March Sharing Time - I Can Gain a Testimony Of Jesus Christ

President Ezra Taft Benson gave a fantastic talk about being valiant in our testimonies of Jesus Christ.  In fact, it's so good, I was really tempted to scrap all the ideas from the Sharing Time Outline and use his list defining what a testimony of Jesus Christ includes instead.

While I'm still going to use that list sometime (I'm thinking for a family home evening this month), I truly believe that the outline is inspired and teaches what our primary children most need to hear. 

Later on in that same talk, President Benson quotes Heber C. Kimball talking about testimony.

"If you have not got the testimony, live right and call upon the Lord and cease not till you obtain it. ... If you don't have it, you will not stand; therefore seek for the testimony of Jesus and cleave to it, that when the trying time comes you may not stumble and fall."

I love so many things about this quote.

It's simplicity for one thing.  If you don't have a testimony, live right, pray and don't stop until you gain one. 

I also love how it teaches us to cleave unto our testimonies.  Not just have one, but CLEAVE unto it so that when those hard times come (and then come again or just don't go away to begin with), we will NOT stumble and fall.

Our testimonies can be anchors that give "stability or confidence in an otherwise uncertain situation."   I think you could pretty much define life itself as an uncertain situation.

Before we can gain a testimony of Jesus, we first have to learn of Him.  To help the kids think about what they've learned about Jesus and when they learned it, tell them the story about President Faust whose grandmother taught him that he would always be safe because Jesus was watching over him.

After relating the story, ask them if something they've learned about Jesus has helped them in their lives.  Because this isn't a question with a stock answer, it may take some perseverance to wait for an answer.  You can give them another example from your own life, but don't be afraid (or just ignore your fear like I try to) to wait through the silence.  These kinds of question allow them the opportunity to bear their testimonies, which will help them to grow and teach each other.

After they've had a chance to share their experiences, you can teach them some different ways they can, we all can, continue to grow our testimonies.  This is a great continuation of last weeks agency lesson where we talked about how our choices either bring us closer to Heavenly Father or lead us off on a detour.  This week, following the same principle, our choices either lead us to a stronger testimony or not.

I probably have a rope somewhere in my garage, but I think it would be easier to use colored paper.  They've got a variety of different colors in our library (and every ward library I've been in), but if yours doesn't, you could use what you have at home (even if it's white).  Lay them up the isle or across the front of the room and use each sheet just like the knots in the example.  This week the Sharing Time Outline even provides a link to some great wordstrips. 

If you've downloaded the 2014 Sharing Time Outline, open it up, go to March Week 1 and click the link on the words "sample wordstrips."  It has to be one you've downloaded, not one you've just opened from lds dot org for the link to work.

You can print out these "I Can Gain" and "A Testimony of Jesus Christ" signs to use in your primary.

Being valiant in our testimonies of Jesus does not mean we'll always make the right choice.  It means that we'll keep trying: we'll get up, dust ourselves off, and (after eating a chocolate cookie or two) continue trying to follow our Savior's perfect example.  My mantra is to keep it simple and just keep walking.  I know that progress CAN be made one small step at a time.

Leah