Gaining a Testimony

Two great sermons were given by two effective orators, but the congregations responded in distinctly opposite ways. King Benjamin taught his people and they declared with one voice, “We believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth (Mosiah 5:2).” On the other hand, Alma and Almulek preached the word of God, and their listeners imprisoned them and burned their family members (Alma 14).

It could be easy to blame the orator or sermon composition for the emotional/spiritual outcome of the respective listeners. However, in both cases, King Benjamin and Alma and Almulek were given, by God, the words which they should speak (Mosiah 3:3, Alma 8:16). The responsibility then falls to the listeners themselves.

The subjects of King Benjamin were doing several things which prepared them to hear the word of the Lord through (as opposed to the people of Ammonihah). This preparation is the basis for accepting God’s words and securing a testimony. In other words, the gaining of a testimony is not contingent on hearing a sermon, or listening to the fervored words of a prophet. There are other necessary factors to gaining a testimony that require personal effort and application. The people of King Benjamin give several redeeming examples of such necessary personal effort and application.

Interestingly, the people of King Benjamin had originally been stiffnecked, much like the people of Ammonihah. However, through the efforts of many holy men and King Benjamin himself, peace was established in the land (Words of Mormon 1:17-18). Without further details, we know King Benjamin’s people changed something about their hearts or lifestyle because they became “a diligent people in keeping the commandments of the Lord,” and consequently were a “highly favored people of the Lord (Mosiah 1:11, 13).”

In preparation for King Benjamin’s sermon, the people gathered themselves together at the temple and offered sacrifices that they might fulfill the Law of Moses and give thanks to the Lord their God (Mosiah 2:3-4). They gathered in family units consisting of a man, his wife, his sons, and his daughters (Mosiah 2:5). Through the course of the sermon, the people internalized the words to some degree because they eventually “viewed themselves in their own carnal state” and cried aloud for the application of the “atoning blood of Christ (Mosiah 4:2).”

All of these actions show preparation for and cognitive participation in the sermon. Compare this with the hardening of the hearts of the people of Ammonihah, and their rejection of Alma’s sermon (Alma 8:10, 11). The consequential testimony of both parties is evident. King Benjamin’s people endeavored to enter into a covenant and the Ammonihahites cast the prophet out of their city.

A testimony, in most instances, is not developed in a short period of time, or as the consequence of an impassioned sermon. There is a requisite preparation and softening of the heart that accompanies the development of a true testimony. King Benjamin’s people are the perfect study case for developing a testimony, and then letting a sermon pique the righteous desires of the heart.