"Look unto me, and endure to the end, and ye shall live" (3 Nephi 15:9)

I am of the opinion that everything in life happens for a reason. Sometimes we may not like the reason, but we get to choose how we view it. This is my view of what happened and one of the many things I learned from riding in the ULCER, a century or 100 mile bike ride, with my dad. I must say thanks to my dad because I got to learn these things at his expense. I am truly grateful for his love, his example and his endurance. Here is the short version of my perspective of what took place.

On the ULCER, after riding about 80 miles, my dad's legs totally locked up with cramps. He told me he was mentally telling his legs to move, but they were frozen in pain, or perhaps more like agony. There were several people who stopped to help him as he lay on the ground after falling over because his legs cramped up so badly. There was my brother, who had been about 10 feet behind him, a doctor (he was an O.B. nevertheless, he greatly helped my dad), an EMT, and a woman (Monica) and her husband whom my dad had met and talked with on the ride. Much to my dad's chagrin, he had to SAG, or drop out of the ride. He was deeply disappointed.

At the "finish line", when my dad returned he was offered a finishers medal. I was told that at first he refused the medal, he believed he didn't deserve it because he hadn't ridden to the finish line. I found this ironic because he had done his best that day, he had completed 80 or so miles! But for my dad, it was all or nothing.

In this experience I saw this as similar to life. We are all blessed when we "endure to the end" (see Alma 32:13-15; 2 Nephi 31:20; James 5:11). But sometimes I think I have to do it all or there is no reward. This just isn't true! Just as my dad had an angel volunteer who drove him and his bike to the end, we all have angels help us get to the end. Even Christ had help as He endured all that was required of Him (see Luke 22:43).  "For we know that it is by grace that we are saved after all we can do" (2 Nephi 25:23). As much as my dad wanted to complete the 100 miles on his own, his body said, you are "finished". `And it is by the Savior, "after all we can do" (2 Nephi 25:23) we are helped to the end.

Christ said: "Behold, I am 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 we look to Christ and endure to "the end", (in my life I find there are many "ends"), "we live"! We aren't just here to live a comfy life of no challenge or danger, but we live in Light, thus learning more; more compassion, how to be more kind, more faithful, or even how to care for our bodies, minds and spirits more. We are here to experience "opposition in all things" (2 Nephi 2:11). Christ will lead us through opposition and thus to the end and eventually gives us the "medal", eternal life!

My dad and his "angel", Mike, that brought him to the finish line.

Monica and her husband, angels who stopped and helped my dad. Thank you!!!

My brother (David), me, Kevin, and my Dad. We all "endured to the end" and we live!

Me and my brother-in-law, Kevin, after we had finished. Kevin blew us all away cause he went so fast. Awesome!

Ironically enough, after my dad had been picked up by the "SAG", they came upon David and I when David got a flat. It was wonderful gift for me to see my dad after hearing of his suffering. So grateful for their help and encouragement.

It is so awesome to come in after enduring to the end and see all these wonderful family members cheering us and welcoming us back. (There is another blog right there). I am an incredibly blessed woman.

My parents who are both incredible examples of enduring in all things! I sure love these two amazing people!!!

I am so thankful for the time, support, friendship, and love of my family and my Savior in all that I do, this includes the good as well as difficult times. Over the years I have truly been blessed by many angels in my life, some I am sure don't even know they have done so. Thank you. Keep enduring and live! Hugs!

"The Lord is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works" (Psalms 145:9)

I am so grateful I find peace when I am so angry I could rip someone's head off...okay, not literally, by reading the scriptures. We have a child that has a mild form of autism. We just recently learned this and it has been a blessing to receive this knowledge. The scriptures helped me to have the strength and understanding that we will be able to help our son regardless of how blind others choose to remain. I know that anger isn't a way to solve a problem. It isn't the way to relieve frustration, even though it may seem to be a quick fix. Anger usually just causes more pain (and I was pretty angry at how close minded/blind people can be). I am so grateful for the example of prophets and apostles, living and from the scriptures, because they testify of Christ and teach me how to handle challenges and affliction, or perhaps just deal with my anger and therefore "...the grace of God" may be and [and is able to] abide in [me]" (see Ether 12:41).

I had never really noticed all these years that I have read The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ that Nephi, a prophet, starts by not only saying he was raised by "goodly parents", but that he had "seen many afflictions in the course of his days" (1 Nephi 1:1). Even prophets are not exempt from trials and afflictions. The last verse of that same chapter explains how Nephi sees and learns from his afflictions. He says, "I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance" (1 Nephi 1:20). Nephi doesn't say that the problems went away, but that he  focuses on the "tender mercies of the Lord". Tender mercies come in all shapes and sizes, sometimes making us "mighty even unto the power of deliverance"; other times, giving us the power to endure and to make our burdens lighter, so much so  that the Lord will "strengthen [us] that [we can] bear up [our] burdens with ease, and [we will] submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord" (Mosiah 24:15).

Sometimes the tender mercies lead us to deliverance by giving us the strength to endure, not necessarily taking the problem away. Elder Dallin H. Oaks said, "The Atonement ...gives us the strength to endure 'pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind,' because our Savior also took upon Him 'the pains and the sicknesses of his people' (Alma 7:11). Brothers and sisters, if your faith and prayers and the power of the priesthood do not heal you from an affliction, the power of the Atonement will surely give you the strength to bear the burden" (He Heals the Heavy Laden). Over the years I have prayed for understanding, wisdom, knowledge, guidance, help, and much more as a parent. Being able to help a child who needs some extra attention, but not knowing what we were dealing with has led to a lot of frustration and anger. As times, I thought I would have to just give up, but that isn't a good solution, nor is it an option. In the end, I have always been given the strength to endure. As parents, we need strength to endure all things because, truly, "we believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things" (Article of Faith 13). The only way to be able to endure parenting with joy, or any trial for that matter, is to rely upon the Savior.

As a mother with a child who has autism, unbeknownst to me, but I knew that something wasn't "right" with my child, I have struggled and struggled for years to "help" him. It hasn't been easy. People expect him, and I expected him, to act like my other children in various situations, and he didn't behave/respond the same, no matter how many times we asked, threatened, helped, encouraged, taught, loved, him to do differently. The tender mercies of the Lord have been with us the whole time as we have tried to guide our son. He is an incredible child of God. He is loving and kind, brilliant, and filled with joy and enthusiasm for life. The wonderful mercy that has been given us wasn't having our son changed to "normal" (whatever normal is), but having us change, and continue to be changed. We are more patient (and get to learn more patience as we help others learn to help our son), more understanding of other people and the challenges they are faced with, more forgiving. I'm not a perfect parent/person, and I continue to learn every day and pray as the Psalmst, "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving kindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions" (Psalms 51:1), because boy do I make a lot of mistakes trying to help my children. And God does hear and answers my prayers. He loves His children- "The Lord is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works" (Psalms 145:9). I am so grateful for the grace of Jesus Christ. Without it, I don't know where I would be. I realized one day that I do my best as a parent and then I have to leave the rest up to Him (see 2 Nephi 25:23). That is grace in full action! What a tender mercy to give to all His children- grace.

There are times in our lives when we are like Nephi and are asked to "return to Jerusalem" (1 Nephi 3:2) even when we already left everything behind (see 1 Nephi 2:4), or so we thought. Sometimes, we have to "return" because we have more to learn, things so precious that it effects our future and the future of our children (see 1 Nephi 3:19-20). Life is guaranteed to have affliction. We are told, "Be patient in afflictions, for thou shalt have many; but endure them, for, lo, I am with thee, even unto the end of thy days" (D&C 24:8). We can be as Nephi who responded with "I will go and do" because, just as he had faith to go, we too will "know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them" (1 Nephi 3:7). The way is prepared...Jesus showed us the way, because He is "the way" (John 14:6). We can do it, even on the days that are really hard, and those days we are really angry. "His tender mercies are over all His works" (Psalms 145:9) ~this includes you and me. This I testify.

"Doubt not, but be believing" (Mormon 9:27)

This being the New Year and looking forward with great hope to the future I was somewhat startled at what I need to learn personally, but I am so grateful I can learn. I think there are many of us who are trying to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ who belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but we, for whatever reason, don't think we are going to make it to the celestial kingdom (see D&C 76:70; 1 Corinthians 15:40-42). This is not the Lord's problem, but ours. I realized this is a problem of faith. This is directed to all of those faithful followers of Jesus Christ who always think they aren't doing enough; even their very best isn't enough. This is filled with love, and understanding. I am right there with you. We all ask the Savior, "Increase our faith" (Luke 17:5).

Let me see if I can explain what I was taught through a story in the New Testament. It is the story of the Ten Lepers. It is found in Luke 17:11-19. Ten lepers met Jesus and "stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us" (Luke 17:13). They all believed that Jesus had power to cleanse them of their leprosy, a physical aliment. And Jesus did have mercy on them and told them to go and show themselves to the priests and "as they went, they were cleansed" (Luke 17:14). What is interesting to me is that only one of them "saw that he was healed" (Luke 17:15). He had spiritual eyes to see what had really had taken place. Then he turned back and "with a loud voice glorified God. And fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks: and he was a Samaritan" (Luke 17:15-16). He showed his belief in the Savior's power by his actions. The single leper worshiped Him. He had spiritual eyes to see the real healing that was taking place. Christ responds to the Samaritan by asking, "Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine" (Luke 17:17)? He had healed ten. Notice, it was healed. Then Christ tells the Samaritan the key for all of us, "Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made the whole" (Luke 17:19). The key is faith to be made whole. The Samaritan leper was made whole because of his faith in the Savior, not just healed physically.

We can be healed, but we have to have faith in Jesus Christ that He can and will make us whole, whole meaning perfect and complete. That is the purpose of the atonement, to make us whole, perfect, complete not just healed. To be made whole includes making all our short comings whole; all our hurts repaired, whether we inflicted them or they were inflicted upon us. This becoming whole is a two step process. First, we must recognize that Jesus is the Christ and has all power to do all things (Mosiah 4:9). He has the power to heal us and make us whole. The Samaritan recognized that Jesus was the Savior when he returned and gave thanks and glorified God. We too, praise and worship the Savior when we are "willing to take upon [us] the name of Christ, by baptism" (2 Nephi 31:13) and "press forward with a steadfastness in Christ...and endure to the end" (2 Nephi 31:20). We show our thanks by keeping His commandments and serving others. 

The second step is to "doubt not, but be believing" (Mormon 9:27) to the extent that faith replaces fear. When we say that we will never be enough and won't make it to the highest kingdom when we are doing all we can (see 2 Nephi 25:23), then the problem is ours, because really, we don't believe what He is telling us. Or simply put, it is called, lack of faith in Jesus Christ. That is a harsh one to hear. We don't really believe the Savior can make us whole, therefore, we lack faith. I think sometimes we mix up the concept of worth and worthiness. Our worth is infinite. Sometimes in our weakness we forget who we are, we forget our worth. We need to remember our worth through our worthiness so that we can be strong. Elder Russel M. Nelson said, "How you deal with life's trials is part of the development of your faith. Strength comes when you remember that you have a divine nature, and inheritance of infinite worth. The Lord has reminded you, your children, and your grandchildren that you are lawful heirs, that you have been reserved in heaven for your specific time and place to be born, to grow and become His standard bearers and covenant people. As you walk in the Lord's path of righteousness, you will be blessed to continue in his goodness and be a light and a savior unto His people" (Face the Future with Faith).

We aren't going to be perfect in this life. No matter how hard we try, no matter what we do, we aren't going to be perfect and therefore we need a Savior. The real question is, do we believe Him? Do we believe Him when He says, "Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole" (Luke 17:19)? Or are we as the other lepers who were healed and go on our merry way and don't even recognize His power in our lives, the fact that His grace is ever effective in us, changing us, making us perfect as we worship Him daily by keeping our covenants and do our best to "come unto the Lord with all [our] heart, and work out [our] own salvation with fear and trembling before Him" (Mormon 9:27). The kind of fear that is "equivalent to reverence, awe, worship, and is therefore an essential part of the attitude of mind in which we ought to stand toward the All-holy God" (Bible Dictionary). Not the kind of fear "spoken of as something unworthy of a child of God, something that 'perfect love casteth out'" (1 Jn. 4:18) (Bible Dictionary). That kind of fear keeps us from exercising full faith in Jesus Christ and really believing Him as He calls to us, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

This is a New Year. We can "doubt not, but be believing" (Mormon 9:27), "looking forward with an eye of faith" (Alma 32:40) to the future with the assurance that Christ will heal us and does make us whole. We can and are, through His infinite grace and mercy, because we "believe in Christ" and we are "reconciled to God" (2 Nephi 25:23), able to make it to the celestial kingdom. This I testify.

"...for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do". (2 Nephi 25:23)

Some days are just better than others. And some days you wake up with a kink in your neck, you lose your wedding ring, one of your sweet children refuses to do what is asked and totally freaks out on you, your garage door breaks and you can't get your car out of the garage, your dryer doesn't dry the clothes...I could go on, but you get the idea. Gratefully, "...it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do" (2 Nephi 25:23) because each day our best is different, but we still try to do our best.

God didn't send us here to return to Him the same or worse than we left Him. He sent us here to become something more through obedience to His commandments (see Exodus 16:4; Abraham 3:25). The awesome thing is that we are "agents unto [our]selves", (Moses 6:56) meaning, we are in charge of how we behave, think, and act. So, on our other than better days, and every day for that matter, we can decide how we are going to act or react to the situation at hand. The beauty is that we are told what we need to know and how to behave: "...add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:5-8). If these are in us then we will have knowledge of our Savior, and as we come to know Him better, we are becoming more than we were when we left our heavenly home at birth.

Every day is different, and therefore, every day brings a different "best" or a different "all we can do" (2 Nephi 25:23). That is one reason why we need and have grace. Grace is "divine means of help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ" (Bible Dictionary). Just as we learn about Jesus Christ a little at a time, and learn "line upon line...here a little and there a little" (2 Nephi 28:30) we also receive "grace for grace" (John 1:16; see also D&C 93:12, 20)."The phrase 'grace for grace' suggests an exchange. For example, as we seek to serve others, repent, and do other good works, the Lord gives us spiritual strength and power to improve in exchange for our efforts. 'Grace for grace' also implies a developmental process." For each grace (or divine means of help and/or strength) we receive and worthily use, we receive another grace (or divine means of help and/or strength) in our progress toward perfection" (B.O.M. Teacher Manuel). We grow stronger as we seek the Lord's help and try to become like Him, as He has asked us to "be ye holy" (see 1 Peter 1:16). We can do this because "with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37)!

What a blessing that each day is different and we get to experience (see D&C 105:10) for ourselves "to know good from evil" (Moses 6:56). We become more than what we thought we could be through the challenges of each day as we do our best, and let Him do the rest.This I testify.

P.S. I found my wedding ring!