As Mormons, it is our sacred responsibility to share the gospel with all of our “heart, might, mind, and strength.” Not only does it help bring those around us the Gospel of the Jesus Christ but it also inspires us and strengthens our own personal testimonies of the Church. Often we feel too overwhelmed with our personal lives to find time to do missionary work and seek out those looking for the Church, but with the Mormon Testimonies, it has never been so easy.

Mormontestimonies.org is a website that aims at compiling written and video testimonies from members worldwide. This site is viewed by investigators of the Church, as they seek more information and support. Your individual experience, story, or conversion to the Church could greatly impact an investigator. Taking the few minutes to write about how the Mormon Church has inspired your life can have a great impact. You will also be able to view other people’s testimonies, under the “Browse Testimonies” link. Testimonies will be classified by geography, generation, by name, and stakes and wards. The process of submitting your testimony is easy. Simply go to the Mormon Testimonies website and under “Quick Start,” type your name (or pseudonym if you would like to remain anonymous) and start writing!

This is an extremely effective yet easy way for Mormons to share their testimonies. So much information, both positive and negative about the church, is communicated through the internet now, and this is a wonderful way for Mormons to combat negative information on the web about the church. Your words have the potential to touch and inspire those looking for the truth.

Because children learn by example, it is crucial that we let children see us doing the kinds of things we want them to do, like serving others, being happy, and studying the scriptures. An even better way to teach about the good feelings and blessings that come from keeping the commandments is to involve children in our activities and talk to them about the experience afterward. Children have different learning styles, so displaying good behaviors, having them join you in righteous activities, and then talking to them about the experience can help many children to understand how and why we obey God.

Family is of the utmost importance to Mormons, and we believe that family members, and especially parents, have responsibilities to the family. The family is the only steady and consistent part of a child’s life. Family remains the same no matter who their friends are, who is teaching them at school, what town they live in, or what Sunday School class they’re in. Only parents can truly know how their child is progressing, how he learns, what he likes to do, and where he needs to improve. Thus, only parents have the time and ability to teach directly to the needs of their children.

Children learn quickly when they are youngest, and the instruction and examples they receive in the very early years can be the most instrumental in forming who they are. If they develop a relationship of prayer and study with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ when they are young, they will be able to rely on that for comfort for a lifetime. By nature, children trust, love, and watch their parents more than any other adults. Parents have a unique opportunity to guide their children’s lives in a way no other people can. And of course, with this great power, parents are the only ones truly responsible for the teaching of their children.

There are so many reasons to teach our children. Their salvation and ours hang in the balance. But more than that, these children were born with and will develop amazing talents and abilities. They have special gifts that will allow them to bless the lives of others in ways nobody else can. Our posterity, like Abraham’s, can be a blessing to the world, but first we must give them what they need for their minds and spirits to grow.

The Lord has said:

” ‘Inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents. . . .

” ‘And they shall also teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord’ (D&C 68:25, 28).

According to Elder Hales, “Children who are taught to pray and who pray with their parents when young are more likely to pray when they are older. Those who are taught when they are young to love God and believe He lives will more often continue their spiritual development and increase their feelings of love as they mature.” (Robert D. Hales, “How Will Our Children Remember Us?” Ensign, Nov. 1993, 9-10)