Flood

Recently in the Bigfork area, a lot of people have been concerned with flooding.  Flood preparation has been on a lot of people's minds and the community has had some meetings to discuss how to help prevent and protect before it's too late.  Elder Wells and I have been involved in helping by filling sandbags.  As we were helping out I couldn't help but think of the following scriptures in the New Testament:

Matthew 7:24-29:

"Therefore 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."

Jesus is saying that we need to hear and do the things that he has asked us to do.  If we do, we have a solid foundation that won't fall when the storms of life come.  If we don't, then we have no such promise and we will crumble under pressure.  We also show our love for the Savior by keeping His commandments and serving other people(John 14:15).

Another great scripture that explains what the rock is, is found in Helaman 5:12, which says: "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 testify that if our foundation is on Christ and we do what he asks of us, we cannot fall.  Even when the storms of life come down on us and we have no one to rely on, we still have Him.  He is always there for us and we can trust Him.  Whenever I've experienced difficult times in my life, I've found that the scriptures and prayer help me get through it.  Let us prepare ourselves spiritually now, so we don't have to worry when the floods come.

A Christ-Centered Christmas

Our mission president has recently asked us to study the over 18 pages of references to our Saviour Jesus Christ in anticipation of our upcoming zone conference.  It has been great to have time to study about the Redeemer of the world as we approach this Christmas season.  Most recently I have looked up the different verses that talk about the coming of Christ and there are a lot of them.  Here is what I have found:

-Jesus Christ is the bread of life and this was shown as early as in the days of Moses with the Manna that was fed to the Children of Israel.  This is found in Exodus 16:11-15 as well as in John 6:48-58.

-Jesus Christ is the Rock of our Salvation as well as the living water.  When Moses smote the rock in the wilderness this was symbolic of when Christ was beaten.  Jesus also provides us of the living water that "springs up into everlasting life."  This is found in Exodus 17:5-6 as well as in 1 Corinthians 10:1-4.

-Just as Moses lifted up the brazen serpent, Jesus Christ was to be lifted up on the cross to bear the sins of the world.  This is one of the most symbolic references and is applied in a lot of scriptures and other church material.  In this month's (December 2010: Modern-day Fiery Serpents) issue of the Ensign it talks about the modern day serpents that plague our world.  All we have to do is look to Christ in these perilous times to find the answer to our concerns.  Having faith in Christ and his Atonement and truly repenting of our sins is the only way we are able to overcome spiritual death.  I also like how this is referenced in John 3:14-17 as I had never made that connection before.  

I am so blessed in my life to have the knowledge of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ.  This knowledge has given me hope in my life as well as a willingness to always improve myself so that I can one day return with honor to live with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as well as my family.  I love the work that I am involved in and love the people of Montana and Wyoming.