Oratory: Public Prayers, Testimonies, and Talks
Reading Assignments for the course
REL 480 - Church Organization and Leadership
Prof.  Marcus H. Martins, Ph.D.

Readings:

President Brigham Young
Praying in a Group
Journal of Discourses 3:53

There are times and places when all should vocally repeat the words spoken, but in our prayer meetings and in our family circles let every heart be united with the one who takes the lead by being mouth before the Lord, and let every person mentally repeat the prayers, and all unite in whatever is asked for, and the Lord will not withhold, but will give to such persons the things which they ask for and rightly need.

Elder Francis M. Lyman
Offer Short Prayers Without Vain Repetitions
Improvement Era, 50:214, 245

It is not necessary to offer very long and tedious prayers, either at opening or closing. It is not only not pleasing to the Lord for us to use excess of words, but also it is not pleasing to the Latter-day Saints. Two minutes will open any kind of meeting, and a half minute will close it.

We ought to take into account the occasion, and let the prayers be suited exactly to it. Sometimes our habits may control us more strongly than the Spirit of the Lord, so we should consider these things.

Offer short prayers, and avoid vain repetitions, particularly the repetition of the name of Deity, and the name of the Savior. It is quite common to open a prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, to close it in his name, and possibly use his name a few times through the prayer. If we approach the Father, and offer our petitions to him, and then close in the name of Jesus Christ, it is sufficient. There is no prayer so great and important that it is necessary to use more than once the name of the Son of God and of the Father.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie
Offer Short Prayers Pertinent to the Meeting
Mormon Doctrine, p. 582

Certain proprieties attend the offering of all prayers. Public prayers, in particular, should be short and ordinarily should contain no expressions except those which pertain to the needs and circumstances surrounding the particular meeting then involved. They are not sermons or occasions to disclose the oratorical or linguistic abilities of the one acting as mouth.

Unfortunately the all too common practice in the Church in conference sessions, sacrament meetings, and the like, is for those saying the prayers to take entirely too much time and pray about too many matters not directly involved in the particular meeting

Elder Spencer W. Kimball
A Testimony is Not a Sermon
Unpublished addresses - Los Angeles, CA, 2 Jan 1959 - Berlin, Germany, 15 Jan 1962

Don’t preach a sermon. ... A testimony is not an exhortation; a testimony is not a sermon; none of you are here to exhort the rest. You are here to bear your own witness. It is amazing what you can say in thirty seconds by way of testimony, or in sixty seconds ... or whatever time you are given, if you confine yourselves to testimony. ...

Do not tell others how to live. Just tell how you feel inside. That is the testimony. The moment you begin preaching to others, your testimony ended. ...

We’d like to know how you feel. ... Do you love the work, really? Are you happy in your work? Do you love the Lord? Are you glad that you are a member of the Church? ... I hope that you’ll just open your hearts and let us look inside... will you? Just open them up wide and turn on the lights and let us see your hearts ...

Elder Hartman Rector, Jr.
Public Expression of Gratitude is Not a Testimony
Conference Report, Apr. 1974, p. 159

Bearing testimony has to do with bearing witness to that which we know to be true. Much of what we call testimony bearing is not really testimony at all–it is a statement or expression of public thanks. It is good to be thankful, but public thanks is not testimony. Testimony comes from the Holy Ghost.

Elder Henry B. Eyring
Express Gratitude Privately
"Witnesses for God," Ensign, Nov 1996, pg 32

Those who have prepared carefully for the fast and testimony meeting won’t need to be reminded how to bear testimony should they feel impressed to do it in the meeting. They won’t give sermons nor exhortations nor travel reports nor try to entertain as they bear witness. Because they will have already expressed appreciation [thanks] to people privately, they will have less need to do it publicly. Neither will they feel a need to use eloquent language or to go on at length.

Elder Boyd K. Packer
Admitting Possession of a Testimony versus Bearing One
Teach Ye Diligently, pp. 274-275 - Emphasis added

There is a great responsibility in bearing pure testimony. Sometimes I think too little of it is done in the Church. I had an experience in the mission field that taught me much about testimony. In spite of the fact that all seemed to be under control, we were not progressing as we should. It was not something we were doing that we ought not to do so much, I felt, as something we were not doing that we ought to be doing.

We held a series of zone conferences to improve the spirituality in the mission. Rather than schedule instruction on the mechanics of missionary work, we determined to have a testimony meeting. In the last conference, in the testimony of one of the humble elders, I found the answer to the problem. There was something different about the brief testimony of this frightened new elder. He stood for less than a minute, yet I learned from his experience what it was that was missing.

The testimonies we’d heard from all the other missionaries went something like this: "I’m grateful to be in the mission field. I’ve learned a lot from it. I have a fine companion. I’ve learned a lot from him. I’m grateful for my parents. We had an interesting experience last week. We were out knocking on doors and ..." ...

... Then the missionary would relate an experience. His conclusion would be something like this: "I’m grateful to be in the mission field. I have a testimony of the gospel." And he would conclude "in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."

This young elder was different somehow. Anxious not to spend an extra second on his feet, he said simply, in hurried, frightened words, "I know that God lives. I know that Jesus is the Christ. I know that we have a prophet of God leading the Church. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen."

This was a testimony. It was not just an experience nor an expression of gratitude. It was a declaration, a witness! Most of the elders had said "I have a testimony," but they had not declared it. This young elder had, in a very few words, delivered his testimony–direct, basic, and, as it turned out, powerful. I then knew what was wrong in the mission. We were telling stories, expressing gratitude, admitting that we had testimonies, but we were not bearing them.

Elder John A. Widtsoe
Do Not Publicize Sacred Experiences
Improvement Era, Sept. 1940, pp. 545, 575

Revelations of divine manifestations for the comfort of individuals may be received by every worthy member of the Church. ... In their very nature they are sacred and should be so treated.

If a person who has received such a manifestation by dream, vision, or otherwise, feels impressed to relate it beyond his immediate family circle, he should present it to his bishop, but not beyond. The bishop, then, may decide upon its further use, if any, or may submit it to those of higher authority for action. The gift was a personal one; not for the Church as a whole; and the recipient is under obligation, in harmony with the established order, not to broadcast it over the Church.

It is [unwise] therefore, for those who have received such manifestations to send copies to others, to relate them by word of mouth in diverse places, and otherwise to scatter abroad a personal, sacred experience.

Elder Alvin R. Dyer
Crying is Not Necessarily a Sign of Sincerity or Spirituality
Unpublished address - Berlin, Germany, 25 Mar. 1961

You don’t have to cry about the gospel to have a testimony! Many times we think that we don’t have a testimony unless a few tears flow. Nothing could be further from the truth. It is not necessary or needful for a person to have tears streaming down their face to have a testimony of the gospel. ...

I know that there are occasions when our hearts are close to the surface, and tears come. ... But, I tell you, the serenity of the gospel of Jesus Christ does not depend upon emotionalism to bring forth a testimony. These things are firmly fixed under the power of the spirit. They don’t require a physical emotionalism to demonstrate testimony because they are born of a solid conviction by the power of truth! ...

I think we ought to bear our testimonies without tears, and stand strong and honorably before our fellow men and tell them the truth, born of the spirit that comes to us. Now, I know that isn’t always easy, and I know I have had to struggle many times to keep back the tears, and I don’t think we ought to fight that either. I hope you understand what I mean ...

Pres. Heber J. Grant
No Pride in Speaking
Gospel Standards, pp.191–93

Before I was twenty-four I was made the president of the Tooele Stake of Zion. I announced in a speech that lasted seven and a half minutes that I would ask no man in Tooele to be a more honest tithe payer than I would be; that I would ask no man to give more of his means in proportion to what he had than I would give; I would ask no man to live the Word of Wisdom better than I would live it, and I would give the best that was in me for the benefit of the people in that stake of Zion.

That night I heard in the dark a man say in a contemptuous way: 'It is a pity if the General Authorities have to send a man out here to preside, ... that they could not have sent one with sense enough to talk at least ten minutes; and that they had to send a boy to preside over us.'

When I heard this, I remember thinking: 'The boy is the only one who has any right to complain.' ... However, I was not able during the next three or four Sundays to talk as long as I did the first one. I ran out of ideas in five, six, and six and a half minutes.

I went to the little town of Vernon ... and spoke for forty-five minutes with perfect ease under the inspiration of the Lord. That night I shed tears of gratitude to the Lord for the abiding, perfect, and absolute testimony that came into my life of the divinity of this work.

The next Sunday after speaking at Vernon, I was at Grantsville. I told the Lord I would like to talk forty-five minutes. I got up to speak and ran out of ideas in five minutes, and I was sweating.

After the meeting I walked out ... nearly three miles, and I got down behind a haystack and I shed some more tears. But they were tears of humiliation. I made a pledge to God there upon that occasion that never again in my life would I stand up before an audience with the feeling that all I needed to do was just stand up and talk; but that I would get up upon all occasions with a desire to say something that might be of benefit to the people to whom I spoke, and not with the spirit of pride, such as I had that day when I stood up in Grantsville. And I have never failed from that day until now—fifty-odd years ago—to have any desire in my heart when speaking except that I might say or read something that would be of lasting benefit to those who listened to my voice.

Tips for Preparing a Talk
Bro. Marcus Martins

If you are not given a topic by the bishopric, pray for wisdom and then choose a doctrine, or principle, or commandment

Use the scriptures and the words of latter-day prophets found in Church magazines or books

• Avoid using non-LDS literature, unless it is a fact or statistic
• Do not use any materials that contain "man-made words of the Lord" (i.e. paraphrases of the scriptures intended to make them more palatable or entertaining to an audience)–the Holy Ghost will testify of what is true, not of what sounds cool, poetic, profound, or sweet
• If you decide to share a personal experience or the account of an observation, remember the following:
  • Do not confess sins to the congregation–only to the bishop or stake president in a confidential interview
  • Do not quote from your patriarchal blessing–only close family members have the right to read or learn about your patriarchal blessing
  • Keep the account short and avoid "tangents" (i.e. unrelated issues)

Use humor with great caution–do not destroy the spirit of a meeting by going too far:

• No jokes with deity, nor prophets
• No silly remarks about ordinances, commandments, or principles

Be sure to take the time limit into consideration in your planning

Do not plagiarize–it is supposed to be your talk, not the prophet’s or someone else’s

Do not worry about sounding good–the Holy Ghost will testify of the truth no matter how you sound–all you need is to prepare yourself properly

Tips for Delivering a Talk
Bro. Marcus Martins

Do not chastise the congregation–only the presiding officer (i.e. Bishop, member of the Stake Presidency, or Area or General Authority) has the priesthood keys to call the congregation of a ward/stake to repentance

Observe the time (discreetly) and stay within the time limit given you by the bishopric–cut short your remarks, if needed

Read in a slow pace so people will understand what you are saying

Avoid reading entire stories from Church magazines–if you really need one, summarize and tell in your own words in one or two minutes

Do not ask the congregation to read scriptures along with you

Do not worry about sounding good–the Holy Ghost will testify of the truth no matter how you sound–all you need is to prepare yourself properly

Questions for Review:

1. What issues should be addressed in a public prayer? (Elder Bruce R. McConkie)

2. Pres. Packer told of a problem his mission experienced regarding testimonies. What was it? (Elder Boyd K. Packer)

3. How should one publicize a very powerful spiritual experience? (Elder John Widtsoe)

4. True or False. We can tell when a person is feeling the influence the Spirit of the Lord because of the tears that always flow when that happens. (Elder Alvin R. Dyer)

5. What should one do while someone is praying on behalf of a group of people?  (Pres. Brigham Young)