Christine so inspired me, I am posting her talk here for all.
"Recently, I pushed myself to a position where I wanted to give up & quit.
A few weeks ago, we had a taste of early spring with warm sunshine & blue skies much like these past few days. As many people took to the outdoors, my husband Chris & I were no exception & took advantage of a prime opportunity to ride our bikes up to Bald Peak. Chris had done the ride once before & cautioned me that it was a challenging climb, but had confidence in my ability to make the uphill passage to the peak. Awaiting at the top, he described, was a breath-taking, scenic view of the Willamette Valley & 5 snowcapped Cascade peaks. That was enough incentive for me to decide this was a ride I wanted to undertake. We had a nice steady ride from our house over to highway 219. The traffic was a bit heavy due to rush hour & other motorists I’m sure who were out for a scenic drive taking advantage of the weather condition. As we approached the intersection of the 219 & turn-off to Bald Peak Road I hesitated about how to make the left turn across the 2-lane road with busy traffic. Chris advised me to go ahead & head out towards the middle of the road next to a van that was already stopped & signaling ot turn left as well. As I came up towards the van, the uphill grade of the road stole away my momentum & before I could clip out of my pedals, I crashed right there in the middle of the road behind the van. Instinctively, I promptly hopped up & ran back to the right side of the highway. After assessing my minor scrapes, we waited for a break in traffic & ran our bike to the opposite side of the intersection. From there we commenced our 5 mile ascent up Bald Peak Road. At this point we had probably only been riding for about 20 minutes. But the constant rise in elevation & powering up & over one hill after another provoked quick fatigue to my body & introduced me to the meaning of lactic threshold. Knowing that I only had a couple of miles to go & that this spectacular view awaited me I kept pedaling. One curve after another the hills kept coming. I decided to stop & get off the bike. The mental game began playing in my mind. I digested the situation of my exhaustion, the difficulty of the ride, my crash on the road & the hills still to come. I considered that maybe it was time to turn around & head back home…downhill. It was an easy solution to my predicament. But I also knew that it would be such a personal disappointment to have worked so hard & come to this point only to give up & forego the reach to the peak. With much encouragement from my riding partner, I decided to endure the physical drain & to keep going. It was so hard after stopping on an uphill grade to get the momentum going again. So, Chris put his hand on my back & started pushing me up the hill as he continued to pedal as well. The last ½ mile up to the summit was the steepest part of the ride & with his help I was able to reach the point. The reward was truly worth the rigorous bike ride. I was overcome with emotions of relief, deliverance & gratitude all at the same time. I deeply appreciated the support of my riding partner throughout the entire experience. He was right-on when he told me the view was breath taking. I ran out of breath a bunch of times just to be able to get up to the view point!
Let me read Christ’s words from 3rd Nephi:
Behold I have given unto you my gospel, and this is the gospel which I have given unto you—that I came into the world to do the will of my Father, because my Father sent me.
And my Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; and after that I had been lifted up upon the cross, that I might draw all men unto me
And whoso taketh upon him my name, and endureth to the end, the same shall be saved at the last day.
The resurrection is the center of every Christian’s faith. It is the greatest of all miracles. It is the gift that will be given to all mankind. 1 Corinthians chapter 15:22 assures us that every living thing will be resurrected. 'As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.' But it is our responsibility to do the work which is required of each of us to achieve eternal life & exaltation. The Lord’s ultimate concern is for the salvation & exaltation of each individual soul. Only those who endure to the end will receive eternal glory.
Using excerpts from John chapter 6, Elder Russell M. Nelson poises a couple of questions to ponder on quote:
What if the Apostle Paul’s conversion had not been enduring? He never would have testified as he did at the end of his ministry: 'I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.'
What if Jesus had wavered in His commitment to do His Father’s will? His Atonement would not have been accomplished. The dead would not be resurrected. The blessings of immortality and eternal life would not be. But Jesus did endure. During His final hour, Jesus prayed to His Father, saying, 'I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.'
Early in His mortal ministry, Jesus became concerned about the commitment of His followers. He had just fed the 5,000, then had taught them the doctrines of the kingdom. But some had murmured, “This is an hard saying; who can hear it?” Even after He had fed them, many lacked the faith to endure with Him. He turned to the Twelve and said, “Will ye also go away?
“Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord … thou hast the words of eternal life.
“And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Peter’s answer defines the real core of commitment. When we know without a doubt that Jesus is the Christ, we will want to stay with Him. When we are surely converted, the power to endure is ours.”
Sometimes the need to endure comes when we face a physical challenge & is often accompanied with spiritual trials as well. Heavenly Father did not intend for us to fail or give up. He sent His Son to Earth to walk with men & to show us the pathway back to heaven in every way.
Throughout our lives we may find ourselves in situations that will cause us to doubt our abilities, our testimonies, our faith or even our purpose. These road blocks may cause us to fall & stop along our journey towards eternal progression. Problems often arise that are not of your own making. Some of you may suffer disappointment at the hand of someone close to you. But you will never be forsaken by your Redeemer, who said, “I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say.”
Satan will try to steal away our momentum on our pathway to eternal glory. He will try to get us to pause & hesitate in decisions that we must make during our lives. We must remember that it harder to get going again in the right direction once we have decided to stop our progress. It is essential to our success that we stay the course in our commitments to our families & marriages, our church attendance, fulfilling our church callings, acquiring strong testimonies & building the kingdom of God. In hindsight, many of us have seen how giving up on finishing goals was a lost opportunity & are left with the feelings of, "If only I would have kept going & finished!" Those of us who have experienced those moments now push our own children over those climbs in hopes they will enjoy the satisfaction of completing goals & see the blessings manifest.
It is my testimony that Jesus is our Savior and Redeemer and that through Him we can endure all things. Heavenly Father has poured out his blessings upon me personally & upon my family when I have chosen to follow the teachings of His latter-day prophets, when I have committed to keep my temple covenants, when I have obeyed the commandments & chose to be Christ-like in my actions towards others. I have felt His hand in my life, pushing me up & over life’s hills I’ve encountered. I am so grateful for the example of my brother Jesus Christ & how he did not shun responsibility or waver in completing his mission here on earth. He was promised the beauty of eternal life & exaltation upon fulfilling his Father’s will. We too can earn this wonderful blessing.
The Lord said, “If you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.” The Prophet Joseph included this concept of endurance in the thirteenth article of faith: “We have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things.”
It is my hope that the Spirit has brought the Savior’s love & peace to you this Easter.
Memorial Day 2007 will be remembered for visiting three cementeries and two rides.
The day started with the intent of taking Bald Peak and the West side of the river. Plans change. We ended taking Cassie on our 10 mile loop in the cold. After being in the 70's on Saturday, 50's on Sunday, this morning was in the mid 40's and there was no way I wanted to climb into freezing temperatures.
We got home and got on the road. Our first stop was Willamette National Cementery to put flowers and flags on the graves of my o'pa and grandfather. It was amazing to see all of the flags out on the graves, some 129,000+. The next stop was across the street at Lincoln Memorial Park to lay a flower and visit the grave of my grandmother and her parents. We found that the head stone has not yet been placed. After a lunch break at Chipotle downtown, our final stop was at the graves of my great grandmother, other grandfather, and my younger sister. At every stop, I was amazed that the kids would stand motionless and listen to me tell stories. Craig said at one point, with tears in his eyes, "I didn't even get to know him." This is one of those times when I am thankful for the plan of happiness and the opportunity to share my testimony with Craig. Great moments!
