Hope Talk - Part Two

In the 1968 Olympics a marathon runner names John Akhwari from Tanzania finished the race a little over an hour after the winner had crossed the finish line. Earlier in the race he sustained an injury and could have dropped out of the race, no one would have blamed him if he had. Tired, dehydrated, disoriented, and with leg cramps, he finished the race. When asked why he did not give up, he stated “My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race; my country sent me to finish the race.” “He knew who he was … he knew his purpose – to finish the race. He knew that he had to endure to the finish, so that he could honorably return home to Tanzania. Our mission in life is much the same. We were not sent by Father in Heaven just to be born. We were sent to endure and return to Him with honor.” (Elder Hales)

D&C 24:8 Be patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many; but endure them, for, lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days.

The scriptures are full of promises to those who can endure to the end:

3NE 15:9 Behold, I am the law, and the light. Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live; for unto him that endureth to the end will I give eternal life.

3NE 27:16 And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world.

If you are like me, the enduring part is the hardest part. But I have found that simply riding out the trial is not enough, we must endure well which I believe indicates that we must endure with hope, faith, and joy. Elder Joseph B Wirthlin in his Conference talk “Come What May, and Love It” said that “the way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life… if we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness” Elder Wirthlin suggests a few steps to enduring trials well: Learn to Laugh, Seek for the Eternal, Learn the Principle of Compensation, Trust the Father and the Son. “Adversity, if handled correctly, can be a blessing in our lives. We can learn to love it.”