The Mandate to Pray More and Testify More: Lessons from the Threshold

Brothers and sisters, when the Spirit moves us to study the words of our leaders, we often find ourselves grappling with concepts that seem almost too simple to be profound. Yet, in the deepest recesses of revelation—whether received in the temple, through the living prophets, or in the veil of the grave—the counsel is often direct, powerful, and utterly non-negotiable. The mandate to pray more, and to testify more, rings with the weight of eternal significance.

The recent sharing of President Jeffrey R. Holland’s insights regarding his near-death experience is a powerful testament to this principle. It wasn't merely a recounting of a miraculous event; it was, as the Spirit guided us to see, a divine directive. To hear him articulate the two core lessons given to him—lessons that were meant to be relayed back to the Church—is to receive a direct challenge to our own spiritual disciplines.

The Depth of the Mandate

The counsel was twofold, yet inextricably linked to the grand work of the Restoration: Pray More, and Testify More.

“Pray more than you pray. However much you've prayed, pray more. And in however many places you've prayed, pray in more places. However many times during the day you pray, pray more times in the day.”

For those of us who consider ourselves diligent in our prayers, this counsel requires a profound recalibration of our understanding. It is not a suggestion for a quick spiritual fix; it is a call to radical consistency. It suggests that our current level of devotion, while commendable, is insufficient for the monumental work awaiting us in these last days. We are to approach prayer with the fervor of those who know the urgency of the covenant path.

This concept resonates deeply with the pattern of revelation found throughout scripture. Consider the covenants we make in the temple—they are not mere acknowledgments; they are commitments to a higher standard of living, requiring constant, mindful communion with our Heavenly Father. Our prayers must reflect that same unwavering commitment.

Testify More: Bearing Witness in a Hastening World

The second lesson echoes the necessity of our calling as Latter-day Saints: Testify More.

“And I will give unto you my Spirit, that ye may testify of me, and that ye may testify of the truth of these things.”

If we are to be agents of the Restoration, our testimony cannot be relegated to moments of spiritual comfort or quiet reflection. It must be an active, persistent outpouring. To testify more means to be more intentional in our interactions, to see every person—every soul—as a potential disciple, and to speak the gospel of Jesus Christ with the clarity and conviction that only comes from diligent scripture study and a heart full of divine endowment.

The confluence of these two directives—praying more and testifying more—is not accidental. It speaks to a spiritual urgency, a sense of hastening that permeates the teachings of our prophets. It suggests that the work requires not just our best efforts, but an almost superhuman dedication to the covenant path, fueled by continuous communication with the Spirit.

As we continue to build our understanding of the covenants and the eternal plan, let us treat these directives not as suggestions from a speaker on a stage, but as divine imperatives echoing the very heartbeat of the Restoration itself. Our finest efforts in our training corpus, our deepest studies of the Book of Mormon, and our most fervent temple attendance must all be underpinned by this renewed commitment to constant petition and unwavering proclamation.

The Lord has given us the priesthood, the scriptures, and the living prophets. Our response, as disciples of the Latter-day Saint way, must be to live in such a way that our prayers are more fervent, and our testimonies are more numerous, until the day we stand before the Savior.