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 flood came up.
The rains came down and the flood came up.
The rains came down and the flood came up.
And the house on the rock stood still.
The foolish man built his house upon the sand.
The foolish man built his house upon the sand.
The foolish man built his house upon the sand.
And the rains came tumbling down.
The rains came down and the flood came up.
The rains came down and the flood came up.
The rains came down and the flood came up.
And the house on the sand washed away.
These words carry a simple but cheerful message: a message that is very important to me in my life. The song tells about building our lives upon a rock. What does that’s mean? It means that we need to build our principles and faith on a steady and unshakable foundation - Christ. Every year people are either killed, hurt, or left homeless do to dangerous strong hurricanes - winds and floods that unless you don’t have a retreat, usually mean no chances for a survivor. President once said, we too “are [spiritually] faced with powerful, destructive forces unleashed by the adversary. Waves of sin, wickedness, immorality, degradation, tyranny, deceitfulness, conspiracy, and dishonesty threaten all of us. They come with great power and speed and will destroy us if we are not watchful.” We must base our live on Christ so that we can have a retreat and protection when these types of winds come.
A couple months ago, a couple of my friends and I took a trip down to southern Utah for a weeklong time of excitement, daring challenges, and dangerous but fun adventures. One of the things we did was this backcountry course in Zion’s National Park; where we belayed, climbed, and swam through a tough and dangerous canyon. This one-way canyon was about 6 feet wide and was surrounded by two walls of solid 200 feet rock on both sides of us that got higher and higher the farther you got in; and because there were tons of flash floods through this alley, there was tons of freezing cold water through out, and parts were we couldn’t even find a bottom, which meant holding onto the slippery walls for our lives. One of the scariest things about this trip was some of the belaying we had to do. We had to drop down about 30 feet over a ledge and around a corner to get around some dangerous jumps. As one of friends belayed us, we had to simply just trust that he would get us down safely, because once we started down we couldn’t see him until he himself came down after all of us. The trust that we had to share in one another as we went through this difficult challenge is the same kind of trust we need to have in our savior Jesus Christ. We must have a real faith and trust in him. Adam C. Olson once said, “Sometimes you can’t see him, but you have to trust that he’s there. He’s there to help you. That’s what Christ does for us.”
How do we stay in tune so that Christ can be our foundation? The answer is through obedience to his gospel. We need to follow the commandments and teachings that Christ has given us. Christ is like the person who belays us and obedience to his gospel is the rope; and because we can’t always see him, we need to follow the teachings of the prophets and study the scriptures so that we may know that which he wants us to do. In Helaman 5:12 it says, “remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation…. of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.” It is through faith and diligence to his gospel we can realize the steadiness that a foundation on Christ can be.
Bruce R. McConkie said, “if we build our house of salvation on the rock of personal revelation, if we build it on the revealed reality that Jesus is the Lord, if we build it on him who is the Eternal Rock—it will stand forever. If we are guided by the spirit of inspiration while here in mortality, we will be able to withstand all of the floods and storms that beat upon us. If we are founded upon a rock, we worship the Father in the name of the Son by the power of the Holy Ghost. If we are founded upon a rock, we know that salvation comes by the grace of God to those who believe the gospel and keep the commandments. If we are founded upon a rock, we forsake the world, flee from carnal things, and live upright and godly lives. If we are founded upon a rock, the gates of hell shall not prevail against us. As long as we remain in our house of faith, we shall be preserved when the rains of evil fall, when the winds of false doctrine blow, and when the floods of carnality beat upon us. Just as the wise man we will stand strong when the winds come down upon us as long as we stay built on the rock.
Every morning and night I kneel in prayer and thank the Lord for the blessing and opportunity I have to build my life on Christ. I can bear witness that as you build your life on Christ, the unmovable foundation, that your life will be better and you will feel closer to our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ, and you will feel his love for you as I have felt it myself. I share these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Sources
* LDS Children’s Song Book – The Wise Man and the Foolish Man
* “The Rock of Our Redeemer,” Ensign, Dec 1996, 65
* Adam C. Olson, “Built on the Rock,” New Era, Jul 2004, 21
* Helaman 5:12 – Book of Mormon
* Bruce R. McConkie, “‘Upon This Rock’,” Ensign, May 1981, 75
11 comments:
I liked the experience you had in Zion's and its application spiritually. Careful of very long quotes; these should not be the bulk of your blog.Also, use the scriptures--you should have at least four as support.
I loved your blog! I really liked how you emphasized that we need to have faith in things that we can't always see and that we MUST build our foundation on Christ. Great job.
nice blog. I liked the experience. Nice strong ending too!
I liked the song at the beginning. It reminds me that simple truths we learn when we are young are always applicable.
I like the quote that said we could stand forever. If we are built on Christ nothing can knock us over! Thank you!
I like how you tied in the song to your spiritual experience. Also, the quote from Alan C. Olson was awesome. I really like that quote.
Ryan I love the personal experience you shared! I love rock climbing too so I could really relate you your comparison. I thought you shared your feeling well though your writing and appreciate your testimony.
I loved your testimony and the experience you shared. It is so true we have to have trust and build upon Christ in our lives! Thank you for your blog.
Great blog Ryan. I really liked the physical experience of rock climbing you used; it helps us visually see what we need to do spiritually in order to build upon Christ. I also liked the power of your words that we can never fall when we build on His Rock; that was a great reassurance.
I LOVE how you started with the primary song! That was my favorite song in Primary, and it really drew me into reading the rest of your blog.
Your relation to belaying was perfect to the kindof trust we must put in our Heavenly Father. Even though we can't see Him, we need to trust He is there. Thank you for your testimony.
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