“Beloved sisters, do not be afraid of being thought old-fashioned if you continue to bear testimony, for in this way your own faith and the faith of others is strengthened. The testimony of the Gospel carries with it light; and we help others even more than we are aware, when we impart of that which we have received. We must not become weary in well-doing, but keep our gospel armor bright, being diligent in season and out of season to preserve in our lives and in the hearts of the children of Zion the living testimony of the truth, that we may not be found wanting in energy and in diligence in the latter-day work. It is worth every effort we can put forth, this prize of the high calling.”
– Emmeline B. Wells
I love this one Ardis, & it was just what I needed today.
Why would bearing testimony be old fashioned? Telling others what you know to be true and why is timeless.
I wonder — don’t know — if there was a generational difference between those, like Emmeline, who could still share personal witness of Nauvoo and the dramatic frontier days, and even the direct effects of persecution for plural marriage, and the younger women whose testimony had to be built on quieter, more hidden causes? I can imagine that I might hesitate to bear testimony to, say, a quiet prompting in my life after an old woman who had taken part in something overtly dramatic had just spoken, and think that the act of bearing testimony belonged to those who had lived in the good old days. Maybe.
That makes a great deal of sense. I couldn’t wrap my head around that idea, but you have stretched my head again, as you have done so many times before, and now it wraps around quite nicely.