Running a marathon

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Stake Conference
Stake Conference General Session: Sept 10, 2001

Endure to the End

All summer as I sought to know what the Lord would have us discuss today, I kept coming back to the ‘process we take to come unto Christ’. It is the one thing we all have in common, that we are trying to ‘find our way’ back to him.

There is a process, a path that we follow that brings us to him. It starts with awakening to who we are and our need to come to him. We progress till we experiment upon his word. Then we make commitments or covenants and start on the path. Then we come to some hard parts on the path, and we have to ‘press forward steadfastly’. As we press forward, we realize we have to continue to press forward – lengthening our stride as we go – we have to continue as we commenced until we have endured to the end.

Since most of us have already awakened, experimented, covenanted, and started down the path – the thing I would like to discuss is what we are all engaged in today – which is, enduring to the end.

This may seem a trivial topic. But in the world and the times we live, endurance is not a trivial topic – but is a critical attribute that we must develop if we are to survive and thrive in the kingdom.

Endurance is necessary regardless of the goal we’re pursueing. It could be a hard AP school class, completing a difficult mission, raising a challenging child, or overcoming debilitating health setbacks. It could be as mundane as going to work everyday, or doing that home teaching every month, or just getting up in the morning to face the loneliness of an empty house.

Endurance is necessary for anything where you make a commitment, and then the desire wanes when the going gets tough. But if endurance is important for all those things, imagine how important endurance is to someone who is pursuing the most challenging goal of all…to become perfect, even as our Father in Heaven is perfect.

What are the things that we need to learn, in order to endure? To achieve this celestial goal.
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Let’s look at people who are experts at endurance…marathon runners. Would everyone who has ever run a marathon, or who has prepared to run a marathon in St George in 3 weeks, please stand. (I threw that in because Wendy and Nick my wife and son are in that camp, and they wouldn’t forgive me, if I didn’t include them). These are great examples to talk to and find out what it takes to endure. If we can learn the principles of endurance from them, or from others who have endured great trials and have overcome, then we can apply these principles of endurance as we run to our Celestial goal.

Here are 5 principles of endurance which can apply to all of us as we prepare for the celestial run.
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1. Remember the payoff. 2:00
Marathon Runners (MR) – When my son is so tired that he can hardly jog another step, he will ask himself – why am I doing this anyway? The answer – because I want to be really fit and strong. Is enough to keep him going… He may also be going for a little ‘so I can be buff’ but he doesn’t say that. But it is inspiring enough to remind him what the payoff is, and he keeps going. Or when he gets a huge homework assignment in his AP English class, he says – “WHY AM I DOING THIS? He’ll remember why he signed up in the first place…”because I want to become a great writer.”

Celestial Runners (CR) – When we start to question WHY AM I DOING THIS ANYWAY? WHY AM I obeying the word of wisdom in a world that can’t get started in the morning without their cup of coffee, or WHY AM I KEEPING the law of modesty in a world where I can’t buy a modest prom dress or modest pair of short. When you start to question WHY – then remember what the payoff will be….”Man is that he might have joy…”or “all that my Father hath shall be given unto him.” The promises go on and on and are so great. To endure we must sometimes sit back, and ponder on the promises, and let them give us strength.

The Lord felt this principle was so important that he instituted a weekly time of remembrance that we call the sacrament where we can reflect on the goal we’ve elected to follow, and let it re-inspire us to continue running. When the Lord gave the Nephites the sacrament for the first time they were so filled with the spirit, that “they cried out with one voice and gave glory to Jesus whom they both saw and heard.” 3 Ne 20:9

While we may not cry out during sacrament meeting…our hearts can take light when we remember the promises of the covenants we’ve made. And we can be prepared to go another week on our celestial run.
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2. Remember the commitments we’ve made
MR - One thing that keeps marathon wannabes running, is that they have made a commitment and they don’t want to back down on it. They’ve paid the money, booked the hotel, taken off the vacation time, run the preparation miles, and told friends and family that they are going to do it. When the going gets tough, and thoughts of quitting cross their minds, they realize – ‘I can’t quit – too many people are counting on me to succeed. They are already proud of me.’

CR – When the going gets tough, we Celestial Runners need to remember the covenants that we’ve made and to whom we made them. We didn’t make the commitment to a hotel clerk, or a marathon clerk. We made our commitments to the creator of all men, and all the universe. The king of kings. Lords of lords. If we could even see a small portion of all that God has created, we would say even as the psalmist, “When I aconsider thy bheavens, the cwork of thy fingers, the dmoon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him?”

We must as King Benjamin taught – “remember the greatness of god and our own nothingness.” If we are to gain strength from our commitments. The more sincerely we worship the Lord, the more valuable and important our covenants to him will be to us. And the more important those covenants are to us, the more power they will have to help us endure when challenges arise.

When a runner tell his friends he’s going to run a marathon, their immediate reaction is – ‘Wow! I didn’t know he could do that.’ When we commit to the Lord to return to him, his immediate reaction is surely, ‘Wonderful. I knew they had it in them.’ He’s done all he can to help us get there, through grace of the atonement, now we must do our part. His expectation for us is huge. But he has so much faith in our ability, that he’s already preparing a mansion for us to join him. We need to keep our commitments, so our mansion doesn’t remain empty.

Again, the sacrament is a wonderful time to remember, not only the payoff, but to remember the commitment we’ve made and to reflect on the Lord’s expectations for us.

3. Be Sober.
MR - If you expect the path to a marathon to be easy – you will never make it. You have to set your mind, and know that it will be an incredible challenge. When you say – yes, I will run a 26.2 mile race, you are also committing to run approximately 800 miles of preparation workout to get ready.

You have to set your mind. If you don’t, then as the pain builds up, you will find ways to escape. For example, when my wife goes out for a jog, she’s had to prepare herself mentally to tell herself that she is going to feel pain. When she’s going out for a 5 mile jog, her mental preparation isn’t as big as when she is going to run a 22 mile run. Those she spends all week sets her mind for massive, extended pain. If she doesn’t estimate the price she’s going to have to pay ahead of time– then when it comes time to work, she doesn’t have enough to pay the price and the discouragement stops her.

CR – As Celestial runners we must understand that the path to eternal life is not going to be easy and it may not be fun. I guess I’m saying, the path to joy, can be downright miserable sometimes. There will be days when you feel totally unprepared for the stress of normal life. Days when you feel that the Bishop hates you, or that you make the lousiest mother there ever was. Some struggle with inadequacy or with regret for something they said or did.

Thinking that life is supposed to be cheery and happy all the time can break you when the going gets tough. We have to set our minds that we can make it through the tough times. We must be sober. President Hinkley recited this quote:

“Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he’s been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey … delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.” (Address given to Religious Educators, Sept. 1978, p. 4.)

The scriptures call this setting of the mind being ‘sober.’ Did you know there are over 50 instances in the scriptures where the Lord commands us to ‘BE SOBER’.
Titus 2: 2 That the aaged men be bsober•, grave, ctemperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
Titus 2: 4 That they may teach the young awomen to be sober, to blove their husbands, to love their children,
Titus 2: 6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.
To be sober doesn’t mean to be somber, sad or even solemn. It means to set your mind that things could get tough but that you can continue forward anyway.
This principle was so important that the Lord inspired father Lehi to dream about it and then to record it so we could learn from his dream.
1 Ne 8:23 And it came to pass that there arose a amist• of darkness; yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were blost. (These are the people who didn’t have their mind setto endure and who weren’t ready for the temptations or the trials)
1 Ne. 8: 24 And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, aclinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the bfruit• of the tree. (These are the people who did have their mind set, and when the troubles started, they were ready and clung to life.)
What this teaches us, is that not only will there be trials, but it gives us the answer in how to endure the trials - if we cling to the iron rod we will be able to endure. Because the rod of iron teaches us about the plan, the consequences of living and not living it. It teaches us how to set our minds to endure. 8:23
4. Make small intermediate goals..
MR - When my wife first committed to run 26 miles, she had never run a single mile. That was 6 months ago. And in fact the first couple of jogs she did, someone would stop and ask her if everything was all right because she looked so awkward and in pain that they didn’t think it was natural. Yesterday she ran 22 miles and has run somewhere close to 800 miles through the year. It seemed like an impossible dream back then, but yesterday after she finished 22 miles she said – “I think I can maybe make it.”

I think on our road to celestial glory the same thing is true. It may seem like an impossible, almost sacrilegious goal to try to ‘be perfect’. But that is precisely what the Lord has commanded us to do. “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your father in heaven and I am perfect.” If we can just stick to our training schedule - attend our meetings, attend the temple, serve one another, magnify our callings, teach our children, love one another…then we will see the changes come, and we can get to the point where we can say – “I think I can maybe make it.”

We can’t do it all at once, just as Marathon Runners can’t start out running 26 miles. They start by making it down the street. Then they stretch it to around the block. Then around the block and down the next street. When they are so tire they can’t make it, they set their goals to make it to the next streetlight or the next circle. So that slowly, step by small step, getting victory over smaller short runs, then reaching a little higher. Each time they stretch, it’s a challenge, but because of the strength gained in the smaller victories, they have enough strength to endure the longer reach.

The lord doesn’t expect us to be perfect. He expects all of us to start where we are at. But he does expect us to stretch a little farther, reach a little higher….to lengthen our stride.

We must remember the hard things we’ve done, the hard things our ancestors have done (aren’t we just little versions of our ancestors) have done. And then the hard things we are called upon to do won’t seem so overwhelming.
“That which we persist in doing becomes easy to do; not that the nature of the thing has changed, but that the power to do has increased.” Heber J Grant.
We can’t expect to become perfect at one time, but we can break it into bite size chunks and succeed in those chunks. I can pay my tithing this month. I can go to the temple this one time. And then once we’ve made it, you can do just a little bit more. Then let those smaller successes build confidence and strength for bigger trials ahead.
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5. Finally – Stay focused on the positive.
MR – When you’re out there in the midst of the battle, when every step burns, there is a rise on the hill and the odds seem to be mounting against you, you must stay focused on the positive. Optimism is the friend of the person trying to endure a trial. Pessimism is the friend of the person who isn’t willing to try…and is looking for good reasons not to try.

Runners love to listen to music, or smile at people in their yards, or see the sun come up, or watch huge clouds move across the sky and delight when it blocks the sun or anything which can lighten the heavy mental burden they carry. Runners will buy high tech shoes and clothes so that they aren’t fighting poor equipment all the time…and can stay focused on other – positive things. They feel burden’s lighten when they daydream or when they can think of something besides the pain. Nick thinks of his girlfriends he has, Wendy thinks about me (I assume)

They could spend their time thinking about how the wind has picked up, or how the hill is starting an incline. But if they focus on that they get easily consumed by dread and discouragement.

CR – Celestial runners must do the same thing. Everyday, we must live in a positive and optimistic way…looking for the good and positive, rather than the dark and negative. Put a smile on your face. We need to do as the hymn commands: “Scatter sunshine all along the way…”

We can think negative thoughts…but that just makes endurance that much harder. It’s a choice.

That’s why, like the marathon runners, we must stay focused on the positive and we must make sure and put on daily coat of armor. The whole armor of God can lighten our load. Armor sounds heavy for a celestial runner. But it’s not – it’s just what we need to keep moving. Have you ever tried to deal with a huge trial for example the loss of a loved one when you don’t have any hope? Have you ever tried to serve a mission when you don’t have any faith. Have you ever tried to share the gospel when you feel no love? Talk about challenging!! We must wake up each day, and get dressed in the armor of God so that we run with faith, hope, charity. So that we can see salvation. Daily scripture study, weekly family home evening, and constant prayer are the not just good ideas, they are tools we have to keep our minds taken off the burdens of worldly living and look forward with faith..

Serving others, reading from the best books, listening to righteous music and media can also help lift and inspire. But whatever we use to lift the burdens, we need to ensure the Lord is part of it. For the lord promises

¶ aCome• unto me, all ye that blabour and are heavy laden, and I will give you crest.

2929Take my ayoke• upon you, and blearn• of me; for I am cmeek• and dlowly in eheart: and ye shall find frest• unto your souls.

3030For my yoke is aeasy•, and my burden is light.


On our road – to come unto Christ - may we learn to endure whatever the trials, whatever the challenge we are pursueing. May we remember the payoff, remember our commitments, be sober, find joy in our small victories, and take the yoke of the Lord upon us so the burdens will become light.

I pray that together we can support each other in our Celestial run .

May we like Paul be able to say
“I have fought a good afight, I have bfinished my course, I have kept the faith”

In the name of Jesus Christ Amen.

Extra thoughts…

“The average runner runs until the breath in him is gone,
But the champion has the iron will that makes him carry on.
For rest the average runner begs when limp his muscles grow,
But the champion runs on leaden legs, his courage makes him go.
The average man’s complacent when he’s done his best to score,
But the champion does his best, and then does a little more.”

President Kimball said, “One is not disappointed when a baby first learns to crawl before he walks. It is the natural order of things. Likewise, no one expects a student to understand calculus until he has first learned the numbers, then the laws of addition and subtraction, and then the mysteries of algebra and trigonometry. Working toward perfection is not a one-time decision but a process to be pursued throughout one’s lifetime.”