Just before Christmas, I was asked to speak in Church and discuss Helaman 5:12 in The Book of Mormon. This is the text of that talk. Enjoy.
Remember the Rock of Our Redeemer
In Helaman chapter five, in The Book of Mormon, the
sons of Helaman, Lehi and Nephi are preparing to preach the gospel to both the
Nephites and the Lamanites. Just as our young men and women are attending their
missionary preparation class and heeding the words of the prophets and local leaders,
Lehi & Nephi, too, reviewed the words of the prophet, their father,
Helaman. The words, which Mormon felt important to include as he abridged The
Book of Mormon for us, are these.
· No other way nor means whereby man can
be saved, only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.
· The Lord surely should come to redeem
his people, from their sins.
· And, especially verse 12 as we are
discussing today.
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
Some VERY important
phrases are in verse twelve, that tell us the why and how:
- We are to Remember the Rock of our Redeemer – that the rock IS our Redeemer, our Savior, Who is Christ, The Son of God
Weekly Sacrament
Meeting
President David O.
McKay said, “I feel impressed to emphasize what the Lord has designated as the
most important meeting in the Church, and that is the sacrament meeting.
Elder Quentin L.
Cook in the April 2010 General Conference stated:
As we ponder what it means to be Christians today, think about what our path of discipleship will require of us. I suggest that we contemplate and in appropriate ways emulate what the Savior did (particularly) in those last two days of His mortal life. …consider the Savior’s introduction of the sacrament. The Savior … introduced the sacred ordinance of the sacrament to His disciples. …Sacrament meeting is the most sacred and holy of all the meetings in the Church. After His Resurrection, the Savior instituted the sacrament among the Nephites.
If we are to be His disciples and to be
committed members of His Church, we must remember and reverence the sacrament.
It allows each of us to express with broken hearts and contrite spirits our
willingness to follow the Savior, to repent, and to become a Saint through the
Atonement of Christ. The sacrament allows us to witness to God that we will
remember His Son and keep His commandments as we renew our baptismal covenant.
This increases our love and appreciation for both the Father and the Son.
We need to remember
the Savior and His sacrifice for us during the passing of the Sacrament. I
would recommend some things to do, as the sacrament is passed, in order to
remember.
- Read the sacrament hymn that was sung.
- Read the scriptures, specifically, reviewing the Gospels, which records Christ’s mortal ministry and His teachings.
- Review His teachings from His ministry after His resurrection to the Nephites.
- Read His modern-day revelations as contained in the Doctrine and Covenants.
Priesthood Power
Several weeks ago,
our local leaders held a special instruction with the
priesthood holders in this ward. That instruction was about Priesthood Power. Through the power of
the priesthood and our own personal righteousness, we can allow the
administration of the sacrament to work for the forgiveness of our sins.
Again referring to
statements in verse twelve of Helaman chapter five, we learn this: That ye must build
your foundation, Because of the rock upon which ye are built, Which is a sure
foundation, A foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."
We need to continue
to carry that reading, study and contemplation further into your lives, at
times other than during the Sacrament and on Sundays. In fact, we should daily
ponder the words of the Savior and His servants. The Lord has revealed some
marvelous tools by which we can do that. So many of us have at our disposal an
MP3 player, or a smartphone, or other similar device. The Lord, through His
church, as given us the technology to have His word with us constantly. We can
listen to conference talks almost continuously. We can use these devices to
view the great videos that the church has produced that remind us of our
discipleship.
Now, we turn finally
again, to verse twelve and it’s statements about Satan, and I emphasize two points.
- 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
Elder Daniel L.
Johnson in our most recent General Conference of October 2012 stated:
Making the covenant to be a disciple of Christ is the beginning of a lifelong process, and the path is not always easy. As we repent of our sins and strive to do what He would have us do and serve our fellowmen as He would serve them, we will inevitably become more like Him. Becoming like Him and being one with Him is the ultimate goal and objective—and essentially the very definition of true discipleship.
He also said:
Becoming as the Savior is not an easy task, especially in the world in which we live. We face obstacles and adversity virtually every day of our lives. There is a reason for this, and it is one of the primary purposes of mortality. As we read in Abraham 3:25, “And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.”
As members of the
church, through that priesthood, the power of God, we are able to call upon the
power of heavens in our lives to protect us and our families. According to the
words that John the Baptist spoke as he restored the Aaronic Priesthood to the
earth, the priesthood that each worthy male holds gives the right of the administering of angels, either as the priesthood holder, or as a person
under the responsibility of that priesthood holder, be it family, home teacher,
or other Priesthood calling.
Again, I refer to
Elder Quentin L. Cook in the April 2010 General Conference:
The Savior also emphasized love and unity and declared that we would be known as His disciples if we have love one to another. That requires … obedience. We manifest our love for God when we keep His commandments and serve His children. How we relate and interact with each other is a measure of our willingness to follow Jesus Christ.
It is becoming
harder and harder today to stand up for Christ; we’re being hit from all sides.
So many individuals or groups want to remove any reference to God or Christ,
which we know and understand is who gave us this great country and the freedoms
we enjoy.
Too many people
today are not just ignoring Christ and Christianity, but are actively removing
His teachings and goodness from not only their lives, but trying to remove it
from ours as well. Every day in the news it seems that there is a new story
about a person or group who is trying to remove a reference to our God from
some location, or song, or statement.
Be Anxiously Engaged
Elder M. Russell
Ballard gave us this final instruction in the October 2012 General Conference:
When our hearts are no longer set upon the things of this world, we will no longer aspire to the honors of men or seek only to gratify our pride (see D&C 121:35–37 ). Rather, we take on the Christlike qualities that Jesus taught.
… I’m simply suggesting that we take the next logical step in our complete conversion to the gospel of Christ by assimilating its doctrines deep within our hearts and our souls so we will act and live consistently—and with integrity—what we profess to believe.
This integrity
simplifies our lives and amplifies our sensitivities to the Spirit and to the
needs of others. It brings joy into our lives and peace to our souls—the kind
of joy and peace that comes to us as we repent of our sins and follow the
Savior by keeping His commandments.
Elder Ballard's talk
was titled “Be Anxiously Engaged” and he tells us a simple process where we can
be thus.
How do we make this change? How do we ingrain this love of Christ into our hearts? There is one simple daily practice that can make a difference for every member of the Church, including you boys and girls, you young men and you young women, you single adults, and you fathers and mothers. That simple practice is: In your morning prayer each new day, ask Heavenly Father to guide you to recognize an opportunity to serve one of His precious children. Then go throughout the day with your heart full of faith and love, looking for someone to help. Stay focused. If you do this, your spiritual sensitivities will be enlarged and you will discover opportunities to serve that you never before realized were possible.
I challenge each of
you to review that talk in full and accept his challenge.
In closing, I’d like
to let us think of this Christmas season and our prophet. At the recent
Christmas devotional, President Thomas S. Monson said,
"I, with you, have witnessed during the past few days and weeks what has become over the years the annual commercialization of Christmas. I am saddened to see Christmas becoming less and less about Christ and more and more about marketing and sales, parties and presents. "And yet, Christmas is what we make of it. Despite all the distractions, we can see to it that Christ is at the center of our celebration. If we have not already done so, we can establish Christmas traditions for ourselves and for our families which will help us capture and keep the spirit of Christmas”
We need to have a
personal relationship with your Savior. Don't expect it to be just Him. You
need to do your part, as in any relationship.
By incorporating some of my personal suggestions and those challenges
and instruction from our prophets and apostles, we can have that relationship.
We can remember the Savior everyday in our lives. We can keep Him where He
keeps us.
I testify that the
atonement of the Savior is real. I have felt of His redeeming love in my life,
both in forgiveness and simply as support as well as physical and spiritual
healing. I leave that testimony with you in His holy name, even Jesus Christ,
amen.
