Refuge from the Storm/ How Firm a Foundation (super long but worth it?)

I was asked at the last minute to sub in Primary on Sunday. The lesson was on all the trials that Joseph Smith had to go through to keep the plates safe but that because he did his part the Lord helped him and the plates were kept from the hands of evil men. It was a really great lesson and I think the kids were impressed by all that Joseph went through.
Then during sharing time the chorister taught the kids the fist verse in the hymn- "How Firm a Foundation". She talked about the leaning Tower of Pisa and how because the foundation was "flawed from the beginning" it couldn't stand up straight. She compared it to the foundation of the temple in Salt Lake that was built "so strong that it will endure through the Millennium."
The words to the first verse of "How Firm a Foundation" are;
How Firm a Foundation ye Saints of the Lord, Is laid for your faith in his excellent word!
What more can he say then to you he hath said,- who unto the Savior, who unto the Savior, who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?
The whole time she was talking I kept thinking about a talk I had to give a few years ago. The topic was the Temple as a symbol of our membership and a refuge from the storm.
When I got home I read the rest of the versus to the hymn and it really is about how Heavenly Father protects us from the storms of life. That He will give us what we need. The last verse says;
The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes; That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I'll never, no never, no never forsake

This is going to end up being a HUGE post but I just reread the talk and it goes so well with the messages from the lesson and the Hymn and the things Angie taught about having a firm foundation that I am just going to copy my whole talk here. You might want to make a cup of Hot Cocoa or something this could be a LONG read. I was asked to give this talk during one of the most difficult times of my life- a time when I felt so battered by the storms of life that I didn't feel like I could go on. I truly felt like I had no refuge.

My heart has been full this week, as I have thought about what I might say to you. I have been asked to speak on the Temple as a symbol of our membership and a refuge from the storm. I am so very grateful for this opportunity and as I have prepared and prayed I have felt a great desire to put some things in my life in order and get back on a path that will lead me in the direction I need to and want to go. I know that Heavenly Father loves each one of us, I know that He loves me and He is mindful of the things I need. There have been many times in my life when I have lacked the faith necessary to do all the things that are required of me so that I can enter the House of the Lord and in doing so I have been missing out on the blessings and protection and peace that my Heavenly Father wants me to have. I am so grateful for His tender care and His willingness to continually bless me and guide me despite my weaknesses.
Howard W. Hunter referred to the temple as “The Great Symbol of our Membership”. He said, “I invite the members of the Church to establish the temple of the Lord as the great symbol of their membership and the supernal setting for their most sacred covenants. It would be the deepest desire of my heart to have every member of the Church be temple worthy.” “Let us make the temple, with temple worship and temple covenants and temple marriage, our ultimate earthly goal and the supreme mortal experience.”

Some of the most spiritual experiences of my life have taken place in the temple. I remember clearly the way I felt when I took out my own endowments. I remember feeling the full extent of my membership in the Kingdom. I remember feeling and knowing the sacredness and sanctity of that place as soon as I walked in the doors. I knew in those moments that I was making some of the most sacred and important promises I would ever make in my life.
I have felt the joy of doing the work for those who are not here to do it for themselves and I know the happiness and peace that I have felt while sitting in the celestial room with members of my family or with my friends is only a small measure of what we will feel when we all sit down in Heaven together.
Travis has a little brother who for a short time drifted away from the church. I was not there when he took out his endowments but I did have a chance to go through a session with him a few months later. I remember looking at him from across the celestial room and having an overwhelming feeling of joy come over me. I was so happy to have him there. I gave him a huge hug and with tears in my eyes I whispered in his ear. I am so proud of you. He also unable to hold back the tears whispered back, “ I am proud of you too.”

As I have pondered over the topic of this talk and life has stormed on around me it has been made extremely clear to me that each one of needs a refuge from the storm. The Lord has established his temple as that refuge. In 2 Nephi Chapter 14:5-6 Nephi quotes Isaiah, "And the Lord will create upon every dwelling-place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for upon all the glory of Zion shall be a defense. And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and a covert from storm and from rain"
The following comments on this scripture were taken from an address given by S. Michael Wilcox at a BYU women’s conference. “When the forces of the world bear down on us like a hot summer day and we feel we cannot bear it any longer, the Lord seems to say, ‘Come home. Sit in the shade of my house. Feel the breezes of my Spirit. Be refreshed. Drink from my fountain of truth, and swim in my healing river. Now you can face the heat of the day with greater strength.’
He goes on to say “ As we protect our part of the defensive line in the great battle between good and evil, holding the sword of truth and justice, sometimes it appears as if all the forces of temptation and worldliness are attacking our position. We feel isolated and fear we will be swept away. It is as if the Lord were calling to us, "Come home. Retreat into the safety of my house of refuge. Put your sword down. There are no battles to be fought in my house. No enemy penetrates these walls. See in panoramic vision the great battle for the souls of men. Receive instruction on how to hold firm even when others give way. Understand the adversary’s strategy. Be comforted in the knowledge that it was foretold in the Garden of Eden that Lucifer would be crushed. Now, you can Return to the battle front with greater courage and swing your sword confident of ultimate victory."
When the forces of life beat upon you like a mighty storm, when the flood waters of trial or the pelting hail of day-to-day irritations leave you cold, discouraged, and looking for shelter, the Lord seems to whisper, "Come home. No stinging hail penetrates the shingles of my house. The flood waters cannot sweep away its foundations. No worldly wind can chill your spirit here. Sit by my hearth and listen to my truths. Feast at my table. Be warmed by the love of your Eternal Father.”

I am so extremely grateful for these inspired words and as I read them I felt like they were a personal invitation to me and to each of you from Heavenly Father to come home. Come to the temple and receive strength, courage and the warmth of Heavenly Fathers love. Prepare yourself to enter the Temple if you have never been before. If you are like me and have somehow gotten off the path, fight for your way back so that you can again experience the peace and refuge of the Temple, and if you are like many who just can’t seem to find the time for temple worship make it a priority.

Brother Wilcox speaks of the parable of the feast " The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith that He would prepare a feast of the finest things, "yea, a supper of the house of the Lord, well prepared, unto which all nations shall be invited" (D&C 58:9). The feast of the temple consists of the richest doctrines, the most nourishing truths, the most life-sustaining covenants and ordinances. During his earthly ministry, Jesus spoke of this feast in a parable:
A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled" (Luke 14:16–20, 23).”
Brother Wilcox goes on to say, “Sometimes our lives become so busy that we realize it’s been quite some time since we’ve been to the temple. We know the feast is waiting, and we sense our need for its spiritual nourishment, but there is ground to see and oxen to prove and we ask to be excused. Yet the parable testifies that the Lord truly desires that his house be filled.”

It is my prayer that each one of us will strive to fill the house of the Lord. They we will go and partake of the feast and realize the full extent of our membership in the Kingdom of God. I hope that we will each receive the rest and shelter from the storm that is so necessary and that we will feel the love of our Heavenly Father. I am so grateful for a kind and loving Heavenly Father, who through his prophet has made temple worship accessible for all those who are worthy, I am so grateful for that wonderful blessing. In ancient Israel only one man, the high priest, and a descendant of Aaron, could pass through the veil of the temple and only once a year. Now we can pass through that veil and into the most holy place in the temple as often as we wish. There used to be travel restrictions on temple worship. When the church was first established and for many years there were only a handful of temples scattered around the world. Many people in this chapel can probably remember when Salt Lake was nearest temple. The Washington DC temple was dedicated in 1974 and that was the nearest temple for almost thirty years. Now there are hundreds of temples throughout the world and we have a one in our own backyard. This church is true. Jesus is the Christ and we have a loving Heavenly Father who wants us to come home. The temple is the Great Symbol of our Membership. It is a refuge and a protection and should be our ultimate earthly goal.

Real quickly I just wanted to tie this all together. We have to do our part and the Lord will do his. We have to work to build our foundation so strong it can stand through the storms of life. Heavenly Father cannot forsake us we we are leaning on Jesus Christ. He will be there to give us refuge. The Temple is a place of refuge from the storm. THE GOSPEL IS TRUE!!!!
If you finished reading this you are pretty cool!