My brothers and sisters, the commandments of the Lord are not dictums they are principles given by a Merciful Father to keep us and all mankind who will follow him from sin, sorrow, and regret. We talk a good deal these days about security. One of the best formulas of security that I have ever known is given in the words of Helaman in the Book of Mormon:

“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.” (Hel. 5:12.) – Elray L. Christiansen, “Conference Report,” April 1963, Afternoon Meeting, p. 70