It’s interesting how our dreams have a way of being fulfilled. Many years ago, I thought I would like to create a website where people could go to be uplifted, to celebrate the good, and to share the beautiful things God has given us. As I have tried to produce that site, it seems stumbling blocks kept obstructing my path, and I could never achieve what I wanted to do. Well, meanwhile the Lord completed my dream. That web site is here.
I remember when I was a young man, my mother had a dream to live in the country and enjoy the rapture of a beautiful farm—horses, cows, goats, chicken, turkeys, gardens, orchards, berry patches, streams, trees…and more. And when I look back, though we worked hard and never seemed to get enough done, we realized everything we set out to do…and more.
Life has numerous obstacles, and frequently we do not realize their purpose or role, but we are never alone. When we align ourselves with Him whose purposes cannot be frustrated, we are sure to be successful despite our shortcomings.
My life is testament of that fact. The Lord is not finished with me yet.
He is not finished with any of us yet.
“The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.” – Joseph Smith
The Church has multiple websites that promote Christ’s message and have become the sites where people can go for renewed hope, solace, and inspiration. The Lord fulfilled my dream despite my failure to do it on my own. What has happened in the Church, which is manifest on LDS.org and reveals many hidden treasures is also available in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and happens to be analogous to our lives.
What happens in life when you give control over to the Lord? Your life blossoms amid hardship, your love and appreciation deepen for Him despite obstacles, and all things work together for your good. It’s really not a question of whether you will be successful in life or not. The question rather is “Will I choose to be on the Lord’s side?” 3 Nephi 13:19-21
Christ is already victorious. Success, both in this life and the next, follows those who decide to obey Him. Period.
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. [Matthew 7:24–27]
“And now, my sons (and daughters), 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 (not if) the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless woe, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fail.” Helaman 5:12
We know that because we are mortal, we shall be tried and tested; we knew that when we chose to come to earth. And even though we may build our house on the rock, we will not be spared from the storms of life. The “mighty winds” of illness, financial challenges, death, accidents, and natural catastrophes will not escape us. But we are told that the storm “will have no power over us to drag us down to the gulf of misery and endless woe because of the rock upon which ye are built.”
We are all familiar with the parable of the wise and the foolish men. The one built his house on the rock, the other built his house on the sand. Even the Primary children can tell us what happened when the rains came down and the floods came up.
If our faith and our lives are built on the rock of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we will be able to understand and better withstand the storms that beat upon us. When we allow our Church friends to hurt our feelings, when our home teachers and visiting teachers forget we are on their routes for months at a time, when we suffer the frailties of men, it will be easier to forgive and to understand because of that faith.
When our houses are built on sand, we find it easy to be offended, to feel that we are unloved and unimportant to those around us; we delight in having “pity parties”. We more easily succumb to the ways of the world and forget the promises of eternity. We forget we are children of a loving Father In Heaven and we, more often than not, become discouraged and depressed.
Elder John H. Groberg shared a story in April Conference, 1980, that I would like to share with you today. It is a wonderful example of one man’s eternal perspective and his desire to build his house on a rock.
In the early 1900s, a young father and his family joined the Church in Hawaii. He was enthused about his new-found religion, and after two years of membership, both he and his eldest son held the priesthood. They prospered and enjoyed the fellowship of the little branch. They anxiously looked forward to being sealed as a family for eternity in the temple soon to be completed in Laie.
Then, as so often happens, a test crossed their path. One of their daughters became ill with an unknown disease and was taken away to a strange hospital. People in Hawaii were understandably wary of unknown diseases, as such diseases had wrought so much havoc there. The concerned family went to church the next Sunday, looking forward to the strength and understanding they would receive from their fellow members. It was a small branch. This young father and his son very often took the responsibility for blessing and passing the sacrament. This was one such Sunday. They reverently broke the bread while the congregation sang the sacrament hymn.
When the hymn was finished, the young father began to kneel to offer the sacrament prayer. Suddenly the branch president, realizing who was at the sacred table, sprang to his feet. He pointed his finger and cried, “Stop. You can’t touch the sacrament. Your daughter has an unknown disease. Leave immediately while someone else fixes new sacrament bread. We can’t have you here. Go.” How would you react? What would you do? The stunned father slowly stood up. He searchingly looked at the branch president, then at the congregation.
Then, sensing the depth of anxiety and embarrassment from all, he motioned to his family and they quietly filed out of the chapel. Not a word was said as, with faces to the ground, they moved along the dusty trail to their small home. The young son noticed the firmness in his father’s clenched fists and the tenseness of his set jaw. When they entered their home they all sat in a circle, and the father said, “We will be silent until I am ready to speak.” All sorts of thoughts went through the mind of this young boy. He envisioned his father coming up with many novel ways of getting revenge.
Would they kill the branch president’s pigs, or burn his house, or join another church? He could hardly wait to see what would happen. Five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes—not a sound. He glanced at his father. His eyes were closed, his mouth was set, his fingers clenched, but no sound. Twenty minutes, twenty-five minutes—still nothing. Then he noticed a slight relaxing of his father’s hands, a small tremor on his father’s lips, then a barely perceptible sob. He looked at his father—tears were trickling down his cheeks from closed eyes. Soon he noticed his mother was crying also, then one child, then another, and soon the whole family.
Finally, the father opened his eyes, cleared his throat, and announced, “I am now ready to speak. Listen carefully.” He slowly turned to his wife and said, meaningfully, “I love you.” Then turning to each child, he told them individually, “I love you. I love all of you and I want us to be together, forever, as a family. And the only way that can be is for all of us to be good members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and be sealed by His holy priesthood in the temple. This is not the branch president’s church. It is the Church of Jesus Christ. We will not let any man or any amount of hurt or embarrassment or pride keep us from being together forever. Next Sunday we will go back to church. We will stay by ourselves until our daughter’s sickness is known, but we will go back.”
At some time in our lives, each one of us will have to make a similar, if not so dramatic, decision. Will we let the words or actions of someone in the Church offend us and cloud our eternal perspective- or will we remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that we must build our foundation?
Elder Adhemar Damani (of the Seventy) reminded us in the Saturday afternoon session of conference that “the house founded upon a rock does not fall with strong winds or rain. The person whose life is founded upon the gospel of Jesus Christ is able to face adversity with hope, withstand offense with forgiveness; and face death with serenity.”
Elder David Stone, also of the Seventy, shared an experience of living in the Dominican Republic when Hurricane George hit the island with “intense fury, leaving in its path destruction, desolation, and death.” He spoke of the great damage and pain and destruction from the awesome phenomena of physical force, but also spoke of the desolation caused in people’s lives by spiritual hurricanes. “These furious forces often cause far more devastating damage than physical cyclones, because they destroy our souls and rob us of our eternal perspective and promise.”
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He then went on to remind us that “there is peace and tranquility, there is solace and safety in His gospel. If we will but listen to those whose calling it is to watch and warn, if we will give heed to the words of the Master Himself, then our spiritual house will stand firm, and we can let the rain descend and the floods come and the winds blow and beat upon our house, because we are founded upon a rock.” (See Matthew 7:24-27)
Finally, I would share with you more words of Elder Damiani. “In this life we are building our eternal dwelling. Are we building upon the rock which is the gospel of Jesus Christ, or are we building upon the rock which lies in the falsehoods of this world? Each moment we must choose whom we will serve, for we have been placed upon this earth to be proven and tested. We cannot choose to serve God and the world at the same time.”
With Joshua we humbly declare “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Build on the Rock of Our Redeemer
Rock – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
In 1989, Walter Penning formed a consultancy based in Salt Lake City and empowered his clients by streamlining processes and building a loyal, lifetime customer base with great customer service. His true passion is found in his family. He says the best decision he ever made was to marry his sweetheart and have children. The wonderful family she has given him and her constant love, support, and patience amid life's challenges is his panacea.
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