(My talk from our Summer of Virtue Fireside last night...)
It was almost one year ago to the day that I stood here to introduce a 22-mile walk to the temple. When we challenged you all to accomplish this, how many of you doubted that you would be able to complete that 22 miles? And yet everyone who set out to do it, was able to complete the 22 mile journey! I hope you learned that you CAN accomplish hard things, and that anything is possible through the Lord.
Now we are here to issue another challenge to you. We want to complete a Summer of Virtue 5K run on September 1st, and we are encouraging anyone who would like to participate to do so. Who knows how far 5 kilometers is? It is 3.1 miles. After walking 22 miles last year, I think 3.1 miles sounds like a cake-walk. However, we really want you to learn how to push yourself. We will be meeting for training sessions throughout the summer, which we encourage you to attend to strengthen your bodies. Learn how to pace yourself, until you are able to make your fastest time to complete the distance. This is a personal challenge, so everyone will be going at their own rate, but we hope you will push yourself to be able to do the best you can.
Last year, the purpose for walking the 22 miles to the temple was very clear. There was a lot of symbolism, in preparing yourself to attend the temple, and keeping the temple as an important destination to keep in sight.
This year, our focus is on virtue. How do we become more virtuous? There are both physical and spiritual aspects to virtue. Running in a 5K is physical. Sister Lamprecht will cover a spiritual challenge she will be giving you for the summer as well.
I was pondering on the physical aspects of this challenge, and why they are important. The more I thought about it, the more I came to realize that there is a very specific aspect that the entire Plan of Salvation revolves around. It is the fact that we each have a body. It is why we are here on the earth. We must have a body to be like our Father in Heaven. We must have a body to experience mortality, with its opportunity for growth through trials and making choices. We must have a body to make sacred covenants and receive the ordinances we need to enter into our Heavenly Father's presence, by being baptized, receiving our endowment, and being sealed to a spouse. We must have a body to renew the covenants we have made, by partaking of the Sacrament. We must have a body to show by our actions and deeds that we are truly converted and serving those around us. The gospel is not based on spiritual things alone. The physical things are just as important.
I love the video clip on lds.org from Sister Dalton's talk titled "Return to Virtue." She said, "I truly believe that one virtuous young woman or young man, led by the Spirit, can change the world, but in order to do so, we must return to virtue. We must engage in strict training. Now is the time to prepare by exercising more self-discipline. Now is the time to become 'more fit for the kingdom.' Now is the time to set our course and focus on the finish. A return to virtue must begin individually in our hearts and in our homes."
What will your "strict training" be? For the 5K, it will a regular regime of running the distance, conditioning your body to be accustomed to the strain. You may also include a schedule of weight-lifting to further develop your muscles, and help improve your performance. You will need to be aware of what fuel you are giving your body, eating healthy foods and drinking plenty of water.
For living a virtuous life, your training will include scripture study, regular and sincere prayers, guarding against inappropriate media, dressing modestly, and remaining chaste and sexually pure. You will live every day in a manner that ensures you are worthy to enter the temple. You will be courageous in honoring the covenants you have made, and standing up for what is right, even though you may stand alone at times.
Whenever I think of virtue, I think of the scripture in Proverbs 31:10 which reads "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies."
Well, I am kind of a "bling girl" myself, so this scripture always catches my attention. I want to compare you girls to a gem that is worth far above rubies....a diamond.
Diamonds are formed from the same basic element as we are...carbon. The process to create a diamond is quite extensive. The carbon molecules must be heated to extreme temperatures and under-go a tremendous amount of stress over a long period of time to become a diamond. They are then transported from deep inside the earth's mantle to the surface in rare deep volcanic eruptions. Natural diamonds which we find today on the earth's surface are between one and three billion years old.
When a natural diamond is found, it is very rough and without its shine and brilliance. In order to reach its full potential as a gem of great worth, it must be worked on by a very skilled stonecutter. This stonecutter has gone through extensive training, taking many years before they are ever allowed to work on a precious diamond. The stonecutter is able to look at the stone, evaluating how the crystaline structure is lined up, and determining if there are any blemishes which need to be removed. He then determines the best places to cut the stone, making sure the angles are done exactly right. If the cut is not properly lined up with the direction of the crystal structure, the stone will fracture, and will need to be cut down even smaller. The cuts are not only lined up to fit the stone best, they are also lined up to refract the most light possible. The angles created by these cuts create the fire and brilliance, which refract the light, separating white light into its full spectrum of colors. After the cuts are made, the stone is still not complete. Now it is time for the refining stage. The stonecutter spends hours and hours polishing the stone until it is completely smooth.
After a diamond has undergone all of this process, it has a brilliance, fire, and luster unique to itself. Each stone will look different, even after going through the exact same process.
You beautiful Young Women are right now in the middle of this refining process. Your spirit was created long ago by your Father in Heaven, then sent to the earth to live in a family. You all undergo tremendous amounts of heat and pressure, molding you into the person you want to be. You have and will continue to have trials and weaknesses specific to you. Luckily, you have a very skilled stonecutter, the Savior, who knows you inside and out. He knows where you are weak and he knows how to make you stronger. He can help you cut off the parts of you that are holding you back from your full potential. He can help you remove the blemishes which tarnish your purity. And he will help refine you in delicate ways, to help you reach your full brilliance. After you are polished you will be able to reflect back his light which he gives to you, and share it so that the whole world can see his love reflected through you.
It is my sincere testimony that you are each precious gems to your Father in Heaven. He loves you so much, and wants you to be able to live with Him again. He has given us our bodies and the opportunity to be tested and tried, so that we can prove our worthiness and our deep love for Him. We can do this by living a virtuous life. I testify that every effort you make to refine your spirit and build your spiritual muscles, as well as your physical ones, is an effort worth making. I love you, and your Heavenly Father loves you.
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
