So as that man who was once called foolish, begins in earnest to identify how to build on the rock, because surely the engineering is a bit different, I imagine him to be more intentional about connecting each religious demonstration with the Savior. I’d like to think he would study the scriptures and see how Christ is there very consistently in so many relationships. I’d like to think He would seek out the Spirit in His interactions with others and incorporate as many of the Savior’s principles as possible into the footings of this new house.
In a book called the Doctrine and Covenants, Joseph Smith is trying to work out his relationship with the Savior as He tries to restore the original organization and principles taught by Jesus Christ during His life and ministry. As Joseph prays and seeks counsel from God, he receives answers to his prayers, unique to his work, time and circumstances. In one of those answers, the Savior, in the midst of reviewing some signs of His second coming, says that He has never given a law that was only temporal, that all things have a spiritual component (Doctrine & Covenants 29:34). But engrossed as we are in mortal life, sometimes we have to really think about the spiritual aspects of the Savior’s counsel in order to see Him in all that we do. And as we exercise the same patience with ourselves that He offers us, we can begin to see Him manifest in the things He has asked us to offer ourselves and each other. A few weeks ago, a friend of mine suggested that in each small sacrifice throughout our day, in each act where we stretch ourselves or lean into discomfort in behalf of someone else, or really find a moment of success that we acknowledge Jesus Christ and consecrate that goodness to Him. It seems like a pretty good place to start building.