The wise build upon the rock. What rock? The rock of revelation (Teachings, p. 274), that solid foundation which allows those who build thereon to be at rest when the winds of adversity and the storms of persecution and sophistry beat upon their houses of faith. Jesus, the Revelation of the Father, the Word, the Messenger of Salvation, has just completed one of the most glorious sermons ever uttered in human history.
He has called his followers to a higher righteousness, has beckoned them to stand on higher ground than ancient Israel did under the law. Jesus is the Rock. People must build upon him. Jesus delivers and illustrates the rock of revelation. People must build upon his word. Jesus is the Oracle, and Jesus has just delivered the oracle. People must build upon the living oracles or they cannot be saved.
“And the Rain Descended and the Floods Came, and the Winds Blew, and Beat Upon That House”
Valuable as it is, there is no salvation to be had in a revelation or a scripture from bygone days. Revelation, the rock foundation of the Lord’s Church and kingdom, must be modern. It must be current. It must be living. To Joseph Smith the revelator, that same Lord said:
“The keys of this kingdom shall never be taken from you, while thou art in the world, neither in the world to come; nevertheless, through you shall the oracles [revelations, divine directions] be given to another, yea, even unto the church. And all they who receive the oracles of God [both the messengers and the message], let them beware how they hold them lest they are accounted as a light thing, and are brought under condemnation thereby, and stumble and fall when the storms descend, and the winds blow, and the rains descend, and beat upon their house.” (D&C 90:3-5; compare D&C 21:4-6.)