“The Apostles Are Witnesses of Jesus Christ—and You Can Be Too!” New Era, Oct. 2019, 32–33.
Lessons from the New Testament
The Apostles Are Witnesses of Jesus Christ—and You Can Be Too!
Photo illustration by David Stoker
Imagine that you and a friend are eating lunch at school. Your friend is just about to open a candy bar when someone walks up and accuses her of stealing the candy and demands it be returned. You were with your friend when she bought it, so even though you might be nervous, you tell the accuser that your friend is not a thief.
Special Witnesses
Standing up for the truth like this can be called “being a witness.” In the example, you would be a witness of your friend’s good character. Just like you can be a witness for your friend, God has called prophets and apostles to be special witnesses of His Son, Jesus Christ. Apostles are “sent forth with certain authority and responsibility”1 to teach, testify, and serve as “special witnesses of the name of Christ in all the world” (Doctrine and Covenants 107:23).
Not long after Christ was resurrected, the Apostles were called to be His witnesses (see Acts 1:8). As you study Acts in the New Testament, you can read of many instances when the Apostles testified that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (see Acts 2:36; 5:27–32; 10:36–44). The Apostles today continue in this call as special witnesses—just listen to any general conference and you will see how they testify of Christ.
The Holy Ghost Testifies of Christ
Some Apostles in the New Testament were with Christ when He was on the earth and saw Him ascend into heaven (see Acts 1:9–11), and Apostles today may have seen Christ,2 but it is not physically seeing Jesus that makes someone a witness of Him. President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876–1972) said, “[The Holy Ghost] is the only way that a person can truly know that Jesus is the Christ and that his gospel is true.”3 This means that, even though Apostles may have seen Christ, they know He’s the Savior because the Holy Ghost has told them!
You Can Be a Witness
What’s even more amazing is that you are also promised that you can know that Jesus Christ is your Savior through the Holy Ghost (see Doctrine and Covenants 46:13). It’s not something that only Apostles can know! Even though you’re not called to be a special witness of Christ, you can seek out a testimony of Christ and be His witness to the people in your life. You can follow the Savior’s command to Peter: “When thou art converted, strengthen thy [brothers and sisters]” (Luke 22:32).