Hello everyone, happy fourth of July! I hope that you have an amazing day! Today is our Preparation day and we will be having a zone P-day and will be doing bubble soccer! I'm pretty excited, but just to celebrate America I will be wearing my Capitan America shirt and American flag socks! wooo whooooo Go America!
This week has been so fantastic! Our area and the surrounding areas have exploded with missionary work! We found out that at the beginning of June, we only had 2 baptismal dates in the zone, but then 4 people were actually baptized. At the start of July we have over 10 baptismal dates! These are just some numbers to show a little of how the work is growing but the work is growing in so many other ways! We were wondering why. And we think it is because of the members in the area! They have been so willing to help out us missionaries and to refer their friends to the Gospel! As missionaries we are called as full time teachers and the Members of the Church are full time finders! Just like Fishermen look to the birds to find where the fish are, missionaries look to the members to find where the investigators are! and so the miracle of missionary work came from the willingness of the members! I wish that I would have been more willing to help the cause before the mission! Missionary work is the Greatest and Most rewarding thing I have ever done in my life! I LOVE IT! and so I would like to invite you to Join in! Find friends to share the gospel with, and refer them to the missionaries, but don't stop there, sit in on the lessons and bear your testimony. I Promise you that as you do this you will be able to have a front row seat as their life changes for the better! You will be able to feel the spirit more in your daily life and it will strengthen your testimony of the gospel! I feel so lucky that I am able to see all of these lives changed by the gospel. We have friends and family members everywhere that are seeking for happiness, they may not know it yet but the gospel fills holes in peoples hearts that they didn't know they had. I would like to hear if you have any missionary experiences.
This week we were able to meet our new mission President! President and sister Vidmar! They are so amazing. I believe that the mission sent home a picture of them. They are not very tall. . . .and that means something coming for me, but I don't think I could find more spiritual giants! She is a convert to the church and neither of them have ever served a full time mission! But they are so fired up and ready to go! I cannot wait to get to know them more! They are from Orange County California. They were both gymnasts and he is a two-time Olympic gold medallist! I studied a talk that he gave in general conference right after he won a gold medal and I loved it. "Pursuing Excellence" by Peter Vidmar! He talks about giving just a little bit more and how we can reach goals that seem hard to obtain! I know that things in life are hard, but nothing is so hard that the atonement cant help us over come it! I know that Jesus Christ lives! The more we can emulate and follow him, the greater joy we can feel and the easier trails will be to overcome. I love you all so much! Have an amazing week!
Pursuing Excellence, Peter Vidamr, April 1985
I’ve been asked to address my remarks to the young men this evening.
It is my humble prayer that I may further instill upon them the desire to pursue
excellence and to dedicate themselves to serving our Heavenly Father.
I am very honored and proud to have represented my country in the
1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Participating in that great competition is
an event that I will always cherish and remember. My involvement in gymnastics,
however, has taught me qualities that go beyond athletics. The qualities,
characteristics, and keys to success in sports are factors that carry over to
all other aspects of our lives.
For those of us who, in any way, had the opportunity to view the
Olympic Games, we saw the greatest athletes in the world performing at the very
best of their abilities. Many of those athletes scored the most points, the
fastest times, or the greatest distances in the history of the Olympic Games.
But how did they do it? What makes a great athlete? I remember a
great Olympic champion who once addressed this question. He named some
important factors such as great coaching, good equipment, good athletes to
train with, or just pure natural talent. All of these ingredients can go into
the recipe for a great athlete, and each will help in its own way. But there is
one quality that rises above all, and without it, the athlete is not complete.
That ingredient is desire.
The athlete with the greatest desire to succeed will stand a greater
chance of reaching his or her goal. The same holds true for the student or the
musician or whatever it is that you young men aspire to be. A five-year study
of many of the United States’ top athletes, musicians, and scholars has
recently concluded that “drive and determination, not great natural talent, led
to their extraordinary success.” (Los Angeles Times, 17 Feb. 1985.)
In determined athletes, we can see the difference between knowing
and doing. Those who really desire to reach their goals will do whatever they
must do in order to achieve them.
Our great prophet, Spencer W. Kimball, has in his office a little
motto that simply reads: “Do it.” In Matthew 21:28–31 we read:
“But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the
first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard.
“He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and
went.
“And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and
said, I go, sir: and went not.
Let’s not just talk about what we want to be. Let’s not just dream
about what we want to be. Let’s just do it, whatever it takes. To reach your
goals, you may have to work harder than you have ever worked before in your
entire life.
My coach taught me a great lesson in my early development as a
gymnast. I was leaving for my first national team training camp. Before I
traveled to the camp, my coach told me only one thing. He didn’t tell me to
learn any new maneuvers at the camp. He didn’t tell me to try to perform my
routines better than the rest of the team. He told me that when I returned from
that training camp that he wanted to hear me tell him, with all honesty, that I
had worked harder than anyone else on the national team.
So I remember making it a point to be the last one out of the gym
every day; and that didn’t mean just waiting at the door for everyone else to
leave! Also, I remember that at night, when some team members would
occasionally relax with their pizza and beer, I would go back to my room and do
more exercises.
When I returned home two weeks later, I was proud to tell my coach,
“Yes, I worked harder than everyone else.” I didn’t work twice as hard, just a
little bit harder. But it was enough to help me to improve greatly. Sometimes,
just a little bit is all that matters.
Let’s realize what the margin of victory was in a few of the events
in last summer’s Olympics. In women’s cycling, after the 79.2-kilometer race,
the difference between the gold medalist and the silver medalist at the finish
line was just the length of a tire. In a pressure-packed swimming relay, the
difference between the first-place team and second-place team was only .04 of a
second. In many of the gymnastics competitions, the difference between first
place and second place was as minute as .025 of a point.
The champions didn’t win by running twice as fast, by jumping twice
as far, or by scoring twice as many points as their opponents. In many cases
they won by just a fraction of a second, a fraction of an inch, or a fraction
of a point. Likewise, and more important, the champions didn’t win by training
twice as hard as their opponents. If another gymnast trains six hours a day, I
can’t train twelve hours a day. Twelve hours a day in a gym just isn’t healthy!
But I can train six hours and fifteen minutes a day. This is where giving it
that little extra and going the extra mile makes the difference.
In whatever you want to improve upon, whether it be schoolwork,
athletics, music, or studying the scriptures, just give a little extra—every
day. Fifteen minutes a day for one year add up to over ninety-one hours. I only
use fifteen minutes as an example of how time well-spent can add up. I know
that I would be a better individual if I applied this more in other important
areas of my life. I sincerely hope and pray that I do this.
There is another little sign in President Kimball’s office. This one
reads: “Don’t quit.” We are all going to have hardships and setbacks. But
Heavenly Father will not give us a hardship that we cannot overcome. Behind
many Olympic champions are stories of incredible hardships that had to be
overcome. Just this past summer, many of us had the opportunity to see an
American win his country’s first gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling. We saw
this big guy crying tears of joy as he stood on that victory stand. Just two
years before, he had undergone a serious operation for a rare form of cancer.
He never gave up. Now he is an Olympic champion.
As children of our Father in Heaven, we can have setbacks of sin.
But we must never quit or give up hope. Heavenly Father has provided a way to
overcome spiritual setbacks through the great gift of repentance. He truly
loves us and wants to forgive us. All we have to do is to go through the
process of repentance, and we will triumph over our mistakes.
I have talked today about pursuing excellence in all areas of our
lives. I don’t stand here as a shining example of that. I have achieved a
wonderful thing in the world of sports. I only pray I can do better in other,
more important areas of my life.
I do know of the importance of setting your goals very high, for if
you do this, your intermediate goals should be easier to reach. By setting my
sights on the Olympics, I found it easier to become a state or college champion
because I always knew I had to improve.
Let’s not settle for mediocrity. Let’s always try our best. Let us
decide now what type of person we want to be, and when a difficult situation
comes along we will be prepared to pass the test.
I feel very blessed that at a young age I was taught the importance
of keeping the Word of Wisdom. I committed myself to keeping that commandment.
I remember a very prestigious competition in Germany, when I won the vaulting
event. As I stood on the victory stand, I received a gold medal, flowers, and
gifts. I couldn’t have been more pleased.
Before walking off of the stand, I noticed another individual coming
forward with a silver cup, and I thought, “How great! Another prize!” But as
the presenter moved closer with this cup, I noticed it was full of wine.
Turning to my German friend and competitor, I asked what it was for,
and he explained that tradition calls for the champion to drink out of the cup
and to pass it to the next athlete.
I told him, “Well, I don’t drink.”
He responded with: “Then just take a little sip and hand it to the
next person.”
Then I explained, “No, it’s against my religion, and I can’t even
take a sip.”
My friend proceeded to explain to the officials in German that I
wouldn’t drink it, but for some reason they insisted I take the cup.
So I took the cup and held it high in the air for the crowd to see.
And then, without taking a sip, I handed it down to the next person. I admit
that amidst the laughter of the crowd I felt a bit embarrassed, but I felt
proud that it was easy to say no. I believe that if we make proper decisions
before we are faced with a temptation, we will find it much easier to resist that
temptation.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize keeping a proper
perspective on our goals. Let us never lose sight of the gospel in pursuing our
temporal ambitions. We didn’t come to this world to become Olympic champions,
or great doctors, lawyers, or businessmen, or to become rich and famous. We
came here to prove ourselves worthy of returning back to the presence of our
Heavenly Father. We came here to set and reach the highest goal possible.
I know how hard I worked to compete in the Olympics. At times I
trained as much as six hours a day, six days a week. It sometimes seemed it
took all of my energy and resources. I think I’m beginning to realize how
serious my commitment to the Lord’s work must be if I am to receive God’s
greatest gift. Indeed, it will take all of my talent, energy, and resources—my
heart, might, mind, and strength—to earn and receive eternal life.
Just imagine what it’s like to be an Olympic champion! Imagine the
feeling of having that medal placed around your neck as you stand on the
victory platform. It’s a feeling I can’t describe. But let’s realize one more
thing. We can all have an experience infinitely greater than that. If we prove
worthy, we will return to our Heavenly Father’s presence.
I have a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I know that Christ
lives. I know that Spencer W. Kimball is a living prophet of God. I have so
much to be thankful for. My temple marriage to my beautiful wife is worth more
than all the gold in the world.
I know I have a long way to go, but I pray that I may always improve
and someday be found worthy of all the blessings that Heavenly Father has in
store for those that truly serve him, in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ, amen.
