Remembering Our Rock - Kelli Harline

Imagine this: warriors fighting and throwing spears at the enemy, bodies falling all around and battle cries are heard for miles out. Yet on one side there are no casualties, while the other side suffers defeat and loss of men. The 2000 Stripling Warriors are all safe, none are wounded or killed in battle because of the faith they have in their God. Helaman gave his sons this counsel in Helaman 5:12: "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 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." Because the Stripling Warriors built their foundation upon the rock of our Redeemer, they did not fall. Because they remembered the rock of our Redeemer that they built their foundation, they all withstood the aversary and came off triumphant through the Lord. We can have this same promise if do our part and build our foundation upon that rock, and then remember that foundation constantly. They could not have won that battle unscathed without the Lord, and the same thing applies to us today. No matter how strong our testimony is, we must continually work hard to keep building upon our foundation. Distractions of the world and the difficulty of trials can throw us off track and we can forget the Lord without even knowing it. If we forget the Lord, we may come out of battle wounded or even spiritually killed.

My favorite verses in the hymn, How Firm A Foundation are 4 and 5:

Verse 4: "When through the deep waters I call thee to go,

The rivers of sorrow shall not thee o’erflow,

For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,

And sanctify to thee, and sanctify to thee,

And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress."

Verse 5: "When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,

My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply.

The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design

Thy dross to consume, thy dross to consume,

Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine."
A part of this life is having trials, but by remembering our firm foundation we have built on His rock, we can have His help and comfort during those times. As this song promises, these hard times will refine and strengthen us if we turn to our foundation and let Him help us during those times.

Sometimes we forget the Lord during the hard times because of the difficulty of the trial, or we get so absorbed in trying to solve it we forget to ask the Lord for help. We are allowing ourselves to be wrapped up in Satan's cords when we forget the Lord. 2 Nephi 9:45 says "O, my beloved brethren, turn away from your sins; shake off the chains of him that would bind you fast; come unto that God who is the rock of your salvation." When I see the word 'chains' I automatically think of huge sins like immorality or drug abuse, but really they are applied to any degree. Even the little tiny sins, if added up long enough, can lead to our destruction. I believe one of the worst sins we can commit is letting ourselves get so sucked in and involved in the world that we forget the Lord our God. Even though we may have a strong testimony, sometimes the concerns of the world overbear us and we don't think to turn to the Lord. Our challenge today is to live in the world and to not be of the world, or in other words, remember the foundation upon which we are built, the rock of our Redeemer. If we catch ourselves forgetting the Lord and we are involved with worldly things, we must repent and pray for the companionship of His spirit again. "Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least." - Goethe. By putting the things of the world first, we are forgetting the Lord and we are putting the most important things at the mercy of the least important things. When we are in this state, our lives seem to be out of order, chaotic, frightening, unprogressive and full of sorrow. In contrast, when we remember the rock upon which we are built and have the Lord in our thoughts and hearts, life tends to go a lot smoother and we are a lot happier. Elder John H. Groberg said: "When filled with God's love, we can do and see and understand things that we could not otherwise do or see or understand. Filled with His love, we can endure pain, quell fear, forgive freely, avoid contention, renew strength, and bless and help others in ways surprising even to us." I have noticed the huge difference in the things I can do when I have the love of the Lord in my heart. Our true potential seems limitless when we have the love of God dwelling within us.

A challenge we have in this life is to remember the Lord, and if we should forget Him, it is so vital to our spiritual being that we find our way back and do what it takes to remember our rock upon which we are built. Starting college was one of the hardest times in my life because I felt scared, alone and insecure about everything that was happening. I was so absorbed in stressing out about assignments and tests and living on my own that I forgot the Lord, my Savior. Daily prayer and scripture study was a part of my life, but my heart was focused on the world. I was committing a sin: forgetting the Lord in my heart. I felt like I was frozen and that I wasn't moving anywhere in life, and I was limiting my own potential without the Lord in my life. I was falling prey to the fiery darts of the adversary by worrying about the tall and spacious building on the side of the iron rod. I woke up in the middle of the night one night feeling horrified, sick, alone, and overwhelming despair, when I remembered the scripture D&C 6:34 "Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail." This was the Lord's way of "waking me up", and I remembered the foundation I have built upon on that night. I rededicated myself to not only living the Gospel but having my heart in the right place and focused on the Savior.

When a trial is overcome or when we have found our way again and remembered our rock foundation, we truely want to rejoice and praise the Lord for guiding us and helping us through the times when we could not stand on our own. In 2 Nephi chapter 4, we read that Nephi was feeling remorse, grief and anger, but he prays unto the Lord and goes back to the rock of salvation and that is what gets him through that hard time. After his prayer he is uplifted and edified and he is rejoicing. 2 Nephi 4:30 says: "Rejoice, O my heart, and cry unto the Lord, and say: O Lord, I will praise thee forever; yea, my soul will rejoice in thee, my God, and the rock of my salvation." I know I felt this way when I overcame my "frozen and alone" state! I know that when feelings of being alone, lost, or afraid start to come, I can remember and look to my testimony, my foundation upon the rock and I can be reminded to live through and with Christ, where He can help me through anything that may come my way. Like Nephi and also the Stripling Warriors I hope I can be continually faithful in remembering the foundation upon which I have built and that I can look to my rock, my Redeemer, in tough times as well as good times, that I may overcome my trials and win the battle. May we all remember who it is we are built upon and look to Him through times of strife and happiness, so that our lives will be sweeter because of Him.

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.


Works Cited:
1. Helaman 5:12

2. "How Firm A Foundation" hymn 85 verses 4 and 5, LDS hymnbook

3. 2 Nephi 9:45

4. Elder John H. Groberg, "The Power of God's Love", Ensign, Nov. 2004, 11.

5. D&C 6: 34

6. 2 Nephi 4:30