—President Ryan Dewey
Not long after Melanie and I were married, we were attending a little branch in Maine where her dad was serving as branch president. As the last speaker was wrapping up I noticed that we had ten minutes left. Melanie grabbed a piece of paper and, in big bold letters, wrote the word “TESTIMONY” with a big arrow underneath it.
I wasn’t sure what she was doing until she held it up for her dad on the stand to see—the arrow on her paper was pointing right at me. I quickly reached over, snatched the paper out of her hands, crumpled it up, and shoved it in my pocket. We both laughed about it and I didn’t think much of it again… until later that night, when I emptied my pockets and found that wrinkled piece of paper.
I remember unfolding it and staring at it– thinking, why was my first reaction to stop the possibility of bearing my testimony? I felt ashamed. My Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ had done so much for me, and I was embarrassed to share my testimony.
In Romans we read: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” and I had made a covenant at baptism to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places.
I smoothed out that crumpled piece of paper, folded it nicely and kept it in the breast pocket of my jacket for years to serve as a reminder of the blessing, privilege and responsibility we have to testify of Jesus Christ.
Think, for a moment, of all the blessings we have because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. We are able to repent and be forgiven, thus removing the distance between ourselves and God. We are able to have the guiding influence of the Holy Ghost in our lives–that sustains us day by day.
I believe that as we strive to walk with Jesus, we will naturally find ways to bear our testimonies to those around us to lift others and to testify of a patient and powerful Father in Heaven who loved us enough to send His Only Begotten Son. May we never miss those chances. May our testimonies—spoken, lived, and recorded—stand as unshakable witnesses of Him.
Note: This was adapted from President Dewey’s talk in the Adult Session of Stake Conference on March 14th, 2026.