Elder Gérald Caussé of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles began eighteen years back, when he and his wife, Valérie, received a phone call from President Thomas S. Monson calling him as a General Authority Seventy. They accepted in faith, knowing it would profoundly change their lives. The next morning, praying for comfort and guidance, he felt prompted to open a Church magazine on the kitchen table, and his eyes found this promise: “Be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ” (D&C 68:6). He realized his primary responsibility was simply to bear witness of the Savior. “Everything else would be in His hands.”
Eleven months before this talk, he was reminded of that promise again. Newly called as an Apostle, he was invited into the sacred meeting room of the First Presidency and the Twelve, and President Dallin H. Oaks asked him to bear testimony of Jesus Christ. Astonished and humbled, he felt peace, and the familiar words returned with power. “In that sacred moment, I knew that nothing could be more meaningful, as my first act as a newly ordained Apostle, than to bear witness of the Redeemer of the world.”
Before His ascension, the resurrected Savior charged His Apostles, “Ye shall be witnesses unto me” (Acts 1:8). The apostolic witness remains central in the restored Church. Joseph Smith taught that the fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and prophets concerning Jesus Christ. Apostles hold keys to be special witnesses of His name in all the world, bearing a unique authoritative divinely empowered witness of His reality, gospel, Atonement, and Resurrection.
“Yet the sacred responsibility to bear witness of Jesus Christ is not limited to prophets and apostles. It extends to all His disciples.” The truth of the restored gospel is visible in the lives of millions, whose testimonies in word and deed show the reality of a loving Savior. Bearing witness is a foundational responsibility of discipleship. Having taken His name upon us, we keep that covenant partly by sharing our witness, standing as witnesses of God at all times, in all things, and in all places (Mosiah 18:9).
Testimony is deeply personal. It is received in the intimacy of our relationship with God and shaped by our unique experiences, circumstances, and needs; it grows through faith, earnest seeking, gospel living, and the quiet influence of the Holy Ghost. “Your testimony may be different from mine or that of other family members or fellow Saints. Please trust it, nurture it, and bear it, because it is uniquely yours.”
He confessed that he had often wondered, Why me? and never found a fully satisfying answer. So he asked a better question: “What does the Lord expect me to do with this gift?” He taught, “Our testimony is not a talent to be hidden. It is a gift to be shared—with grateful hearts and in a spirit of humility and love.” He also said, “Testimony and love are deeply connected gifts that echo and strengthen one another.” To say “I know” is a tender expression of love toward our neighbor, because love makes us want to share our most precious gift. And saying “I love you” with a pure heart is itself a way of bearing testimony of Christ, the source of all perfect love. He hoped we would fill our lives with many heartfelt I knows alongside many I love yous, creating an environment where the Spirit can dwell.
His niece illustrated the point. At Young Women camp, just beginning to gain a testimony, she was so nervous that she managed only two sentences: “I know that God loves me” and “I know that God has a plan for me.” Afterward she was discouraged because she couldn’t speak like the other girls. Her mother asked, “Do you believe what you said?” “Yes.” “Then that’s all that matters.” Elder Caussé agreed: “There is great power in a sincere, humble, and heartfelt testimony. It need not be long, eloquent, or dramatic—it only needs to be true.” It is the Spirit, not words, that testifies, and the Lord promised that the Holy Ghost will bear record of what is spoken by His power (D&C 100:8).
Throughout history, seekers have been transformed by the testimonies of those the Lord calls “the weak and the simple” (D&C 1:23), from Enoch and Moses to Joseph Smith and more than 90,000 missionaries today. Their speech may be imperfect, but their witness carries divine power. And sharing changes us as well: “As you share it freely, your own testimony will grow stronger.” He pointed to Alma the Younger, who in deep anguish remembered his father’s prophecy of “one Jesus Christ” (Alma 36:17). That remembered witness was the spark that led him to repent. “How many ‘Almas’ are there around you waiting to hear your witness and discover, or rediscover, the hope that is found in Jesus Christ?”
His invitation: if you have received a testimony, even if it is only the beginning of one, it is your duty and your privilege to share it. Look each day, as the Holy Ghost prompts, for opportunities to bear witness, even a minute or two, at home, in testimony meeting, in ministering, in missionary lessons, on social media, or in everyday conversation, in simple words like “I love our Savior, Jesus Christ” or “The gospel brings joy to my heart.” Imagine millions of disciples doing that consistently. He closed with his apostolic witness that we have a loving Heavenly Father and that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and the source of every good gift.
