“Stones of Preparation, Planning, and Perseverance,” Liahona, Aug. 2022.
Stones of Preparation, Planning, and Perseverance
As you chart your future, build your foundation on the most important stone—the Savior Jesus Christ.
Preparation
You probably know the story of David and Goliath. Goliath was a large warrior who represented the Philistines. David was a young sheepherder who stood for Israel. David knew that God was on his side. He was not afraid to fight Goliath, because Goliath defied the armies of the living God.
To prepare for the ensuing battle, David chose five smooth stones out of a brook and put them in his shepherd’s bag. He then went to meet Goliath in battle. It was not a long battle. David was able to kill Goliath with just one stone. (See 1 Samuel 17:40–50.)
If David knew that God was on his side and that he needed only one stone, why did he go through the trouble of choosing five stones? According to the scriptural account, David was confident. He told Goliath, “The battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands” (1 Samuel 17:47). Did David waste his time looking for five stones? Did he not have enough faith?
The lesson I learned from this story is that we must prepare well for our future. We may not be able to change what is coming, but we can choose how we prepare for what is coming. As you equip yourself for your uncertain future career, your unforeseen challenges, and your uncharted future life, you may use only one stone, or you may need five stones. Trust the Lord and prepare well for what you will face in your future.
Planning
In the book of Ether, we learn about the journey of the brother of Jared and his family and friends as they made their way to the promised land. After they reached the seashore, they dwelt in tents for four years.
“At the end of four years … the Lord came again unto the brother of Jared, and stood in a cloud and talked with him. And for the space of three hours did the Lord talk with the brother of Jared, and chastened him because he remembered not to call upon the name of the Lord” (Ether 2:14).
The brother of Jared repented of the evil he had done, and God forgave him and counseled him not to sin anymore. God also promised that He would take the people to “a land choice above all other lands” for their inheritance (Ether 2:15).
The Lord then instructed the brother of Jared to build barges. When the brother of Jared finished, he asked the Lord for assistance. He wanted to know how his people would be able to breathe in the barges (see Ether 2:19).
The Lord was merciful, answering, “Behold, thou shalt make a hole in the top, and also in the bottom; and when thou shalt suffer for air thou shalt unstop the hole and receive air. And if it be so that the water come in upon thee, behold, ye shall stop the hole, that ye may not perish in the flood” (Ether 2:20).
That was not too complex.
Then the brother of Jared asked, “Behold, O Lord, wilt thou suffer that we shall cross this great water in darkness?” (Ether 2:22).
This time the Lord helped the brother of Jared to be self-reliant in identifying a solution. “What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels? For behold, ye cannot have windows, for they will be dashed in pieces; neither shall ye take fire with you” (Ether 2:23; see also verses 24–25).
Understanding the situation, the brother of Jared sought a solution that would work best given the circumstances his people would face while crossing the “great deep” (Ether 2:25).
The brother of Jared decided to “molten out of a rock sixteen small stones; and they were white and clear, even as transparent glass; and he did carry them in his hands upon the top of the mount, and cried again unto the Lord” (Ether 3:1).
Brother of Jared Seeing the Finger of the Lord, by Arnold Friberg
He asked God to touch the stones with His finger and prepare them that they might “shine forth in darkness.” God did as the brother of Jared requested, and the brother of Jared put the sixteen stones into eight barges, one in each end, and “they did give light unto the vessels.” (See Ether 3:4–6; 6:2.)
Compare this experience to planning for your future. Each day you are learning and plotting the course for your future. Whether that means educational pursuits, career decisions, or family plans, the Lord can provide you with guidance. Being married for eternity and starting a family are part of the path leading to the promised land of exaltation. The Lord is especially interested in the course you are taking to get there.
Just as the Lord helped the Jaredites by touching the stones, He can provide you with light to help you see through times of decision, darkness, and doubt. Receiving the Lord’s guidance through the Spirit is like being touched by the finger of God and receiving power and spiritual light to guide your family to the promised land.
Perseverance
The last important stone I want to mention is recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 50:44: “Wherefore, I am in your midst, and I am the good shepherd, and the stone of Israel. He that buildeth upon this rock shall never fall.”
Jesus Christ taught his disciples about a wise man and a foolish man, as recorded in Matthew 7. Each man wanted to provide his family with a safe and comfortable home, and each faced the same challenge: “The rains came down, and the floods came up.”1
The difference, however, is that the wise man built his house upon a rock and the house stood still, whereas the foolish man built his house upon the sand and his house washed away. Ultimately and eternally, our foundation matters. 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 a promise from God! If we build our foundation upon Jesus Christ, we cannot fall!
As you continue to chart your future, consider these 22 stones: five stones of preparation, as evidenced by David; sixteen stones of planning, as illustrated by the brother of Jared; and the most important stone—our foundation stone, our rock—the Savior, Jesus Christ.
Our entire lives should be filled with the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel of Jesus Christ is not just part of our life; our life, rather, is part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Think about it. Our mortal life is part of the whole plan of salvation and exaltation.
God is our Heavenly Father. He loves all of us. He knows our potential much 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.”2
I testify that Jesus Christ will come again, but this time He will come in great glory and majesty. I hope we will be prepared to receive Him.
Until then, please “trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6).
From a devotional address, “22 Stones,” delivered at Brigham Young University–Idaho, on April 27, 2021.