They Cannot Prevail; We Cannot Fall
If we build our foundation on Jesus Christ, we cannot fall!
Our dear prophet, President Russell M. Nelson, said in our last general conference: “During these perilous times of which the Apostle Paul prophesied, Satan is no longer even trying to hide his attacks on God’s plan. Emboldened evil abounds. Therefore, the only way to survive spiritually is to be determined to let God prevail in our lives, to learn to hear His voice, and to use our energy to help gather Israel.”1
As we consider the prophet’s invitation to learn to hear God’s voice, are our hearts determined or hardened? Let us remember the counsel given in Jacob 6:6: “Yea, today, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts; for why will ye die?” Let us be determined to let God prevail in our lives.
How can we let God prevail in our lives and not the adversary? In Doctrine and Covenants 6:34 we read, “Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail.” It is a significant promise. Although earth and hell may combine against us, they cannot prevail if we choose to let God prevail by establishing our lives upon His rock.
Speaking to His disciples, Jesus Christ taught of a wise man and a foolish man, recorded in Matthew chapter 7 of the New Testament. Many of you have heard the Primary song “The Wise Man and the Foolish Man.”2 If you have taken the time to compare the four verses in the song, you will find that verses 1 and 2 are very similar to verses 3 and 4. Both the wise man and the foolish man were building a house. They want to provide their family with a safe and comfortable home. They desire to live happily together forever as a family, just like you and me. The surrounding situation was the same: “The rains came down, and the floods came up.” We sing it six times when we sing that song. The only difference is that the wise man built his house upon the rock and the house stood still, whereas the foolish man built his house upon the sand and his house washed away. Therefore, where our foundation is really matters, and this has a decisive effect on the outcome ultimately and eternally.
I hope and pray that we all will find and stay on the sure foundation as we establish our future life. We are reminded in Helaman 5:12: “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.”
That is the promise from God! If we build our foundation on Jesus Christ, we cannot fall! As we endure faithfully to the end, God will help us establish our lives upon His rock, “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against [us]” (Doctrine and Covenants 10:69). We may not be able to change all of what is coming, but we can choose how we prepare for what is coming.
Some of us may think, “The gospel is good, so we need to put it in our lives, maybe once a week.” Just going to church once a week is not enough to build upon the rock. Our entire lives should be filled with the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is not part of our life, but our life is actually part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Think about it. Is that not true? Our mortal life is only part of the whole plan of salvation and exaltation.
God is our Heavenly Father. He loves all of us. He knows our potential way better than we know ourselves. He knows not only the details of our lives. God knows the details of the details of the details of our lives.
Please follow our living prophet President Nelson’s wise counsel. As recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 21:5–6:
“For his word ye shall receive, as if from mine own mouth, in all patience and faith.
“For by doing these things the gates of hell shall not prevail against you; yea, and the Lord God will disperse the powers of darkness from before you, and cause the heavens to shake for your good, and his name’s glory.”
For that reason, they cannot prevail, and we cannot fall!
I testify to you that Christ will come again a second time as He did the first time, but this time it will be with great glory and majesty. I hope and pray that I will be ready to receive Him, whether on this side of the veil or on the other side. As we celebrate in this wonderful Easter season, I hope, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the power of His Resurrection (see Moroni 7:41), I will be able to go up and meet with my Maker and say, “Thank you.” In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.