Exaggeration in LDS Testimony Bearing

Dear Readers,

If you are familiar with LDS fast and testimony meetings, you know that members often say, “I know the Church is true.” That’s a bold statement. And sometimes I think, when I hear somebody bear their testimony and say that phrase, “I know the Church is true,” I question him or her. Does he or she really know the Church is true?

I sometimes waffle between conducting a thorough philosophical investigation into epistemology and just saying, “Aww… whatever, that testimony was nice, and Brother So-and-so is a nice guy.”

I’m especially skeptical when it comes to little children bearing their testimonies. When I see a young kid go up to the pulpit with their parent, and the parent whispers in their ear what to say, and then the kid repeats, “I know the Church is true,” I sometimes take it as an affront to honesty.

There we are in Church, in a house of worship that preaches “thou shalt not lie,” and that extols the virtues of honesty, and yet there’s a little kid saying something that’s probably not really true, something that he or she does not understand, before the whole congregation! And the Bishop doesn’t even do anything about it!

The kid doesn’t know that the Church is true, does he? The kid knows that his family has been pretty nice to him, that Church is for the most part a pleasant place where people dress up, smile, chat, sit reverently, and shake hands, and the kid knows that sometimes the Primary teachers bring candy, but do kids know what it means to say, “I know the Church is true?”

To say that one knows that the Church is true means to accept all of its teachings and doctrines. Some LDS teachings and doctrines are pretty intense. And I just worry that children don’t really know what they’re saying, and that parents are encouraging children to say things that the children aren’t really sure about.

And then other times I’ve heard children stray from the usual testimony script and say stuff like, “I know that the Holy Ghost died for our sins.” And the parents get a little embarrassed, but the real problem here isn’t the minor slip-up or the parents embarrassment, the real problem is the way that children so easily use the phrase, “I know…” Maybe they should be saying, and maybe a lot of members should be saying, “I believe the Church is true,” or, “I hope the church is true,” or, “I think the Church is true,” or, “It's a gamble, but my money’s on the Church being true.”

I understand that when children bear their testimonies, the congregation has the attitude that it’s all in good fun, that we shouldn’t really take a child’s testimony seriously. (Although probably most Mormons don’t want to admit that.)

I feel like if I were to express some of my skepticism about children’s testimonies, then people would tell me that I ought to relax and stop making such a big deal out of a small, harmless thing. And I feel like people will tell me that I should start thinking about how I can make the world a better place and such, rather than worrying about children telling the truth in their testimonies, but still I can’t get this subject out of my mind right now. It’s something I think about, and I wonder if other people think about it too.

I think that when I have a kid that’s old enough to bear his or her testimony, I’ll have him or her do it alone, if he or she wants to, and say what they want to say. But I guess if my wife wants to go up there and whisper stuff into our kid's ear, and then the kid says it to the whole congregation, and everybody’s happy, then... whatever... I guess that’s fine.

That’s normal. That’s what Mormons do. I don’t want to make a big deal about it.

I’ll admit that sometimes I feel uncomfortable when I say, “I know the [LDS] Church is true.” Maybe what I should be saying is, “I’m not 100% sure, but I’m convinced enough that the Church is true, that I’ll act as if it were true.”

I feel like it is better to error on the side of being conservative with language rather than to error on the side of exaggeration.

Here’s a good scripture (Doctrine and Covenants 46: 13 and 14) that, I think, defends my ideas about being careful with that phrase, “I know” and being careful with using exaggeration, bold language, and absolutes.

“To some it is given by the Holy Ghost to know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that he was crucified for the sins of the world.

“14: To others it is given to believe on their words, that they also might have eternal life if they continue faithful.”

Maybe I’m one of the ones who are given the gift of believing on the words of those who really know that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

Sincerely,
Telemoonfa

Disclaimer: Much of this blog post’s content could have been the handiwork of Satan.