Upon the Rock

So I was walking through the Sacred Grove with an investigator this past week when we came across this tree that had fallen down and above is a picture that I took of it. I had heard about it this past fall, but this was the first time I had actually seen it. It fell to the ground October or November when we had a really bad wind storm. I think there is a great lesson we can learn from this tree. It was actually one of the oldest trees in the grove and a "witness tree" as we call them. One of my favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon and one that I have used several times on my mission is Hel 5:12 which reads-  "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." This is a scripture when Helaman is talking to his sons and giving them some advice. I find it so interesting how in the beginning of the verse it says "when" the devil will do all of this. Not if, but when he sends forth his mighty winds. If you think about a foundation and how important it is in a house, a building, and even more in our lives. Without a foundation the house would fall, just as we will if we dont have a sure foundation. That foundation has to be Christ. It promises us in that verse that if we build upon that sure foundation, that rock, who is Christ we cannot fall. Now the interesting part about this tree is if you go up close to it and take a look at it its roots are no longer then six inches long. If you touch them they crumble, which shows us that it had no foundation. For being one of the biggest and strongest trees in the grove without that foundation it coudn't withstand the winds. I know in our lives it is the exact same. If we dont sink our roots deep and build upon that sure foundation we are going to have a tough time when those rough times come and when satan sends forth his winds. But if we build upon Christ and day by day(personal and family prayer, scripture study, repentance)  increase our faith in him WHEN the devil comes forth we can withstand it and he will have no power over us. Let us all do what we can personally to strengthen our faith and to build upon that foundation who is Christ and I promise we can withstand and endure anything.

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