Elder Russell M. Nelson
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Buildings and lives both need firm foundations. The temple in Mexico City, built over a watery foundation, had 221 large reinforced concrete pillars driven more than 100 feet deep into the ground. Bands of steel were anchored onto them to adjust if necessary to keep the building level.
"This church stands on a unique foundation anchored to a bedrock of timeless truth. . . . The holy cause in which we are engaged did not begin in 1820 in the state of New York. It did not begin in Bethlehem. It did not begin in the Garden of Eden. The underpinnings of the everlasting gospel were in place even before the world was."
Central to the plan of salvation was "the Atonement of Jesus Christ. . . . He was foreordained by his Father to atone for our sins and break the bands of physical and spiritual death."
"Just as buildings and institutions have foundations, so do we as individuals. . . . Even firm foundations cannot prevent life's problems. Wayward children cause parents to grieve. Some broken families don't get fixed. Gender orientation is poorly understood. Married couples, for whatever reason, may not be blessed with children . . .
"Though we don't know all things, we know that God lives and that he loves us. Standing on that firm foundation, we can reach up and find strength to endure the heavy burdens of life.
"The foundation of this church was forged long before the world was. It is strong . . . faith, if anchored firmly to eternal truth, allows each of us to reach upward with an eternal perspective."
