26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a afoolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that ahouse; and it bfell: and great was the fall of it.
Last week I had a chat with my bishop and something came flying out of my mouth: "Sometimes I start building my house before I have a sure foundation in place, before I even have a whole dug for the footings."
Wow! It was sure an eye opener for me. Many times there are things in life that I do a little backwards and it gets me jumbled up and in places where I need not be in life.
A testimony for example. How can we expect to gain a sure and abiding testimony about the gospel of Jesus Christ if first we haven't created a sure foundation? This foundation is created by scripture study, prayer, and attending church meetings regularly. If we haven't paid the price by doing those small things, how do we then expect ourselves to be "ready" to receive greater things?
I think of it like going to a weight-lifting competition. Competitor A has been training for months, has sacrificed and paid the price to be in shape. Competitor B just showed up the day of the competition and expects that he will be able to win. Competitor B may be able to hang in with Competitor A for a while, but over time his strength will wan and he won't have the stamina to continue lifting heavy loads that are placed on the bar.
Our own spiritual journey is like this. We can run the race for a while, but over time our endurance will wan and we will get tired. There can be no expectation to endure the race if a solid foundation hasn't begun to be put in place. Without a foundation we become as the match that lights and burns for a short moment and then goes out. But the foundation will surround us with other "pieces of wood" that will keep our light burning.
God teaches if we build, "upon the foundation of my gospel and my brock, the cgates of hell shall not prevail against [us]" (D&C 18:5). " And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the arock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your bfoundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty cstorm 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" (Hel. 5:12).
In my mission journal I was writing about this concept and my desire to not only have the spirit in my life, but to have the spiritual experiences. Something quite profound stuck out to me, "You haven't paid the price." Bam! Knowledge is not acquired without some kind of sacrifice, and spiritual experiences are no less the same. A testimony takes work. Joseph Smith Jr. said that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of its people will never have what it takes to get them back to the presence of God.
Are we so arogant to think that because we get baptized a testimony will come and endure forever? We are given the gift of the Holy Ghost, but it is a gift that requires work on our part to keep it. It is a gift we must be workthy of; it is a gift that gets greater the more effort we put into it; it is a gift that will give us more power than anything else in this world can.
"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."
Last week I had a chat with my bishop and something came flying out of my mouth: "Sometimes I start building my house before I have a sure foundation in place, before I even have a whole dug for the footings."
Wow! It was sure an eye opener for me. Many times there are things in life that I do a little backwards and it gets me jumbled up and in places where I need not be in life.
A testimony for example. How can we expect to gain a sure and abiding testimony about the gospel of Jesus Christ if first we haven't created a sure foundation? This foundation is created by scripture study, prayer, and attending church meetings regularly. If we haven't paid the price by doing those small things, how do we then expect ourselves to be "ready" to receive greater things?
I think of it like going to a weight-lifting competition. Competitor A has been training for months, has sacrificed and paid the price to be in shape. Competitor B just showed up the day of the competition and expects that he will be able to win. Competitor B may be able to hang in with Competitor A for a while, but over time his strength will wan and he won't have the stamina to continue lifting heavy loads that are placed on the bar.
Our own spiritual journey is like this. We can run the race for a while, but over time our endurance will wan and we will get tired. There can be no expectation to endure the race if a solid foundation hasn't begun to be put in place. Without a foundation we become as the match that lights and burns for a short moment and then goes out. But the foundation will surround us with other "pieces of wood" that will keep our light burning.
God teaches if we build, "upon the foundation of my gospel and my brock, the cgates of hell shall not prevail against [us]" (D&C 18:5). " And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the arock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your bfoundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty cstorm 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" (Hel. 5:12).
In my mission journal I was writing about this concept and my desire to not only have the spirit in my life, but to have the spiritual experiences. Something quite profound stuck out to me, "You haven't paid the price." Bam! Knowledge is not acquired without some kind of sacrifice, and spiritual experiences are no less the same. A testimony takes work. Joseph Smith Jr. said that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of its people will never have what it takes to get them back to the presence of God.
Are we so arogant to think that because we get baptized a testimony will come and endure forever? We are given the gift of the Holy Ghost, but it is a gift that requires work on our part to keep it. It is a gift we must be workthy of; it is a gift that gets greater the more effort we put into it; it is a gift that will give us more power than anything else in this world can.
"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."
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