Grounded, Rooted, Established, and Settled | Neal Maxwell | 1981
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- When the storms of life come to test our faith, we must be prepared. As a sturdy tree, be grounded, rooted, established, and settled in Jesus Christ.
This speech was given on September 15, 1981.
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"President and Sister Holland, brothers and sisters all, even more fervently than you, I wish President Kimball were here today to be appropriately honored as was planned. However, what was postponed, as President Holland indicated, can now be anticipated, and I join with you in prayerful anticipation.
Growth of the Church
Since President Kimball is not here today and since we are out of the immediate range of his modesty, it is perhaps appropriate to share several statistical indicators about the Church growth in this vibrant era. Thus far in President Kimball’s not-quite-eight years as president, the Church has grown from a membership of about 3.3 million to a membership of nearly 5 million.
As a better indicator of true growth, the total number of stakes has grown from 630 to 1,293-663 additional stakes as of today, more than doubling in less than eight years. The 109 missions have grown by 85 to a total of 194. Nineteen more countries outside the United States have been added to the 47 where the Church is established, opening the work for a total of 66 countries wherein units of the Church operate. The language areas in which the Church now functions have grown by 27, from 31 to 58, so that, as the scriptures foreshadow, people can hear the gospel in their own languages (see D&C 90:11). A symbolic statistic is this one: There are now more stakes and members of the Church in Chile than in Canada, with 28 stakes and approximately 100,000 members in Chile!
The indicators just recited do not have even a close parallel in Church history. Beyond the dramatic demographics, however, there is something much more significant. We are blessed, all of us, by the personal impact of President Kimball on our lives. As such a beloved leader, his personal influence is impossible to measure, but it is even more pervasive and remarkable than the numbers recited.
Grounded, Rooted, Established, Settled
Indeed it is in the context of such pleasing but challenging growth that the theme for today will be addressed-from the words of Paul and Peter, “grounded, rooted, established, and settled.” This is a vital objective for all members of the Church, but especially for your generation because of the special circumstances which will confront you. In fact, you may be the first generation in Church history, because of lamentably changing conditions in the world, who will be asked to believe and to behave “because of the word” and not circumstances. In varying degrees, you will not have the same affirmative influence of societal institutions which once strongly supported the family and principles such as chastity and fidelity. Those supporting influences, in many respects, will, unfortunately fall away like so much scaffolding. Then we will see who stands, both on holy ground and on holy principles!
Jesus described some of these realities and the casualties of conversion and retention thusly:
Some [seeds] fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. [Matthew 13:5-6]
Happily, Alma elaborated concerning how that gospel seed can grow, nourished by “faith with great diligence, and with patience” (Alma 32:41). Properly nourished, it will develop a good root system, and even when the heat of the sun comes and scorches, it will not wither (see Alma 32:28-38). By using a word as graphic as scorched to describe the heat which believers will feel, the Lord, who is not given to hyperbole, tells us something about the heat that will come, not alone in the rigors of individual life, but also in the special summer of circumstances which Jesus said would come when the leaves of the fig tree sprouted (see Matthew 24:32). That summer is upon us, and only those who are grounded, rooted, established, and settled will survive spiritually..."
And yet again, I get "stirred up to remembrance" of the things I should be doing. Thanks, Bro. Maxwell!
Spectacular miner of spiritual gems and jewels, he worked for this knowledge, as we all must, and was so happy to not only learn from others, but also to humbly and happily share precious spiritual knowledge with any who would listen, in a loving effort to keep his brothers and sisters from stumbling and spiritual harm.
I miss this great man and apostle
Elder Maxwell’s talks are always inspirational and extraordinary. How grateful I am to have seen him in this mortal life.
So grateful to listen to all these great men from time to time! God is so good! I praise His Holy name of Jesus Christ!!
Excellent
💖Work🙏
Amen
40 years later, and wow, is this message relevant.
One of Elder Maxwell’s greatest
Love, love love this! Shared 40 years ago and still just as relevant today. Elder Maxwell was the man!
For sure for sure you will know a prophet and apostles by their works. Neil a Maxwell is for sure a Apostle of God! A man that does not Nick words just to make it sound good or bad. I think God all the time for sharing this great men with the world! Making this world a better place to live.
I really LOVE Elder Maxwell for being a faithful servant of our Lord Jesus Christ 💜
It's refreshing to hear speakers from my childhood, and know that our time was forseen even by Biblical prophets. This is PROOF to me that the scriptures are TRUE, and that our Heavenly Father loves us SO MUCH ❤
It's up to us to keep repenting and staying grounded.
Thank you for sharing 💕
❤ love
"Routine - like trials - can bring us closer to God or move us away from Him. What seems commonplace seldom is."
Looks like somebody hit the dislike accident.
As meaningful now as then. It strikes me that President Nelson is encouraging the same perspective though the words are different: Think Celestial.
Agreed. The words that the witnesses of the Lord use may be different, but His messages through them are the same.