The profound statements made by the eyewitnesses of the Savior and His life form part of the footings of a person's faith and testimony, said Elder James E. Faust of the Council of the Twelve.

Elder Faust spoke Oct. 20 at the 19th annual Sidney B. Sperry Symposium at BYU. The theme of this year's day-long symposium was "The Lord of the Gospels.""The New Testament is a surety of a better testament because so much is related to the intent of the heart and of the mind," Elder Faust said in the keynote address at the symposium.

"This refinement of the soul is part of the reinforcing steel of a personal testimony. If there is no witness in the heart and in the mind, there can be no testimony."

Taking his text from Paul to the Hebrews when Paul said, "By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament" (Hebrews 7:22), Elder Faust defined the meaning of surety and testament.

"What is a surety? . . .Surety is the state of being sure; it is also an undertaking or a pledge; it also refers to one who has become legally liable for the debt, default or failure in duty of another. Does not the Savior and His mission have claim upon all these meanings?

"What is a testament? The primary meaning of a testament is that it is a covenant with God. It is also holy scripture, a will, a witness, a tangible proof, an expression of conviction. So the Savior as a surety is a guarantor of a better covenant with God."

Contrasting the Old Testament with the New Testament, Elder Faust said the New Testament shows a change from rigid formality of the letter of the law to the spirit of the law.

"It is a better testament because the intent of a person alone becomes part of the rightness or wrongness of human action. So our intent to do evil or our desire to do good will be a free-standing element of consideration of our actions."

The New Testament is harder doctrine in that it requires so much more at the heart and soul, he said. "In a large measure we will be judged, not only by what we have done, but what we should have done in a given situation."

Much of the spirit of the New Testament is found in the Sermon on the Mount, Elder Faust said. "The New Testament requires a reconciliation of differences."

Quoting Matthew 5:23-24, he read, "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother and then come and offer thy gift."

The New Testament prohibits swearing, suggests a new form and content of prayer that is profoundly simple and uncomplicated, suggests doing good works in secret and introduces a higher law of marriage, Elder Faust said.

"The challenge of Jesus was to replace the rigid technical `thou shalt not' of the law of Moses needed by the spiritually immature children of Israel to the spirit of the `better testament,' " he added.

"How was this to be done? Time was short. He only had three years. How should He begin? Obviously He must begin with the apostles and the small group of disciples around Him who would have the responsibility to carry on the work afterwards.

"It is so strengthening to review the testimonies of the apostles that Jesus is, in fact, the Christ. These testimonies are also a surety of a better testament."

The symposium - named in honor of Sidney B. Sperry, author and early pioneer in religious education at BYU - also featured speakers from the Church Educational System and several institutes along with BYU faculty members.