I Can Go The Distance

As much as I have been trying not to think about it, the sad reality is that I am nearing the end of my mission. I'm at a point where I am near the end but I also still have some time left to do a lot of good. I have been thinking a bit about the finish line and how I can keep persevring and enduring until "the end."


So what exactly does it mean to persevere? In the April 2014 Ensign, a magazine from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Claudio D. Zivic shares this definition of the word:


“To persevere means to maintain the ability to endure, to carry on, to continue in the same state without weakening or perishing. It is being able to go on in the face of pain, oppression, discouragement or suffering without being defeated.”


When I think of this definition, I can't help but think of one of my Disney heroes- Hercules! Pretty much everyone alive on this planet has seen this movie and knows the story:

Hercules is the son of the god Zeus. Hades, a really bad guy, is threatened by Hercules and conspires to have him killed but things didn't go as he planned and baby Hercules didn't end up dying, but being found by a sweet humble mortal couple who raises him. Hercules spends his childhood being the town klutz because he has too much physical strengh for his own good! Well, when the time is right, his real father Zeus lets him know what's up and he begins his quest to become the hero that he was destined to be. His father gives him a trainer, Phil, and a flying horse, Pegasus, to help him along the way. Hercules faces a lot of trials and temptations, but he uses all of those experiences to push forward and be all he can be when everything depends on him and how he uses his strength. He ends up becoming the hero he was destined to be despite his weaknesses and set backs and makes it back into the arms of his loving father Zeus once again.

I often think of that moment when he returns to his father and how much joy they must have both felt through Hercule's perseverance. When it all come down to it, that's what life is all about. We lived with our Heavenly Father before this life, and we are here to learn and to grow, to gain experiences, and to endure through the hard things so we can become stronger and learn how to use our strengths. It's all about doing whatever we can in this life to return to our Father. There is nothing more that He wants than to see our faces once again and to have us in His arms. There is nothing more that we should want as well.

The gospel of Jesus Christ, restored through the prophet Joseph Smith, is the path back to our Heavenly Father. Through faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, and the ordinances of baptism and confirmation, we are given the tools necessary to keep on keeping on! Once we get on this path, it's all about continuing in our faith, reading our scriptures and praying everyday, partaking of the sacrament and staying worthy to enter into the Lord's temple. Just like Hercules had help, Jesus Christ will always help us stay on that straight and narrow path.

Now, with that being said, no Hercules post would be complete without including the lyrics to it's epic theme song. This song has always helped me remember what this life is all about....


I have often dreamed of a far off place

Where a great warm welcome will be waiting for me
Where the crowds will cheer when they see my face
And a voice keeps saying this is where I'm meant to be

I will find my way I can go the distance
I'll be there someday if I can be strong
I know every mile will be worth my while
I would go most anywhere to feel like I belong
I am on my way I can go the distance
I don't care how far somehow I'll be strong
I know every mile will be worth my while
I would go most everywhere to find where I belong

Down an unknown road to embrace my fate
Though that road may wander it will lead me to you
And a thousand years would be worth the wait
It might take a lifetime but somehow I'll see it through

And I won't look back I can go the distance
And I'll stay on track, no I won't accept defeat
It's an uphill slope but I won't lose hope
Till I go the distance and my journey is complete

But to look beyond the glory is the hardest part
For a hero's strength is measured by his heart

Like a shooting star I will go the distance
I will search the world I will face its harms
I don't care how far I can go the distance
Till I find my hero's welcome
Waiting in your arms...

I often think of that glorious day when I can look into my Heavenly Father's eyes and tell Him that I did all that I could to return to Him. When we focus on the end and where we want to be again, nothing can hold us back from presevering and moving forward to our hero's welcome. Nothing can keep us from returning to the arms of our Heavenly Father.