The following is taken from William Call's 2000 book, "The Cultural Revolution":
A Mormon's "testimony" feigns certainty via a supposed knowledge that negates real understanding. He who knows "beyond a shadow of a doubt" has no need to comprehend, discern, or master. The "knowledge" given by the Holy Ghost both precludes and takes the place of understanding. Is anyone as ignorant as he who thinks he has God's knowledge, and is any religion as void of knowledge as one that suppresses understanding with supposed "spiritual" knowledge? A Mormon "testimony," because it has no foundational suport, is a confession of ignorance concerning that which it is supposed to affirm absolutely and without question. It is a declaration that man is completely dependent on God so far as religious questions are concerned. The claim that one can found one's religion on the "knowledge" gained from "prayer and testimony" is a denial that man in and of himself can do anything to gain knowledge concerning religious truth other than to humble himself before his God and submit himself to Church authority.
"Spiritual knowledge" received from a source that cannot be separated from one's own prejudices and which has little or nothing to do with an acquaintance with the matters in question is ignorance. Mormonism's "testimony bearing" is an ackowledgment that the believer does not need to delve into religious questions; all he needs to do is "pray with faith, nothing doubting" and "keep the commandments." The rest can be left to the "still small voice" that "whispers" in his ear and instills "burning testimony" of the truth of whatever the Church claims is true. Mormonism's religious enthusiasm as exhibited in the form of testimony bearing takes the place of doctrinal and ecclesiastical understanding and removes any responsibility one might have to master one's religion. Both rank and file Mormons and their leaders are dependent on their testimonies. They cannot question what they already "know" is true. And so it is that a Mormon testimony is more than a denial of life's uncertainties; it is a denial that a critical evaluation of any kind is effective or necessary so far as discovering religious truth is concerned.
