Let's Start at the Very Beginning

As part of my responsibilities in Young Men's, I've made goals in regards to a number of things, including scripture reading. Recently, my focus has been on the New Testament, but as I was praying and preparing for a study session, the spirit reminded me that I need to make time for the Book of Mormon each day as well. With that thought, Helaman 5:12 came to my mind. I began that session by reading and pondering over its words, as I felt as I had been directed.

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 whirldwind, 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.

Particularly, I looked at the word foundation. A foundation is of necessity the beginning of a building: Lehi and Nephi saw the great and spacious building that had no foundation, and understood that it was fated to fall. It may not sound like anything profound to think on the need for the foundation to come first, and yet this simple concept pierced my heart as I thought on it.

Many is the time I have read such scriptures as Matthew 6:33, wherein we are told to seek first the kingdom of God. I suppose I understood the message to some extent - put the things of God first. How curious to suddenly think that perhaps the scripture should be taken literally, that my day should begin with seeking to draw near to God, that my activities should first be consecrated to him in prayer, that my rest should begin with gratitude for those things with which I have been blessed (see most of Alma 34, but especially v. 17-27 and v. 37-38).

I've thought before of the symbolism of Jesus the Christ as the sure rock that we can build upon. Remembering that we are seeking to build something not of this world, but of eternity, we need a foundation that can support an eternally increasing "building". It has to last beyond our eternally significant building here to where we are added upon indefinitely. In other words, the foundation has to be perfect. It has to be able to withstand every pressure. It must last eternally.

I love the words of Jacob, teaching us that the atonement is infinite, and it will allow us to build beyond our corruption to put on incorruption. I love the words of Amulek, who tells us that without an infinite and eternal sacrifice (i.e. the atonement) we are all fallen and lost. Finally, the words of our Saviour as he tells of the Wise Man and the Foolish Man come to mind: the master teacher reminds us that there are only two types of building we can do, and only two possible results. Significantly, the rains, floods, and winds came and afflicted both buildings.

So, I guess the questions I am treasuring up as I strive to change are these: Where did I start building today? Where did I start building for what I am doing now? What do I want to build? Am I building on a foundation that will last into Eternal Life?