Foundations

Today I studied a talk given by Bishop David M. Davies entitled A Sure Foundation given in the last session of General Conference. For those who don't know what General Conference is, our church has a conference every April and October where we sustain our leaders and hear inspired messages from them. In this talk, Bishop Davies told a story of an earthquake that he experienced and the importance of foundations were during that time. He then taught how we can apply that to our own lives. 

Bishop Davies quoted an awesome verse from the Book of Mormon, Helaman 5:12, that says, "And now my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his might storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are build, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."

Within this verse and talk, the phrase sure foundation was repeated. I thought it was so interesting that the foundation must be sure. Not okay, not enough to meet code or pass inspection, but a sure foundation. The Savior gave a parable to help illustrate what a sure foundation is. It can be found in Matthew 7:24-27. A sure foundation is a rock. Above we learned that the rock that we can build our lives is Christ. What is the sand that we must avoid?

Sand is constantly changing. Shifting, it moves how the water moves it, and squishes under the feet of those that walk on it. So is our world today. Standards, what is "in", popular media and other things that seem to be so important in today's world are constantly changing. They move with the decisions of who is famous. Good standards are squished with the decaying public opinion. The good in the world is slowly slipping away. The world is the sand that we can build our foundation. 

I'd like to point out a key word from the first verse that I shared. When. The first says When the devil shall send for his mighty winds. It isn't if it comes. When it comes. Unfortunately, part of this life is to experience the hard storms of life. We are to learn and to be tested. When these storms come we have two options. We can be built upon the moveable sand and be washed away. Or we can be built on the rock of Christ and be immoveable in the hard times. 

2 Timothy 2:19 states that "the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are His." Our "sure" foundation is God. And He knows us and will send us the exact strength that we will need to survive the storms of life. How do we develop this sure foundation? Bishop Davies said, "Faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end are part of the 'blueprints' of life. They help form the appropriate building blocks that will anchor our lives to the Atonement of Christ. These shape and frame the supporting structure of of a person's life. Then,...specifications...give detailed instructions about how to form and integrate essential components, praying, reading scriptures, partaking of the sacrament, and receiving essential priesthood ordinances become the 'specifications' that help integrate and bind together the structure of life." Doing all of these things, being consistent in our prayer, scripture study and partaking of the sacrament, builds our foundation strong and sure.

On a family trip the Oregon Coast, I saw this picture

The storms will come. If we build on a sure foundation, like this lighthouse is, we will be able survive the storm and be safe, as the man will be. If we are built on the sand of the world, we will be dragged down  to the gulfs of misery and endless wo. 

Stay strong my friends. Through Christ, we can make it.