This I Testify: "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" (3 Nephi 15:9).

I had the opportunity to ride The Cache Valley Century (that's 100 miles) on August 23, 2014. This has been, to date, the most difficult century I have had to endure. It wasn't because of the distance, or the hills. It was due to the weather. I was able to ride with my son, Stockton, this being his first century ride (and probably last), for most of it. The ride started out with gorgeous weather. The temperature was just right, the sun was out, and there was a cheerful feeling in the air. At the first rest stop Stockton dumped his jacket and his longer pants because it was warm and he didn't really need them. Shortly thereafter, Stockton and I split about mile 35, with him going ahead with my dad and brother who have a faster pace than I do. I continued on my own, enjoying the ride and the beautiful country.

Not long after, the weather took a sharp turn. There were dark clouds that gathered quickly and I had just the right amount of time to get on my rain gear. The rain poured down with some hail to make it even worse. The rain gear was obsolete, but it did break the wind. I was at 50 miles when it stopped raining. I was really in the debate about whether or not I wanted to finish. I was cold and pretty much soaked. I called Jeff, and he encouraged me after I told him I was alone and of the weather conditions. About 10 minutes later the weather dumped again. Rain and hail just pelting down. It was hard to see, and the wind was in my face forcing me to go at a very slow pace.

Shortly after, I found out that my brother-in-law was at mile 70. This gave me courage to continue pedaling. I had no idea where Stockton was, thinking that perhaps he had chosen to do the 60 mile ride. I knew my dad and brother had done the 60 miles and was informed they had completed their ride. With rain pouring down, I continued to pedal, keeping my eyes peeled for my brother-in-law. We passed each other, me asking him how far to the next rest stop. He yelled, "About another 10 miles"! I passed several people hiding under trees, and just stopped due to the raging wind, rain, and dime sized hail. At this point these thoughts went through my mind, "Why in the heck did I want to do this ride? Should I really keep going? What am I trying to prove?"

I kept going. The sun came out as I rounded a corner to enter the rest stop at 70 miles. Low and behold, there was Stockton!!! He was standing there in his shorts and t-shirt shivering. He had no gloves so his hands were pretty numb. I asked if he wanted to call dad and have him come get us. "Nope, I'm going to keep going", he replied. I had been ready to quit and would have had Stockton not been there. We stayed there for about 45 minutes trying to warm up in the sun. When we took off, Stockton was in the lead. He pushed the pace to 19 mph. I tried to keep up and was able to only because it started to rain again after about 5 miles. Again, it dumped rain and hail. We just kept plugging away, encouraging each other just by the mere presences of being together.

As it was dumping rain, I watched Stockton ahead of me, and I am praying for it to stop raining on my son. He is such a good and righteous young man that I just wanted him to not have to endure this horrible weather or have such a bad experience for his first century ride. As I am praying for him the thought comes, "For it must needs be, that here is an opposition in all things" (2 Nephi 2:11), and then, "...He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:45). We all get to endure "bad weather". All of God's children are to be "tried in all things" (D&C 136:31), even the just and the unjust. We don't get to decide what we have to endure. Nope. What we get to decide is whether or not we will endure. The bad weather broke with about 8 miles left. We enjoyed each others company, and I was so grateful he was there to ride with me to the end.

As Stockton and I crested the last hill there was a street light we had to stop at. There across the street was my husband, Jeff, and our son, Ethan. I started to cry I was so relieved and happy to see them! We went around the block to finish and there was Jeff, our two other sons, my dad, my brother-in-law, and brother and his whole family cheering for us. It was so overwhelming to see these people that I love I couldn't hold back the sobs (literally) of joy and relief of seeing them. There was so much joy after having finished and enduring to the end! It hit me how important it is to "endure to the end" in all things.

Elder Richard J. Maynes said this about enduring: "As we temporarily endure the challenges we can solve and as we continue to endure the challenges we cannot solve, it is important to remember that the spiritual strength we develop will help us successfully endure all the challenges we face in life" (The Strength to Endure). After riding this century and enduring such harsh weather conditions I realize even more that there is purpose in difficult things. The joy of seeing loved ones at the end can't be described. That is what eternal life, for me, is all about- FAMILY!

Christ said, "Behold, I am the 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" (3 Nephi 15:9). When I finished with Stockton by my side and my family members cheering us on, I had never been more alive. I was filled with joy. I testify that as we endure the "harsh weather" and other challenges that come our way, we will be filled with peace, joy, and receive spiritual strength to endure all things. "For with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37).

Stockton before the ride. Note the jacket and pants that he ditched at the first rest stop

Stockton at the first rest stop. Notice the jacket and pants are now gone. Also note the clear, blue, sunny skies!

Ready to head out from the first rest stop.

The last 8 miles were without rain, but the roads were still wet. Those are my feet and Stockton in in front of me.

Taken by Jeff as we crossed at the light- this is when I started to cry from relief and joy of seeing him and Ethan. Notice Stockton now has my rain jacket on...he was very cold!

Stockton crossing the "finish line" made by my brother and brother-in-law.

Me crossing the makeshift finish line. We were the last ones in...or crazy enough to keep going. Everything had been taken down and put away by the time we arrived.