Building on s strong foundation

Last weekend my church had stake conference. A stake is about 10 separate wards, so all those wards got together and held a special conference that happens twice a year. We have bishops over each of the wards and 2 counselors, then the stake also has a president with his 2 counselors. Anyway last weekend one of the men were speaking and brought up a song that we liked to sing when we were younger... (the scripture reference is Matthew 7:24-27; Luke 6:46-49)

The Wise Man and the Foolish Man 

1. The wise man built his house upon the Rock,
   The wise man built his house upon the Rock,
   The wise man built his house upon the Rock,
   And the rains came tumbling down.
   The rains came down and the floods came up,
   The rains came down and the floods came up,
   The rains came down and the floods came up,
   But the house on the Rock stood still. 
2. The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
   The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
   The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
   And the rains came tumbling down.
   The rains came down and the floods came up,
   The rains came down and the floods came up,
   The rains came down and the floods came up,
   And the house on the sand washed away 

 I feel like at church we talk a lot about making sure that we are building our foundations on sturdy ground and making sure that our foundations are strong. If we have those strong foundations that like in the song we can stand still when the storms of life come.

So far up to now it has been merely an introduction to what was talked about at stake conference. (I honestly cannot remember who spoke about this so I am just referring to him as he or the man!) He spoke about a topic that is very quick to gain my attention and listen carefully. He spoke of the tragic day of 9/11 and of the twin towers. Now these towers were built on a very strong foundation and built to withhold weather and the environment....so what happened? We are taught that if we have a strong foundation we will stand still and we will not be washed away. Well think about for a minute why the towers fell.....there was something inside of them that was not supposed to be there..(that would be the planes in case you didn't know.) As strong as that foundation was, once there was something inside that was so destructive, they had a hard time standing a chance.

This of course turned into an analogy for our lives. We find ourselves going to church and doing so many things good so that we can build a strong foundation. But what if we slip just once and let something inside of us that doesn't belong, no matter how strong our foundation, there is a chance to still come crumbling down. I know this sound dramatic, but think of just one example of the use of pornography. You can be doing all the right things and be such an amazing, spiritual person who is this rock. Then one day someone shows it to you or you stumble upon it and you get hooked. I have known people who change because of it, and whose lives all of a sudden fall apart because of it. It is something that is inside that shouldn't be there and even though you built a strong foundation, sometimes it cannot hold up against those outside forces.