point in her life, so the next 
words out of her mouth stopped Bill in his tracks. She said, “No sir, Daddy. Your grandma visits me in my “special” bed at night. She told me that families can be together forever and that she lives with Jesus now.” Mom visited Savannah several times. One evening Savannah came out of her room and her daddy asked her what she was doing. Savannah responded, “I’m playing with your grandma in my “special” bed.” Bill said at the time that there was a different, reverent feeling in his house during those days. We wondered if referring to her bed as “special” was the only way for a four-year-old to communicate the sacred aura in her bedroom during those visits.Talking to Savannah about this today reminded us of how thin the veil is between our mortal lives and the spirit world. Sandy explained to Savannah that our deceased loved ones are just as concerned about us now, if not more so, as they were when they lived in mortality. Who better to be our guardian angels than our family members who have graduated to the other side? Savannah asked Sandy what she will do when she sees her mother again. The answer that came to mind is expressed in the hymn, Oh What Songs of the Heart:
Oh, what songs of the heart
We shall sing all the day,
We shall sing all the day,
When again we assemble at home,
When we meet ne'er to part
With the blest o'er the way,
There no more from our loved ones to roam!
When we meet ne'er to part,
Oh, what songs of the heart
We shall sing in our beautiful home.
**
Tho our rapture and bliss
Tho our rapture and bliss
There's no song can express,
We will shout, we will sing o'er and o'er,
As we greet with a kiss,
And with joy we caress
All our loved ones that passed on before;
As we greet with a kiss,
In our rapture and bliss,
All our love ones that passed on before.
**
Oh, the visions we'll see
Oh, the visions we'll see
In that home of the blest,
There's no word, there's no thought can impart,
But our rapture will be
All the soul can attest,
In the heavenly songs of the heart;
But our rapture will be
In the vision we'll see
Best expressed in the songs of the heart.
**
Oh, what songs we'll employ!
Oh, what welcome we'll hear!
While our transports of love are complete.
And the heart swells with joy
In embraces most dear
When our heavenly parents we meet!
As the heart swells with joy,
Oh, what songs we'll employ
When our heavenly parents we meet!
How thankful we are for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and for our knowledge of the spirit world! We know that it is every bit as real as the mortal world we live in today. Although we don’t wish our lives away and do not want to hasten the time when we leave this mortal world, we look forward to the day when we greet our family members who are now on the other side of the veil.
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