“We are agents, and agents are responsible for something. In this case, we are responsible for the choices we make based on the knowledge we have and the gifts we are given. We cannot make a choice without being responsible for the consequences.
Why do we have agency?
-To choose good.
-To choose Christ.
-To choose eternal life—again and again.
…A testimony should not have an expiration date. It should not weaken or diminish because something in my life has changed or something in the world has changed. It should get stronger because, like the servant’s talents in the parable of the talents, my personal testimony is a gift to be multiplied—not buried. Looking back on those difficult days of testing and persecution that I went through as a child has helped me get to the place where I now know for myself. I not only believe, hope, or trust, even though these are significant particles of faith on the pathway to a sure witness. I commend you for making your own way by asking questions, studying, praying, fasting, and pondering. Please don’t stop. It is worth every effort to pursue this path to testimony. Who or what will you allow to take that away? “What greater witness can you have than from God?”
…Saying “I choose to believe” makes it easier to receive a witness from God. If we find our testimony weakening, remember that it is the choices we make that diminish the power of the testimony. But the testimony has not gone anywhere. We just need to choose to reconnect with it.
Choosing to believe is a wise and powerful way to use our agency.
I cannot see a better way to use my agency than in defense of my testimony.”