Look to the Lighthouse of the Lord

President Thomas S. Monson said "No one has described these years as being easy. Indeed, they have become increasingly more difficult. The world seems to have slipped from the moorings of safety and drifted from the harbor of peace.
 
"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. These words of warning, these safety standards, are printed in a small booklet soon to be distributed and entitled For the Strength of Youth.

"May I share with you the introduction to the booklet, prepared by the First Presidency of the Church:

'“Our beloved young men and women,

'“We want you to know that we love you. We have great confidence in you. …

'“We desire everything in this world for you that is right and good. You are not just ordinary young men and women. You are choice spirits who have been held in reserve to come forth in this day when the temptations, responsibilities, and opportunities are the very greatest. You are at a critical time in your lives. This is a time for you not only to live righteously but also to set an example for your peers. …

'“God loves you. … His desire … is to have you return to Him pure and undefiled, having proven yourselves worthy of an eternity of joy in His presence. …

'“We counsel you to choose to live a morally clean life. …

'“You cannot do wrong and feel right. It is impossible! Years of happiness can be lost in the foolish gratification of a momentary desire for pleasure. …

'“You can avoid the burden of guilt and sin and all of the attending heartaches … as you keep the standards outlined in the scriptures...."  --Thomas S. Monson, "The Lighthouse of the Lord", Ensign, Nov. 1990, 95

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When we look to the Lighthouse of the Lord, we will succeed.  We will emerge from dense fog and dark stormy nights and be encircled by the safe harbor of peace prepared by our loving Heavenly Father and find rewards in returning home.
 
This past weekend we had the pleasure of hearing Elder Cordova speak at Stake Conference.  His message was to the youth to "Pimp their ride" and to fix their mind and body by staying morally clean, doing things that brought joy, staying close to parents and grandparents and communing with the Lord.  He joked that the youth's terms for "fixing" something were interesting and found that he could make a successful Family Home Evening that even they could understand.  I liked the lessons to make Family Home Evening applicable to what is going on with children today.   Its important to help them learn now how to withstand the storms and how to find that Lighthouse and save haven.