Gatekeeping your Testimony

 Gatekeeping your Testimony

the activity of controlling, and usually

limiting, general access to something.

Examples of gatekeeping

Found a good product that limits blemishes

in makeup and doesn't share those beauty

secrets.

COMPUTING definition

a function or system that controls access or

operations to files, computers, networks, or

the like.

"a gatekeeping mechanism that allows

reads under some circumstances and

blocks them under others"

I was sitting in testimony meeting one

Sunday, talking myself out of bearing my

testimony and I reviewed my willingness to

share when I was younger abd how that

has changed the older I got.

When I was younger, I was always first to

the pulpit, and I was never shy to share

what I loved. But as I've gotten older, my

desire to share has dimmed. Not because I

don't feel the truthfulness of the things that I

say, but that I am more aware of what I say

and how I say it. And my confidence has

taken a hit. It didn't seem to matter when so

many people around me seemed to believe

the same thing. And as I didn't share it, the

weaker my testimony got. I even shed away

sharing it with others in a personal setting

and in a social

setting. I still struggle. When people take

things out of context constantly and judge

you based off information they don't know

or understand, it made me nervous to make

public statements about my beliefs.

So I was sitting in testimony meeting,

talking myself out of saying anything.

Instead I tried to say it in my mind, what I

would say. Surely that was enough. As long

as I could hear it.

And that's when I thought about

gatekeeping and how not sharing my light

with others is gatekeeping truth that others

need.

Testimony pg 137

1. The witness of the Holy Ghost, As borne

by those who know, Has lifted me again to

thee, O Father of my soul.

2. I know that thou art in the heav’n. I know

the Savior reigns. I know a prophet speaks

to us For our eternal gain.

3. My eyes are wet; my heart is full. The

Spirit speaks today. O Lord, wilt thou my life

renew And in my bosom stay.

4. As testimony fills my heart, It dulls the

pain of days. For one brief moment,

heaven’s view Appears before my gaze.

Testimony in hebrew means “to do again.”

The reason there is so much power in them

is because it’s releasing what God has

already done and setting him up to do it

again. 

In the Bible, the word "testimony" has

multiple definitions: 

Witness or evidence: As in 2

Thessalonians 1:10 

The Scriptures: As the revelation of God's

will, as in 2 Kings 11:12, Psalms 19:7,

119:88, and Isaiah 8:16, 20 

The altar: As the altar raised by the Gadites

and Reubenites, as in Joshua 22:10 

Open declaration of faith: As in witnessing

before others that God has forgiven sins 

The precepts of God: As the Decalogue

inscribed on the two tablets of the law, or

the ark in which the tablets were kept, as in

Exodus 16:34 and 25:16

Nourishing and Bearing Your Testimony By

Elder Gary E. Stevenson

Read story

Analyze it

How was he prepared for that moment?

How would things have gone different if he

had he reacted negatively?

How did he share his testimony here?

Do I know and understand what a testimony

is?

Share the key elements

Do I know how to bear my testimony?

Sharing at all times in all places in what we

say, in how we treat others

Quote about sharing about Joseph Smith

What are the obstacles in sharing my

testimony?

Mind blank fear

God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but

of power, and of love. …

How do I keep my testimony?

And President Russell M. Nelson kindly

counseled recently: “Feed [your testimony]

truth. … “… Nourish yourself in the words of

ancient and modern prophets. Ask the Lord

to teach you how to hear Him better. Spend

more time in the temple and in family

history work. “… Make your testimony your

highest priority.”