Knowing how to start, grow, and keep a fire burning teaches us exactly how we should start, grow, and keep our testimonies burning. In like manner, the ways in which fires can be extinguished illustrate how our testimonies may go out. Let us start at the beginning, and when we get to the end, we will stop.
To start a fire, we must start with what is called kindling. Kindling is made up of tiny flammable materials that light easily, but do not burn for a long time. In terms of a testimony, they are likened to gospel phrases, such as “eternal families”, or “plan of happiness.” These phrases ignite the Spirit within us, but on their own are insufficient to sustain a testimony through adversity. Then, we need a spark of flame, or in the gospel context, we need a hope or desire. Combining the spark with kindling, or combining hope with exposure to basic gospel concepts and phrases, is enough to start a fire and testimony. Next, we need twigs to move the flame from kindling onto wood. Twigs represent gospel principles such as prayer, scripture reading, and church attendance. These principles and “primary answers” are essential to making our testimonies grow and bridge the gap between the phrases and the eventual understanding of doctrine.
A fire is weak if it only consumes twigs, it must eventually burn something larger, such as sticks. Our testimonies must also move onto something more profound. From gospel principles we must move onto gospel doctrines. This takes not the form of church attendance, but rather church participation, not scripture reading, but scripture study, not socializing with members, but ministering to them. The fire is now stronger, but it is still not strong enough, it must move onto logs. Logs represent gospel understanding, which takes the form of temple worship, scripture pondering, and profound personal prayer. At this point we have a strong burning fire; we have a strong testimony.
Let us explore the symbolism further. The wood that we use to fuel the fire obviously represents gospel truths. But like a fire, the order in which we burn the wood matters. If we place a large log on top of the kindling it will extinguish the fire, so too will our testimonies extinguish if we try to consume certain gospel truths in the wrong order. It is not because the wood is bad, just as it is not the case that the gospel truth is untrue, it is simply because the fire, or testimony, was insufficiently strong to consume and burn the large profound substance. There is also the case of wet wood. Wet wood will not burn until it is dry. The fire can dry the wood, but if it does not, the wet wood will likely extinguish the fire. Wet wood is still wood, it is just coated in something inflammable. Our testimonies behave in similar fashion. Wet wood is the inappropriate presentation of gospel truths. The gospel truth is still true; however, it was presented in a malicious fashion in the hopes of destroying the faith, rather than building it. If the testimony is too weak it will extinguish the flame, however, if it is strong enough to withstand, and eventually dry out the wet wood, or break through the inappropriate presentation of a gospel truth, eventually it will consume it.
Furthermore, there are inflammable things that can be placed in the fire such as rocks. Rocks will never burn; they occupy valuable space where wood could be burning. A big enough rock with a small enough flame will extinguish the fire, but a large flame can handle rocks being added, it will only make it so there is less space for valuable wood to burn. In terms of the gospel, rocks are falsehoods that we hold onto. They turn into a waste of time, energy, and space. If we take on too many our testimonies will shrink. A few may not seem like they do much harm, but ultimately, they add nothing of value to our testimonies or lives. Then there is wind. Wind serves a dual purpose. Wind provides oxygen to the fire, which is necessary for its growth, however, wind can also blow out a fire. As with all the other examples, how wind affects the fire depends on the strength of the fire and the strength of the wind. In terms of the gospel, the wind represents opposition. Opposition serves as a source of growth used to strengthen our testimonies and resolve. At the same time however, opposition can become overpowering, and if our testimony is fragile enough, can extinguish what was once there.
The nature of fire and testimonies are near identical. In the first place, their state is never stagnated. It is either growing, or shrinking, usually unnoticeably so. We are either regularly adding fuel to our fire and testimony, or we are letting it diminish. Small droughts of fuel are not harmful, but given enough time, the lack of fuel becomes dangerous. In the second place, when it is extinguished, no matter the reason, the only thing to be done is start over the process and take more care in both the process and care of its growth.
Why build a fire, or have a testimony at all? What are the benefits of laboring through that tedious process? There are four main benefits. First, both fires and testimonies produce light, chase darkness, and give clarity. As the light grows in strength, the darkness dissipates. The larger the light source, the less darkness we must deal with. Second, both fires and testimonies produce warmth and comfort. As warmth increases, the cold sense of loneliness melts away. Third, our perception of that warmth and light are subjective to a few things. For instance, the dramatic change from cold to warmth, from dark to light, and vice versa, are easily felt. Once we become used to that amount of warmth and light, we may begin to feel stagnate. It is not the case that we are stagnate, but the dramatic shift is over, and we are now used to our new state. The effects are felt again when we have a drastic withdrawal from that warmth and light. We must not mistake our new state of being with stagnation, if we continually fuel our fire, or testimony, we are not in stagnation. Fourth, our fire, or testimony, can inspire others. The light and warmth it creates can be used to help others. Others experiencing the cold darkness may be drawn to your fire, or testimony; they may borrow yours for a while. They may even use your flame to start a flame of their own. Your fire, or testimony, and its benefits are not only for you. The light and warmth you create can inspire, warm, enlighten, and save another.
Our testimony is like a fire, learning how to create, grow, and care for a fire will teach us how to create, grow, and care for our testimony. Having one is better than not having one, and hopefully someone reads this and learns why a testimony is important. Hopefully, someone reads this and learns how to keep their testimony strong. This analogy was originally taught to me from a friend and mentor, to whom goes the credit. I continued to ponder on the original thought and decided to write this down.
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