We had a great 5th Sunday lesson on preparing talks and bearing testimony. As a latter-day Saint, chances are that you will be giving talks and bearing testimony your whole life long. Sister Gustavson and Brother DeFord taught some good skills to help us all be better at giving talks and bearing testimony. The great news is the more we do it, the better we will become and the spirit will always be there to deliver our message.
Sister Gustavson: Preparing a talk
Sister Gustavson had a great checklist she handed out and asked us to mark the things that we should do when preparing a talk. There were also some things we should try to avoid doing on the list so it was tricky. She quotes examples and advice from our church leaders regarding these points.
Try to always do these when planning a talk:
1. Prayerfully prepare: The Lord will help you prepare. He can also put your mind at ease and help you not be afraid. The spirit can bring personal experiences to your mind.
2. Relate faith-promoting experiences: using examples of the gospel in our lives can help people understand it better. Also, each person is so unique that this helps every talk be different (instead of copy and pasted quotes and stories).
3. Teach the doctrines of the Gospel: Luckily whoever asked you to give a talk will also probably give you a gospel doctrine to speak about.
4. Use the scriptures.
When preparing a talk, try to avoid the following:
1. Having the congregation turn to certain scriptural passages.
2. Making self-deprecating comments. This means, don't belittle or undervalue yourself. An example of this could be that you admit that you tried your hardest to get out of giving the talk or this certain subject was perfect for you because you are a miserable failure at the principle, etc. Be nice to yourself.
3. Reading lengthy stories or quotes.
4. Singing words from a hymn.
5. Soliciting comments or verbal responses from the audience.
6. Speaking on speculative or controversial topics (i.e. politics or non doctrinal church folklore).
7. Talking as long as you want
8. Using visual aids.
Sister Gustavsen gave three important points to remember when giving a talk.
1. Prepare thoroughly
2. Present humbly
3. Let the spirit touch the hearts of the congregation
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Brother DeFord: Bearing Testimony
Brother DeFord started his lesson by quoting from the church handbook regarding testimony meeting. He highlighted a few things that help improve our testimony meeting, like keeping testimonies brief so that more people have time to bear their testimony and using your own faith promoting experiences. There is not a specific script you need to say when bearing a testimony, you can even bear testimony of one gospel principle that you know to be true.
18.2.3 Fast and Testimony Meeting
Usually on the first Sunday of each month, sacrament meeting is a fast and testimony meeting. . . .
After the sacrament, the bishopric member who is conducting the meeting bears a brief testimony. He then invites members to bear heartfelt testimonies and to relate faith-promoting experiences. The bishopric encourages members to keep their testimonies brief so more people may have the opportunity to participate.
It may be best to have young children learn to share their testimonies in settings such as family home evening or when giving talks in Primary until they are old enough to do so in a fast and testimony meeting without assistance from a parent, sibling, or other person. (Handbook 2: Administering the Church, 18. Meetings in the Church)
The main point of Brother DeFord's training was to offer up brief, heartfelt testimonies, based on personal experience.
Here are a few more quotes:
"Learn obedience and understanding from the plain truths of the gospel and then share them in candid, clear, and frank language and actions." Marvin J. Ashton, "Power of Plainness"
"You know this testimony is a tremendous thing, a most important thing. Any minister or priest can quote scripture and present dialogues. But not every priest or minister can bear his testimony. Don’t you sit there in your fast meeting and cheat yourself and say, “I guess I won’t bear my testimony today. I guess that wouldn’t be fair to these other members because I have had so many opportunities.” You bear your testimony. And one minute is long enough to bear it." Spencer W. Kimball
