Article September 2, 1991 Issue

Our strong foundation

The most complex structures in the world are only as secure as the foundation they're built on. Our lives need to be grounded in Truth.

Carol Winograd

THERE was a building going up in my community recently, right in the middle of town. Most of one summer was spent digging an enormous hole, fortifying the sides and eventually the center with a steel frame, and then reinforcing the whole thing with tons of concrete. I began to think that the space must have been designed to withstand some kind of attack. Then at the end of summer all of it was paved over, and the frame of the building was begun at that point. All that had been done to establish the foundation would never be seen by a casual look at the finished structure and might never be consciously acknowledged by the tenants of the building, but it would still support all the structure and activity the building provided. In fact, the success of the rest of that project and all the work to be done in the building depended on that sure foundation, the architect's design for it, and the principles of engineering used in carrying out the plan.

This reminded me of other foundations that we need. Sound and democratic government needs a firm foundation of basic rights. Business requires principles of ethics and creativity. Our children deserve a strong grounding in moral values and education. Families need a strong foundation of compassion, mutual respect, and love. Even health, it is said, requires a certain unselfish joie de vivre to be satisfactorily maintained. These foundations have a spiritual origin, and we find that the most reliable plan for establishing them in our own lives is through a greater understanding of God.

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