"...Care for the soul and for the life of the soul" (D&C 101:37)

I really like to exercise. I like to ride my trike, weight train, walk, do pilates- I just feel so much better when I exercise. When I first started riding there was no way I could have gone out right away and ridden 100 miles, let alone do two events a week apart. Being able to complete my first century ride took a lot of exercise, a lot of small steps, desire, discipline, endurance and good care of my body. All these components eventually added up to being in shape enough that I could accomplish my goals and not hurt after having ridden 100 miles.

This leads me to thinking about exercising faith in Jesus Christ. It isn't the appearance of angels that build a strong testimony. It isn't the large miracles that I wish would happen on a daily basis that makes my faith strong and steady. I realized that it is the small, seemingly insignificant acts of faith on a daily basis that build strong, enduring faith in Jesus Christ and His redemptive power. Elder Henry B. Eyring said: "Now to exercise faith and be steady in obedience will in time produce great faith and assurance. That is the spiritual preparedness we all will need. And it will qualify us in the moments of crisis to receive the Lord's promise that "if yea are prepared ye shall not fear (D&C 38:30)"  (Spiritual Preparedness: Start Early and Be Steady). Steadiness not only increases faith, but helps to build a stronger soul, and thus helps us endure all that is required or asked of us.

As I have exercised through the years, it is the steady, consistent act of daily exercise that has made a difference in my ability to do endurance riding. It is the same with daily life and our faith in Jesus Christ. Alma asks: "Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of Him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith...I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye blessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth" (Alma 5:15-16)? What great questions to ask ourselves as we exercise faith in Jesus Christ and follow Him in our steady, daily ride of life.

I have also found that as I exercise and prepare for long rides I must be mindful of the food I eat and what I drink. As I exercise faith in Christ for the endurance of life I must "care for the soul, and for the life of the soul" (D&C 101:37). Therefore I ask: Do I "hunger and thirst after righteousness"...that I "shall be filled with the Holy Ghost" (3 Nephi 12:6; Matt. 5:6)? Do I daily "...feast upon that which perisheth not, neither can be corrupted, and let [my] soul delight in fatness" (2 Nephi 9:51)? Do I enjoy the "fruit of the Spirit"...which is "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Galatians 5:22-23)? Do I "feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell [me] all things what [I] should do" (2 Nephi 32:3)? I know that as you ask these questions you will be led and know for yourself how to "care for the soul".

Exercising is great therapy, both physically and spiritually. I have found incredible joy in completing a 100 miles and enduring the entire ride. There are also great blessings as we "exercise faith" in Christ (see Moroni 7:25; D&C 44:2; 1 Nephi 7:12)  and "endure all things" (A of F 1:13). I know we must "fear not even unto death; for in this world your joy is not full, but in [Christ] your joy is full. Therefore, care not for the body, neither the life of the body (because Christ resurrects all of us!); but care for the soul and for the life of the soul" (D&C 101:36-37). Continue in all the small things, the every day acts of exercising faith and being steadfast (see 2 Nephi 31:20), which will lead us to "seek the face of the Lord always, that in patience ye may possess your souls, and ye shall have eternal life" (D&C 101:38). This I testify.

"Therefore I give unto you a commandment, to teach these things freely unto your children" (Moses 6:58)

When riding my trike I often see plants growing in the strangest places. I will see them in cracks in the road, between rocks, and growing out of walls. Sometimes I will see them all alone and far away from others of their kind and I wonder how they got there. The flowers below I saw growing on the side of the road. They were small, and beautiful. I was moved by where they had chosen to bloom. No one would ever notice them unless one walked on the side of the road, a busy highway, and then they would have to look closely in order to see them.

In this picture you can barely notice the purple flowers growing on the side of the highway.

Close-up of the purple flowers.

Picture of tiny white flowers that were also growing alongside the road.

As I have seen many blooming flowers and plants growing in strange places, it has led me to ponder on the words from Elder Stanley G. Ellis, of the Seventy. He stated: "One thing we have often been taught is to bloom where we are planted. Yet sometimes we are tempted to migrate to some new area, thinking our children will have more friends and therefore better youth programs...do we really think the critical factor in salvation of our children is the neighborhood where we live? The apostles and prophets have often taught that what happens inside the home is far more important than what our children encounter outside. How we raise our children is more important than where we raise them" (The Lord's Way). Seeing the places where plants, flowers, and trees have chosen to "bloom" has truly made me realize that the most important thing to help my children fulfill their purposes on earth is to teach them truth and then live what I teach.

I am a practicing Christian, not a perfect one and therefore my children get to watch me practice what I preach. I am so grateful for repentance and that I can keep on practicing! There are many things I try to live and teach, but  these are some of my top priorities:

Teach them of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer. I love this scripture: "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins" (2 Nephi 25:26). I want our children to know there is always hope in Christ! I want our children to know Him, not only through words, but also action. To truly know someone we must study, learn, and then do as they do.

Teach them we have a living prophet whom the Lord's speaks through. (see D&C 1:38). What a blessing to hear a living prophet, Thomas S. Monson, who teaches God's will for us today (read his most recent words here). Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley said: "...if we have a prophet, we have everything. If we do not have a prophet, we have nothing. We do have a prophet. We have had prophets since the founding of this Church. We shall never be without a prophet if we live worthy of a prophet" (Believe His Prophets).

Teach them to love the commandments which is really loving God. "If ye love me keep my commandments" (John 14:15). The commandments are given for our protection, our growth, and our benefit. "He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for He loveth the world, even that He layeth down His own life that He may draw all men unto Him" (2 Nephi 26:24).

Teach them to love their neighbor and each other. "...ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another" (Mosiah 4:15; see also John 13:34; John 15:12). What better way to teach our children that we are all children of God than to have them love and serve one another and our neighbors.

Teach them that happiness comes from living the gospel and keeping covenants.  Elder Maxwell said it beautifully when he stated: "You will also see that the living of one protective principle of the gospel is better than a thousand compensatory governmental programs- which programs are, so often, 'like straightening deck chairs on the Titanic'" (Why Not Now?; see also Alma 41:10). And the scriptures state: "Now, what do we hear in the gospel which we have received? A voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; and a voice of truth out of the earth; glad tidings for the dead; a voice of gladness for the living and the dead; glad tidings of great joy" (D&C 128:19).

As we teach our children these simple truths we will not only grow in knowledge of Jesus Christ, but we will also bloom where we are planted, the garden of our home. I love what the Lord says to Adam: "Therefore I give unto you a commandment, to teach these things freely unto your children" (Moses 6:58). It is a commandment to teach our children the plan of happiness, teach them of Christ, which leads to incredible growth no matter our location.