The headwaters of the Columbia River begin deep in the Canadian Rockies in British Columbia. The river runs north and then cuts back south and flows into and through Washington State. At more than 1,200 miles long, it is the fourth largest river in the United States and the largest in North America that empties into the Pacific Ocean.

The Columbia River is one of the most important waterways in the United States in terms of shipping and commerce. Forty-million tons of cargo, whose value is in excess of $43 million dollars, travel the river annually. It is the third-largest automobile import hub in the United States.

But as important and valuable as this waterway is to the country, as harbors go, it is one of the most dangerous in the world.

For as the river meets the ocean, the river's mighty current collides with ocean swells. Winter storms whip the sea into a ship-hungry maelstrom that long ago earned this patch of water the nickname, "Graveyard of the Pacific."

In early times, a local Chinook Indian chief would paddle a canoe out to guide ships across the shallow sand bar — called the Columbia River Bar — in exchange for axes, blankets and fishhooks. Then in 1846, the Columbia River Bar Pilots organization was formed in Astoria, Ore., to help vessels coming and going from this river's mouth to avoid a number of things: strong currents, rough seas, and many areas of shallow sand bars.

In all, roughly 2,000 vessels and 700 souls have been lost on the Columbia River Bar since the 1790s.

In most harbors in our world, harbor pilots board arriving and departing ships and oversee or physically steer the ships in and out of the harbors they know very well, to avoid any possibility of an accident. But the pilots at the mouth of the Columbia River have distinguished themselves by working in the face of what has become known as the "terror of the Columbia River Bar." Like the local Indian chief, the pilots' stock in trade is still their feel for the water. They are drawn from the top ranks of ship captains. Many have more than three decades of sea experience and all carry "unlimited master licenses," which allow them to captain any ship of any kind, anywhere in the world.

We, too, are making an extremely important journey through our mortal existence and will face treacherous times. And, like the ships on the Columbia River we, too, have a guide; the Savior will pilot us through rough waters.

President Thomas S. Monson said in the October 1990 general conference that "permissiveness, immorality, pornography, and the power of peer pressure cause many to be tossed about on a sea of sin and crushed on the jagged reefs of lost opportunities, forfeited blessings and shattered dreams.

"Anxiously you ask, 'Is there a way to safety? Can someone guide me? Is there an escape from threatened destruction?' The answer is a resounding yes! I counsel you: Look to the lighthouse of the Lord. There is no fog so dense, no night so dark, no gale so strong, no mariner so lost but what its beacon light can rescue. It beckons through the storms of life. It calls, 'This way to safety; this way to home.' The lighthouse of the Lord sends forth signals readily recognized and never failing."

The prophets of God have foreseen the times in which we live. The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come" (2 Timothy 3:1).

President Henry B. Eyring, first counselor in the First Presidency, said in the April 2006 general conference that anyone with eyes to see the signs of the times and ears to hear the words of prophets knows that the peril in the world today is great. "The peril comes from the forces of wickedness. Those forces are increasing. And so it will become harder, not easier, to keep the covenants we must make to live the gospel of Jesus Christ.

"For those of us who are concerned about such a future for ourselves and for those we love — in our families, in our quorums, and in our classes — there is hope in the promise the Lord has given us of a place of safety in the storms ahead. Here is a word picture of that place. You have read about it in scripture. It has been repeatedly described by living prophets. A loving father told his sons of it this way as he tried to strengthen them against the storms of temptation: '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 … whereon if men build they cannot fall' " (Helaman 5:12).

The Lighthouse of the Lord sends forth signals readily recognized and never failing. We can all find safety in following the Savior.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve said in the October 2009 general conference that "the encouraging thing, of course, is that our Father in Heaven knows all of these latter-day dangers, these troubles of the heart and soul, and has given counsel and protections regarding them.

"Love. Healing. Help. Hope. The power of Christ to counter all troubles in all times — including the end of times. That is the safe harbor God wants for us in personal or public days of despair."

By following the Savior we, too, can find our way through life's rough waters, just as modern-day Columbia River pilots guide vessels through the rough seas of the Columbia River.

Perhaps no message better summarizes our great need for the Savior's guiding hand than the words to the hymn, "Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me" by Edward Hopper:

Jesus, Savior, pilot me

Over life's tempestuous sea;

Unknown waves before me roll,

Hiding rock and treacherous shoal.

Chart and compass come from Thee:

Jesus, Savior, pilot me.