I Built My House Upon the Rock, Now What?

The wise man built his house upon the rock

The wise man built his house upon the rock

The wise man built his house upon the rock

And the rains came tumbling down.

The rains came down, and the floods came up

The rains came down, and the floods came up

The rains came down, and the floods came up

And the house on the rock stood still.

 

We know we’re supposed to build our house upon the rock to ensure a strong foundation. Helaman counseled his sons Nephi and Lehi:

 

House built on the sand.

“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 mighty 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 built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”

 

We build that foundation as we exercise faith in Jesus Christ, acknowledge and then repent of our sins, and participate in ordinances while obeying God’s commandments.

 

To His apostles, the Savior referred to a rock of revelation and priesthood authority. Peter testified of the Savior’s Divinity as the Messiah. Jesus confirmed that Peter’s knowledge came from God.

 

Then He said “and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

 

So, we build on Christ and His priesthood authority and Gospel. And then what?

 

Getting Water From the Rock

 

The children of Israel, who had made covenants with God—building upon the Rock—were dying of thirst and violently confronted Moses. Moses cried unto the Lord. The Lord directed Moses to go to a specific rock.

 

“Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.”

 

The children of Israel built their house upon the Rock, but they forgot to fortify that relationship. Moses named the place Massah and Meribah because the children of Israel “tempted the Lord, saying, Is the Lord among us, or not?”

 

We may succumb to that sense of entitlement because we built our house on the Rock. Ironically, because we build on the rock, we are “entitled” to so many of the Lord’s blessings! Building on the Rock is just the beginning. We need to keep calling on the Rock, drawing upon the Rock, looking for sustenance from the Rock.

 

In his case, Moses drew living water from the rock. In our case, the Lord offered a profound promise. “There are many who observe not to keep my commandments. But unto him that keepeth my commandments I will give the mysteries of my kingdom, and the same shall be in him a well of living water, springing up unto everlasting life.”

 

Getting Tools From the Rock

 

In 1 Nephi 16:8, Nephi acknowledged the impact of building on the Rock. “And thus my father had fulfilled all the commandments of the Lord which had been given unto him. And also, I, Nephi, had been blessed of the Lord exceedingly.” They kept the commandments and they were blessed.

 

Then the Lord presented Nephi with a curious commandment—build ships to carry his family to the promised land. Nephi wasn’t a shipbuilder, but he presented himself as an eager student. The Lord showed Nephi how to build the ship. But then, Nephi needed to actually build the ship.

 

“And I said: Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me? And it came to pass that the Lord told me whither I should go to find ore, that I might make tools.

 

And it came to pass that I did make tools of the ore which I did molten out of the rock.”

 

Nephi built his house upon the Rock. When he needed something, a tool, to keep the Lord’s commandment, Nephi sought counsel and the Lord instructed Nephi to go to the rock for the resources to make the tools. The Rock provided what Nephi needed. Nephi made the tools and built the ship.

 

Tools are available to us, too. The Lord promised that everyone’s been given at least one spiritual gift, or tool, and we can ask the Lord specifically for others as needed to help us accomplish His commandments.

 

“But ye are commanded in all things to ask of God, who giveth liberally; and that which the Spirit testifies unto you even so I would that ye should do in all holiness of heart, walking uprightly before me, considering the end of your salvation, doing all things with prayer and thanksgiving…Wherefore, beware lest ye are deceived; and that ye may not be deceived seek ye earnestly the best gifts, always remembering for what they are given;

 

For verily I say unto you, they are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do; that all may be benefited that seek or that ask of me…

 

For all have not every gift given unto them; for there are many gifts, and to every man is given a gift by the Spirit of God. To some is given one, and to some is given another, that all may be profited thereby.”

Getting Light from the Rock

 

The Brother of Jared experienced many amazing miracles. The Lord promised to not “confuse” their language during the Tower of Babel incident. The family left the vicinity and traveled for years and years to various locations, preparing extensively before their exodus, and building barges at least twice along the way to the promised land.

 

The Brother of Jared built his house on the Rock. In their wanderings, “the Lord did go before them, and did talk with them as he stood in a cloud, and gave directions whither they should travel.” The Lord also chastised the Brother of Jared for complacency in the relationship after living four years on the seashore, not needing the Lord to give him constant directions. He repented and sought the word of the Lord who told him the time had come to build barges again to sail to the promised land.

 

Darkness in the barge became an obstacle the Brother of Jared needed to overcome. The Brother of Jared “went forth unto the mount, which they called the mount Shelem, because of its exceeding height, and did molten out of a rock sixteen small stones…and he did carry them in his hands upon the top of the mount, and cried again unto the Lord.”

 

He went to the rock for a light source and the Rock provided the means. His immense faith led him to glorious manifestations seeing things of eternity. As he went to the Rock for light, he gained light for the barges and light for his soul.

 

That same light that guided the Jaredites through the wilderness and through darkness is available to all of us if we prepare ourselves to “comprehend” it.

 

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“For verily I say unto you that I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the light and the life of the world—a light that shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehendeth it not.

 

I came unto mine own, and mine own received me not; but unto as many as received me gave I power to do many miracles, and to become the sons of God; and even unto them that believed on my name gave I power to obtain eternal life.”

 

So build your house upon the Rock. Then remember to continually go to the Rock to drink deeply, work faithfully, and see clearly.