Category Archives: Types

Endure to the End!

18 Sunday Oct 2015

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

≈ Leave a comment

IMG_5717

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.

IMG_5719

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.

IMG_5718

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.

IMG_5720

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!

A Trip Across the Ocean

28 Sunday Jun 2015

Posted by in Journeys, Types

≈ Leave a comment

There is a story – a true story.  About a ship, a family, and their journey to a better place.  This story is much more than just a nice story about a trip across the ocean, which is why it was selected among the thousands of other stories written long ago to be included in the “most correct of any book on earth.”1

Nephi and his extended family had gone through many afflictions and struggles in order to build a boat (not after the manner of men) from scratch that would allow them to cross the great waters.  This was no easy task, yet together they persevered, built the ship, gathered many provisions, boarded the ship and then set sail for a better world.  During this sailing trip they were “driven forth before the wind towards the promised land”2  and things were looking up.  Struggles and sacrifice had created strong familial bonds, humility, gratitude, and hope, and traction to move forward to another new beginning.

On this journey, after they “had been driven forth before the wind for the space of many days”3 a portion of his family on the boat “began to make themselves merry… to speak with much rudeness, yea, even that they did forget by what power they had been brought thither, yea, they were lifted up unto exceeding rudeness.”  Happiness and prosperity and progress had given way to rest, which led to complacency, which always results in forgetfulness.

Fearing that this rudeness and forgetfulness would incur the displeasure of God, and because he knew that this whimsical merriment and exceeding rudeness would no doubt have detrimental consequences to everyone aboard the ship, Nephi “began to speak to them with much soberness; but rather than pay attention to his words, “they were angry with [Nephi]” because they did not enjoy him to telling them what was right.4  Nephi warned them that their behavior was inappropriate.  He even warned them “with much soberness.”  Much soberness is code for “he told them in very plain terms that what they were doing was a bad idea and that they should stop.”  We might even say that he used words like ‘declare’ or ‘warn’).  These people thought and assumed that it was their right to have a little fun, and to decide what was okay and not okay all by themselves, and therefore paid little heed to his words.  In fact, they became angry at Nephi because of his words, and rather than give heed to his warnings they let their anger lead them to action.

Laman and Lemuel took it upon themselves to enforce their opinions by constraining Nephi.  Nephi explained; they “took me and bound me with cords, and they did treat me with much harshness”.  As this was happening, Nephi demonstrated no amazing show of power, called down no “signs” from heaven to thwart the mutiny, and likely just calmly yet unmistakably made his position known.   Essentially, Nephi allowed Laman and Lemuel to make their choice and to practice their agency.   The Lord (and Nephi) – just like he has in many other instances, and just like he does today – “did suffer it that he might show forth his power, unto the fulfilling of his word which he had spoken.”5  The Lord provides agency to everyone, and everyone means everyone, even when what those people are choosing is harmful.

At this point, I imagine that those individuals who bound Nephi with cords, and who treated him or spoke to him with much rudeness were quite pleased with themselves.  Their actions may have even been met with cheers and applause from others who were tired of Nephi preaching to them about Gods expectations and their behavior – and more importantly about the age-old promise of punishment for disobeying the commandments.  Perhaps they thought that now that Nephi was bound and captive they could be at peace, or that Nephi would change his mind about what is acceptable behavior when he realized and watched their seemingly innocent merriment had not brought forth immediate negative consequences or even when it was explained to him that exceptions should be made to laws while traveling on a boat, after all – times were different now.  It wasn’t the golden days of Jerusalem or the old world any more; they were in a new world on the ocean, they had grown up and things had changed.

There is a critical detail that Laman and Lemuel either didn’t consider, or didn’t think was important enough to worry about in their celebrations.  Nephi was the navigator of the ship.  He was the one that could read the compass.  He was the one that knew where to go and how to get there.

As soon as Laman and Lemuel had tied Nephi up, “the compass that pointed the way whither they should go”6 – “did cease to work”. 7  These two (Laman and Lemuel), and all of their followers – in their haste to be comfortable with their own merriment and by attempting to silencing any naysayers by force – had forfeited their navigational capabilities all in the very same act for which they were celebrating victory.

At this point in the story, a tragic observation is captured in the record.  A simple yet profound truth that reads “they knew not whither they should steer the ship.”8  It wasn’t just that they couldn’t steer the ship – although it was that too. These guys knew the hopeful destination existed but they had no idea how to get there.  These are the guys that wanted to be in charge of the ship and wanted to tell everyone on board that despite what Nephi was saying, that everything was going to be fine, and as a side note they didn’t want anyone else making things difficult for them along the way.  This was okay for a little while; a few hours, maybe even a few days, but some time after their we-tied-Nephi-up party “there arose a great storm, yea a great and terrible tempest, and [they] were driven back upon the waters.”9

As with all decisions to disobey God’s law and/or to ignore the warnings of the prophets, at some point unfavorable consequences are guaranteed to follow.  As soon as this storm came around some of the other passengers on the boat likely  started to see that Nephi had been right all along, and were became uncomfortably aware of the situation.  The only way to peace and safety was to do exactly what Nephi had told them; obey to the Lord, be humble, repent, and keep the commandments.  Everything else is the opposite of that law and will eventually end up in pain and regret.

As this storm worsened, and the situation became dire, Laman and Lemuel “began to be frightened exceedingly lest they should be drowned in the sea; nevertheless, they did not loose [Nephi].”10  They continued in their ignorance and likely shouted loud enough for everyone to hear that Nephi was still the crazy one and promised that the storm will pass soon enough.  They probably even told everyone that the storm had nothing to do with Nephi being bound and that it was just a coincidence.

It wasn’t until these two brothers understood that “the judgments of God were upon them, and that they must perish” that they realized the mistake they had made.  They finally understood that despite their hopes and dreams, they really had no idea what they were doing.  They didn’t know how to steer the ship.  To make matters worse, during this tempest, “they (Laman and Lemuel) did breathe out much threatenings against anyone that should speak for [Nephi]”11 or who shared Nephi’s values.  They didn’t show any concern for the other passengers on the boat or how the very real consequences of their actions affected all of them.  They didn’t do what was best for the entire group.  They did what they wanted to do and demanded that everyone allow them to do it – and threatened them to stay quiet about any reminders to the contrary – even if it meant death by tempest for every single person aboard the ship.

Only when Laman and Lemuel saw that “they were about to be swallowed up in the depths of the sea” and they finally understood that they had willingly forfeited the right to proper navigation by trusting in themselves and in their own judgment rather than the Lord and his compass did they truly see.  In other words – after being driven backwards upon the waters, and after experiencing a mighty tempest that threatened to destroy the entire party, it wasn’t until they came to the point of their own imminent death did they “hear” the words and warnings that Nephi had spoken.  It is a sobering fact indeed to realize that they really may have only been in it for themselves all along.

Yet, in a flash of long overdue wisdom, these two repented, loosed Nephi from his cords, and he (Nephi) ”took the compass, and it did work whither [he] desired it.  And it came to pass that [he] prayed unto the Lord… and the winds did cease, and the storm did cease, and there was a great calm.”12  Following that, “Nephi did guide the ship, that [they] sailed again towards the promised land.”13  Problem solved, crisis averted, lessons learned, and they were back on course.

The solution to surviving the great and terrible storm was so simple, and the solution to our great and terrible tempest is still so simple.  Follow the prophet, because “he knows the way.”14  The prophet and his apostles are the ones that can use the compass and that “know whither to steer the ship”.  If we try and put ourselves in charge, by discounting their words or their counsel, ignoring them, or becoming angry with them (essentially binding them), we run the risk of veering off course and being driven backwards.

The last note about this story that I feel is important for us all to remember, is the fact that everyone in the story – both the people who were listening to Nephi and the people who were not – were in the same boat – literally.   They were all experiencing their own individual journeys within the group journey.  The interaction between the two groups was necessary, because after all, “it must needs be that there is an opposition in all things”15 and that includes opposition in opinion and the use of our agency.  I highly doubt that Nephi and his immediate family reacted to his being bound by cursing Laman and Lemuel or calling them names, shunning their families, throwing their hands in the air, losing hope, or asking to take the emergency raft to the nearest island where they could live by themselves – even if that’s what they wanted to do.  I am positive that Nephi and his family didn’t begin to “speak with much rudeness” towards Laman and Lemuel.  I like to think that they fervently prayed and continued to exhibit faith and even let Laman and Lemuel know of their love for them as members of their family and boating party, all while continually declaring and enforcing their values and where they stood on the issue by their quiet yet powerful examples of faithfulness and humility to the Lord.

We are all on a journey.  We have someone who is steering the ship and even better than that; there is someone that is causing the wind to blow – which drives our boat towards the promised land.  The Lord is in charge, and we do not need to doubt that fact.  Let us follow his enticings, be loyal to him, and act like him to be quiet yet powerful examples and demonstrate where we stand by shining with brightness, love, kindness, and hope.

Notes

1 See the Introduction to the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ

2 1 Ne. 18:8

3 1 Ne. 18:9

4 1 Ne. 18:10

5 1 Ne. 18:11

6 1 Ne. 16:10

7 1Ne. 18:12

8 1 Ne. 18:13

9 1 Ne. 18:13

10 1 Ne. 18:13

11 1 Ne. 18:17

12 1 Ne. 18:21

13 1 Ne. 18:22

14 Children’s LDS Songbook, 110, “Follow the Prophet”

15 2 Ne. 2:11

A Green Bag

19 Tuesday May 2015

Posted by in Fatherhood, Obedience, Types

≈ Leave a comment

Yesterday morning I asked my 7-year-old daughter to go out to the car (located in the garage) and get something for me.  She hesitated, moaned, groaned and murmured about it.  Then, my 4-year-old (who happened to be within hearing distance) said, “Daddy, I will go and do the things which the daddy commands” (we’ve been studying 1 Ne. 3:7 and have been liberal on our ‘likening’ it to the small slaves that live in our home) and I said “great, please go out into the garage and get the green bag”.  She happily agreed and off she went.

About 4 seconds later I heard her yelling, “Daddy, I can’t open the door”.  So, I stopped what I was doing and walked to the garage door, unlocked it, and let her into the garage.  I then watched her run down the two stairs and arrive at the car door.  She tried to open it a couple of times and then looked back at me and said “Daddy, it’s locked.  I can’t open the door”.  It wasn’t locked (I knew this), but she just wasn’t quite strong enough to open the door.  So, I walked down the two steps into the garage and opened the car door for her.  She happily jumped into the car in an effort to do her duty.

About 2 seconds later she turned to me and asked “Daddy, what am I getting again”?  I told her she needed to get the green bag from the car – and she happened to be standing right next to it.  She grabbed the green bag, jumped out of the car and headed into the house happy as can be.   I shut the car door, walked up the steps, shut the garage door, and as a family we put the green bag to it’s intended use.

As I was standing on the garage steps watching her try her best to open the car door, and in the hours since I can’t help but feel just like our Father in heaven when he asks us to do something – even if and when we do it happily.  It turned out that I went all the way to the car to the very spot where the green bag was located anyway – so I could have just gotten it myself.  But, now there is a 4 year old who is pretty sure that she went all the way to the car and got the green bag for me because I asked her to – and she is right.

Heavenly Father asks us to do stuff, and sometimes we jump right up and do it cheerfully.  Then, we get 4 seconds into the task and we can’t open the garage door because it’s locked.  So we ask for help, and he comes and opens the door for us. Then he watches us as we bound down a couple of steps and come to the next obstacle (another door).  We ask for help again, and he comes to where we are and helps us again.  We might even need yet another reminder about what it is that we are looking for in the first place, and it happens to be really close to where we are – so we ask (again) and he answers (again).

As parents, we can all relate to the joy that we feel in helping a child succeed.  Let’s just remember that we are all the 4-year-old children who need help every step of the way.

Big Brother

17 Tuesday Mar 2015

Posted by in TV, Types

≈ Leave a comment

A few years ago, my wife and I used to watch ‘Big Brother’ pretty regularly.  Hopefully most of you are familiar with the show (or others like it) – only because it will allow this comparison to be clearer, but for those of you who are not familiar with the show, I will include a brief summary.

Big Brother is a reality TV show (but it’s also very much a game).  The premise of the show involves a select group of people, called ‘houseguests’, living together in a specially constructed large house. During their time in the house they are isolated from the outside world and are not commonly aware of outside events (no TV, no internet, no social media, no letters, etc.).  In-house television cameras as well as personal audio microphones continuously monitor the contestants during their stay and record every word and action between contestants. Each game (involving the house guests) lasts for about three months, with at least ten contestants entering the house. To win the final cash prize, a contestant must survive periodic (usually weekly) evictions and be the last housemate or houseguest remaining in the house by the series’ conclusion.  Similar to other game shows like survivor, biggest loser, etc. there are challenges, competitions, and prizes for various events, but the basic idea is to be the last one standing at the end.

This show (similar to other TV game shows) was developed primarily for TV viewers, so naturally it is jam-packed with drama (intrigue, deception, alliances, conniving, lies, false promises, and every other tactic that contestants can come up with) in order to win, which obviously gets people to watch.

The fundamental purpose of every single contestant is to win the $500k prize.  Let’s be clear on that point.  Otherwise, why enter the game?  A subtle secondary purpose might be to become famous, so let’s just assume that’s a part of the overall purpose). Each individual is trying to win the individual prize.  There are no team prizes, as it is not a team game.  It is every man for himself, yet as it has always been (and always will be) the contestants enter into ‘alliances’ with other contestants in order to improve their individual chances, help eliminate other strong contestants, or to create some type of a team.  This is where it gets tricky – and exciting.

Once the alliances start to form (which is usually right away), the viewers have an advantage over the contestants, because the viewer can see the entire game all at once (at least what the network wants to show us – which if we are honest is just enough to make the drama reach it’s absolute maximum point).  The viewer is privy to both sides (or all sides) of the story.  The viewer can see that the alliances that are formed don’t have an ounce of loyalty – at least not when it comes down to ‘you or me’.   Because we can see one contestant enter into 2 or 3 alliances and promise or (or swear) loyalty to each.  The viewer knows (and can easily see) that each contestant is only loyal to the alliance if (or as long as) it is beneficial to him/her.

Inevitably, we all see the episode where one of the alliance members is ‘blindsided’ and voted out, and then acts hurt or emotional and completely surprised about it.  Let’s remember our first fundamental here – each contestant entered the game to win.  The contestant cannot be surprised when another contestant turns on them can they?  Is that possible?  How is that a difficult concept for the contestant to understand?  That doesn’t make it easier to swallow when you’re the one that was blindsided, but you had to expect it at some point right?  It’s not even strange to see an alliance within an alliance – or alliances all over the place, because every contestant is trying to put him or herself in the best position overall – to end up on top.

After the contestants are eliminated, the orchestrator(s) of the eviction is always found saying something like this: ‘no hard feelings (contestant name), I had to get you out before you got me out’ or ‘you were such a strong competitor, we had to get you out as soon as we could’.   Meanwhile, the eliminated contestant is sitting there in shock (while watching this all play out)– angry and bitter and hurt – wondering what happened.  Then the show host asks that question “what happened”?  “Didn’t you see this coming”?  With rare exceptions they quietly sob and say, “no, I guess I trusted them.  I thought we were a team.  I really did believe that they had my back, and that they would look out for me.  I thought that we had an alliance.”

If the orchestrators and schemers could hear those words (of the dejected contestants) – they would likely laugh and say something like this; “oh that’s cute, you actually thought I cared about you”.  Or if they are honest it would be something like this “that is so cute that you actually thought I had any plans of bringing you with me, because I didn’t.  None.  I used you just like I plan on using everyone else here to get what I want.  But I’ll take it as a compliment that you believed me, because that means I played a good game”.

We’ve all seen it a hundred times right? And as a viewer of the show it is so easy to see it coming.  We can yell at the screen, we can groan and ask them if they are blind, and we can even wonder to ourselves if they’ve every actually watched the show before (because it happens every single season, literally over and over again).  But then we see the face of the dejected and evicted houseguest and realize – they actually believed the schemer.  They really did think that he had their back.  They actually and honestly believed it.  And then you understand – and you get a little sad for them.

Now, if we have ‘eyes to see and ear to hear’ we can see the exact same things happening in our game of life.  We can hear those who would like us to join their ‘alliance’ and they speak softly and encouragingly: “Unite with us and become acquainted with our secret works, and become our brethren that ye may be like unto us – not our slaves, but our brethren and partners of all our substance” (3 Ne. 3:7).  Come and be part of our alliance.  It looks like you don’t have many on your team, and/or your team is made up of weak old-timers and stiffs.  We are strong and you can be a partner with us.  We have money, we have power, and we have a solid backing of sponsors and supporters.   These are the orchestrators, who claim to have our back, yet will toss us away as soon as it fits their (unspoken) strategies.  And, as I mentioned, if we have eyes to see, we too can see it coming from a mile away.

There will be many who will speak ‘flattering words’, and yet are full of ‘cunning devices’.  They have learned this art from the master liar and if we don’t think that’s true – then we are naïve.  So, to illustrate the past in order to understand the present and future – let’s encapsulate the entire big brother premise in a single concise statement – based on someone playing that game in 72 B.C. – which happens to be a chapter heading from the Book of Mormon (Alma 47) which reads “Amalickiah uses treachery, murder, and intrigue to become the king of the Lamanites”.    Since there is no way to adequately capture or explain all of that intrigue – I will encourage you to read chapters 46-51 of Alma for the full story as it’s much better than any season of big brother. 1

In summary: Amalickiah dissents from the Nephites (because they didn’t elect him to be their king) – so he became ‘wroth’ and convinced his cronies (who happened to be lower judges in the land who also “were seeking for power” which is the hallmark of bad guys.  He led his ‘alliance’ with flatteries that “if they would support him and establish him to be their king that he would make them rulers over the people”.  So they run away and convince the (existing) king of the Lamanites to go to battle against the Nephites  – because if that happened (war with the Nephites) it would be beneficial to Amalickiah  – so he (Amalickiah) “being a very subtle man to do evil”… laid a plan in his heart to dethrone the king of the Lamanites”.  He takes the army that the king gives him (the king gave him orders to compel the other Lamanite armies to go to battle), but had absolutly no intention of actually fighting (or compelling the other Lamanite armies to fight with them) because he actually surrenders to Lehonti (a Lamanite chief) as a ploy to become #2 in charge (of now two armies), poisons Lehonti to become the chief commander of both armies, and then comes back with a larger army to the real king and under the guise of  ‘bowing down as if to reverence him because of his greatness’ has one of his cronies stab the king, cause a distraction, blame the existing servants of the king and become the king of all the Lamanites.  “Thus, by his fraud, Amalickiah gained the hearts of the people”.  It was quite the show.  He was able to ‘gain the hearts’ of people with false promises and cunning treachery.  Another telling truth about this ‘leader’ is found in the statement that Amalickiah “did not care for the blood of his people”.  He was in it for himself.   As I read these stories I wonder how the Lamanites missed it…

The Book of Mormon is literally full of examples just like this.  How many times do we read about individuals and/or groups that dissent or revolt because they (the dissenting group) want to see themselves in power?  Like 683.  It seems that every few years there is another group that wants to have a king (which is code for “I want this guy to be king so that he can give me more power”).  And in each case, this revolt starts with a fancy talker who convinces many by flattery, that if they elect him to be the king he will put them in power, somehow convincing everyone that they really will defeat everyone else (even though everyone else is the whole city) and somehow take over (sound like big brother yet)?  They honestly believe that when the battle has been won, they will share the loot or that they really will be put in power and everything will be awesome.  Not likely.

The point of all of this is to highlight the fact that these secret bands, or alliances that promise security and protection are so ridiculously unloyal.   Because truth is truth, and truth says that (speaking of the devil) “the devil will not support his children at the last day, but doth speedily drag them down to hell”  (Alma 30:60).  Interestingly enough, this scripture comes after a fancy talker was left on his own after joining an ‘alliance’ with the sweetest talker of them all.  If you think I’m joking, just imagine the devil in the diary room after your eviction from heaven (because you joined his alliance because of his ‘pleasing words’ only to then be stabbed in the back when you needed him most) where he says something like this: “oh that’s cute, you actually thought I cared about you”.  Or if he’s brutally honest it would be something like this “that is so cute that you actually thought I had any plans of bringing you joy, because I didn’t.  None.  I used you just like I plan on using everyone else here to get what I want – which happens to be your misery.  But I’ll take it as a compliment that you believed me, because that means I played a good game”.

The best example of these ‘alliances’ being made of lies, comes from the book of Helaman, when the prophet Nephi is lamenting the people’s wickedness on his garden tower and the people wonder what he’s doing.  He tells them in chapter 8 (among other things) to “go ye into the judgment seat, and search, and behold your judge is murdered, and he lieth in his blood; and he hath been murdered by his brother who seeketh to sit in the judgment seat.  That pretty much sums up the whole reason that alliances don’t last – because everyone that belongs to that alliance is after the same thing – power (or in this case, the judgment seat).   Yet Nephi continues “behold, they both belong to your secret band”.   What?  How is this possible?  How is it that everyone in our secret little band is not loyal to the cause?  Especially to one’s own brother within the secret band…oh yeah, it’s because every single person who belongs to our secret little band wants to be in charge of our secret little band, and as soon as they see a window of opportunity – they will throw their ‘oaths’ out the window and do whatever they can for their own individual benefit.

The hard part is trying to figure out how they ever think their deception and scheme will last.  They were part of the same ‘alliances’ when they schemed to murder the chief judge, but somehow think that other ‘alliances’ within their overall alliance will somehow stop trying to ‘get gain’ once they have become the chief judge.  Only to be disappointed (put this cycle on repeat) because the people in this alliance are only interested in themselves.  Shocker right? Yet, we see it over and over again and we want to scream at the TV or the book – how did you not see this coming?

These secret bands are the people who will do “all in their power, by whatever means available, to bring us down, to woo the people with sophistry, and to take control of the society”. 2   These are the people that will step on others to get on top.  These are the people that will say anything and everything (knowing full well that it’s not true) in order to get ‘followers’ or people to believe in their cause, their projects, or their purposes (code for give them money), while having completely different intentions all along the way.   These are the people that do not care for the blood of their followers.  And, if we think that secret bands or alliances are only to be found in reality TV game shows, we are naïve.  These secret bands are found everywhere in life.  They have been for a long time (see Moses 5:51) and they are among us now (see Ether 8:20).

It seems so easy for us to see these things playing out when we read them in the Book of Mormon, or we watch big brother on TV, but for some reason it is a bit more difficult when we are ‘in the game’.  Somehow we miss the ‘tells’ or some of the seemingly insignificant things that help us realize that these groups may not actually have our best interests at heart.  In fact, they may be out to abuse us entirely – regardless of what their slogan(s) or outward appearances may be.   When we watch the game from the outside – we are able to see the true intent of the schemers, and wonder with that same prophet Nephi – “HOW could [these participants] have given way to the enticing of him who is seeking to hurl away your souls down to everlasting misery and endless wo?”… “Behold, he shall scatter you forth that ye shall become meat for dogs and wild beasts” (Hel. 7: 16-21).  How indeed.  Doesn’t everyone know that Satan an his followers do not have good intentions – despite what they are telling you?  Somehow everyone seems to miss it – perhaps because we are trying so hard to ‘play the game’ to get our own schemes in place – that we miss out on the fact that we’ve been hooked.   How many movies have this as a premise?  Lots.

This same amazing prophet (Nephi), includes a phrase that I absolutely love in verse 25 of chapter 7 (still in Helaman) which says “wo be unto you because of that great abomination which has come among you; and ye have united yourselves unto it, yea, to that secret band…”.  I cringe when I think of all of us who are so busy getting on with life, constantly making choices, choosing sides on hot button issues within and without the church, aligning ourselves with the ‘right’ people, groups, or activities (playing the game of life) only to realize that the greatest evil in the entire world (that great abomination) has quietly come among us and has become the most pervasive thoughts, groups, organization, or ideas in our society and not only have we allowed it, but we have ‘united ourselves unto it’ because they sounded so reasonable and logical (not to mention the social pressure, conforming thoughts and the widespread acceptance they receive).  What an awful thought.  Imagine sitting on the wrong side of that eviction (after being completely blindsided) and wondering how this all came to be (asking yourself – what happened?).

So, let us have ‘eyes to see’ so that we “suffer not that these combinations get above [us], which are built up to get power and gain.  When we shall see these things come among us (and they are among us now), that we shall awake to a sense of our awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among us…. For whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people, for it is built up by the devil, who is the father of all lies.” 3  

Let us not think that these groups, people, ideas, organizations, thoughts, etc. will be labeled as clearly as we would hope.  No doubt they will come packaged in very enticing ways that seem to fit the mold of goodness and justice and rights and fairness and privileges.  They will all claim to be good, and they will all claim to lead us to safety.  Let us be ever dependent upon the spirit and the truth, and the chosen leaders of the church.

Notes

1 When you read these chapters, I have found it very helpful to see the ‘types’.  For example, Amalickiah is a fascinating ‘type’ for Satan and how he fought in the premortal world, and how he works today, and Moroni is a type for Christ and/or Michael in leading the forces against Satan both then and now.  I think we can learn a lot by assuming that these ‘types’ are some of the reasons the war chapters are included in the Book of Mormon for us to read – today.

2 Gordon B. Hinckley, ‘The Times in Which We Live’ – January 2002

3 See Ether 8 (the whole chapter)

Inspections vs. Appraisals

26 Monday Jan 2015

Posted by in Motes and Beams, Types

≈ Leave a comment

We are selling our house at the moment, and it is quite the process (as many of you know) for other people to see, like, and then actually go forward and offer to buy something of great value (by great value, I mean something they have to get a mortgage for, as opposed to a smaller purchase made with cash or even credit cards).  Once we had formally listed our home, we (our realtor) showed it to several people, and other realtors also brought people through our home to try and pique their interest.

Side note: we purchased our home and participated in major renovation projects (brand new kitchen and appliances, dining room, laundry room, 2 bathrooms, flooring [carpet and tile], and paint), installed a new A/C unit, and replaced the furnace) – which have added value to the home (from an appraisal standpoint, and from an atmosphere/living standpoint).  We put a lot of work (sweat, tears, time) into this home and we feel that we did ourselves and this home a service in the process.  These renovation projects took the better part of 6 months and occupied way too many hours to even count. 

The obvious purpose of these ‘showings’ was to get one of these families to make an offer on the home in order to take the next step towards actual purchase.  Once an offer was submitted to us, we negotiated price, inclusions, exclusions, etc. and obtained signatures from both parties.  Then came the part of the process that I found particularly insightful – the inspection and the appraisal.

As part of the purchase agreement (and really any real estate purchase agreement), the buyers included in their offer a ‘due diligence’ date, or a date in which they could talk to an inspector, have him look at the home in order to identify any potential problems that would make the buyers reconsider their offer (or even withdraw it).  In addition to this, the bank that will be providing the financing also requires an appraisal, to verify that the purchase price does not exceed the market value of the home.  In essence, the inspector comes to look for, identify, and highlight what may be wrong with the home, and the appraiser comes to look for, identify, and report on the overall value of the home (all things considered).

The Inspection

The inspector came into our home and spent 2 full hours scouring every single nook and cranny of our 23-year-old house.  He turned on every light, every ceiling fan, every faucet (hot and cold), every shower, and flushed every toilet.  He tested every single electrical outlet; he walked into and around every single room.  He checked the paint for scrapes, he checked the ceilings for cracks, he walked the entire foundation of the home (inside and out), he checked the porches, the siding, the roof, the windows, the driveway, the garage, the trees on the property, the floors, the walls, and even the attic (where nobody ever goes).  He checked the pipes under the sinks in the cabinets, he flipped the breakers, he was the epitome of thorough – and it’s likely that he looked at things that I haven’t even looked at since we have lived here and the only thing he was looking for was problems.  His whole goal was to provide the buyers with a list of every singe thing in the home that didn’t work perfectly.   He found exactly what he was looking for – problems.

He prepared his report, which as you can imagine included some potentially significant things like:

  • Small crack in foundation wall
  • Hose pipe is missing turn valve (hose bib)
  • Siding is damaged on south end
  • Stairway leading downstairs is missing a railing

These things (when buying a home) seem insignificant to me. 

But, what surprised me (at least a little) is that he reported about 35 additional items that were (in my mind) anything but substantial.  Some of these items included:

  • Bathtub in master suite has a scratch
  • Dirt is touching the bottom rung of the porch
  • Electrical outlet under the kitchen sink (in a cabinet) is missing a cover
  • There is debris (trash) in the window wells
  • Some tree branches are touching the roof
  • There are ‘typical cracks’ in the concrete garage floor
  • Humidifier is unplugged
  • There is a cracked tile on the fireplace hearth
  • The sink drain is slow

This list seemed to go on and on and on – and as I read the list, I thought to myself, I wonder if this house is worth $5.  The way the inspection report makes it sound nobody would ever want to buy this house, because it isn’t perfect, in fact, it has about 35 things that are not perfect about it and it’s likely to completely fall apart and crumble any minute now– and then this list is what he gave to the prospective buyers.

The Appraisal

The appraiser came, and happened to ask me what we’d done to the home to ‘improve’ it over the past while, and I ran down the list of everything I wrote in the side note above, to which he said, “Ok, thanks”.  I left and he went ahead with the appraisal.  I returned a while later when he happened to be on his way back to the car, and he complimented me on how much the home had been improved, how good the renovations looked, and how much more ‘homey’ it felt inside.  He was very complimentary and went on his way.

His report will include and highlight all of the ‘good’ that the home has to offer (new kitchen, flooring, carpet, paint, appliances, A/C, etc.) and as a result of these improvements, a value will be assigned to the home that indicates the level or work (past vs. present) that has taken place in the last year or two.  In a sense, overlooking the problems focusing on the positive elements and their overall value.

In terms of what any of this means to any of you, the inspection process reminded me of exactly how Satan views us, and wants us to view ourselves – completely full of problems.  Problems that should be highlighted, exploited, and put on a list for any prospective buyer to see.  No matter what room we go into, or which facet of our life we inspect, if we look for what’s not perfect, we will find it.  If we only look for what’s broken, we may walk right past the brand new kitchen and notice the outlet cover under the sink is missing.   Because all of us live in a house (body) that has been through the ringer the past several years, and as part of mortal life – some stuff is going to get banged up and/or damaged.

This holds true for what we choose to see in other people as well – are we inspecting them, or are we appraising them?  Do I look for and find all the little ticky tack things that are wrong with or broken in others, and then use that list as a reason to not be friends, not try and help them, or do I focus on the improvements they’ve made in the past little while and compliment them on their hard work and progress?   Do I continue my search for the perfect house/body (imaginary), or do I see a ‘fixer-upper’ and envision the end result after some TLC?  I think these are valid questions for all of us to ask ourselves.
On the other hand, the appraisal process is more like the way that our Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ (and hopefully our leaders) view us.  They look at all the things that are good or that have been improved.  That’s not to say that they don’t notice the creaky floor, or the small cracks, because they do, they just don’t focus on them until it’s time to fix them.  They encourage you to keep moving forward, and see the overall value it the home, and as a most happy thought – they know exactly what can take place during the process and at the end when all of the little projects are improved.  They know our potential and are happy to go through the improvement process with us.

The last connection I’d like to highlight is the fact that none of us are able to complete these projects (improve upon them, or help them be repaired) on our own – even if we have identified them without the help of a formal inspector.   We all have the same need for an outside contractor to come in and repair what has been broken (either by misuse, abuse, lack of maintenance, external events, etc.).  We rely on Christ to help us identify and fix our problems, and the only productive reason that we have in recognizing them, is to ask for his help in fixing them.  This helps us to appreciate not only the help, but also the end result of that help.   Remember that in D&C 88:33 that in accepting (receiving) that help, we can rejoice not only in the gift (that which is given), but also in him, who is the giver of the gift.

Maxing Out in the Gospel

23 Friday Jan 2015

Posted by in Opposition, Sports, Strength, Types

≈ 1 Comment

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.