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.
I have had the experience of grieving for several people in my life who have chosen to leave the Church. In fact, I have had the experience of going through my own period of doubt and uncertainty and personal apostasy. It has taken me these experiences to really come to terms with the idea that the path of discipleship is not easy. It was not meant to be easy. It will never be easy.
Helaman makes it clear in his admonition to his sons that they will experience profound adversities, that the "mighty storm [of the devil] shall beat upon you" and that absolutely nothing will preserve them from his grasp except being built upon the foundation of Christ.
I am uncertain why this level of intense, sustained adversity escaped my expectation before. But I now know that it is only when we have faithfully passed through the temptations and adversities of the devil that we can truly be called disciples of Christ. If we are to follow Christ, we must pass through our own set of personalized trials, as he passed through His.
Thankfully we will not be subject to the same depth and breadth as He was, but we will be asked to endure everything of which we are physically, emotionally, and spiritually able, knowing all the while that we will not be tested above our personal threshold (Alma 13:28 ; 1 Corinthians 10:13).
Satan has been called "the prince of this world."
“So powerful was he in the Master’s day that the Master referred to
Satan as ‘the prince of this world,’ but he added, ‘the prince of this
world cometh, and hath nothing in me.’ (John 14:30.)
We must be able to say, though the power is evil on every side, ‘As for
me and my house, we shall serve the God of this land.’ The prince of
this world is coming to tempt every one of us, and the only ones who
will stand through these evil days are those who have founded their
houses upon the rock, as the Master said: when the storms descended and
the winds blew and the rains came and beat upon the house, it fell not
because it was founded upon the rock. That is what the Lord is trying to
say to us today.” (Harold B. Lee in British Area Conference Report, Aug. 1971, p. 135.)
It is an interesting title "the prince of this world." I think sometimes we tend to imagine Satan as a nuisance who pops up and wreaks a little havoc when God is not paying attention. Then when we look around we are surprised and we ask, "How can a just and loving God allow this?"
We are misinformed.
We are here living under "the prince of this world," who, though unlawfully, has the (temporary) power, ability, and motivation to wreak his havoc openly. We are safe from him only to the degree that we align ourselves with the True King of Kings. It is after the trial is over that Satan will be bound and no longer reign upon the earth. Until then, we need to be aware of the very real danger we are in, and seek the appropriate shelter.
We have been blessed though. He has not left us comfortless. Darkness cannot coexist with Light. When we maintain the companionship of the Holy Ghost, we have the strength and guidance to endure. Personal temptations are lessened and made bearable. Our mortal pains and difficulties are put into perspective. We are brought to Christ and made safe though him.
Through the wind and the storm and the hail, we become stronger. We grow and improve. When we come unto Him, we also become like Him, in degrees, here a little, and there a little. We are able to not only endure, but to also become refined and better versions of ourselves.
"The journey of discipleship is not an easy one. It has been called a “course of steady improvement.” As we travel along that strait and narrow path, the Spirit continually challenges us to be better and to climb higher. The Holy Ghost makes an ideal traveling companion. If we are humble and teachable, He will take us by the hand and lead us home." ("What Lack I Yet?", by Elder Lawrence in the October 2015 General Conference)
"The journey of discipleship is not an easy one."
Be wary. Satan also coaxes, flatters, soothes and uses a flaxen cord (2 Nephi 26:22). He impersonates, and he counterfeits. His approaches are many, and though not all of them are loud, they are unrelenting.
Build your foundation in Christ. Only He can keep you and lead you safely home.
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