Build upon My Rock

By Laurel Rohlfing

And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent (John 17:3).

Have you ever gone to the seashore and built a house out of sand? It’s fun to mold and shape, but sooner or later, the waves of water creep closer and closer and wash it away.

If you were going to build a real house to live in, you’d want to build it on a firm foundation of rock or cement so that when the wind blew, the rain fell, or a flood came, the house would hold fast and you would be protected and safe.

Many times in the scriptures, gaining a testimony is compared with building a house upon a rock. A testimony’s foundation of rock is the gospel of Jesus Christ. In Doctrine and Covenants 11:24 [D&C 11:24], it says: “Build upon my rock, which is my gospel.” To build your testimony upon the rock of the gospel, you must believe in Jesus Christ, repent, be baptized, and receive the Holy Ghost. You should also pray always, attend church, take the sacrament, and keep the commandments. (See 3 Ne. 11:38–40; 3 Ne. 18:1–15.) Then you will be strong and choose the right when you are tempted to do something wrong.

All of you will have problems or experiences that test your beliefs. These are like the rains, floods, and storms that can beat upon a house. If you have not built your testimony upon the rock of the gospel, when problems or temptations come, you might decide to give up, and, just like a house built upon the sand, your testimony might be destroyed.

In 3 Nephi 14:24–27 [3 Ne. 14:24–27] we read: “Therefore, whoso heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who 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, who 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.”

Instructions

To remind you to build your testimony upon the rock of the gospel, mount the picture strips and screen on heavy paper. Cut the pictures into vertical strips, glue them together along the ends, as indicated. Cut out the screen and carefully cut slits along the dotted lines. Thread the strips through the slits of the screen. As you pull each picture through the screen, sing or say the words of “The Wise Man and the Foolish Man” (See Children’s Songbook, page 281, or Activity Songs and Verses, page 36).

1. The wise man built his house upon the rock,

2. The wise man built his house upon the rock,

3. The wise man built his house upon the rock,

4. And the rains came tumbling down.

5. The rains came down, and the floods came up,

6. The rains came down, and the floods came up,

7. The rains came down, and the floods came up,

8. And the house on the rock stood still.

9. The foolish man built his house upon the sand,

10. The foolish man built his house upon the sand,

11. The foolish man built his house upon the sand,

12. And the rains came tumbling down.

13. The rains came down, and the floods came up,

14. The rains came down, and the floods came up,

15. The rains came down, and the floods came up,

16. And the house on the sand washed away.

Sharing Time Ideas

Have children share experiences about how their testimonies have helped them choose the right. They could record them in a journal or draw a picture about them. Some events could be dramatized. You might keep a record of these for use in the 1991 Children’s Sacrament Meeting Presentation.
Using the Topical Guide, have the older children look up “Rock” and find as many references as they can about building upon the rock. You could divide into groups and have each group find references in a different standard work.
Demonstrate how a house on a rock remains standing. Make two simple houses out of lightweight cardboard. In a large dishpan, put one house on a pile of sand and securely tape the other house to a rock. Pour a “flood” of water into the pan and show that the water will wash away the sand but that the house on the rock will be safe.
Label rocks of building blocks with ways to build your testimony. Place around the room and have the children find them. Discuss why each is important.
Sing the song “The Wise Man and the Foolish Man” (Children’s Songbook, page 281), using the actions suggested.
Have the children draw their own pictures to illustrate the song, tape together, and show in a roller box. (See Primary Sharing Time Resource Manual, page 29.)

Illustrated by Shauna Mooney