Building Spiritual Strength (3/17/2010)

In my thought yesterday, I talked about the idea that our Father in Heaven will never test us beyond that which we are able to bear. This was witnessed in Nephi's confidence when he was sent to retrieve the Brass Plates. Instead of asking why and giving the thousand excuses about why it couldn't be done, he simply replied that he would go do it and trust that because the Lord had commanded it, the Lord would make it happen. Was it an easy task? Absolutely not. It cost Nephi and his brothers their worldly wealth. It almost cost them their lives. But in the end, through persistence and faith, Nephi was able to get the scriptures that kept his descendants on the right path (more or less) for the next 1000 years.

I thought some more about this in the context of a trainer at the gym. When one works out with a trainer, I doubt that after 5 minutes on the treadmill they will hear "Great! Now let's go to the snack bar and get a smoothie!" At least in my experience, the trainer will push you as far as you can go, then when you decide that your body can take no more, they yell at you to keep going. The reason they do that is because not only can your body take it, that is the time when the most beneficial training occurs. That extra time is when you gain the most strength and endurance.

The same can be said of our spiritual fitness. It may be easy to say our prayers, to go to church every week. But are we being the missionary we should be? Are we the home teacher or visiting teacher that is making the effort to do more than the once-monthly visit? There are so many ways that we can serve in the Gospel, and as we step outside ourselves and truly lengthen our stride as President Kimball admonished us, we will be able to grow in ways we never imagined possible.