This past year our family theme was “A Firm Foundation”. We
were able to memorize the scripture in Heleman chapter 5 verse 12 and memorize
most of the verses in How Firm a Foundation…. There are actually 7!
In this scripture Heleman is teaching His sons and
because of the coming forth of the Book of Mormon is now teaching us! “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 for his mighty winds, yea his shafts in the whirl winds, yea, when all his hail shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf and misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”
Ye MUST BUILD- Must:
non-negotiable, the only way
Build:
in my limited experience the term “build” doesn’t typically mean fast, easy,
and do whatever you think will work. Generally BUILD refers to doing something
that takes time, requires patience, and often includes instructions.
How
can we build? We
start building our foundation of the Savior Jesus Christ by coming to know Him
and the purposes He accomplished while on this earth. We learn of his teachings
and try to emulate his example and act as he would. I love the primary song
I KNOW
THAT MY SAVIOR LOVES ME:
1. A
long time ago in a beautiful place, Children were gathered ’round Jesus.
He blessed
and taught as they felt of His love. Each saw the tears on His face.
The love that
He felt for His little ones I know He feels for me.
I did not
touch Him or sit on His knee, Yet, Jesus in real to me
I know He
lives! I will follow faithfully. My heart I give to Him.
I know that
my Savior loves me.
The layers of our
foundation are built as we learn and gain a testimony of who Jesus IS and what Jesus did for us while
on the earth. After that layer of
foundation we can continue to add layers to it by reading our scriptures,
sincerely praying, making necessary covenants, attending the temple, serving
others…I could go on but you get the idea. Anything righteous that we willingly
choose to do can and will build our foundations.
So lets FOCUS on the
WHY? Why do we need to have a strong foundation?
WHEN
the Devil shall send- WHEN-
going to happen also non negotiable
His
mighty winds, yea his shafts in the whirl winds, yea, when all his hail shall
beat upon you- mighty winds, shafts in the whirl wind, (Shaft- a long pole forming the body of various weapons, as lances, halberds, or arrows.) All- not just a small amount but ALL his
hail shall BEAT UPON you. Hard things happen to each of us. We are natural men. But my favorite line comes next. It (meaning all the hard stuff of life) 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 built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”
We are
promised in this scripture that as long as we are continually building our
foundations we CANNOT fall.
So far
in my life this has not meant that I will experience sunny skies constantly.
The adversary doesn’t look at our strong foundation and think “well they look
pretty solid, I’m going to go ahead and skip them. He still sends his mighty
winds, his hail, and his shafts in the whirlwind.
We are
going to possibly get a little wind burned, we might feel the bruises of his
hail, we might feel a bit off balance out there in the wind. But we are
PROMISED that if we have a FIRM FOUNDATION that we will remain standing.
Now
here is the catch about building your foundation. It’s never complete. It’s a
constant process. There have been times in my life that my focus has been on
building layer by layer and the sun is shining. There have been times in my
life where I am am still building layer by layer but my pace has slowed and I’m
feeling more hail beating on my back. And there have also been times in my life
where I am simply curled on a ball holding fast to my foundation has the mighty
winds whirl around me.
Our
lives are ever changing. It’s important to constantly build our foundation so
that we are able to withstand “All his hail and mighty winds, yea his shafts in
the whirlwinds” so that you cannot fall. And not only will you not fall you will
be strengthened and made more into the person that Heavenly Father needs you to
be.
Here
is the great news. We are not alone while building our personal foundations! It
can truly be a labor of love. We have our wonderful ward family that can
support and encourage us to keep building. We have our families and the special
family settings that are ideal in helping us. We are placed in special
auxiliaries that meet needs in a particular time in life. Primary-Young Womens-
Priesthood- Relief Society. These are all put in place to strengthen and up
lift each of us. But most importantly we have our loving Heavenly Father and
for those of us who are baptized the companionship of the Holy Ghost to
Strengthen us in times of need.
The 3rd
verse in Hymn number 85 How Firm a Foundation reads
“Fear not, I am with thee: oh be not dismayed, For I am thy God
and will still give thee aid. I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee
to stand, Up held by my righteous omnipotent hand.
No comments:
Post a Comment