Old Ship Zion

So this week I saw something very interesting. I go to Truckee Meadows Communiy College, and in the parking lot of the school, I saw a small green car with a bumper sticker that had the thinking man on it with the words, I think, therefore I am an atheist. Wow, I thought. What a clever bumper sticker. I want to see more stickers like that about Christ. A thought came into my mind. Yes, he thinks. Good for him. But I know. So I took a piece of paper out, and wrote, I know, therefore I’m a Christian. Mormon.org. Checkmate!

, we had general conference. Ill, be honest, it is the first one I really listened to. And there were amazing talks! As usual, Elder Holland had an amazing talk on finding the goodness and charities part in our body and realizing that we are all beggars. Elder Klebingat had an awesome talk on strengthen our spiritual confidence. But one that really hit home, was the talk by M Russell Ballard. Stay on the boat and hold on! At the moment all I could think of was the friend this talk could benefit so much! Then, when I listened to it again, I realized I needed it just as much.

What boat am I talking about? Well, he starts off his talk by telling a story of a friend and his son who went on a white water rafting trip down the Colorado River. The River guides who were with them gave them three rules important to their safety. One, Stay in the boat. Two, Wear a life jacket, And three hold on with both hands. Elder Ballard thought this was similar to our mortal journey. Before I go on with the rules they were given on the river, the father and son did something beforehand. Prepared.

Knowing that white water rafting can be dangerous, they looked up how to personally prepare for the hidden hazards of the water. Some of the hazards are of course, the white water, as well as holes where the water will pull under 100 feet, and jagged rocks. These three are all like troubles we can run into. Ones that we know are there, ones that we cannot see until they happen, and ones that surprise us at the last minute. How to personally prepare for these hazards are as simple as realizing your trials that you will go through. What ones are extremely hazardous? And not put yourself in the way of that choice. One for me is Gambling. I love playing poker, and I am pretty good. But if I start playing for money, I know it will go to my head and I could very well lose my life to it.

The First rule was stay in the boat. Brigham young would often talk about a boat he would call Old Ship Zion. It was a metaphor for the Gospel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. The first rule is pretty simple. Stay in the boat.

He said on one occasion: “We are in the midst of the ocean. A storm comes on, and, as sailors say, she labors very hard. ‘I am not going to stay here,’ says one; ‘I don’t believe this is the “Ship Zion.”’ ‘But we are in the midst of the ocean.’ ‘I don’t care, I am not going to stay here.’ Off goes the coat, and he jumps overboard. Will he not be drowned? Yes. So with those who leave this Church. It is the ‘Old Ship Zion,’ let us stay in it.”

One way to stay in the boat is by continuing conversion. Constantly Searching out your answers to gospel questions are essential to your conversion. Praying over and over again for the knowledge that Christ is there and alive again is most important. Just because you have had your answer once, does not mean you cannot receive the same feeling once again.

I haven’t been to Lake Tahoe yet to see that beautiful lake, but I would go to Lake Mead in Las Vegas all the time! Whenever we are in the boat, the temperature loves to be 90 degrees outside and not a cloud in the sky. Especially when no wind was blowing coolish air on us, we would love stop and jump into the cooling water. To swim around would be freeing. This is like the time in our lives on the ship where life is going good for us.

Maybe you found a girlfriend, or the love of your life. Maybe you just got finished with college or promoted to the position you want. Money is coming in, and happy is filling your soul. When the water is calm, we all want to explore. We want to swim. We want to see how far we can get from the boat with still being able to see it. Weather you feel like you are accomplishing the world right now, or God is blessing your life, you must stay on the boat!

Brigham young said “But as sometimes happens a storm blows up, and the Good Ship is mightily buffeted. Many are the course corrections, many are the listings to port and then to starboard, but in it all the compass that the some few possess confirms the course of the captain. He is still heading for Port.”

When that mighty storm, the shafts in the whirlwinds, and the hail comes, where will you be? Will you be on the horizon looking at the sails of the ship? You will drift away. Will you be on the side of the ship going for a swim? You will drown. Or will you be on the boat holding on?

The twelve disciples all followed Christ into a ship. As Christ was below the boat sleeping, a mighty wind came upon them. They cried for their master to wake up and come forth. Christ told the waters to be still and they did. On the ship, they had the faith to turn to Christ and ask him to help. When the storm is raging for us, do we have the faith to turn to Christ ourselves and ask his guiding hand? 

Brigham young mentioned three types of people who will be on Old Ship Zion. The ones who are there for the pleasure of it, probably has some good friends with him. Some are there on business trips. Ones that are getting from point A to point B. And the others are here for the love of the Gospel and Christ. Which one are you? None of them are bad right? They are all on the boat. Just stay on the boat!

I went on a white water rafting trip for high adventure once in the Colorado River. It was an amazing experience. I loved every minute of it. We had bigger rafts as well as two man kayaks. We had river guides on the bigger rafts guiding us through the river. The rule for the kayaks were they must stay within the first bigger raft, and the last. They kept our life vests on, and made sure we stayed in the boat and let us know when it was okay to go out and swim. These river guides are like our church leaders. Your bishops and quorum advisors know which way you need to go. Go to your bishop. Talk with him when you need help. He is there to guide you to salvation.

God is at the helm. Which means that he is shouting out commands at the members of the ship. But not everybody is around the helm, so they might not hear it. Especially if it is a boat big enough to fit every single person that has ever or will ever live on this earth. That’s why he has given us leaders. Prophets and apostles speak with one voice when it is the voice of God.  :What I the Lord have spoken, I have spoken, and I excuse not myself; and though the heavens and the earth pass away, my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same."

One way to stay on the boat. Hold fast to the railings, and keep that life vest on is by reading the scriptures. Yes, you have been hearing it since primary, but then maybe it just works? See, I have my own way of this. I can’t read the scriptures. I fall asleep, I never remember, I am just bad at it. I admit it. So I had this idea. Some of you might call it cheating, but it is most certainly not! The words current prophets speak are also scripture. Every night I go to bed listening to one of the general conference talks you can get off of the LDS library app. Brother Perry, my institute teacher, lets me mark it off as scripture study so it must be okay!

Brothers and Sisters. There is one thing that Satan uses against us… and that is an idle mind. An idle mind is the devils workshop. We must stay focused. We must see the end. And know where we stand in relation to it. We must always strive to perfection. We must strive to the end goal of salvation! Some of us have gone through the temple and made covenants with God. As long as we keep our side of the covenant, God must keep his. The promised blessing is Salvation and Eternal glory.

While on the boat, why shouldn’t we go around and make sure everyone else wants to stay on the boat, understands why we must stay on the boat, and isn’t getting sea sick from the storm. We do this in our church, we have home teachers and visiting teachers. But, we should take that extra minute to look at each other and ask if there is anything I can do to strengthen both mine and their testimony. Or if they are struggling, help them up. We must look out for each other. And please, look out for those who have fallen overboard. Those that are gasping for breath, arms are like jello, desperately want the gospel back in their lives, but need a helping hand into the boat. This boat is big enough for everyone. And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

Some of us have doubts. I had doubts while I was on the Colorado River. That just led me to my conversion story. That’s because I was not afraid to ask the questions about my doubts. Joseph Smith had a question. Look what happened. 15 million members, over 150 temples, over 400 missions, over 80,000 missionaries, and a church produced movie! Jesus Christ asked a question. “wilt this cup pass over me” the answer was no, but we all were saved! That was one question. What would happen to you if you asked your question?

I cannot end this talk any better than M Russell Ballard ended his. Brothers and sisters, stay in the boat, use your life jackets, and hold on with both hands. Avoid distractions! And if any one of you have fallen out of the boat, we will seek you, find you, minister to you, and pull you safely back onto the Old Ship Zion, where God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are at the helm and will guide us right.

Now I will get a bit silly,I will combine M Russell Ballard and Liam Nesson. "We will seek you, We will find you, And we will save you!"

 And I bear my personal testimony that the church is true. That if you do not go off and wonder, you will be happy eternally. And I say this with a full heart, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.