You are using the wrong structure in your components.

https://reactjs.org/docs/state-and-lifecycle.html

Please see a tutorial on how to use class components/states/props in React. If you want to use functional components with states in React you have to use Hooks to do that.

SomeTest.js

import React, { Component } from 'react';
import { MDBBtn } from 'mdbreact';
import Modal from './test';

class SomeTest extends Component {
  state = {
    modal: false
  };

  render() {
    return (
      <>
        <MDBBtn onClick={() => this.setState({ modal: true })}>Modal</MDBBtn>
        <Modal
          toggle={() => this.setState({ modal: false })}
          modal={this.state.modal}
          description='TESTING'
          description1='TESTING description second'
        ></Modal>
      </>
    );
  }
}

export default SomeTest;

test.js

import React, { Component } from 'react';
import { MDBContainer, MDBBtn, MDBModal, MDBModalBody, MDBModalHeader, MDBModalFooter } from 'mdbreact';

class Modal extends Component {
  render() {
    const { toggle, modal, description1, description } = this.props;

    return (
      <MDBContainer>
        <MDBModal isOpen={modal} toggle={() => toggle()}>
          <MDBModalHeader toggle={() => toggle()}>{description}</MDBModalHeader>
          <MDBModalBody>
            <h2>Description</h2>
            <p>{description1}</p>
          </MDBModalBody>
          <MDBModalFooter>
            <MDBBtn color='secondary' onClick={e => toggle()}>
              Close
            </MDBBtn>
            <MDBBtn color='primary'>Save changes</MDBBtn>
          </MDBModalFooter>
        </MDBModal>
      </MDBContainer>
    );
  }
}

export default Modal;

What do I need to pass in my Modal component so it able to toggle if its open or closed?

Hi!

You forgot about this in your Modal component. Your code should look like this:

export default function Modal(props){
const state = {
  modal: false
}

function toggle(){
  this.setState({
    modal: !this.state.modal
  });
}

return (
  <MDBContainer>
    <MDBModal isOpen={this.state.modal} toggle={this.toggle}>
      <MDBModalHeader toggle={this.toggle}>{props.item.title}</MDBModalHeader>
      <MDBModalBody>
      <h2>Description</h2>
      <p>{props.item.content}</p>
      </MDBModalBody>
      <MDBModalFooter>
        <MDBBtn color="secondary" onClick={this.toggle}>Close</MDBBtn>
        <MDBBtn color="primary">Save changes</MDBBtn>
      </MDBModalFooter>
    </MDBModal>
  </MDBContainer>
  );