Life Rocks!

Firm as the mountains around us,
Stalwart and brave we stand
On the rock our fathers planted
For us in this goodly land.
—“Carry On,” Hymns, no. 255

Okay, we’re done! Book over. We’ve got it all figured out. Easy, Peezy, Lemon Squeezy.

Since we’re built on a firm foundation, life is just going to be a breeze. Right?

Wrong.

Storm’s a brewin’. Life is never easy. But it’s easier when you build on the rock. The storms are coming no matter where we build. Jesus explained it like this:

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)

So whether you build on the rock or the sand, whether you’re wise or foolish, three things are forecast to happen:

• rains will descend

• floods will come

• winds will blow

One hundred percent chance of bad weather. Rains, floods, and winds will beat on your house.

But they won’t beat you!

In fact, Helaman says they’ll have “no power” over you:

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. (Helaman 5:12)

“Looks like an increased chance of shafts in the whirlwind by this evening, with hail and mighty storms beating upon us throughout the weekend.”

This earth is enemy territory, and we are in the last days. You will not be bored. It’s going to get interesting, and you have been reserved to come forth now, when the storms will be at their worst. President Ezra Taft Benson must have had you in mind when he said:

God has saved for the final inning some of his strongest children, who will help bear off the Kingdom triumphantly. And that is where you come in, for you are the generation that must be prepared to meet your God.

All through the ages the prophets have looked down through the corridors of time to our day. Billions of the deceased and those yet to be born have their eyes on us. Make no mistake about it—you are a marked generation. There has never been more expected of the faithful in such a short period of time as there is of us. Never before on the face of this earth have the forces of evil and the forces of good been as well organized. Now is the great day of the devil’s power, with the greatest mass murderers of all time living among us. But now is also the great day of the Lord’s power, with the greatest number ever of priesthood holders on the earth. And the showdown is fast approaching. (“In His Steps,” 1)

I once attended a youth testimony meeting where a teenage girl addressed the group with enthusiasm and power: “You guys, we can do this. We can be strong!” She was right. We are in this together, and we can do it, because the Lord has given us a firm foundation to build upon.

I feel as though I’ve been talking to you for an hour or two, but I haven’t been able to listen. That’s what makes the author-reader relationship a little strange. Maybe they’ll develop a new kind of “book app” where we can talk back and forth, but until then, keep doing remarkable things. Keep going to seminary, keep going to church, and keep speaking in church. You know who you are; you know who God is. You know whose you are, and you have taken His name upon you. You know what you believe and where you are going, and you know who your brothers and sisters are. With that foundation, you won’t just survive, you’ll thrive.

Good luck with all the storms that come your way. We may never meet in this life, but if we do, I hope you’ll shake my hand, look me in the eye, and say, “Life Rocks!”

 

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