Endure to the End!

18 Sunday Oct 2015

Posted by Colby Alexander in General, Preparation, Pride, Sports, Strength, Success, Types

I love college football. This is my favorite time of year. Each year I have renewed hope at what possibilities lie ahead. New players emerge, older players get better, every game counts. It it exciting, thrilling, heartbreaking, and devastating all at the same time.

Sports in general can teach us so much about life, and overcoming obstacles, opposition, and adversity. It is an almost perfect type for our own lives. College football yesterday, gave us that perfect example of a principle I have been thinking about lately. Enduring to the end.

This example, is of a game between bitter rivals. It was a hard fought game between Michigan, and Michigan State. All game it had been a grudge match back and forth, neither team could move the ball very well against the other, both defenses had dominated the opposing offenses, and as time ran down to the last 10 seconds, Michigan found itself ahead by two points with the ball, and just about a minute left. They could almost just take a knee, and let time expire and win the game. Almost.

As time slowly clicked away, Michigan ran the ball to make sure the clock didn’t stop and were able to get time down to just about 10 seconds left. It was 4th down, the ball was on Michigan State’s 48 yard line, and all they had to do was punt the ball away, make one tackle, and the game would be over. They would win the heated rivalry game over their higher ranked bitter enemy. Life was good for Michigan fan. They were basking in the eminent victory. They were on cloud nine. Years of being second fiddle in the state and listening to Michigan State fans trash talk would finally end. The battle was nearly over, and they would be victorious!

Then Michigan snapped the ball. And their 10 second nightmare began.

The punter for Michigan bumbled the snap, the ball fell a few feet in front of him, and in his sudden panic, lunged forward, grabbed the ball, and made a last second heroic effort to kick the ball away. But Michigan State hit him with 3 guys just as the ball left his hand headed towards his foot.

The momentum of the hit sprayed the ball to the right, through the air, and landed perfectly into the hands of a surprised Michigan State player. Upon receiving the miraculous gift of a fumble, he took off, headed towards the end zone 45 yards away. He had a procession of blockers, and only 2 potential tacklers, time seemed to stand still and Michigan fan went from the peak of elation to the depths of despair in mere seconds. Michigan State rolled down the sideline, and lunged into the end zone with no time left to win the game.

Michigan fan could do nothing but stare in disbelief. That actually just happened. One of the most unlikely wins and final plays that could even be conceived. If any of a number of things didn’t go exactly right, or exactly wrong, the game would have ended with Michigan on top. It was unbelievable. The odds of Michigan State winning that game before the final snap were 0.2%. 2 in a thousand! Yet it happened. Michigan State never quit. Michigan State endured to the end. Michigan did not.

The punter had made a huge mistake, but, in the moment, when all the pressure was heaped on him, he actually made it worse by trying to kick the ball again. Had he just fallen on the ball, it would have been downed, and Michigan State would have had to pull off a hail mary pass to win, another unlikely chance. But, in the moment when panic set in, the situation became critical and the decision he made while in that mindset was horribly bad and exactly wrong. And it cost them the game. Had he thought out all the options should anything unplanned happen, the outcome might have been different.

All the hard work, battle, struggle, sweat, and effort for 59 minutes and 50 seconds just went up in smoke. It was kind of like performing a perfect face plant 25 yards from the finish line of a marathon, and never making it to the end. Sometimes we get SOOOOO close!

On the other hand, Michigan State never gave up. They played every last down until the whistle blew, there is ALWAYS a chance that things may bounce your way. But in order to get those bounces, we need to be in the right spot, and playing as hard as we can.

Whether its in a football game, basketball game, baseball game, tennis, running a marathon, or any other competition or challenge, the principle is the same, Never quit! Never stop fighting, clawing, pushing, crawling or clenching towards the finish. Never slow down, never let up. Ever. Our lives are a race, a race to finally get back home, to our Heavenly home, and in the process, be as close to our Savior as we can be, and as much like Him as we can be.

Its never easy, sometimes it seems like its impossible to win, that we might as well just leave, because we are getting our butts handed to us. But thats not why we are here. We are here to compete, to get better, and to endure.

To me, one of the most fascinating parts of the Book of Mormon comes in the final few years of the Nephites just before the coming of Christ to the Americas. At this time, the Nephites and righteous Lamanites actually come together in one body because the Gadianton robbers are so powerful, that they had overtaken nearly the entire country. All the people that followed the prophets gathered together to join forces and preserve their food and protect themselves from invasion. After a long siege, and with the help from God, the Nephites eventually defeated the Gadianton robbers after a massive battle, (the slaughter was the greatest since Lehi had left Jerusalem) and completely eliminated them from the country. God had helped and preserved them according to their faith and trust in Him.

This major battle happened in the 19th year after Christ was born, and lingered until sometime after the 21st year. Christ would begin his ministry halfway around the world in a mere 8 years! So, 600 plus years had passed since Lehi and Nephi left Jerusalem, with countless prophets, wars, contentions, missions, etc. And now, in the 4th quarter, the Nephites had just seemingly defeated the last enemy and could now live in peace until the Lord would visit! Right? They just had to hang on for another few years. And they would celebrate with Christ himself!

After this massive battle, this is the mindset of the Nephites:

”And they did rejoice and cry again with one voice, saying: May the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, protect this people in righteousness, so long as they shall call on the name of their God for protection.

31 And it came to pass that they did break forth, all as one, in singing, and praising their God for the great thing which he had done for them, in preserving them from falling into the hands of their enemies.

32 Yea, they did cry: Hosanna to the Most High God. And they did cry: Blessed be the name of the Lord God Almighty, the Most High God.

33 And their hearts were swollen with joy, unto the gushing out of many tears, because of the great goodness of God in delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; and they knew it was because of their repentance and their humility that they had been delivered from an everlasting destruction. (3 Nephi 4:30-33)

The very first verse in chapter 5 says, “Now behold, there was not a living soul among all the people the Nephites who did doubt in the least the words of all the holy prophets..”

A few verses later, it says,”And there had many things transpired which, in the eyes of some, would be great and marvelous; nevertheless, they cannot all be written in this book; yea, this book cannot contain even a ^ahundredth part of what was done among so many people in the space of twenty and five years;

They seem to be sitting pretty don’t they? Now its down to the final 8 years until the sign of Christ’s death and resurrection. kind of like being up by 2 points with the ball, and only 10 seconds left? All they needed to do was make a decent punt, and make one tackle, and they would be celebrating with the Savior. But, lets watch what happens in just a few very short years…

In the 26th year, they all separated again, and went back home after having lived together as one people.

In chapter 6, it sounds the warning bell, “And now there was nothing in all the land to hinder the people from prospering continually, except they should fall into transgression.” (3 Nephi 6:5)

Kind of like a scouting report that warns about the stone hands of the punter.

Fast forward 3 short years, and this is what you get, “But it came to pass in the twenty and ninth year there began to be some disputings among the people; and some were lifted up unto pride and ^aboastings because of their exceedingly great riches, yea, even unto great persecutions; (3 Nephi 6:10)

Uh, oh. The punter just bumbled the snap. Better just land on it, and take your losses, repent, and get right with the Lord.

But, just like the football game, the worst possible thing that could have happened did.

“Now the cause of this iniquity of the people was this—Satan had great power, unto the stirring up of the people to do all manner of iniquity, and to the puffing them up with pride, tempting them to seek for power, and authority, and riches, and the vain things of the world. (3 Nephi 6:15,)

Now, the opposing player is running towards the end zone, and the game is slipping away.

“And thus in the commencement of this, the thirtieth year, they were in a state of awful wickedness.” (3 Nephi 8:18)

“…and there were but few righteous men among them.” (3 Nephi 7:7)

Year 30. Christ is just beginning his mortal ministry, and will eventually come to visit the Americas in just 3 more years! Thats it! 3 years. After 600 years of preparation, they bumbled it all away at the last moment. They couldn’t quite endure till the end.

We cannot let this happen to us! We need to play every down, every play the best we can. we have to endure, and persevere through the finish line. The tricky part is that we don’t know exactly when the finish line comes, but we cant let ourselves turn into the Nephites who face planted 3 years before the finish line.

Christ was so close! All they had to do was hold on just a little bit longer, and finish strong! He is our end goal! He is why we are here. He is why we can win, and why we even have a chance at all.

Sometimes we can learn lessons from other people’s mistakes. Lets look at the punter for Michigan, and the Nephites, and learn what not to do, so that we can be better prepared to work, and fight, and endure all the way through the finish line!

He is there waiting for us, coaching us, and rooting for us to succeed. Lets all try just a little bit harder to never let up, never slow down, never give up and never lose hope for the win!

Treasure In Earthen Vessels

20 Sunday Sep 2015

Posted by Colby Alexander in General, Holy Ghost, Jesus Christ, Light, Love, Motivation, Opposition, Poems, Strength, Trials, Weakness

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Sometimes we don’t see our own worth in the eyes of God. We are his children, and he knows and loves each one of us perfectly. We mean everything to Him. He knows us, our problems, our fears, our apprehensions, our insecurities, our weaknesses, our doubts, our reservations, everything. He knows how we feel, how we think, how we are afraid to open up to our problems, and admit them even to ourselves. He knows! And He understands. And yet, He still loves us unconditionally! Sometimes, we need to remind ourselves of our true worth in His eyes, not our own, or anyone else’s. Just His.

For our Sunday School lesson this week, part of the scripture reading was in 2 Corinthians Chapter 4. As I was skimming through those verses, I read this which beautifully explained this principle to me. This is Paul speaking…

6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

I loved these words of encouragement. Paul and all the Saints and apostles and disciples were being persecuted for what they believed. But, in their sadness, pain, and worry, they had solace in Jesus Christ and in the comfort that He gives. The closer to the Comforter we get, the greater our resilience to pain, and suffering becomes, and the closer we get to our Savior.

Lets all look at our difficult times as opportunities to become closer to the Comforter, and to Jesus Christ who sends Him to us.

A Humble Prayer

My God! Through vessel weak and frail,
Wherein thy treasure hides,
I beg thy light, through darkened veil,
reveal my worth inside,

And when dark hours with me abide,
And I, alone, can’t see
help me perceive thy treasure’s light,
Thou hiddest deep in me!

Bones and Biceps

06 Wednesday May 2015

Posted by Colby Alexander in Strength

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The adult human body has 206 bones that make up its skeleton. The purpose of our bones is to provide the internal structure of the body and act like a framework upon which our muscles and tendons attach. They also act as a protective (rib) cage for the internal organs, such as our heart, and lungs. Without this sturdy framework, we would all look like gooey piles of fluff on the floor.

Another function of the bones is that they can act as a lever to aid the muscles in their designed movements. For instance, when Riley does his superman pose in front of the mirror, his biceps muscle tightens and contracts, pulling his radial tuberosity (forearm) up toward the origin of the muscle on the scapula. This creates a massive (or barely visible) bulge and provides strength and function to the arm itself. In this case, this muscle is designed to give the body the ability to “lift”.

So what can our skeletons teach us?

In a gospel sense, our bones represent our personal testimony. It provides a framework by which we live. It lifts us, guides our movements, gives us our appearance, and protects our heart from outside pressures and influences.

We can even take another step outward and look at this analogy in a broader sense. For a community or a society, we can compare this skeletal framework to the gospel itself. Without it, we are really just fluff puddles. There is nothing to hold us up, give us strength, or protect us.

The scriptures usually only mention bones as the ground decorations leftover after bloody wars, but if we look, we can find a different comparison.

“For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.” -Ephesians 5:30

So, we are members of His body, and of His bones. Part of our purpose here in this life is to provide strength, protection, and leverage by which “lifting” can be accomplished. Just as Riley’s biceps contract and lift against a solid framework, we too, as “members of His Body and of His bones” provide the solid framework through which the Lord lifts others. When we are where we are supposed to be, and provide adequate strength, the Lord will “lift” through us.

An interesting fact is that when our bones are consistently tested or stressed, as they are when we exercise, work, run, or lift weights, they become stronger. Its not just our muscles that benefit. When we fail to push them, they atrophy, or become weaker, just as muscles do.

Bones can break, but they also have the ability to heal themselves with time, and often when they do so, with proper repair and treatment, they return to be just as strong as the original bone.

Sometimes our testimonies break, or feel weak, or get battered and bruised. No one gets through life without a bruise, or a break. But, spiritually speaking, if we “seek proper treatment” to heal them, they can, just as actual bone, become strong again.

This is also true with our testimonies, and in our ability to act as true members of His body. If we do not spend time working out our spiritual muscles, as Riley has previously explained, we become more like the 97 year old lady with osteoporosis, that eventually falls, and breaks a hip, arm, ribs, or head.

Lets all exercise, and make sure we have bones or testimonies that provide us adequate strength when we need them, and that we can also become that strong framework that the Lord uses when He needs to “lift” others.

Maxing Out in the Gospel

23 Friday Jan 2015

Posted by Tyson Alexander in Opposition, Sports, Strength, Types

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Recently, I have been reading a lot about symbolism, types, similitudes, shadows, etc. and in nearly every book related to these subjects, the author(s) cite Moses 6:63 which reads: “And behold, all things have their likeness, and all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me.” Once I started to look, I realized that this is totally true, and not just true, but really exciting. I have found that it is very eye opening, and surprisingly easy and incredibly fun to identify types or likenesses of the gospel, the atonement, and Jesus Christ in all things.

The best part is that all really does mean all. It doesn’t mean most, or a few, or select, it means all. It states that we can find these likenesses in spiritual things AND in temporal things (which we so often discount as just ‘things’ and give no attention to). So, if we seek to find these likenesses, we will find them. It also means that if we aren’t looking for an added measure of understanding or vision, we might only be seeing a portion (maybe even a small number) of the intended lessons, which as we are told, are in all things on the earth. That means at the grocery store, in the library, while driving, doing the dishes, gardening, or maybe even watching a movie. Also, it seems that a major purpose of these likenesses is so that we can understand a principle, or relate it in a way that is understandable to a larger number of people (to help us teach them), after all, didn’t the savior use very common things that were found in all the earth (fig trees, vineyards, feasts, birds, trails, roads, etc.) to teach the best lessons?

One likeness that I have found, that has become increasingly helpful in understanding the gospel, is a workout program called Insanity Max:30. Now, as we all know, there are several workout programs available and many of them could be viewed in this same general vein, but this particular one has a unique component (secondary component) that I feel is crucial to understand – especially in a gospel sense.

The main purpose of this workout program is to change the participant into something better, something healthier, and something stronger. But, as part of this underlying purpose, there is a secondary purpose, which is to have the participant fail all along the way – or as Shawn T puts it – max out. Each of the daily workouts have been organized and prepared to be so hard, that you can’t actually finish them without failing. This may seem like it’s defeating the purpose, but it’s not. It’s doing two things – it’s helping you track your progress (as you are encouraged to write your ‘max out’ time each workout and see how much you are improving over time), and it’s helping you to understand that failure is not only ok, but it’s inevitable, and it’s been part of the plan all along. Failure (as we’ve already noted here) is sometimes a cause for celebration. In this particular case, if you ‘max out’ during a work out, it means you gave it everything you had, until you literally could not do it any more. Once you’ve ‘maxed out’, you take a quick break, catch your breath, and jump right back in – until you max out again. This is repeated for a period of 30 minutes. It’s pretty intense. This goes on 6 days a week, with a rest day on Sunday. Every day is a grind, especially if (when) you forget the underlying purpose of the program.

As part of any workout program, there are also tips or rules to help any participant and rules about things to avoid in order to get the most out of the 60-day challenge. Some rules are to give it your best every day, to eat right, to get enough sleep, and to prepare mentally. The things to avoid (don’ts) are essentially the opposites of the tips (do’s) such as lack of sleep, eating unhealthy foods, not working hard or skipping workouts in general and if the participant either fails to do the do’s or continues to do the don’ts, it (they) may become ‘stumbling blocks’ that will cause them to become discouraged or even quit.

At the beginning of the program, or more accurately, when sitting in a comfy chair, sipping a lemonade making grand plans to do the program, it is pretty easy to envision the end results; ripped abs, killer arms, and cardio endurance for days, etc. and the participant thinks to themselves – I got this, 30 minutes is cake. I drive to work for 30 minutes every day and it is a breeze. Then, you actually put the DVD in and 2 minutes into the warm-up on day 1, you realize that your lungs are on fire, your legs are Jell-O, and you can’t even recognize the wet noodles that are hanging from your shoulders. You look at the folks on the video and they seem to be gliding along with ease, barely breaking a sweat, and you look at them and think – they must be on steroids and amped up on something crazy – because there is no way that anyone can do this. This moment – the moment when your mind starts to come up with alternatives to this torture is called the beginning of ‘the grind’.

This moment hits you in the face every single day during every single workout – no exception. Whether it’s in minute 3 or minute 23, it will come – and that’s the point. The point is to see how you will respond to ‘the grind’ when it hits. Will you grind through it? Will you max out and say, that’s just too hard, – I’m going to grab an ice cream, or will you challenge yourself to max out? And once you’ve maxed out, you have another decision to make; have I maxed out for the day, or do I catch my breath and jump back in? Or, do I mentally look for my first opportunity in minute 7 to ‘max out’ on the plyo-burpee-lunge combo and bail for the day and then convince ourselves (and maybe others) that we nailed the whole thing?

During this program, Shawn T tries to motivate his groupies by telling them to ‘dig deeper’ and ‘focus in there’ and ‘you can do it, I know you can do it’. He has even created an even crazier workout to directly address the mental grind called ‘Friday Night Fight’ referring to the fight between your mind and your body (especially during that ‘grind’ when your body is telling you that you should have maxed out 4 minutes ago) – in order to help your mind overcome your flesh – even if it’s just for 1 more minute.

If and when we push through that grind, making it just one more minute – something happens, we start to see the models on the workout video fall down, they collapse, they ‘max out’ and shake their head in disbelief and how ridiculous the workout really is, and we see Shawn T congratulate them for their efforts – and we realize – hey, these guys aren’t robots; they are actually sweating and working really hard, they are going through the exact same grind as me, and you realize, that they just might have been a little better prepared for this particular workout than me – but none of them are perfect either – because one by one – they max out. They walk over to the board and write their name alongside the point in time where they maxed out. No judgment, no ridicule, no criticism – just encouragement for making it as long as they did, and then they jump right back into it – right back into the middle of the grind.

The point that should be remembered during the grind and every time we are in the ‘Friday Night Fight’ with our minds is what the overall goal is, and what the overall goal is not. The overall goal is to change, or to become stronger. The overall goal is not to perform each and every workout with absolute perfection and never break a sweat. That’s just impossible. The overall goal is to give it everything you have, every single day, and improve. Then, at the end of the 60-day period, take satisfaction in doing your best – and then start again. This is best done at the end of the program, when you can see the end from the beginning – and see how much you’ve changed – even when you were failing all along the way. The overall goal is not to give up as soon as it gets hard, or even way too hard. The overall goal is to not forget the overall goal – and to try and remember why you started the workout program in the first place. The overall goal is to get back up when you’ve maxed out, and to start again right where you left off, and to get up tomorrow when you’ve missed a day, and to do your absolute best. The overall goal is the process of getting better, which can only happen when you meet ‘the grind’ face to face and try and beat it over and over again.

Now the question becomes, how does that have any likeness to the gospel? For convenience (and because it’s fun), I have created a table to illustrate some similarities.

Insanity Max:30	The Gospel of Jesus Christ
The overall purpose of the program is to become stronger, better, healthier.	The overall purpose of the gospel is to become something and someone stronger, better, healthier.
A secondary purpose is to ‘max out’ or to fail.	Part of the point of mortality is ‘to fall’ or to fail. This helps us rely wholly on the savior and keep us humble.
Failure to perform the workouts perfectly is inevitable.	Failure to keep the commandments perfectly is inevitable.
The workout program starts with a warm-up followed by increasingly difficult moves, combinations, and level of difficulty. A knowledge of the fundamentals is key.	In the gospel, as our understating and maturity increases, the level of responsibility or ‘load’ is increased to reflect that growth. A knowledge and testimony of the fundamentals (principles) is key.
At some point in the workout, difficulty comes. How we approach and work through that difficulty will largely determine our outcome (not to mention the mental benefits of lessons learned, helpful methods, etc.)	At some point in mortality, trials and difficult times will come. How we approach and work through that difficulty will largely determine our outcome (not to mention the intangible lessons learned and testimonies gained).
It is easy to envision the end results of completing the project prior to actually starting.	It is easy to envision the results of the gospel (living in the celestial kingdom) prior to actually starting and trying to live a celestial law.
At some point during every workout, you will hit ‘the grind’.	At some point during every day/week/month, you will hit ‘the grind’.
Rules (do’s and don’ts) are given for maximum performance.	Commandments (do’s and don’ts) are given more maximum performance.
Failure to obey the rules results in lack of progress. Those who see the rules as ‘silly’ or unnecessary may not keep them and are highly unlikely to complete the program – especially during ‘the grind’.	Failure to obey the commandments results in a lack of progress. Those who see the commandments as ‘silly’ or unnecessary are highly unlikely to complete or stick with the program – especially during ‘the grind’.
The grind, and how the participant responds to the most difficult portion of the program, is in large part the entire purpose of the program.	The grind (trials, difficulties, stress, etc.) and how the individual responds to them is in large part the principal purpose of the gospel. “And we will prove them herewith” (Abr. 3:25)
Giving your best to the program will make you tired – really tired.	Giving your best to the gospel will make you tired – really tired.
At first, it may seem if the other participant (models) are perfect, yet as the workout progresses – they fail, just as everyone else does.	It may seem that others are perfect, yet everyone has failed, everyone makes mistakes, nobody is perfect, and everyone is in need of the atonement.
Just when you think you’ve reached the point where you can’t handle any more – Shawn T asks for a little more. He asks and motivates us.	During times of struggle (the grind) or when we think we are maxed out – Christ asks for just a little bit more. His example is a perfect motivator and he helps us give just a little more.
As we near the completion of the program, we can look back and appreciate ‘the process’ of improving more than the small details and exact times of failure. We understand that while we haven’t been absolutely perfect, the direction that we are headed is more important that the specific location where we currently sit, and we feel motivation to continue and improve.	As we periodically reflect on our gospel journey, we can look and reflect and/or appreciate the tender mercies along the way, the progress we’ve made, and try not to worry about the little setbacks, or specific failures we’ve made. We can understand and see that ‘the process’ of becoming is what is important. The direction is more important than the specific location we are currently in, and we put more value in who we have become rather than what we have done. We feel motivation to continue and improve – and to do our very best.
This workout program includes coaches, communities, message boards, etc. to provide motivation, support, and experience to help users all along the way.	The gospel and the church are set up in a way to provide teachers, leaders, bishops, counselors, etc. to provide motivation, support, and valuable experience to help us all along the way. Not to mention prayer, which is a priceless tool for support.
While participating in the program, if you skip a day, or you miss a workout, you are not disqualified from further participation, nor are you forced to start over at the very beginning. You are encouraged to get back up, and pick up right where you left off the next day. The idea is to not let one missed day turn into 2 missed days, which could turn into several missed days, which could turn into quitting altogether.	In the gospel, if you skip a day (reading scriptures, prayer, etc.) you are not disqualified from further participation, nor are you forced to start over at the very beginning. You are encouraged to get back up, and pick up right where you left off the next day. The idea is to not let one missed day turn into 2 missed days, which could turn into several missed days, which could turn into quitting altogether.
In case of injury or doctor’s orders, the program may need to be suspended and or stopped until healing/preparation for re-starting the program can take place. It is also recommended that periodic evaluations take place (with physicians and or coaches) to ensure that you are physically able to continue or to discuss progress, goals, and any needed supplements and/or dietary needs.	In rare cases of severe spiritual injury (or priesthood leaders orders), certain blessings or privileges may need to be suspended until proper healing and preparation for recommencing the program can take place. It is also requisite that periodic evaluations take place (with bishops or leaders) to ensure that you are spiritually sound, measure progress and goals, report on successes/hardships, and to plan for any supplements and/or spiritual dietary needs.
While participating in the program, it is likely that you will start to see results, and it is also likely, others will see the results in you (added energy, more confidence, physical changes, happiness, etc.) and ask you to explain what you have been doing, or what changes you have made in your life to bring about this mighty change. This will provide you with an opportunity to share your feelings about the program, how it has helped you, what the program is, and some of the benefits of it.	While participating in the gospel, it is likely that you will start to see spiritual results, and it is also likely, others will see the results in you (added happiness, more confidence, countenance changes, increase of service, etc.) and ask you to explain what you have been doing, or what changes you have made in your life to bring about this mighty change. This will provide you with an opportunity to share your feelings about the gospel, how it has helped you, what the program is, and some of the benefits of it (i.e. share your testimony as a missionary).
While participating in the workout program, 14 million things will come up during the days, weeks, and months that could distract you or prevent you from working out. If you let them, these distractions will prevent you from reaching your goals, even when they seem to be legitimate distractions that need attention. Preparing a plan beforehand, and establishing a routine/schedule that is firm will assist in helping deal with these distractions. (i.e. working out early in the morning prior to the day helps complete the program before distractions can become a concern, whereas waiting to ‘fit the workout in somewhere during the day’ seems to be more difficult).	While participating in the gospel program, 14 bazillion things will come up during the days, weeks, and months that could distract you or prevent you from spiritually working out. If you let them, these distractions will prevent you from reaching your goals, even when they seem to be legitimate distractions that need attention. Preparing a plan beforehand, and establishing a routine/schedule that is firm will assist in helping deal with these distractions. (i.e. scripture study early in the morning prior to the day helps you to get your shield on before distractions can become a concern, whereas waiting to ‘fit the study in somewhere during the day’ seems to be more difficult).
Shawn T says (about the program) “if it wasn’t a challenge, everyone could do it, and it wouldn’t get you the results you want”. This means that any workout program that doesn’t cause you to come face to face with ‘the grind’ and cause you to ‘dig deeper’ won’t produce the results and the intestinal fortitude necessary to produce the body and results that you really want.	Sheri Dew says (about the gospel) “If it was easy, it wouldn’t be hard”, and Joseph Smith said (about the gospel) “a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has the power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation.”
If you push through the workout program, and you complete it, you are pretty quick to admit that everything you put into it (while incredibly difficult in that moment) was worth it, and the results are actually greater than the sacrifices made.	If you continue through (and especially in) the gospel, you are quick to admit that everything that you have put into it (given to the cause of Jesus Christ), while at points may be incredibly difficult, was worth it, and the results and blessings that are obtained, are greater than anything that is given up along the way.

The idea of this post is to help us (all of us) realize that sometimes we are in the middle of ‘the grind’, and when we are in the middle of that grind, the best thing we can do is just keep going, or as other people (likenesses in all the world) have said, “just keep swimming”¹, “keep moving forward”², or “keep on keepin’ on”³. We knew in our minds that when we started this gospel program, that there would be days where our best was just making it until bedtime without a full scale explosion– and that’s okay, because we all max out – what’s important is that we get up as soon as we can, we jump right back into it, and we give everything that we have left again and again. And, it’s to help us realize that ‘the process’ of becoming like Christ requires a whole lot of ‘grinding’ just like ‘the process’ of becoming fit requires a whole lot of ‘grinding’. We just have to remember that we can’t forget about (or be angry with) ‘the process’ compared to the end result (goal of perfection), because the end result happens to be directly related to what we put into the process all along the way.

I started with a scripture, and I’ll end with a scripture – but this one is to help us understand that when we are in the grind, those moments, those days, those weeks, those months, or even those years – that’s right where we should be, and that’s right where the sweet spot is, and as hard as it is to remember, that spot (the grind) is the one spot that creates the greatest growth in each of us. Of that moment, Shawn T says (when it really starts to burn); “don’t run from the work, feel the work”. And that is the qualifier for progress. As Nephi (quoting Isaiah) reminded us in 1 Ne. 20:10 it’s from that spot where he chooses us; “For behold, I have refined thee, I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction”. So when we find ourselves in the furnace – and we think we are maxing out – just follow Shawn T’s advice and “give it one more minute. Dig a little deeper and focus in there, and I promise you, you will see results”.

Notes

1 Dory (Finding Nemo)

2 Cornelius, and really the entire Robinson family (Meet the Robinsons)

3 Embarrassingly enough, I just used a reference from Joe Dirt in my blog post about the gospel.

A great and kinda not so great, but really great gift

04 Sunday Jan 2015

Posted by mainealexander in Gifts, Strength, Weakness

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Adapted from EQ discussion 1/4/15:

Like any father, our Heavenly Father loves to give his children gifts. He gives us these gifts because he loves us. The majority of the time we don’t deserve them, but they keep coming. He also doesn’t make mistakes in giving us specific gifts. The gift of the Holy Ghost, spiritual gifts, life, a plan of happiness, etc… One particular gift that He gives is seldom thought of, but can bring great joy, if used correctly.

If men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.¹

So what is the gift? Weakness.

Everyone has weaknesses – and its ok. It is not a mistake or a punishment that we have weakness. Upon encountering a blind man, a disciple of Christ asks who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents; but that the works of God should be make manifest in him.² This man later, through Jesus, the priesthood, faith, and obedience, receives his sight. He bears strong testimony of the Son of God.

This man was born with a physical weakness. I am sure that he, at times, had an incredibly difficult life filled with misery and anguish that I can’t imagine. When we meet him he lived in the streets begging for food. He could not have possibly known that there was a purpose for his struggles and suffering. But, through Christ, we do. How often do we know why we are given the weaknesses, whether physical, intellectual, spiritual, or emotional?

The scriptures are riddled with examples of ‘weak’ individuals becoming strong – even spiritual giants. David described himself by saying I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed.³ Funny enough, this is after killing Goliath. Talk about humility. Moses was not eloquent, slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. He was so hesitant, that the anger of the Lord was kindled against him.⁴ Enoch was but a lad, slow of speech⁵ when he was called. Mormon was in his sixteenth year⁶ when he was appointed leader of the Nephite army. Joseph Smith was an obscure boy, only between 14 and 15 years of age⁷ when he entered the Sacred Grove. Moroni feared that the gentiles would mock at these things because of our weakness in writing and awkwardness of our hands when comparing his writing to the brother of Jared’s. ⁸

These people were able to become strong out of weakness. We have been promised that we can do the same. How? Moroni teaches that if they humble themselves before [God], and have faith¹ we can do so. We must become as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, and full of love.⁹

Undertaking this transformation can be overwhelming. Is there a more simple or succinct answer? Yes. When Mary anointed Jesus’ head with expensive oil, Judas murmured, thinking that she should have sold the oil and given it to the poor, but Christ, the Master says, Let her alone, why trouble ye her? She hath wrought a good work on me … She hath done what she could.¹⁰

How awesome is that! She hath done what she could. We just need to do our best. We, with our weakness, our imperfections, our guilt, our pride, our sorrow, our addiction, our sin, just need to be humble, admit that we have weakness, turn to Christ, repent, follow in faith and do our best.

At times we may be instruments in helping others overcome weakness. In turn, others often help us overcome our own. I can name several that have helped me personally in just the last few months, most unknowingly. Tests and trials that we have overcome give us the valuable opportunity to assist others in a way that many who have not struggled in a similar way cannot. Knowing someone else has overcome a similar trial or weakness gives strength and confidence to continue forward in hope for a more bright future. In helping or serving others we become more like Christ. We are able, as He is, to support, to comfort, to succor.

“Through an ever-closer kinship with God, a person’s worst flaws and failings may eventually be transformed into shining strengths. What consolation! When we acknowledge our weakness to the Lord and receive His aid, a precious side-effect follows — fervent compassion for others and a new concern to love and lift”.¹¹ We do not judge as a natural man⁹, but have charity toward our struggling neighbors. We realize that we are all beggars¹² in the same boat, depending on and looking to the same source for light and life. Let us help each other instead of putting others down because their weaknesses are different than our own.

So, our weakness can always become strength? Not necessarily. Paul taught another important lesson concerning weakness.

Paul had a weakness that he called a thorn in the flesh that kept him humble. He asked the Lord three times to remove this weakness. All three times the Master Teacher answered ‘No’, explaining my grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Paul, because he is awesome, got it. He wrote, I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then am I strong.¹³

Boom. Paul just dropped the mic.

There must be opposition in all things.¹⁴ God did not accidently give us weakness nor accidently give us a trial that we cannot overcome. We need to learn to work, to struggle, to be meek and mild, to rely on others. We need to understand forgiveness and rely upon the mercy and atonement of our Savior to find happiness, to succeed.

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.¹⁵

Now, I don’t mean to glorify weakness. Truly, we should constantly work to overcome and convert our weaknesses into strengths and keep them that way. We can, however, glory in the knowledge that we are not alone in this fight. There is a way, a truth, and a life.¹⁶ Like Paul, the power of Christ will rest upon us when we are humble. That, we can glory in.

¹Ether 12:27

² John 9:1-3

³ 1 Samuel 18:23

⁴ Exodus 4:10-14

⁵ Moses 6:31

⁶ Mormon 3:2

⁷ Joseph Smith – History 1:22

⁸ Ether 12:23-24

⁹ Mosiah 3:19

¹⁰ Mark 14:6,8

¹¹ Truman G Madsen, I Have A Question

¹² Mosiah 4:19-20

¹³ 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

¹⁴ Tyson Alexander, Opposition. See also 2 Nephi 2:11

¹⁵ 1 Corinthians 1:27

¹⁶ John 14:6

Offense vs. Defense

25 Saturday Oct 2014

Posted by Tyson Alexander in Battle, Opposition, Strength

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I think all of us (at least all of us who have been familiar with sports) at one time or another have heard or participated in a debate of offense vs. defense. We’ve likely even heard the phrase ‘the best offense is a good defense’ or even ‘the best defense is a good offense’. Both of these tend to be supported by those who specialize in one area or the other. For example – a fantastic offense (think of Oregon in years past) would likely feel confident enough in their talents, skills, stamina, and strategy that by the end of the game they (the offense) would have produced more results (a.k.a. points) than their opponents’ offense therefore allowing them to come out victorious in the end (without too much thought about defense – or at least what appeared to be a much less focused emphasis on defense). There are others (think of Alabama in years past, the SEC, or maybe even Provo High School basketball in years past) who subscribe to the opposite school of thought in the sense that they feel confident enough in their defensive strategy, skills, schemes, and stamina that by the end of the game, their defense allowed fewer points than their opponents defense did, also allowing them to come out victorious in the end.

Now, the important part of relating this concept to a spiritual setting is not whether you subscribe to the offensive or to the defensive mindset (as both have very valid points), but whether we can truly and fully understand the concept of an offensive defense and a defensive offense – at the same time. Hold that thought – because before we can understand that concept we need to understand exactly what the traditional differences are between offense and defense.

Offense: There are two main definitions for offense and I think both of them are appropriate in this particular context. The first is: the act of attacking, or a pattern or style of scoring attack, and the second is: something that offends or displeases (or the act of offending or displeasing). The main (traditional) idea is that when we are offensive, we are in the state of attacking, or on the move attempting to dismantle, outsmart, outplay, or be stronger than any defensive attempt made by our opponent. Depending on the type of game you are playing, this might be one play at a time (football), or it might be a sequence of plays off and on (basketball or soccer), a very established set of events (half inning in baseball), or a one-on-one defense/offense showdown such as boxing, tennis, or fencing. The whole point of offense is to force the opponents defense to retreat, give in, or be moved allowing us to gain the goal, or in other words, to force the opponents defense to surrender.

Defense: The best definition for defense in this context is: resistance against attack; or the practice or art of defending against attack. The main (traditional) idea is that while on defense, we are not actively attacking, but straining to prevent an attack from the opponents offense. There are just as many strategies, schemes, and formats for defensive positioning, all with the goal of strengthening the defensive stance against the opposing offense. Similar to the offense described above, there are times when it is performed one play at a time, one sequence at a time, in a series, or in a one-on-one showdown. The whole point of defense is to not allow the opponents offense to gain ground or score, or in other words – to force the opponents offense to fail.

With this understanding, it is important for us to realize that there are some types of competition, especially in individual competition (boxing, fencing, karate, sumo, chess, etc.) where the lines (strategies, functions) between offense and defense are not entirely clear. This may make it increasingly difficult for casual observers (and maybe even seasoned observers) to understand if the individuals are taking a defensive stance or an offensive stance, which is which, and when the transition between the two takes place. They may just see ‘fighting’ or ‘some type of competition in which two people (or teams) are fighting to achieve the same goal’ – which is to win – let’s be clear on that. That does not, I repeat, that does not discount the fact that there are two very different styles and approaches being utilized by each team (offense and defense) at the same time.

Now, back to the initial debate of offense vs. defense and which stance is better – and I think for all of us the answer is easy: it’s both – at once. Especially if we are to ‘liken all things unto ourselves’ and make this a spiritual discussion – we need the best of both worlds. We need a strong defense, and we need a strong offense – and we need them at the same time. We need an offense that is literally relentless, and we need a defense that absolutely refuses to yield. We need an offense that is ‘sharper than a two edged sword’, and we need a defense that can withstand the exceeding fury from Satan himself.

So, how is this to be done? How can our defense also be our offense? And how can our offense also be our defense? The logical answer is to:

. Arm ourselves with power that is simultaneously offensive and defensive
. Understand that as participants in the ultimate battle between good and evil being defensive is very offensive to our opponent (Satan).

What kind of power is both offensive and defensive?

Before we think of the type of power, it may help if we recall that the places (very literally places of refuge from the storm) that we commonly refer to and attend in order to rest from the constant storm of evil to bolster our defense are in fact the same places that we attend in order to bolster our offense. For example, our homes are a very real defense against the storm, but they are also the places where we arm ourselves and our children with faith, with testimony, and ‘with the sword of truth and right’ (See Hymn 259). This defense creates a very real power that we can use offensively. The temple is another place that we can go to be literally away from the cares of the world and mend our spiritual defenses. But do not forget that the temple is the one place on earth where we can receive an ‘endowment of power’.

In addition to the places that we go to receive this power, we have tools that can help us receive this power. The scriptures, living prophets, and maybe the best of all – direct and unlimited communication with the source of said power who is willing (eager even), to bestow as much of this power on us as we are able to bear and use. This power (the kind that is both offensive and defensive) is the power of the gospel. This power comes from earnestly seeking, repeatedly asking, and righteously using it. It comes from obedience. It comes from knowledge. It comes from exercising your faith. It comes from fasting and prayer. It comes from sharing it with others. It comes from consistent, diligent, and steady seeking, using, and serving. It comes from God. It comes as a gift made available through priesthood ordinances and temple covenants. It speaks to us and is confirmed to our hearts through the Holy Ghost and it is all made available through the miraculous atonement of our savior Jesus Christ. It is available to everyone and it is the greatest power there is.

Being defensive is very offensive and being offensive is very defensive.

As we steadily and diligently acquire this power and as we understand the defensive use of this power is very offensive to our opponent and the offensive use of this power creates a great defense for us. In fact, the more we use this power, the previously clear lines between offense and defense become less and less distinguishable – and we are simply ‘watching with all perseverance’ (see Eph. 6:18). The goal is to get to this point (watching), where there is not a series, or play of offense followed by a series or play of defense. We want to get to the point where our offense is on full attack mode at the same time that our defense is operating in 4^th and goal mode where we cannot give an inch.

This process can become so developed within us that our opponent will be confused as to which state they are in or should be in to combat us. They will think they are in the midst of an offensive attack only to realize (when it’s much too late) that they have been misled all along the way by our offensive defense. A perfect example of this is in Alma 52 where the majority of the Lamanite army is pursuing a portion of the Nephite army (led by Teancum), and during this pursuit (since the Lamanites saw the Nephites start to flee) they ‘took courage and pursued them with vigor’ and ‘supposed by their numbers to overpower Teancum’ (vs 23-24). At this point, the Lamanites (in their minds) are clearly playing offense, meanwhile, another portion of the Nephite army (led by Moroni) took possession of the Lamanite controlled city of Mulek (also playing offense) without much resistance and yet another portion of the Nephite army (led by Lehi) is waiting to meet the Lamanites near the city Bountiful. When the Lamanites meet Lehi (who had met with Teancum) and his army the Lamanites ‘fled in much confusion’ likely because they thought they were on the offensive side only to discover that the Nephites were much better at offense in this battle and they had not planned on a defensively offensive approach. So, the Lamanites attempt to flee back to their base (the city of Mulek) and outrun Lehi only to run into Moroni and the portion of his army fresh from their overtaking the city (which no doubt the Lamanites realized immediately) finding themselves in an extremely defenseless position (surrounded by offensive Nephites). This battle ends bad for the Lamanites, and there are key phrases (which lead to further understanding) in verses 33 and 34. “And it came to pass that Jacob, being their leader (of the Lamanites), having an unconquerable spirit he led the Lamanites forth to battle with exceeding fury against Moroni…Jacob was determined to slay them and cut his way through to the city of Mulek (back on offense). But behold, Moroni and his men were more powerful; therefore they did not give way”. The Nephite army was definitely offensive (trapping, cornering, taking the city of Mulek), but at the same time, they were extremely defensive to the Lamanite fury that ‘they did not give way’. This duplicity of strength (offense and defense simultaneously) was so effective that the Lamanites ‘being much confused, knew not whither to go or to strike’ (vs. 36). This is effectively defending and offending the opponent until they are defeated.

Moroni and his captains knew how to fight. They knew how to play offense and defense, and they knew how to play them at the same time. They knew how to acquire power and use it. They learned this so well in fact, that if we (all of us here and now) ‘had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever; yea, the devil would never have power over the hearts of the children of men’ (Alma 48:17). This is amazing. But before we deflate ourselves with the thought that ‘nobody could be as awesome as Moroni’, let’s remember that the very next verse gives us hope since he (Moroni) ‘was a man like unto Ammon, the son of Mosiah, and even the other sons of Mosiah, yea, and also Alma and his sons, for they were all men of God…and ‘Helaman and his brethren were no less serviceable unto the people than was Moroni…” (Alma 48:18-19). It can be done. It must be done. We can do it. We must do it. We can arm ourselves with such power that we can continually play defense by ‘not giving way’ and continually play offense ‘by gaining power’ and cause our opponents to ‘flee in much confusion’.

As Sheri Dew put it, ‘it seems clear that the only way to fight the fire and brimstone of hell prepared for Lucifer and those who follow him is through the fire and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the fire of testimony’ (See her book ‘God Wants a Powerful People’ – pg. 80). I can think of some pretty impressive firepower rooted in faith. The fire of a burning, unwavering, unshakeable testimony of Jesus Christ, his prophet of the restoration Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon. The fire of obedience and love for truth and right. The fire of the spirit as it literally burns in our hearts. The fire that we can call on to defend and protect our souls. The fire of the gospel as it strengthens us, quickens our understanding, expands our visions, and motivates us to become like Christ himself. This is the great offensive and defensive power.

Let us become great, immovable rocks planted firmly on the shore, with foundations in and on and through Jesus Christ and his gospel truths. Let us withstand (defensively) the constant barrage of waves as they roll in from Satan and his followers with their malicious intent to weaken and destroy our homes and our families and our identities and potential. Let us ‘not give way’ and refuse to yield. While we are constantly withstanding these waves, let us move together (offensively) to limit his reach and his impact. Let us offensively defend the shore becoming more and more powerful by moving further and further out to sea while behind us, the trail of our faith and power is creating a more ‘firm foundation’ of rock for us and others to stand on. Let this continue slowly but surely until at last the small puddle of what used to his great sea of evil is surrounded on all sides by ‘mountains of the Lord’ firmly rooted in Jesus Christ, radiating his pure light, love and truth. Let this be Satan’s last view as the walls close in. Family after family linked together in love, the unit he attacked so fervently to destroy, becoming at last the most powerful weapon of all, causing him to ‘weep and to wail, and gnash his teeth’ in one final attempt at glorious darkness only to be extinguished by the piercing and pure light of Christ.

Are we Superman or Clark Kent?

05 Sunday Oct 2014

Posted by Riley Alexander in Strength, Superheroes

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When it comes to total abandonment of fashion sense Superman outdoes even my 3 year old. For decades this Symbol of power and justice has defied fashion logic entirely and chosen not only to wear tights, but also to reverse the traditional relationship between underwear and pants. Maybe he does it because he knows he’s that awesome. Maybe he’s actually super dyslexic and doesn’t realize he’s doing it. Maybe that’s the traditional way of dress on his native planet Krypton (although he was raised in Smallville Kansas) and maybe I’m showing how nerdy I am right now by starting my article out with Superman facts, but despite all his imperfections (or what I perceive to be imperfections) he was one of my heroes growing up. I pretended to be him on plenty of occasions. I had a makeshift cape, I fought imaginary bad guys and at one point I even tried to wear my underwear over my shorts. As a matter of fact, I was born in the front seat of a car as opposed to in a hospital bed. (not quite Krypton but the best I could do with two mortal parents).

There is something else unique about Superman. Most superheroes are regular people whose disguises transform them into their Superhero alto ego. Superman on the other hand IS his true identity. His disguise and alter ego is Clark Kent the mild mannered, clumsy, freelance employee at the Dailey planet. As we all know Superman blends in as Clark Kent until danger is amiss and then he retreats to a closet, phone booth, or somewhere discreet and busts out ready to deliver a beat down to the bad guys as the 6-packed, perfect haired Superman.

My point with this ramble is this. Everyone knows who Superman is. Everyone knows what his morals and standards are and where his heart lies. He immediately uplifts those around him and brings hope. They know he wants the best for them and wants everyone to be happy and safe. Being born in Kyrpton yet living on Earth Superman truly lives the saying “Be in the world, but not of the world”. Thinking about it, Superman is a pretty awesome guy. On the other hand… no one knows who Clark Kent really is or what he stands for. He blends in and gives no impressions on who he really is or what he stands for. No one knows what he believes or where his intentions are. However, Clark Kent’s standards are every bit as high as Supermans because of course they are one and the same person! So that then leads to the question which is the title of the article. Are we Superman or Clark Kent?

Like Superman do people know who we are and what we stand for? Do we personally by our words, our actions and our deeds show people, whether they know us or not see that we stand for truth, righteousness, love, hope, and peace? Do we aspire to inspire others to do good, to be good and to be the best person they can be? Do we attempt to follow one of my favorite sayings by Ghandi “Be the change you want in the world”? Are we a force for good? Can we be counted on by the Lord? Or, on the other hand are we like Clark Kent? Do we simply blend in? Do we keep ourselves and our stance quiet in this world which is in obvious and rapid decline!? Do we allow people to make their own assumptions on who or what we are? Do we give them reason to doubt what we stand for? Or do we, or will we now choose to make a stand?

The truth is, we are constantly showing who we are. So yes, I’m basically saying that in a way we’re all like Superman… which is awesome! Whether we know it or not, whether we are aware or not, whether we are even trying or not, we are constantly showing and proving who we are at all times to people around us. People across the office, at the post office, across the parking lot, at the stop light, in the next line over at the checkout line could be paying attention to you. How we treat others, our spouse, our children reveals our true character. That is something we cannot hide nor should we want or need to hide it! Are we being the best person we know how to be? Are we proud of our character? Are we letting it shine? Does our character speak for us when we cannot?

If we’re not, and even if we are our Heavenly Father can help us magnify who we are to an even higher degree. He can and will help us become the best person we can be. His gospel can change our lives and add happiness and joy, love and peace. It can provide comfort in times of turmoil and can help give us guidance and hope. The Gospel of Christ is something that I love. It is something that has helped me tremendously in life and I’m sure will continue to help me in the days and years to come. I hope that we can all become more like Christ and be proud to show our character as it aligns with the Character of the Master. He is here to help us, he always has been, and always will be.

Competition

16 Tuesday Sep 2014

Posted by Tyson Alexander in Opposition, Strength

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I am the 2^nd of four brothers that all grew up together (4 brothers in a row) and I am not sure I can overstate the level of competitiveness that prevailed in our home. There was nothing that we did that wasn’t a competition of some kind (even if we didn’t say it – we all knew it). Normal activities that somehow resulted in a full scale competition could range from who could eat the most or the fastest, who could win while playing any type of game, who could sleep the most, who could play with their friends more often, who was better at Nintendo, who could make the other one angry, who could drive the car, who had the best hair, who sat on the comfy chair, who got the last drink of Kool-Aid, and the list goes on literally forever.

There is however, one area of competition that seemed to be exceedingly intense – sports. Ever since we could walk – we were competing in sports. We were each other’s first and sometimes only opponents and we couldn’t escape it since we all lived in the same house. We grew to understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses and with a complete lack of mercy these weaknesses were heavily exploited to make the competition even worse (Colby forced me to drive left every time. Every. Single. Time. Or, he made me shoot a deep 3). It forced us to study, and to learn the ins and outs of everything in order to try new things, understand the rules, improve the fundamentals, and more importantly, to become better. I can guarantee that there weren’t any other boys our age (besides those we played with) that knew all the rules, and who loved the competition as much as us. We understood exactly who we were, what role we played on the team (and just as importantly if not more importantly we knew what role the others on our team should play), what we could become, and we loved the competition! I remember crying only a few times during my childhood and every single time it is related to sports. I even cried while I was on the pitchers mound once…. during a game. I cried in right field once after striking out with the bases loaded because I knew I had let my team down…. I cried on the bench of a basketball game because I didn’t get to play very much, and I cried after the game lots of times (only when we lost). I loved playing and competing it so much I can’t even describe it for you. Hint: it’s a lot.

Sports were the only things we ever did. Before school, during school, after school, during the summer, during the winter, it didn’t matter what the weather was like – we were playing something somewhere with someone. Even when we weren’t home playing each other – we were likely off with others playing some kind of sport. For those of us who were not the oldest, this meant that you sometimes got to play (or were forced to play) with kids twice your age and twice your size. Be it remembered again that I don’t think anyone ever got a single ounce of mercy from anyone else, and if they would have asked for it – that would have been the beginning of the end for that person.

There were many times when Colby and his friends would compete against me and my friends, and the results were very similar to MetroMan vs. MegaMind: “he would win some, I would almost win others”. There were also times when I would practice for hours and then when I felt I was ready, I would come and challenge him and he would somehow win by a point on a lucky shot or a phantom foul call. With all this practice I improved a lot and let’s be honest – it made him better. There is no way that he could absorb the relentless attack of a motivated little brother who has no other goal than to beat his older brother and therefore retain bragging rights forever without exerting unnatural force and most assuredly some divine help.

This constant competition likely drove our parents crazy. In fact, I’m positive that neither one of my parents have ever said to any of us “thanks for being so competitive and ruthless while you were growing up – It was super fun to watch and it really helped make my life easy”. But looking back at those great moments – this ruthless competition provided many opportunities for us to grow up. I learned how to compete. I learned how to give every single thing I had against people that were twice as old and twice as big with little hope for success but that wasn’t stopping me at all. I learned to work, and I learned to want it. I learned what to look for in teammates and what to expect from a good opponent. I learned to battle.

Being so close to Colby in age also gave me the opportunity once in a while to be on the same team (brothers were always on the same team in Jr. Jazz, little league, etc.) and we quickly realized that while we were on the same team that competitive spirit that we each had somehow multiplied exponentially when we harnessed it together against the other team. What that meant for me is that we didn’t spend any time or energy fighting with each other, and we had plenty of energy together to compete together – against the other team. This was awesome. When we combined talents, understandings, intentions, strategies, and energy to become the best teammates that we could – the results were pretty amazing. This coherence only happened during sports (I don’t remember being on the same page during our Saturday chores or really any other time). Our teams were always good and they were even better when others who we had normally played with (friends) were also on our team and they harnessed their energy and competitive spirit. On the other hand – it also helped me realize the differences between good teams and not so good teams. It also helped me understand and realize that sometimes there are people on my team, that aren’t really dialed in, or that aren’t giving the same level of effort that I was, and that affected the whole team, and this fact helped me try to be an even better teammate. We also had the opportunity to play for some awesome coaches. Coaches that helped us learn, helped us grow, challenged us and helped us understand things. We also had coaches who didn’t really want to be there and couldn’t wait until the season was over so that they didn’t have to practice or deal with us anymore. We (even then) knew the difference and would choose wisely if given a choice.

This constant competition in all things sports (combined with our intimate knowledge of professional athletes) also allowed us to talk about sports when we couldn’t play them. During school or church, or while walking to school or church, or while sitting in the car, or pretty much anytime when we couldn’t actually play sports – we talked about them, we dreamed about them, we envisioned ourselves being them, and we called ‘I’m Jordan’ or ‘I’m Maddux’ when we played and thought that we were just as good as they were. I know that we are all guilty of developing our own ‘dream teams’ based on opinion, facts, knowledge, bias, uniform colors, success, statistics, and maybe even location and arguing with each other over whose imaginary team is or would be better. Some of us maybe even still do this in our minds…. and some of us might even still write them down. Hopefully we have all arrived at a point in our lives where we can assemble these dream teams based on various roles, talents, characteristic attributes, etc. in order to make a great team (talents working together) instead of just a bunch of really good players who would happen to wear the same uniform (i.e. having 4 centers and one power forward on your dream team). The hardest part of this activity was trying to decide which of the all time greats would be your 5 starters (basketball) or 9 (baseball) given the whole history of sports. Good luck with that.

This whole backstory is to make a point: we can and do make our own dream teams. Or maybe a better way to put it is, we can and do decide which team we play on, who our teammates are, and who our coach is. The best part is that there is no limit to the number of starters that you can choose because there isn’t a limited number of positions like in baseball or basketball – at least not in the traditional sense. For example – in the limited scope (when we attend or watch a sporting event) there is a single game going on where 5 or 9 or 11, etc. players from each team play and the others are on the bench waiting their turn. But what if there were 20 games going on at once (between the same 2 teams), and each side has to field a team for each court/field/etc.? Now imagine there were 2,000 games going on at once, or even 2 million games and each side has fielded its team to each of those locations. This is the ultimate game. Each team is recruiting players, and each coach is delegating authority and preparing their teams for continued battle. This is the game of good vs. evil. It is real and it is going on even now.

The more we realize this, and the more we understand that it is absolutely a competition, and that it has been going on since the beginning of the beginning the more excited we become, and the more involved we become in the action all around us. We get to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each team, we get to see the players on both sides, dream about becoming like them, playing with them, and then (best news of all) we get to make a conscience choice to draft ourselves to whichever team we want to play for. We also get to decide if we are a starter, a bench warmer, a utility player, a low post threat, a water boy, a pinch hitter, a closer, or maybe even a pinch runner. We even get to try them (some voluntarily and some via ‘callings’) out until we learn and understand what we are really good at and how we can help the team more effectively. Some people are better suited to call the plays from the front office, some people are good at kicking field goals, and some people are good at running really fast. Some people are good at shooting 3’s and some people are good at free throws. Some people are good at defense and some are good at taping ankles. Some people are good at shagging foul balls, and some people are good at throwing changups. Some are good at laminating the coach’s card and others are good at holding the cord to the headset so that the coach can wander wherever he wants during the game. The point is that there are a gazillion opportunities to help the team, and we need every single person that we can get. This is why both sides are recruiting and constantly ‘enticing us to choose good or evil’.

When we (as players and competitors) decide to get on the same team, and to follow the same coach, and to give everything we have to help the team win, our competitive natures can exponentially increase the success of the team. We get to practice while we play. We get to improve by playing and playing and playing some more. We get to enjoy the process, and we get to meet awesome people, and we get to feel that rush of being on the smallest but best team of all. We get to focus our energy and our intensity with others who have the same drive, motivation, testimony, etc. in order to become the best teammates we can be, and to become the best team we can be.

We also get to compete against a team that on paper may seem to be much bigger, stronger, faster, more agile, more stacked, better coached, better prepared, has more experience, has flashier uniforms, a larger crowd or booster club, a better travel bus, and definitely more team members. In fact, their team name is called ‘The World’. Their warm up routine is a really great show. It strikes fear into the hearts of many. When they’re done with their warmup and all during the game, they are excellent trash talkers and they try to get in your head by saying whatever they think will affect us and IT’S ALL A SHOW to be ‘seen of men’ or ‘to have glory of men’ because ‘they think that they will be heard for their much speaking’.

The strength of ‘the world’ is in it’s show. They are also very good at isolation defense. They full court press and trap like crazy while on defense to make the offense feel ‘isolated’ and ‘apart from’ their team. They try to make each person on the other team feel like they are alone, or that there is no hope of help. This is their best strength – let us be aware of it as a tactic of battle – because only then are we able to properly see it for what it is – their weakness. Their supposed strength (the show) is a complete weakness because it has no substance. We can break that full court press by attacking it, and once we’ve attacked their trap, we will be able to see through their defense and reach our goals. Do not confuse this breakthrough with complete victory, because ‘the world’ will fight and claw and cheat and steal and do whatever they can to disrupt us, make us panic, take us off course, confuse us, distract us, and they are coached and prodded by a relentless motivation of pure hatred which when backed against the wall will become ‘yet more angry’ and they will fight ‘like dragons’ and become ‘exceedingly wroth’. This will require poise (especially under pressure), power, and focus to overcome. It will require faith, and it will require confidence.

When it really comes down to it (the end)– they (the world) are the ones who are ‘exceedingly afraid’. They are the ones who are ‘astonished’ and who ‘tremble’ and who are ‘filled with terror’ and wish that ‘rocks would fall’ upon them or that they could somehow ‘cease to exist’. They are the ones that have ‘imagined up unto themselves’ glory or success or who ‘boast in their own strength’. They are the ones that are ‘racked with eternal guilt’ and live in a ‘state of misery’, which hath no end. They are the ones led by a coach of who abandons them when he promised he’d be there for them and when they think they need him most. A coach who binds them down with chains to rule over them and ultimately rejoices in their misery and captivity. Like most battles where a heavily favored opponent (the world) is defeated by ‘small, simple, and weak things’ – ‘how great and marvelous will be their fall’.

Do you want to be on that team? I don’t.

Let us not forget what we have on our side. We have a power that they will never understand. We have a coach that understands each one of us, our strengths, our talents, and he knows exactly where to put us to do the most good. His only desire is to help us win because of what it does for us, not because of what it does for Him! We have teammates who are willing to give everything they have. We have the playbook. We have the commentary on past history. We have the game film from the game we are playing. We know what happens, we know who wins. We are the ones who have a coach that laid down his own life so that we could choose and become something more. We have a team that can do ‘all manner of miracles’ and have a ‘fulness of joy’. We have team that has ‘seen and heard unspeakable things’ and have promised the same for others. We have a team that can ‘smite the earth with the word of God’. We have teammates that are ‘holy, and that the powers of the earth cannot hold them’. We have a team that will ‘sing together, for we shall see eye to eye’. We have a team that is ‘filled with the Holy Ghost’. We have a team that is ‘encircled about with fire; and the angels do minister unto us’. We have a team that ‘knows and do bear record of Jesus Christ’ and ‘have a knowledge of our redeemer’. We have a team that can minister ‘with power and great authority’. We have a team that can speak with such power that ‘it is not possible that they can disbelieve our words’. We have a team that has ‘great joy, and is exceedingly glad, for great shall be our reward in heaven’. We are members of a team that has ‘been chosen from out of the world’, and can ‘see with our eyes and feel with our hands, and do know of a surety’. We have a team where the very ‘power of heaven shall come down among us’, and Jesus Christ himself ‘will be in our midst’. We have a team that works together and helps each other out. We have a team that is ‘scorned, and shamed, and spit upon’, but we have a team that will overcome through ‘power, through love, and a sound mind’.

Our uniforms, shoes, sponsorships, and bus may not be flashy, our team may not talk trash (Elijah can handle that for us), we may not act the part of what ‘the world’ thinks a team should be, but we are in fact the greatest team ever assembled, and I for one am going to give everything I have to this team, because I love this team and all those who play for it, I love our coach, and I love to compete against the world because I know ‘of a surety’ and have a knowledge of my redeemer and His great love and plan and it makes ‘my heart burn within me’.

The strength of our team is our power through unity and the light and love of Jesus Christ. The power that comes through Him and His atonement. The power that comes to each team member through faith, love, devotion, practice, and service. This power is viewed as a weakness by the world because they can’t see it. They don’t believe it’s real because they can’t see it. They think they can defeat us because all they see are the weak and simple things of the earth going about believing ‘foolish traditions’ and ‘binding themselves with a yoke of bondage’ and weakness ‘as to the strength of men’. What they don’t see are the legions of angels surrounding us at all times who are ready and willing to fight for and with us. They don’t see the amazing and consuming power of the priesthood to ‘bind on earth and on heaven’. They don’t see that all it takes is for us (members of the opposite team) to combine forces, motivations, and share that love and light to drive away their hate and darkness. Don’t let this strength be our weakness, don’t let their traps and full court presses confuse us or fog up our minds or eyes – let us join with the angels, and ‘let our hearts be turned to our fathers’ so that we can call upon them during times of struggle and strife. They are already here – we just might not ‘see’ them. Let us feel them, and become more aware of them, and then have the faith necessary so that they ‘cannot be withheld from our sight’, or that we ‘cannot be kept without the veil’. Then can our power grow, then can our ‘weak things become strong’. Then we can show forth and share His power to destroy our foes.

Come join with us. Take upon you His name – even Jesus Christ. For “who can stand against the works of the Lord? Who can deny his sayings? Who will rise up against the almighty power of the Lord?… Who will despise the Children of Christ?…Behold, ye shall wonder and perish” (Morm. 9:26). They shall be ‘as stubble fully dry’ and destroyed ‘to the uttermost’, for ‘the mountains quake at him, and the hills melt, and the earth is burned at his presence, yea, the world, and all that dwell therein’.

Christ the royal Master, leads against the foe

Forward into battle, see his banner go

Hell’s foundations quiver, at the shout of praise

Brothers, lift your voices, loud your anthems raise

Like a mighty army, moves the Church of God

Brothers we are treading, where the saints have trod

We are not divided, all one body we:

One in hope and doctrine, one in charity

Onward then, ye people, join our happy throng

Blend with ours your voices, in the triumph song

Glory, laud, and honor, unto Christ the King

This through countless ages, men and angels sing

(Hymn 246)

Flexing and Admiring our Spiritual Muscles

29 Friday Aug 2014

Posted by Riley Alexander in Strength

≈ Leave a comment

I think it’s safe to say that at one point or another every man in existence since the invention of the mirror has spent plenty of time in front of it, flexing and admiring his physical muscles. Admiring how “manly” he looks…. Maybe even admiring how much chest or armpit hair he has while thinking to himself “created in God’s own image indeed”. (or maybe that was just me) I’d be lying if I said I never did that through my teenage years… or maybe even a little since then.

Building physical muscle takes dedication, time, effort, pain, and maybe a little help from Richard Simmons. You don’t, cant, and won’t get stronger without going through that process. No pain, no gain right? The harder you work, and more you sacrifice, the better the payoff. In working out there are tools that can help us. Weights of course provide the resistance needed to break our muscles down. The water, Gatorade, or nutrient drinks provide the replenishment our bodies require to rebuild stronger muscles. The neon leggings provide…. well they don’t really provide anything and pretty much just make us look weirdoes. One thing for sure though is that when it comes to working out, the hardest part is always getting started. However, once the ball gets rolling and we’re in the habit it becomes easier and yes, dare I say the word “enjoyable”! However, the second we stop working out, and putting in the work, our body begins to manifest the signs of it also. Muscles become less defined. Our endurance and confidence in our physical strength begins to decrease. My point with all this is to see and receive the reward or physical strength, it takes constant and consistent effort on our part… my other point is that neon leggings aren’t awesome anymore…. If they ever were in the first place.

Let’s put a twist on this now. How many of us (both men and women) have stepped back in front of the same mirror to flex and admire our Spiritual muscles? I’m guessing not as many of us. The ironic thing is it’s our spiritual strength more than physical strength that will enlighten our lives and the lives of others. It’s our spiritual strength that we will carry throughout eternity and bring us the blessings that give us the greatest joy. It’s our spiritual strength that truly matters both now and in the future to our father in heaven. In short, it doesn’t matter how much you can bench press, how much you can curl or how many miles you can run… if you are spiritually weak you are missing out on a whole new world of opportunities and blessings that will enrich your lives and the lives of others and likely even effect generations of people! So how do we get our “spiritual workout” on?

Much like building physical muscle, building spiritual muscle takes dedication, time, effort and pain also. The pain needed to build spiritual strength however is often in the form of trails, struggles, disappointments or heartaches. It takes that pain to build us, teach us, and forge us into the men, women, husbands, fathers, wives, sons, and daughters that we are capable of being and that our Father in Heaven would like us to be. We don’t, cant, and won’t become spiritually stronger without that process either! Again, no pain no gain! It’s surprising how similar building the two types of strength really are! Just like the tools in the form of weights, electrolytes, nutrients and questionably the neon leggings used to help us build our physical strength there are tools to build our spiritual strength also. The Book of Mormon, bearing our testimony, Prayer, fasting and service to others are all tools that can help. Best of all, for building our Spiritual strength we don’t need help from Richard Simmons… we receive help from Jesus Christ!

The similarities don’t stop there though. Just like the regimen required to maintain and increase physical strength, we also require a regimen to maintain and increase our spiritual strength. The second we stop working out spiritually and putting in the work, our spiritual strength begins to manifest the signs also. Our relationship with the Lord weakens, it becomes harder to feel the spirit and feel promptings. Our desire to offer sincere prayer decreases as does our desire to do right and help other do the same. It takes constant and consistent effort to maintain peak spiritual shape also.

So, if we want to admire how awesome our “Spiritual 6 pack” is, or how “ripped our spiritual guns are” or how much we can “spiritually bench press” we’re going to need to know how to work up a spiritual sweat. (Is that even a term?) How do we build our Spiritual strength? Although replacing iron weights with stacks of Books of Mormons would physically weight about the same, that’s not the idea we’re going for. It’s simple. The primary answers. Read the scriptures, attend Church, and the Temple if worthy (and if you’re not worthy work to become worthy). Provide service to those in need, look to share your time and talents with others. Bear your testimony when given the opportunity. Lift and inspire others, be a good example, be honest, pray, have faith, and be happy! There are lots of ways that we can build our spiritual strength and they don’t even require a gym membership. I can also attest that the hardest part of working out spiritually is getting started. Getting in the habit of daily scripture study, service, the sharing of energies, times or talents is harder at first, but I can promise you the blessings will soon follow! You will realize a change within yourself and look forward the work it takes as you will notice an increase in strength or confidence or relationship with the Lord. It will make burdens and struggles appear in a different light as you will understand they are there to learn from! It will be become more than enjoyable. It will go beyond a desire also, and transform into a necessity! So, this is your “spiritual pep talk” to get off the couch and hit the “spiritual gym”, to get your “spiritual workout on”, and pump those “spiritual irons” so you can appreciate your “spiritual guns” your Father In Heaven is waiting to bless you with!

4 Brothers Blog

Category Archives: Strength

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A Humble Prayer

Bones and Biceps

Maxing Out in the Gospel

A great and kinda not so great, but really great gift

Offense vs. Defense

Are we Superman or Clark Kent?

Competition

Flexing and Admiring our Spiritual Muscles

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A Humble Prayer

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