Rescued

I am an avid sports fan. Perhaps you are, too. Sporting events are fun to watch and I believe can be beneficial to all those involved. So I would like to pose a question for your consideration:

 

When is the game or contest won? Is it when one team doubles its opponent’s score? Or maybe when the separation between the participants is so great, it is impossible to close the gap? Or is it when the final bell rings, and the contest is finished? Think about that while you consider the following story.

 

When we were still a young family, we purchased our first house in North Orem in a family focused neighborhood. The Argyles, Johnsons, Vests, Pikuses, Stewarts, Turpins, and Jarretts were just a few of the fine friends and families there. Incredibly, this just happened to be where we developed lifelong bonds and enjoyed wonderful associations.

 

We served in the congregation and our children made friends with other kids in the neighborhood at the time. Our claim to fame however came years later when a young woman from this ward, Noelle Pikus-Pace, became the world famous women’s skeleton silver medalist in the 2014 Olympics in Soshi, Japan.

 

We all enjoyed her enthusiasm when she achieved this award. These cherished memories are succinct, definitive, and memorable. In a small way, her success was our success. We thrilled with her.

 

 

She is an Olympian, a World Champion, a World Cup Champion, and a mom—all admirable traits.

 

Noelle is best known among sports pundits for her amazing accomplishments in the sport of skeleton racing despite significant obstacles. Behind the scenes, there was a lot of hard work and disappointment. At the U.S. Olympic trials in October of 2005, a bobsled unexpectedly came out of the track and hit her.

 

She sustained a compound fracture to her lower right leg, and because of this injury she was unable to compete in the Olympics until the following year. She came back to win the World Championships by the largest margin the history of the sport. But perhaps her most admirable trait is that of being an example to young women all around the world as a wife and a mother.

 

The Adversary often tries to outdo the Great Plan of Salvation. His lies began when he tried to persuade others he could fulfill a plan that was better than the original that not one soul would be lost. But it was a lie then, and it is still a lie now as he tells us we are inferior, not good enough, inadequate, on our own, and alone. He is a sore loser and wants nothing but bad and unhappiness for us, which is his lot.

 

He attempted to steal the glory for himself and is still trying to destroy you because you would not follow him. But he lost the battle then, and he is still losing now. And so are those that follow him.

 

The redemption of mankind is only possible through Jesus Christ. He is our Redeemer and always wants what is right and good and best for mankind, but he won’t force men to heaven. Because of his love for us, the Savior holds agency supreme.

 

Atoning for every living soul is his gift to us. Keeping his commandments is our gift to him. And of course, following him will also make our lives better, happier, and fuller.

 

We can all be witnesses of God. And as we honor and follow him, he extends mercy to us so that our success is assured. Victory is not to the swift but to he who endures. Matthew 24:13

 

We are promised that “Whosoever … shall confess me before men, him will I confess … before my Father.”

 

Life is full of hardships, disappointment, and obstacles, but despite our deficiencies we have the ability to overcome challenges and be victorious, because we are on a winning team. I am inspired by the Bible story of Daniel, who interprets King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

 

The king dreamed in the night, seeing a great image, a stone cut from the mountain without hands that destroyed the image, and the stone grew until it filled the whole earth. The stone is the latter-day kingdom of God, but the king did not understand or remember his dream. The secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision, which he interpreted and witnessed to the king “The Dream is certain and the interpretation sure.”

 

Similarly, our Savior is already victorious. He has won the prize, and graciously, he offers that victory to us as well if we will but follow him. We don’t have to be perfect. Our time doesn’t have to be the best to achieve this reward. We need only try to follow his commandments, repent when we fall short, and endure to the end. Elder Stephenson affirmed this approach when he was presiding bishop. When we are on the Lord’s team, we can’t fail.

 

 

“Dear friends, you are in the midst of an exhilarating journey. In some ways, you are racing down the half-pipe or sled track, and it can be challenging to perform each element or navigate each turn along the way. But remember, you’ve prepared for this for millennia. This is your moment to perform. This is your four minutes! The time is now!

 

“I express my utmost confidence in your abilities. You have the Savior of the world on your side. If you seek His help and follow His directions, how can you fail?”

 

When we are on the Lord’s side, the game is won. Through obedience to his commandments and repentance when we fall short, he makes us great. With God, all things are possible.

 

“The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done.”

 

The works, and the designs, and the purposes of God will all be fulfilled. The work of men is frustrated but not the work of God. On the Lord’s side, we cannot fail.

 

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