Of some things we are sure; to certain rooted principles we cling. As Latter-day Saints we accept the divinity of Jesus of Nazareth; we believe implicitly in the restored gospel as given through the Prophet Joseph Smith; we regard the General Authorities of the church as being divinely commissioned to speak in the name of God and bear testimony to the Godship of Christ; we accept the standard works of the church as authoritative utterances given for the spiritual guidance of man upon the earth.
A party of geologists, crossing a loose shale deposit on a steep incline, realized that the shale was slipping. Most of the party reached the opposite side of the hill in safety, but one, bringing up the rear, saw that the sliding rock was carrying him in its glacier-like grip toward a declivity which might mean death. Looking ahead, he saw in his path a trunk of an old tree and recognized there a chance of safety. Reaching the stump, grasping it and clinging grimly, he was able to hold on while the entire deposit of loose shale passed. His knowledge of the stability of a tree to remain firmly rooted in spite of shifting surface rock gave him assurance; he could face apparent disaster clinging to that which was thus rooted. To the fundamental roots of church belief we cling; to them we anchor our faith; in them we believe.
Excerpt from At the Pulpit, Chapter 32
