How to Be Built Upon the Rock

Another really insightful article from the Ensign! I'm so grateful for the insights I've gained from the Ensign. (One of my favorites is from an article about living our lives based around our covenants: "Are you a covenant keeper? Are you living your life by covenant or simply by convenience? ... Pray fervently for the strength to live true to your covenants. This provides spiritual protection.")

"In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Helaman teaches his sons that they must build their spiritual foundation on Jesus Christ in order to withstand the whirlwinds of life (see Helaman 5:12). In the October 2014 general conference, Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught about four spiritual tools that help us build this foundation: prayer, scripture study,family home evening, and temple worship. These four tools help us hearken unto the words of Christ and build our testimonies, lives, and homes “upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God” (Helaman 5:12; see also Matthew 7:24–27).

“When these tools become fundamental habits,” Elder Scott said, “they provide the easiest way to find peace in the challenges of mortality.”1 They help us to withstand the mighty winds of the adversary, so that they have “no power over [us] to drag [us] down to the gulf of misery and endless wo” (Helaman 5:12). As Elder Scott taught, “The more we develop these habits, the more anxious is Satan to harm us but the less is his ability to do so.”2

These essential habits bring us closer to God and help us build on “a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall” (Helaman 5:12). Elder Scott declared, “As we actively come unto [Christ], we can endure every temptation, every heartache, every challenge we face.” Ultimately, as you use these four tools, you will be drawing closer to Christ and “securing your life in the power of [His] Atonement.”"