Upon This Rock

At the climax of His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ gave this counsel: “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.” (Matt. 7:24–27.)

My children love to go to the beach. During the warmer months of the year we spent considerable time at Port Kembla, our favourite beach. We enjoy playing games and swimming, and the girls are particularly fond of building in the sand. Typically we create a fortress. We begin to dig a hole at a point along the shoreline where the waves can just reach. As we dig the hole, we pile sand in front of it to act as a protective “breakwall” to keep the water out.

As we dig we watch for incoming waves. Those waves have varying levels of impact depending on the strength of the foundations of the breakwall. When the foundations are solid, thick, and all encompassing, the waves have little effect on the wall. When the wall is too thin, short, or when it fails to surround our hole, the water washes over it and destroys our efforts.

Interestingly, when we build a solid wall it still only lasts for a limited time. Incessant destructive efforts from the ocean eventually cause it to crumble without our ongoing work to solidify and build and strengthen the foundations of that wall.

When the Saviour spoke of building a house, he was metaphorically describing the lives we build.

It is within our power to build a house of faith, a house of righteousness, a house of salvation. We can build a happy home, full of joy and love. But to do so, when so much of life’s adversity attempts to wash over us, requires us to build upon a Sure Foundation.

So what is the rock – the sure foundation – that we should build our homes, and lives upon?

That foundation, that Rock, was identified by the Lord Himself as he spoke with His disciples. He questioned them, asking who men say that he, the Son of Man, is. (See Matt. 16:13.)

The disciples responded by stating that some say He is the Baptist whom, it was claimed, had risen from the dead. He was also being touted as Elias who should restore all things; or Elijah who should come before the great and dreadful day; or Jeremiah, of whom it was also falsely claimed would prepare the way for the Messiah.

Then Jesus asks a far more important question.

“But whom say ye that I am?” (Matt. 16:15.)

The question is more important because it cuts to the heart of the matter. It’s interesting to know what others are saying and thinking, but what do YOU think?

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all answer as Simon Peter. I imagine him leaping to his feet and without the slightest hesitation exclaiming: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matt. 16:16.)

The critical lesson in this interaction comes from the Lord, following Peter’s assertion. “Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona.” (Matt. 16:17.) Why is Peter so blessed? “For flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.”

It is not because Peter has witnessed miracles. He has witnessed the blind receive their sight, lepers made whole, the deaf hear, the mute talk, even the dead raised. But this is not how he knows who Jesus is. There were thousands who also saw what Peter saw, and they failed to accept Jesus as the Son of God and Saviour of the world. It is because he knows by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Lord; the Holy Spirit has confirmed the divine Sonship of this Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus continues, and this is the critical point in my talk today, by stating: “And upon this rock”—the rock of revelation—“I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Matt. 16:18.) REVELATION MEANS TO MAKE KNOWN, OR UNCOVER.

This is a critical issue. I am what some might call an “academic”, at least in training. I balk at that suggestion, but ultimately I guess I fall loosely into the category of scholar. At the very least I am a scientific researcher. Science is held up in our community by some as the source, the gold standard, of all truth.

Yet the Lord does not say, “Upon the rock of science and empiricism will I build my church.” He doesn’t state that if we do enough studies, or investigate the galaxies, or the cells of the body, that we will find Truth. His statement is that the rock of revelation will lead us to Truth. It should be our foundation. He also promises that the gates of hell shall not prevail against that Rock.

Having established what the Rock is that we should be using as our foundation, I wish to use the remainder of our time to discuss how our church is build upon the Rock of Revelation, and how our lives, likewise can be built upon the sure foundation.

The Church

At the time of Joseph Smith, there were two dominant views of Christianity. The Catholic view, and the Protestant view. These religious parties, and those that flowed from them, essentially agreed on certain characteristics of God and what He was like.

Trinity: Father, Son, & HG of the same substance.
He can be our father by adoption—if we accept Him.
He made us out of nothing. No pre-earth existence.
He is different in kind from us.
He is unknowable, a mystery. To know Him is to diminish Him.

One of the greatest revelations in the history of the world, and certainly in the past couple of thousand years is one upon which our Church builds its foundation. Joseph Smith, aged 14, was confused by the creeds of religions in his hometown. Creeds that explained God just as I did a moment ago. After study, pondering, and seeking answers, Joseph Smith sought to know more – from God, through prayer.

In answer to Joseph’s inspired prayer, revelation came. Knowledge, Truth, and Light were made known; uncovered, as it were. Joseph spoke, in person, with God our Heavenly Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ. What was revealed? How does it compare with the philosophies of men adopted over the past centuries?

Three separate and real Beings (physical)
He is our literal Father.
He begat our spirits. We have always lived - with Him!
We are like Him and can become more like Him.
He is our Father, Friend, Advocate
Our first duty is to know God & His character. To know Him is to be changed by Him.

Our church is built on revelation – making things known and uncovered

Common Christian views of how God leads people include:

Catholics: Through the Pope and through the debate and politicking of early councils
Protestants: Through the Bible
Protestants: Through the body of believers

The LDS view is somewhat different.

Through a living prophet (Amos 3:7)
Through the Bible and additional revelation (unlimited!)
Through message of HG in mind and heart

Our Own Lives

I will briefly highlight three ways: Obedience, reading the scriptures, and prayer.

Personal Righteousness… we must be worthy if we are to receive revelation from God. It comes from His Holy Spirit, and the Spirit does not dwell in unclean temples.

Reading the Scriptures… We are commanded to “feast upon the words of Christ, for the words of Christ will tell [us] all things [we] should do” (2 Ne. 32:3). As we obtain the words of the Lord, we receive revelations. Things are uncovered. We are made aware of His will.

Prayer... Our scriptures abound with endless examples of revelations which come to us from our Father because of faithful prayers, and righteous desires. Sections 8 and 9 identify keys we don’t have time to discuss here and now to help us comprehend the revelations we receive. Miracles are manifest, we are recipients of revelation, as we live worthy lives, study, and pray.

Elder Eyring, in a superb address on Faith in October Conference, 2005, added that when we have done these things we could sit back and say that we have built a strong foundation, upon the Rock. We might say “I have done well, and created a strong foundation “by starting early and being steady in obedience. I will store it away against the times when I will be tested in storms.” However, this may be unwise because “faith has a short shelf life.” Just like the foundations of the sand fortress we built on the beach. Instead, he counsels, we will do well if we persist in strengthening that foundation, and “Go back and drink deeply and often” from the sources of strength.

Helaman counseled his sons, Nephi and Lehi, to “remember that it is upon the Rock of our Redeemer that we must build our foundation.” This can only be done when revelation confirms that He is our Redeemer.

My life is blessed, and my foundation strengthened as I reflect and acknowledge the revelations, answers to prayers, that I have experienced. They help me know that God hears our prayers and reveals truth to help His children.

I testify that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is built upon the Rock of Revelation in accordance with Jesus’ instruction to His disciples, with a living prophet receiving revelation from our Head, Jesus Christ, in steering our course. Joseph Smith received a great revelation to commence the complete restoration of Christ’s Gospel to the earth. And I witness that I have received revelation through the Holy Ghost, that God lives, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and my Saviour and Redeemer, and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is His Church, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.