BYU President Cecil O. Samuelson, a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy, spoke Tuesday to a crowd of mostly lawyers and legal counsel about faith in Jesus Christ and gaining a testimony of Him.

President Samuelson, a retired physician, briefly mentioned the irony of the speaker and his audience. But the subject of his discourse led to both job classes.

"Our witness of the Redeemer is not about our individual profession, but rather about our faith in Him and his Atonement," President Samuelson said. "Many other Christian faiths believe in the divinity of Christ. But it is a special blessing to know that he is the Redeemer and he lives today."

The BYU president spoke of his visit to the Holy Land with his wife, Sharon, in which they paid a special tribute to the Garden Tomb, commonly referred to as the gravesite of Jesus Christ. Two Americans were standing in line in front of them, and it wasn't difficult for the Samuelsons to pick up their conversation.

When the two women approached the tomb, one of them looked inside, turned back to the other, and said, "Why, Ethel, there's nothing here!"

The tour guide, a non-LDS gentleman from England, spoke up at that moment, replying, "Yes, ma'am, that is the point."

President Samuelson said an individual's testimony of Jesus Christ is among the most important pieces of knowledge they can attain in this life, spiritual or secular. No matter if it is easy or hard to attain, it is always worth it.

"Our own testimonies concerning Jesus Christ provide the basis of what is most dear to us," President Samuelson said.

To attain this testimony, we need a few tools.

"Study, faith and obedience are critical to attaining and sustaining a testimony," President Samuelson said. "But there is something more. Scholarship is essential and provides a unique framework of the contributions of the Lord Jesus Christ and his mission. Without these, our testimonies may be in peril or not established in the first place. But scholarship alone will not guarantee us membership in the true church."

It is for that exact reason, he said, that God has given us apostles and prophets: to bear testimony of the reality and divinity of Christ.

"For many in the world, the witness of apostles is essential," President Samuelson said. "These are those of whom it is given to believe on that they might also have eternal life, the same for all that are faithful."

President Samuelson told of speaking to a group of ministers at the Nottingham (England) School of Divinity. When he walked in the room to deliver his discourse, he noticed bright blue copies of the Book of Mormon on each table, and various translations of the Bible.

"My scriptures were different than theirs," President Samuelson said. "Mine was the only King James Version in the room."

After President Samuelson had spoken for 30 minutes, the session opened up to a question and answer session. Various doctrinal and scriptural concerns were raised, ranging from the apostasy to the definition of the Trinity to modern-day polygamy. One man even asked President Samuelson, "Why did the Church abandon polygamy? Or have they?"

Finally, the question President Samuelson had feared came up: "How do you justify calling yourself 'Christians?' "

President Samuelson said he felt "a spirit of calmness and comfort" as the answer came into his mind. Taking a copy of one of his interrogator's Bibles, he asked the group a series of questions.

"Do you accept this Bible as the word of God?" he asked.

They all responded in the affirmative.

"Do you accept Jesus Christ as the Son of a heavenly Father and a mortal mother?" President Samuelson asked.

Most responded in the affirmative, while only a few raised objections.

"Do you accept the Biblical account of His mortal ministry?" President Samuelson asked.

More responded with objections, but a few still said they did.

"Do you accept your Bible's account of Christ's Passion?" President Samuelson asked, using the term that mainstream Christianity identifies with the LDS concept of the Atonement.

According to Samuelson, a few remained passive, but many of them wanted to speak after that.

"It was obvious that many were troubled by the thought of an individual resurrection, and some had doubts about life after death," President Samuelson said.

Then, he asked his final question.

"Latter-day Saints believe all of these questions," he said. "Given the answer to the questions I just posed, who do you think deserves to be called, 'Christian'?"

Copyright Brigham Young University 20 Aug 2008